Archive - @bjbalas' Substack - #SciComm from the Frozen North

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

December 2024

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

Do chess engines pass the Turing Test?

Dec 22, 2024 •

November 2024

Science of Chess: Subliminal Chess in the Expert Mind?

Visual priming reveals how experts assess positions without awareness

Nov 25, 2024 •

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 •

Join my new subscriber chat

A private space for us to converse and connect

Nov 9, 2024 •

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 •

September 2024

Science of Chess: Reflex Epilepsy induced by Playing Chess

An electrical storm in the brain reveals links between chess and (some) other forms of complex thought.

Sep 13, 2024 •

Science of Chess: Gestalt Processing in Experts' Brains

Playing chess requires a network of distinct brain areas across the cortex, but what do these areas contribute to our playing ability?

Sep 4, 2024 •

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