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3 Exercises That Will Improve Your Chess Concentration Ability

Written by Yury Markushin
Friday, 24 April 2015 00:00

Many chess players have problem concentrating on a current position during the game. There are
many distracting factors that negatively affect player’s ability to fully concentrate. There is no surprise
that if a player cannot fully concentrate on the position he will most likely miscalculate, make a
mistake and lose the game. Today we will learn about 3 simple, but very effective exercises that will
help you to improve the concentration ability.

Exercise 1: Follow the Clock

Ability to fully concentrate on the position is something that all chess Grandmasters possess. Without this very important skill it is
nearly impossible to calculate many moves ahead, and to come up with the best move in a complex position after hours of chess.
Some chess players have inherent concentration ability, while most others need to work hard to develop this important skill. SUPERCHARGE YOUR CHESS
Give me 21 Days and I Will Show You How to
Here is the first, and a very effective exercise that will help you to learn how to fully concentrate on the subject of interest. Follow the Become a Dramatically Better Chess Player
seconds hand on an analog clock with your eyes; don’t let any thought enter your mind. Think only about that seconds hand. The
goal of the exercise is to be able to do keep concentration for 2-3 minutes. If any random thought enters your mind during that time,
restart the timer. Repeat every day for at least one week.

Exercise 2: Tic-Tac-Toe
Have you ever wondered how this simple game can help your chess? In fact, it can greatly enhance some of the very vital skill COMING SOON!
needed for high level chess. For this exercise two chess players play blindfolded Tic-Tac-Toe visualizing the board. The third person
acts as a referee, recording all moves on a piece of paper. Not only this exercise helps to build the concentration skills, but it also
improves your general visualization, something that many chess players are severely lacking.

Tip: you can use something similar to algebraic notation to call the moves. After 3x3 board game becomes too simple, you can
repeat with 4x4 and 5x5.

GRAB THIS COURSE NOW!

Exercise 3: Walk The King

This is another blindfold chess variant. The king is positioned in the center of the board. Two players need to visualize the position
of the king and "walk" him switching turns. The king in this exercise can only move horizontally or vertically (left, right, up, down).
Diagonal moves are illegal. The third person acts as a referee, recording the moves. The objective is to keep the king in the board
boundaries. Player who drives the king from the board loses. This exercise also improved one's concentration ability as well as
works on visualization skills.

When that becomes too simple you can add few pawns on the board. The pawns cannot not be captures and the king cannot step
on squares already occupied by the pawns.
Γίνετε ο πρώτος από τους φίλους σας
στον οποίο αρέσει

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3 Exercises That Will Improve Your Chess Concentration Ability http://www.thechessworld.com/learn-chess/4-healthpsycology/580-3-e...

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This is a very old exercise that is suggested by many psychologists around the globe to help improving one’s concentration ability.
Actually the main reason is the
First you need to draw a black dot on a piece of paper and position it on the same level as your eyes. You should be able to easily
knight can jump! i...
see the dot without straining your vision. You need to relax and look at the dot for few seconds. After some time you will “feel” the
dot and it will seem like you are actually touching the dot with your eyes. That means full concentration is achieved. Repeat on daily
basis for at least one week.

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Last Updated on Friday, 24 April 2015 09:04

Comments

#7 S.Mahmoud 2015-08-16 18:26 0

It`s great article for ChessPlayers
thank you for this great article
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#6 Yury 2015-04-30 09:20 +1

Quoting vincent limo:

I seem to blink alot while exercising, does it mean am not concentratng?

Hi Vincent. Concentration has nothing to with blinking. The goal of the exercise is to keep your thoughts focused on a
single thing - seconds hand of the clock.
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#5 Yury 2015-04-30 09:19 0

Quoting Hassaan:

Brilliant article! I rarely find stuff I'm not already familiar with but all of this was new to me.

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3 Exercises That Will Improve Your Chess Concentration Ability http://www.thechessworld.com/learn-chess/4-healthpsycology/580-3-e...

Keep up the good work guys!

Thanks, Hassaan! We keep our focus on the improving players!

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#4 vincent limo 2015-04-27 14:23 +1

I blink alot while trying the 1st method
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#3 vincent limo 2015-04-27 14:20 +1

I seem to blink alot while exercising, does it mean am not concentratng?
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#2 Hassaan 2015-04-25 01:57 +2

Brilliant article! I rarely find stuff I'm not already familiar with but all of this was new to me. Keep up the
good work guys!
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#1 CARLOS AMERICANO 2015-04-24 16:18 +2

É de bastante interesse o comentário e treinamento de concentração, muito boa a matéria, parabéns.
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