New York Times blog entry on how expert chess players think.
Orzag needs to read more widely. Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” covers the topic of success and the means to achieve it much better. The concept of “chunking” is old hat to chess theorists. Given time Orzag will discover the concept of “flow” in some book while missing Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research on the subject.
He followed up that article the next day: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/the-effort-is-the-prize/.
I agree that his approach seems simplistic. He expands his view somewhat by noting that the intensity and dedication of practice makes a difference in success.
But where he misses, in my opinion, is in not recognizing that perhaps those who have attained a greater success in a particular field are able to distinguish what things to study will make the most significant progress. (Or the person has mentor(s) of sufficient skill to assist with determining that focus.)
That, to me, was the further even-more-damaging myth that both articles perpetuate: That success is a matter of individual effort. “If I only study chess long enough I can be a GM someday,” completely omits the effort and quality of the team that actually helps bring a particular person to mastery level. (“Team” can be expanded to the broadest sense of the word - studied any books, blogs, or databases? What about the authors and compilers of the above… or the players of the games one has studied…)
Readers of Outliers are already familiar with the phrase “deliberate practice.” (Jack Collins’s role in Fischer’s development is mentioned en passant.)
And here’s a chess-specific link on the same subject. (Hmm, didn’t the blogger knock me out of the running for the 1975 Pennsylvania State HS Championship?)
I am reading the articles now, and fascinating. But the first one has this quote, “Championship-level typists
can tap their fingers faster than normal.” There are typing championships? I may have to give up chess. 
On second thought, no, at somewhere between 60-80 WPM I’m definitely still in the “interested amateur” category there as well - moderated by the fact that my typing speed directly relates to my job. 
The first article will take a little while to read and then digest. But I’m also interested in the statement that deliberate practice requires not exhausting oneself as well. I wonder how often players exhaust themselves in practice activities that are less than optimal. Also, frequently the, “What do I need to do to improve my play?” is met with general responses that, while good, are inherently not tailored to the student’s actual needs.
I also sense much good blogging material here…