Azel Chua is a 21-year-old Singapore-based self-taught Candidate Master who has built his own chess skills from the ground up. As Azel explains, he began working on his visualization skills as he sought a way to study chess during high school classes that did not especially interest him.. From there, Azel has developed a unique framework for calculating in chess that he calls “The Burger Technique,” as covered in his popular Chessable courses on Calculation.  In our interview, we discuss this technique, as well as hearing Azel’s thoughts and experiences with utilizing resources such as YouTube, and Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual. Azel also shares some helpful tips on ways to improve one’s chess intuition, and he delves into his background and the chess scene in Singapore. As always, timestamps of topics discussed can be found below. 

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03:00- What did Azel learn from studying the classic book Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual during high school classes? 

Mentioned: Calculation Masterclass with Chessgoals

7:00- What was Azel’s approach to chess improvement? 

10:00- Why does Azel think that the common tactic-solving advice of looking for “checks, captures and threats” might be bad advice? 

12:15- What is”the Burger technique?” 

17:30- Where did he come up with the name for “the Burger technique?” 

21:00- What was Azel’s mix of studying vs. competing as a tournament player? 

22:00- How does Azel describe the chess culture of Singapore?

25:00- What were the biggest contributors to Azel’s improvement?

27:30- What can we do to improve our chess intuition?

32:00- What was Azel’s approach to openings?

36:00- Does Azel follow professional chess? Or read about chess history?

37:00- How does Azel find teaching material? 

39:00- What is reciprocal thinking? 

Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew‘s Video: The Power of Reciprocal Thinking 

45:00- Thanks to Azel Chua for joining me! You can check out his Chessable courses here:

https://www.chessable.com/author/AzelChua/

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