Your blog has opened my eyes. I often solve (and calculate) puzzles on chesscom and I thought I was a slow player considering the target time is sometimes 10 times faster than the time I solve the puzzles at. So there is a good chance this target time is heavily influenced by people who guess the moves.
I can see your point. The first move of a puzzle is most likely a forcing move. After people guessed the first move, the situation on the board changes and they are 1 move closer to the solution, which eliminates the opportunity to calculate the puzzle in the mind.
There are other flaws when only doing chess puzzles for chess training. For example a chess puzzle only has 1 solution. Therefore we sometimes eliminate variations in our thought process, like when a check could be delivered with the queen on 3 different squares on the same line. We know this cannot be the solution so we dump the idea.
I can see your point. The first move of a puzzle is most likely a forcing move. After people guessed the first move, the situation on the board changes and they are 1 move closer to the solution, which eliminates the opportunity to calculate the puzzle in the mind.
There are other flaws when only doing chess puzzles for chess training. For example a chess puzzle only has 1 solution. Therefore we sometimes eliminate variations in our thought process, like when a check could be delivered with the queen on 3 different squares on the same line. We know this cannot be the solution so we dump the idea.
Guilty as charged.
Had to go check chesstempo if it was me. It wasn't :-)
> "If you happen to do the same, I would urge you to stop it, because your "tactics training" is completely, entirely useless. There is no point in doing puzzles if you don't even try to calculate them properly."
Strong disagree. It builds your intuition. The "wrong move" is just as move a form of "feedback" to the neurons in your brain than the "right move".
The key factor in my opinion is "intent", not whether or not you're "guessing". If you're putting forth actual effort - "guessing" or not - then you will learn. That is my opinion.
Strong disagree. It builds your intuition. The "wrong move" is just as move a form of "feedback" to the neurons in your brain than the "right move".
The key factor in my opinion is "intent", not whether or not you're "guessing". If you're putting forth actual effort - "guessing" or not - then you will learn. That is my opinion.
Only a few lines expressing a very elementary and, at least supposedly, trivial fact.
Still, also considering the replies it elicited, it is one worth repeating once more.
One of the few sensible blog entries in recent times.
Thank you.
Still, also considering the replies it elicited, it is one worth repeating once more.
One of the few sensible blog entries in recent times.
Thank you.
Instead of demeaning your student by saying "No wonder he fails a lot," just show the example, and urge your student and readers to actually calculate. "Guessing Syndrome" is also something that you fall into a lot if you're mentally tired. I think if you catch yourself doing it , you should take a little break or just be done with puzzles for the day. Sleep will help you remember what you've already done, and if you're out of energy then you're not really learning by doing puzzles past that point.
@SirAlexTheLion said in #7:
> Instead of demeaning your student by saying "No wonder he fails a lot," just show the example, and urge your student and readers to actually calculate. "Guessing Syndrome" is also something that you fall into a lot if you're mentally tired. I think if you catch yourself doing it , you should take a little break or just be done with puzzles for the day. Sleep will help you remember what you've already done, and if you're out of energy then you're not really learning by doing puzzles past that point.
There is absolutely nothing demeaning in stating that he fails a lot, because it is a simple fact, proven by his stats. My job as a coach is not to flatter people, but to give honest feedback.
And rest assured, proper calculation is something we practice with all of my students.
> Instead of demeaning your student by saying "No wonder he fails a lot," just show the example, and urge your student and readers to actually calculate. "Guessing Syndrome" is also something that you fall into a lot if you're mentally tired. I think if you catch yourself doing it , you should take a little break or just be done with puzzles for the day. Sleep will help you remember what you've already done, and if you're out of energy then you're not really learning by doing puzzles past that point.
There is absolutely nothing demeaning in stating that he fails a lot, because it is a simple fact, proven by his stats. My job as a coach is not to flatter people, but to give honest feedback.
And rest assured, proper calculation is something we practice with all of my students.
@SirAlexTheLion said in #7:
> Instead of demeaning your student by saying "No wonder he fails a lot," just show the example, and urge your student and readers to actually calculate. "Guessing Syndrome" is also something that you fall into a lot if you're mentally tired. I think if you catch yourself doing it , you should take a little break or just be done with puzzles for the day. Sleep will help you remember what you've already done, and if you're out of energy then you're not really learning by doing puzzles past that point.
It also read super harsh to me. If you wanted to give "honest feedback" you could word it a nicer way, and it would still have the same effect
> Instead of demeaning your student by saying "No wonder he fails a lot," just show the example, and urge your student and readers to actually calculate. "Guessing Syndrome" is also something that you fall into a lot if you're mentally tired. I think if you catch yourself doing it , you should take a little break or just be done with puzzles for the day. Sleep will help you remember what you've already done, and if you're out of energy then you're not really learning by doing puzzles past that point.
It also read super harsh to me. If you wanted to give "honest feedback" you could word it a nicer way, and it would still have the same effect
I'm one of the chesstempo.com fans with approximately 130,000 solved puzzle although there is not related to the topic...