Dimensiones de Estabilidad

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HOW MEMORY

CAN IMPROVE

concentration and performance is considerable. My body feels relaxed and I can think clearly and deeply. Sadly, though, the strict regime can sometimes fall by the wayside if I am successful, as I like to celebrate with a drink!

CHESS AND THE MEMORIAD

One of the events at the first World Memory Championships (^MEMORIAD) in October 1991 was to memorize as many moves as possible from a game of chess. Moves had to be remembered in sequence. We were each given five minutes to study the game and no mistakes were permitted. The moves, were listed on a piece of paper and had to be remembered in sequence.

I managed to recall the first 11 moves. In chess, one move includes the re-positioning of a white piece and a black piece. In effect, I had memorized the first 23 individual moves (12 white, 11 black) without error. This was suffi-cient to win the event and helped me to win the overall championship.

After the ^MEMORIAD, questions were raised about the legitimacy of using chess as a memory test. Critics argued that those competitors who had a sound knowledge of chess had a distinct advantage over those who had no experience of the game. Accomplished players were familiar with the board, enabling them to visualize moves and remember them more easily.

I appreciated these objections, but I also knew that neither myself nor Jonathan Hancock, who came second, had been thinking of anything to do with chess as we memorized move after move. We had both been lost in our own mnemonic worlds, utterly divorced from the board and its pieces. While I was travelling around a castle in Ireland, Jonathan might well have been engrossed in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

ALGEBRAIC NOTATION

No one knows for certain who invented the game of chess. Sir William Jones, writing in his eighteenth century essay 'On The Indian Game of Chess', sug-gested that it evolved in Hindustan. Known as 'Chaturanga', it consisted of ele-phants, horses, chariots, and footsoldiers. Chaturanga reached the Arab lands in sixth century AD (where it became known as Chatrang) and was taken up in the west a century later. One thing we can be sure of is that the Arabs, in the ninth century AD, devised the now universally accepted method of recording chess games.

'Algebraic notation', as it is known, divides the chessboard up into vertical ranks of numbers (1-8) and horizontal columns of letters (a-h), giving each of the 64 squares its own co-ordinates.

The Chessboard

8 a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8

7 a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7

6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6

5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5

4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4

3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3

2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2

1 a1 b1 c1 d1 el f1 g1 h1

a b c d e f g h

The white pieces are set up in ranks 1 and 2; the black pieces are set up in ranks 7 and 8. Each of the main pieces is also given a letter:

King = K, Queen = Q, Rook = R, Knight = N, Bishop = B

All moves are represented by the co-ordinates of the square of arrival. Thus, if a White Knight moves from its starting position, b1 to c3, the move is recorded as Kc3. Or if a Bishop moves from c1 to a3, it is recorded as Ka3. There is no letter to denote a Pawn. If a Pawn moves from e2 to e4, it is economically recorded as e4.

It just so happens that the DOMINIC SYSTEM is perfectly suited to algebraic notation. The co-ordinates, consisting of one letter (column) and one number (rank), are already half-way to becoming people. A simple conversion of the number co-ordinate into a second letter will translate every one of the 64 squares into individual, memorable characters.

Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, square c3, for example, translates into CC (c = C; 3 = C), which in turn translates into Charlie Chaplin. Square h2 becomes Humphrey Bogart (h = H; 2 = B); d7 becomes David Gower (d = D;

7 = G); and so on.

There is only one small alteration to make. When you first learnt the DOMINIC SYSTEM, I suggested representing 6 as an S rather than an f.

Similarly, the f column on a chessboard should be represented as an 's'. Thus, the square f3 translates into Sean Connery (f = S; 3 = C).

I have printed out below 64 characters and their respective positions on the chessboard. As ever, your own people are preferable to mine.

THE DOMINIC CHESSBOARD 8 ^Adolf

Hitler Benny

Hill

Charlton Heston

Daryl Hannah

Edward Heath

Sherlock Holmes

Gloria Hunniford

Hulk Hogan 7 ^Alec

Guinness Bob Geldof

Charles de Gaulle

David Gower

Elizabeth Goddard

Stefane Grappelli

Germaine Greer

Hughie Green 6 ^Arthur

Scargill Bram

Stoker Claudia

Schieffer Delia

Smith Ebenezer Scrooge Steven

Spielberg Graham

Souness Harry Secombe 5 ^Albert

Einstein Brian

Epstein Clint

Eastwood Duke

Ellington Eddie

Edwards Stefan

Edberg Gloria

Estafan Harry Enfield 4 ^Arthur

Daley Bernard

Davey Christopher

Dean Dickie

Davies Eliza

Doolittle Sharron

Davies Gerard

Depardieu Humphrey Davey 3 ^Andy

Capp Bill

Clinton Charlie

Chaplin David

Copperfield Eric

Clapton Sean

Connery Gerry

Cottle Henry Cooper 2 ^Alastair

Burnet Betty

Boothroyd Cilla

Black David

Bowie Eric

Bristow Seve

Ballesteros George

Bush Humphrey Bogart 1 ^Arthur

Askey Bryan

Adams Charles

Adas David

Attenborough Eamon

Andrews Susan

Anton Gary

Armstrong Howard Aiken

a b c d e f g h

Once every square has been assigned a person, the task of memorizing chess moves already looks less daunting. As far as I am concerned, Seve Ballesteros or Claudia Schieffer are much easier to remember than f2 or c6. However, the pieces themselves must also be assigned characters.

