Chapter 2 - Essential Memory Techniques
Take your time if it is all proving too difficult. Loosen up with some stretching exercises; flex your memory; touch the toes of your imagination with a few fantasies.
— Dominic O’Brien, Eight-time World Memory Champion
If you are now presented with a chess move written in Image Notation, you can understand it and play the right move at the board (Chapter 1). The next question is, how do you memorise the picture words?
In short, we will use our naturally great memory for places, images and stories. We will use our imagination to link each picture word pair to a location, in a miniature story. For example, we will visualise the picture words rhododendron and winch as “a rhododendron winding a winch to open the door of an aeroplane”. We will be creative to make this little story as compelling as possible. We will then use a sequence of locations to create an ordered structure of memories. This is called a memory palace.
In Chapter 3, we will discuss how to select picture words and how to design a memory palace. For now, I assume we have already been given the picture words and locations that we want to memorise.
What makes things memorable?
Before we construct our first memory palace, let’s consider what makes something memorable.
First, it almost goes without saying that we remember things better when we pay attention. The reason we often mislay our keys or phone is because we were thinking about something else when we put them down. Simply making a conscious effort to notice where we place an object makes a big difference. So, pay attention. When you visualise images, take the time, without multitasking, to concentrate on the scene: the colours, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, shapes, textures. This already goes a long way to creating a lasting memory.
Second, we remember things that grab our attention — and things that grab our attention tend to be surprising, funny, and, well, in the way. Typically, in any given situation, we have an aim, and we particularly notice the objects that help us achieve this aim (tools) or that get in the way (obstacles). If something sits unobtrusively to the side of the path, we are unlikely to see it at all, let alone remember it later. If the same object lies on the path itself, we are more likely to see it. If it jumps up and down and shouts, we cannot ignore it. When we memorise images in our memory palaces, we need to fill our path with bold, exaggerated, movement-filled scenes.
Third, we find it easier to learn information when we already understand the context. You will remember a piece of trivia about a celebrity you know more easily than learning the same piece of trivia about another celebrity you have never heard of. When learning a language, it is easier to learn three new words by studying three example sentences, each of which introduces one new word at a time, rather than trying to learn all three words in a single model sentence. All recall is association, connecting one context with another, so it is easier to learn something when you already know half the story.
As humans, we are particularly good at remembering places. Even if you think you are bad at following maps, which is a different skill, you can likely find your way to work or the local shops without trouble. If you have ever listened to an audiobook while walking around, you may have noticed that you can remember your location when you listened to a particular chapter. The story in the chapter triggers your memory of the place, and imagining the place triggers your memory of the story.
When we store images in a memory palace, we are being deliberate about the associations we create. We are taking advantage of our natural memory for places by consciously linking the information we want to memorise, chess moves, with familiar places.
Picture words as characters
Now let’s apply these principles. In this section we will create bold visualisations of individual picture words. In the following section we will associate two picture words together in a location.
Many picture words are naturally compelling. It is not difficult to imagine a shark (pawn to f4), for example. But let’s practise anyway, as a warm-up.
Imagine a great white shark, perhaps the shark from the film Jaws. Imagine its strength as it powers its body through the water, the sound of the waves, its sharp white teeth. Imagine its gaping mouth and your fear (thrill?) as you watch it. What does it feel like as it bites you?
It is not pleasant to be bitten by a shark. But this makes the point that your images should be vivid and compelling. The best will make you laugh or physically react. You don’t always need to “break the fourth wall” and participate in your images, but you must always feel like they are right in front of you, not watched passively on a screen. Think theatre, not cinema.
Other picture words are a challenge. For example, I use lore (a body of knowledge) for pawn to e4. How can you visualise an abstract concept like lore? I imagine a book of lore. A book is not a memorable object either. It is small and rectangular and unremarkable. But one book from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series is very memorable:
Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden title *The Monster Book of Monsters}, before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab.
…
“Ouch!”
The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it. Uncle Vernon gave a loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door.
Note how many senses are used: the visually bright cover, the sound of the book scuttling and flapping, the pain as it snaps on Harry’s hand. Most important of all is the story of Harry hunting the book around his room while trying not to wake his uncle. These all combine to make a very compelling description. When I visualise lore, I imagine The Monster Book of Monsters.
