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Mario Regalado

Dr. Sharity Nelson

English 1301 112

10 November 2022

Rhetorical Success of: “Chess databases as a research vehicle in psychology: Modeling large

data”

One of the most competitive games in the world happens to be one of the oldest.

Chess is a board game that has gone through centuries of rework and now remains one of

the most psychology puzzling games. “Chess databases as a research vehicle in

psychology: Modeling large data”, is a research article written by Nemanja Vaci and

Merim Bilalić, aiming to dive deeper into how chess data can be utilized to assess

cognitive ability. Both Vaci and Bilalić analyze the dozens of parameters that chess offers

such as, problem solving, memory, and control, which are perfect for investigating how

the mind functions. With data that the author’s discovered, they write a comprehensive

analysis using rhetorical strategies on how datasets can be used to analyze psychology.

Although in the article it is not stated that the author has any credentials, Vaci

obtained his PhD in psychology (University of Sheffield) and Balilić (North Umbria

University Castle) obtained his DPhil in Experimental Psychology.  Most of the authors'

findings were based on their own conclusion using the German chess database which is a

reputable source. The authors’ are also very familiar with the jargon which reinforces

trust between both the authors and the audience. The authors introduced a different set of

data at the half point of the article from one of the most well-known chess organizations -

FIDE. (Vaci 1229) This allows the authors to establish a sense of credibility in two ways.
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Using a dataset from the most popular chess federation is more likely to provide better

accurate data then an underground German database, allowing the audience to relieve any

questions about the different types of data there are. Secondly, because the authors used a

different database to analyze the same questions, it lets the audience know that the

authors are keeping an open mind to the different types of data.  

 Vaci starts by confronting one of chess's biggest mysteries - mathematics. The

rules of chess are simple to understand, so much so, that anyone can learn them.

However, this doesn’t prevent it from possessing composite illustrations that impacts

mental ability. Players need to calculate and foresee as many moves as possible to gain

the advantage. The authors’ use Shannon’s number to convince the audience that chess is

so complex, that there is controversy on whether or not there are more moves than there

are atoms in the universe. Shannon’s number is a theory stating that chess is finite and

has around 10^120 possible moves which is greater than the number of atoms in the

universe, which is estimated to be 10^80. (Vaci 1227) Vaci and Balilić apply both logos

and pathos to convince the audience that chess has a rabbit hole of mysteries.  Nemanja

Vaci then introduces the databases to draw the intricate questions of how people compare

to each other in the game of chess based on the ELO rating system. (Vaci 1227) This

rhetoric strategy was purposefully included and executed flawlessly by the authors to

make their introduction interesting with an absorbing concept that will likely keep the

readers captivated. 

In addition, both the authors are very rational when attempting to conclude a

study. For instance, Vaci and Balilić were concluding that all observations are equivocal

and that there are too many variables that change and disappear through generations. By
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explaining how different technologies come into play and how different federations

change their data collecting standards, there are an abundance of variables that need to be

approached. They establish a feeling of uncertainty to the audience and just how many

parameters there are to fully examining how the psyche is affected.  (Vaci, Balilić 1232)

This was a rhetorical strategy establishing pathos using a more logical approach. The

only other time they induce pathos is in their conclusion where the author’s compare both

the German dataset and FIDE dataset showing dissatisfaction towards FIDE for its

methodological problems. This was likely done to emphasize that using FIDE to analyze

psychology is near impossible. Of the whole article, there are only three instances where

the authors’ use pathos to persuade their audience.

Furthermore, the whole article is flooded with nothing but illustrations and

gathered statistics. The authors communicate to their audience by repeating a process of

providing them with the graph and clarifying what the illustration means. This helps the

readers understand what exactly they are looking at as well as how to read it.  Vaci is

fond of explaining his thought process thoroughly on how he gets his statistics. For

example, He explains that by overlapping both FIDE and German datasets, he noticed

that there was an age gap between both organizations. He then assessed that most young

players from the German organization would later transfer into the FIDE federation when

they were older, concluding that most players switch to FIDE once they are confident in

their ability. (Vaci, Balilić 1233) The author is indirectly evoking logos by explaining his

method of concluding in an exhaustive manner. It should be noted that the author's

conclusions, although logical, are not linear. They are able to acknowledge the downsides

to their approach, such as not being able to control specific confounds and switch their
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approach to an experimental one. (Vaci, Balilić 1236) For example, when conducting his

study on how people born after the 2000s are statistically better than those prior to the

2000s, the author realized that certain databases only registered players greater than an

ELO of 2200. Therefore, he could only conduct studies using ELO’s of higher than 2200.

(Vaci, Balilić 1229) Most of the statements are often backed up by exemplification by

changing a variable and testing whether or not their deduction remains true.

The most important aspect to acknowledge is the method the authors organized

their outline. Had the authors not started the article with the complex behaviors of chess

and the captivation of Shannon's number, the audience could have potentially found the

article less persuasive as well as less interesting. Although the authors only mainly

utilized ethos and logos, the inconsistent use of pathos better convinces the audience of

his arguments. He efficiently establishes credibility, not only by putting a PhD in front of

his name, but by being able to take all variables into consideration.
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Works Cited

University of Sheffield. Department Of Psychology. www.sheffield.ac.uk.https://www.

sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/people/academic/nemanja-vaci

North Umbria University Castle. Department of Psychology. https://www.northumbria

.ac.uk /about-us/our-staff/b/merim-bilalic/

Vaci, N., Bilalić, M. Chess databases as a research vehicle in psychology: Modeling large

data. Behav Res 49, 1227–1240 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-016-0782-5