Modern chess computers, like the program ‘Stockfish’, are treated as oracles. Plug in a position, start the engine, and within a fraction of a second it will identify the best move and its numerical evaluation (+1.27 pawns!).
So it is a natural misconception that an ambitious player must commit to endless clicking and memorising. On that theory, grandmasters are simply the ones who have set upon this treadmill with unusual fervour.
I have done my share of gawping at the screen, but in wiser moments, I remember that when Stockfish is running, my brain goes to sleep. The firehose of answers is unmemorable if you don’t articulate any questions.
The 17-year-old Andrew Hong is already a grandmaster, and he got the balance just right while preparing for a game at the US Junior Championships earlier this month. I’m sure he put in hours of computer time on this sharp line of the Sicilian Najdorf, but the deciding factor was the question he asked himself while ‘unplugged’.
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