It's been hidden from you for so long, but here's the truth about getting better at chess.
What does it take to get better at chess? A limb? a soul?
These are questions we all struggle with, even the best players struggle with it. WHY AM I STUCK AT THIS RATING? WHY AM I BAD AT CHESS?
Many a time players have asked themselves such questions, but not again.
The first thing you need to realize is that there are three layers/elements of chess.
These are:
1. Visualization
2. Calculation
3. Evaluation
Visualization is what you see through your mind's eye, calculation is the way you make your choices, while evaluation is how you judge those choices correctly.
This explains why chess can be so stressful, mentally tasking, really tasking, and challenging having to go through this process move by move.
While humans need to pass through the three layers, this is not the case for computers which only pass through two layers.
In my previous blog post, I provided an in-depth explanation of calculation and why it is the progenitor of our style of play before the post got censored. You can access it here: "https://lichess.org/@/Nextlevel4naija/blog/chess-styles-why-the-computers-and-best-players-all-have-a-dynamic-style/QsvHHrGD"
At this point, you've probably got several questions bugging your mind, and probably the main one being; Where can you get access to such knowledge and guidance, well distilled, structured & accessible in its purest form to help you get better at chess?
Before I delve into that, here's something you need to know.
After gaining the International master title, I quit professional chess and went into a deep state of reflection and discovery. Chess I thought, had so much potential and was the only game left to become fully global and mainstream. To achieve this, we needed to solve a centuries-old problem.
"How can we make chess easy to understand & exciting to watch?"
So about a year ago, I formed a really small team of the most talented people I could find at their craft and we set out initially to make quality chess education free and affordable.
The output of that convergence became www.laddrchess.com
Laddr is the ultimate gamified learning platform that helps people improve their chess skills from beginner to mastery. AKA - The Duolingo for Chess.
Laddr aims to expand the growth of chess by making it easy to understand and exciting to watch. Personally, I had struggled throughout my chess journey, it was difficult learning and I couldn't afford coaching in the first 8 years, even after I became an IM.
Laddr makes it easy for you to learn & get much better at chess, its lessons and features are highly interactive and engaging, and its still day one!
Laddr is the answer to your questions.
https://www.laddrchess.com
Climb the Laddr!
Notes
1. Laddr was able to achieve such structure by building a unique curriculum. There are still other program levels coming up, but one at a time.
2. Who was behind the censor? We don't know, they probably don't like people having access to quality resources.
3. Chess can be mentally tasking, but it's so fucking awesome.
4. There are some insane products in plans at Laddr, and we can't wait to release them. Capital is always a huge challenge, but we are hardcore on execution.
5. Chess has so much potential - Yes it does, if everyone played chess, the world would be a better place.