1. Der Chessable-PRO-Rabatt ist jetzt mit anderen Rabatten kombinierbar

Ihr wisst wahrscheinlich bereits, dass PRO-Mitglieder automatisch 20 % Rabatt auf alle Chessable-Kurse erhalten. Bisher hat jedoch jeder größere temporäre Rabatt diesen 20 %-Rabatt überschrieben. Das haben wir jetzt geändert: Rabatte sind ab sofort miteinander kombinierbar. 

Das bedeutet, dass die Rabatte von 20, 30 und sogar 40 %, die ihr zum Beispiel in unserem Neujahrsangebot seht, zu dem 20 %-Rabatt von PRO hinzukommen. PRO-Mitglieder können also insgesamt bis zu 60 % Rabatt auf ausgewählte Kurse erhalten. 

Wenn ihr motiviert seid, euer Schachtraining richtig in Angriff zu nehmen und euch mit Kursen einzudecken, ist dies eine Option, mit der ihr eine Menge Geld sparen könnt.

2. Short & Sweet-Kurse und Gratis-Lektionen sind jetzt exklusiv für PRO-Mitglieder; deutschsprachiges Material bleibt kostenlos für alle

Wenn ihr Chessable schon eine Weile nutzt, wisst ihr wahrscheinlich, dass wir viele sogenannte Short & Sweet-Kurse (das sind Kurzversionen von Eröffnungskursen) und weitere kostenlose Lektionen anbieten, mit denen ihr neue Eröffnungen ausprobieren, ein neues strategisches Konzept oder einfach ein paar theoretische Endspiele lernen könnt.

Für diejenigen von euch, die dieses Material auf Deutsch nutzen, gibt es hier keine Änderung. Ihr habt weiterhin kostenlosen Zugriff auf alle deutschsprachigen Kurzversionen.

Nur das englischsprachige Material können wir leider nicht mehr völlig kostenlos anbieten. Da wir aber weiterhin möchten, dass Schachtraining für alle erschwinglich bleibt, haben wir uns entschieden, unbegrenzten Zugang zu all diesen Kurzversionen mit einer einfachen Chessable-PRO-Mitgliedschaft zu ermöglichen.

Uns ist bewusst, dass dies für Nicht-PRO-Mitglieder, die regelmäßig unsere kostenlosen Inhalte auf Englisch genutzt haben, eine Umstellung sein wird. Wir möchten in diesem Zuge daran erinnern, dass ihr nach wie vor jeden bezahlten Kurs mit unserer 30-Tage-Geld-zurück-Garantie kostenlos testen könnt. Wenn der gekaufte Kurs am Ende doch nicht gefällt, kann man ihn bis zu 30 Tage nach Kaufdatum einfach zurückgeben und bekommt den vollen Preis erstattet − ohne dass Rückfragen gestellt werden.

Wir haben noch eine dritte, gute Neuigkeit für euch: 

3. Wir vergeben 3 Monate Chessable-PRO KOSTENLOS an alle zahlenden Mitglieder

Wir schenken jedem zahlenden Mitglied von 2024 drei Monate Chessable-PRO. Das heißt: Wenn du im Jahr 2024 eine PRO-Mitgliedschaft erworben oder einen Chessable-Kurs gekauft hast, fügen wir deiner Mitgliedschaft automatisch drei Monate Chessable-PRO hinzu (solltest du aus irgendeinem Grund deine zusätzlichen drei Monate PRO nicht erhalten haben, wende dich an unseren Support unter hello@chessable.com). 

Auf diese Weise möchten wir uns bei euch für die Unterstützung von Chessable bedanken und Nicht-PRO-Mitgliedern die Umstellung etwas erleichtern.

Wir denken, dass Chessable-PRO euch nach wie vor sehr dabei helfen kann, euer Training zu verbessern. Falls ihr die vollen Vorteile von Chessable-PRO noch nicht kennt, schaut am besten hier vorbei.

Auf jeden Fall kann es sich gerade mit den kombinierbaren Rabatten richtig lohnen, wenn ihr euch einen neuen Kurs zulegen wollt: Es gilt unser Neujahrsangebot, und zusammen mit dem PRO-Rabatt könnt ihr beim Kauf bestimmter Kurse bis zu 60 % sparen!

Wir wünschen einen guten Start ins neue Jahr!

1. El descuento de Chessable PRO ahora se acumula sobre otros descuentos

Seguro ya sabías que los miembros PRO obtienen un descuento automático del 20% en todos los cursos de Chessable. Pero hasta ahora, descuentos superiores al 20% anulaban el descuento PRO.

Ahora, esos descuentos se acumulan uno sobre otro.

Lo que significa que los descuentos del 20, 30 e incluso 40% disponibles ahora mismo por nuestras Ofertas de Año Nuevo se suman al descuento del 20% PRO… permitiendo a los miembros PRO obtener hasta un 60% de descuento en los cursos con mayor descuento.

Así que si estás motivado para tomarte en serio tus estudios y abastecerte de cursos, este es un beneficio que no querrás perderte.

Pero además, 

2. Estamos regalando 3 meses GRATIS de Chessable PRO a todo aquel que haya comprado un curso en 2024

Si compraste una membresía PRO o un curso de Chessable en cualquier momento del año, agregaremos automáticamente 3 meses de Chessable PRO a tu cuenta (si por alguna razón no recibiste tus 3 meses adicionales de PRO, asegúrate de contactar al servicio de atención al cliente en hello@chessable.com).

Es nuestra manera de agradecerte por apoyar a Chessable y animarte a aprovechar los beneficios de la membresía PRO. Y nuestras Ofertas de Año Nuevo, con las que los miembros PRO pueden obtener hasta un 60% de descuento (cifras que normalmente solo suceden durante Black Friday) son el momento perfecto. 

Y si aún no eres miembro PRO, aprovecha nuestra oferta PRO ahora mismo y obtén los beneficios anteriores y muchos más.

