This week’s guest is Aiden Rayner, a Melbourne, Australia-based chess trainer, blogger, podcaster, and the founder of the training site, Don’t Move Until You See It. Aiden became interested in chess improvement as an adult and quickly zeroed in on a need to improve his ability to picture a chess board in his head. In the subsequent years, he has developed some tools to help improve this skill, and has read extensively on how the different brains adapt to this task. Aiden also has studied how working memory functions, and shares what adults need to know about how it affects chess calculation. Lastly, Aiden shares a few “non-chess” book recommendations for those who would like to learn more about the challenges of rewiring our brains for chess. If you are interested in improving your chess game, you won’t want to miss this conversation. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.
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02:00- Why doesn’t Aiden like the term “visualization” when it comes to playing through moves in our heads
Mentioned: GM George Koltanowski
07:00- What got Aiden into visualization?
11:00- What features does Aiden’s site offer?
Mentioned: Aiden’s blindfold trainer:
https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/blindfold-trainer/
16:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What advice does Aiden have for people adjusting from playing 2D (on screens) to playing 3D (OTB)?”
26:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Can Aiden share advice for how to improve at remembering a game through “narration” rather than visualization?”
32:00- Aiden’s recommended (non-chess) books:
Mentioned: Thinking Fast and Slow
Chatter, The Voice in Our Head and Why it Matters, and How to Harness It
Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions
34:30- What is working memory and why does it matter for chess players? Mentioned: Chess Visualization with Don’t Move, ,
N Back Memory Training App (You can search for it in an App Store)
55:00- What are “the three Fs?”
1:05:00- Thanks to Aiden, for joining me! Here is it how to keep up with him:
Don’t Move Until You See It Website:
https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/
Follow Aiden on X here: