Beyond getting good at chess, fast, if you want to get great at chess, slowly, then GM Rashid Ziatdinov has the instructions you seek.
GM Ziatdinov is unique in that he gives the blueprint that he claims will get anyone to master level (2200+) [1], and it's dead simple. It's much of the same:
1. Study tactics a ton [2]
2. Memorize 300 key positions and games
3. Now you are a master
His definition of "memorize" is that you understand the key position/game instantly and without thinking, the same way you walk or read your native language. 300 doesn't sound like a lot, but to understand each key position to the depth he advises, we're looking at the 10,000 hour rule for all 300 positions.
For comparison, either he or another GM claimed that super-GMs know 1000+ key positions/games, and Magnus Carlsen has said he has memorized 10,000+ games.
[2] He used to have a few thousand tactics problems on his website. He said to do 1-10 quickly until you could get through them without a mistake. He emphasizes quickly, it's about getting new patterns in your brain, not figuring it out on your own. After 1-10 are perfect, do 11-20 until perfect, then 1-20 until perfect, and repeat until you can do all 1-4000 (or however many). At that point he said you will have the tactical ability of a GM.
GM Ziatdinov is unique in that he gives the blueprint that he claims will get anyone to master level (2200+) [1], and it's dead simple. It's much of the same:
1. Study tactics a ton [2] 2. Memorize 300 key positions and games 3. Now you are a master
His definition of "memorize" is that you understand the key position/game instantly and without thinking, the same way you walk or read your native language. 300 doesn't sound like a lot, but to understand each key position to the depth he advises, we're looking at the 10,000 hour rule for all 300 positions.
For comparison, either he or another GM claimed that super-GMs know 1000+ key positions/games, and Magnus Carlsen has said he has memorized 10,000+ games.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/GM-RAM-Essential-Grandmaster-Chess-Kno...
[2] He used to have a few thousand tactics problems on his website. He said to do 1-10 quickly until you could get through them without a mistake. He emphasizes quickly, it's about getting new patterns in your brain, not figuring it out on your own. After 1-10 are perfect, do 11-20 until perfect, then 1-20 until perfect, and repeat until you can do all 1-4000 (or however many). At that point he said you will have the tactical ability of a GM.