The Psychology of Chess

[@agadmator]

I'm honored! :)

[@ericdodson2644]

As am I... Thanks for presenting so many great games... and "Hi" to your dog!

[@mrmoisha287]

O m g both my favorite KZbinrs having a conversation. It’s like reading the part of a Greek tragedy, where the gods are talking

[@Kenny2100vn]

Eyyyy It is the legens

[@warlock7907]

Now am able to mention about 30-45 chess masters and legends (most even there nationality) due to Agadmator. It really make me smile hearing this fellow man mention him :)

[@mdl222]

Agadmator, you are a standard for me in chess analysis and a treasure among your peers. Thank you for sharing your love for chess!

[@alexfloate2420]

Never underestimate your opponent. Was playing a guy at a coffee shop who promptly started whipping me. He remarked to the spectators (our friends) that he needed a real opponent; I came back from a three capital piece deficit to win. Never underestimate your opponent.

[@mbpllc5446]

Interesting video. I play chess online with a bunch of friends and noticed that my performance is such that there are days I am unstoppable, win all the games and other when it’s the opposite no matter how hard I try, it is like my performance is predetermined in advance depending on the day. I couldn’t pinpoint a pattern or why that happens but I find it interesting. I don’t know if this happens to other people but if you could play chess before making an important decision in your life, depending on your performance one could delay such decision waiting for another day when mind is sharper and more focused, and chess could be used as a gauge of such sharpness.

[@minoz55]

Interesting!

[@bertilhuger6416]

Interesting insights. I feel it should called "the Philosophy of Chess" though.

[@raunakdas2634]

+1

[@ahmeds.mansour1293]

This is one of the best chess talk I’ve ever came across.. I love these topics categorized under the psychology of chess❤

[@meximick]

I searched for this topic and I am not disappointed. Thank you.

[@channelmin3cr4ft]

Cool video. I didn't expect something like this but it is really neat. I was a big local chess champion in my tweens and early teens, so it was in many ways nostalgic of the experience and the lessons.

[@ericdodson2644]

I'm glad that you enjoyed this video. Thanks for taking the time & energy to watch it.

[@brysonnoblefamily]

Thank you for this amazing tribute to the lessons chess can teach us.

[@1pwNz0mb13Z]

Very well stated! Understanding the points discussed here helped me move to playing real opponents online instead of just bots

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

I would like to mention one other point, and this happens during a game! This involves the feature of premoves, like how a predator knows how to ensnare its prey, and this runs the thought that you know the psychology of your opponent and know what he will do and to that my counter would be this, and we take the piece or something, this involves other things like instinct as well, but you can deduce whether an opponent goes left or right aggressive or pacified or passive or steady just by his moves or way of playing, and as mentioned you can always evolve!

[@7heplague236]

Thank you for your contribution, & thank you for listening to Nightwish 😉 You've probably heard of these others, Within Temptation, To Die For, Sonata Arctica, Epica. If not, enjoy!

[@djurbzatursakka2239]

Frustration leads to an increase of the amount of limited time we have for chess. That leads to improvement.

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, having more time for chess would probably favor improvement. But if that increase in time is accompanied by more negative emotion, it makes it likely that a person will end up using that time for something other than chess.

[@djurbzatursakka2239]

Go to any chess server, win a game, decline rematch offer, decline it again, and again, and again.

[@martinbugge6220]

Can you eloborate on how frustration increases the amount of time, one have for playing? My immediate thought was that frustration makes one more prone to waste time, instead of bettering oneself. As would savouring the victory to an extent. For me, the most efficient and stable way of improving at the game, and life in general, is to react to loss and defeat as equal as possible. I hope you will try to enlighten me 🙂Kind regards

[@andrewschultz6608]

To make a side point...you mentioned how losing helps you learn, but one big thing I found when looking at old tourney games from high school was ... even in winning, you make big mistakes, below master level. I think I got the idea from Jeremy Silman who said everyone under 2200 makes 1 potentially game shifting blunder per game. With chess computers as good as they are, chess allows for initial (and near-instantaneous) objective feedback via engine and can help you realize that people rated, say, 300 points above you don't have a magic wand to avoid certain errors. It was a tremendous catalyst for learning other things (programming languages etc) knowing I could make a mistake--many, in fact. As opposed to school with testing and learning and 90=a 80=b which feels more static.

