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Professional chess analysis reveals faster decisions correlate with higher quality moves

Phys · · 558 words · By Ludwig Maximilian University

Researchers from LMU and other institutions analyzed professional chess games to study the relationship between decision time and move quality. The study suggests that faster decisions often correlate with higher quality moves, potentially reflecting stronger intuition and a better grasp of the situation.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-professional-chess-analysis-reveals-faster.html

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0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

8 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified 3
info Single Source 1
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“In chess, faster decisions are on average of higher quality.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that faster decisions in chess are on average of higher quality is explicitly stated in both Neuroscience News and the LMU Munich official site.
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web search NEUTRAL — The notion of a professional can be traced to medieval European guilds, most of which died off by the middle of the nineteenth century, except the scholars guild or university.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · The meaning of PROFESSIONAL is of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession. How to use professional in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professional
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web search NEUTRAL — Professional also means having the qualities of skilled and educated people, such as effectiveness and seriousness of manner:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/professi…
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“This is the conclusion of a study that has just been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
CORROBORATED
Both Neuroscience News and the LMU Munich site confirm that this study was published in the journal PNAS.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In 2015 INSA has constituted a junior wing for young scie…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Science_Academ…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (often abbreviated PNAS or PNAS USA) is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceedings_of_the_National_Ac…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Proceedings of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Russian: Доклады Академии Наук СССР, Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR (DAN SSSR), French: Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de l'URSS [kɔ̃t ʁɑ̃dy də …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceedings_of_the_USSR_Academ…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The team of researchers, which, in addition to Professor Uwe Sunde from LMU, includes scientists from Erasmus University Rotterdam and UniDistance Suisse”
VERIFIED
Wikipedia confirms Uwe Sunde is a Professor of Economics at LMU Munich. The LMU Munich source confirms he worked with a team of coauthors on this specific study.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pompeu Fabra University (Catalan: Universitat Pompeu Fabra [uniβəɾsiˈtat pumˈpɛw ˈfaβɾə], UPF) is a public university located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Established in 1990 by the Government of C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeu_Fabra_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Uwe Sunde (born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on May 29, 1973) is a German economist and currently Professor of Economics at LMU Munich as well as a Research Professor in the ifo Center for Labour and Dem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwe_Sunde
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web search NEUTRAL — Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. [1] It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, cha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
+ 2 more evidence sources
verified
“They analyzed individual moves made by players in professional chess tournaments.”
VERIFIED
The LMU Munich source explicitly states that the researchers 'analyzed individual moves made by players in professional chess tournaments'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Working with his team of coauthors, the economist found an alternative way of examining complex strategic decisions: They analyzed individual moves made by players in professional chess tournaments.
https://www.lmu.de/en/newsroom/news-overview/news/complex-de…
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web search NEUTRAL — Free Chess Move Calculator Features. Pro Chess Position Analysis. Get a professional evaluation for any board state.Chess Opening Analyzer. Analyze any opening against millions of master games to find…
https://chessmoveexpert.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — The study results indicate that women players are not affected by negative stereotypes about women's chess abilities during competition games, in contrast with previous research.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180130090837.h…
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“They measured the time the players took to make their decision and compared the result with the benchmarks set by chess engines to get an objective assessment of quality.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general methodology of using chess engines for objective assessment is common (as seen in the general web results for chess calculators), the specific application of this method for this study is not explicitly detailed across multiple independent sources provided, though it is implied by the study's nature.
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web search NEUTRAL — The World's Strongest Free Online Chess Engine. ChessEngine.ai is the ultimate resource for players seeking a free chess analysis board. Powered by the latest Stockfish 18 Neural Network (NNUE), our t…
https://chessengine.ai/
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web search NEUTRAL — Use this online chess calculator to instantly find the best move in any position. Set up the board and get accurate chess engine analysis for both White and Black in seconds.
https://www.chessnextmoves.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Computer Chess Engines have gotten stronger each year with current engines like Alphazero, Stockfish, Komodo, and Leela Chess Zero reaching new levels of per...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wljgxS7tZVE
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“The results show that faster decisions are associated with higher decision-making quality—even taking account of the computational complexity of the decision, the distinctiveness of the alternative decisions and the pressure of time.”
CORROBORATED
The LMU Munich source and Neuroscience News both report that shorter thinking time is associated with higher quality decisions in the context of this study.
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web search NEUTRAL — Faster is a 2010 American action thriller film starring Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Mike Epps, Moon Bloodgood, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faster_(2010_film)
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web search NEUTRAL — Faster: Directed by George Tillman Jr.. With Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace, Mauricio Lopez. A veteran cop and an assassin track an ex-convict who is on a mission for revenge.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1433108/
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web search NEUTRAL — 21 hours ago · Find out how and where to watch "Faster" online on Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ today – including 4K and free options.
https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/faster
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“if you keep the objectively measurable difficulty of the decision constant, somebody who thinks for longer will make worse decisions”
CORROBORATED
Both Neuroscience News and Hubu.news explicitly state that when objective difficulty is constant, longer deliberation leads to worse decisions/poorer decisions.
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web search NEUTRAL — When objective difficulty is held constant, a longer decision time signals that the player finds the situation subjectively baffling. They are overthinking because their initial intuition failed them.
https://neurosciencenews.com/decision-speed-intuition-30715/
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web search NEUTRAL — If the objectively measurable difficulty remains constant, dwelling too long apparently leads to poorer decisions. Conversely, a shorter deliberation duration could indicate strong intuition.
https://hubu.news/2026/quick-thoughts-lead-to-smart-decision…
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web search NEUTRAL — The paper, “Indoor Air Quality and Strategic Decision-Making,” appeared in advance online form in the journal Management Science.The researchers also found that when air pollution was worse, the chess…
https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/news/study-even-chess-ex…
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“Uwe Sunde et al, Speed and quality of complex strategic decisions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2531472123”
VERIFIED
The LMU Munich source confirms the publication date (May 12, 2026) and the core findings. The PNAS website is confirmed as the publisher. Although the specific DOI provided in the claim is not explicitly matched in the snippets, the existence of the paper and its publication in PNAS is corroborated by multiple sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and services that a society produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted output…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_growth
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web search NEUTRAL — one of many published papers.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2026112118
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web search NEUTRAL — 12 May 2026. When it comes to complex strategic decisions, a shorter thinking time is associated with a higher quality of decisions. In chess, faster decisions are on average of higher quality.
https://www.lmu.de/en/newsroom/news-overview/news/complex-de…
+ 1 more evidence source
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.