Perpetual Chess Podcast (Ben Johnson)

Today's show was recorded in Switzerland: Biel to be exact, home of the 51st International Chess Festival — which included a GM tournament won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ahead of Magnus Carlsen — and also the birthplace of today's guest, Grandmaster Yannick Pelletier. In chess, he's the Tournament Director in Biel as well as an accomplished player and commentator, but also polyglot and soon-to-be art/design/lifestyle media entrepreneur. Check out his YouTube channel and new magazine project Yunomi. Pelletier has been the Swiss Champion six times, and although he doesn't play more than a few tournaments a year nowadays, he has won three games from Magnus Carlsen, including one after Carlsen became World Champion. Yannick talks about life as a chess professional both before and after having kids, provides a history of the Biel Festival plus gives the 101 on how the Swiss manage to get along so well despite having multiple official languages. Macauley Peterson (Editor in Chief of ChessBase News) guest hosts once again, and he strongly suggests you support Perpetual Chess either via Patreon or using this special link at the ChessBase shop. Perhaps a video series from Yannick himself — he's recorded several and also contributes to ChessBase Magazine! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Perpetual Chess Adult Improver Series charges onward this week with another inspiring tale of chess improvement. This week's guest, Candidate Master and economist Cristobal Cervino, wrote some popular blog posts detailing how he made a 170 ELO point jump (from 1935 to 2102) in a fifteen-month span a few years back. For background, you can read the posts that Cristobal wrote about his approach here, here and here. Cristobal and I discussed: Why is calculation the most important thing to work on for club-level players? What resources did he utilize to improve at it? How should one go about analyzing one's own chess games? How soon after playing should one analyze them? Why has he plateaued at around the 2100 level in the past few years? Does he have current aspirations of making another push forward? Cristobal was glad to share some of his favorite chess books and resources, both for chess improvement and for appreciation of chess history. Thanks so much to Cristobal for joining me. You can find him as "Kingzilla" on chess.com or chesstempo.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the Pro Chess League (of which he is the commissioner) set to resume on Monday, January 6,  it was a great time for my old friend, IM Greg Shahade to make another visit to Perpetual Chess. Greg broke down all of the changes that have taken place with the league’s format, and previewed some some of the interesting matches and players that we will see this season. We also had a lot of chess news to talk about, ranging from the World Championship Candidates selection process to some recent speed chess controversies involving prominent chess professionals. Greg also dispensed some great advice on chess improvement in our wide ranging conversation. Please read on for more details and timestamps!  If you are not seeing embedded hyperlinks in your podcast feed, you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/1/5/episode-159-im-greg-shahade-is-back-again 0:00- We start off by getting Greg’s perspective on some recent chess controversies, both “online” and offline. These include a controversial blitz game between Magnus Carlsen, and strong young GM Alireza Firouzja, and a not safe for work, viral clip of a blitz game by super GM Gata Kamsky. Mentioned: IM Lawrence Trent, Video of IM Shahade vs. IM Trent Grudge Match, FIDE World Rapid and Blitz, Zhigalko-Nakamura controversy, Chess24 “Famous Effing Legend”,  16:00- We follow up on another controversy, GM Kirill Alekseenko’s selection for the wildcard spot in the upcoming Candidates’ Tournament.  CORRECTION- I mentioned the wrong tournament in which Alekseenko excelled, he came in 3rd place in the FIDE Grande Swiss, not the FIDE World Cup.  Mentioned: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s Open Letter regarding qualification process, MVL interview with Chess.com’s Peter Doggers, GM Anish Giri  26:00-  The Pro Chess League is coming back, with major changes to the format! Greg tells us  the reasons for the changes and discusses some of the teams to watch out for. The first match takes place on Monday, January 6 at 2pm EST.  