The Chess Angle – Details, episodes & analysis

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?

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📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at info@thechessangle.com.

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This week's episode is a response to the Reddit post What are some of the most advanced and incomprehensible concepts in chess? 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 info@thechessangle.com.

🎯 Our Links: 

• Website
• Twitter (X)
• YouTube
• Buy Me a Coffee

Like it or not, the clock is just as much a part of tournament chess as the board and pieces. Poor clock management is a consistent problem for many players. We cover:

• Why clock management is essential for tournament success
• Common causes of time-trouble (and how to avoid it)
• The dangers of perfectionism and obsessing over the "best" move
• An interesting trick you can use to get your opponent into time trouble

Referenced:

• Ep. 16: "Chess for Tigers"
• Ep. 29: "The Seven Deadly Chess Sins"
• Chess for Tigers (Amazon)
• The Seven Deadly Chess Sins (Amazon)

📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at info@thechessangle.com.

🎯 Our Links: 

• Website
• Twitter (X)
• YouTube
• Buy Me a Coffee

The Amazon links above are affiliate links. Qualifying purchases help support this podcast at no additional cost to you.

This is the first episode for our new Game Analysis Series. I will thematically break down one or more of my OTB games, covering a variety of chess concepts and ideas for the amateur and club player. Some of the themes from this episode include:

• Why you shouldn't fear higher-rated opponents
• How to play against lower-rated opponents
• How to handle draw offers
• The French Defense advance variation  

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E-mail: info@thechessangle.com

**Note: Alex King earned the FM title after this was recorded. The episode title has been updated but the original show notes are below.

This week I spoke with National Master Alex King who resides in Memphis, Tennessee. Alex is an active tournament player, teacher, and writer. His 6-part article series for Chess Life magazine on the Tarrasch Defense  begins with the March 2022 issue. Alex is also an accomplished musician, and he composed and performed all the music in this episode. Some of our talking points include:

• Chess improvement tips for amateurs
• The prevalence of chess cheating
• The relationship between music and chess

Alex's links & info:
Marshall Spectator article
chess.com: AlexanderKing
lichess: OjaiJoao
E-mail: snarkusmusic@gmail.com

Our links:
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E-mail: info@thechessangle.com

I spoke with Candidate Master and renowned chess educator Brian Karen. He is one of the most active teachers in the country. Some of our talking points include:

• Tournament players vs. hobbyists
• A rating system based on norms, rather than individual games
• Studying chess
• Does preparing for a specific opponent actually make a difference at the club level?

Links referenced in this episode:
Chess Book Collectors FB Group
Fide World Chess Championship FB Group
The Seven Deadly Chess Sins (affiliate link)
Chess for Tigers (affiliate link)
Brian's email: briankaren@usa.net

Our links:
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E-mail: info@thechessangle.com

Arguably, certain "theoretical advantages" often have less significance at the amateur level. For example, material imbalances such as "having the two bishops" or "being up the Exchange" are often overrated when non-titled players face off.
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For the podcast's first interview format, I spoke with National Master Tim Mirabile. This is our uncut, unedited conversation. Below, Tim shared a list of some favorite books and a link to an article about the growth mindset:

• Bobby Fischer – My 60 Memorable Games
• Robert Burger – The Chess of Bobby Fischer
• Alexander Kotov – Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster
• Andrew Soltis – The Art of Defense in Chess
• Vladimir Vukovic – The Art of Attack in Chess
• John Nunn & Peter Griffiths – Secrets of Grandmaster Play
• Alex Dunne – How to Become a Candidate Master
• Mauricio Flores Ríos – Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide
• Reuben Fine – Basic Chess Endings
• Jonathan Speelman – Analyzing the Endgame
• Eduard Gufeld – Exploiting Small Advantages
• Mark Dvoretsky & Artur Yusupov – Original 5 book series (Training for the Tournament Player, Opening Preparation, Technique for the Tournament Player, Positional Play, Attack and Defense)
• Chess Informant, Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, Encyclopedia of Chess Middlegames: Combinations, Encyclopedia of Chess Endings (somewhat obsoleted by database, training software, tablebases)
• Growth Mindset article

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E-mail: info@thechessangle.com

For many players, chess study is a grey area.  It's not just WHAT to study but HOW. We believe Practical Chess Exercises is one of the best puzzle books for amateur players. For online instructional content, we recommend chess.com. These are affiliate links which support the podcast at no additional cost to you.
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E-mail: info@thechessangle.com

Certain chess mistakes appear in amateur games with unwavering consistency. For the best online chess experience, we recommend chess.com (affiliate link).
Our links:
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E-mail: info@thechessangle.com