The Chess Angle

🎯 Please SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel! 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 LI Chess Club YouTube Channel which is in the early stages. All videos feature positions from amateur games and cover themes and ideas you will actually face on a regular basis. The goal will be to have videos that are approx. 7-12 min. in length so that busy adults will be able to consume them. 3 Tactics That BOTH Players Miss Trapped Piece Tactics Players Rated 1000: Common Errors ✔ FIDE Rating Deflation Adjustment (chess.com article) ✔ Ep. 99: How to Approach Chess Study as a Beginner/Adv. Beginner ✔ Ep. 71: NM James Altucher 📧 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

🎯 Please SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel! What are the qualifications to be a "good" chess player? This week's episode is a reaction to the Reddit post When Can You Tell Someone You Are Good at Chess? 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: The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book (chess.com forum) The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book (lichess study) 📧 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

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? Leave a voicemail message! 🎙 📧 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

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

Most players agree that slower time controls are beneficial for chess growth, but what about blitz chess? Can online blitz chess help you improve? Are certain blitz time controls better than others? Should you always play with an increment? What about bullet chess? In this episode, Neal shares the results of an informal online chess experiment where he played several blitz games at various time controls. Referenced: Simple Chess (Amazon) Winning Chess Strategies (Amazon) Ep. 113: Stop Dropping Pawns! 📧 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 the podcast at no additional cost to you.

Your opponent has a better position or plays a move that catches you by surprise. Rather than keep your composure while patiently analyzing, you become frustrated, despondent, and convince yourself your position and/or your opponent's apparent threat is worse than it is. As a result, you bang out an unnecessary (and weakening) defensive move. Sound familiar? You just played a "panic move." This week we take a look at this common chess ailment. Game Referenced: 1900 vs. Neal (G/90;d10) 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 Be4 10. b3 d6 11. Bb2 f5 12. Rad1 Bf6 13. Ne5 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Qe8 15. Qf3 c6 16. Nd3 Na6 17. Nf4 g6 18. h4 e5 19. Nh3 e4 20. Qe3 Rd8 21. Rh1 c5 22. h5 cxd4 23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Rxd4 Rf6 25. hxg6 Qxg6 26. Nf4 Qf7 27. Rh5 Kh8 28. Qc3 Qg7 29. Rd5 Rdf8 30. Qd4 Nc5 31. Rxd6 Rxd6 32. Qxd6 Rf6 33. Qd8+ Rf8 34. Ng6+ Qxg6 35. Qxf8+ 1-0 📧 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

For 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 info@thechessangle.com. 🎯 Our Links: Website Twitter (X) YouTube Buy Me a Coffee The Amazon link above is an affiliate link. Qualifying purchases help support this podcast at no additional cost to you.

Discover the pitfalls of common chess study habits and why mastering the fundamentals is crucial. Explore the balance between offense-only exercises and studying, and find out how to effectively incorporate chess engine analysis. The impact of online chess on player mindset is discussed, highlighting the need for serious gameplay. Tune in for insights on how to navigate study materials and ensure your chess education is efficient and beneficial.

Welcome to Season 8! Neal begins by discussing the state of the podcast and some harsh truths about chess improvement that are arguably not mentioned enough. The final segment is a discussion of the King's Indian Attack, an easy-to-learn, theoretically sound system-opening for White after 1. Nf3 or 1. e4. It can be played against any Black defense, but is particularly effective against the French, Sicilian, and Caro-Kann. Referenced: Why Play the King's Indian Attack? How to Play the King's Indian Attack King's Indian Attack - The Simplest Chess Opening for White (YouTube) Sample Lines: 1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.d3 Bg4 5.O-O Nbd7 6.Nbd2 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Nf6 📧 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

This week's episode is our Season 7 Finale (Season 8 coming soon...). In this light, laid-back, rapid-fire episode, Neal reacts to the enjoyable chess.com article 7 Hot Takes That Are Just True by Pedro Pinhata, a Sr. Digital Content Writer for chess.com. Mr. Pinhata's 7 Hot Takes: Stalemate Being A Draw Is Awesome Chess.com Should Come With A Doomsday Device Online Chess Is Better Than Over-The-Board People Who Play 1+0 Bullet Are Not OK 1.d4 Is Better Than 1.e4 The London Is The Best Chess Opening You Should Never "Never Resign" 📧 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