Here’s what’s new: 

1. Chessable PRO’s discount now stacks with other discounts

You probably already know that PRO members get an automatic 20% discount on any Chessable course. But before now, any larger sale discount would override that 20% discount.

Now, those discounts stack on top of each other. 

Which means that the 20, 30, and even 40 percent discounts you’re seeing in our New Year’s Sale are added to the 20% PRO discount…meaning PRO members can get up to 60% off select courses. 

So if you’re motivated to get serious about your studies and stock up on courses, this is a discount you don’t want to miss.

2. Short & Sweet courses and Free Lessons are now PRO exclusive 

You probably already know that Chessable has hundreds of Short & Sweet courses and free lessons that let you try out a new opening, learn a new strategic concept, or simply learn a couple of theoretical endgames. They’re a great way to learn some basics without committing to a full course. 

But these ‘short’ courses still hold hundreds of hours of video walkthrough and hundreds of trainable variations. Quite frankly, it’s a lot to give away for free! But, we want to keep chess improvement affordable for everyone, so we have opted to give unlimited access to all of this content with a Chessable PRO membership.

And, you can still try any paid course for free with our 30-day money back guarantee – no questions asked.

Nevertheless, we realize it’s a big change for a lot of members who made regular use of our Short & Sweet and free courses. Which is why we have a surprise third bit of news to tell you: 

3. We’re gifting any paying member 3 FREE months of Chessable PRO

We understand that many of our standard members regularly make use of our Short & Sweet courses, and this change might be hard for them. 

So, we’re gifting 3 months of PRO to any paying member of 2024. If you purchased a PRO membership or paid Chessable course at any time in 2024, we’re automatically adding 3 months of Chessable PRO to your membership (if for some reason you did not receive your extra 3 months of PRO, please make sure you contact customer support at hello@chessable.com). 

It’s our way of sincerely thanking you for supporting Chessable – and to say we know these changes are a big deal.

We’re confident that if you’re looking to improve your game, Chessable PRO is the way to go. So make sure you use your new PRO perks and check out New Year’s Sale, where PRO members can get up to 60% off – discounts typically only reserved for Black Friday. And if you’re not a PRO member yet, you can take advantage of our PRO sale now, and get instant access to the perks above – and so many more. 

Chess Research: From Anecdotes to Concrete Numbers, a guest post by Jade Oldfield

The Background

I began my research with Chess for Life @ The University of Lethbridge (C4L) when I began my masters degree in Fall 2021. Like many research projects, data collection didn’t start until the following semester once we had ethics approval and all the pieces were in their correct places. Our goal was, and is, to capture the positive effects the program has on the youth that come through it in a quantitative way. More specifically, we’re hoping to answer the question: what is the impact of ~25 hours of chess play on the executive functions (EF) of adolescents who have been involved with the justice system? Over the years, we’ve collected incredible anecdotal stories and have seen youth flourish, but oftentimes policy makers and donors like to see “concrete” numbers to help gauge a program’s effectiveness; hence the beginning of the quantitative research.

My lab’s interest in chess stems from the potential for chess to impact EF in adolescents. While we are interested in three key EF measures (cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibition), the literature particularly supports improvements in working memory (Burgoyne et al., 2016; Grau-Pérez & Moreira, 2017; Oberoi, 2021) among other benefits. While EF is the main variable of interest, there is additional research to suggest that school-age chess participants may see improvements in math, language, and general cognitive abilities (Sala & Gobet, 2016). Additional research presented at the inaugural Saint Louis Chess Conference in October 2024 also suggests promising findings related to chess interventions and youth. In a similar study to what’s being undertaken by C4L, Dr. Anandita Oberoi et al. (2024) demonstrated that 14 hours of chess instruction had significant positive results on participants’ decision making and working memory. With respect to impulsivity, results were trending but not statistically significant. Furthermore, Dr. Brian Kisida and Dr. Matthew Pepper presented initial findings in their CAStLE study, showing that junior high students, in particular males, saw significant improvements in math and self-efficacy and a decrease in school infractions after the implementation of a daily chess instruction program (2024).

While our quantitative data collection is still in its infancy, the program itself has seen a great deal of anecdotal success. Back in 2018, an initial qualitative review was commissioned, and various youth and stakeholders were interviewed as part of the research. While the sample size was not large enough to move forward with publication, it helps provide a snapshot of the program’s reach. One past participant relates:

It’s (chess) helping me be able to process in conflict situations, like slowly and be able to kind of get a good understanding of things that are going on…it (chess) makes me be able to calm down and think a bit more clearly…and process a lot better instead of getting my emotions kind of drawn to whatever I’m thinking (anonymous participant, 2018).

The Program

C4L is a restorative justice program that aims to provide youth who have been involved with the justice system with an enriching and educational way to serve their sentence or community service hours. Youth visit us on Fridays between 1-3 p.m. and we provide them with food, chess instruction, and mentorship. The afternoon is relatively flexible but includes a few key activities: we give the youth a chance to have a bite to eat, engage them in some chess play, and halfway through the afternoon we’ll introduce a lesson. After that, we’ll often use games or chess play to reinforce the topic covered in that day’s lesson. We also provide youth with bus passes to help them get to and from the program to help remove any additional barriers.

What I didn’t realize, when beginning the research, was that there would be barriers beyond food and transportation; invisible barriers. When working with any vulnerable population, there are always many things to consider, but one thing we were not able to foresee was lack of interest and participation in the research component of the program. So far, the reasons for this vary. For some, they simply didn’t want to spend the 45 minutes completing the testing; for others, they lost interest during the testing; others really wanted to play chess; and for others yet, they just simply didn’t want to — which is absolutely their prerogative. In addition to this, some of the youth we work with only need to serve 10 hours with us, and when we’re hoping to test the effectiveness of playing 20-25 hours of chess, this introduces another hurdle.

