One of The World’s Great Chess Teachers, On How To Think Like A Champion

Fantastic article on the champion mindset. Pandolfini like Graham encourages his students to think for themselves…It’s clear that this chess master’s  style of teaching (just as Graham) has led to some of the most successful stories. Read this, and then apply what you learn everyday.

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Favorite Quotes: “My goal,” he says, “is to help them develop what I consider to be two of the most important forms of intelligence: the ability to read other people, and the ability to understand oneself. Those are the two kinds of intelligence that you need to succeed at chess — and in life.”

“But if, as a young person, you can learn how to handle defeat, you can eventually learn how to win. That’s one of the primary functions of a good chess teacher — to get students through the pain of losing.”

Introduction (via Fast Company)

Has there ever been a more confusing time to think about business strategy? Your most important customer can also be one of your chief competitors — and one of your key suppliers as well. The fastest-growing markets (especially those driven by the Net) might be the least-profitable markets today — but they are the markets that will shape the future. The news pages bring word of mergers and strategic alliances that shift the competitive playing field overnight. The name of the game in business strategy today: Think fast. Think under pressure. Think several moves ahead.

It sounds a lot like chess. Bruce Pandolfini doesn’t know much about business plans or Internet deals. But he knows more than almost anyone else about thinking strategically. Pandolfini, 51, is one of the most sought-after chess teachers — and one of the most widely read chess writers — of the 20th century. He is to chess what Peter Drucker is to management or what Carl Sagan was to science: an instructor, a chronicler, a commentator, a celebrity.

Excerpts (Via Fast Company)

There are lots of misperceptions that influence how people think about — and play — chess. Most people believe that great players strategize by thinking far into the future, by thinking 10 or 15 moves ahead. That’s just not true. Chess players look only as far into the future as they need to, and that usually means thinking just a few moves ahead. Thinking too far ahead is a waste of time: The information is uncertain.

So the real issue isn’t how far ahead great players think, but how they think in the moment. Great players consider their next move without playing it — and then consider their opponent’s response to that move. And they ask questions. The most revealing question is also the simplest question: What would I like to do if I could count on my opponent doing nothing?

Slightly, slightly, slightly. None of those “slightlys” mean anything on their own, but add up seven or eight of them, and you have control. Now the only way that your opponent can possibly break your control is by giving up something else. Positional chess teaches that we are responsible for our actions. Every move must have a purpose.

But exceptional players become skilled at maintaining an absolute sense of calm and confidence — at least outwardly. Great players may question one of their moves, but they never question themselves.

Click Here To From One Of The World’s Great Chess Teachers