When I first started playing chess it was all about the practice games for me. I was
convinced learning all the different moves possible would make me an expert. Should I
follow the same methods that legendary players before me had done? Or should I
invent ways to defeat my opponent? Analyzing games by esteemed players gave me a
thrill that was almost akin to sharing the board with them.
What I didn’t know then was that a lot of these players relied on their intuition. Many
grandmasters rely on their gut feeling to make moves they cannot fully explain. They
feel the position, sense the right move, and trust their instincts to arrive at profound
conclusions without detailed explanations. They trust their gut and get duly rewarded.
In real life though, how many of us trust our instinct? We have, unfortunately, been
trained from a young age to quell that inner voice and to simply trust hard facts.
However, my outlook on both intuition and analytical skills have evolved over the years.
From being a naïve young player who analyzed every game I came across, to believing
in my grandmaster years, that my instinct would never let me down.

As a coach and mentor I ask myself this: Are analytical skills and intuition opposite
poles that can never meet? Or are the two simply two sides of the same coin? While
intuition offers valuable quick thinking and innovative solutions, analytical skills provide
a rational and methodical approach. It would be amiss to overlook that intuition and
analysis are not opposing forces but complementary tools. The greatest achievements
often emerge when these two ways of thinking are harmoniously blended.