Kevin Lincoln

Ep. 190 Kevin (1600 USCF) Podcast Episode · Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement · 03/27/2025 · 1h 7m

I had a blast talking to @drscull.bsky.social for the Chess Journeys podcast about my chess journey so far, how I think about my chess training (and, by extension, everything else), and why I'm writing my Substack podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

yes! if Nxa8 then Black has exf4 and then Qh4 — gets pretty sharp from there

Nxd4 is the engine's second-favorite move and leads to a drawn position if both sides play optimally — good find! There's one move that's even better, though

Position from my OTB game last night, Black to move. I knew something SHOULD be wrong — White had already moved his knight three times — but I couldn't figure out how to punish him. And yet... there is a way, and it's connected to the other big problem I was aware of, which is that I'm lacking space

What Separates the Very Best Performers from the Merely Very Good? And how can this knowledge help us patzers?

Wrote about the difference between the very best and the very good — i.e. what makes Magnus, Tom Brady, Stephen Curry et al stand out even among the most elite performers makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/what-separ...

well put!

Learn to Love the Pain On the ecstasy of defeat

Wrote about a crucial part of competitive chess this week: learning to love the pain of losing makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/learn-to-l... #chesspunks

When Should You Take a Risk? Because if you want to win, you'll have to eventually.

For the latest edition of GOOD MOVES, I rued a missed opportunity over the board and wrote about how to know when you should take a risk and when should play it safe open.substack.com/pub/makegood...

How to Not Go Crazy in Hollywood Tips and tricks to avoid letting this business drive you insane

If you find the entertainment business to be absolutely crazy-making, know that you are not alone!! Sharing my thoughts on how to avoid being driven mad by The Biz over at Hollyweird. #scriptsky #filmsky open.substack.com/pub/colbyday...

When you're terrible at chess but also brilliant

"why are you a child?"
"because of when I was born."

How Should We *Actually* Learn From Our Mistakes? Never waste a good blunder.

Just published this week's GOOD MOVES newsletter, which is about how we should *actually* learn from our mistakes. My approach: telling stories about them, which can be applied not just to chess, but to... pretty much anything you want to improve at! open.substack.com/pub/makegood... #chesspunks

I know! I would've been up an exchange but deprived of the magic

I feel an immense amount of pride in this checkmate

The horror, the horrrror #chesspunks

On Chess Clubs and Wildfires Some thoughts from Los Angeles

K. Lincoln on human connection and hobbies makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/on-chess-c...

On Chess Clubs and Wildfires Some thoughts from Los Angeles

The church where my chess club meets burned down just hours after we were supposed to play. Considering the tragedy of the Los Angeles fires, I tried to reflect on what my club means to me and why I think organizations like this are essential
#chesspunks makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/on-chess-c...

Just crossed 1700 rapid for the first time on chess.com and the game that got me there hinged on a very simple tactical motif that my opponent could've dodged if he'd seen it. Good reminder of just how much tactics matter even as the ratings get higher #chesspunks

The Education of Melvyn Bragg In his teens, Bragg was saved by books. He’s now spent more than fifty years championing the joy, value, and fascination of knowledge.

IN OUR TIME RULES

did you ever read this? I still haven't but it's been an open tab for about a year www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

‘Holes’ TV Series Picked Up to Pilot by Disney+ (EXCLUSIVE) A "Holes" TV series has been ordered to pilot by Disney+, Variety has learned exclusively.

Written by my brilliant wife!!! variety.com/2025/tv/news...

How to Beat Your Friends at Chess Putting the Pareto Principle to work. Also: a chess lesson with Ryan Nicodemus!

Happy new year! Allow me to welcome you back with a newsletter about the ONE COOL TRICK that will help you beat your friends at chess, arrived at with the help of the Pareto Principle. makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/how-to-bea...

Thought this was a really fun conversation — even if you don’t care about chess.

How Should You *Actually* Protect a Lead? featuring Ryan O'Hanlon of ESPN — plus, thoughts on the World Championship

This week's newsletter is a conversation with the LEGEND @rwohan.bsky.social about how you should *actually* protect a lead, in chess and every other sport — plus, world chess champions: they're just like us! makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/how-should...

yes! Nb1 is the right move. I must confess that I didn't even consider it during the game... just felt so counterintuitive to go back to the starting square. but like you said, if you just follow it for a couple of moves you can see that it actually sets the knight up nicely

Nice! I'll have to check it out

Three moves later it led to this position which I also misplayed, making a similar thematic mistake. Part of me wonders if I would've played differently against a higher-rated player than a lower-rated player, but it definitely makes me want to work on my strategy for protecting an edge

Position from my OTB game last night (White to move) after a mistake by my opponent put me a pawn up. I'm planning to write about it for my newsletter this week, but I'm curious if chess folks would debate what to do here or whether the right response is actually pretty obvious

The focus of my newsletter this week: when you don't know what to do, what do you do? In chess or anything else? What other heuristics can we apply to minimize the chance of unforced errors?

makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

What Do You Do When You Don't Know What to Do? Or: Will Kevin Lose to Another Child?

Issue #2 of Good Moves is out! This week, we explore the question of what to do when you don't know what to do, i.e. how the hell should we make decisions. Also, I try not to lose to another child. makegoodmoves.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...