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 ...