The Chess Cognition Podcast

00:00 Why the Same Chess Lesson Produces Different Results01:27 Prior Knowledge: The Mental Hooks That Make Ideas Stick02:23 Chess Knowledge as a Network03:16 Chess Example: Why the Minority Attack Confuses Some Players04:34 Why Good Chess Advice Can Arrive Too Early06:00 How Multiple Contexts Create Flexible Knowledge07:06 Chess Example: Learning the Pin08:48 Spiral Learning: Revisiting Ideas at...

00:00 Intro00:41 Recognition Trap02:16 Recognition vs. Retrieval04:05 Testing Effect/Retrieval Practice04:22 Generation Effect05:15 Why Most Chess Content Doesn’t Transfer05:37 Three Ways to Train for Real Improvement06:19 Generation Effect: Recreate Positions From Memory07:29 Testing Effect: Use Random Review and Flashcards08:02 Interleaving: Mix Up Themes08:44 Why Mixed Practice Builds Transfer0...

00:00 Intro00:51 The Learning Illusion01:55 Prior Knowledge: Why Adults Need the "Why"03:03 Working Memory: Your Brain's Biggest Bottleneck04:24 Worked Examples vs. Discovery Learning06:27 Desirable Difficulty: Why Comfort Zones Kill Progress07:23 The Illusion of Transfer: Bridging the Gap Between Study and Play08:44 Metacognition and Targeted Training09:58 SummaryWhile children have...

00:00 Intro04:02 Beating Magnus Carlsen in Blitz07:15 Feedback and Course Development09:11 How Kamil Found Chessable14:50 Winning Best Author Support Awards22:45 A Typical Day in Kamil's Life29:47 Typical Author Mistakes 37:39 Creating Problems for Both Sides43:46 Chessable's Evolution51:29 Kamil's New Course: 1.e4 LTR01:01:10 Grenke Chess and European Individual Championship01:19:38 E...

00:00 Intro04:38 Does this only apply to grandmasters?07:25 Quiet positions vs Chaos11:00 Play the pieces, not the player?16:50 Nothing to Lose Mentality23:15 The TRAP framework35:00 Cognitive Biases in Chess44:57 Mistakes to Avoid against Stronger Players54:42 The Impact of Chessable on TeachingIn this episode, I sit down with FIDE Master Niranjan Navalgund to explore a question that fascinates m...

Lars' Chessable Courses: https://www.chessable.com/author/LarsSchandorff/ 00:00 Intro01:00 How Lars Creates His Opening Courses07:31 The First Key Decision When Creating an Opening Course15:03 The Importance of Openings in Chess18:46 A Story About Rook Endgames21:43 Where to Stop in an Opening Course25:47 Chess as a Lifestyle: Freedom and Identity27:52 Can Beginners Benefit from His Courses?34...

00:00 Intro01:31 The Chessbrah Journey09:40 The Impact of the Chess Boom12:57 The Educational Value of the Channel18:33 Building Habits Series30:11 The Role of Blitz in Improvement36:08 Creating the London System Course40:48 Unique Aspects of his London Course45:59 Connecting Openings to Middlegame54:33 Conceptual Approach and Knowing Crucial Ideas58:09 Balancing Engine Lines and Practical Play01:...

Contact FM Tarik Selbes here: https://lichess.org/@/nuagesgrisTarik's chess history blog 'Cafe Chigorin': https://tinyurl.com/yp9hhmyz 00:00 Intro 02:23 Enters Tarik Selbes 05:42 The Puzzle Grind That Built Monster Calculation Skills 12:23 The Importance of Calculation in Chess 15:36 His Work with GM Evgeny Romanov 22:15 Positional Play and Dorfman's Influence 27:09 Showing Games: Static vs. Dynam...

Sam's Training Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E1r69Q46gZX02mE5hYPjdVw4VXdz0KfjrTjvLdf3z3s/edit?tab=t.0Sam's chesscom profile: https://www.chess.com/member/eyecandewit In this podcast episode, I’m joined by my own student Sam Bellnap, who moved from 700 to 2000+ Chess.com Rapid (peaking near 2100) in around 3.5 years. Sam tells the full story and shares the study routine that helped him...

Surya's Chessable Page: https://www.chessable.com/author/suryaganguly/Surya's 1. e4 Repertoire Part 1: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-suryas-1e4-part-1/course/353840/Surya's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SuryachessProChess Training: https://prochesstraining.com/GM Ganguly on the Perpetual Chess Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLy5B3n5aOQ00:00 Intro02:29 Und...

Info on CoachChamps 2025: https://www.chess.com/events/info/2025-coachchamps 00:00 Remembering Daniel Naroditsky02:59 Podcast Begins05:55 Takeaways from Different Rating Bands11:08 Opening Preparation17:20 Training Plans25:30 Time Management and Checkpoints27:06 Chesstempo Blitzset34:43 Psychological Aspects of Coaching37:56 Reflections on Coaching Styles45:51 How Much They Can Improve in a Month4...

