Why Reading Chess Books is Hard and How I Fixed It
Algebraic Chess Notations
Reading traditional chess books is a painful process. The biggest problem is the algebraic notation. These books force you to decode endless lines of text. You have to calculate and visualize every move in your head. When a variation goes beyond three or four moves, your brain simply loses track of the pieces. You constantly have to set up a physical board to understand the position. This is not just annoying. While you are busy playing the moves, you completely lose the author's core message.
Draw Numbered Arrows
That's exactly why I developed the DNA system. DNA: Draw Numbered Arrows. No more decoding confusing text notation. See the entire move sequence at a glance.
How it works:
- Find numbers in order (1, 2, 3...).
- The piece on each numbered square moves along the arrow.
- That’s it.
Tip:
You don’t always have to count 1, 2, 3. Try following just the White arrows (1, 3, 5...) or Black arrows (2, 4, 6...) separately. This reveals the isolated plan of each player without interruption.
In the actual book, the algebraic notation is written below the image. The resulting position is shown on the right side.
Solid/Dashed Arrows
Solid arrows show the actual moves. Dashed arrows show the side variations. You will never mix them up.
Play Chess Like Bobby Fischer
I wrote a chess book analyzing Bobby Fischer's games with this DNA system.
link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GMGBFG25/
9 key principles
Watch Fischer's Games
Solve Curated Puzzles
Master Chess Strategy Through Dialogue
Review Fischer's Choices
