Mastery
was. I wasted a few evenings reading it, having to force myself to read on, thinking the good stuff must be just around the corner. Well, it never came.Is Practice Enough?
Anders Ericsson’s work on deliberate practice was popularised by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success
I am a partial believer in Ericsson’s work. I believe that nobody could master (not …
Read moreBook review: “The Score Takes Care Of Itself” by Bill Walsh
I subscribe to Ryan Holiday’s reading recommendation email. His focus is on stoicism and American history, but he reads wider than that and I have found some gems through his recommendations.
The latest of these is The Score Takes …
Read moreReview of 2015
Another year has come and gone. Another opportunity to reflect and learn presents itself.
Although I feel I have made progress in 2015, that progress is not fully reflected in my rating yet. I started the year at ECF 97 …
Read moreHard Work Works – Inspiration from a guitar player
“Guitar Star” is a short television series on Sky Arts. It is a talent contest, aiming to find a star guitar player. I normally avoid talent contests on television like the plague, but since I do like guitar music and Sky …
Read moreHow Great (Chess) Masters Think
Robin Sharma recently reflected on TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in a blog post entitled How Great Masters Think. As I read through the commonalities Sharma extracted from the list of great achievers in diverse fields, I could not help …
Read moreThere is no shortcut to success
Not a day goes by without someone asking on one of the many chess forums what it takes to become a GM, or how many rating points they could gain in a year, or whether their 1100 online rating really …
Read moreHow to Choose a Chess Move
How to Choose a Chess Move
Do you remember a time before satellite navigation? If you went anywhere new, planning started the day before. You had to take out the large map book, find your destination and map a route. …
Read moreSetting Goals – Why telling others may be a bad idea
“To save yourself much pain: the bigger your plans, the smaller the group of friends should share in them.”
– Theognis
It is no secret that setting goals is a good idea; this blog was born as a result of …
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