> Same thing with chess; play only with Grand masters (if you can find them) and after a few years of getting your ass kicked, you'll eventually get good. (Disc

> Same thing with chess; play only with Grand masters (if you can find them) and after a few years of getting your ass kicked, you'll eventually get good. (Disclaimer: I only skimmed the article) That sounds suspiciously like one of those surface leval optimal solutions which don't survive reality. I imagine the best way to improve is like the best way to diet or exercise. The flawed system you can sustain is better than the optimal system cannot. Playing against the pinnacle of a sport as an amateur is likely sustainable for neither the amateur nor the master. The amateur will quickly tire of never feeling like they have a chance, and not seeing a real improvement when measured against the vast gulf of ability compared to the master. The master will be bored and unchallenged. I think a close to optimal path to improvement for real people would be a club of people all dedicated to improving, with enough competition between them all that none can be complacent, and a mentor with enough skill to provide useful advice at all skill levels. Martial arts schools in the Eastern tradition, for example. Now I'm wondering what the world would be like if every GM ran their own chess dojo. :)