Working backward to solve problems - Maurice Ashley

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/working-bac...
Imagine where you want to be someday. Now, how did you get there? Retrograde analysis is a style of problem solving where you work backwards from the endgame you want. It can help you win at chess -- or solve a problem in real life. At TEDYouth 2012, chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley delves into his favorite strategy.
Talk by Maurice Ashley.

[@heron3140]

Me watching the video in reverse: You may have outsmarted me, but I have outsmarted your outsmarting

[@prayeley]

Is that a!?

[@shalomnoah7309]

How to look in reverse?

[@yeeehees2973]

I’m watching this video in the normal way, again outsmarting you by outsmarting your outsmarting

[@qiwamuddinlubis1433]

@@yeeehees2973 Everyone outsmarting, reverse in comment this writing me

[@fjaps]

¿esrever ni oediv a hctaw uoy od woH

[@ChessNetwork]

Very nice closing quote.

[@VertuanMx]

Hi Jerry! I'm subscribed to your channel, keep up the great work you are doing man. Cheers!

[@AJJJJJJJJJJJJ]

lol the fact that this comment was made 5 years ago and someone commented on this 5 days ago.. LOL

[@parktamaroon226]

AJ GAMING Now it’s been five years and one day ago; and five days and and one day ago.

[@MrSupernova111]

Hi Jerry!

[@animesloversunited9069]

Hii this is jerry

[@electricmaster23]

This was a smooth performance.

[@muffemod]

LOL! How many people didn't get the reference? Well played.

[@yazkh9612]

LOL

[@partycja24]

Chcess players here xX

[@pijusgreicius7025]

What do you mean smooth?!

[@yazkh9612]

@@pijusgreicius7025 You should see his awkward interview with Magnus carlsen not( smooth ) and u will understand

[@TheDeathstriker123]

Came here hoping for a chess lesson! Lol, am I alone? :D

[@sc-ek6qz]

Noop

[@gordocar3520]

He did give a chess lesson: practice what a GM practices- chunking, pattern recognition, stepping-stone position and retro grade anaylsis

[@srbishkrst]

@@gordocar3520 i didnt understand what chunking and stepping stone Position mean? Does anyone understand that?

[@herlingaaland]

@@srbishkrst there's something called Google, you didn't know Multiplications just after your teacher said that to you.

[@chingchingbling2145]

@@herlingaaland LOL!

[@Yamboist]

Dammit. That card problem was damn gooooddddddd

[@1514malik]

i know if i have 5 i won't ask for trade because if u have 6 u won't trade... what i fail to understand, if i have 3 or 4 why wouldn't i or you trade ?

[@bluebolero1]

Adeel Malik if you have a 4, you know a 6 would not trade and a 5 would not trade (if we assume rational persons). So a 4 wont trade rationally. Now if you have a 3, you know, that 4,5,6 dont trade. In the same manner a 2 doesnt trade. So only the 1 will trade because you will get a higher number 100%. You could trade a 2 though if you believe your counterpart is not acting rationally. And for most humans thats probably the case.

[@Carlieto91]

William YamYam To me this is just prediction at its best, removing all the fun from games. It's like explaining a sports game by pure physics and chemistry, over than luck, passion and willpower. Sure it's interrelated, and maybe only a matter of time before mastering it. But imagine this card problem between two "grandmasters" : the simple fact that one of them asks "I want to trade" means it has a one in hand. So why bother, it just has to say "Well, victory is yours good sir, well done." without even looking at the results, like machines. If neither of them has a one, they'll just keep their number without saying anything and see who's f*cked by probabilities. That's how I picture their chess games, that's also probably how other statistics fields like finance works. Dehumanizing things to get close to that 100% winning situation.

[@randreacher6590]

+William YamYam I disagree, i think he failed to mention that others would be playing along. He said "you and I" and repeated several times and then changed the rules by saying 4 other people (i presume) also picked up a card.

[@EamonBurke]

+William YamYam However, it has a fault. The fault is that it is possible the other person is not assuming you are purely rational. See, it's two stages away from first person conception. A person may have a 3, and hope you will trade up for a 4 or 5. Considering he's more than likely to lose with a 3, he feels behind the 8 ball and hopes you'll bite. Here's an illustration of the problem. A man is sentenced to be executed sometime next week. However, the man is told that the day he is executed will be a total surprise to him, there is no way to know in advance when he will be executed. That means that we know one thing for sure to start: that he won't be executed on Saturday. If he's not dead by Friday, he knows when it is coming. That rules out Saturday. But since we know it CANT be Saturday, there is now certainty that if he isn't killed by Thursday, he'll definitely be killed on Friday. So he can't be killed on Friday either. With Friday and Saturday ruled out, we now know that he can't be killed on Thursday, because he'd know on Wednesday that he was getting killed on Thursday. So on and so forth, and you've ruled out every day of the week. Its a paradoxical judgement. Right? Unless he is simply executed on any of the days, which would be a total surprise, something he could never have seen coming. Retrograde Analysis is a tool in the logical belt, but it can't be used for every problem. In games, this is where a person who is good but not great loses to a novice with "beginner's luck", who is simply making irrational decisions.

