Last week, I talked about the importance of patience in chess. I touched on the idea of theory and practice a bit as well. Before, jumping back into the examples we were playing through, I wanted to talk about practice and theory a little more. There’s good reason for doing this, because these two parts of your studies are extremely important and how much you put into either is crucial.
Let’s start by defining both terms, starting with theory. In music, theory is everything you learn about music short of the notes you play on your instrument. I use music as an analogy because it’s easier to define the terms theory and practice. When you decide to learn how to play an instrument, such as the piano, you are taught how to read music. In other words, how to read a piece of paper with musical notes written on it and then translate those notes into sounds on the piano’s keyboard. It is similar to learning a written language. Sure, you don’t need to be able to read music to play great piano. Many of the keyboard players in famous bands cannot read music but still manage to create great sounds. However, they would be hard pressed to make it through a song if they had to decipher a few pages of sheet music.
The musician who has studied theory and can read music has the advantage. Sheet music contains more than just notes. Within the strange hieroglyphic symbols found on standard sheet music are symbols that denote tempo and other specifics that allow the musician that can understand them to play the music exactly as it was intended to sound. Without a knowledge of musical theory, you could still manage to play a piece of music as it was intended to be played, but it would require a lot more work, not to mention you still might not get it exactly right. So what does any of this have to do with chess?
Theory is a critical part of improving your chess game. There is no way around it. Players who are self-taught don’t figure the game out by simply playing, They read books and those books contain lots of theory. Going back to our music analogy, remember our self taught piano player. Do you think he avoided being exposed to any theory? While he may not have learned how to read sheet music, he certainly listened to other piano players on records and by doing so, learned some theory. You cannot escape theory. The only problem with theory is that too much of it is not a good thing.
I knew a musician who was brilliant when it came to theory. He knew all the right words and could dazzle you with his theoretical knowledge. There was one slight problem, he couldn’t play with an actual band even if his life depended on it! Playing with him was like witnessing someone sticking bits of theory together with no rhyme or reason. This is where practice comes into play. Theory only works if you apply it, which means taking action.
When you memorize a theoretical idea, you may know it’s definition, being able to recite that definition verbatim. However, you’ll never really understand it until you put it into practice. Take the opening principles for example. It is easy enough to memorize them and recite them like a Parrot. Yet, you still will not have a complete understanding of them until you put them into practice by using them in your games. Once you start using them, they become further defined within your mind. In chess, as in music, individual components of overall theory build upon each other. One component forms the foundation for the next component and so on. They build upon each other and this is why it is so crucial to learn one, put it into practice (use it in your play) and then bring the next one into your game. Get the knowledge, then use that knowledge!
If you look at any skill, you’ll see that it is mastered in a series of smaller steps, not just one giant leap of a step! If you want to make a violin, you don’t purchase a bunch of wood and tools, and start building it. You have to learn a lot of smaller skills, such as using a saw and chisel, how to finish sand wood, and how to wet bend wood. It takes a whole lot of smaller skills. You cannot learn all these skills in one sitting! It takes time and practice. When I took a wood working class, before I was allowed to work with fine woods, I honed my skills on cheap wood. That way, all the mistakes that I made were not as costly. I learned and mastered one tool at a time!
In chess you’re going to play a lot of games that you’ll lose. That’s alright because it is part of the process. You have to take each tidbit of newfound knowledge and test it out! You don’t want to wait until you’ve completely learned all of the opening principles to test them out.. Start testing each individual principle as soon as you learn it. Doing so will help build a stronger foundation for the next smaller principle you learn. You will lose games this way but in the end your skill set will grow exponentially. Practice is just as important, if not slightly more important, as theory. Do you do both equally?
This is where it gets a bit tricky. It all depends. Some concepts are easier to understand than others. Therefore, you can put more time into practice than theory. Other concepts may be more difficult to grasp and require more study or theory before putting them into practice. Only you will know that answer. However, don’t get too caught up on studying a specific theoretical idea. Sometimes, trying that idea out in a game will help clarify a concept that your having trouble with. To save yourself a bruised ego, test your knowledge out playing a chess app or software program!
The biggest problem you’ll face when dealing with theory and practice is becoming discouraged. Learning anything is a messy process. There are ups and downs. Mistakes are made. It’s part of the learning process. I mention this because I’ve had students end up spending too much time going back to theory because they didn’t see immediate positive results when they put theory into practice (playing games). Again, learning is a messy undertaking and you will have times when what you’ve just studied doesn’t seem to work the way it should. This is where patience comes into play. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Don’t look for immediate results. Look for slow but steady progress over the long run. When you get discouraged, think about how you playing was the very first time you sat down and played a game of chess. You’ll see the improvement. Again, try playing a chess app or software program. They don’t care about any mistakes you make! Next week, we’ll get back into the swing of things. Here’s a game to enjoy until then.
Hugh Patterson
