Sam's Training Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E1r69Q46gZX02mE5hYPjdVw4VXdz0KfjrTjvLdf3z3s/edit?tab=t.0Sam's chesscom profile: https://www.chess.com/member/eyecandewit

In this podcast episode, I’m joined by my own student Sam Bellnap, who moved from 700 to 2000+ Chess.com Rapid (peaking near 2100) in around 3.5 years. Sam tells the full story and shares the study routine that helped him reach 2000. If you’re an adult improver chasing a rating goal, this conversation is a reality check and a roadmap.We get very practical: Sam explains his study plan, why he keeps openings simple (plans over memorization), how he uses targeted training to fix weaknesses (rook endgames were a big one), and how he studies strategy without getting lost in engine “best moves.” We also talk about the weekly group lesson format, how coaching helps identify high-impact leaks you can’t easily spot yourself, and why Sam believes structure beats “random grinding.”The real gem is Sam’s routine: clear start/stop cues, a pregame process goal (instead of Elo goals), and a postgame method that reduces tilt. If you struggle with rating anxiety, inconsistent performance, or not knowing what to study next, this episode is for you. Download Sam’s study guide (linked below) and try it, then tell us what changed.Keywords: adult chess improver, chess improvement, how to reach 2000 elo, chess.com rapid, chess study plan, chess routine, rating anxiety, blunder check, endgame training, rook endgames, chess coaching, process goals, chess habits00:00 Introduction to Sam's Chess Journey03:49 Impact of Group Lessons11:12 Detailed Study Guide Breakdown13:26 Behavioral Cues: Entry Cue and Exit Cue17:51 Opening Study24:42 Opening Strategies and Pawn Structures27:33 Middlegame Study 31:48 Endgame Study36:09 Grandmaster Thinking42:25 Tactics Study45:22 Setting Process Goals52:00 Square Breathing and Meditation54:41 Focus and Emotional Control During Games59:16 Jumping 250 ELO in Three Months01:02:14 Post-Game Reflection and Analysis01:06:06 Learning from Mistakes01:14:12 Why Chess?

Surya's Chessable Page: https://www.chessable.com/author/suryaganguly/Surya's 1. e4 Repertoire Part 1: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-suryas-1e4-part-1/course/353840/Surya's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SuryachessProChess Training: https://prochesstraining.com/GM Ganguly on the Perpetual Chess Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLy5B3n5aOQ00:00 Intro02:29 Understanding vs. Memorization09:13 Opening Advantage is Not Everything11:19 How Surya Structures His Opening Courses18:30 Explaining Strange Looking Moves in the Najdorf22:27 Lessons From Team Anand25:20 Stories From Training Indian Top Players34:22 System Openings vs. Mainlines48:40 His YouTube Journey53:01 Pro Chess Training56:15 WHY We Play ChessIn this episode, I’m honored to welcome Surya Ganguly, one of India’s most respected grandmasters and opening theoreticians. A former child prodigy, six-time Indian Champion, Asian Champion, and former world #55 with a peak rating of 2676, Surya was also a key member of Viswanathan Anand’s World Championship team—achieving a remarkable 100% score as part of the preparation squad. Many chess fans also know Surya from his deep, principled work as a coach and author, including his latest Chessable course: Lifetime Repertoire: 1.e4 – Part 1 vs the Sicilian.Instead of repeating questions from his excellent appearances on the Perpetual Chess Podcast, this conversation goes deeper into how openings should be learned and taught. We explore understanding vs memorization, the importance of asking why in opening study, integrity and consistency in building a repertoire, system openings versus main lines, and how Surya adapts his teaching from 1400-rated players to elite stars like R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.keywords: chess openings, Surya Ganguly, chess education, Chessable, opening preparation, chess strategy, memorization vs understanding, chess courses, chess training, creativity in chess, Anand

Info on CoachChamps 2025: https://www.chess.com/events/info/2025-coachchamps

00:00 Remembering Daniel Naroditsky02:59 Podcast Begins05:55 Takeaways from Different Rating Bands11:08 Opening Preparation17:20 Training Plans25:30 Time Management and Checkpoints27:06 Chesstempo Blitzset34:43 Psychological Aspects of Coaching37:56 Reflections on Coaching Styles45:51 How Much They Can Improve in a Month49:24 Future Improvements and Feedback51:37 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsIn this conversation, NM Robert Ramirez, an acclaimed chess coach and the CoachChamps 2025 champion, discusses his experiences and insights from CoachChamps 2025. He shares his coaching techniques, the importance of adapting to students' needs, and the psychological aspects of chess training. The conversation delves into specific strategies for different rating levels, the significance of tactical training, and the impact of preparation on performance. Robert emphasizes the need for consistency and clarity in coaching, while also reflecting on the challenges and successes of his students during the tournament.Keywords: chess coaching, tournament strategies, student performance, chess techniques, coaching methods, psychological aspects, chess tactics, training plans, time management, chess improvement

