10 Quotes From GM Max Illingworth On Chess And Improvement

Introduction

Recently, I've been scheduling two months of material in my free Facebook group'Chess Improvers'.

Here are ten insights that will help you improve at chess more quickly and make the whole improvement process more fun for you.

Quote 1/10

'Something that helped me to get better at chess was focusing on the things that decided most of my games.'

Or, as many business/self-improvement mentors put it - don't major in minor things.

To figure out what to focus on, please look at your most recent games, determine what's causing you to lose, and focus on turning those weaknesses into strengths.

Quote 2/10

'Satisfying your desires won't automatically make you happy...but realising that from experience will make you wiser.'

I expected to be elated when I finally achieved the Grandmaster title in late 2015 (starting with 6.5/7 in a GM round-robin to secure my final GM norm with two rounds to spare).

In reality, I was very stressed, and my failure to resolve that stress led to two of the worst tournament performances of my life in the months afterwards.

If I had realised that the journey was the joy, not the destination, and not been so focused on things outside my control, I could have avoided the following disasters, achieving my life goal since I was eight.

Quote 3/10

'Before you reach a higher chess rating, you must believe you are worthy of it.'

Many years ago, I recall working with some students who would offer or accept draws against higher-rated players in winning positions.

It was sad because you knew their potential was far beyond what they were showing, but some psychological things held them back.

Before you can beat higher-rated players, you must overcome your fear of them.

Quote 4/10

'If the forcing moves (checks/captures/threats) aren't working, look for ways to improve your position more steadily.'

Some players spend so much time solving tactics puzzles that during their chess games, they treat every position like an 'X to play and win' puzzle.

The reality is, chess has far more dimensions than that.

If the forcing moves aren't working, don't bang your head against a brick wall.

Instead, be more patient. Look for ways to improve your position.

There may be a way to prepare your idea so that it becomes more effective later.

Alternatively, you can look at what your opponent is trying to do and use that to guide your plans.

Quote 5/10

'The 'worst case' calculation method helped me reach a 2100+ rating (after being stuck at 1800 for two years).'

For those who don't know, the 'worst case' method is a calculation technique that I picked up in 2006 from GM Andy Soltis's 'How To Choose A Chess Move'.

The idea is that, rather than spending a lot of time calculating irrelevant variations, you can say 'in the worst case, I can play this move and be safe'.

That way, you can focus calculating the moves and variations that really matter, knowing that you can always look for improvements in the 'worst case' lines if they come up over the board.

Quote 6/10

'We often don't have all the answers...
Focus on the next step and let the rest sort itself out as you go'

This quote comes from something I learned at an online business seminar, which was the idea that you don't need to know all the next steps to take action...you only need to know the very next step (and implement it).

This 'Just-In-Time Learning' can be very powerful in taking more and more action.

Furthermore, we can find greater joy in the improvement process by letting go of the need for control or certainty. And see the struggles that arise as exciting challenges to overcome rather than getting emotionally caught up in the problem (which typically leads nowhere).

Quote 7/10

'Understanding the ideas of every move you play (from move 1) is an under-rated way to improve your results in your openings.'

I remembered this tip when reading GM Matthew Sadler's recent blog posts. In those posts, he shared how the habit of thinking 20-30 seconds before each move (even if he already knew he was going to play that move) didn't just help him focus and get into a more 'System 2' based thinking for the game, but also helped him understand his openings much better, by thinking about why he was playing each move.

We can take this to another level by adopting this process in our opening study - making sure we understand why a move is being played, before continuing on with the variation/variations.

Quote 8/10

'The goal of a chess coach is not to make chess improvement easy but rather to make it simple.'

Many of you may already be disillusioned by the idea that the next course you buy will magically solve all your chess problems, and make you a master.

As I mentioned in an earlier quote, I've become less focused on results and more focused on processes of late. Part of that shift is respecting that chess is a difficult game and that no human is ever going to play at 100% accuracy all the time.

Once you know that you're going to make mistakes no matter what, it takes a lot of the pressure off you.

It allows you to laugh off setbacks, be a much more tenacious defender (because you're not beating yourself up about what happened before), and get more out of your coach. You understand that the coach won't solve all your problems in one lesson - you'll still have to do the work yourself, but at least you now know what you should be doing in your training, and how to do it better.

Quote 9/10

'It's remarkable how quickly you see advanced players improve when you help them shift from 'System 1' to 'System 2' thinking.'

This quote comes from my recent experiences coaching players rated between 2000-2300 FIDE, where I noticed that even these advanced players tended to analyze chess positions in a very superficial way (going with the first move that came to their mind, or playing a move once they saw one variation was promising, without looking for alternatives).

To clarify, 'System 1' and 'System 2' thinking comes from 'Thinking, Fast And Slow' by Daniel Kahnemann. The idea is that 'System 1' thinking is automatic and intuitive - much like our decisions in a bullet game - while 'System 2' thinking is far more deliberate, methodical and analytical. It can't be done quickly, but it leads to seeing far more than if we just 'went with our gut'.

Now, in my lessons with my students, I don't just accept the first answer they give (even if it's correct) - I get my students to look for alternatives, and ask questions about possible replies the opponent could make, to help them look deeper and see things that a faster thought process would overlook.

Quote 10/10

'You're not perfect, you're going to make mistakes.
It's never the first mistake that costs you, so learn from it and keep looking for good moves'

I first learned of this philosophy from a Josh Waitzkin lesson in 'Chess Master 7000', where IM Waitzkin showed an endgame where he made a mistake, but could still have saved the game if he had corrected his mistake and kept playing good moves. Instead, he continued with his flawed idea, made more mistakes, and lost the game. (From memory, because he kept moving his king along the edge of the board, rather than centralizing it).

This also serves as a good reminder that we won't necessarily lose the game just because we made a mistake (unless the mistake was so severe that we can't recover).

Furthermore, it means we shouldn't get too caught up on refuting our opponent's first mistake, especailly against a lower-rated player.

If we keep playing good, natural moves, it's quite luckily that our opponents will make more mistakes, which will be easier for us to exploit.

When that second or third mistake comes, we'll be ready to pounce and take our opportunity to win the game (or at least gain a big advantage).

Conclusion

I hope that these quotes were valuable for you!

What was your favourite quote?

Let me know in the Forum comments thread :)