IMAGES FOR PIECES

Given the nature of chess pieces (they are virtually people), I suggest that you arrive at each person by focussing on the piece itself, rather than the letter.

Here are my own people: King (K) = Prince Charles, Queen (Q) = The Queen, Rook (R) = Roy Castle, Knight (N) = Terry Waite, Bishop (B) = Archbishop of Canterbury, Pawn = no character required.

MEMORIZING AN OPENING EXCHANGE

It won't come as a surprise to learn that if you want to memorize a series of moves, you should use a simple journey. Each move, represented by a person, is assigned to a different stage. For example, if White opens by moving a Pawn to b4, you imagine the weatherman Bernard Davey (b = B; 4 = D; BD = Bernard Davey) pointing at a weather map at the first stage of your journey. It follows that if you want to remember the opening six moves (i.e. six white moves, six black moves), you need a journey with twelve stages. Try memoriz-ing these typical openmemoriz-ing shots:

1. e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bc4, Bc5 4. 0-0, Nf6 5. Nc3, 0-0 6. d3, d6 This is how I memorize some of them:

e4: Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, e4 comes alive in the shape of Eliza Doolittle (e = E; 4 = D; ED = Eliza Doolittle). I imagine the cockney flowerseller at the first stage of the journey.

e5: I imagine Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards at the second stage (e = E; 5 = E; EE

= Eddie Edwards).

Nf3: Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, this becomes Ns3 (f = s), which translates into two people: Terry Waite (N = Terry Waite) and Sean Connery (s

= S; 3 = C; SC = Sean Connery).

The easiest and most efficient way to remember more than one person is to combine them in a single complex image (see Chapter 4). In this case, Ns3 translates into Terry Waite (person) wielding a gun, 007 style (Connery's action), at the third stage.

Once you have created your own images, replay the 'video', reviewing each scene as you go. It doesn't matter that someone like Terry Waite appears in a succession of images. The location is always different, and so is the action. It is very common for one player to shadow another in the opening exchanges, both moving their knights or bishops. You just have to make sure that each image is firmly rooted in its own particular location.

With practice, you might start to remember one move (black and white) at each stage, but I suggest you stick with half a move per stage until the process becomes second nature.

MEMORIZING SET PLAY

If a piece is taken, Knight takes Bishop say, it is recorded as N x B. Whenever this occurs, I imagine a fierce duel between the respective characters or some form of struggle (rather than forming a complex image). In this case, I would imagine Terry Waite locked in combat with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If a player castles, it is recorded as 0-0. Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, this translates into Olive Oyl.

The DOMINIC SYSTEM comes into its own when you want to remember whole games. I have listed two games below, one of them strictly for the beginners, and one for the pros.

FOOL'S MATE

This is the shortest possible way of ending a game in checkmate, hence its name. In algebraic notation, it is recorded as follows:

1. g4, e6

2. f4, Qh4 MATE

Imagine a journey with four stages. If you are going to make a fool of yourself, you might as well do it on stage in front of an audience, so my route is based on a local theatre:

1. Theatre stalls 2. Orchestra pit 3. Stage 4. Backstage

Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, this is how I memorize it:

White moves Pawn to g4. I imagine Gerard Depardieu (g = G; 4 = D; GD = Gerard Depardieu) charging through the stalls, cutting and thrusting at the empty seats with his glistening rapier. Black responds by moving pawn to e6. I picture Ebenezer Scrooge (e = E; 6 = S) counting his money in the orchestra pit. White moves a second Pawn to f4. I imagine Sharron Davies (f = s = S; 4 = D; SD = Sharron Davies) swimming in a paddling pool. Black moves Queen to h4. I picture Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II (Q) backstage, where the fuses have blown. She is sitting at a table, holding a Davey lamp (h = H; 4 ⁼ D;

HD = Humphrey Davey) and trying to write a cheque (checkmate). Is she buying the theatre or paying her tax bill?

KARPOV versus KASPAROV Match 1985

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cd 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8.

Na3 d5 9. cd ed 10. ed Nb4 11. Be2 Bc5 12. 0-0 0-0 13. Bf3 Bf5 14. Bg5 Re8 15. Qd2 b5 16. Rad1 Nd3 17. Nab1 h6 18. Bh4 b4 19. Na4 Bd6 20. Bg3 Rc8 21. b3 g5 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. g3 Nd7 24. Bg2 Qf6 25. a3 a5 26. ab ab 27. Qa2 Bg6 28. d6 g4 29. Qd2 Kg7 30. f3 Qxd6 31. fg Qd4+ 32. Kh1 Nf6 33. Rf4 Ne4 34. Qxd3 Nf2+ 35. Rxf2 Bxd3 36. Rfd2 Qe3 37. Rxd3 Rc1 38. Nb2 Qf2 39. Nd2 Rxd1+ 40. Nxd1 Re1+ 41 Resigns.

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HOW TO