Ep. 106: GM Max Illingworth on Adult Chess Improvement, Why YouTube Videos May Not Help, "Potholes & Detours" on the road to 1600, "Unlearning" Chess, & More

This episode is our Season 11 Finale. We'll be taking a break and will be back soon. Chess puzzles can be one of the most effective ways to improve, but only if you're actually training, rather than g...

23 Aug 36min

Sometimes the problem isn't that we aren't thinking enough at the chessboard — it's that we're thinking about too much. In this episode, we explore "move noise": the unnecessary calculation, imaginary...

16 Aug 46min

Many adult club players don't study too little opening theory - they study too much. In this episode, we explore the trap of diminishing returns in opening study, why understanding ideas matters far m...

9 Aug 43min

Many chess blunders aren't caused by poor calculation - they're caused by visual blind spots. In this episode, we explore why certain types of moves consistently escape our attention, how those blind ...

2 Aug 26min

Your chess rating can easily swing 100 points or more, but it doesn't necessarily mean you've become a better or worse player. In this episode, we react to a fascinating article on rating variance and...

26 Juli 32min

In engineering, a single point of failure is the one weak component capable of bringing down an entire system. Chess improvement often works the same way. In this episode, we explore why your rating m...

19 Juli 42min

If you're holding off until you're fully rested, completely focused, and free from distractions before playing or studying chess, you may be waiting a very long time. Most adult improvers live in the ...

12 Juli 34min

I break my long-standing rule about not playing chess on my phone to talk about Zapp Chess, a listener-recommended app that surprised me. It blends fast, gamified play with real competitive chess deci...

5 Juli 43min