The 4 things it takes to be an expert

[Plinco]

As I was watching this, it occurred to me that these concepts apply to pickup as well.

 

[zekko]

Not sure I buy that bit about the chessmasters. I've heard current champ Magnus Carlson say that he knows something like 10,000 chess games from memory. I saw a video where someone showed him a random position from a game, and he recognized the game immediately, who played, who won, when it was played. He has a photographic memory when it comes to chess. That's a unique ability IMO, there is something special about him.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Not sure I buy that bit about the chessmasters. I've heard current champ Magnus Carlson say that he knows something like 10,000 chess games from memory. I saw a video where someone showed him a random position from a game, and he recognized the game immediately, who played, who won, when it was played. He has a photographic memory when it comes to chess. That's a unique ability IMO, there is something special about him.

Yeah the difference between chess masters and random people that play chess is the same difference between professional athletes in any sport and the ones that play pickup games which is the same difference between professional software engineers and hobbyist coders.

Once you start going up in class you start realizing how much those people know about technical aspects of what they are doing to mind blowing degrees which is likely even more advanced than their abilities in playing the game itself.