Using Cognitive Science To Teach (Or To Learn) Chess

CM Can Kabadayi is one of Chessable's most popular instructors, and is now the Chess.com Coach of the Month! The 2024 Chessable Author of the Year and a cognitive scientist by trade, Can uses several tricks of that trade in order to teach important chess concepts such as calculation and how to avoid blunders.

Read all about Can's coaching approach and techniques below!

At what age were you introduced to chess and who introduced you?

I was eight when my cousin introduced it to me. I still remember playing the Battle Chess game on an old computer at my cousin's place!

Which coaches were helpful to you in your chess career, and what was the most useful knowledge they imparted to you?

I did not have a formal coach, but I have been a book nerd and I mostly learned from books. So I consider those authors my coaches. Jose Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals was my very first book, so I think of him as my very first teacher. GM David Bronstein, IM John Watson, GM Jonathan Rowson, GM Garry Kasparov and many others also had an impact on me with their writings.

What is your favorite or best game you ever played?

This could be a recency effect, but I really like this game as it involved two positional exchange sacrifices.

How would you describe your approach to chess coaching?

My coaching philosophy is rooted in cognitive science and educational psychology principles, particularly chunking, cognitive load management, and pattern recognition.

A key aspect of my approach is catching the student at the right time in their developmental journey. If a concept is introduced too early, it creates cognitive overload, preventing effective learning. To counter this, I studied hundreds of games at different rating levels to track how chess skills emerge naturally over time. This research shaped my Chess Elevator course, where every concept is introduced only when the player's skill level suggests they are ready for it. Crucially, my courses don’t start as abstract theories—they emerge directly from my work with students. Every course I create is a response to real struggles and patterns I’ve observed in student games.

Beyond structured learning, my mission is to identify and highlight transferable and teachable moments in a student’s games—principles they can apply in different contexts once they truly grasp the underlying reasoning. Transfer is the real goal of learning, and for that, deep processing is essential. That’s why I don’t just give answers—I encourage students to engage with the material actively, questioning why moves work and discovering patterns that will serve them in future games.

I also believe in the power of foundational skills—raising our floor as chess players. That’s why I created two courses focused on fundamental but often-overlooked skills:

• Recognizing the opponent’s threats behind their last move
• Blunder-checking before committing to a move

Most players work hard to improve their ceiling, how well they play at their best. But raising our floor is arguably more important—especially in a cruel game like chess, where a single slip at any moment can lead to defeat. That’s why I emphasize foundational skills. My coaching, and the courses that stem from it, are designed to help students break through their plateaus by focusing on the biggest bottlenecks in their game and addressing the mistakes that cost them the most points.

What do you consider your responsibility as a coach and which responsibilities fall on your student?

My responsibility as a coach:

• Spread my passion and love for the game.
• Create a safe learning environment where mistakes are embraced as opportunities, not something to be ashamed of.
• Diagnose weaknesses and tailor training to address them.
• Help students develop strong thinking habits and structured decision-making.
• Keep students motivated by making learning engaging, challenging, and rewarding.

The student’s responsibilities:

• Engage actively! Chess improvement requires effort, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge oneself.
• Ask questions and challenge their own thinking—critical thinking and self-reflection accelerate improvement.
• Be willing to struggle productively—mistakes are the fuel for growth, but they must be analyzed and understood to create real improvement.

Engage actively! Chess improvement requires effort, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge oneself.

What is a piece of advice that you give your students that you think more chess players could benefit from?

In a brutally honest game like chess, ego and Elo are usually inversely correlated—the more open you are to learning from mistakes, the faster you improve.

What is your favorite teaching game that users might not have seen?

I really like teaching this 1978 game between GMs Efim Geller and Adrian Mikhalchishin. Starting from move 17, it contains beautiful strategic operations that directly connect to three of my courses: The Art of Exchanging Pieces, The Art of Burying Pieces and The Art of Multi-Purpose Moves.

What is the puzzle you give students that tells you the most about how they think?

The positions differ depending on the level of the student, but I like to give this one to the beginners. White to play:

At first glance, many players spot the trappable bishop on g6 and instinctively play f4-f5 to trap it—only to realize too late that Black’s queen can capture on g4 with check, disrupting the plan. When they notice this, they often abandon the idea altogether.

Instead, the correct approach is to engage in a simple three-ply calculation and find the preparatory move 1. b3!, which forces the black queen to retreat from the fourth rank. Now, on the next move, White can safely play f5, trapping the bishop as originally intended.

This position is a good example of goal-setting, blunder-checking, and short calculations—showing how we can make our desirable ideas work by solving their tactical flaws rather than discarding them too quickly. Many strong moves seem "unplayable" at first glance, but with a bit of calculation, we can often clear the obstacles and bring them to life. 

Do you prefer to teach online or offline? What do you think is different about teaching online?

I primarily teach online, and I appreciate the flexibility, accessibility, and efficiency it offers. Online teaching allows me to work with students from all over the world, use powerful tools like interactive boards, databases, and group activities like solving puzzles together or playing simuls against a group of students. We can also easily save and review games for structured learning.

That said, offline teaching has its own advantages. Face-to-face interaction allows for better non-verbal communication—I can observe a student’s body language, hesitation, and level of engagement more easily. It also creates a stronger personal connection, which can help with motivation and focus.

What do you consider the most valuable training tool that the internet provides?

Instant access to high-quality, structured learning materials and interactive training methods, including databases, chess engines, and courses that reinforce knowledge through spaced repetition and active recall.

Which under-appreciated chess book should every chess player read?

Under the Surface by GM Jan Markos.