Key Arguments

• Dreyfus reports that 'De Groot finally succeeded in separating strong from weak players by using perceptual tests involving the reproduction of chess positions after brief exposure to them (3 7 seconds). The grandmaster was able to reproduce the positions perfectly, and performance degraded appreciably with decrease in chess ability.'
• He notes that 'De Groot was led to propose that perceptual abilities and organization were an important factor in very good play,' emphasizing that ability differences manifested in pattern recognition rather than in explicit analysis.
• He quotes Newell and Simon’s summary of de Groot’s work, showing that even leading AI theorists acknowledge the importance of perceptual organization.
• He then cites chess master Hearst, who observes that 'Apparently the master perceives the setup in large units, such as pawn structure of cooperating pieces. . . . When he does make an error, it is often one of putting a piece on a very desirable square for that type of position.'
• Hearst concludes that 'Because of the large number of prior associations which an experienced player has acquired, he does not visualize a chess position as a conglomeration of scattered squares and wooden pieces, but as an organized pattern (like the "Gestalt," or integrated configuration, emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists).'
• Dreyfus applies these findings back to the protocol under discussion: 'our subject's familiarity with the overall chess pattern and with the past moves of this particular game enabled him to recognize the lines of force, the loci of strength and weakness, as well as specific positions.'
• He explains that the player 'sees that his opponent looks vulnerable in a certain area' and, 'zeroing in on this area he discovers the unprotected Rook. This move is seen as one step in a developing pattern,' emphasizing pattern recognition rather than combinatorial search.
• These results collectively support Dreyfus’s contention that expert performance is grounded in gestalt perception and learned pattern organization, which are not naturally modeled by heuristic, step‑wise enumeration.

Source Quotes

However, their analysis of master play, based on the work of de Groot, should be grounds for pessimism. (As we have seen, de Groot himself says he does not have much hope for substantial improvement of heuristic chess programs.) Newell and Simon note that De Groot finally succeeded in separating strong from weak players by using perceptual tests involving the reproduction of chess positions after brief exposure to them (3 7 seconds). The grandmaster was able to reproduce the positions perfectly, and performance degraded appreciably with decrease in chess ability. De Groot was led to propose that perceptual abilities and organization were an important factor in very good play.

The grandmaster was able to reproduce the positions perfectly, and performance degraded appreciably with decrease in chess ability. De Groot was led to propose that perceptual abilities and organization were an important factor in very good play. 35 In the article we have already discussed, chess master Hearst casts some further light on this perceptual process and why it defies programming: Apparently the master perceives the setup in large units, such as pawn structure of cooperating pieces. . . . When he does make an error, it is often one of putting a piece on a very desirable square for that type of position.36 Hearst sums up his view as follows: Because of the large number of prior associations which an experienced player has acquired, he does not visualize a chess position as a conglomeration of scattered squares and wooden pieces, but as an organized pattern (like the "Gestalt," or integrated configuration, emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists).37 Applying these ideas to our original protocol, we can conclude that our subject's familiarity with the overall chess pattern and with the past moves of this particular game enabled him to recognize the lines of force, the loci of strength and weakness, as well as specific positions.

De Groot was led to propose that perceptual abilities and organization were an important factor in very good play. 35 In the article we have already discussed, chess master Hearst casts some further light on this perceptual process and why it defies programming: Apparently the master perceives the setup in large units, such as pawn structure of cooperating pieces. . . . When he does make an error, it is often one of putting a piece on a very desirable square for that type of position.36 Hearst sums up his view as follows: Because of the large number of prior associations which an experienced player has acquired, he does not visualize a chess position as a conglomeration of scattered squares and wooden pieces, but as an organized pattern (like the "Gestalt," or integrated configuration, emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists).37 Applying these ideas to our original protocol, we can conclude that our subject's familiarity with the overall chess pattern and with the past moves of this particular game enabled him to recognize the lines of force, the loci of strength and weakness, as well as specific positions. He sees that his opponent looks vulnerable in a certain area (just as one familiar with houses in general and with a certain house sees it as having a certain sort of back), and zeroing in on this area he discovers the unprotected Rook.

35 In the article we have already discussed, chess master Hearst casts some further light on this perceptual process and why it defies programming: Apparently the master perceives the setup in large units, such as pawn structure of cooperating pieces. . . . When he does make an error, it is often one of putting a piece on a very desirable square for that type of position.36 Hearst sums up his view as follows: Because of the large number of prior associations which an experienced player has acquired, he does not visualize a chess position as a conglomeration of scattered squares and wooden pieces, but as an organized pattern (like the "Gestalt," or integrated configuration, emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists).37 Applying these ideas to our original protocol, we can conclude that our subject's familiarity with the overall chess pattern and with the past moves of this particular game enabled him to recognize the lines of force, the loci of strength and weakness, as well as specific positions. He sees that his opponent looks vulnerable in a certain area (just as one familiar with houses in general and with a certain house sees it as having a certain sort of back), and zeroing in on this area he discovers the unprotected Rook.

When he does make an error, it is often one of putting a piece on a very desirable square for that type of position.36 Hearst sums up his view as follows: Because of the large number of prior associations which an experienced player has acquired, he does not visualize a chess position as a conglomeration of scattered squares and wooden pieces, but as an organized pattern (like the "Gestalt," or integrated configuration, emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists).37 Applying these ideas to our original protocol, we can conclude that our subject's familiarity with the overall chess pattern and with the past moves of this particular game enabled him to recognize the lines of force, the loci of strength and weakness, as well as specific positions. He sees that his opponent looks vulnerable in a certain area (just as one familiar with houses in general and with a certain house sees it as having a certain sort of back), and zeroing in on this area he discovers the unprotected Rook. This move is seen as one step in a developing pattern. There is no chess program which even tries to use the past experience of a particular game in this way.

Key Concepts

• De Groot finally succeeded in separating strong from weak players by using perceptual tests involving the reproduction of chess positions after brief exposure to them (3 7 seconds). The grandmaster was able to reproduce the positions perfectly, and performance degraded appreciably with decrease in chess ability.
• De Groot was led to propose that perceptual abilities and organization were an important factor in very good play. 35
• Apparently the master perceives the setup in large units, such as pawn structure of cooperating pieces. . . . When he does make an error, it is often one of putting a piece on a very desirable square for that type of position.36
• he does not visualize a chess position as a conglomeration of scattered squares and wooden pieces, but as an organized pattern (like the "Gestalt," or integrated configuration, emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists).37
• our subject's familiarity with the overall chess pattern and with the past moves of this particular game enabled him to recognize the lines of force, the loci of strength and weakness, as well as specific positions.
• He sees that his opponent looks vulnerable in a certain area (just as one familiar with houses in general and with a certain house sees it as having a certain sort of back), and zeroing in on this area he discovers the unprotected Rook. This move is seen as one step in a developing pattern.

Context

Later part of the chess example within 'Fringe Consciousness vs. Heuristically Guided Search', where Dreyfus bolsters his critique of heuristic search by citing de Groot’s experimental work and Hearst’s first‑person account of master‑level perception.