[@scottotteburn6819]

To the proofreading backwards comment- you can do that when drawing a portrait or very recognizable objects too. If you're drawing from a picture, you flip it upside down (and your drawing of course) and you start to see the face or objects more as shapes and shades. Lots of people are amazed at how much better (or more accurate) their drawing turned out than they thought by doing this. It's an early lesson in drawing representationally that's useful to recognize the same logic Maurice mentions with the double "the." The mind imposes preconceived ideas of a face or object rather than seeing it for a series small decisions based on shape and shade.

[@friedrichmyers]

Yes. That's how beginners are taught in Art classes

[@inothernews]

Some TED talks are too long, this is too short!

[@beethoven5984]

Like bro,obviously you know what I do when you don’t know me LESSS I want you guys you want me and my friends and you and your mom do it and you guys can !This how we resolve probleme

[@andresantosid]

"If you can see the end game, your youth will not be wasted on you". Thank you, Maurice!

[@whitebolt7327]

You upload cool videos good job

[@israelgomes9640]

This really reminds me of King Solomon's phrase, already old and experienced: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them' ". Even with many warnings and signs, not realizing the existence of the Creator and living as if he doesn't exist seems to be the biggest mistake of people. Perhaps if they could come to the end and understand what Solomon said, they would seek to know Jesus Christ deeply, and everything He did for us, as He came from heaven, served men, performed many signs and miracles, and was killed for our sins, loving us to the point of dying on a cross, that we might have life. And by the power of the Creator, he rose on the third day, and is seated at His right hand. Perhaps with Solomon's warning, you will understand how incredible God's love is and how he loves you personally, to the point of giving his own life for you.

[@ivanoov3285]

I still doesn't quite understand about the meaning of this video

[@zhouwu]

I really love how practical his thinking is! It feels like stuff I can apply straight away!

[@Pankaj-Verma-]

I request TED to Upload this genre more frequently.

[@MrFizzminecraft]

i worked a chemistry problem backward once in an exam, it saved me 20 marks. i kinda knew the answer i just couldn’t show my work, so working it backwards showed me all the steps. amazing how it works!

[@imoobongakpan3789]

Did this alot in me physics and maths problems. Especially objective questions. Felt like i was cheating. :-)

[@waffy8798]

how exactly do u do it?

[@MrFizzminecraft]

@@waffy8798 well from the question i could tell that the answer is a group 1 or 2 metal, so i tried every group 1&2 metal until i came to the initial value. basically trial and error working backwards. there’s many ways to work things backwards!

[@tyleroneil4500]

in math especially proofs this is a skill that is taught

[@alexborges3599]

Em exatas, esse método é muito viável.

[@abhimat]

Retrograde analysis - a very useful tool for learning. Thank you!

[@fortfanop]

0:15 There's a myth that grandmasters can see 10, 15, 20 moves ahead. Hikaru: Allow me to introduce...

[@redrum9678]

Well,if there's only forcing moves,then gms can see 15-20moves....but if the opponent has 2-3 good replies..than it's hard to plan..even 5-7 moves

[@nanobruh]

he cant see 10 moves ahead at all..

[@redrum9678]

@@nanobruh Fischer once said he can see 15-20 forced moves ahead..I mean it's not that heard to calculate forced moves

[@nanobruh]

@@redrum9678 its just flexing if its really forcing then you can calculate infinitely deep as there is always an only move....

[@redrum9678]

@@nanobruh I told the same fuckin thing mate

[@sakthipriyar2483]

From nowhere KZbin has recommended me this after 8 years. And wow, it's gonna be life changing😁💯

[@163reasonswhyrealestateage4]

You have a very interesting way of looking at things Maurice. I am definitely going to take your suggestion and use a retrograde approach to my own chess games. Thank you for doing this video.

