Fellow chess amateur and blogger Nick Visel returns to the pod to talk about the nuts and bolts of improving as an adult player. We cover endgames, openings, and the psychological habits that separate steady improvers from those stuck in place. Think of this as a reality check - with a roadmap.

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Time delay or an increment has become the norm in over-the-board tournaments, but online chess still largely ignores it. In this episode, we break down why using an increment leads to better games, fairer outcomes, and more instructive endgames, and why the current no-increment culture misses the mark. We also react to a lively Reddit debate on why no-increment chess still do...

We like to think chess is pure skill, but at the amateur level, luck plays a bigger role than most players realize. In this episode, we break down how blunders, pairings, time pressure, and your opponent's mood can all influence your results and rating. More importantly, we talk about how to think about luck the right way so you don't misjudge your own progress.

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Many adult chess improvers start with the same plan: just play a lot of games and the rating will climb. At first, that actually works - until it doesn't. In this episode, we talk about why the "just play more games" philosophy causes most amateurs to eventually hit a plateau and why deliberate study is the key to breaking through it.

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This week, Neal discusses why he recently made a full switch to lichess.org for playing his online games and why the platform works better for his day-to-day chess routine. He still uses chesscom, but only for news, articles, and their lesson library.

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