Even the novice engages in effortful study at first, which is why beginners so often improve rapidly in playing golf, say, or in driving a car. But having reached an acceptable performance--for instance, keeping up with one's golf buddies or passing a driver's exam--most people relax. Their performance then becomes automatic and therefore impervious to further improvement. In contrast, experts-in-training keep the lid of their mind's box open all the time, so that they can inspect, criticize and augment its contents and thereby approach the standard set by leaders in their fields.
Meanwhile the standards denoting expertise grow ever more challenging. High school runners manage the four-minute mile; conservatory students play pieces once attempted only by virtuosi. Yet it is chess, again, that offers the most convincing comparison over time. John Nunn, a British mathematician who is also a grandmaster, recently used a computer to help him compare the errors committed in all the games in two international tournaments, one held in 1911, the other in 1993. The modern players played far more accurately. Nunn then examined all the games of one player in 1911 who scored in the middle of the pack and concluded that his rating today would be no better than 2100, hundreds of points below the grandmaster level--"and that was on a good day and with a following wind." The very best old-time masters were considerably stronger but still well below the level of today's leaders.
This article was originally published with the title The Expert Mind.
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6 Comments
Add CommentFantastic information. It would have been nice to represent a differing opinion for balance, but the data and analysis certainly raises some interesting points to consider as we look at educating/training people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGoodChess player can play by Intution. Intution can be described as below:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKnowledge = n* practice
Intelligence= correct use of knowledge.
Wisdom = Intelligent use of knowledge
Intution = knowledge*Intelligence*wisdom
Those who are interested by the topic addressed in this article will be fascinated by Malcolm Gladwell's latest book: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think this is an interesting article but the study is flawed because no attempt has been made to define or describe natural ability or innate talent.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInventory the participants innate abilities, using a process such as Highlands, then come back and write the article again with a more reliable benchmark.
This is a trick :) He simply makes a move, observes his opponents move, and then on the next table makes that move against his new opponent.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDerren Brown, British magician and illusionist extraordinaire, did this with 20 British Grandmasters and beat ALL of them, imitating the fellow GM's moves. It was basically like Grandmaster vs Grandmaster
@Jayhorn:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisObviously Derren Brown did not 'beat' ALL of them - that would be impossible if they are being played one against another. For every game he 'won', he would also 'lose' one, because he is playing two halves of the same game, and therefore would never be able to win more than half the games. In fact, if I recall, there were only a handful of GMs, along with an assortment of lesser masters, and one amateur who was president of some university chess club (which may sound impressive to a layman but has no bearing on chess playing ability). Derren Brown acheived a plus score in the trick by playing the masters against each other and beating the weaker player himself. A better magic trick would be to get 20 British GMS in the same room, as I don't think even the British Championship can manage that.
As for Capablanca, and any other Grandmaster who ever gave a simultaneous display, this trick does not apply (nor would the grandmaster want to use it anyway) as the grandmaster always plays white in every game, making it impossible to play one player against another.