While we have faced some challenges running the research program, the C4L program is still incredibly strong and successful. Over the course of 2024, we have averaged around two-to-three new participants per month, with a total of 18 new participants throughout the year. Not all participants are young offenders, but often youth will bring a friend to help ease themselves into the program. Others are community members who connected with C4L through a school visit, and wanted to continue to participate in the program. Throughout 2024, C4L has served 29 youth who have played over 278 hours of chess.

Adult Correctional Centre

In 2024, with our local correctional centre, we’ve worked with 15 incarcerated males who have completed a total of 271 hours of chess to-date; we will be running post-testing on our second cohort over the next couple of weeks.

While you might think that this demographic might be fairly stable in terms of location and consistent participation, the reality is otherwise, and we’ve experienced similar challenges to the youth program when conducting research with the adults. During our first research cohort with our local correctional centre, we started with eight participants, quickly moved to seven, and by the time we were ready to conduct post-testing, we had lost 4/7 participants to transfers or removals, therefore only collecting full data sets on three participants. The second cohort at this centre has run significantly smoother with no participants exiting the program. Post-testing will be conducted on December 11 & 18, 2024, and at this point we should have a total of 11 data sets between the two cohorts. This will provide us with a small sample that we hope to be able to determine some initial trends from.

The Future

While the research has been a bit “messy,” the overall impact and interest in the program continues to grow. The C4L team has had multiple conversations with potential new partners since the summer of 2024, and is working on establishing programs within additional youth correctional facilities, a local school and expanding programming within our local correctional centre. In addition to this, we are also hoping to bolster the research by running a condensed program with our current youth correctional centre partner in February 2025, and we have had multiple local organizations inquiring about getting involved in some way.

Currently, the research runs broader than it does deep, but we are working with our partners to strengthen the research base. In addition to this, I am excited to be continuing on to a PhD in January 2025, and I’m looking forward to advancing the research with C4L. Having navigated the challenges discussed above, we hope to potentially shift the research design to a mixed-methods approach, so we can also capture qualitative data in order to paint a fuller picture of the program and participant outcomes. As previously indicated, the literature supporting the benefits of chess is only becoming more robust, and with any luck, the success we’re seeing in C4L will join that body of literature in the near future.

References

Burgoyne, A. P., Sala, G., Gobet, F., Macnamara, B. N., Campitelli, G., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2016). The relationship between cognitive ability and chess skill: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Intelligence, 59, 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2016.08.002 

Grau-Pérez, G., & Moreira, K. (2017). A study of the influence of chess on the executive functions in school-aged children /estudio del impacto del ajedrez sobre las funciones ejecutivas en niños de Edad Escolar. Studies in Psychology, 38(2), 473–494. https://doi.org/10.1080/02109395.2017.1295578 

Kisida, B. & Pepper, M.  (2024, October 24-26). CAStLE: Chess attainment study in St. Louis [Conference presentation]. Saint Louis Chess Conference, St. Louis, MO, United States. https://registration.stlchessconference.org/the-saint-louis-chess-conference

Oberoi, A. (2021). Using chess as an intervention to improve executive functioning among youth (Publication No. 11211) [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. ScholarWorks.

Oberioi, A., Hickman, G., Benoliel, B., & Matthey, S. (2024, October 24-26). Chess as an intervention to improve executive functioning among youth [Conference presentation]. Saint Louis Chess Conference, St. Louis, MO, United States. https://registration.stlchessconference.org/the-saint-louis-chess-conference

Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2016). Do the benefits of chess instruction transfer to academic and cognitive skills? A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 18, 46–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.02.002

See this blog post about Chessable-supported researchers, including Jade Oldfield, who presented at the 2024 Saint Louis Chess  Conference.

The 2024 Chessable Research Awards had five student winners, including Oldfield. Chessable looks forward to applications for the 2025 cycle of the Chessable Research Awards. Applications open January 15, 2025. For more information, please visit this link.

The Queen’s Gambit: Gender Equality is not a Daily Reality

 by Astrid Barbier and Veerle Draulans

The Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit brought an immense popularity boost to the game of chess. However, there are many hurdles between passionately watching a series and finding ways into the international chess world. This is especially the case for women, who remain a  minority. Of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) members worldwide, only 11 per cent are female (FIDE, 2020).

A mixed-method approach was chosen to answer the research question “How do female chess players experience their minority position in the chess world?” 709 male and female chess players completed an international survey about the players’ profiles. In addition, semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten female chess players from Flanders and the Netherlands in order to gain an understanding of the impact of female players’ minority position.

Profile of a chess player

The overall results of the survey show a significant age difference between male and female participants. The age group of 11–30 was chosen for the analysis, since age within this group is not a gender-specific predictor.

Figure 1 – Age of the male and female participants

Figure 2 – FIDE ratings of the participants

Figure 3 – Countries of residence of the 709 survey respondents

The results show that chess players are generally highly educated and many of them grew up with highly educated parents. Various studies have pointed to the importance of science capital for aspiring to an education in the STEM field (e.g. Archer et al., 2012). In a comparable way, this study shows that chess players on average have a high chess capital. Even before learning the game, the majority of the respondents knew someone in their immediate environment who played chess with about a third having a chess-playing father. High chess capital seems to be a good predictor of people starting to play.

Influencing factors to start, to continue, or to stop playing chess

The most important factor to start, keep, and stop playing chess is the joy of the game. For female chess players role models are a more important factor than for men to start playing chess while role models and social motives are more important to continue playing chess. Female chess players indicated several factors more often than men with regard to deciding to stop playing such as disappointing results, but also unfriendliness, sexism, and discrimination.

Characteristics chess players attributed to themselves

The survey data shows that within the different ratings categories, female and male participants invest similar amounts of time in chess training with chess players in the higher FIDE categories practicing more. Our respondents equally evaluated their general chess skills in terms of relating this to their rating strength. This contradicts the idea that female chess players have less confidence in their skills (Maass, D’Etolle & Cadinu, 2008). Nevertheless, it is still possible that female chess players could be less self-confident when playing against a male competitor, as previous research suggests (Backus et al., 2016).

