February 25, 2025

EP 423- FM Nate Solon on The Right Way to Learn Openings, the Fundamental Flaw of Chess Puzzles and What He Is Working on and Planning for 2025.

1 hour 5 minutes

FM Nate Solon is a data scientist, Chessable author, New in Chess Magazine columnist and the creator of the popular and insightful newsletter, Zwischenzug. Nate joined me shortly after we played in a tournament together to share his latest chess-improvement related thoughts and to reflect on recent lessons he has absorbed. We focused on a few themes in particular:

Why Nate thinks the challenge of learning new openings is often overstated, and the way in which he thinks chess openings “resemble poems.”

How to avoid the trap of overemphasizing solving tactics in one’s training plan

Nate and I both discuss our experiences in the recent World Amateur Team tournament, and the ways in which the weekend tournament experience might be improved.

There is always a lot to learn from Nate, and I am confident your chess can benefit from this conversation. Timestamps of discussion are below.

Sub to Nate’s newsletter here:

https://zwischenzug.substack.com/

Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! Be sure to check out their new offerings here:

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

And if you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

0:02- Nate’s comprehensive advice for learning openings, which focuses on learning by playing and utilizing spaced repetition

17:00- Nate’s advice for using model games

22:00- Do people overemphasize tactical puzzles? How can we avoid this trap?

Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, My Chessable Course

26:00- What is “gritty calculation”?

The position Nate references can be seen here:

https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/calculation-is-never-just-calculation

GM Josh Friedel’s calculation advice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvh7HsYMn-Q

36:00- Is the rating system finally reaching a stable state?

37:00- Nate and I discuss the World Amateur Team, a tournament in which we both recently played .

45:00- Nate’s next tournaments and projects

55:00- Thanks to Nate for joining! Here are the links to keep up with him:

Newsletter:

https://zwischenzug.substack.com/

Chessable courses:

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

His Book:

https://www.amazon.com/Evaluate-Like-Grandmaster-Eugene-Perelshteyn/dp/B0BHNF5CWB

Photo in thumbnail via the Charlotte Chess Center:

https://www.charlottechesscenter.org/photos

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By Ben Johnson

4.8

596596 ratings

February 25, 2025

EP 423- FM Nate Solon on The Right Way to Learn Openings, the Fundamental Flaw of Chess Puzzles and What He Is Working on and Planning for 2025.

1 hour 5 minutes

Why Nate thinks the challenge of learning new openings is often overstated, and the way in which he thinks chess openings “resemble poems.”

How to avoid the trap of overemphasizing solving tactics in one’s training plan

Nate and I both discuss our experiences in the recent World Amateur Team tournament, and the ways in which the weekend tournament experience might be improved.

There is always a lot to learn from Nate, and I am confident your chess can benefit from this conversation. Timestamps of discussion are below.

Sub to Nate’s newsletter here:

https://zwischenzug.substack.com/

Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! Be sure to check out their new offerings here:

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

And if you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

0:02- Nate’s comprehensive advice for learning openings, which focuses on learning by playing and utilizing spaced repetition

17:00- Nate’s advice for using model games

22:00- Do people overemphasize tactical puzzles? How can we avoid this trap?

Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, My Chessable Course

26:00- What is “gritty calculation”?