Author: Otello Gnaramori
Date: 15:46:29 12/27/01
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On December 27, 2001 at 13:43:38, Paul Massie wrote: >It's my belief that humans operate largely by a stored database of positions, >with associated good and bad plans and moves. This belief is based both on my >experience at becoming somewhat stronger, and also by the rather limited >research that has been done in this area. That suggests that weaker players >spend a lot of time looking for the right move, whereas stronger players seem to >use memory a lot more. The result is that every position is new to a weak >player, so he/she has to grope for the right plan and move with little >background. The strong player (IM/GM) appears to have a large database of >stored positions that allows him/her to almost instantly find something similar >and thus be able to look at only a few alternatives. This dramatically reduces >the search tree and thus the NPS requirement. Humans seem to have an >extraordinary ability to remember a huge number of positions, along with what >moves and plans did and did not work in each. This is most useful because >humans can also extrapolate from a position to a "similar" position, and thus >attempt to apply the known plan. > >This explains why a very strong GM may suddenly play quite weakly in a >particular game or position, if that position is something they're not familiar >with. As players get stronger they seem to develop a larger database of >positions, as well as understanding each position in the database better. > >I find this concept a little depressing, since it seems to reduce the game of >chess to little more than a massive memory exercise. I would like to report some excerpts from a book by Dr. Gardner , the italian title is "Formae Mentis" : Alfred Binet says of mnemonic virtuosity in blindfold chess, quoting Tarrasch "some part of every chess game is played blindfold, any combination of five moves is played in one's head." also Tarrasch: "The sight of the chessboard frequently destroys one's calculations" Gardner then says about chess: "Contrary to the whimsical remark by Capablanca (To play chess requires no intelligence at all - Jose Raoul Capablanca) it is difficult to explain in any terms other than that of precocious intelligence in one or more relevant spheres, spatial and logical-mathematical intelligences are probably the twin contributors, with their relevant importance differing across individual situation. What the lore of chess masters reminds us, however, is that sheer visual imaging capacity in itself will not a master make: it is the ability to relate to a perceived pattern to past patterns, and to envelop the present position into an overall game plan, that is the true sign of talent at chess" w.b.r. Otello
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