When I first started playing chess it was all about the practice games for me. I was convinced learning all the different moves possible would make me an expert. Should I follow the same methods that legendary players before me had done? Or should I invent ways to defeat my opponent? Analyzing games by esteemed players gave me a thrill that was almost akin to sharing the board with them.
What I didn’t know then was that a lot of these players relied on their intuition. Many grandmasters rely on their gut feeling to make moves they cannot fully explain. They feel the position, sense the right move, and trust their instincts to arrive at profound conclusions without detailed explanations. They trust their gut and get duly rewarded.
In real life though, how many of us trust our instinct? We have, unfortunately, been trained from a young age to quell that inner voice and to simply trust hard facts.
However, my outlook on both intuition and analytical skills have evolved over the years.
From being a naïve young player who analyzed every game I came across, to believing in my grandmaster years, that my instinct would never let me down.