[@mariusmarius4832]

Thank you, brilliant video and commentary, much appreciated.. Well done.

[@effie8547]

Stopped at 6:20, may finish later. Sorry if this is visited later in the video, but I'm interested in exploring why some people seem to have zero grasp of or interest in chess and other deeply complex competitive activities while others would quickly opt to do nothing else for the rest of their lives of the opportunity existed.

[@torinsgarden1437]

Been following your channel for awhile now. Your voice is iconic

[@Kufuu]

Thanks for this. I play arcade fighting games as a side hobby and this is definitely applicable. Good reminders for the overall competitive metagame.

[@ericdodson2644]

Yes, I suspect that a lot of these lessons can easily translate to other games, as well as the game of life more generally.

[@ZucchiniMann]

About chess blindness. True, we too often forget that the battle is happening on 64 squares and systematically consider we can win it by being quicker in a local attack. It is fascinating to see how AlphaZero is reminding us that the chess board is much bigger than we tend to think!

[@cottleston4525]

first thing I noticed was Nightwish \m/

[@JamesSouthwood]

This is really lovely philosophy. Thanks!

[@prowala]

Dr Dodson, thanks for your video. I was wondering if it were possible to get PDFs or documents of your discussion in these videos? I often take notes during these videos because I really want to learn and apply your clarity and precision of language and lucid treatment of ideas. I understand fully if this isn't possible. Thanks for your content and your thoughts.

[@12345678967090]

Finally a sensible video on KZbin!

[@samuecchi]

Such a great lecture, too bad the buzz in the mic is there :/

[@ZoiusGM]

5:32 One of the most ridiculous and should-be-obvious-to-be-bogus concepts and ideas in philosophy is that of intrinsic value; there is only extrinsic value; you are always doing something because it gives you something in return.

[@mgildersleeve]

What a fantastic video. Thank you.

[@infinitum8558]

Love the Nightwish shirt!

[@briandipierdomenico1943]

What a great video. Thanks!

[@vitolay]

Very well spoken

[@echochris311]

Great video, thanks! And I always enjoyed your videos. Have you come cross a book called "Art of Learning" by former US chess prodigy Joshua Waitzkin? He came to similar conclusions. I am not a chess player myself, but I trade the markets for a living (managing a macro fund) - after reading Waitzkin's book, I realized there are so many parallels between playing chess and trading the markets, and the lessons from playing chess can be helpful for my current job....

[@Unvaccinated100Percent]

Very articulate.

[@99slayer99]

Excellent insight!

[@silverterry75]

Very good indeed. I watched this because I was struggling with my game at 1600 and getting really hot under the collar, playing 8 hours a day. Yes too much.

[@CasterbalTV]

*Any updates about your rating after 5 years? Thanks*

[@subhojitchatterjee8223]

Awesome content !!!

[@XenosbioZ]

Great video. It’s also fun to watch people play chess live streaming on twitch.tv... some good streamers would explain their thought processes and strategies while playing

[@mcaws]

really enjoyed that!

[@punchface3000]

yes! new upload :)

[@mahendrapal7175]

Please add subtitles

[@FBA-Renaissance]

Interesting. THANKS

[@ThinkingThomasNotions]

Many thanks, Eric! If you play online, drop me a line and perhaps we could play a game: on the question of finding a worthy opponent, you may find it interesting to compare that question is addressed differently by the culture around Go/Weigi/Buduk which incorporates a handicap system to enable parity even between opponents of significantly different skill sets. Personally, I found/find it difficult to take any handicaps, but it is all but forced upon one if one doesn't wish to seem rude. In chess, of course, someone might "handicap" themselves by playing down a piece from the start, but this is relatively uncommon and it seems the standard is closer to one of baptism by fire... Another interesting point arises around etiquette. In Chess, when one arrives at a glaringly bad position, it is often considered impolite not to resign. Repeatedly, I've experienced befuddlement from those who don't regularly play at this custom. I wonder if you've any thoughts on either of these points? Also, I'm not certain what other sports/games you've lined up in the series, but if I can be so bold as to make a suggestion, ping pong strikes me as an interesting one to consider.

