Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement

This week on Chess Journeys, Fionn and I talked about different types of chess learners. Despite having a PhD, Fionn is very much a video oriented learner. We also discussed social vs. lone learners, book vs. video, and active vs. passive learning. We compared some of our favorite video content creators that bring out our active learning side.

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This week on Chess Journeys, Sophie and I discussed her transition from teenage scholastic player to adult improver and the new balance that needs to be struck. We discussed the transition from playing against kids to playing against adults. But primarily we focused on the psychological aspects of chess. We explored topics such as the perils of having our identity tied to success and improvement. Sophie also reflected on her unique method of breaking out of ratings plateaus by caring less and playing a lot of blitz.

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This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with David. He’s in his twenties and has been playing for several years. We focused primarily on his method for working out of rating plateaus. He successfully navigated a year-long pause at 1500 and is currently stuck at 1900. We also discussed interesting topics such as the plague that is online cheating, how we process it, and randomness in chess.

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This week on Chess Journeys I bring in Kirk. Kirk and I talked about his systematic approach to juggling work, family, and chess improvement. We also discussed the issue of working through rating slumps and stagnation. Kirk suggested that not focusing on improvement was the answer for him. Kirk also suggested blending a variety of types of content to help improvement. 

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This week I’m joined by Jessi Shakarian. She’s new to chess, first learning the moves this year! Jessi shares with us the experience of a new chess player and the impact that chess has had on the rest of her life. We discuss a wide variety of topics such as the value of ratings and coaches. Be sure to check out Jessi’s blog at https://jshakarian.medium.com/

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This week I’m joined by Rainer Franke, a fellow adult improver. Rainer has a wide range of ratings from 1478 on LIchess to 361 over the board USCF. We talk about his progress and process including setting schedules, the mental side of chess, and Rainer’s favorite resources.

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This week Dr. Patzer and I discussed his chess journey. We talked about his mindmap and understanding one's priorities and making goals based on them. We discussed the pain of not making progress on your rating even though every other metric points to improvement. I think Dr. Patzer's journey will resonate with many adult improvers, and he provided endless great suggestions. 

https://patzersreview.blogspot.com/ - Check out Dr. Patzer's Book Reviews

Dr. Patzer's Mind Map

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This week I am lucky to have a most distinguished guest, Ben Johnson. Ben hosts two amazing chess improvement podcasts, Perpetual Chess and How to Chess. We talk about his chess journey and his new found commitment to improve at chess. We discuss strategies, hurdles, and a whole lot more. 

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For the first episode, I talk with Jim, an adult improver who has been working hard on his chess during the pandemic. He has clear goals and regularly updates the "state of his game." He is thoughtful and introspective about the process that he has been using for adult chess improvement.  If you want to be a guest on the show, reach out to drscull on Chess.com or tinygrimes on lichess. 

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