Info on CoachChamps 2025: https://www.chess.com/events/info/2025-coachchampsFollow David: https://x.com/dpruess?lang=enhttps://www.youtube.com/c/ChessDojo 00:00 Intro04:15 A 14-Year-Old Idea06:12 Surprising Takeaways from Coach Champs17:05 Psychological Training25:52 David's Most Proud Moments29:55 Unfairness 34:43 The Impact of Tie Breaks on Coach Standings41:04 Coaching Preparation and Strategie...

00:00 Intro12:03 Pressure14:37 Alan Watts' Fantasy17:53 Meditation21:04 Playing the Position in Front of You27:01 Toxic Self-Talk 30:24 Rating Anxiety 33:42 Confidence and Self-Efficacy41:23 Handling Losses45:21 Pain = Suffering x Resistance52:35 Time Trouble55:07 Giving up Control58:00 Self-Adopted Identities1:00:28 Beauty in Complexity1:03:46 Preserving the Love for the Game1:15:31 Pre-Game Ritu...

Season 2 of the Chess Cognition Podcast comes to a close with this wrap-up episode. From cognitive science and chess psychology to positional mastery and historic match insights, we covered a wide range of powerful conversations with nine brilliant guests. As we prepare for Season 3 launching in August, I’d love to hear your feedback—what was your favorite episode, what topics do you want more of,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo https://www.chabris.com/ https://amzn.to/437DXhzhttps://amzn.to/44Mrh0O 00:00 Intro 02:48 Enters Dr. Christopher Chabris 06:15 Inattentional and Change Blindness 18:38 Checklists 21:26 Categorizing and Labeling Things 22:59 Visual Crowding 24:36 Blunder-Check 30:23 Cognitive Biases and Decision Making in Chess 38:30 Sunk Cost Fallacy 42:01 Truth Bias 43:...

https://killerchesstraining.com/https://www.newinchess.com/https://amzn.to/4igE5QgThe Art of Exchanging Pieces:https://www.chessable.com/the-art-of-exchanging-pieces/course/82374/ I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard—one of the most prolific chess authors in the world—for a conversation that quickly became one of the most meaningful episodes I’ve recorded. Jacob...

The game: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044387Spassky drew lessons from this loss in the same match: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1129672Spassky - Portisch (1977): https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1113732🔵 My Chessable Courses: https://chessable.com/drcan♟️ Find me on Chess.com: DrCanChess♟️ Find me on Lichess: cantosh🏆 2022 Chessable Community Auth...

Evaluate Like a Grandmaster: https://amzn.to/4iHUuxThttps://zwischenzug.substack.com/ 00:00 Intro 05:20 Position 1 17:24 Position 2 26:50 Position 3 37:05 Position 4 39:29 Position 5 50:37 Position 6 58:05 Position 7 1:04:05 Position 8 In this episode, I sit down with FIDE Master Nate Solon to explore the often-overlooked but crucial skill of evaluating chess positions. Calculation without proper...

The Perpetual Chess Pod: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/Perpetual Chess Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@perpetualchesspodcast9143Perpetual Chess Improvement: https://amzn.to/4i4JsmpPerpetual Chess Link-fest: https://benjohnson.substack.com/Ben's Chessable Course: https://www.chessable.com/identifying-critical-moments-in-chess/course/248353/ 00:00 Intro01:49 The Art of Guest Se...

In this episode, I sat down with IM Alex Astaneh to explore the fundamentals of positional chess and discuss his Chessable course, "Positional Chess Patterns Manual." Alex's course is designed to help players internalize essential positional concepts through repeatable patterns. We analyzed instructive examples from Magnus Carlsen's games, particularly how he leverages color complexes, weak square...

This episode was recorded on a truly special day for me—I’ve been honored as Chessable’s Author of the Year for 2024! It’s an incredible milestone, and I’m deeply grateful for all the support along the way. But this episode isn’t just about celebrating—I'm joined by the amazing WIM Luciana Morales, a highly accomplished chess player, educator, and Chessable author. We dive into her Chessable c...

In this first episode of 2025, I’m joined by Ono, an experienced coach, blogger, and adult improver. Ono shares his journey from picking up chess during the Queen’s Gambit boom to becoming an active participant in the Dutch chess scene. We discuss his experiences with plateaus, rating anxiety, and the challenges of adult improvement, offering practical advice for players navigating similar struggl...

In this special year-end episode, I had the pleasure of hosting Kamryn Helman, an extraordinary adult improver who achieved a chesscom rapid rating of 2000 in just two years, starting from absolute zero. Kamryn shared her inspirational journey, which began in 2021 after watching The Queen’s Gambit. Despite balancing her undergraduate studies and later a full-time job, she devoted around 20 hours p...

In this episode, I sit down with Candidate Master and Chessable author Azel Chua to dive deep into the intricacies of chess calculation and thought processes. Azel's Calculation course broke records on Chessable. He shared concrete positions and concepts to clarify his "Burger Technique"—a systematic approach that breaks down calculation into three essential steps. We explored why traditional appr...

In this episode, I sit down with FM Midas Ratsma from the Netherlands, a renowned Chessable author with eight successful courses. Midas is known for his practical and engaging approach to teaching openings, making his courses favorites among club players and beginners. We dive into his opening philosophy and the strategies behind his course design. We also explore Midas’s chess coaching philosophy...