The Chess Cognition Podcast

Join legendary chess coach Andras Toth, renowned for his chess courses on Chessable, as he delves into crucial questions every player should consider during a game. He shares strategies on identifying threats and enhancing decision-making skills. The conversation emphasizes the importance of board awareness, calculation techniques, and recognizing patterns to avoid blunders. Andras also discusses adapting strategies to different playing styles, making this insight-packed session a must-listen for both beginners and seasoned players.

In this episode, we explore the age-old debate: Is Blitz chess good for improvement? Joining me is FIDE Master Nate Solon, a chess coach and Chessable author, to discuss Blitz chess's benefits and potential drawbacks. We discuss how Blitz can be a powerful tool for developing chess intuition, sharpening opening repertoire, and quickly identifying recurring mistakes through high-volume play. Nate highlights the advantages of quick feedback loops and how Blitz can be an integral part of a balanced training regimen. However, we also delve into the opposing viewpoint: the risks of Blitz creating bad habits, especially for beginners. We discuss the importance of deliberate practice, focusing on slower, more thoughtful games to solidify essential chess processes like deep calculation, positional understanding, and endgame technique. 00:00 Introduction 02:58 Nate’s Argument: Benefits of Blitz Chess 07:16 Counterargument: What You CAN NOT Do Properly in Blitz Chess 09:20 Consistency and Accuracy FIRST Before Speed (Lessons from Other Domains) 10:41 Benefits For Different Rating Ranges 14:45 How to Analyse Our Blitz Games 23:30 Listing Recurrent Mistakes 27:26 Tilt and Breaking the Tilt 31:36 Did Blitz Help Nate and His Students? 36:24 Grandmasters Playing Blitz 46:00 Knowing What I Do NOT Know 48:27 How To Steer the Chess Engine For Analysis 52:21 Should Chess Improvement be Fun? 55:35 Deliberate Practice 01:01:31 Mindset