Practice Makes Perfect
In the 1970s, chess was mastered by men. But Susan Polgar would prove otherwise. Susan Polgar was born in 1969, and currently, she lives in NYC. As a little girl, his father wanted to teach her mathematics, but accidentally, Susan found a chess game.
Her father taught her how to play chess and took her to chess competitions, where she won against male competitors. Susan became an instant genius. When she was 15 years old, Susan was the best chess player in the world and at 21, Susan was the #1 chess player in between 600 male players. Nowadays, she defeated USA champion in less than 60 seconds. According to a maze experiment, women only look at specific details and not at the big picture, as men do. “Looking at the big picture” helps men play chess better than women, but Susan was able to prove that women can also master chess.
How does Susan succeed at chess? “Chunking,” a technique that consists of breaking things apart to remember them better, is used by Susan. As a girl, Susan practiced chess for 6 hours a day. During her practices, she saw 100,000 different chess chunks, which turned into LONG-TERM MEMORY. There are about 4 billion possibilities of chess moves. The brain uses INTUITION, a learned skill that relies on calculating patterns, to select the correct chess moves.
Scientists have conducted brain scans on Susan’s brain. The MRI revealed that the part of her brain that recognizes faces is mostly used to play chess. Susan is able to recognize chess moves in about 1 second.
Susan’s son and sisters, Sophia and Judith, are also chess players. Susan’s little boy is presently a USA champion. However, chess is NOT a genetic thing, it is a SKILL THAT IS PRACTICED. Playing chess develops the brain; the more you practice, the more you will do well at it. Susan’s chess practice as a little girl shaped her genius chess skills as an adult.
Photo:
http://www.newswise.com/images/uploads/2009/03/12/fullsize/0_Susan_TT.jpg
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