Actúa primero, piensa después: lo sensato y lo absurdo a la hora de mejorar tu juego de ajedrez

This Move First, Think Later: Sense and Nonsense in Improving Your Chess is a chess training book by Willy Hendriks that questions familiar ideas about how players improve. This 3rd edition includes the new epilogue The Discussion Continues and takes a critical look at traditional teaching methods, real play and cognitive science.

What the book is about

Hendriks argues that a player does not always build a plan first and then search for moves. In practice, trial and error often plays a much bigger role than standard teaching suggests, and it can be a surprisingly effective way to find the best move.

Rather than repeating general rules, the book shows that chess thinking is more complex, intuitive and dynamic than many classic manuals imply. It brings together training ideas, observations from real games and insights from cognitive science.

Questions it explores

The book leads the reader through a series of important and thought-provoking questions about chess improvement and training. Among them are:

• whether anyone can reach grandmaster level, regardless of talent,
• why advice from chess coaches can sometimes sound like a horoscope,
• whether strong moves can be found by ticking off items on a checklist,
• whether master level is possible without conscious planning.

Why it stands out

This is a book for players, coaches and ambitious amateurs who want a more practical and honest view of chess development. It combines training material with reflection on how the mind works at the board, making it useful both for self-study and as a coach reference.

Willy Hendriks has worked as a chess trainer for more than 25 years, and that experience shapes the way he presents his ideas: direct, focused and free from unnecessary theory. Move First, Think Later is a book that not only teaches, but also encourages you to rethink your own habits at the board.

International Master Willy Hendriks has spent years working in chess education, and this book offers a fresh perspective on how to improve your game with more clarity, more practicality and less attachment to dogma.

Key details

• Product type: chess book
• Author: Willy Hendriks
• Edition: 3rd edition
• Epilogue: The Discussion Continues
• Subject: chess improvement and training
• Approach: questions traditional teaching and compares it with real play and cognitive science
• Perspective: focuses on intuition, trial and error and practical thinking at the board
• Included: book