Think Like a Super-GM

ECF Book of The Year Winner 2022

Think Like a Super-GM is a unique collaboration combining the chess insights of an elite grandmaster with a scientific investigation into thinking at the chess board.

40 chess puzzles were shown to a panel of players ranging from occasional club players up to Super-GM and co-author Michael Adams. Researcher Philip Hurtado recorded not only the moves chosen, but also the detailed thought processes of every player in order to shed light on the mystery as to what exactly defines superior chess strength.

This book offers a unique opportunity for readers to not only solve the puzzles, but also compare their thinking to that of club players, strong amateurs, IMs, GMs and Michael Adams himself. With an additional Bonus Puzzle section and a fascinating Eyetracker experiment showing where different players focused their attention on the board, this is a chess improvement book like no other.

GM Michael Adams is a World Championship finalist and long-time British number one, with a peak ranking of 4th in the world.

Philip Hurtado is an engineer, physicist, statistician and passionate amateur chess player.

Reviews

Stjepan Tomić (chessreads.com)
“Wanna know how strong players think when analyzing positions? Now you can. Think Like a Super-GM is a collection of problems solved by players of varying strength. Their thinking processes are written down, so that the reader can see exactly how they think, how long it takes them to spot certain features of the position, come up with candidates, or calculate the variations. I think it’s a splendid idea, and I wish there were multiple volumes of the book since the 40 or so positions presented had left me wanting more.”
(full review in English)