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Mario Regalado

Dr. Sharity Nelson

English 1301 112

12/1/2022

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 authors discovered, they write a comprehensive

analysis using well-executed rhetorical strategies on how datasets can be used to analyze

psychology.

Throughout the article, the authors establish a great sense of credibility in

numerous ways. Firstly, Balilic studied within the department of psychology at North

Umbria University and Vaci studied in cognitive phycology at Klagenfurt University

(Vaci, Balilic 1227). This assures the audience that both authors have had some sort of

academic background before writing a research paper. The first part of the paper was

focused on fully expanding what the chess German dataset offered such as ages,

regulations, and ratings (Vaci, Balilic 1229). Afterward, the authors introduced a
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different set of datasets from one of the most well-known chess organizations – FIDE.

Using a dataset from the most popular chess federations is more likely to provide better

accurate data than the German database since FIDE holds international statistics that

could prove better for their argument. This allows the audience to relieve any questions

about the different types of data there are. Not only that but, the authors are also very

familiar with the jargon. Chess has a large list of vocabulary words that only players who

are substantially familiar with the game understand. Having them understand this jargon

further reinforces the trust between both the audience and the authors. Finally, 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.  

Of the whole article, there are only two clear instances where the authors apply

pathos to persuade their audience. For instance, Vaci and Balilić concluded that all that

there are too many variables that change and disappear through generations saying, “The

logistical procedures behind the data collection have changed over the years.” (Vaci,

Balilić 1232). By explaining how different technologies come into play and how different

federations change their data-collecting standards, there is an abundance of

inconsistencies that need to be approached. They establish a feeling of uncertainty in the

audience in just how many parameters there are to fully examine how the psyche is

affected.  This was a rhetorical strategy establishing pathos using a more logical

approach. The other time they induce pathos is in their conclusion where the authors

compare both the German dataset and the FIDE dataset showing dissatisfaction towards

FIDE for its methodological problems. This was likely done to emphasize that FIDE

changes its regulations too much making it impossible to analyze psychology. The
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authors hardly used pathos in their article likely because they are as logical researchers

and prefer being rational when conducting their studies.

 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 impact

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 exclaiming, “it is complex enough that some commentators have argued that

there are more possibilities of game play in chess than there are atoms in the universe.”

(Vaci, Balilic 1227) Vaci and Balilić use Shannon’s number to apply both logos and a

hint pathos convincing 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, Balilic 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. 

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
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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 can acknowledge the downsides to

their approach, such as not being able to control specific confounds and switching their

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 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 acknowledging where he

got his education but by being able to take all variables into consideration.
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Works Cited

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