ABSTRACT

Do you need to be a genius to be good at chess? What does it take to become a Grandmaster? Can computer programmes beat human intuition in gameplay?

The Psychology of Chess is an insightful overview of the roles of intelligence, expertise, and human intuition in playing this complex and ancient game. The book explores the idea of ‘practice makes perfect’, alongside accounts of why men perform better than women in international rankings, and why chess has become synonymous with extreme intelligence as well as madness.

When artificial intelligence researchers are increasingly studying chess to develop machine learning, The Psychology of Chess shows us how much it has already taught us about the human mind.

chapter |6 pages

Opening

chapter 1|6 pages

The Eye of the Master

chapter 2|16 pages

Chunks!

chapter 3|14 pages

The Best Move

chapter 4|12 pages

Practice Makes (Almost) Perfect

chapter 5|9 pages

Men Vs. Women

chapter 6|12 pages

Style and Intuition

chapter 7|12 pages

Errare Humanum Est

chapter 9|6 pages

The Magic Bullet?

chapter 10|9 pages

Costs of Playing Chess

chapter 11|2 pages

Endgame