Skills vs. Knowledge: Training Balance

Contact FM Tarik Selbes here: https://lichess.org/@/nuagesgrisTarik's chess history blog 'Cafe Chigorin': https://tinyurl.com/yp9hhmyz

00:00 Intro

02:23 Enters Tarik Selbes

05:42 The Puzzle Grind That Built Monster Calculation Skills

12:23 The Importance of Calculation in Chess

15:36 His Work with GM Evgeny Romanov

22:15 Positional Play and Dorfman's Influence

27:09 Showing Games: Static vs. Dynamic Play

30:49 Yagiz's Early Positional Mistakes

35:09 Erdogmus - Nitish

39:47 Shaik - Erdogmus

43:59 Excellent Calculation: Erdogmus - Sapenov, 2023

49:40 His Resiliency: Santiago - Erdogmus

51:42 Present Time: Erdogmus - Svidler, 2025

55:44 Strategic Maturity: Erdogmus - Vachier-Lagrave, 2025

59:51 Erigaisi - Erdogmus, 2026: The Exchange Sacrifice That Shocked the Chess World

01:06:05 Does Yagiz Know Chess Classics and Old Masters?

01:09:35 Zurich 1953: Why You Should Read Old Books Skeptically

01:14: 36 Is Blitz Good For Your Chess?

01:21:25 Tarik Selbes’ IM Journey at 40 — Adult Improvement Tips

01:31:26 The Psychological Pressure of Being a “Future World Champion”

01:44:14 How to Define 'Talent' in Chess

01:53:54 Kids vs Adults

01:58:02 Opening Work

02:02:02 Tarik's Book Project on Max Euwe

02:04:23 The Rise of Turkish Chess

In this special podcast episode, I’m joined by FIDE Master and longtime friend Tarik Selbes to break down the incredible rise of Turkish chess prodigy Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş — a player many believe has future World Champion potential. Even Magnus Carlsen has called him the strongest 14-year-old chess player ever, while Hikaru Nakamura has highlighted his extraordinary calculation skills.Tarik shares rare behind-the-scenes insights from training camps where he worked as translator for Russian coach Evgeny Romanov, revealing: • How Yağız built monster-level calculation through massive puzzle training • Why modern prodigies train differently from past generations • The key positional weaknesses he had, and how they were fixed • The balance between dynamic and static factors (Dorfman-style thinking)We also analyze instructive games against legends like Peter Svidler and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, showing how Yağız’s play has matured from pure tactical brilliance into world-class positional mastery.Beyond prodigy development, we dive into:Talent vs hard work Chess psychology and pressure at the highest levelWhy kids today train differently than adults who grew up on chess booksHow adult improvers can still make huge progress (Tarik’s IM norm journey at 40!)The rise of Turkish chess culture Tarik recently completed his final IM norm at age 40 and now needs to reach 2400 ELO to become an International Master. He is an inspiration for adult improvers.keywordschess, Yagiz Kaan, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Tarık Selbes, chess training, calculation, positional play, chess prodigy, chess improvement, strategic training, chess analysis, chess, chess strategy, chess psychology, chess talent, chess education, chess culture, chess improvement, chess prodigies, chess classics, chess learning, adult chess improvement,