Chess Psychology: The Blind Spot of Grandmasters, the Achilles’ Heel of Carlsen

Chess Psychology: The Blind Spot of Grandmasters, the Achilles’ Heel of Carlsen

What if the key to winning at chess isn't on the board, but in your opponent's mind ? Hi everyone, as a psychology student and chess player, I would like to present to you my modest work on the theme of chess psychology. This is a translation of my text into my native language using AI to facilitate reading. I apologize in advance for any potential language errors. hoping you like it, good reading to everyone. 

P.S ( If you still can't access the topic content,try this link https://www.chess.com/blog/Psychomethee/chess-psychology-the-blind-spot-of-grandmasters-the-achilles-heel-of-carlsen )

Part 1: Chess Psycho-Predictive DescriptionPart 2: Cross View by Position TypePart 3: Chess Identity DescriptionPart 4: Influence of Emotions on Playing StylePart 5: Strategies to Adopt in Light of PsychologyPart 6: Aside on Reactions to an Opponent’s SacrificePart 7: How to Recognize an Attacking or Defensive Position (Including in the Opening)

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Part 8: How Do We Perceive the Game?Part 9: The Influence of Emotions on PatternsPart 10: Aside on the Importance of the Opening: Technical Mastery and the Element of SurprisePart 11: List of Strategic and Tactical Patterns

Chess is a millennia-old game, the art of kings and the ultimate symbol of human intelligence. From its origins to the present day, victory on the chessboard has been seen as proof not only of intellectual superiority but also, perhaps above all, as a triumph of the ego.

Winning a game is not merely defeating an opponent. It is imposing one’s will, asserting one’s strength, dominating another human being in a battle of mind against mind.

Long ago, the second World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, said it with remarkable lucidity:

“In chess, it is not two intellects that meet, but two wills.”

More than a cognitive puzzle, chess is a psychological war, fought not only against oneself but also against the person across the board.

Every move played is the product of an invisible mental process, shaped by our cognitive biases, our emotions, and our unconscious anchors. Our brain, this fascinating and evolving machine, is not a perfect calculator. It is woven with heuristic shortcuts, snap judgments, the desire for self-justification, the fear of losing, and the pride of proving oneself.

This is where chess hubris is born: that mental exaltation that drives the player to believe in their play even when it is dubious, to reject introspection, to deny the reality of the position. It is a psychic noise disguised as logic.

And yet, no one teaches you to play against yourself, let alone against the person behind the chessboard. Neither books, engines, nor coaches illuminate the backstage of our mind. This forgotten mental territory is the one I propose to explore here.

Through this document, you will discover the cognitive biases rooted within you, as well as within your opponents...and how to exploit them.

The great thing about cognitive biases is that they have little correlation with IQ, with only a few nuances. In other words, intelligence does not protect you from biases and mental shortcuts. You could be rated 1000 Elo, and in this regard, Magnus Carlsen is just as vulnerable as you. If you integrate this psychological lens into your game, you will gain an advantage your opponent does not have: the ability to read their mind as if it were an open book.

As mentioned before, it is difficult to shield oneself from the flaws of our thinking, because no matter how intelligent you may be, no one is immune. That is why, instead of merely learning about them to avoid them, we shall learn how to use them.

Chess Psycho-Predictive Description

Part 1:

Fundamentally, we can divide players into two opposing categories: offensive players and defensive players, with a continuum stretching between these two archetypes. You will encounter opponents with varying degrees of offensive or defensive tendencies. Ideally, all players desire the same thing: a powerful attacking game combined with solid defense. This balance, however, is difficult to maintain and, due to our own playing preferences, inevitably tilts toward one side or the other.

It should be noted that any type of player can exhibit any bias (particularly anchoring bias and commitment bias). Nevertheless, the positions reached during the game tend to favor the emergence of certain biases over others.

Offensive Player TypeDominant Cognitive Biases:

-Optimism bias: Overestimation of attacking chances, leading to excessive risk-taking.

-Confirmation bias: Ignoring potential dangers of the attack, focusing only on aspects that confirm the strength of the offensive. Fixation on favorable signs.

-Loss aversion: Additional risk-taking to "make up for" a sacrifice or material loss. May be tempted to take even greater risks to justify the investment.

-Offensive heuristics: Reliance on general offensive rules, such as attacking as soon as possible, playing moves without assessing the risk of counterplay, and launching direct threats without precise calculation or evaluation.

