Ep. 120: Fix Your Chess Mistakes! (Review of "The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book")
Release Date: 08/11/2024
Ep. 132 (S8 Finale): Chess Teaching, Part 2: Materials, Resources, & Essential Concepts
The Chess Angle
This episode is our Season 8 Finale! Neal will be taking an extended end-of-year break and will return with Season 9 in January 2025. This week, we continue our discussion on chess teaching with a focus on materials, resources, and essential concepts for developing players. Referenced Resources and Materials: Chess.com Chessable Practical Chess Exercises The Amateur's Mind Winning Chess Tactics Winning Chess Strategies Jeff Coakley books (red and green) Pandolfini's Endgame Course Openings: Starting Out series by Everyman Chess Referenced Chess Concepts for Developing Players: General board...
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Ep. 131: Thoughts on Chess Teaching, Part 1: Philosophy & Structure
The Chess Angle
What are the qualities of a good chess coach? How can one become a chess teacher? How should lessons be organized and scheduled? This episode is Part One of Two about chess teaching from both the teacher and student point of view. This week we focus more on the former. We also cover the following topics: Annotating your own games Is there a "rating ceiling" no matter how hard one works to improve? Can you take notes during an OTB tournament game? How to find time to play OTB games as a busy adult Referenced: (Amazon) 📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail...
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Ep. 130: Online Chess Cheating
The Chess Angle
This week, we share our thoughts about online chess cheating. We believe it is rampant, while the online servers seem to downplay the amount of cheating taking place. We hypothesize that cheaters are using specific methods in an attempt to avoid detection, and we created nicknames for these players. We discuss the following cheating personalities and more: Larry "Long Pause" Sal "Smooth Moves" Oliver "Obvious Recapture" Donald "Decoy Move" Peter "Perfect Attack" Orlando "Only When Needed" David "Deliberate Early Blunder" Referenced: (instructional videos for busy adult club players - still...
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Ep. 129: Seven Attacking Tips for Club-Level Chess Players
The Chess Angle
This week, Neal discusses attacking play for the amateur player. Arguably, club players should approach attacks differently than titled players. This episode is divided into three segments: Listener Mailbag (elderly advice, withdrawing from tourneys, improvement realities) Does US Chess appreciate its local tournament directors? (opinion piece) 7 attacking tips for the club player Referenced: (Amazon) (Amazon) 📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links: The Amazon links above are affiliate links. Qualifying purchases...
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Ep. 128: Boosting Your Chess Rating & Higher-Rated Opponents (Game Analysis #12)
The Chess Angle
Beating or drawing higher-rated opponents stems from winning the psychological game, since attempting to outplay them based solely on chess skill usually fails. We also discuss the following: Stop doing THIS and your rating will increase Opening choices Queenside castling: many forget to follow up with THIS move Why the Queen's Indian Defense is so powerful at the club level The "correct" time to consider offering a draw Playing & directing in the same event Game Referenced: 2013 vs. Neal (G/90;d10) 1. c4 b6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 Bb7 4. a3 e6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Nf3 Ne4 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9....
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Ep. 127: Chess Study Plans & Formulas, the Club-Level Thought Process, Tournament Strategy & More feat. James Nidds
The Chess Angle
James Nidds is a 58-year-old amateur player and LI Chess Club regular rated 1808 (US Chess) at the time of this recording. He offers a great deal of advice and perspective on chess improvement as an adult. Talking points include the following & more: Beginners should focus on these THREE things The FOUR characteristics all good players possess How to handle opponents who play aggressively Why the 2000 Kasparov-Kramnik match changed James' approach permanently A sample chess study regimen James' belief that electronic training tools are more effective than books Why the idea that amateurs...
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Ep. 126: Should You Ever Withdraw From a Chess Tournament?
The Chess Angle
🎯 Please SUBSCRIBE to our ! After much planning and preparation, you're excited to play in a 6-round weekend event, but find yourself 0-3 heading into round 4 and feeling frustrated and dejected. Should you finish out the tournament or withdraw? We take a look at this and more. Topics covered: Weekend vs. club events Why tournament conditions favor stronger players Should you play "up?" The "sunk cost fallacy" and tournament psychology How to respond to "tilt" Referenced: The instructional videos below are from the which is in the early stages. All videos feature positions from...
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Ep. 125: Are Adult Improvers "Good" at Chess?
The Chess Angle
🎯 Please SUBSCRIBE to our ! What are the qualifications to be a "good" chess player? This week's episode is a reaction to the Reddit post We cover the following and more: Should you tell your opponent he forgot to press his clock? How to play against kids The dangers of "coffee house" chess Is it the hours you put in or what you put in the hours? Referenced: (chess.com forum) (lichess study) 📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 124: Are Amateur Players Qualified to Coach Chess?
The Chess Angle
This week's offering is a dedicated Listener Mailbag episode. We cover the following and more: Using "inflection points" to improve Does using a chess engine "turn off your brain?" Should you study with an amateur chess coach? Is rating deflation real? 📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 123: The Most Confusing Chess Concepts for Developing Players
The Chess Angle
This week's episode is a response to the Reddit post At the time of this recording, there were over 150 responses. The following concepts, among others, were frequently cited as being difficult to understand: Pawn play En passant Rook and pawn endings K & Q vs. K & R Initiative vs. material Piece coordination When to fianchetto Piece sacrifices 📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
info_outlineFor club-level chess players and adult improvers, an argument can be made that amateur games are significantly more instructive than Grandmaster games. Amateur games feature themes, ideas, mistakes, and erroneous thought processes that are highly instructive, while the ideas in Grandmaster games are often esoteric and difficult to process. Simply put, amateur games are ripe with instructional value. This week's episode is a review of The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book (Amazon) by NM Dan Heisman. It is a collection of 30 deeply annotated amateur games. The written prose and explanations are outstanding. We cover the following and much more:
- Poor time management
- Erroneous thought processes
- The dangers of prioritizing strategy over safety
- Castling errors
- Why discovery and removal-of-the-guard tactics are often missed
- The "hand waving" error
- Poor defensive choices
📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected].
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