The hottest Chess Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top World Politics Topics

Understanding Risk in Chess

Zwischenzug • 550 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Trust your calculations and decisions, don't act out of fear
  2. GMs know when to calculate deeply and when to play it safe
  3. Prioritize simple and safe options over risky and complicated choices in chess

Something weird is happening with LLMs and chess

DYNOMIGHT INTERNET NEWSLETTER • 1515 implied HN points • 14 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. Large language models (LLMs) can somewhat play chess, but they struggle after the opening moves. They were not specifically designed for chess, yet they can manage to play using their text training.
  2. The performance of different language models varies significantly when playing chess. Some models like 'gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct' excel at it, while others perform very poorly.
  3. It seems that focusing on instruction tuning can make LLMs worse at chess, suggesting that training style impacts their ability to play games effectively.

Why You Should Be A Control Freak

Zwischenzug • 432 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
🚌 Education Chess
  1. Control in chess means knowing what your opponent can do and being ready for it.
  2. Maintaining control is crucial, especially in winning positions.
  3. The engine's evaluation may not reflect the full complexity of a position, so human perspective is key in strategic decisions.

Is Chess A Waste Of Time?

Zwischenzug • 845 implied HN points • 04 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Chess
  1. Chess can be seen as a serious pursuit or a wasted talent.
  2. Some individuals regret dedicating their life to chess, while others find it to be a form of art.
  3. Chess may offer a unique training in structured thinking, attracting scientists and proving fruitful for a shift in focus.
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Your rating's not going up. What now?

Zwischenzug • 471 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Chess improvement can be divided into levels: taking pieces, tactics, and strategic play.
  2. Mastering lower levels of chess skills is crucial; they have a more significant impact on your game.
  3. Balancing theory and practice is essential for chess improvement; playing games is the best form of practice.

Chess is 99% taking pieces

Zwischenzug • 628 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. In chess, 99% of the game is about taking your opponent's pieces and not hanging your own.
  2. For many players, improvement comes from mastering basic concepts like piece safety rather than advanced strategies.
  3. Efficiency matters, so seek out resources that help you practice and improve on keeping your pieces safe in chess.

Creativity in Training

Zwischenzug • 530 implied HN points • 03 Jun 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Chess
  1. Taking ownership of your learning process is crucial for improvement.
  2. Being creative in your training methods can lead to effective results.
  3. Being comfortable with mistakes is necessary for growth and development.

OK, I can partly explain the LLM chess weirdness now

DYNOMIGHT INTERNET NEWSLETTER • 796 implied HN points • 21 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. LLMs like `gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct` can play chess well, but most other models struggle. Using specific prompts can improve their performance.
  2. Providing legal moves to LLMs can actually confuse them. Instead, repeating the game before making a move helps them make better decisions.
  3. Fine-tuning and giving examples both improve chess performance for LLMs, but combining them may not always yield the best results.

Is Chess a Game of Luck?

Zwischenzug • 471 implied HN points • 14 May 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Chess is a game of skill, not luck. Players have full control over their moves.
  2. There is still some luck involved in chess, such as external distractions or unexplained variations in performance.
  3. To improve in chess, focus on the process, consider long-term results, and seek outside perspectives for feedback.

What's The Point Of Studying The Endgame?

Zwischenzug • 432 implied HN points • 15 Apr 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. The importance of studying endgames is debated in the chess community.
  2. Practical endgames are underrated compared to theoretical endgames.
  3. Playing blitz can be beneficial for improving your chess skills, but it's important to maintain focus and avoid developing bad habits.

Ratings Are Broken

Zwischenzug • 412 implied HN points • 29 Jul 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Lower rated players are winning more often than expected.
  2. New underrated players entering the rating pool are causing downward pressure on ratings.
  3. Proposed solutions include a one-time rating boost for players under 2000 and changes in rating calculations.

Beating Hikaru

Zwischenzug • 373 implied HN points • 25 Feb 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. The importance of strategic moves in chess and unexpected turnarounds in a game.
  2. The experience of being selected for fair play screening in chess tournaments and the stress it can bring to players.
  3. The challenges and implications of cheating suspicion in online chess tournaments, and the need for transparent and fair anti-cheating measures.

When To Stop Thinking

Zwischenzug • 353 implied HN points • 20 Feb 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Deciding when to stop thinking in a chess game is crucial.
  2. Don't waste time overthinking insignificant decisions.
  3. Learning to manage time consciously when making moves is important.

