Page 36 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

positions of reduced complexity and clear pr inci ples. Our fi st focus was ki ng
and pawn against king—just three pi eces on the table. Over time, I ga ine d an

excellent intuitive feel for the power of the king and the subt lety of the pa wn. I
learned the principle of opposition, the hi dden potency of empt y spa ce, the
idea of zugzwang (putting your opponent in a position wher e any move he
makes will destroy his position). Layer by layer we bui lt up my kno wledge and

my understanding of how to transform axioms into fuel for creative insight. Then we
turned to rook endings, bishop endi ngs , kni ght endi ngs , spen di ng hundr eds of
hours as I turned seven and eight years old, expl oring the oper ating pr inc ipl es
behind positions that I might never see again. This method of study gave me a

feeling for the beautiful subtleties of each chess pi ece, because in relatively
clear-cut positions I could focus on what was essential. I was also gr adua lly
internalizing a marvelous metho do logy of learni ng—t he play be tween
knowledge, intuition, and creativity. Fr om bo th educat ional and techni cal

perspectives, I learned from the foundat ion up.
Most of my rivals, on the other hand, began by study ing open ing variations .
There is a vast body of theory that begins from the starting position of all che ss
games, and it is very tempting to teach chi ldr en open ings right off the ba t,

because built into this theoretical part of the gam e ther e are many imbe dde d
traps, land mines that allow a player to win qui ckly and easily—i n effect, to
win without having to struggle to win. At first tho ught , it seems logi cal for a
novice to study positions that he or she will see all the time at the out set of

games. Why not begin from the beginni ng, especi ally if it leads to ins tant
success? The answer is quicksand. Once you start with open ings , the re is no
way out. Lifetimes can be spent memorizing and keepi ng up with the evolving
Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO). They are an addi ction, with pe rilous

psychological effects.
It is a little like developing the habi t of stealing the test from your teache r’s
desk instead of learning how to do the math. You may pas s the test, but you
learn absolutely nothing—and most critically, you do n’t gai n an appr eciation

for the value or beauty of learni ng itself. For childr en who focus early on
openings, chess becomes about resul ts. Period. It doesn’t matter ho w you
played or if you concentrated well or if you were br ave. Thes e ki ds talk abo ut
the 4 move mate and ask each other, “How many moves di d it take you to

win”? Chess becomes one-dimensional —winni ng an d w inni ng f ast.