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Makes me wonder how good players "see" the board. Like what parts are "highlighted" and is it always changing as you ponder different aspects of the game, or mo

Makes me wonder how good players "see" the board. Like what parts are "highlighted" and is it always changing as you ponder different aspects of the game, or more static?

littlekey 2y ago
It's an interesting question. My opinion just from things I've read is that they're seeing chunks of the board, where the chunks get bigger as they gain more experience. A beginner looks at one piece at a time, an intermediate player might see certain blocks of pieces corresponding to the common openings/endings, and an expert might look at the entire board and think "oh yeah, this is like that one game where the line proceeded as follows..." Disclaimer, I'm terrible at chess.
- ngriffiths 2y ago
  Yeah I've heard this description too, and it makes sense. But I also get the sense that the "chunks" must not just be simplifications of parts of the board, in fact the experts must "see more at once" than the newbie right? Like inside of the chunks there is somehow tons of intricate detail that the newbies can't even see, let alone assimilate into one memory or instinct or thought. Maybe like a tourist who notices one interesting building or sign. The local doesn't notice anything, just like "cool, I remember this place," except then they notice if one small detail changes compared to the last time they visited. So in a sense they "saw" way more than the tourist. I am also terrible at chess. Curious if this is anything like how the experts experience it.
dinkumthinkum 2y ago
If you mean how top players think about the game, you can watch videos of Hikara, Magnus, even GothamChess on YouTube and they go through in detail with visualizations of various positions in many games. Top players have encyclopedic knowledge of games and openings.
- ngriffiths 2y ago
  I have, and it's like magic to me. I have no idea how it works!

Makes me wonder how good players "see" the board. Like what parts are "highlighted" and is it always changing as you ponder different aspects of the game, or more static?

littlekey 2y ago

It's an interesting question. My opinion just from things I've read is that they're seeing chunks of the board, where the chunks get bigger as they gain more experience. A beginner looks at one piece at a time, an intermediate player might see certain blocks of pieces corresponding to the common openings/endings, and an expert might look at the entire board and think "oh yeah, this is like that one game where the line proceeded as follows..." Disclaimer, I'm terrible at chess.

ngriffiths 2y ago
Yeah I've heard this description too, and it makes sense. But I also get the sense that the "chunks" must not just be simplifications of parts of the board, in fact the experts must "see more at once" than the newbie right? Like inside of the chunks there is somehow tons of intricate detail that the newbies can't even see, let alone assimilate into one memory or instinct or thought. Maybe like a tourist who notices one interesting building or sign. The local doesn't notice anything, just like "cool, I remember this place," except then they notice if one small detail changes compared to the last time they visited. So in a sense they "saw" way more than the tourist. I am also terrible at chess. Curious if this is anything like how the experts experience it.

dinkumthinkum 2y ago

If you mean how top players think about the game, you can watch videos of Hikara, Magnus, even GothamChess on YouTube and they go through in detail with visualizations of various positions in many games. Top players have encyclopedic knowledge of games and openings.

ngriffiths 2y ago
I have, and it's like magic to me. I have no idea how it works!