This isn't just for chess -- it's practically any knowledge task that you can build expertise in.
E.g. take programming. Suppose I sat down an experienced programmer and a novice and gave them the same small (~10-20 line) function to reproduce from memory. If the function is a "reasonably written function" I'm willing to bet that the experienced programmer could reproduce the function with just one or two "peeks" -- once you have enough experience, you can better recognize patterns / chunk your knowledge. A novice doesn't have this ability, so it would likely take them many more peeks.
On the other hand, if the function is some random gibberish with little structure, you could imagine that it's probably equally difficult for both the experienced programmer and the novice to reproduce the function from memory.
For chess, one reason why masters can better recall positions is because they know what typical positions look like (e.g. a position typical of the "London" opening). Then, they only need to store a "diff" of the given position and a typical position. ("It's a typical London setup for White, except White also played a3 and b4.") A novice doesn't have this knowledge, so they have to store the whole position.
E.g. take programming. Suppose I sat down an experienced programmer and a novice and gave them the same small (~10-20 line) function to reproduce from memory. If the function is a "reasonably written function" I'm willing to bet that the experienced programmer could reproduce the function with just one or two "peeks" -- once you have enough experience, you can better recognize patterns / chunk your knowledge. A novice doesn't have this ability, so it would likely take them many more peeks.
On the other hand, if the function is some random gibberish with little structure, you could imagine that it's probably equally difficult for both the experienced programmer and the novice to reproduce the function from memory.
For chess, one reason why masters can better recall positions is because they know what typical positions look like (e.g. a position typical of the "London" opening). Then, they only need to store a "diff" of the given position and a typical position. ("It's a typical London setup for White, except White also played a3 and b4.") A novice doesn't have this knowledge, so they have to store the whole position.