Sometimes, knowledge is actually the thing holding you back.
Is it the case for you? Let’s find out!
Today, I want to share a simple self-diagnosis you can do in under 30 minutes to understand if that is the case, or if you should spend even more time and energy on your skills.
The biggest leak
The goal with this self-diagnosis is to figure out the one leak holding you back.
It is essential to focus only on that one leak, because if we write a list of weaknesses, we will all come up with 37 things we could still do better…
The main question we try to answer is: do you lack knowledge, or do you have the knowledge, but can’t fully implement it in your games?
The answer is there
As so often, the answer lies in your own games. Here is how you do it:
Take the last 10 games that you lost.
Find the moment(s) that cost you the games. Not a small incremental change, but swings of bigger than +-2 according to the Engine.
If you don’t know how to properly analyze your games, watch this video first.
Dig into both why your move isn’t good and try to understand the Engine suggestion. Now ask yourself this question for every big mistake in these 10 games:
- Do I clearly understand why my move is a mistake?
Make a list of yesses and No’s. Compare them.
If you can understand your mistakes, you’ve got a skill gap.
If you can’t understand the mistake, or have a lot of games without clear mistakes that you end up losing, that’s a knowledge gap.
What you don’t like to hear
Many of us would love to believe we have a knowledge gap. It is easier to digest.
The reality is, 80%+ of you doing that test will get a very clear result.
You have the knowledge, but it is so hard to put it into practice.
That’s chess in a nutshell.
But there are some exceptions. This test is for you guys. If you’ve got the skills, but don’t understand certain pawn structures or positional ideas, studying this knowledge will help you a lot.
Get yourself a good book. Study a course. Work with a coach.
Then, train hard to turn that knowledge into skill.
Rinse and repeat.
Keep improving,
GM Noël
PS: This article was initially sent out to my Newsletter list. If you want to get chess improvement advice for free in your inbox, join 18,000+ chess improvers by signing up for Friday Grandmaster Insights here.
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