OMG, I registered for an OTB tournament

Zwischenzug • 353 implied HN points • 01 Jul 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. The author registered for an OTB tournament after a long break due to COVID and personal commitments.
  2. Chose a shorter tournament for their comeback to OTB chess to ease back into the competitive environment.
  3. Preparing for the tournament involves focusing on openings, calculation, and getting used to a physical chess board.

Database Review

Zwischenzug • 353 implied HN points • 19 Jun 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. In poker, understanding strategy requires looking at the big picture over many hands.
  2. Chess is a game of specifics and calculation, unlike poker which has too many possibilities to calculate precisely.
  3. In both chess and poker, it's essential to have a global view of your strategy to identify and correct systematic mistakes.

Tournament Preparation Update

Zwischenzug • 334 implied HN points • 06 Aug 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Commit to a narrow repertoire for a chess tournament to feel confident.
  2. Focus on board vision and opponent's resources rather than just hard tactics before a tournament.
  3. Consider the role of endgames in a tournament based on game analysis and advice from experienced players.

Spaced Repetition

Zwischenzug • 334 implied HN points • 27 May 23
🚌 Education Chess
  1. Spaced repetition helps you remember by reviewing just before forgetting.
  2. Tools like Chessable and Anki can automate and personalize spaced repetition for chess.
  3. Use spaced repetition for openings, tactics, and reviewing mistakes in chess, but remember it's just one tool among many for learning.

Openings vs. Ratings

Zwischenzug • 314 implied HN points • 29 Apr 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. At lower levels, expect to face 1. e4 often and focus more on Black opening preparation.
  2. In mid ratings, the London system is common, so be prepared for it.
  3. As you climb the rating ladder, face a variety of moves, so focus on preparing for the most common ones at your level.

An opening data strategy

Datent • 117 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. Strategies are guiding principles and need a clear purpose for decision-making.
  2. Focus on maximizing the benefits of data through data product management, managing data culture, and running a data transformation program.
  3. Feedback and continuous improvement are essential in developing effective data strategies.

When Quitting Isn’t an Option: Lessons from an 8-Year-Old at a Chess Championship

Behavioral Value Investor • 89 implied HN points • 28 Jul 25
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. It's important to stay resilient and fight back, even when things look hopeless. You never know when your opponent might make a mistake.
  2. Lessons from coaching can apply to many areas of life, including how we handle challenges and setbacks.
  3. Investing, like chess, requires discipline and a willingness to adapt. Keeping a positive mindset can help you navigate tough times.

Wanna Play Chess? ♟️

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 59 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. A chess player used a special device to analyze moves, and it suggested a popular opening strategy.
  2. Famous chess player Viswanathan Anand has been using AI tools to understand chess better and improve training.
  3. Anand emphasized that while AI is getting better, chess will always be a human game and can't be fully replaced.

Creating Individualised Chess Engines

Chess Engine Lab • 39 implied HN points • 26 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. An engine called Maia focused on predicting human moves accurately instead of just being the strongest in chess, resulting in a more meaningful impact, especially for club-level players.
  2. By individualizing chess engines to predict moves of specific players, accuracy can be increased by 4-5% and players can be identified with 98% accuracy from a pool of 400, based on their game patterns.
  3. Identifying players through their mistakes is a crucial aspect - as mistakes are unique to individual players, understanding and fixing them can greatly aid in chess improvement.

Using LC0's WDL to Analyze Games

Chess Engine Lab • 19 implied HN points • 23 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. Analyzing chess games using LC0's WDL can provide a more insightful overview of the game compared to centipawn graphs.
  2. Increasing the number of nodes per move in analysis results in spikier graphs, showing more extreme evaluations; finding a balance between accuracy and relevance to human play is important.
  3. Using WDL contempt values in LC0 analysis can adjust the winning probabilities based on player ratings, offering a new perspective on game outcomes.

[Review] Move First, Think Later: Sense and Nonsense in Improving Your Chess

Arjun Panickssery • 39 implied HN points • 18 Sep 23
🚌 Education Chess
  1. The book challenges traditional chess teaching methods by emphasizing pattern recognition over structured thinking.
  2. Verbal descriptions may not be effective in teaching chess moves, as examples show that pattern familiarity is crucial.
  3. The effectiveness of absorbing chess patterns quickly is compared to language learning, emphasizing the importance of practical application.

Notes on Puzzles

Nabeel S. Qureshi • 222 HN points • 11 Jul 23
🚌 Education Chess
  1. Skilled chess players spend more time falsifying their ideas than amateurs do.
  2. In real life, trying to falsify your ideas can help with decision-making, but there are scenarios that require you to 'try it and see'.
  3. Having the conviction that there is an answer can drive problem-solving, but real-life problems can be more complex and uncertain.

