Remember everything!

I recently found a book that I once had intended to write myself. A few years ago I started exploring the world of memory techniques or mnemonics, and was curious about how this could be applied to chess. I experimented with a method to memorize chess openings, and tried it in a few games. It was surprisingly effective, and it was like having an opening book with me during the game. It almost felt like cheating. This led me to the idea of writing something to present my method to the world, but for various reasons, I never finished the project. So when I stumbled upon the book The Chess Memory Palace, I felt that this was a book I needed to read. And having done so, I think it's a book that you should read too. Read on to find out why.

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What can you expect from this book?

Now, you may be a bit skeptical about the relevance of this kind of method in chess. But before we go deeper into the topic, let me ask you a question. Do you feel the need to remember your openings? Most people will agree to this to some extent, some more than others. This leads me to my next question: How do you practice your openings? Some trust their positional understanding and knowledge of general principles. Others drill their openings over and over through "spaced repetition" with flashcards or tools such as Chessable. But if you want to improve your retention of the things you're trying to remember (chess or something else), there is a better method. There is a reason why professional memory athletes do not trust rote memorization. They use more effective techniques that have been tried and tested for centuries. And it is these very techniques that are applied in The Chess Memory Palace.  

A few years ago, I started out creating a course on how to apply memory techniques for remembering your favorite lines in chess. You can read the first part here. My plan was to eventually turn it into a book, but I backed out of the project half-way in.

So when the book The Chess Memory Palace came up as a suggestion on Amazon, it immediately piqued my curiosity. Normally, I do a bit of research before buying a book, but in this case I bought it without even checking the free preview. And I am happy I did, because it is an excellent book! 

John Holden is probably unknown to most readers of this review. He was also unknown to me before I read the book. He is a 30 year old amateur player from England. In his own words, he is not notable in the world of chess or memory. He describes himself as an enthusiast in both fields.

Sometimes being an enthusiast in two fields lets you make new connections

In an email conversation, he gives a short description of how this book came to be.

I became interested in mnemonics at university, after reading Tony Buzan's The Memory Book. I built my first memory palaces for law and economics exams in 2013, which turned out to be the first time of many. Sometimes learning facts with memory palaces + Anki flashcards was so quick that it almost felt like cheating. So it was natural to apply the techniques to chess. Surprisingly, there weren't any good published systems for chess mnemonics, so I set about making my own.

The Chess Memory Palace is a book about using mnemonics (memory techniques) to remember chess variations. The method presented in the book is based on a very simple set of principles:

1. Create an image for each square on the board
2. Convert each move to the image corresponding to the target square
3. Place each pair of moves in sequence in your memory palace

Review your memory palaces every now and then, and never forget your lines again. Does this sound too good to be true? I am convinced a large proportion of my readers will roll their eyes at this point, and some have probably stopped reading. But you're still here!

When I started my own project a few years back, I got in touch with one of my friends on chess Twitter, Vishnu Sreekumar, who is a strong chess player and also an assistant professor in cognitive neuroscience, memory and learning. I thought he was the perfect person to ask for advice on my project. He was not all convinced about the usefulness of my method. The following is an excerpt from our email correspondence:

 

I don't yet see how any of this would work to be honest. I understand that memory techniques like the memory palace work for memorizing abstract information. When it comes to chess, I can see why your proposed method would be helpful for absolute beginners who have no chess structures in place. For a more seasoned player, I get the feeling that the chess pieces and board by themselves offer a good enough schema. I'd call even a 1300-1400 USCF player a "seasoned" player for this purpose because all I mean by it is someone who is sufficiently familiar with the game and therefore has the tools necessary to learn.

The schema-based learning methods I mentioned can be constructed directly from the physical elements of the chess board and pieces. People construct stories to do this. The battlefield provides a natural placeholder for such constructs. So I don't think people are going to think using an external and a very abstract sort of system is going to help them learn chess better. Also, [...] by the time you need opening memorization, I would argue you are a "seasoned' player. So you've got to wonder deeply about who it is going to help and whether it would even work in the first place.

As indicated above, I believe that Vishnu's scepticism is fairly representative of many chess players. Richard James wrote a review for British Chess News in which he expresses a similar point of view. So my intention is not to create controversy, but rather to give a voice to that perspective in order to present a more nuanced description of the topic at hand. In the book, Holden presents a short discussion of these different perspectives. His argument is that even elite players sometimes forget or confuse their lines, and that this kind of method can be a useful tool. 

But should you memorize opening lines at all? This is a question that divides the chess community. Most people agree that you not need to know some theory, but how much is a different issue. Some argue that you should learn general principles and base decisions on positional evaluation, while others argue that you need to know main lines. Holden discusses this in his book, and also on his blog. You can also read the introduction chapter for free on the book's Amazon page. 

 While dabbling with memory techniques myself, I created a slightly different system in which i use a PAO system (Person+Object+Action). And each sequence of three half-moves will be an image. For instance the moves 1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 would correspond to the number sequence 446634. In my personal system, that would be Super Mario doing a James Bond pose with a bunch of lego bricks. Crazy, but useful. The drawback of my method is that I only memorize the key squares, and not specific pieces. As there are many situations where multiple pieces can go to the same square, this requires the player to deduct which piece moves to the target square. So at least some chess knowledge is required.

In Holden's system, he addresses this problem by creating separate images for each "candidate piece". The piece can be identified by the number of syllables in the keyword that corresponds to the image. For instance, the square g5 can be skull, eagle, skeleton or gladiator. This means that you need to prepare several images for each square. So if you have 4 images for each square, that will give you a total of 256 images to remember before you can apply the method completely.

Creating a set of hundreds of memorable images is a huge task. But Holden has done this for you and provides an extensive list of suggestions at the end of the book. For each key square he presents several alternatives for each of the candidate pieces, giving you a plethora of options to choose from. And if you prefer to create keywords in a different language, he gives you some pointers on how to do this effectively. 

Which method is better? This is an empirical question, and there is only one answer that matters: the one that works best for you. Try both and see which creates the stronger memories.

Holden argues that the memory palace technique creates more long lasting and unambiguous memories. Having tried the techniques myself, I agree with this perspective. In the lines that I play often, I have no problem remembering the moves (due to sheer volume and repetition), but in other variations, I find it rather difficult to use the board and pieces as "pegs" for memorization. A chess memory palace is a much stronger method.

I don't expect you will be convinced after reading this review, but I suggest you give the methods a try. There are several free mnemonics resources online, and if you should decide to give Holden's book a go, you don't need to break the bank.

Who should read this book?

I really enjoyed this book. It is very well written and beautifully illustrated (by the author himself). The book gives you a complete method for memorizing chess variations. Even if you are skeptical about applying this kind of method in chess, it can be a source of inspiration. So I recommend you give it a try. It may change your approach to chess entirely. And if nothing else, you will learn some really cool memory techniques.

About this book

Author:	John Holden
Title:	The Chess Memory Palace
Type of book:	Miscellaneous
Level:	Any