[@levarkizer3161]

163 Reasons Why Real Estate Agents Fail check out Levar Kizer on KZbin chess master rap

[@Translationcloud]

I don't think you can see through the end game. It is not feasible. However, when you play chess, you need to pay attention to your end game pawn structure. One pawn structure with even rows is more preferable than equal, but with double pawns or stand alone pawns. This helps to ultimately win. You steer the game move by move to worsen your opponents position and then promote a pawn. GM Karpov was a big influencer in this strategy.

[@curtisw0234]

I don't think Maurice was trying to give life advice not chess advice

[@dannysjida]

Yes over until %44

[@abdulrahmanalmojil3574]

@@curtisw0234 life any%speedrun

[@nerdynachos4396]

I can't even remember how many times that second THE has caught me!

[@Ral9284]

_"Youth is wasted on the young."_ Not if you can see the end first.

[@AhmedBodhi]

Best ending ever.

[@brostepisthebest]

i don't get it.

[@ianbyrne465]

brostepisthebest It means that if you know how life will be when you're older, you'll be less active and eventually die, you'll soend the time while you're younger doing things you want and being happy and doing things rather than wasting that time and regretting it when it's too late (when you're old)

[@jun1orbaitor44]

Ian Byrne But what if wasting time is what makes you happy

[@MrRobot-rq6ko]

Ian Byrne that still didn’t make sense to me

[@whitekiltwhitekilt1611]

Hello there Maurice. Excellent presentation. Thank u for sharing this Wisdom.

[@melosmoov2u]

I could listen to you talk all day. Thanks for the enlightening video.

[@zwagig1761]

Small, simple, precise and yet thought provoking.

[@vincec1036]

For all Military (and ex military), one thing we learned while in service was “backwards planning”. Very useful in all aspects of life. Great video.

[@ivanoov3285]

can u explain about backwards planning. I still dont get it

[@ritikgurnani3410]

This is one of the best Ted talks I've ever watched.

[@divyeshkatariya4951]

The closing quote was truly great!

[@mahmoudesmat3675]

One of Teds best talks ever!

[@ailderwitha5591]

Smooth guest appearance.

[@BluEN1111]

Good job to the education system for training us to not work backwards.

[@qwerty1233787]

What a nonsense comment

[@BrothersandCoFilms]

Theo Pana it has 38 more likes than you do tho

[@qwerty1233787]

@@BrothersandCoFilms I don't measure value in internet points but it's cool that you do

[@matthewswart1845]

@NihilisticEntropy i mean your blaming them for something that wont really help you in life all that much

[@mythicalmonke8895]

@@qwerty1233787 his comment has more likes than the number of braincells you have

[@varunnarayanan8720]

This is epic.It gave me a whole new way to think . Especially in problem solving while using dynamic programming.

[@rbgit8414]

Short and sweet. Excellent video!

[@George-ze9hx]

Well, thank you for giving me a better, method of learning. I really appreciate how improved my life. 😁

[@zionj104]

I'm on to you. Although, seems no one else spotted this in 2 years lol

[@bootysnatcher8069]

RedVisor 137c y

[@Trainstationgr]

after i finished queens gambit on netflix, this charismatic dude keeps getting recommended at me.

[@nizamifaz1107]

This just opened my mind

[@ryudru3352]

Absolutely brilliant ! Thank you for sharing !

[@Science4allOrg]

An awesome introduction to Dynamic Programming!

[@azaria_phd]

2:35 I've fallen for this trick so many times already that I already expected a double "the" and noticed it immediately.

[@ainoaguy]

Great talk. I really like the message at the end.

[@harrythegoodguy]

I don’t even know my high school math teacher taught me this kind of mindset and til now im still using this in literally every problems in my life

[@loloducahos6793]

The card problem is an EXCELLENT lesson of poker !! Il don't know if I will be understood by poker players here but it is the base of thinking process un poker

[@BattleslashX]

Smooth TED talk

[@grenselseclasen6651]

Honestly one of my favorit Ted talks I have every hear :D

[@abdalrahmandaif5243]

Great , great lesson, and thinking method to be taken into consideration, daily, thanks for this video

[@nergydrink6108]

damn, all those moves was just for that end quote.

[@x0cx102]

I've watched this video three times over three years and I still miss the the second "the"

[@bhaskartripathi]

One of the most interesting videos I have seen on KZbin

[@ucduong2102]

This is one of the best video by Ted

[@watteau6646]

I used to go over my chess losses using what I called "backtrack analysis". I would first ask myself why I resigned. Let's say it was material loss (instead of horrible position). Then why did I lose material? Because too much pressure on the b-pawn. Why too much pressure? Because I traded the c-pawn, isolating it. So then I would find the original "mistakes" (such as trading the c-pawn) in my games that led to the pressure and bad moves. That was organic and helpful. There are only 2 problems with this technique: One is that it is not necessarily the pressure or temporary loss of material which was the mistake, but how I handled it (often a strong computer thought nothing wrong with the "mistake" move--the real mistake was what I did afterwards). The other is that it does not necessarily tell you how to play the position, or to find the right move, only that the move you chose was bad. Chess is hard.