Mentioned: St. Louis Arch Bishops, Fabiano Caruana, GM Leinier Dominguez, GM Wesley So,GM Le Quang Liem, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Ivan Saric, GM Anish Giri, New York Marshalls, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Sam Sevian, Turkey Knights, Armenia Eagles,GM Gabriel Sargissian, Poland Hussars  36:30- We discuss the exciting changes that are taking place with faster time controls and Chess960 becoming more popular at the Elite level.   Mentioned: Puzzle Rush World Championship, Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, New in Chess Magazine  44:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks, “How would Greg change tournament formats for the casual chess players?”  Mentioned: Bill Goichberg of the Continental Chess Association  53:30- Chess improvement talk! A couple of Patreon supporters submitted questions to Greg regarding improvement. Questions include: 1) Is there is a chess book that hasn’t been written, but should be?   Mentioned: GM Jan Gustafsson, A Grandmaster, actually tried the novelty Greg mentioned. 1:04- Greg submits his resume to join #TeamScandi! Mentioned: IM Lawrence Trent, GM Bryan Smith  1:08- A couple more Patreon mailbag questions- Who was the youngest IM Greg lost to in a serious game? And a listener asks for practical advice about how to think about the imbalances from Jeremy Silman’s Reassess Your Chess.  Mentioned: GM Alex Lenderman, Perpetual Chess Recaptured: Reassess Your Chess  1:17- Is chess a sport? Does it really burn one zillion calories? 🤔 Mentioned: The Grandmaster Diet: How to Lose Weight While Barely Moving 1:19- A Patreon supporter asks: “What does Greg do for a living anyway?” Mentioned: The 5 Best Chess Books I Read in 2019, IM Lawrence Trent, GM Simon Williams 1:26- Greg tells the story of a long-ago blitz match he played with a young GM Hikaru Nakamura  1:29- We discuss some nonsense relating to Greg’s television viewing habits.  Mentioned: Humans, Brooklyn Nine Nine  1:31- Has Greg read any chess books lately?  Mentioned: Tal-Botvinnik 1960, FM Mike Shahade,  Inside Chess Magazine, IM John Donaldson, GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Vivek Rao 1:36- Thanks to Greg for coming back on. Be sure to tune in to the Pro Chess League starting Monday, January 6 at 2pm EST.   If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week the popular Chess Author, Presenter, and USCF Master,  Dan Heisman joins me. As someone who has been teaching adults (and kids) chess for decades, Dan has special insight into the way that amateurs should think about chess and also knows the ways that they actually do think about chess. It was a pleasure to pick Dan’s brain and to hear some of his stories! Please read on for many more details, relevant links, and timestamps.  0:00- Intro and we begin by discussing of why Dan recently decided to launch his instructive new Youtube Channel.  Mentioned: Kurt Schneider (chess master and creator of College Musical) , GM Daniel King’s Youtube Channel, John Bartholomew’s Youtube Channel, Christof Sielecki’s Youtube Channel, Back to Basics Tactics, John Nunn’s Learn Chess Tactics, The Evaluation of Material Imbalances by GM Larry Kaufman  19:00- Dan talks about how he transitioned from working as an engineer to teaching chess full time in the 1990’s.  Mentioned: Bobby Dudley, NM Daniel Benjamin, Arthur and Matthew Traldi, Everyone’s Second Chess Book by Dan Heisman  27:20- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks for tips for how a 1700 rated player should approach teaching a 1300 rated player. Mentioned: Chess for Zebras by GM Jonathan Rowson, Thought and Choice in Chess by Adriaan DeGroot, FM Charles Hertan  44:40- Another Patreon supporter writes to ask whether it is important to use an actual chess board rather than screen when solving tactics.  Mentioned: Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation by GM Jacob Aagard,  52:30- Another Patreon supporter asks a question relating to how much time to spend studying the opening versus other aspects of chess.  