Chess Visualization with Aiden Rayner

Don't Move Until You See It

Improve your Chess and master visualization while on the go! Featuring science-backed exercises, insights, and lessons designed to make your adult brain better on the 64 squares. Brains are awesome. Yours included.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

20 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes20

Newest first

Yesterday · 5 min
🧠 Rook Endings (Vigilance Exercise)
Vigilance Exercise: Follow the sequence of moves from a position and decide at the end which of two moves should be played.
Sunday · 45 min
🚶‍♂️Resisting the Obvious Move (Walkthrough)
Some moves seem so obvious they shut down our brain and cause us to play without thinking. Here's a walkthrough with a great example and some advice on resisting that.
Saturday · 34 min
🎉 Models of the Masters (Saturday Fun Episode)
I discuss the conceptualization spectrum and break down some of the most interesting models I've run into in my half-decade of researching this stuff. And I try (and fail) not to go on tangents about cool Chess conceptualization stories.
Friday · 14 min
⚡️ Aphantasia and the Visual-Verbal Spectrum
If you can't create pictures in your head, does that mean you must use words instead? I break down some new insights I've run into, and suggest that may not be the case.
Thursday · 11 min
🧠🧠🧠 The Spice Melange (Vigilance Exercise)
Vigilance Exercise: Follow the sequence of moves from a position and decide at the end which of two moves should be played.
Wednesday · 6 min
🧠🧠 One Needle, Big Haystack (Position Exercise)
Position Exercise: The audio will tell you where each of the pieces on the board are and whose turn it is. Find the best move!
July 28 · 6 min
🧠 Splayed Out (Awareness Exercise)
Awareness Exercise: Listen to the locations of all the pieces in the position, then answer the questions to test your awareness.
July 27 · 5 min
🧠 Jaws of a Draw (Hybrid Exercise)
Hybrid Exercise: The audio will tell you where each of the pieces on the board are, then read a series of moves from that position. When prompted, try to identify the best next move.
July 24 · 14 min
State of the Pod, and What's Next
Aiden address the plans for this next phase of the podcast.
July 21 · 6 min
🧠 Thinking with Portals (Illegal Move Exercise)
Illegal Move Exercise: The audio will lead you through a series of moves from the beginning of a game. Somewhere in there, a player will make an illegal move but the game will continue anyway. Find the illegal move.
July 20 · 11 min
🧠 Omnipotence (Lost Piece Exercise)
Lost Piece Exercise: The audio will tell you the position of most of the pieces on the board. Can you work out where the missing piece is meant to be?
July 16 · 8 min
🧠🧠 Miss Zhu (Awareness Exercise)
Awareness Exercise: Listen to the locations of all the pieces in the position, then answer the questions to test your awareness.
July 15 · 9 min
🧠🧠 Slip of the Thumb (Find the Blunder Exercise)
Find the Blunder Exercise: The audio will lead you through a series of moves from the beginning of a game. One player will blunder and the other will not punish them for it. Can you find the blunder and the best punishment?
July 14 · 8 min
🧠 Two Rooks > Queen (Hybrid Exercise)
Hybrid Exercise: The audio will tell you where each of the pieces on the board are, then read a series of moves from that position. When prompted, try to identify the best next move.
July 13 · 1 min
🧠 Development Is the Most Important Thing (Opening Exercise)
An exercise to train your conceptualization, strengthen your mental board, and improve your Chess.
July 12 · 2 min
🧠 Layers Upon Layers of Pressure (Game Exercise)
An exercise to train your conceptualization, strengthen your mental board, and improve your Chess.
July 11 · 1 min
🧠 Pair o' Bishops (Position Exercise)
An exercise to train your conceptualization, strengthen your mental board, and improve your Chess.
July 10 · 1 min
🧠 Greco Beats the Philidor Defense (Opening Exercise)
An exercise to train your conceptualization, strengthen your mental board, and improve your Chess.
July 9 · 4 min
🧠 Nepo Dismisses the Class (Game Exercise)
An exercise to train your conceptualization, strengthen your mental board, and improve your Chess.
July 8 · 1 min
🧠 Light 'Em Up (Position Exercise)
An exercise to train your conceptualization, strengthen your mental board, and improve your Chess.