Elo ELI5'd

inexactscience • 39 implied HN points • 15 Jul 23
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Elo ratings are used to compare the strength of players, particularly in chess. They help predict the outcome of games based on the players' ratings.
  2. The formula for updating Elo ratings takes into account the expected score of a player and the actual outcome of a game. If the outcome is surprising, the rating changes more significantly.
  3. Elo ratings can also be applied beyond chess to other areas, like ranking items or comparing performance in various fields, showing their versatility as a simple yet effective system.

[Solution]Problem 60:N Queens [FAANG+ everyone else]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 14 Oct 22
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. The problem of placing n queens on an n x n chessboard without them attacking each other is known as the n-queens puzzle.
  2. Backtracking and recursion are commonly used strategies for solving the n-queens puzzle.
  3. Solutions to the n-queens puzzle involve distinct board configurations with 'Q' representing a queen and '.' representing an empty space.

Stalemate, Zugzwang and a long Middle Game

Comment is Freed • 103 implied HN points • 19 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics Chess
  1. Stalemate can highlight the need for diplomatic resolutions in war situations.
  2. The term 'stalemate' in chess refers to a specific situation where one player cannot make any legal moves, unique to the game.
  3. The concept of 'Zugzwang' in chess signifies being compelled to make a move that leads to a worse position, showcasing strategic vulnerability.

Problem 60:N Queens [FAANG+ everyone else]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 13 Oct 22
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. N-Queens problem is popular among tech companies like FAANG and is commonly asked in interviews.
  2. The problem involves placing n queens on an n x n chessboard without them attacking each other.
  3. Solutions to the N-Queens problem can be returned in any order and each solution includes a distinct board configuration.

Playing Chess - LLMs and Actual Chess AIs

Age of AI • 19 implied HN points • 04 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. Large Language Models like ChatGPT can learn strategy games but won't reach top chess AI levels.
  2. True Chess AI like AlphaZero and MuZero outperform traditional chess programs by learning through reinforcement.
  3. Human-level chess AI like Maia Chess is designed to play like humans, predicting moves without looking ahead.

Don't Sacrifice Your Advantage

Muslim Musings • 39 implied HN points • 20 Aug 22
🚌 Education Chess
  1. In chess, it's important not to sacrifice your time advantage by rushing your moves.
  2. Playing fast in chess can lead to mistakes that your opponent can exploit, even if they have more time on their clock.
  3. Having patience in taking your time to make moves is crucial, as rushing can level the playing field unnecessarily.

The Candidates in 13 Graphs

Chess Engine Lab • 1 HN point • 25 Apr 24
🎾 Sports Chess
  1. Pragganandhaa performed well with Black, while Firouzja struggled with Black.
  2. Gukesh displayed strong gameplay, being rarely in a worse position throughout the tournament.
  3. There are plans to explore more stats and graphs in future tournaments, including novelties in openings and move times.

Corridor numbers, Fibonacci numbers, and Pascal’s triangle

A Piece of the Pi: mathematics explained • 12 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
🔬 Science Chess
  1. Corridor numbers count ways to take diagonal steps down a corridor with fixed width. The numbers in each box form Fibonacci numbers when summed vertically.
  2. Fibonacci sequence is generated by summing the previous two terms. In the context of corridor numbers, Fibonacci numbers represent different routes to specific boxes.
  3. Pascal's triangle has rows starting and ending with 1, where each entry is the sum of two nearest entries from the row above. Circular Pascal arrays relate to corridor numbers and can produce Fibonacci numbers when subtracting specific entries.

Large Language Model Blues

Pavle Miha • 3 HN points • 11 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Chess
  1. The Copernican Revolution happens once and then it's over, we'll realize we're not the smartest, but we're special in other ways.
  2. Computers changed chess and work by automating tasks; we'll find new ways to make things fun again.
  3. We're all in this together, so be kind, reach out to others, and support each other.

How Games Will Save the World (Again)

Donkeyspace • 1 HN point • 22 Jun 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Chess
  1. Games have a unique ability to help us navigate crises by offering new ways of thinking beyond formal models.
  2. Art, including games, plays a significant role in shaping human values, perspectives, and cognition.
  3. Through games, we engage in problem-solving, skill-building, and self-modification, which can be beautiful, pleasurable, and essential for understanding complex concepts.