(2023) Smithy's Review of "The Woodpecker Method"

From approximately December 2018 into March 2019, I went through the infamous "Woodpecker Method" on Chessable.  I'm sure by now the method is well known, but for completeness, the book gives you a large set of exercises and asks you to repeat them over and over.  If you run through the 700+ problems seven times, you are supposed to do it faster, do it better, have more confidence, become a GM and nab the girl of your dreams... or at least that's what the marketing spin tells you.

I recorded the entire journey on my old blog ... which has since disappeared when I cancelled my hosting plan.  Chessable doesn't record user stats, and my old notes have vanished when my ancient computer finally gave up the ghost.  I won't be able to point to any hard stats as I would like to, but my conclusion will still ring loud and clear.

I really didn't like the Woodpecker Method.

(2019 Version) My Woodpecker Method Experience

(Note: This is a copy-paste from my original 2019 version.  The more time has passed, the more I disagree with what I wrote.  Basically, I was too nice, and I will write an updated review shortly.  However, this was one my most popular posts on the old blog, so I have copied it here for reference.  Unfortunately, the images did not save, so you'll have to use your imagination on what my rating graphs looked like.  Sorry!)

The Woodpecker Method #10: Final Update

Final thoughts on my experience with this book.

It seems a lifetime since I went through the Woodpecker Method. It’s been 4 months since I did the last problem … and then I basically stopped playing chess. From mid-April until mid-June, I didn’t play a game. I did some other chess-related activities, such as creating my free course on openings, but I didn’t play a single game.

This makes it hard to draw conclusions. I had hoped to play several hundred blitz, bullet and longer-games and then compare the results, if any. This post thus has less hard data, but I can still state some conclusions with decent certainty, I feel. Let’s take a look.