Behavior by Position Type:

-Open position: Excessive risk-taking, overestimation of attacking chances.

-Dynamic position: Rapid, sometimes impulsive decisions, often relying on general attack heuristics and lacking deep analysis.

-Initiative: Desire to justify the material investment of an attack, leading to increased risk-taking.

-Material advantage: May sacrifice to launch an attack. May take risks to offset a slight material disadvantage by initiating an attack.

-Static position: May attempt to force the game prematurely, trying to create movement even when the position does not call for it.

Defensive Player TypeDominant Cognitive Biases:

-Risk aversion: Avoidance of complications, preference for closed or static positions.

-Anchoring effect: Attachment to initial defensive plans, missing opportunities for counterplay.

-Commitment bias: Sticking to a strategy even when the situation calls for more active play.

-Loss aversion: Overprotection of material, missing counterattack opportunities.

Behavior by Position Type:

-Closed position: Prefers stability and solidity, avoids transitions even if opening the position could offer better chances.

-Initiative: May underestimate their chances for counterplay.

-Material advantage: Refuses material sacrifices even when beneficial. May avoid positional sacrifices that could yield a strategic advantage.

-Dynamic position: Too cautious to exploit opportunities.

-Static position: Favors stability and solidity, avoids opening the position even when it could create possibilities, sometimes leading to passive play that hides tactical chances.

 Nota Bene: In general, advantageous positions tend to produce more "heuristic" and "automatic" thinking simpler decision-making patterns. Conversely, a disadvantageous position often triggers a more "analytical," "deep and vigilant" mode of thinking.

In other words, when your opponent is winning, complicate the position while they are relaxing their mental pressure. On the other hand, when you are in a winning position, stay focused... because your opponent certainly will be.

Part 2:

Cross View by Position Type

Position Types and Reactions

Open Position:

-Offensive players: Quick attack, high risk-taking.-Defensive players: Seek to close the position to avoid complications.

Closed Position:

-Offensive players: May force the opening prematurely.-Defensive players: Stay passive, miss counterplay opportunities.

With Material Advantage/Disadvantage:

-Offensive players: May launch a risky attack to compensate for a disadvantage.-Defensive players: Insist on keeping their material advantage, reluctant to sacrifice even if it makes strategic sense.

Initiative:

-Offensive players: Aggressively pursue to justify a sacrifice or assault.-Defensive players: Underestimate the possibility of reversing the game’s momentum or counterattacking.

Dynamic Position:

-Offensive players: Use simple, shallow heuristics, risking mistakes.-Defensive players: Too cautious, miss chances to strike back.

Static Position:

-Offensive players: Try to create imbalance, become impatient, attempt to energize the position even when it does not suit.-Defensive players: Tend to want to maintain the position, miss chances for activity. 

Part 3:

Chess Identity Description

Identity Belief: I play badly in defense

Associated Attitude: I must attack to avoid defendingDominant Thought: If I retreat or stay passive, I loseConsequence: I attack even when my position does not allow itChess Trajectory: Very aggressive openingsImpact: Disregards learning positional and strategic aspects

Identity Belief: I attack badly

Associated Attitude: I must play positionallyDominant Thought: No risksConsequence: Passivity will be fatal in the long run as it cedes initiativeChess Trajectory: Ultra-defensive and positional openingsImpact: Analyzes tactical combinations only to avoid them

Identity Belief: I do not know my endgames well enough

Associated Attitude: I must finish the game before the endgameDominant Thought: If I reach the endgame, I loseConsequence: I avoid lines leading to endgames, avoid exchanging piecesChess Trajectory: Very complex openingsImpact: Shows little interest in endgame technique

Nota bene: This is a non-exhaustive list of the concept of chess identity. We could also discuss those who struggle with the opening, those who only play specific systems, etc. The main idea is to show how players reason when facing their weaknesses.

 Part 4:

Influence of Emotions on Playing Style

In Part 1, we examined the psycho-predictive description of chess players, including the cognitive biases present in player typologies and their behaviors in various game positions. These biases and behaviors are governed by the influence of affect in the game. Sometimes amplifying, sometimes triggering, emotions shape the psychological tendencies of players. Three fundamental emotions can be identified in the game:

Joy:

Favors quick reasoning and mental shortcuts (heuristics).Adopts a relaxed attitude at the board.Plays moves more automatically, without deep analysis.Chooses simpler and more direct moves.