[@47eoghan47]

Never resign

[@hienable6933]

Just use a chess engine

[@MarianoRodriguez]

This is so deep. Like, really deep.

[@jsnmad]

A very valuable lesson and a very good delivery.

[@fatihbellisoy1083]

I love how the intro music is played backwards. Revelant to the topic

[@anjobee5798]

More Maurice Ashley!

[@Haykeloff]

A Chess game is divided into three stages: the first, when you hope you'll have the advantage, the second when you believe you have an advantage, and the third... when you know you're going to lose! © Savielly Tartakower

[@where_is_sauce]

500-1300 be like:

[@nabeelhakeem3593]

And lastly you realise you are the advantage

[@lastminutewonder9602]

Why is thi my life!

[@danieldamaskinos7996]

That was a smooth presentation

[@josephbishara4791]

Great speech! Thanks.

[@rohandas6459]

now I am reading the comments from backward lol😂

[@osamagamal495]

lol backward from comments the reading am I now

[@noefillon1749]

sdrawkcab yllaer s'tahT

[@kamilchulakov]

@@noefillon1749 on

[@typingname6276]

" you can never connect the dots looking forward"- Steve Jobs

[@ferramirez4570]

You can only connect them looking backwards.

[@barakatullah1035]

That quote at the ending blew my mind away.

[@CBHR7]

That message was meant for the few people who will receive it! Game of Life. Well said and well played!

[@pranavsureshsuresh388]

This is really deep. If I have seen my end game I would be different.

[@minhaophu3289]

English not my foreign language so it quite easy too see "The The"

[@tasmanmillen]

Minh Đào Phú Yeah, that's what is happening with reading it backwards too. You have to focus on each word, and so you don't skip over it.

[@TungPham-lk5xd]

that right

[@NiceEyeballs]

it's not my first language either but i didn't see it.

[@cotesia7931]

Thanks for add my perspective way of thinking Really helpful

[@VUTHANHVANBDSOFFICIAL]

The video is so good to watch, the content is very practical for viewers, Van thank you for sharing, waiting for the channel to release more new videos

[@fmissark]

On day 59 it would double and day 60 it would be fill, so it would take day 59 to make half of days 60s total

[@Alan157]

Well done, this reminded me of Richard Bandler and his wonderful book called "Using Your Brain for a Change" and and his NLP method for controlling and using your brain.

[@h0ust0nwehaveapr0blem]

nice second and there buddy

[@Nic3GreenNachos]

That was surprisingly enlightening at the end. The lecture had a soft, but strong finish. I did not see the movie reference, or the age reference coming at all.

[@abhishektyagi7402]

Wow, that was a great way to connect chess and retrograde analysis to life.

[@Datsmileyb0i]

“What’s your favorite move in chess?” The chonk chart (when he said chunking)😂

[@Danao31]

nope G4

[@MrSupernova111]

I was going to say not so smooth. But very interesting. Good job!

[@lepredator189]

Oh please. That's getting old.

[@MrSupernova111]

So are you. What are you going to do about it?

[@phroney]

Jesus...really? It was a great talk. I'm sure you would get up there and just kill it.

[@MrSupernova111]

@alfa-psi yep. lol

[@Guitare_picking]

at least he is a great player. Or wait, is he ?

[@SBVolav]

maybe the best TED so far!

[@MrAmiiine1]

one of the best of TEDeducation (y)

[@nobullshit2783]

This makes me thinks about mazes, if you've ever tried solving a maze starting from the end you know what I'm talking about

[@Sir_Pancakes]

i always start mazes from the end

[@nicketshah6441]

lol i thought i was the only guy who did that

[@alexborges3599]

I believe most people start at the end, except for some cognitive incapacity or superhuman ability that would not need to analyze other paths but automatically correct the correct one.

[@nobullshit2783]

@@alexborges3599 appreciate it man

[@jtleon7086]

The two "the' stumped me twice. I was like what is he talking about with this 2nd 'the'

[@raffiboyadjian1362]

im 26 and i not only wasted my youth but did things in my youth that will affect me for the rest of my life

[@zzeethe1st451]

Clicked this on accident, thank you for the golden lesson

[@ricardovulcano6712]

This reminded me of "The scientist" by Coldplay...

