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Chessville
Advertise to Single insert:
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Chess Psych Tapes Reviewed by Rick Kennedy If you had 20 minutes a day for 28 days to devote to improving your chess, would you –
If you selected d), you might well be interested in The Pself-Psych Self-Hypnosis Chess Programs (currently advertised [Ed. - in 1985!] in the classifieds of Chess Life) out of North Hollywood, California. The PSPS series is a collection of four audio tapes, each one addressing a particular problem area of interest to chess players. The cost of one tape is $14, two for $26, any three for $38, or all four for $50. Playing time for each side is about 20 minutes. Side One of each tape is focused upon “receptivity training,” a sort of hypnotic induction to be listened to once a day for an initial seven days. It prepares the unconscious mind to be re-programmed by the material on Side Two: PSPS 101, Improving Your Chess; PSPS 102, Overcoming Intimidation; PSPS 103, Getting More From Your Chess Study; and PSPS 104, Efficient Use Of Time. Side Two is to be listened to for twenty-one consecutive days following Side One. Listeners learn quickly that they will encounter “a peaceful and enjoyable experience,” based upon “time-tested psychological principles” that yield “dramatic and life-changing positive effects,” that “have changed millions of lives.” PSPS is just applying it all to chess. The voice you hear is calm, peaceful, and ever-so-positive, explaining quickly...
What follows is a whole lot of positive beliefs designed to soothe the battered ego of even the most maladroit patzer. On Improving Your Chess, you learn, “You’re a great chess player. You’re brilliant. And you’re getting steadily, rapidly better. You beat almost everyone you play chess with…” Shades of Emil Coué. Overcoming Intimidation intones “You’re better today than you were yesterday. Better now than ever before in your .life.” Even Efficient Use of Time can reassure you, “The clock is your friend…” While this is all intended for the unconscious mind, it doesn’t hurt the conscious mind in the least bit, either! But, Doc, does it work? As a Class B player, occasional chess writer & investigator, and hypnosis-using clinician, I was quickly drawn to the PSPS program, and gave it a test. The Receptivity Training side dropped me off pretty quickly into a light hypnotic trance. “No big deal in itself; you should see what happens to me whenever anyone says “Niagra Falls”). I prepared for a local tournament with study and PSPS 103, and went 1-1-2, with an even score against all higher players, some interesting, creative play, and some improved memory [See: Hypnosis Game]. The next tournament, without preparation, I went 1-1-1 with such disastrous play as to accept my even score as proof of Divine intervention. I suppose you could argue that the system either worked, but for a short period of time, with no carry-over to the second tournament; or that the first tournament results were just another case of a patzer “playing over his head” and the second tournament, the “real world.” Folks with the available cash – and the interest in studying along with using the tape, remember? – might like to test for themselves how the system works, taking advantage of the trial period (if you are successful with one tape, it’ll take 3 more months to work through the others, but it’d be worth it, right?). It’s not likely to hurt: at worst, you’re liable to fall asleep before the tape is through. One final caveat, though. Studies have shown an improvement in learning through the use of hypnotic tapes and “positive mental attitude” instructions. However, substantial improvement also shows up in comparative, control groups, who use only the hypnosis, or only the “pma” instructions – or those who simply increase their time studying. You pays yer money and you takes yer
chances. Try the local library – they’re free. Then
invest in your favorite chess retailer – they’re a bargain for the quality
you get. If you’ve got anything left, try a little “blue smoke and
lights…” (This review first appeared in the
Feb.-March 1985 issue of “The Chess Gazette,” and is reprinted with
permission.
www.chessco.com.)
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