Anger:

Diminishes or removes the sense of danger.Pays less attention to threats posed by the opponent.Encourages sacrifices and risk-taking.Pushes piece advancement and intensifies pawn exchanges to open the position.Persists in one’s own strategy without considering the concrete context of the position.

Fear:

Tends to overanalyze every situation (overthinking).Increases perception of danger, leading to excessive caution or even passivity.Seeks to simplify the game: avoids complications and favors piece exchanges to reduce pressure.Has difficulty organizing a clear strategy, the mind scattering among options. 

Nota bene: These emotions can be present in both player types. However, while joy is a relatively common emotion for both categories (such as when having a winning position, material advantage, or a favorable position), common sense, evolutionary psychology, and empirical evidence suggest that attacking players are more prone to anger, whereas defensive players tend to be more receptive to fear.

Part 5:

Strategy Adopted in Light of Psychology

For our finale, the last three parts offer more personal theoretical contributions based on empirical knowledge. And since knowledge is built collectively, the individual and therefore improvable nature of Parts 5, 6, and 7 should be kept in mind while reading the following.

Strategies for the Offensive Player

Against an Offensive Player

Position choice: Favor a semi-open position.Key actions:Block the center to limit the opponent’s dynamics.Reduce pawn exchanges in the center and on the attacked flank.Exchange the opponent’s active pieces to slow down their attack.Advance your pawns on the side where you want to attack and open lines on that same side.Launch a direct attack on the opponent’s king or set up a minority attack.Don’t hesitate to sacrifice or group pieces and pawns to increase pressure and force the opponent to retreat and play passively.

Against a Defensive Player

Position choice: Seek an open position.Key actions:Quickly exchange pawns to open the center and lines.Multiply attacks on the king and create more tactical opportunities.Constantly threaten opponent’s pieces to maintain pressure.Avoid exchanging pieces to keep the position complex.Try to gain a slight material or positional advantage to push the opponent into mistakes or force them to attack under poor conditions due to loss aversion. 

Strategies for the Defensive Player

Against an Offensive Player

Position choice: Adopt a closed position.Key actions:Block the center, limit aggressive combinations, and reduce direct attack possibilities.Avoid pawn exchanges that could open dangerous lines.Favor piece exchanges to reduce the opponent’s attacking power.Analyze and exploit weaknesses left by the opponent’s aggressiveness by launching counterattacks on vulnerable points such as isolated pawns, exposed kings, etc.

Against a Defensive Player

Position choice: Seek a semi-open position.Key actions:Block the center and limit pawn exchanges.Build up gradual positional pressure on open files or weak squares, avoiding piece exchanges to maintain tension.Use slow maneuvers to improve your position without taking risks.Try to gain a slight material or positional advantage to push the opponent into mistakes or force them to attack in poor conditions through loss aversion. 

In general, forcing your opponent to play a position opposite to their usual style will give you a psychological edge. Open, dynamic, and tactical positions encourage defensive players to attack. Closed, positional, and strategic positions encourage offensive players to stay defensive.

The second strategy is not to play against the opponent’s “anti-stylistic” positions and resulting behaviors, but rather to let their style flourish and play against their cognitive biases — allowing them to fall into their habitual thought patterns. This strategy, however, requires greater calculation depth to ensure the opponent’s playing style does not allow them to score a breakthrough.

Part 6:

Aside on Reactions to a Sacrifice Initiated by the Opponent

Situation:

Sacrifice seems dubious:

Offensive player: Accepts quickly, sometimes without full calculation. Wants to punish the mistake or create imbalance.Defensive player: Refuses or avoids it out of caution or fear of a trap.

Risky but sound sacrifice:

Offensive player: Accepts, relying on their ability to defend afterward.Defensive player: Refuses, underestimating their chances to survive or counterattack.

Sacrifice opening the position:

Offensive player: Sees an opportunity for counterplay after the exchange.Defensive player: Fears complications, prefers to refuse to keep the blockade.

Typical consequences:

Offensive player: May fall into well-prepared traps but can also punish dubious sacrifices.Defensive player: May miss clear winning chances or find themselves under prolonged pressure. 

Part 7:

Finally, to close this document, it is necessary to recognize the early signs of your opponent’s playing style. Indeed, we have seen above the typical biases and behaviors of chess players. However, it is important to differentiate them in order to know whether the opponent facing you leans more towards one or the other player category.

Therefore, here is a simplified guide to so-called “attack” or “defense” positions and openings to help you identify which biases and behaviors will most likely appear in your opponent’s game.