Interview results: the experience of 10 female chess players with regard to their minority position

Table 1 – Profile of the interview respondents (n = 10)

Part 1: The minority position of girls and women in the chess world

All ten respondents expressed regret about the small number of female chess players and agreed that an increase in female chess players would make them feel more at home in the chess world. More girls and women in the chess world would make it easier for girls to develop friendships in chess.

–       Minority position: advantages and disadvantages

As a minority, women experience more visibility in the chess world. This might sometimes be unwanted, but can also bring certain advantages. The interviewees explained that people are more eager to talk to them and that organizers are often delighted by their presence. On the other hand the extra attention can be negative with some respondents receiving sexist comments and even transgressive behavior. Special treatment because of the minority position can lead to feelings of not entirely belonging in the chess world.

–       Minority position: experiences

Also at the chessboard women encounter a different treatment from male players. According to some interviewees many male players are fixated on not wanting to lose to a woman. This translates in some male players looking for excuses to explain defeats, while others lost because of underestimating women of equal standing.

In tournament play there are specific measures and activities for female chess players, such as women’s prizes and titles and international tournaments like the Olympiad. This reality brings both advantages and disadvantages. While it’s easier for women to win prizes, gain a title or be selected for an international tournament compared to a man of equal strength, the interviewees feel these prizes and titles are less valued by some people.

Another disadvantage a few respondents pointed out is that the low number of women at the top can create a feeling that the top is unattainable, possibly leading to demotivation.

–       Minority position: more pressure

All ten interviewees felt they were valued and accepted as a person in the chess world. However, most of them believed they were not considered equals, but seen as a separate category within the chess world. They did not find this necessarily negative. The majority never felt excluded in the chess world, explaining that they were seen as fully-fledged chess players. Some nuanced that this was especially the case for people they know and not always for strangers. This was not surprising according to these respondents, since strong female chess players are an exception. The major part of the interviewees were convinced they had the necessary qualities to be good chess players.

If the special prizes and titles would not exist, the majority of the interviewees do feel they would have to work harder to gain the same amount of recognition. One recurring comment was that female chess players are taken less seriously, because of the general assumption that men are better at playing chess.

Some respondents stated that women always feel under pressure. They were convinced that a female chess player is often perceived by male chess players as representing all female chess players, whereas a male chess player only represents himself. Moreover, as expectations for female chess players are lower, they feel more pressure to prove themselves to others.

Minority position: chances of entering and staying in the chess world

The interview respondents agreed that women and men, and girls and boys, have similar opportunities to start playing chess within organizations. Some even went further that the opportunities are greater because of the special prizes for females. Almost all the respondents agreed that despite the similar opportunities there are differences, most notably the strong association between playing chess and masculinity. Some of the respondents believed that this makes it more accessible for men. This could also affect the likelihood that women will continue to play chess as girls are less likely to find suitable peers due to the lack of female chess players. It is thought that this plays a major role in the teenage years.

Conclusion

In recent times there is already a trend of giving more attention to women’s chess and providing a safe environment for female chess players, though there is still a long way to go. As long as women in chess are a minority, it is safe to say that special female prizes and titles should be considered in the circuit along with the many initiatives for girls and women in the chess world.

References

Archer, L., DeWitt, J., Osborne, J., Dillon, J., Willis, B., & Wong, B. (2012). Science aspirations, capital, and family habitus: How families shape children’s engagement and identification with science. American Educational Research Journal, 49(5), 881–908. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831211433290

Backus, P., Cubel, M., Guid, M., Sanchez-Pages, S., & Mañas, E. (2016). Gender, competition and performance: Evidence from real tournaments. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2858984

FIDE. (2020). International Chess Federation. https://ratings.fide.com/download_lists.phtml

Maass, A., D’Ettole, C., & Cadinu, M. (2008). Checkmate? The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38(2), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.440

About the Authors

Astrid Barbier is a Belgian Woman FIDE Master. She represented her country in multiple Chess Olympiads. After obtaining Master’s Degrees in Adult Education and in Gender and Diversity, Astrid moved to Hong Kong. Barbier is currently working as a chess coach for Caissa Hong Kong Chess Club. 

Barbier did this research while in the Master in Gender and Diversity program, Veerle Draulans was Barbier’s promoter from KU Leuven. The Master in Gender and Diversity is a common project of five Flemish universities: KU Leuven, Universiteit Gent, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteit Hasselt, and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. 

Veerle Draulans is emerita professor (Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven), with full focus on gender and diversity in research an  d teaching, with special expertise in Gender and STEM and Gender and Care. She was the KU Leuven faculty member responsible for the Interuniversity Master of Gender and Diversity in Flanders.

Draulans is also chairperson of the ‘Vlir High Level Taskforce Gender’, chairperson of the Vlir UOS ‘gender, diversity and development’ expert group (VLIR : Flemish Interuniversity Council), co-chair of a workgroup in  the COST program,  ‘Reducing Old-Age Social Exclusion: Collaborations in Research and Policy (ROSEnet)’ and she collaborated with South Partners, such as Bahir Dar University, Mekelle University and Arba Minch University, Ethiopia, Limpopo University, South Africa, UCB Bolivia, RU Rwanda and Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar, Ecuador (Vlir UOS). She coordinated a gender sensitive Joint Doctoral Summer School in low income partner countries (Vlir UOS). She is also a member of the Board of Governors of Emmaus, a set of care facilities in Flanders, Belgium. Her email is Veerle.Draulans@kuleuven.be

Correspondence about this blog post and about the full report should go to: barbier.astrid@gmail.com

Link to the full report.

Four of the Saint Louis Chess Conference speakers have Chessable’s support for their chess-themed research: Dr. and Grandmaster David Smerdon, Jade Oldfield, Dr. Jeroen Struben, and Dr. Mark Glickman. Here’s some of what they presented:

Grandmaster and Dr. David Smerdon

Grandmaster David Smerdon is a Chessable course creator. He is also an Assistant Professor of Economics at The University of Queensland. Smerdon and his colleague Dr. Vera te Velde were faculty research co-sponsors for a Chessable Research Award-winning graduate student.

