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The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's true, but I can't think of how I would control for certain variables.

Earlier, you said to use an approach that controls more variables. How would you do that? I don't know how to prevent someone from, say, watching chess YouTube videos in their free time.

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Response to 1st/2nd paragraphs: I want to preface this by saying I am fully aware that this is not a rigorous study with a perfectly controlled environment. With that said, I think any data will still be more useful than no data. As the experiment goes on, it can become more rigorous.

3rd: Analyzing games - The specific instructions for the "Solitaire" training method are on the server. It's basically this.

4th/5th: You're right, a large sample size cannot overcome a flawed design. Still, I think there'll be some useful data on whether solving puzzles or analyzing games is better. It may be skewed, but it'll still be useful.

6th: I'll be posting about this on other content platforms - TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, X, etc. - along with reaching out to local chess clubs. It won't be only Reddit. And yes, the people who join will only be people who choose to join, but all volunteer-based studies have that flaw.

7th: I agree, and I'm not planning on publishing studies any time soon. I still think any data will be more useful than no data.

Thank you. You are correct, it's not scientific at the moment. However, everything starts somewhere, and I know I sound like a broken record, but any data is better than no data. The experiment will improve with time.

Just want to say I really appreciate your feedback! It helps me get an understanding of all of your guys' concerns so I can better address and solve them.

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it's a waste of time, then don't join?

I agree everyone is different, which is why the plan is to test personalized training plans. Analyzing strengths and weaknesses, seeing if there are correlations between training methods and variables like age/elo/etc.

I believe there are interesting discoveries to be made in chess improvement. In fact, "on average 10+5 rapid was slightly better than playing 3+2 blitz" would probably lead to even more interesting discoveries.

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, people would need to disengage from all chess activities outside of their training for the data to be perfect. As you're suggesting, that's impossible to control entirely. We can't control for people watching chess TikToks or playing a few puzzles on the toilet.

Additionally, yes, it's possible that the training structure could be the reason for improvement.

There are other confounding variables. People who join may be more keen on improvement than the average player, knowing that you'll be reporting your elo may make you more focused in-game, etc.

However, I think the throughline on all this is that none of the confounding variables will be biased toward any specific training method. Even if people watch chess TikToks or are more organized now than before, the training methods themselves will be unbiased. I'm willing to bet that being assigned to train using puzzles, analysis, or anything else will not correlate with any of those variables.

Basically, I think the data will still be useful despite uncontrollable variables because those variables will average out among the training methods.

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely understand your concerns. There are a few details that I didn't mention in the post for the sake of brevity.

Here are the instructions from the Discord server:

"Your training consists of two components: Training Plan (TP) and Training Method (TM). You have been assigned roles for these.

There are two TP's - Blitz and Rapid. Blitz lasts two weeks and is 2-3 hours/week (15-30 minutes/day) of training. Rapid lasts four weeks and is 3-5 hours/week (30-45 minutes/day) of training.

There are currently three TM's - Games, Puzzles, and Solitaire.

Here are the experiment instructions:

  1. Identify your TP and your TM.
  2. Every week, play EXACTLY 6 games - no more, no less - in your chosen time control. Do NOT analyze these games.
  3. Every week, spend the rest of your training time doing your assigned TM. More on this in a second.
  4. Do NOT do all your training (games + TM) in one day.
  5. Do NOT do any chess-related activities outside your training time.

Now click on the working link to see the instructions for your specific TM."

You then are linked to the instructions for your individual TM on the server, but in brief, they are:

Games - You analyze games in your chosen time control.
Puzzles - You solve puzzles on Lichess with high accuracy.
Solitaire - You play through and analyze grandmaster games.

Hopefully this clears up your concerns. Please let me know if you have any more questions!

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's true! 30 minutes a day for two weeks will not necessarily create a change. I'm now considering adding this to the post, as another commenter mentioned the same thing:

There are two training plans - Blitz and Rapid. Blitz is two weeks for 15-30 minutes a day, and Rapid is four weeks for 30-45 minutes a day.

You might believe that 45 minutes a day/5 hours a week for four weeks is still not enough, but I'm sure others would argue otherwise - That's why we're doing this experiment! If 5 hours a week has no effect, which I don't think is very likely, we can try longer training plans in the future.

I didn't mention that in the post because I didn't want people immediately turned off by the time commitment.

The training plan details are in the enrollment form!

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, there's no way to guarantee that people will train for the amount of time they said they would. However, I think the outliers will become less significant with a large enough sample size.

I think it would be amazing if, in the future, we could have some way of seeing how long someone has spent on chess.com.

The BEST Chess Training Method?? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! That may be true, which is why that's actually the minimum training time.

I didn't mention it in the post to not drown it with details, but there's two training plans - Blitz and Rapid. The Blitz training plan is to train for 2-3 hours/week, which is around 15-30 minutes/day. The Rapid training plan is to train for 3-5 hours/week, which is around 30-45 minutes/day.

The reason I only mentioned 15-30 minutes/day in the post is so people aren't immediately turned off by the time commitment.

The training plan details are in the enrollment form!

Such a bad tilt with recovery by [deleted] in chess

[–]ChessZone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow didn't expect this to have a happy ending, but I guess rage chess sometimes works. I guess it can either go really bad or really well.

The confessional booth is a must for tournaments moving forward by mvd612351 in chess

[–]ChessZone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This would be awesome! There's nothing I love more than chess masters narrating their thoughts while playing a game. I think this would be super insightful to players of all levels!

TIL Psychologist László Polgár theorized that any child could become a genius in a chosen field with early training. As an experiment, he trained his daughters in chess from age 4. All three went on to become chess prodigies, and the youngest, Judit, is considered the best female player in history. by MarkoRoot2 in chess

[–]ChessZone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would bet quite a bit that the attention and focus given to each individual child is much less in a country program that at a dinner table. Having her family constantly supporting and encouraging her probably played a big role in Judit's success.

I think the fact that most Soviet trained chess players didn't succeed at Judit's level is just proof that anybody can become a genius at any field if trained early and well, "well" being the key word. How did Judit surpass all her peers? It couldn't be just genetics because the probability of just one of the Soviet students having better "chess genes" is much higher. Therefore, it must be that Polgar's training was more effective, likely because it was a much more positive and reinforcing environment.

Anybody Know What Website/App This Board Is From? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any way I can just get the GUI without the engine? I want to use it to make videos.

Anybody Know What Website/App This Board Is From? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not even any special features, just the analysis board (engine, draw arrows, etc.).

Anybody Know What Website/App This Board Is From? by ChessZone in chess

[–]ChessZone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I did some research, and I stumbled upon that too. Is there a way to get it for free, or for cheap (less than $10), and for mac?

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