[@ericdodson2644]

Hi TT... Yeah, I used to play Go in college. But I switched to chess, mostly because there are many more chess-players here in the U.S. And yes, it's much more natural to give handicaps in Go. In chess, the most common form I find is to give one player more time on the clock. But of course this presupposes that both players are comfortable with clocks. And yes, in chess there's always the question about when to resign, as well as the question about when to offer (and accept) draws. Probably part of finding a "worthy opponent" has to do with locating a person who has the same basic sense of propriety as we do. With regard to resigning... on one end of the spectrum are people whom I call, "bitter-enders," folks who will grind on, all the way to the forgone conclusion of an inevitable checkmate. I find that the largest fraction of bitter-enders consists of relative beginners who aren't too accustomed to the idea of resigning. The next largest group consists of players who've heard somewhere that, "You never win by resigning," and who haven't yet fathomed the reality that they're just wasting their own time & energy by refusing to do so. The third largest segment seems to be people who just plain hate losing, and who are either being passive-aggressive about being defeated, and/or trying to postpone the actual moment as long as possible. Personally, I don't take offense when people don't resign, mostly because it's always hard to divine people's motives with any degree of certainty, and it may be the case that they're doing it more out of ignorance, and less out of malice. Anyhow, it seems to me that what's REALLY rude & unsportsmanlike is not refusing to resign, but suggesting or insisting that one's opponent resign. Anyhow, as for ping-pong... well, it's probably a good idea, but I don't have enough experience with it to speak with any sort of authority. Sorry about that. Perhaps it's the video that YOU could make... just a thought. Eric D.

[@allanfifield8256]

Go, by its nature, lends itself to a handicap system without destroying the inner beauty of the:game.. Chess, nor so much.

[@jimibhatt4945]

Thank you for your insights

[@MrOSTcollector]

Very interesting video. Thank you for your effort and kwonledge

[@rvnsprng]

First thing I see is a Nighteish t shirt.... gonna be good xD

[@martinbugge6220]

good thoughts. Thx sir.

[@benjamincaddle2018]

Nice shirt, nice album 👌

[@DoctorJammer]

Lovely video.

[@msawhney59]

Great stuff

[@ClaudioCunhaPediatra]

Dodson GOSTEI MUITO DA SUA REFLEXÃO. PARABÉNS PELO CANAL. CLAUDIO CUNHA PEDIATRA - PSICOMOTRICISTA - BRASIL

[@thanku9050]

Thanks🙏🙏🙏

[@jasearon4532]

Yes there’s a psychology. Try play a chess game and the depth of the match touch your nose with your finger and look at the opponent in the eyes and see the result 😉

[@johngetek5985]

Awesome vid

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

With this T-Shirt I fell I found the best

[@Raventooth]

Nightwish!

[@afonsomendes6907]

Fucking loved the video and the nightwish quote got my nutties tingling thank you sir!

[@dafreedomfita]

Thank you.

[@DazzleQuality]

This man is a texan

[@Noise-Conductor]

IMO chess only represents the Left side of brain in life. There no emotion or any real randomness. None of your own pieces ever betrays you or dies or goes missing unexpectedly . Life ain't that simple.

[@Efexpe]

Fuck yeah Nightwish

[@afrobian1]

holly shit. im going to have to learn how to play chess

[@che5764]

Thanks 4 consoling me

[@danuk-]

Oppressive adverts selling rubbish

[@ericdodson2644]

You can thank KZbin for that. I never monetize any of my videos, or designate any of them for advertisements.

[@danuk-]

@@ericdodson2644 really I apologise its a shame youtube makes money out your nice content.

[@ericdodson2644]

@@danuk- I don't mind their making money. But it's pretty aggravating that they lard videos with irrelevant sales-pitches that degrade the content -- and annoy viewers and creators alike. There was a time when they didn't do that. But I guess that those days are gone. I'm actually thinking of shifting to a different platform because of it.

[@DoctorJammer]

"Applied douchebaggery"

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

My ex used to do that 8:00

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

But yes she evolved as well! But then she became my ignition for evolution! Part of life