BenjiPortheault's Blog
You are not your rating
Stop treating yourself only as improvement project
The War on Attention
I’m done consuming chess content
10,000 hours? Understanding the conditions for expert learning
An introduction to key ideas about the expert learning process
How to Focus
From just-sitting to just-chess, a natural relaxed focus technique.
Losing at chess: an unpacking
Recognising and handling the biological, psychological and social factors contributing to the pain o…
Discipline
An operating system to help you align actions and intent: the ICED framework
Guest Interview: Casey Thomas, Esports Performance Nutrition Specialist
How to think about nutrition and leverage it for chess performance
Tournament Formats in Professional Chess
Getting the conversation started on the drawbacks of ubiquitous formats
The xG of Chess: Shark Points
A metric to quantify missed chances
Teach yourself to be a Resilient Tournament Player
A practical guide to boost your tournament results. Grab a pen and paper.
Leaning into discomfort
Stop trying to trick yourself into focusing on what is important and address the root cause of distr…
My notes from the esports coaching and performance summit 2023
Cutting edge practices for performance from top esports coaches.
Heart Rate Variability for chess players
What is Heart Rate Variability and how to use it for performance improvement.
Guest interview #1: PhD in Psychology and chess player WFM María Rodrigo Yangua
This week is the first ever interview on this blog, I am talking to Dr María Rodrigo Yanguas. María …
“When I finally ...”
“When I finally do all this chess training, I will be a complete player and I will enjoy playing in …
Is team chess a team sport?
From club players of the 1890’s to today’s Global Chess league, what does it mean to play team chess…
Ubuntu
The African philosophy that guides us to be better people.
Trust the Process
Why process is king - don't be swayed by short term results
Course Launch: Mindfulness for the Tournament Player
A series of guided meditations to help you at various moments of a chess tournament
Course review: Next Level Training by Noël Studer
Unique and valuable take on "How to study chess" in the age of information overload.
Reflections on Mental Toughness
Musings and reflections on two modern models of Mental Toughness.
Understanding mental fatigue
Raise your OTB level by understanding of to delay the onset of mental fatigue
Team Chess Analytics: Chess ‘Moneyball’
How to maximize the score of your chess team