Saturday
Jan212012
How Much Do Top Players Study? Caveat Lector!
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 11:58AM
From Hikaru Nakamura on ICC, kibitzing the Wijk aan Zee games after drawing against Teimour Radjabov:
CapilanoBridge(GM) kibitzes: None of us tell the truth about how much we study ;)
tagged Hikaru Nakamura
Reader Comments (7)
So under-reporting or over-reporting ? Guesses ....
There is little motivation for a player admitting he studies often. They may be looked upon as odd. They minimize the amount of 'genius' necessary for their accomplishment.
I am in no position to say whether Magnus was completely truthful in his answer to this question from a recent interview but it is amazing that he has become the 2nd highest rated chess player of all time with this approach. I wonder how many of the chess mind readers study chess as little as him :):
"How much time do you devote to chess?
It’s hard for me to count. When I’m at a tournament chess takes up all my time. At that point I’m 100% focussed on the game. I switch off the television and telephone, I don’t exist for anyone… When I’m at home? If I don’t have a training session and there’s no upcoming tournament then I don’t study chess at all.
Not at all?
Absolutely!"
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7778
I always thought I detected a whiff of BS in their claims. I assume they actually study a lot more than they claim?
I wonder how Carlsen qualifies "if I don't have a tournament coming up"? He's been pretty active in the last few years. I would think he usually has a tournament "coming up" in the next six weeks most of the time.
In the recent Sadler interview at chessdom, he indicated that he studied 10 hours per day when he was in his peak years.
I remember reading that when someone asked Zukertort how he became so good at chess, he said something to the effect that he had studied chess 12 hours per day, every day, for 15 years.
Then again, here is Serena Williams before the Australian Open loss, though to be sure she is coming off a longterm injury
"I don't like working out; I don't like anything that has to do with working physically. If it involves sitting down or shopping, I'm excellent at it." -- Serena Williams' recent postmatch comments from the Brisbane International.
Later on she says that some love for tennis has worn off too.
(link)
[DM: I'm sure there are good analogies in various sports, but Williams has seemed out of shape for (most of) a long time now, has often expressed her interest in non-tennis affairs, and always seems to have endless excuses after every defeat without a whiff of graciousness towards her opponents.]