Out of all the reviews that I have had posted at Chessville, the one, by far, that has gotten me the most email is the one that considered The Pself-Psych Self-Hypnosis Chess Programs.  As recently as last month I had to inform a reader that the review had originally been written in 1985, that the product was no longer available, and that even my own cassette tapes were no longer with me.

Chess players remain fascinated with the idea that hypnosis could help, and my repeatedly empty answer nagged at me.  I finally decided to roam the Internet to see if there was a modern equivalent to the Pself-Psych series.  That’s how I ran into Charles Vald, and his “Psychology of Chess” CD.

Let me first encourage you to read the above review, if you haven’t already, for some background information on hypnosis and chess.  Forget about Anton Mesmer’s “animal magnetism,” the 1920 surrealist film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligary,” and any stage magician you’ve had the good fortune to see.

For the record, here is the definition and description of “hypnosis” prepared by the Executive Committee of the American Psychological Association, Division of Psychological Hypnosis:

Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaborations of the introduction. A hypnotic procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior. Persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one's own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced. Many believe that hypnotic responses and experiences are characteristic of a hypnotic state. While some think that it is not necessary to use the word "hypnosis" as part of the hypnotic induction, others view it as essential.

Details of hypnotic procedures and suggestions will differ depending on the goals of the practitioner and the purposes of the clinical or research endeavor. Procedures traditionally involve suggestions to relax, though relaxation is not necessary for hypnosis and a wide variety of suggestions can be used including those to become more alert. Suggestions that permit the extent of hypnosis to be assessed by comparing responses to standardized scales can be used in both clinical and research settings. While the majority of individuals are responsive to at least some suggestions, scores on standardized scales range from high to negligible. Traditionally, scores are grouped into low, medium, and high categories. As is the case with other positively-scaled measures of psychological constructs such as attention and awareness, the salience of evidence for having achieved hypnosis increases with the individual's score.

You’re getting sleepy… sleepy… sleepy….

Nah, I just threw that in.

Anyhow, those old Pself-Psych tapes were modeled on a vision of a controlling, all-powerful, but largely hidden, personal “dynamic unconscious” – the idea was that if we use hypnosis to influence the part of ourselves that secretly really makes us tick, then anything is possible!  Remember the quotes from that review?

Everything you presently are experiencing in your life is the result of the attitudes, information, ideas and beliefs that have been accepted into your subconscious mind. If you have been having undesirable experiences in any area of your life, it only means you have accepted false or unwanted information at the deepest level of your mind All of your limitations are illusions. They’ve been self-set…

Whoa, buddy!  I’m a passenger on a wild taxi ride, driven mindlessly by my unconscious?

I don’t think I like that view of myself.

That is not the approach taken by Charles Vald, and not what you’re going to get on the “Psychology of Chess.”  He focuses, instead, on “the subconscious mind” and casts it in the role of the crew of a ship – under the control of the captain, the “conscious mind.”

For Vald, hypnosis is “a practical and proven method of dealing with stress, tension, anxiety and other problems, for short and long term results.”

I suppose I could frame Vald’s model of hypnosis by giving an example from my own clinical practice.

A young man came into my office with the question, could I hypnotize him and make him smarter?

Ah, if it were only that simple.

His predicament was very familiar. A student, he attended class, paid attention to the instructor, understood the material, kept up with it, and studied for his exams.

Then he walked into the classroom and promptly forgot everything.

He wasn’t dumb, he was anxious; and he was failing.

I hypnotized him (and taught him how to hypnotize himself) and we worked on him becoming relaxed.  As he brought his test anxiety under control over the next few weeks, his test scores continually rose. He was quite satisfied with his grade at the end of his course.

The HypnosisHealthCare website offers many CDs, offering assistance for a variety of issues, from “pain relief” to “writer’s block.”  In addition, he has supplies ranging from a Laughter CD to a biofeedback ring.

Examine “Psychology of Chess,” and you will find 4 audio MP3 files:

1. What is Hypnosis?                            05:00
2. Main Chess Induction                       30:41
3. Hypnosis Relaxation Music               15:16
4. Depths of Meditation Music              14:42

I found the introductory file to be clear and informative.  The “Induction” file easily produced a relaxed and peaceful state in me.  (An aside: when I listen to an induction several times, and each time I become aware of something that I had somehow “missed” before, I know that I’ve been slipping away, and that it’s been effective.)

If you go to the HypnosisHealthCare you can hear an Audio Demonstration of the “Induction” for yourself.

The two Music files contain “new age” style music written by Vald.  I found them calming, although I realize that is my subjective experience.  It was fun to note (and sample – something you can do with every CD) that HypnosisHealthCare offers a variety of “Sounds of Nature” CDs as well.

My verdict?  If you’re looking for improved focus and a more relaxed demeanor over-the-board in your chess games (or elsewhere), “Psychology of Chess” looks like a good idea.  If you want to memorize the lines of the Sicilian Najdorf 19 moves deep, perhaps not.

As a pawnpusher and a clinician, I like it.

Do yourself a favor: visit the website and check things out.  Kick the tires.  Look under the hood.  It may not turn out to be what you’re looking for.  (No amount of post-hypnotic suggestion, for example, would ever get me to believe that the Jerome Gambit was playable.)  For $9.95 for an MP3 download, “Psychology of Chess” is not much more than the cost of a first-run movie, is it not?
 

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