Robert Howard holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Queensland in Australia and has research interests in human intelligence, learning and memory, and in the development of expertise. He has carried out many research studies examining expertise in general, using chess data. Until recently, he taught at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He has authored five books, the latest being Islands in the Orient Sea: Travels in the Edgy 21st-Century Philippines, published in 2012.
8/2/2024 – "I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody" is a famous quote by ex-boxer Terry Malloy - played by Marlon Brando - in Elia Kazan's film "On the Waterfront" from 1954. In the film, Malloy regrets having squandered his boxing career by agreeing to fix a fight. But cheating aside, how much potential is wasted in chess, how many players could have become grandmasters had they been persistent enough? Psychologist and author Robert Howard, PhD, took a closer, analytical look. | Photo: Marlon Brando in 1950 | Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
12/19/2020 – What does it take to become a grandmaster? Can it be almost anyone with enough willpower as U.S. president Calvin Coolidge argued, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence… Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent”. Or does it require much natural talent, including a high IQ score, and extensive practice? Robert Howard takes a deep look. | Pictured: Frank Marshall
4/15/2018 – ChessBase recently reported on the new artificial intelligence program “AlphaZero” and its astoundingly steep learning curve for chess skill. Given just the rules of chess, in 24 hours of playing games only against itself, it improved to a superhuman level. Along the way, AlphaZero discovered and ultimately abandoned standard openings such as the French and Caro-Kann Defences. | Pictured: The learning curve projection for World Champion Magnus Carlsen overlayed on the actual rating trend.
6/19/2014 – There are two theories to explain male predominance at the apex of intellectual achievement: some attribute it to some innate evolutionary ability differences, others to social factors of present-day society. Robert Howard of Sydney, Australia, has sent us the most profound and well-researched article we have seen on this subject – we urge everyone to read and ...
In this 60-Minutes, I present games which I have found instructive, while giving you insights and guidelines on how to counter your attacking opponent!
Everything is based on concept and understanding rather than memorising. Once you understand the concept of a fortress, it will stay in your mind. Let's unlock the mystery of the fortress now!
Videos by Ivan Sokolov: Spanish with 5...f6!? and Fabien Libiszewski: Kalashnikov Update. ‘Lucky bag’ with 44 commented games by Anish Giri, Sergey Grigoriants, Michal Krasenkow, Fiona Sieber and many more. Update service with over 50,000 new games!
In this 60-Minutes, I present games which I have found instructive, while giving you insights and guidelines on how to counter your attacking opponent!
Everything is based on concept and understanding rather than memorising. Once you understand the concept of a fortress, it will stay in your mind. Let's unlock the mystery of the fortress now!
Videos by Ivan Sokolov: Spanish with 5...f6!? and Fabien Libiszewski: Kalashnikov Update. ‘Lucky bag’ with 44 commented games by Anish Giri, Sergey Grigoriants, Michal Krasenkow, Fiona Sieber and many more. Update service with over 50,000 new games!
This isn’t just another chess tutorial—it’s your all-access pass to the strategies, insights, and techniques that define modern grandmaster play.
€39.90
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