[@RhoadsLivesOn]

The lyrics include "take me back to the start."

[@Nautilus1972]

Something mundane and boring?

[@vikitawindarwati4237]

The music video? Lol

[@levarkizer3161]

Ricardo Vulcano check out Levar Kizer on KZbin Asymmetrical Warfare

[@zachkelsey3760]

Ya good stuff

[@AaronMartinProfessional]

After this talk I feel really accomplished having watched the Avengers: Endgame 3 times in the cinema. Turns out I was on to something.

[@LogicA002]

Why does this have no likes?

[@Dantick09]

Brilliant speech! wish it was longer :D

[@deepfriedpwnage]

This was really great!

[@abnerlouischarles]

Im not sure i completely understand this. Could someome explain this to me in chess example

[@Shoyrou]

if they double everyday, it means that from the 59th to the 60th they doubled too. If it is full in the 60th, it was half full in the 59th :)

[@nandimolefe7223]

OMG Thank You !!!! Just watched the video in 2021 😂

[@miguelvieira2953]

simply brilliant!

[@LinhPham-lk8pi]

Thanks for the idea!

[@Yousojelly]

I realized the secret message of this video when I watched it backwards

[@PNL_King]

"I think I can handle this situation...". Lolol

[@IVI33HZ]

dang that last part! Chills

[@yashamuru]

Great video, thanks !

[@rayluxembourg129]

"if you see the end game" great sentence really wish more people would understand it.

[@Camusien]

But it's imposible to have a knowledge of the end before the begining.

[@areebquadri7645]

2 sets, 1,2 or 3 =>trade & 4,5 or 6 => Don't Trade You got 2 , If other person says trade ,rationally that means his Number is in set of {1,2or 3 },but not 2 cz you have it , So other person is having either 1 or 3. It's 50/50 to trade or not ,rationally. GM said if you trade you are gonna lose money, I didn't understand tht part with number 3 ?plz explain if someone understood more correctly than me. But considering human Psychology, If the person get 1 he/she's gonna think and stare probably more before trading to give you an impression they haven't got 1😂.

[@javidproductions9353]

If no one will trade with 4, 5 or 6 then why would you trade with 3? You could only lose.

[@tangriz]

I have the same question

[@rodrigo.chaves.84]

very nice! it makes me trink about what i really want to my life, trying to look backwards

[@danielparton2244]

GM Ashley, your contemporaries of lower ranking focus on other subjects (passion, integrity, and community) Thank you for an honest insight.

[@jackieryan4830]

As far as I know josh never made it to grandmaster, Waitzkin might have been great but he never stuck with chess. Maurice Ashley is a strong grandmaster and clearly a much better player.

[@airborne486]

this is how bobby fisher did it, this is also how I did a lot of calculus practice

[@republikadugave420]

Great presentation from Seal

[@zamp6969]

Man we put the flavor in everything!✊🏿

[@AethernaLuxen]

This is genius, although technically the the problem is that it's hard for me to find the 2nd "the".

[@2tvtv]

damn it

[@yahyaadem5391]

Regarding the bacteria question So the bacteria doubles every day, so lets say for the lake to be full it will take 100% ,so on day 59 ,lets say it was 50% percent so when it doubles it becomes 100%

[@samsunguser3148]

kinda exponential i guess

[@imoobongakpan3789]

reading your elaboration, I now understand analysing backward.

[@ducminh7568]

in math terms, 2 power of 59 and 2 power of 60.

[@noobiewatcherz9938]

4:28 I like how from the right to left, the intensity of leaning their heads to their right INTENSIFIES !

[@miguelpatrick79]

Speaking on heads he has quite a cranium on him

[@corbettmystic1769]

Insightful short speech 👏

[@JimJWalker]

I never believed that youth is wasted on the young. I hated being a teenager and would never want to go through those hard lessons again.

[@LanttuLoL]

Yea well actually it's both; magicians use this type of trickery, too. They want you to concentrate on something else while they are doing something somewhere else. It's great ability to concentrate on more important things but it can be used against you.

[@Ricardo7250]

What do you mean? Magicians will work with your intuition and reactions while they are doing the trick, that would be the equivalent of you reading a text that passes through the screen without having time for any type of different reading or analysis (if you are seeing it for the first time). Also, many magical tricks are incredibly hard to figure out even with mutiple viewings and different types of analysis, so I'm not sure you picked a good example.

[@factsnewskenya6777]

Thank you i was meant to see this.

[@fatikha2510]

Very short, great sense, thank you)