Julia and JJ question whether there is a connection between an aggressive style of play over the board and aggressively alienating personalities off the board. And, even worse, could aggression still improve your chess even if there is? JJ laments that many of their students describe clarifying, forcing, but ultimately simplifying moves as "aggressive." Julia explains how different conceptualizations and types of aggression can map onto chess in different ways. They then dunk on GM Reuben Fine's psychobabble from the 1950s about chess and psychology, and close on a conversation about how misconceptions of aggression within a game of chess can alienate marginalized groups of people within the chess space more generally.
chessfeels: conversations about chess, psychology & mental health