Stuart Kovinsky wrote:In some ways, Data Sufficiency is like chess.
...
A novice at DS also looks at a statement and says "let me try this calcluation and see what happens". A grandmaster at DS considers the situation carefully and projects how to (or whether it's possible to) use the information at hand to answer the question.
In fact, a measure of how good a DS "player" one is is how many calculations ahead one can foresee.
i like this analogy, and may even lift it for use in my own instruction (with all due credit where it belongs, of course).
HOWEVER,
you CANNOT lose sight of the fact that
everything on the gmat is done within
strict time constraints.
therefore, if you are anything but a 'grandmaster' of data sufficiency already (i.e., you are consistently scoring 700+ on your practice tests, and you're getting at least half of the problems correct on the very last page of the OG data sufficiency section), you should NOT let time waste away while you squint at the problem and try to think several moves ahead of time.
here's the optimal process:
* examine the problem
* look for SIGNALS that tell you what you should do (for instance, if you see facts or questions about divisibility, then you should take this as a signal that you should use prime factorizations)
* think AS MANY moves ahead as you can
in a few seconds
* start working on the problem
immediately
the foregoing method is the best thing you can do, because the primary driving factor behind most students' inability to finish the test is
indecision. i.e., students just sit there staring at the test, not knowing quite what to do, and find all of a sudden that a minute has already passed and they haven't even started the problem yet. DO NOT STARE AT PROBLEMS; instead, go for it right away with the first legitimate approach that comes to mind.
in other words, the difference is that chess grandmasters have the luxury of being able to stare at the board for minutes, and even hours, if necessary. the gmat is more like the speed chess played by hustlers in city parks; after a very short period of time, you have to stop deliberating and make a decision. NEVER forget this; delays are your worst enemy on this test, especially because the problems adapt very quickly to your ability level (and so you won't get a complement of "easy" questions on which to make up the lost time).
