Tik tik tik tik tik!
That’s the sound of your relaxation ruined by a woodpecker. It stands no more than 2 feet tall and weighs less than a pound. But it holds the secret to skyrocketing your chess rating!
Inspired by the bird’s focused and repetitive drilling, Swedish Grandmaster Hans Tikkanen crafted a training method. One which helped him earn 3 GM norms in just 7 weeks, peak at 2601 Elo, and win the Swedish championship 5 times!
Fellow Swede GM Axel Smith was floored by the results. So he adopted the method and also achieved grandmaster status.
Since then, their Woodpecker Method has helped improvers rack up 100s of Elo and play their best chess!
It uses repetition and increasing intensity to turbocharge your pattern recognition… from opening development to tactical themes, positional maneuvers, and endgame setups.
Here’s how:
You solve a large number of exercises in 4 weeks. Then you solve the same set 5 to 6 more times. Each time halves the duration until you can complete the entire set in a single day!
It’s not only intense. It’s smart, too, because it leverages proven learning and motivation techniques:
🎯 The 2nd cycle onwards is all about actively recalling patterns from memory, which can lead to 50% better retention. (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Karpicke & Roediger, 2008)
🎯 Spaced repetition on steroids! Reviewing information at certain intervals can boost retention by 200%. (Karpicke & Bauernschmidt, 2011; Kerfoot et al., 2010) The Woodpecker Method speeds up the process two times.
🎯 Setting concrete completion dates can improve performance by 49%. (Mento et al., 1987; Ariely & Wertenbroch, 2002). So you set strict dates for every cycle, ensuring you stay on track.
🎯 Deliberate practice accounts for 45% of the difference in chess players’ abilities. (Charness et al., 2005) The Woodpecker’s cycles deliberately practice different skills. Calculation on your 1st run. Patterns on the 3rd and 4th, while the final cycle pushes your mental stamina.
🎯 Progressively overloading the mind leads to growth and improvement. (Jaeggi et al., 2008) So you halve the solving time to increase your training intensity, but not its complications.
Want to start Woodpecking?
You can set it up on your own!
Start by picking the right kind of exercises — those with clear solutions and patterns. Create a tracking system, so you don’t get lost. And find like-minded people who can support you during those long stretches of solving.
Or you can check all of the boxes with The Woodpecker Method Part 1 and Part 2 by GM Axel Smith.
Between these 2 courses, you get 2,000 of must-know tactics and positional patterns. All handpicked from games of World Champions.
Chessable handles all the stats and progress tracking for you. Plus, both courses have dedicated forums full of supportive students.
By solving the right kind of exercises multiple times, while increasing your speed, your chess has no choice but to improve.
Embrace The Woodpecker Method, and unlock chess strength you didn’t know you had!