The never ending study

What do you do when it's a heatwave, when even lifting a finger breaks you out in sweat? How on earth could you then focus on chess when your brain is fried by the sun? Praying your home owner gives you airconditioning? Will not help at the moment you need it namely right now.

So with the braincells who still wanted to work, many were on heat strike, I thought why not rewatch the broadcasts of the US Championship 2017 on you tube? That way you wont have to move and you still get great chess entertainment.

So for hours on end I have been seeing Hikaru, Fabian, Wesley, Ray, Var, Nazi, Irena, Anna, Tatev, ... at work while their labour was picked at by Yasser, Jennifer and Maurice. Interesting analysis of positions by a human (Yasser) and a machine (Maurice explaining). It makes me wonder how some become so good at it while many can only shake their head and wonder why they not have that skill?

Practise makes perfect they say. play a lot and even more. But a human cannot base his chess moves only on brute force analyse the entire game like a computer can. He needs knowlegde to base the soundness of his moves and we know that there is plenty of chess knowlegde. So to become good one has to do lots of work, not only during the game but also when not playing.

Studying chess theory for many hours, not only openings- but also middlegame- and endgame techniques, You can study them out of books, or with video lessons or by the explanation of a chess teacher. Doesn't matter how you study as long you do study and try to learn al those techniques so you can remember them by heart.

You will not need  every technique all the time. Sometimes it can take ages before you can apply a learned technique during a chess game. But when the time is there you must know the technique and apply it correctly.

I am lacking in both fields, I have plenty of chess knowlegde, like many of us patzers do, but still there is plenty to learn.  I am also lacking in applying it all the right time and in the correct way, when the position on the board demands it.

To say it with the words of the great chess trainer of India, GM RB Ramesh:

" Progress in chess involves continuous self-introspection, learning new skills and unlearning bad qualities in our thinking process"

Especially the word "continuous" is important here. It"s a never ending chess study, there is always room for improvement.

Have fun playing chess.