From the August 2006 Scientific American Magazine | 4 comments

The Expert Mind ( Preview )

Studies of the mental processes of chess grandmasters have revealed clues to how people become experts in other fields as well

By Philip E. Ross

More to Explore

Infographic
Brain Activity in Chess Masters
Infographic
Training Trumps Talent
Infographic
White's Winning Move
Infographic
A Grandmaster's Memory
Sidebar
Podcast: The Expert Mind and the Interplanetary Bicycle Ride
Overview
Lessons from Chess

More from the Magazine

August
2006 Issue
News Scan Slow-Acting
SciAm Perspectives Keep the Net Neutral
News Scan Soccer Goes Green
Buy the Digital Edition

A man walks along the inside of a circle of chess tables, glancing at each for two or three seconds before making his move. On the outer rim, dozens of amateurs sit pondering their replies until he completes the circuit. The year is 1909, the man is Jos� Ra�l Capablanca of Cuba, and the result is a whitewash: 28 wins in as many games. The exhibition was part of a tour in which Capablanca won 168 games in a row.

How did he play so well, so quickly? And how far ahead could he calculate under such constraints? "I see only one move ahead," Capablanca is said to have answered, "but it is always the correct one."

Already a Digital subscriber? Sign-in Now
If your institution has site license access, enter here.

Read Comments (4) | Post a comment

You Might Also Like

Discuss This Article

Click here to submit your comment.

VIEW:



	Email:
	Name:
	Address:
	Address 2:
	City:
	State:

Subscription Center

Editor's Pick

The Internet at 40Although the Internet did not get its name until the mid-1980s, December 5, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of the day when the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) connected four computer nodes to create a "network of networks"--a fateful link-up that would evolve into the Internet