Many chess players have at least a passing familiarity with the work of psychologist Adrian De Groot, whose book Thought and Choice in Chess threw open the thinking processes of grandmasters and not-so-grand-and-not-yet-masters alike:

Based on research done 1938 –1943, published as a doctoral dissertation in Dutch in 1946 and (revised) in English in 1965, this classic study by a chess master and psychology professor includes a review of the literature… and plenty of exposition on a peek inside the thinking of some chessplayers.  Grandmasters Alekhine, Euwe, Fine, Flohr, Keres and Tartakower; masters Cortlever, Landau, Prins and van Scheltinga; 1938 Dutch women’s champion Roodzant and 1939 Dutch women’s champion Heemskert; five players of expert strength and five players ranging from about Class C to Class A strength, all were given positions from actual chess games, and asked to choose a move – reporting out loud what they were thinking about in the process. The responses were then deeply analyzed.  -- My Chess Psychology Book Shelf

It is from De Groot’s work that we have gotten such insights as:

The master does not necessarily calculate deeper, but the variations that he does calculate are much more to the point; he sizes up positions more easily and, especially, more accurately.

The practice of “testing” players with positions and then recording and analyzing their responses as they work toward the next move has been carried on ever since, leading to, among others, the deep, albeit murky, How to Think in Chess (2001) by Przewoznik and Soszynski, the bright if somewhat hesitant Inside the Chess Mind (2004) by Aagaard and the sparkling and sometimes head-spinning The Grandmaster's Mind (2004) by Avni.

Now along comes long-time chess instructor National Master Dan Heisman’s The Improving Chess Thinker, which in many ways addresses the anti-De Grootian protest from the club player “Hey, why doesn’t anybody study us for a change??”

Be careful what you wish for, pawnpusher.

The author has been giving the De Groot chess positions to his students for over 40 years.  This has produced a lot of insightful information on how players of various levels evaluate a position before choosing a move.

From Heisman's introduction:

Heisman has studied and systematized that data and in a series of chapters in The Improving Chess Thinker can show you the general thinking processes of  those in “Class F and below,” followed by Classes E through A, and “Expert and above”.  The chapter “The Thinking Cap” then...

[A]ddresses various aspects of the chess thought process:
     1.      What it is
     2.      What are the component parts
     3.      Why it is important
     4.      How it varies from individual to individual
     5.      How it is learned incorrectly by almost all
     6.      How it can be re-learned to improve your chess play
     7.      How it is measured
     8.      How it relates to other important issues, like Time Management
     9.      Exercises you can do to practice a good process, etc.

There is even a chapter later in the book titled “What the Researcher Learned.”

The Foreward was written by GM Lev Alburt:

This can appear a bit academic, but it is all quite fascinating, and among other things clearly earns this book a revered place on My Chess Psychology Book Shelf.

Much more important is how The Improving Chess Thinker can assist the reader in achieving a more powerful method of thinking.

For example, find the chapter that is set at your level of play and read it and the chapter above, to see what you likely have been missing in your analysis of positions, but that you can aspire to, and work toward.  (This may take courage, as holding a mirror up to our own patterns of thought is often like viewing a sports “blooper” video.)

Soak up the insights the author provides and put on your “Thinking Cap” to learn from Heisman what he has learned from his students.  (Check out his website, while you are at it.)

Simply put, Dan Heisman knows chess players.  The Improving Chess Thinker is his 10^th book (I’m counting his “The Traxler Counterattack” and “The Computer Analyzes the Fried Liver/Lolli” CDs).  I especially have enjoyed his A Parent’s Guide to Chess (2002) and Everyone’s 2^nd Chess Book (2000) for their warmth and originality.

The author has also created 80 instructional videos for ICC members, and his monthly column “Novice Nook” at Chess Café [http://www.chesscafe.com] always entertains and instructs.  (I am looking forward to getting my hands on his new A Guide to Chess Improvement: The Best of Novice Nook.)

Dan Heisman was recognized in 2010 by the Chess Journalists of America as the “CJA Journalist of the Year”.

The Improving Chess Thinker is not breezy and light, and it will take some work on the part of the reader.  In return, it will not deliver a bullet-proof opening repertoire, a thousand-watt start that will scare Masters and intimidate Grandmasters, or a legion of groupies that will follow the reader from tournament to tournament.

It will merely teach a more powerful method of thinking.  For many of us pawnpushers, that is a pretty good place to start.

(Unconvinced?  Check out Chessville’s interview with Dan Heisman (Part One and Part Two).  See if his idea of a chess coach matches your idea of what you want and need.)

From the Publisher's website:

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