Why Do I Panic During Chess Games?
The physical and mental mechanics of tournament nerves, and what actually helps in the moment, while it's happening.
The blog
Chess & Emotions
Writing on chess fundamentals, chess psychology, and the emotional side of the game, for players and for parents supporting a young player.
Chess Psychology
All Chess Psychology postsWhy players panic, blunder, tighten up, or play worse than they know how to, and what's actually happening when that occurs.
Why Do I Blunder When I'm Winning?
The specific danger of a comfortable position, and why the feeling of winning is often the moment concentration slips.
Why Do I Play Worse Against Stronger Players?
How rating gaps change your decisions before a single move has been played.
Emotional Chess
The feelings a serious game produces, and how to work with them without pretending they aren't there.
How to Recover After a Blunder
A practical sequence for the sixty seconds after you realize you've made a serious mistake, and for the rest of the game after that.
The Fear of Losing a Chess Piece
Why losing material triggers a reaction out of proportion to it, and how that reaction quietly shapes the next several moves.
What Chess Teaches Us About Failure
A game with no hidden information and no luck has a particular way of making failure feel personal, and what to actually do with that.
Parents & Children
Supporting a young player's chess development, including the parts that have nothing to do with openings.
How to Teach Children to Lose at Chess
What actually builds resilience in young players, and what, despite good intentions, tends to work against it.
Should Parents Analyze Their Child's Chess Games?
A specific, practical answer, including when it helps and when it undermines a child's own relationship to the game.
Why Winning Isn't the Most Important Lesson in Children's Chess
What to actually watch for in a young player's development, beyond the scoreline.
Chess Fundamentals
The actual game: rules, principles, and patterns, explained clearly for players building a real foundation.
Opening Principles Every Beginner Should Actually Understand
The reasoning that makes openings make sense, so it holds up even when a memorized line runs out.
Tactical Patterns Worth Learning First
A short, deliberately limited list. Pattern recognition beats pattern collection.
Improvement
Practical guidance for getting better: the habits that actually move a player's rating, not just their knowledge.
How to Analyze Your Own Games
A repeatable process for reviewing a game honestly, without excusing or overpunishing yourself.
How to Stop Making the Same Mistakes
Why the same error keeps recurring, and what actually breaks the pattern.