Move First Think Later. The Sense and Non-Sense of Improving your Chess, by Willy Hendriks

The chess instruction establishment claims that all you need to do is concentrate on the characteristics of a position. Stick to some rules of thumb and good moves will pop up more or less automatically.

But that is not how it works, finds International Master Willy Hendriks. Chess players, both weak and strong, don’t first make a plan before looking at candidate moves. Trial and error is a very common and in fact highly effective way to get to the best move.

In his journey into the chess-playing mind, Hendriks uses recent scientific insights in the working of our brain. He raises a number of intriguing questions:

• Can you, too (whether you are talented or not), become a grandmaster?
• Why does a chess trainer’s advice often sound like a horoscope?
• Can you find strong moves by ticking off a to-do list?
• Is it possible to reach master level without ever making a plan?

Presents a wealth of valuable, no-nonsense training material. In this refreshing, entertaining and highly instructive book, Willy Hendriks shows how you can travel light on the road to chess improvement!

International Master Willy Hendriks (1966) has been working as a chess trainer for over 25 years. Inspired by recent developments in the cognitive sciences, he challenges the conventional wisdom in chess instruction.