Children’s TV is also a good source of images. This is because it expresses objects in simple and bold form, and anthropomorphises liberally. It is not unusual to see a talking coach (g6), machine (Nc6), or even a dinner plate (dish, a6). You can turn pretty much anything into a character by adding limbs and a face.
While you are watching TV, take note of the adverts too. Marketing agencies spend vast sums on market research and focus groups to create adverts that conform to the principles of memory: often funny with surreal humour, multi-sensory, and using relatable characters to represent a faceless company. Classic examples are the Michelin Man, Tony the Tiger, and the Pillsbury Doughboy.
As you build your memory palaces, your picture words will become recurring characters that you encounter again and again. This makes them easier to remember. The first time you memorise lore, it will take some effort to make a compelling picture. The second time, it will be much quicker. Soon you will be creating pictures fluently.
Robust composite images
Picture words are characters. Characters act in stories. We are going to place each picture word pair in a location, then craft a little one-scene story to memorise it. I call these stories composite images, because each one is composed of three elements: the first picture word, the second picture word, and the location.
We create strong associations by imagining clear interactions between the first picture word, the second picture word, and the location. Making these interactions compelling is even more important than making the characters compelling, because this is how you move in your mind from the location, which you already know, to the picture words. You need to visualise three interactions: (1) the first picture word with the second picture word, (2) the first picture word with the location, and (3) the second picture word with the location. See the figure below.
Figure: Structure of a robust composite image.
For example, let’s say you need to memorise a tree (first picture word) and locust (second picture word) in an aeroplane cockpit (location). Hopefully you are already imagining the tree and locust as vivid characters. The tree is an old, gnarly oak tree with a face, waving its branches like arms and its roots like feet. Perhaps you are visualising an Ent from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or a talking tree from C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. The locust meanwhile is giant, so the tree can ride it, hideous to look at, with bulging eyes and a sound like a grasshopper.
Now you need to visualise the three interactions: (1) the tree with the locust, (2) the tree with the cockpit, and (3) the locust with the cockpit.
- Recall from Chapter 1 that the first picture word should be doing an action to the second picture word, or using the second picture word as a tool. The first picture word should also be positioned higher than the second picture word. In this case, I imagine the tree riding the locust. The tree roots are wrapping tightly round the locust’s belly, and two of its branches are holding on to the locust’s antennae. The tree and locust are working as a team to reach all the controls.
- The tree is reaching up with its other branches, pressing the buttons on the cockpit’s ceiling. Some twigs are scratching the windscreen glass.
- Meanwhile the locust is using all six feet to press the pedals and its hideous face to push the throttle.
When you imagine entering the aeroplane cockpit, it should trigger your memory of the tree and locust. The tree is interacting with the ceiling controls, the locust is interacting with the floor controls, and the tree is interacting with the locust.
In theory you would only need two interactions, not three. The location could remind you of the first picture word, which reminds you of the second picture word: so strictly speaking you don’t need to link the second picture word with the location. However this would leave you vulnerable to any lapse in memory. After six months without review, under the pressure of a strong opponent and ticking clock, maybe you will forget one of the three interactions. But as long as you recall the location and two of the three interactions, you can triangulate to access both picture words. By visualising all three interactions instead of just two, you have added redundancy, which makes the image more robust in your memory. In effect, you need to recall only two thirds of the image to recover 100% of the information.
In the same way, the more detail you put into each of the three interactions, the longer they will stick in your mind. The locust is pressing the pedals with its six feet and pushing the throttle with its face. Each additional detail makes the image more secure in your memory, and the less often you will need to review it (Chapter 8). It is helpful to visualise the interactions with multiple senses: imagine the feeling of the scratched glass and the sound of the locust’s wings.
Practice
Now let’s memorise a small repertoire, in the setting of an aeroplane. We will practise memorising the figure below, which is a subsection of the Spanish Exchange Airport memory palace in Chapter 5.
Figure: Mini repertoire, Black against the Exchange variation, Image Notation and locations.
I will refer to diagrams like this as “tree diagrams”, because they follow a branching structure. We begin at the plane entrance, and then choose one of two paths. Don’t worry about the shape of the arrows. It is not significant that some are longer or curved; that is just to fit the diagram neatly on the printed page.
By the way, you don’t need a chessboard to memorise this tree diagram. But, in case you are curious, it picks up the repertoire in the position below, with White about to play rhododendron (13.Rad1).
