Chess Visualization with Aiden Rayner

Illegal Move Exercise: The audio will lead you through a series of moves from the beginning of a game. Somewhere in there, a player will make an illegal move but the game will continue anyway. Find the illegal move.

To learn more about Don't Move Until You See It and get the free 5-day Conceptualizing Chess Series, head over to https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/conceptualization

PGN for today's exercise:

c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d3 Bc5 4. Bd2 Qh4 5. e3 0-0 6. Nf3 *

And the answer is...

Black's move 4... Qh4 is illegal because the Queen is blocked by the Knight on f6.

Today we have a bonus exercise for you! We'll get back to our regular schedule in a couple weeks when we're out of crunch time on the new website build. Enjoy the extra exercises in the meantime.

Position Exercise: The audio will tell you where each of the pieces on the board are and whose turn it is. Find the best move!

To learn more about Don't Move Until You See It and get the free 5-day Conceptualizing Chess Series, head over to https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/conceptualization

FEN for today's exercise:

8/8/8/8/r1k5/1ppN4/P1P5/KR6 b - - 0 1

And the answer is...

1... Rxa2#

Game Exercise: Close your eyes and follow along with an entire Chess game using the audio below. On each move, try to conceptualize the position clearly and understand how it has changed. Try to follow the game until the end to stretch the amount of moves you can see ahead.

To learn more about Don't Move Until You See It and get the free 5-day Conceptualizing Chess Series, head over to https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/conceptualization

PGN for today's exercise:

tnkovalchuk vs OLMEDO_23 (Lichess blitz, 2025)

b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 e6 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e3 Bg4 7. Be2 Qd6 8. h3 Bh5 9. O-O O-O-O 10. a3 g5 11. b4 g4 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Rg8 14. h4 Ne4 15. d3 Nf6 16. g3 Nd7 17. Nd2 Bg7 18. Bxg7 Rxg7 19. Rc1 Ne5 20. d4 Nf3+ 21. Kg2 f5 22. Qc2 Bg6 23. Qc5 Qd7 24. Qxa7 Qd6 25. Nb3 b6 26. Ba6+ Kd7 27. Bb5+ Ke6 28. Rc2 f4 29. Rc6 Qxc6 30. Bxc6 fxg3 31. Ba4 gxf2 32. Rxf2 Nxh4+ 33. Kg3 Nf5+ 34. Kg2 g3 35. Rf3 Kd6 36. Qa6 Nxe3+ 37. Kg1 Be4 38. Qb5 Ke7 39. Qc6 Nf5 40. Qxc7+ Rd7 41. Qc6 Ne3 42. Qxd7# 1-0

Opening Exercise: The audio will lead you through a series of moves from the beginning of a game. At a certain point, one player will make a mistake and it’ll be your job to find the move to punish it.

To learn more about Don't Move Until You See It and get the free 5-day Conceptualizing Chess Series, head over to https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/conceptualization

PGN for today's exercise:

e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be3 e6 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nge7 10. Nc3 Nf5 11. Bd3 Nfxd4 12. Qg3 Nf5 13. Qg4 Nxe5 14. Qf4 *

And the answer is...

14... Nxd3+

Find the Blunder Exercise: The audio will lead you through a series of moves from the beginning of a game. One player will blunder and the other will not punish them for it. Can you find the blunder and the best punishment?

To learn more about Don't Move Until You See It and get the free 5-day Conceptualizing Chess Series, head over to https://dontmoveuntilyousee.it/conceptualization

PGN for today's exercise:

c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Nd5 Nxd5 6. cxd5 e4 7. dxc6 exf3 8. a3 fxe2 9. Bxe2 Ba5 10. Qa4 Bb6 11. Qe4+ Qe7 12. cxd7+ Bxd7 13. Qxe7+ Kxe7 *

And the answer is...

Qb3 and White is much better.