At the Saint Louis Chess Conference, Dr. Smerdon presented “Cheating and Suspicion in Chess: Insights from a Controlled Tournament Experiment.” He listed three motivations for his chess cheating research. First, online chess growth has led to challenges around cheating. Second, high-profile scandals (e.g. Carlsen vs. Niemann; Kramnik vs. Everyone) highlight a cultural shift towards normalizing public accusations. And, third, there is limited data on real cheating behavior in high-stakes games. 

Three of Smerdon’s questions studied in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 are 1. How does cheating affect a player’s in-game quality and behavior? 2. How effectively can players detect cheating? 3. What factors drive cheating beliefs and accusations?

In Experiment 1, eight players were randomly assigned to cheat in selected games in a double round robin tournament. They performed better in games where they cheated. At the end of the tournament, players could increase their tournament score by correctly identifying cheaters, but false accusations lowered their scores. One of the findings from Experiment 1 was “Both cheating and knowing you might be playing a cheater can have strong emotional effects.”

The 112 games generated from Experiment 1 became the dataset for Experiment 2, where 6,769 chess players from 140 countries were asked whether cheating occurred in those games. Analysis of the second experiment’s results is on-going. Smerdon said he hopes to present that analysis at the New York Chess Conference, scheduled for September 2025. See also this Chess.com article about Smerdon’s chess cheating research.

Jade Oldfield

Jade Oldfield is a graduate student at the University of Lethbridge. She won a 2024 Chessable Research Award. At the Saint Louis Chess Conference, Oldfield gave an overview of the Chess for Life program where more than 70 youth offenders each completed 25 hours of chess instruction as part of their probation. Chess for Life is also running programs at senior centers and at an adult correctional facility called Lethbridge Correctional Centre.

Anecdotal success stories about Chess for Life participants may be rooted in their improved executive functions. Oldfield is studying the executive functions in two groups of Chess for Life participants: Youth, ages 12-18, who have been involved with the justice system; and incarcerated adults, ages 18-30, in the Lethbridge Correctional Centre. Oldfield will submit a blog post to Chessable about her results.

Dr. Jeroen Struben

A Chessable featured project by Dr. Jeroen Struben was part of his conference presentation “Embracing complex causality: Dynamics of gender inequality in the world of chess.” Rather than identifying new explanations for the gender gap, his research examines the implications of interactions between existing ones. To do this, Struben conducted a multi-method analysis of competitive chess in the Netherlands. He reviewed literature on factors affecting participation and performance within sports (including chess), gender inequality, sociology, and psychology. He then examined Dutch chess activity from 1994–2020 for the 30,000 individual members, including their period-by-period tournaments played, competitive interactions, Elo performances, and their club memberships. He also conducted interviews with competitive players and coaches. 

His research shows how motivational climate, shaped by one’s peer environment, role model presence, and relative performance, is critical for both player participation and performance. Further, as this in turn affects dropout and future peers and role models, motivational climate is itself also produced by these same factors. He then also quantified the strength of the various relations using the data and estimation methods, including the effect of motivational climate effects on learning rates, dropout, and relative opponent strength for example. 

Existence of several of such two-directional (feedback) relations helps explain persistence of a gender gap in participation and performance, and the difficulty we experience in closing it. However, because such feedback relations can operate in both vicious and virtuous directions, it also means that with sufficient effort across the system and commitment we can partially close this gender gap. His ongoing research, using computational models, focuses on those collective efforts needed to close this gap.

Dr. Mark Glickman

Psychological Science is the flagship journal of the Association for Psychological Science and is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. In 2006, Psychological Science published a study by Dr. Christopher Chabris and Dr. Mark Glickman which analyzed data from more than 250,000 US Chess-rated players. Chabris and Glickman (2006) found that men have consistently higher ratings than women. They also found that, compared to girls, boys tend to start with higher ratings and to enter competitive chess in greater numbers.

However, in four U.S. ZIP codes where girls participated equally (50%), or had more participation compared to boys, Chabris and Glickman (2006) found that the girls’ ratings among the starting chess players did not differ from boys’ ratings in any statistically significant sense. That “ZIP code” finding, along with other results, suggested a relationship between differing chess participation rates among starting boys and girls and the discrepancy between male and female ratings.

Long before I joined Chessable, I (Alexey Root) had been intrigued by the “ZIP code” finding in Chabris and Glickman (2006). To me, that finding signaled that girls participating less in rated chess than boys is likely why females generally have lower ratings than males. With the support of Chessable, I asked Dr. Mark Glickman if he would update Chabris and Glickman (2006). He did so as a featured project for Chessable in 2022–2023, with then Harvard University undergraduate Angela Li.

At the Saint Louis Chess Conference, Glickman stated that the Li and Glickman 2022–2023 study used a US Chess dataset that included ratings, tournament activity, demographic, and residential data from 1992 to 2019 for over 680,000 players. Li and Glickman found a negative relationship between participation rates among young females and the average rating outperformance of boys relative to girls. This finding means that the gap between boys’ ratings and girls’ ratings trends smaller in geographic areas with higher girls’ participation rates. The results are consistent with the “participation rate” hypothesis, which states that boys and girls have, on average, equal potential, but that greater numbers of boys competing corresponds to greater numbers of boys at the top based purely on random variation.

References

Chabris, C. F., & Glickman, M. E. (2006). Sex differences in intellectual performance: Analysis of a large cohort of competitive chess players. Psychological Science, 17(12), 1040-1046.

Interested in research?

The Chessable Research Awards are for undergraduate and graduate students conducting university-level chess research. Chess-themed topics may be submitted for consideration and ongoing or new chess research is eligible. Each student must have a faculty research sponsor. Applications for the 2025 Chessable Research Awards open on January 15, 2025. For more information, please visit this link.

At only 18 years old, Gukesh has reached a level which other grandmasters twice his age will never come close to.