Info on CoachChamps 2025: https://www.chess.com/events/info/2025-coachchampsFollow David: https://x.com/dpruess?lang=enhttps://www.youtube.com/c/ChessDojo
00:00 Intro04:15 A 14-Year-Old Idea06:12 Surprising Takeaways from Coach Champs17:05 Psychological Training25:52 David's Most Proud Moments29:55 Unfairness 34:43 The Impact of Tie Breaks on Coach Standings41:04 Coaching Preparation and Strategies52:02 Sebu's Incredible Result59:15 Improving Skills in a Limited Time1:06:35 Draft Choices and Their Importance1:25:12 How CoachChamps Can Get More Attention1:31:50 Training Insights with LoganSeason 3 of The Chess Cognition Podcast opens with International Master David Pruess, reflecting on lessons from the first-ever Coach Champs tournament. In this episode, I sit down with David to unpack what made this event so unique, what we both learned as coaches, and our training approaches.The conversation delves into the unique challenges faced by coaches, the psychological aspects of player performance, and the importance of tailored strategies based on individual player strengths and weaknesses. David discusses surprising outcomes from the tournament, the significance of emotional management, and the need for constructive feedback in coaching. We discuss various aspects of chess coaching, focusing on the psychological impact of losses, effective strategies for tournament preparation, and the importance of time management and identifying weaknesses in players. We examine the impact of drafting choices and luck on tournament outcomes, as well as the importance of flexibility in coaching methods. The discussion also highlights the importance of teaching basic principles and endgame skills, and the role of audience engagement in chess events. Overall, the conversation provides valuable insights into improving chess performance and coaching effectiveness.Keywords:chess coaching, tournament insights, coaching strategies, psychological preparation, emotional management, player improvement, coaching feedback, chess competition, coaching experiences, opponent analysis, chess, coaching, tournament preparation, psychological impact, player profiles, time management, endgame skills, strategy, audience engagement, coaching effectiveness

00:00 Intro12:03 Pressure14:37 Alan Watts' Fantasy17:53 Meditation21:04 Playing the Position in Front of You27:01 Toxic Self-Talk 30:24 Rating Anxiety 33:42 Confidence and Self-Efficacy41:23 Handling Losses45:21 Pain = Suffering x Resistance52:35 Time Trouble55:07 Giving up Control58:00 Self-Adopted Identities1:00:28 Beauty in Complexity1:03:46 Preserving the Love for the Game1:15:31 Pre-Game RitualsBenji Portheault, a seasoned performance coach with experience working with chess players of all levels, including super grandmasters, joined the podcast to discuss the mental aspects of chess. Throughout the conversation, he explored topics such as meditation, dealing with tilt, tournament preparation, and the psychology of chess success. Benji gave insights into how identity, confidence, and mindset play crucial roles in a player's performance. His approach combines modern psychology with meditation techniques to help players build resilience and manage the stress of competition effectively.A major focus of the discussion was on managing emotions during games, particularly in high-pressure situations. Benji explained the importance of developing self-awareness, identifying negative thought patterns, and learning how to reset mentally after mistakes. He introduced techniques such as open monitoring meditation and mental reframing to help players regain focus and prevent one mistake from snowballing into further blunders. He also emphasized the need for practical routines before and during games, including recognizing the feeling of playing well and recalling past successful experiences to build confidence.The conversation also touched on broader topics like rating anxiety, tournament nerves, and the importance of maintaining a love for the game. Benji encouraged players to cultivate a healthy relationship with chess, understanding that improvement requires embracing both wins and losses as learning experiences. He highlighted how professionals and amateurs alike struggle with the psychological challenges of competition, making mental training just as crucial as tactical and strategic preparation.

Season 2 of the Chess Cognition Podcast comes to a close with this wrap-up episode. From cognitive science and chess psychology to positional mastery and historic match insights, we covered a wide range of powerful conversations with nine brilliant guests.

As we prepare for Season 3 launching in August, I’d love to hear your feedback—what was your favorite episode, what topics do you want more of, and who should I invite next?

