I have a conjecture about chess and how different rating levels approach the game:

Sub-1500 Elo players may actually be doing more real-time thinking during a game compared to Grandmaster-level players.

At elite levels, many positions are instantly recognized. Years of pattern recognition, theory, and experience allow GMs to play large portions of a game almost automatically. Their brilliance lies in what they’ve internalized.

For sub-1500 players, however, most positions are unfamiliar. There’s less reliance on memorized structures and far more active calculation, questioning, and exploration: • What is my opponent threatening? • Is this move safe? • What happens if I try something different?

This isn’t to say sub-1500 players play better chess—clearly they don’t. But they may be engaging in a more conscious, effortful thinking process move by move.

It makes me wonder: • Is chess mastery about thinking more—or thinking less, but better? • At what point does intuition replace deliberate reasoning?

Would love to hear thoughts from players, coaches, and fellow chess enthusiasts.