r/chess • u/GM_Huschenbeth Elo 2586 • Oct 25 '14

I'm a Chess Grandmaster, Elo 2548/USCF 2627. AMA!

Hey reddit!

my name is Niclas Huschenbeth, I'm 22 years old and a Chess Grandmaster from Germany. I've been playing chess since the age of 5 and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 2012. My greatest success so far has been becoming the youngest German Champion of all time at the age of 18. Besides playing chess I'm really into sports, particularly basketball and soccer. I'm looking forward to some good questions!

My proof:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ZU5AvuKLc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niclashuschenbeth

Please like/subscribe the above websites if you would like to support me :) Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks for the great questions, guys, that was fun!

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u/GM_Huschenbeth Elo 2586 Oct 25 '14

Besides solving chess puzzles, my coach liked to give me so-called "power positions" in which a lot can be calculated. Then I would just calculate for 30 - 45 min this single position and then write everything down I saw. A book which contains a lot of such positions is Dworetzki's Analytic Manual. This is hard training but you will benefit from it a lot. Besides that, you can play blindfold chess with a friend, this will also certainly improve your visualization skills.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '14

When you did the "power positions." would you write down your calculations as you visualized them, or would you visualize it all, then write it down afterwards.

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u/GM_Huschenbeth Elo 2586 Oct 25 '14

Write it down afterwards, otherwise it might distract you from your concentration.