Thank you for being part of your exciting journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

https://www.chabris.com/

https://amzn.to/437DXhzhttps://amzn.to/44Mrh0O

00:00 Intro

02:48 Enters Dr. Christopher Chabris

06:15 Inattentional and Change Blindness

18:38 Checklists

21:26 Categorizing and Labeling Things

22:59 Visual Crowding

24:36 Blunder-Check

30:23 Cognitive Biases and Decision Making in Chess

38:30 Sunk Cost Fallacy

42:01 Truth Bias

43:45 Trusting Authority

50:53 Practical Decision Making

54:37 Overconfidence in Chess

1:00:27 The Dunning-Kruger Effect

1:12:07 The Illusion of Memory and Its Impact on Chess

1:14:20 Causal Attribution and Learning from Mistakes

1:19:39 The Role of Engines in Chess Analysis

01:29:46 Scientific Studies Involving Chess

In this episode, I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Christopher Chabris—a cognitive scientist, bestselling author, and chess candidate master—whose groundbreaking work on attention, decision-making, and cognitive biases has deeply shaped our understanding of the mind. Known especially for The Invisible Gorilla experiment, which exposed the phenomenon of inattentional blindness, Chris shares insights on how these cognitive limitations directly affect our chess decisions.

We discuss how chess players often miss threats that are right in front of them due to selective attention, and how ideas like gradual change blindness can lead to missed information even under careful observation.

We then explore how these principles translate into practical advice for chess improvement. Chris discusses metacognitive tools like checklists and conscious blunder checks as remedies for attentional blind spots. We reflect on the power of naming patterns—like “sniper bishop” or “loose pieces”—to aid memory and pattern recognition, and how habits of structured thinking can eventually become automatic. We also connect this to broader life patterns: why multitasking reduces performance and how expertise shapes perception.

Finally, we dive into Chris's recent scientific study on overconfidence in chess players. Analyzing data from hundreds of players, they discovered that most chess players believe they’re underrated, especially lower-rated players—a real-world instance of the Dunning-Kruger effect. We unpack how confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacy, truth bias and motivated reasoning influence not just how we play chess, but also how we evaluate our own skill level. Chris shares powerful reminders that chess is fundamentally a game of decision-making under uncertainty—and that metacognitive awareness, realistic self-assessment, and embracing discomfort are key to long-term growth in both chess and life.

keywords: cognitive science, chess, metacognition, attention, cognitive biases, decision making, change blindness, inattentional blindness, learning strategies, memory, cognitive biases, confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, sunk cost fallacy, overconfidence, truth bias, chess decision making, authority trust, uncertainty, Dunning-Kruger effect, chess, overconfidence, Dunning-Kruger effect, memory, skill assessment, causal attribution, chess engines, learning, cognitive bias, player ratings, chess, psychological resilience, tactics, scientific experiments, chess ambitions, cognitive science, performance, skill, learning, expertise

https://killerchesstraining.com/https://www.newinchess.com/https://amzn.to/4igE5QgThe Art of Exchanging Pieces:https://www.chessable.com/the-art-of-exchanging-pieces/course/82374/

I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard—one of the most prolific chess authors in the world—for a conversation that quickly became one of the most meaningful episodes I’ve recorded. Jacob was incredibly open, thinking out loud through challenging positions and showing what high-level problem-solving really looks like in real time.Jacob and Reiner Castellanos recently published the book 'Mastering Chess Exchanges'. We tested each other with positions—Jacob using exercises involving piece trades, and I brought a few from my upcoming course, Workbook for the Art of Series. We discussed exchanges in depth, including themes like good vs. bad pieces, positional vs. tactical justifications, and how to make sense of tension on the board. What stood out most was Jacob’s emphasis on clarity: how simple questions, if asked at the right moment, can organize your thinking and lead to better decisions.Beyond strategy, we explored how players learn. I shared insights from cognitive science, including how reducing extraneous cognitive load helps players process ideas more efficiently. Jacob spoke about the power of volume and focus—how long-term memory, built through serious, undistracted effort, allows strong players to recognize relevance instantly. If you’ve ever wanted a front-row seat to how a world-class coach thinks about chess, this episode is for you.

00:00 Intro02:20 Mastering Chess Exchanges06:46 Woodpecker Method13:45 Jacob Tests Me: Position 116:28 Jacob Tests Me: Position 222:44 Effective Decision-Making31:46 Jacob Tests Me: Position 334:26 Rules/Principles vs. Concepts40:08 Improving Tactical Vision47:19 Volume and Focus55:40 Jacob Tests Me: Position 401:05:52 Jacob Tests Me: Position 501:12:23 Abdusattorov's Bad Decision01:13:33 Jacob Analyses His Recent OTB Game01:30:07 I Test Jacob: Position 101:30:58 Chess Instructor's Most Valuable Quality01:40:44 When We Should Stop Calculating01:41:50 Gelfand's Almost-Religious Insight01:48:25 I Test Jacob: Position 202:03:20 Why Modern Engines Are Crap02:07:51 I Test Jacob: Position 3