"Of course, analysis can sometimes give more accurate results than intuition but usually it’s just a lot of work. I normally do what my intuition tells me to do. Most of the time spent thinking is just to double-check"

Magnus Carlsen elevates intuition from a hunch to a hard-won form of knowledge. What looks effortless is actually compressed experience: thousands of positions distilled into patterns, cues, and priorities that arise instantly. Analysis can refine or correct that impulse, but it is costly, time, energy, and attention, and often redundant when intuition already points to a strong path. The trick is not to abandon analysis, but to redeploy it: use deep calculation as a verification layer rather than a discovery engine on every move.

This stance reflects expert cognition. With mastery, the brain automates recognition and ranking, freeing conscious thought for exceptions, traps, and high-stakes choices. “Most of the time spent thinking is just to double-check” signals meta-cognitive calibration: knowing when to trust your inner compass and when to interrogate it. It is a strategy for managing risk under time pressure, act swiftly when the terrain is familiar, slow down when signals conflict or consequences spike.

There is also an economy of effort. Overanalyzing routine decisions invites paralysis and error, while preserving cognitive reserves for critical junctures improves performance across a game. The method generalizes: in any complex domain, training builds heuristics; deliberation audits them. When patterns are stable and feedback is rich, intuition becomes increasingly reliable. When the environment shifts or novelty appears, analysis regains priority.

There are limits. Intuition can be biased by recent games, emotions, or deceptive patterns; double-checking mitigates these. And intuition must be trained, through study, review, and exposure to diverse positions, so the fast judgment is grounded rather than wishful.

The philosophy is not anti-analysis; it is timing and proportion. Trust first, verify promptly, and save deep dives for moments that matter. Excellence emerges from this choreography between speed and scrutiny, where intuition leads and analysis safeguards.