From surpassing the 2750-Elo mark in 2022… 

Clinching gold twice and scoring 9 out of 10 at the 2024 Chess Olympiad… 

To winning the 2024 Candidates Tournament and becoming the youngest challenger for the crown!

Can you imagine the lopsided comparison at family dinners? Or the hour-long rant by mom after she gets off the phone with Aunty or Uncle?

Fortunately, we won’t have to deal with that. We can simply enjoy Gukesh in action again. This time, he’s squaring up against World Chess Champion Ding Liren in the biggest match of 2024.

While the whole world waits, let’s look back to some of the influences which helped define Gukesh’s play. You might just walk away with a sharper eye for tactics and strategy!

Let’s go.

Blessed by Viswanathan Anand

“It all started with Vishy Anand,” said Gukesh in an interview with NDTV about India’s surge in pro chess. 

Anand became the first Indian grandmaster in 1998. He also won the World Chess Championship 5 times and the World Cup a record of 2 times. 

Celebrated as the greatest Indian chess player, Anand rallies his entire country behind him whenever he plays.

But Anand is not only a role model. Through the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA), he took Gukesh and other Indian rising stars under his wing.

The program — which lasted from January 2021 until November 2022 — also enlisted the help of Artur Yusupov (2-time World Championship candidate) and Boris Gelfand (2012 World Championship challenger).

The program’s objective was clear.

“What I want to see from this is to make sure some of them will break into the top 10,” said the 5-time world chess champion.

And, boy, did Gukesh deliver!

From 2563 Elo, Gukesh gained 162 points to reach 2725 Elo and the 23rd spot in the world rankings. On September 2023, he broke into the top 10 for the first time and reached world #8, before settling at his best ranking yet at world #5.

Inspired by the Tactics of Garry Kasparov

Gukesh wasn’t even born yet, when Garry Kasparov hung up his proverbial gloves in 2005.

Still, the influence of the 13th World Chess Champion on the young Indian runs deep.

In the latter’s home library are collections of annotated classical games — including those by Kasparov. And over the board, we can draw many parallels between the two consummate attackers. 

Kasparov sat atop the world rankings for over 20 years. Thanks, in no small part, to his flair for hunting kings and calculating combinations dozens of moves long.

In particular, his handling of the knights was second to none. I’ll let his masterpieces from the 1985 and 1990 World Chess Championship do the talking.

Like Kasparov, Gukesh too can drum up a firestorm and create magic with his knights.

In fact, ‘active, aggressive knights’ are a recurring theme in the latter’s games. Watch him prove the commentators and the computer wrong, as he maneuvered his steed along a narrow path to victory.

Restricting the Enemy a la Magnus Carlsen

As far as mastery of prophylaxis and restriction is concerned, nobody comes close to 16th World Champion Magnus Carlsen.

In the game famed as “the most accurate in World Chess Championship history,” Carlsen took away every active idea by Black. After which, winning was only a matter of time.

From a stylistic point of view, Carlsen and Gukesh are night and day. 

When Carlsen seeks iron-clad control, Gukesh revels in “crazy positions with head-spinning complications.”

Nevertheless, according to his coach GM Vishnu Prassana, Gukesh studied the games of Carlsen. He paid special attention to the way the latter anticipates the opponent’s ideas… then nips them in the bud.

Which made Gukesh a more lethal attacker!

Because without counterplay to worry about, he’s free to reinforce his offensive, and cash-in on his advantage when he sees fit.

Conclusion

Over 325 years ago, a revered English physicist once said:

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” 

— Sir Isaac Newton

Without a doubt, Dommaraju Gukesh took the same path to greatness.

By taking in the lessons of Anand, the tactical vision of Kasparov, and positional control of Carlsen — Gukesh built the distinct, high-pressure style he’s known for today.

Best part? You too can learn to play like him.

If you’d love to dive into the piece maneuvers and tactical themes which define Gukesh’s play — so you can make them your own — then check out Master Moves: Gukesh today.

It analyzes 150 of his best games. Then it isolates the “Guki-style factors” which make Gukesh ‘Gukesh.’

You’ve already seen him hustle with the knights. You’ve seen him eliminate all resistance to guarantee a successful attack. 

Now watch him tear apart defenses with the queen, force open lines of attack with his favorite pawn breaks… then watch him play on both flanks to stretch enemy defenses until they break.

Click here to learn the style factors and tactical secrets of chess’ youngest world contender.

When Chessable launched in 2016, it was as quiet and spooky as a cemetery. It had nothing, save for a couple of free tutorial courses. And its UI might just scare you away like it scared me!

But slowly, the number of Chessable courses grew.

A couple of small opening repertoires were added, along with a series of On the Attack! courses.

Professional players began to take notice, and soon published their repertoires. Next, the world’s leading chess publishers, along with many top 100 grandmasters also jumped in on the train.

And before you know it, our platform has become a leader in science-backed chess improvement.

Who got the snowball rolling?

The Chessable community — the same one you belong in!

So in honor and celebration of these people’s efforts, we’re putting every single community course on sale. So you can level up your chess, support our community authors, all while saving up to 40% off the purchase price.

Advanced Chess Patterns by Benedictine & presented by GM Maurice Ashley

Achieve next-level tactical strength with these “isolation chess exercises.” They distill tactics to their purest form, so you can learn their ins and outs… before moving to more challenging examples to build your real-world tactical awareness.

Check it out

Foundation of Defense in Chess: Next Steps by Benner & CM d4Player

Dreading defense and panicking at the first sign of pressure? Unsure if all 101 threats are covered? Disarm dangerous attacks without sweat — when you master the 5 key defensive scenarios inside complete with “flowchart” solutions. 

Check it out

Chess in Harmony: How to Create Tactical Threats by AITM19

Tactics happen because two or more pieces line up at the right place and at the right time. That’s why this course by AITM19 draws your attention to these piece alignments. So when you run into them in real games, you’d instantly know to start looking for that knockout!