I am going to describe six composite images. Take your time. Imagine the stories in as much detail as you can. Don’t worry about memorising, just let your creativity flow.
- The memory palace begins at the plane entrance with the picture words rhododendron and winch. Instead of a flight attendant greeting you, the airline has tried to show a compassionate welcome by employing a friendly rhododendron bush. It has woody arms and legs, and a big smile within one of its flowers. It rains petals down onto the gangway like confetti. Dramatically, it pulls a winch out from its foliage and connects the rope to the plane door. The rhododendron winds the plane door open, until the door thuds down and crushes the winch. You step over it and brush past the rhododendron as you embark.
In this case the winch was the second, passive picture word and it was easy to integrate it into the scene, opening the plane door, so I didn’t actively turn it into a character. If it were the first picture word, I would make more of an effort to anthropomorphise it; perhaps turning it into a creature with little eyes.
After entering, you can turn left to the cockpit or right to the main body of the plane. First let’s go left.
- Entering the cockpit… can you remember what you see? Re-read the previous section if you need to.
Now instead of turning left, let’s go back to the entrance, after passing the rhododendron and winch, and turn right instead. You are going to (1) walk through business class and (2) economy class, then (3) put your luggage into the overhead locker, then finally (4) sit down in your seat. This sequence of four locations completes the aeroplane memory palace. I have drawn a map of the aeroplane below.
Figure: Map of aeroplane memory palace.
- You turn right to enter business class. One of the executives has tried to show off her wealth, and her terrible taste, by bringing aboard expensive orange-coloured apricot jam and her giant pet locust. The other passengers are clearly disgusted but don’t know how to react. For a moment, the jam jar is balancing on the locust’s back… until it wobbles and tips and empties itself all over the locust. The locust’s delicate body becomes sticky as the sweet-smelling jam clumps on its back. The jar itself falls to the floor with a crash and breaks into shards of glass. The locust flies madly around the enclosed space, with a loud buzzing sound, rubbing apricot jam onto the seats and onto the shocked executives’ fancy suits. You try to rush past to get to economy class, but can’t help brushing the locust’s wing and getting jam on your shirt.
- You pull aside the curtain and enter economy class. This location is just as chaotic. A giraffe doesn’t really fit in the aeroplane, and its neck is bent over at a crazy angle. Evidently the giraffe did not want to wait for its in-flight meal: it has taken a bottle of ketchup and is squeezing it out, but unfortunately it does not have a tray or any food. The ketchup is running all the way down the giraffe’s long neck and legs, dripping onto the floor.
- Tiptoeing gingerly around the giraffe and ketchup, you open the overhead locker to deposit your luggage. Ouch. Your hand is hit by an angry toy coach. Its headlights and registration plate are contorted into an angry face, and exhaust belches out of the locker, making you cough. Is your hand covered in blood? You taste it and realise that, no, it’s more ketchup, from a bottle on top of the coach. Somebody, maybe the giraffe, has stored their ketchup on top of the toy coach in the locker, but did not bargain for the wild toy coach driving around the small space and crushing it against the ceiling. Now ketchup covers the coach and drips out of the locker. (Picture words: ketchup and coach.)
Even though the picture words are quite bizarre and wouldn’t feature in a real aeroplane, note my attempts to explain the images. Why are the jam and locust in business class, why are the giraffe and ketchup in economy class, why are the ketchup and coach in the locker? If you can explain it to yourself, this gives the illusion of understanding. We remember things better when we understand them.
- At last it is time to sit in your seat. But what is this? An alpaca is sitting there already. Why visualise the alpaca in your seat, rather than the seat next to you? Because now the alpaca is breaking a social contract, which creates strong emotional resonance. The alpaca doesn’t want to move and you have no patience for more delays, so you grab the first implement you see: a chariot on the seat behind. Another passenger must have brought it to speed up boarding. You grab the chariot by its wooden wheels, lift it high and whack the alpaca. The chariot breaks and wood flies all over the seats. The alpaca contemptuously spits at you, but finally moves.
…and that’s it. You have finished learning your first memory palace. Close the book, take a pencil and paper, and try to draw out the tree diagram. The aim is to lay out your 12 picture words in six pairs, and in the right branching structure.