How to recognize an attacking or defensive position (including in the opening)

1. Characteristics of an attacking position:An attacking position has several distinctive signs. They can be spotted by:

The presence of concrete or imminent threats against the opposing king (or major pieces).Concentration of forces around the attack zone: several pieces (queen, knights, bishops, rooks) converge on the same sector, often the kingside.Opening of files and diagonals: presence of open or semi-open files, accessible diagonals for bishops and the queen.Weaknesses in the position: absence of defenders around the king, weakened pawns (e.g., doubled, backward, or advanced pawns, weak squares).Initiative clearly with the attacker: the opponent only defends, without counterplay.Key visual clues:

One or more pawns pushed forward to open lines.Sacrifices (even pawns) to open the king’s position.Material superiority in the targeted zone.

2. Characteristics of a defensive position:A defensive position can be identified by:

Compact formation around the king or vulnerable zone (pawns and pieces close, few obvious weaknesses).Blocking of the center or possible attacking lines (locked pawns, absence of open files for the opponent, closed and compact center).Reduced activity of pieces (often withdrawn on the first three ranks, in passive protection).Main objective: contain or neutralize threats rather than create attacks.Key visual clues:

Several pieces defending the same weak point.Rarely any pieces advanced into enemy territory.Absence of immediate threats against the opposing king.

3. Offensive vs Defensive openings:Offensive openings: Seek to open the game quickly (central pawn exchanges, rapid piece development). Ideal for creating initiative, momentum, and pressure on the king.

Defensive openings: Aim to control the center, limit risks, and stay flexible. Often characterized by closed or semi-closed structures, and cautious piece development.

In conclusion, by learning to decode your opponent’s psychological tendencies through this psychological reading grid, you unlock a strategic advantage: beyond reading the position, you read your opponent. An advantage not found in chess engines or manuals, but in the silent war of minds where true mastery of chess emerges.

*Update*

In the initial text, we covered the essentials of chess psychology affecting the decision-making process. However, other aspects of the game can be approached from this angle. Today, let’s talk about how we perceive the game, how to master, improve… and manipulate it against our opponent. Let’s talk about perception.

Perception: Between Patterns and Emotions, When Our Eyes Deceive Us

Part 8:

How do we perceive the game?

Perception, although influenced by our subjectivity, remains the foundation of chess—the base on which all thinking and therefore all decision-making is built. “What do we perceive when we play?” We perceive chess patterns, in other words, recurring motifs in the game, which can be divided into two main categories: strategic patterns and tactical patterns. This ability to recognize these “leitmotifs,” objectively effective both technically and positionally as sources of advantage, is essential both for learning the game and ultimately for improving our level.

The work of De Groot, followed by Chase and Simon, showed our capacity to perceive recurring motifs (known as chunks in cognitive psychology) within a position. The more experienced the player, the faster and deeper they detect latent opportunities and threats. This is the real difference between grandmasters and amateurs: the ability to store and process these patterns to better recognize and use them in future games. In other words, it’s not about calculating more moves ahead, but calculating better. The first lesson we can take from this is clear: enriching your knowledge of patterns is an effective way to improve at chess.

However, this ability doesn’t only serve improvement—it can also be used against the opponent in more subtle ways…

Indeed, this skill for spotting patterns, like our decision-making processes, can be biased and influenced. To take advantage, we have three main strategies:

1. Prevent your opponent from playing a familiar pattern to frustrate them and push them into impulsive mistakes (for example, forcing them to exchange a knight that threatened a decisive fork);

2. Let them believe they can play an apparently favorable pattern, only to trap them later (for example, a bishop controlling a key square that seems to open a favorable file for a rook);

3.Make them focus on a tactical pattern while you develop a counterplay elsewhere.

You may have noticed that these points illustrate a cognitive bias already mentioned in Part 1: the anchoring bias. Here, it manifests as leading a player to cling to learned motifs (back-rank mate, forks, open files, etc.), sometimes to their advantage… and sometimes to the detriment of the actual position.

Nota bene: In my experience, placing traps within strategic or tactical patterns can be a highly effective technique to unsettle an opponent. In truth, merely detecting and avoiding these traps requires extra mental effort, increasing fatigue and pressure. Since concentration is naturally limited, these conditions work in our favor.

P.S: And yes, the example above of the bishop controlling a tempting square for the rook comes from one of my games… and yes, my opponent fell for it.