Check it out

Nakhmanson Gambit by Jonathan “vampirechicken” Schrantz

Take the black king to “ouch” town with the most aggressive gambit you’ve never heard of! The gambit after 1.e4 e5 gives up two pawns AND a piece to whip an attack so nigh-unstoppable. Even Magnus Carlsen and Stockfish crumbled to it!

Check it out

30 Common Chess Mistakes: And How to Avoid Them by Improverino

Weed out the mistakes that hold you back! This psychology-based program helps you identify the bad moves and bad thinking that lose you games. Then it shows you how to fix them by creating a self-pace training plan.

Check it out

1. c3 Venom: A Reverse Caro-Kann & London System Repertoire by Michael “ChessLifestyle” Green

This practical repertoire takes opponent’s out of the book on the very first move! Best part? While they’re burning time trying to figure things out, you’re all but assured of a rock-solid game and a strong point in the center.

Check it out

Killer Kings: The King as a Fighting Piece in Chess by IceBreaker & presented by GM Maurice Ashley

When the game grows tense and double-edged, find the extra “oomph” you need to swing it in your favor… when you transform your slow-moving king to a fierce close-quarters fighter! Not just in the endgame, but in the middlegame and opening, too.

Check it out

This list is only a tiny fraction of the 360-plus titles on offer today.

So click here to head over to the shop now to find the ideal community course. One that fits your chess goals like a glove. As always, you’re covered by our 100% satisfaction, 30-day money-back guarantee. So you’re not risking a penny!

“This, I think, is going to be a huge asset.”

It was International Master Yuriy Krykun in his course Unleash The Bull: 1…e5, explaining to the student how the bishop pair gives them the edge.

In his first Chessable course, his setup with an entry-level mic and a brick-wall background screams ‘casual.’ But the insights he delivers is anything but!

Comfortable Even When Out of Book

“One can really tell Yuriy has a lot of experience coaching club players. The explanations are to the point and very relevant. A big focus is on the general plans and ideas of the positions making me feel comfortable in most positions even when out of book.”

— MichelT, Chessable member

Honestly, we’re not sure what’s more impressive.

The fact that Krykun went on to publish 16 more courses. Each time outdoing himself in terms of accuracy and quality of instruction.

Or, the fact that between new releases, he still makes the time to support his students and answer their EVERY question.

Confused which move to play when? Rest assured Krykun will clear things up with a 3-move analysis… plus a ‘bird’s eye view’ of what’s going on in the position.

Worried about another Chessable author’s recommendation, giving your king headaches? In 24 hours, he’ll show you a scheme to turn the tables.

And if you’re bothered by a move, which looks familiar but not quite? He might just give you not one, but two plans to exploit the move’s holes.

Owning a course by Krykun is like having a top chess coach fix your openings on demand. 

That takes up a ton of time and energy! So we had to ask what keeps him chugging forward. Here’s what we found out.

1. You’ve been noted for your exceptional engagement with students. What motivates you to be so active in the community?

“I have loved chess my entire life, and it feels truly incredible to be able to focus full time on sharing my passion! 

From teaching young kids to adults, amateurs to pros, alongside writing courses, I deeply enjoy the selfless process of sharing knowledge and the somewhat selfish (jokes!) process of feeling great about finding new concise and effective ways to present concepts and ideas and being good at it.”

2. How has your teaching style evolved as you’ve created more and more courses?

“Undoubtedly, there is only one direction, both in writing and in teaching: towards simplicity! The more I write and teach, the more I realize the focus should be less on the amount of information and more on quality.

Nowadays, we have endless information on the Internet about any topic. So, what people really want is for someone knowledgeable to carefully curate the information for them. And that’s what I do.

I often tell my students to read not the entire book, but only half of the chapters. Review only specific bits of information. Time is exceptionally valuable. If you have 5 hours a week, you can’t afford to be wasting it. If you have 50 hours a week, it’s also so important to use it most effectively!”

3. What else are you working on these days?

“Two courses, a lot of teaching, and a secret collab project! :)”

4. What’s your philosophy on course creation?

“When I was a teenager reading chess books, I always found them a bit overwhelming. And I loved reading my entire life. Fiction, history, you name it! But with the opening books, it was so much information that I could never remember.

And then I realized they were written in the format of an encyclopedia. It’s tough, because on one hand, the author doesn’t want to ignore even the rarest possibilities, but on the other, the reader often spends time inefficiently.

So, I made a commitment to write differently, focusing on being practical and getting maximum return on the invested time. And, a dozen courses later, I still feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement!

I definitely aspire to fit each next course within 150-200 trainable lines, a dozen model games, and a few dozen strategic examples.”

Catch more of Krykun on Chessable. And see for yourself how much better your chess can get, when your questions get answers almost real-time.

>> Grab a course by IM Yuriy Krykun here

ICON-D (Impact of Chess on Neurodegenerative Disease): A Revolutionary Way of Looking at Chess by Nithin Ramasamy

Introduction

To many, chess is more than just a game. It transcends language and culture, bringing people together across generations and continents. While chess is often seen as a recreational activity, research has uncovered the profound impact it has on the brain. For example, a study on middle school students in India showed that those who received chess training had higher academic performance compared to those who didn’t participate in the training (1). Another study found that early childhood exposure to chess enhances creativity (2). These findings suggest that, much like physical exercise keeping the body fit, playing chess exercises the brain, keeping it sharp and flexible.

Working out may not reverse the natural decline in physical abilities that comes from aging, but can playing chess reverse cognitive decline caused by neurodegenerative diseases? This is a question that researchers are beginning to explore.

Understanding Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are conditions where nerve cells in the brain deteriorate over time. These diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors (3). Dementia, one of the most common forms of neurodegeneration, includes symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, and impaired judgment (4).

As of 2020, approximately 50 million people globally suffer from dementia, with an additional 10 million cases diagnosed each year. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases, and current drug therapies have been largely ineffective (5). This has prompted researchers to explore alternative therapies, including the use of board games like chess.

