Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD
Episode Summary
Dan Shapiro, author of Decoding Genius: The Unexpected Lessons of After-School Chess Club, shares how a father-son hobby turned into a study of why chess has held people's attention for more than 1,500 years. He walks through Miguel Najdorf's feat of holding 45 blindfolded chess games in his head at once, the built-in rating system that keeps every match in a flow state, and the habit of chess notation that teaches players to review their own decisions. Listeners come away with a clearer picture of why well-tuned difficulty curves matter, why chess maps onto Core Drive 3 (Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback) and Core Drive 7 (Unpredictability & Curiosity), and how curiosity itself works as a design tool.
About the Host
Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Key Takeaways
- Miguel Najdorf played 45 simultaneous games of blindfolded chess in an exhibition, tracking every board from another room purely through memory.
- Chess's built-in rating system pairs players against evenly matched opponents, a real-world example of designing for flow state as difficulty rises with skill.
- Chess notation, the practice of recording every move, teaches players a habit of reviewing their own decisions that most people never apply outside the game.
- Judit Polgar broke Bobby Fischer's record to become the youngest grandmaster in chess history and remains the strongest female player of all time.
- Chess has held its relevance for roughly 1,500 years, traveling from the Gupta Empire through Persia and the European Renaissance.
- Dan Shapiro names curiosity as his personal superpower, mapping directly onto Core Drive 3 (Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback) and Core Drive 7 (Unpredictability & Curiosity).
Topics Covered
- 0:00 — Opening hook: 45 blindfolded chess games
- 1:38 — Meet Dan Shapiro, author of Decoding Genius
- 2:17 — A day in Dan's life during launch week
- 3:29 — The tournament failure that hooked him on chess
- 8:19 — Chess notation and the discipline of reviewing decisions
- 11:46 — Miguel Najdorf and the memory behind 45 blindfolded games
- 13:47 — How beginners can start with chess.com puzzles
- 15:34 — Dynamic difficulty, flow state, and Mario Kart
- 16:36 — Why chess has survived 1,500 years across cultures
- 17:45 — Designing for long-term engagement instead of short loops
- 19:44 — Dan's dream guest: chess prodigy Judit Polgar
- 22:18 — Curiosity as a superpower, and Core Drives 3 and 7
- 24:34 — Chess as Dan's favorite game, and other brain games
- 25:38 — Where to find Decoding Genius, plus closing advice
Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD
About Dan Shapiro
Dan Shapiro is the author of Decoding Genius: The Unexpected Lessons of After-School Chess Club, a book that explores what chess can teach us about memory, strategy, resilience, and human potential. His journey began as a father trying to support his son, Harry, and grew into a deeper exploration of why chess has been connected to genius for more than 1,500 years. Dan makes the game accessible to parents, new players, and anyone curious about how focused effort, preparation, and strategic thinking can help people of all ages grow.
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