Example:

 Reflection and choice in chess: Adriaan de Groot analyzed the thinking of chess players, from grandmasters to amateurs. Inspired by the work of Binet, he showed that strong players do not necessarily calculate more variations, but they calculate better.

In one experiment, de Groot presented the same position to several players. The grandmasters (Alekhine, Euwe, Keres, Fine) quickly found the best move 17.Bxd5, whereas another master, Salo Flohr, chose 17.Nxc6, which was good but less strong. The amateurs never found 17.Bxd5 and often played 17.Nxd5 instead.

The most convincing reason for this (at least if my analysis and common sense hold) is that the move Nxd5 requires less mental effort because it’s less deep. Meanwhile, grandmasters have better mastery of patterns, allowing for deeper reflection. Amateur players favored a simpler and more direct pattern—in this case, preserving the bishop pair.

Part 9:

The Influence of Emotions on Patterns

Among all the emotions that can destabilize us, it is especially the joy linked to discovering an advantageous pattern that should alert us. More subtly, this joy can also arise after fear or anger toward a position, followed by relief upon finding an opportunity.

As stated earlier in Part 4, this positive emotion often leads to quick, automatic heuristic moves where overconfidence replaces deep analysis. This is one of the most ideal situations to complicate the position or set a trap within a pattern.

The main benefit of studying playing styles and chess patterns is to anticipate the opponent’s thoughts and know the candidate moves they are considering: both the good moves that need to be analyzed and the bad ones to punish. This foresight allows us to calculate more efficiently upfront, dedicating time and energy to the most relevant moves according to our style, and to manipulate the opponent’s emotions by frustrating them, trapping them, or even reassuring them in their choices to better steer their plans.

Part 10:

Aside on the Importance of the Opening: Technical Mastery and the Surprise Effect

Finally, although it is a widely recognized aspect, it is useful to recall the crucial role of the opening. Its technical mastery is important, but what also plays a major role is its rarity: playing an unusual opening disrupts the opponent by taking them out of their habitual patterns.

This psychological approach can make all the difference, even at a high level. Using rarely played variations, or moreover, adapting to the opponent’s style by choosing openings that unsettle them and oppose their usual way of playing, is a good way to gain an advantage right from the start of the game.

In summary, the first advantage one can obtain at the beginning of the game is to make the opponent play an opening they dislike… and do not know well.

Part 11:

List of Strategic and Tactical Patterns

To conclude this addition, both to help you improve your game and to manipulate your opponent, it is useful to know the different tactical and strategic patterns present within a game. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the most well-known schemes:

Strategic Patterns:

- Piece development- Control of the center- Isolated pawns- Doubled pawns- Backward pawns- Passed pawns- Pawn chains- Exploiting open and semi-open files- Weak squares- Outposts- Activity and coordination of pieces- King safety- Prophylactic moves- Positional sacrifices- Minority attack- Pawn breaks- Bishop pair on long diagonals- Pawn majority on the flank- Space control- Rooks on the 7th rank- Rooks behind passed pawns

Tactical Patterns:

- Fork- Pin- Skewer- Discovered attack- Discovered check-Deflection- Decoy- Overload- Removing the defender- Piece trapping- Sacrifice- X-ray attack- Passed pawn- Double attack- Interference- Clearance- Desperado

In conclusion, by learning to decode your opponent’s psychological tendencies and controlling perception, you will gain the ability to read your adversary. Feel free to take what you find relevant into your arsenal in order to play the man beyond the board.

Main sources:

Adriaan de Groot. Thought and choice in chessPhillipe Chassy et Darko Anic : Psychologie du joueur d'échecs: science et performanceChase, W.G and Simon, H.A. perception in chess cognitive psychologieEkman, P, basic émotion in T. Dalgleish and M. Power, handbook of cognition and emotion Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A, choices, values, and frames in american psychologist Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A, Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk »Giffards, N. et Biénabe, A. le nouveau guide des échecs : traité complet

of course If you have any questions or thoughts to share, don't hesitate.

If the part about perception is buggy or not displayed, switch to a clear interface. This has already happened to me in the original text.

what do you mean ?

Sorry, I'm confused. The explanations come after the summary and the intro. Where I explain the two types of players and their biases. Don't you see? Maybe it's a bug because I see them.

You are on PC or cell phone, maybe the problem comes from there

It might be too long and have the same problem. I also put it on a blog, go to my profile at worst to access it or try with this link

https://www.chess.com/blog/Psychomethee/chess-psychology-the-blind-spot-of-grandmasters-the-achilles-heel-of-carlsen