If you like, sketch the images as well — you don’t have to show anyone. Take your time to walk through the whole aeroplane and visualise the composite images afresh. Feel free to add your own details and change the stories to your liking, as long as you preserve the picture words in the right order.
Learning from mistakes
How did you do? Many people are surprised at how much they achieve on the first try. Memory palaces build on our natural memory for places and stories, so it doesn’t take much practice before you can achieve amazing things. If you remembered all 12 picture words in the tree diagram, congratulations. If you forgot some, don’t worry: this is the most interesting part, where you learn how your own memory works.
Don’t think of mistakes as random errors where you need to “try harder” or had a “naturally bad memory”. Ask yourself, what caused the problem? Mistakes come for one of five reasons.
- You missed a location entirely. For example, maybe you jumped straight from the entrance to economy class, and forgot about walking through business class. The solution is to make the memory palace structure clearer in your mind. Watch a video of someone boarding an aeroplane, or just visualise it again carefully. You may need to open up “lines of sight” between the locations, for example make sure all doors are open and curtains are drawn back. Another tip is to have the locations bleed into each other, for example the jam-covered locust could stumble to the boundary between business and economy class, where it sees, or even interacts with, the giraffe and ketchup.
- You forgot one of the two picture words in a location. For example, maybe you entered economy class, saw the giraffe, but couldn’t remember what the giraffe was doing. This means you forgot two interactions: the giraffe with the ketchup, and the ketchup with the plane. Concentrate on rebuilding both interactions. Perhaps the giraffe accidentally swallows the ketchup bottle and the bottle gets stuck in its long throat. Perhaps the ketchup forms a funny pattern as it drips down the giraffe’s legs and onto the floor. If you repeatedly struggle to recall a picture word, you might need to create a new story that is more memorable to you. Make it dramatic, funny, or even grotesque.
- You couldn’t remember either of the picture words in a location; the location was empty. For example, maybe you imagined entering the cockpit, but couldn’t remember anything that happened there. This again means you have lost two interactions: between the location and the two picture words. In this case, the solution is to make sure the location has a clear “hook”, or two, something for the picture words to interact with. For the cockpit, I use the controls on the ceiling and floor. For the business class location, I use the business class passengers, who, fairly or not, are easy to caricature.
- You couldn’t remember the order of the two picture words within a composite image. For example, how do you know whether the order is ketchup coach or coach ketchup? The solution is to ensure you have a clear active and passive relationship between the two picture words, and that the first picture word is positioned higher in the scene. The ketchup bottle is on top of the coach and the ketchup is dripping down the coach’s sides.
- You could recall an object, but you didn’t know what picture word it represented. For example, perhaps you could visualise something animal-shaped and furry sitting in your seat, but you didn’t know if this was an alpaca or a llama. One solution is to adjust the picture to be more specific, for example giving the alpaca straight, pointed ears, and involving these ears in the interactions. However the better solution is just to remind yourself of the right answer and continue building memory palaces. In Chapter 3 we will discuss selection of picture words and the importance of being consistent. Simply put, I often use the picture word alpaca in my memory palaces. I never use llama. I use lemur for Ne3 instead. So I never worry about what the alpaca-like animal is: it must be an alpaca, because llama is not an option.
If this worries you, remember that the board itself will validate or invalidate your picture words. Alpaca is a sensible move in the position, 17…Be7. Llama would be 17…Ne3, and that is impossible: Black doesn’t have any knights left, let alone a knight that can jump to e3. It is extremely rare for a misremembered picture word to be a sensible move.
When you forget a composite image, try not to get frustrated with yourself. Identify why you forgot it, then fix the problem. Like most things, this gets easier with practice.
Moving on
This chapter has taught you creative memorisation. These techniques are sufficient to memorise every composite image in the book.
At this point, you may think this is a lot of effort, and wonder whether it is easier to drill opening moves the traditional way. Let me reassure you that memory techniques are worth the trouble. Memory palaces can be expanded with virtually no limits, and the time investment scales almost linearly, unlike learning new facts through pure repetition. It takes a long time to write all this out, but your mind can process images much faster than words.
The purpose of The Chess Memory Palace is to apply memory techniques to chess, not to dive deeply into memory techniques themselves. If you would like to know more, I have suggested further reading in the Notes at the back of the book.
Now you know how to convert Image Notation into chess moves, and you know how to memorise a structure of composite images in a memory palace. It is time to become a memory palace architect.