The Role of Board Games in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Given the limitations of drug treatments, different therapies have gained popularity. One of the most promising areas of research is board game therapy. Board games require players to use skills such as memory, critical thinking, reasoning, and social interaction (6). Since neurodegenerative diseases target these very functions, it has been theorized that playing games that stimulate these abilities can slow the progression of diseases like dementia.

Additionally, since 91% of dementia patients are elderly, physical activity may not be a feasible therapeutic option for many. Board games, on the other hand, offer a low-impact alternative that still engages the brain. A French study that spanned 20 years found that elderly people who played board games regularly had a 15% lower risk of developing dementia (8). However, this study consisted of a multitude of board games with chess being one of them. Another study found that the Chinese board game Go can enhance reasoning and social skills (7). Given this evidence, the question arises: Could chess, one of the most cognitively demanding board games, have similar effects?

ICON-D: Impact of Chess on Neurodegenerative Disease

ICON-D (Impact of Chess on Neurodegenerative Disease) offers an innovative and enjoyable way to explore how chess can potentially slow or prevent cognitive decline associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. By combining chess-related tasks such as chess puzzles with cognitive science, ICON-D provides a more engaging and targeted approach to assessing brain health than conventional memory and execution tests.

Chess puzzles do more than just test a player’s memory—they challenge problem-solving, strategic thinking, and planning skills. These cognitive functions are critical for identifying early signs of mental decline, such as mild memory impairment, which is often the first symptom of Alzheimer’s. Through chess, participants can keep these skills sharp, offering a proactive approach to brain health.

What makes ICON-D unique is its ability to merge meaningful research with interactive, stimulating experiences. Participants engage in a series of cognitive tests—Chess Puzzle, Tower of London, Wisconsin Card Sorting, Sequence Learning Test, and Working Memory Test. Each test is designed to assess different aspects of cognitive function that are typically affected by neurodegenerative diseases. This not only contributes to groundbreaking research but also provides participants with an enjoyable and mentally stimulating challenge.

The ICON-D Cognitive Assessments

Participants in ICON-D’s study complete five distinct cognitive tasks, each designed to measure specific areas of brain function. These tests evaluate how chess may help mitigate cognitive decline, providing valuable insights into the potential therapeutic effects of the game.

• Chess Puzzle: Participants solve 10 chess puzzles tailored to their chess rating, testing their problem-solving and strategic thinking skills.
• Tower of London: This task involves rearranging colored balls on pegs to match a target arrangement in the fewest possible moves. It challenges participants’ planning and spatial reasoning abilities.
• Wisconsin Card Sorting: Participants sort cards based on an unknown rule, adapting their strategy as the rule changes. This task measures cognitive flexibility and problem-solving.
• Sequence Learning Test: A 3×3 matrix is presented, and certain boxes light up in a sequence. Participants must remember and replicate the sequence, testing memory and attention.
• Working Memory Test: Participants are shown a series of numbers and must recall and input them in the correct order, assessing short-term memory retention and processing.

How the Data Will Be Analyzed

My apriori hypothesis is that, for diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases, chess tasks are more effective than conventional assessments like execution and memory tests as memory predicts accuracy and response times on chess tasks. By comparing participants who have a history of neurodegenerative disease versus participants who don’t have any history and have a similar chess level, we can compare the chess puzzle results with the cognitive tests. Based on the disparity of chess puzzle and cognitive tests results, we can find which would be more effective in diagnosing a neurodegenerative disease.

How to Get Involved

To participate in ICON-D, simply register at https://icond.azurewebsites.net/account/register and complete the chess puzzle and cognitive tasks: Tower of London, Wisconsin Card Sorting, Sequence Learning Test, and Working Memory Test. The collected data is secure, confidential, and used for research only.

For more detailed instructions, visit ICON-D’s FAQ page. By participating, you not only enhance your cognitive skills but also contribute to potentially groundbreaking research in the early detection and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Conclusion

ICON-D represents a revolutionary approach to brain health, merging the timeless game of chess with cutting-edge research into neurodegenerative diseases. By offering a series of enjoyable yet scientifically rigorous cognitive tests, ICON-D provides participants with an opportunity to sharpen their minds while helping researchers better understand the potential therapeutic benefits of chess. This engaging and interactive method underscores the power of chess to not only entertain but also to impact long-term brain health. With millions affected by diseases like Alzheimer’s, ICON-D could help pave the way toward new, non-invasive methods for early detection and cognitive therapy.

References

(1) Joseph, E., Veena Easvaradoss, V., & Solomon, N. J. (2016). Impact of chess training on academic performance of rural Indian school children. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 04(02), 20–24. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2016.42004

(2) Sigirtmac A. (2016, June 10). An investigation on the effectiveness of chess training on creativity and theory of mind development at early childhood. Educational Research and Reviews, 11(11), 1056-1063. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304617131_An_investigation_on_the_effectiveness_of_chess_training_on_creativity_and_theory_of_mind_development_at_early_childhood

(3) Neurodegenerative diseases. (2022). National Institute of Environmental Health Science. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/health/neurodegenerative

(4) What is dementia? Symptoms, types, and diagnosis. (2022). National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-dementia/what-dementia-symptoms-types-and-diagnosis#signs

(5) Ning, H., Li, R., Ye, X., Zhang, Y., & Liu, L. (2020). A review on serious games for dementia care in aging societies. IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, 8, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1109/jtehm.2020.2998055

(6) Board game. (2020, July 2). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_game

(7) Lin, Q., Cao, Y., & Gao, J. (2015). The impacts of a GO-game (Chinese chess) intervention on Alzheimer disease in a Northeast Chinese population. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2015.00163

(8)Dartigues, J. F., Foubert-Samier, A., Le Goff, M., Viltard, M., Amieva, H., Orgogozo, J. M., Barberger-Gateau, P., & Helmer, C. (2013). Playing board games, cognitive decline and dementia: a French population-based cohort study. BMJ Open, 3(8). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002998

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