INTRODUCTION TO THE CONTACTS METHOD
Momir Radovic
LET ME BE TOTALLY OPEN WITH THE READER . I will tell you the whole truth right away : I have been fighting a crusade against an almost invisible enemy for some time now . Actually ever since April of 2008 when I witnessed the following game between two secondgraders in an after-school program , each boy with more than a year in chess : 1 . e4 d5 2 . Bd3 Bg4 3 . exd5 Bxd1 . I had seen similar games before that , but for some reason I was so struck by it that something just clicked inside me . All of a sudden my path was set out for me : a crusade against the enemy , a serious one , keeping the entire world ’ s chess population in check .
Actually , it is a kind of an infectious disease caused by a virus . The name of this widely spread chronic disease is poor chess vision . In severe cases it may turn into amaurosis scacchistica , total chess blindness .
I myself have been a victim of it . Once infected , it took me 45 years to finally figure out its true origins and how it spreads by infecting novice chess players . There is an effective cure for it , but it is not permanent . Only a few are cured to a substantial degree ( these are called chess masters ), but even they are not totally immune to it as the virus may strike back again at any moment — a blunder moment .
Okay , we have diagnosed the disease . But how does it infect its bearers ? And what is the treatment for it so we may avoid a relapse ( as there is never a complete recovery )? When do we first get infected by the virus ? Believe it or not , during our first hour of chess — the very moment they start teaching us chess by showing how pieces move on the board . By a curious paradox , the seeds of poor chess vision sets in right there .
How is that possible ? Moves are indispensable to be able to go on any further in chess , wouldn ’ t you say ? Well , what seems evident often masks some higher truths within itself . And that is exactly why this problem has been hidden for so long .
The problem lies partly in this : we are living the 21st century , yet we ignore the way humans basically act and behave , how the brain works and how learning occurs . That is why , with the encouragement of this magazine ’ s editor , I set out to do this article . It represents an attempt to bring awareness of this serious disease and throw some light at how it can be controlled , to come up with some sort of early vaccination that will make novice chess players less vulnerable to its lasting and damaging effects . Here we propose a new “ Contacts Method ,” as opposed to the traditional method of teaching . Strong chess vision should be reinforced early and become second nature . Once established , it is a sound foundation for all chess concepts to learn later on , including all tactics and
strategy . Ultimately , strong chess vision will make it possible for more people to stay with chess and become life-time addicts of the wonderful and absorbing game .
First , here we are going to show what the basic model of human behavior looks like and how important vision is in acting in the world around us ( including when we play chess ). Then we will explain why we think the traditional method of teaching is flawed and what modern cognitive neuroscience and psychology tell us against it . We will compare the traditional versus the new Contacts Method and give the verdict in favor of the latter , backed by Aron Nimzovich ’ s view on the issue . In his words , the traditional approach to teaching chess by showing the moves first is “ fundamentally false ”. For that purpose we give an excerpt from his original article , “ How I became a Grandmaster ,” in the Russian chess newsletter Шахматный листок ( Shakhmatny listok ), first published in 1929 . There Nimzovich gives us his first chess lesson as he saw it . To the best of my knowledge this article has never been fully translated into English . GM Raymond Keene included an excerpt in his Aron Nimzowitsch : A Reappraisal ( Batsford , 1999 ), but Keene omitted the first chess lesson given here . We offer Georgia Chess readers the opportunity to read Nimzovich ’ s first chess lesson in is entirety in English , as it is essential for understanding of the problem we are facing — poor chess vision .
How humans behave : the Stimulus-Response mechanism
First we need to know how humans ( and other species ) act and behave . Behavior is an organism ’ s activity in response to external or internal stimuli . For example , sunflowers turn toward the sun with the purpose of making food using sunlight ( photosynthesis ). The mechanism is basically this : stimulus —> some nervous system activity —> response . In chess , the stimulus , or change , is the move your opponent just made . There then follows a mental thought process which produces your next move , or response . With repeated exposure to a stimulus , we create routine behavior or a habit that we replay regularly and which tends to occur subconsciously . There must be some evolutionary advantage here . By having habits : a ) we don ’ t have to engage the brain all the time ( which takes time and energy ), and b ) we can avoid risks and dangers by sticking to the safe , proven path . It is very important to stress that there is a strong link between the habit formed and survival . All our behavior is goaldirected and purpose-driven . This is hard-wired in all species .
Chess visualization skills We see not with our eyes , but with our brains .
6 The Chess Journalist Fall 2011