Page 67 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

in new information—but it is critical to integrate thi s new information in a
manner that does not violate who we are. By taking away our natur al voice, we

leave ourselves without a center of gr avity to bal ance us as we na viga te the
countless obstacles along our way. It might be interesting to examine , with a
bit more detail, h ow this happened t o me.

*

Mark Dvoretsky and Yuri Razuvaev are the pi llars of the Rus sian scho ol of
chess. Considered by many to be the two gr eatest chess trainers in the world,

these two men have devoted their lives to carving talent ed young che ss masters
into world-class competitors. They are both armed with an enormous repe rtoire
of original educational material for top- caliber pl ayers and you woul d be ha rd-
pressed to find a Grandmaster out ther e who was not serious ly infl nc ed by

one of them. Between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, I ha d the
opportunity to work extensively with both of thes e legendar y coache s and I
believe the implications of their di ametrically opposed pedagogical styles are
critical for students of all endeavors. T hey were certainly critical for me.

When you meet Yuri Razuvaev, you feel calmed. He has the humbl e,
peaceful air of a Buddhist monk and a sweet, slight ly ironi c smile. If maki ng a
decision, for example about where to eat, he will shr ug and gen tly impl y tha t
both possibilities would find him qui te cont ent. His languag e is similarly

abstract. His mildest comments feel like natur al koans, and in conv ersation it
is all too easy to let gems slip thr ough your mind like a br eeze. Whe n the
chessboard comes out, Razuvaev’s face settles int o a relaxed focus , hi s eyes
become piercing, and a razor-shar p mind comes to bear. Ana lyzing with

Razuvaev, I consistently felt as though he was pen etrating the deepe st wrinkl es
in my mind through my every chess move. After just a few hour s of work with
him, I had the impression he understood me more trul y than almost any bo dy
in my life. I t was like playing chess with Yoda.

Mark Dvoretsky is a very different type of personal ity. I believe he is the
most important author for chess professional s in the world. His bo oks are
extensive training programs for world- class pl ayers and are studi ed religi ous ly
by strong International Masters and Grandm asters. “Readi ng” a Dvoretsky

book takes many months of hard work, becau se they are so den sely pa cke d with
ideas about some of the more esoteric elements of serious chess thi nki ng. It’s