@bjbalas' Substack - #SciComm from the Frozen North

Science of Chess: What does it mean to have a "chess personality?"

What kind of player are you? How do we tell?

Sep 12 • 

Ben Balas

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2

July 2025

Science of Chess: Proving yourself wrong

The best players know it's not enough to be right, it's also working hard to find out when you're wrong.

Jul 31 • 

Ben Balas

4

1

Science of Chess: Winning Streaks, Losing Streaks, and Skill

Being a patzer is hard, and it can be even worse when loss follows loss!

Jul 1 • 

Ben Balas

1

1

May 2025

Science of Chess: Playing blindfold and seeing chess in your dreams

Blindfold simuls can leave players struggling with insomnia in a way that connects to the science of sleep, learning, and memory.

May 11 • 

Ben Balas

2

March 2025

Science of Chess: What makes a move seem "Brilliant?"

Sometimes a chess move warrants not just one, but two exclamation points - but what makes us call a move brilliant?

Mar 23 • 

Ben Balas

3

February 2025

Science of Chess: Can you tell an easy puzzle from a tough one?

What makes some chess puzzles more difficult than others? Can strong players tell how hard a puzzle will be?

Feb 20 • 

Ben Balas

1

January 2025

Chess Engines, Centaur Chess and an idea for a new kind of tournament

Engines have had an enormous impact on chess - can we find ways to incorporate them into OTB play fairly?

Jan 1 • 

Ben Balas

5

December 2024

Science of Chess: Can you tell a human opponent from a machine?

Do chess engines pass the Turing Test?

Dec 22, 2024 • 

Ben Balas

3

November 2024

Science of Chess: Subliminal Chess in the Expert Mind?

Visual priming reveals how experts assess positions without awareness

Nov 25, 2024 • 

Ben Balas

3

Science of Chess: How does chess calculation depend on words vs. pictures?

Thinking ahead over the board requires maintaining some description of the position in your mind, but what is the nature of that description?

Nov 9, 2024 • 

Ben Balas

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1

Join my new subscriber chat

A private space for us to converse and connect

Nov 9, 2024 • 

Ben Balas

October 2024

Science of Chess: What happens in the brain when we see the best move?

EEG is good for measuring the timing of neural events, but can it reveal what happens when insight hits?

Oct 2, 2024 • 

Ben Balas

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