The Woodpecker Method - GM Axel Smith torrent

Tactics course based on the book by GM Axel Smith and GM Hans Tikkanen, presented by GM Axel Smith
Includes book, video and PGN

Language: English
Lectures: 11
Total Running Time: 23 hours 53 minutes

From the course:

The Legendary Woodpecker Method Will Supercharge Your Tactics


Now with video, we've added a new dimension to studying the Woodpecker Method. GM Axel Smith doesn't just solve the puzzles – he teaches you how to recognize the telltale signs of tactical opportunities, guiding you through the thought process of a Grandmaster and helping you build your tactical awareness from the ground up.


The Woodpecker Method is a training system designed with one specific goal in mind - to supercharge your tactical muscles to a whole new level. The method is straightforward: solve a set of tactical puzzles repeatedly, aiming to complete them faster each time. This process of repeated solving, or 'woodpecking', trains your brain to recognize tactical patterns more quickly and accurately.

The story of GM Hans Tikkanen (Tikkanen is the Finnish word for woodpecker), starts in the summer of 2010. An International Master at the time, Tikkanen realized that his tactical skills just weren’t good enough to get him to the Grandmaster level. So he buckled down, created this training regime and scored three Grandmaster norms in just seven weeks. Along with many other success stories, GM Axel Smith followed the same system to get his rating over 2500 and achieve his GM title.

The Woodpecker Method is simple but incredibly effective. Through these 1000 hand-picked puzzles, you’ll use spaced repetition to develop your pattern recognition, internalizing the problems and turning you into a tactical monster.

Just like learning a language, repetition is the key to developing pattern recognition. You wouldn’t expect to internalize a new word after only seeing it once - the same applies to tactical motifs. The Woodpecker Method utilizes this idea to make sure you repeat each puzzle enough times that it becomes firmly ingrained in your brain.

After following Tikkanen’s system himself, GM Axel Smith discussed the regime in his bestselling book Pump Up Your Rating,before going on to team up with GM Tikkanen to expand the system into this whole course. And now the course has a huge upgrade, with full video by GM Axel Smith as he walks you through the system and every beginner puzzle.

The problems are arranged by three difficulties, giving you the chance to build up your skills before moving onto more advanced problems.

After studying this course, you’ll soon see results:

🔥 Sharper tactical vision – you’ll get used to spotting all kinds of tactical themes with different levels of difficulty, just like in a game.
🔥 Fewer blunders – you won’t just play and win; you’ll have to defend, force draws, and avoid counter-tactics in seemingly simple combinations.
🔥 Improved accuracy in time trouble – calculating faster and more accurately is useful when short of time, but it also increases your confidence!
🔥 Richer intuition – learning 1000+ positions by heart will boost your pattern recognition.
🔥 Appreciation for chess history – you’ll familiarize yourself with how World Champions finish their games; or what it takes to beat them!


Perhaps best of all, the Woodpecker Method is tailor-made to fit with Chessable’s MoveTrainer and spaced repetition.

🎯 Customization – there are two main ways to study this course, as you’ll learn in the introduction - Cyclical and Spaced Repetition. Choose the best one for you!
🎯 Practicality – you won’t waste any time setting the board or checking the answers; instantly analyze with an engine if something doesn’t convince you; keep accurate track of your progress; never skip a session.
🎯 Frequency trumps volume – set your own pace and stick to it.
🎯 Social experience – interact with and learn from other users working as hard as you.

Thousands of players have used the Woodpecker Method to take their tactical skills to the next level - and with a whole new video upgrade by GM Axel Smith, there’s never been a better time to start woodpecking.