My son has been diagnosed with stealth dyslexia. He is highly gifted, but shows many of the weaknesses of a dyslexic, including poor handwriting, and poor spelling. He is 10 years old.
He has been playing competitive chess since he was five years old, and is very strong in many ways. His coach feels bewildered, however, by my son's ability to think deeply about the board and understand many things that are going on, but his inability to consistently apply this knowledge.
His coach will show that my son knows something, has applied it before, but then will not apply it at another similar situation in a different game. We are trying to understand what is happening.
I have been taking my children to a local chess club for a few years. Not consistently applying what they know is the norm, not the exception, for junior players (and many adults). They all know that they should not give away pieces and should capture free pieces of their opponents. The higher rated children do this more often than the lower rated ones, but with well less than 100% accuracy. I am a chess master. Watching my children play is ... interesting.