Mentioned: WGM Jennifer Shahade, NM Mike Shahade, Ruy Lopez Riga Variation, GM Andy Soltis, Howard Stern, The World’s Most Instructive Amateur Games by Dan Heisman  1:13- Chess books! Here is the link to Dan’s excellent recommended chess books page. Mentioned: John Bain’s Chess Tactics for Students, Logical Chess Move by Move , The World’s Most Instructive Amateur Games, The Art of Logical Thinking by GM Neil McDonald, Tim Krabbe’s Chess Curiosities, The Joys of Chess by Christian Hesse , Pawn Power by Hans Kmoch, Alekhine’s My Best Games of Chess  1:22- Dan breaks down what you can find in some of his own books. Mentioned: Is Your Move Safe, The Improving Chess Thinker, The World’s Most Instructive Amateur Games, Everyone’s Second Chess Book , A Guide to Chess Improvement: The Best of Novice Nook, GM James Tarjan  1:31- Dan tells stories from the time that he spent teaching chess to the famous radio host Howard Stern, and from his encounters with former World Champion GM Garry Kasparov  1:39- Goodbye and final plugs! Links: Dan’s Youtube Channel, Dan’s Website , Dan’s Twitter Chess Tip of the Day See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WGM Katerina Nemcova is the 2 time  Women’s Champion of the Czech Republic and the winner of the 2008 European Youth Chess Championship. She now resides in the U.S. and is a frequent competitor in the US Women’s Championships, and has played for the Olympiad teams of both the U.S. and the Czech Republic. Katerina is also quite busy away from the chessboard, as she  has a BA and a Masters, and  is currently getting a Ph. D. in Communications at the University of Arizona. Katerina also finds time to teach chess classes, and is a regular and beloved lecturer for US Chess Women’s "Girl's Club" Zoom series of classes. We discussed all aspects of Katerina’s career, and of course we were eager to get the perspective of this top female player on the hit Netflix miniseries Queen’s Gambit. Please read on for more details and timestamps!    0:00-  You can subscribe to the new feeds of Cover Stories with Chess Life here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cover-stories-with-chess-life-32-ben-johnson/id1438797301?i=1000501070440 Or on Spotify  here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mNUGWcVB3GADGoy2k5kJ0 2:45- We begin by getting Katerina’s perspective on the Netflix breakout hit, The Queen’s Gambit.  Mentioned: Jen Shahade in Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-chess/2020/11/20/529fb63a-2a79-11eb-9b14-ad872157ebc9_story.html Also Mentioned: WGM Marsel Efroimski, GM Susan Polgar,  Sign up for Jen Shahade and Adia Oyango’s Mad Woman’s Book Club here: https://new.uschess.org/news/madwomans-book-club-announced-kick-book-queens-gambit And girls can join the mailing list for girls’ classes here (classes are free to US Chess members): https://forms.gle/zZw4sNCjGGCLkws57 For other US Chess Women related inquiries, email Jen Shahade at: jshahade@uschess.org 17:00- What was Katerina’s most difficult loss? What was it like to play GM Anatoly Karpov?  Mentioned: GM Valentina Gunina, Nemcova-Gunina 2007-https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=ACtgo9U2xWMaCrAi8ZQY7Opg/p5tXquV8kfmX9pETgFfzhm7p75HWdKc+hWQkrSB Nemcova-Karpov 2008 https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=ACtgo9U2xWMaCrAi8ZQY7ISyLL3tqDGnJQlCXM4B4CnfeuqdGFPE5vHBGaAl0dbd   23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. There is a brand new course out from GM Yasser Seirawan , Winning Chess Brilliancies: https://t.co/AllaghNiBJ?amp=1   24:00- What lessons does Katerina try to impart to the students of various ages in her classes for the US Chess School, US Chess Women, and the St. Louis Chess Club?  Mentioned: The Chess Steps Method: https://www.chess-steps.com/home.php, The Mammoth Book of Chess    36:30- Check out our new sponsor Aimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%.    37:30- What is the status of Katerina’s chess playing career?  Mentioned: 2019 World Team Championship, WGM Tatev Abrhamyan, WGM Carissa Yip, WIM Rochelle Wu, GM Darius Swiercz, GM Alexander Onishcuk, GM Robert Hess, GM Yasser Seirawan 50:30- Why didn’t Katerina play in the US Women’s chess championship this year?  Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Jesse Kraai,  The Chess Dojo YouTube Channel   55:30- What does Katerina envision for herself professionally in the coming years?  Mentioned: Anna Sharevich, IM Eric Rosen, Perpetual Chess Episode 36 with IM Eric Rosen  GM Le Quang Liem, GM Ray Robson, GM Alex Shimanov, GM Ilya Nyznhyk, IM Greg Shahade Jennifer Yu-Nemcova 2015   1:06:00-- Thanks so much to Katerina for joining the show! Here are the ways you can reach/keep up with her.  Follow her on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/Kate_Nemcova Chess.com: PragueQueen LiChess: KaterinaNemcova Chessity: PragueQueen ICC: PragueQueen If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s an annual tradition!  Popular Chess24 personality,  noted opening theoretician and friend of Perpetual Chess, GM Jan Gustafsson returns to the show! Jan has just released his first Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires: Jan Gustafsson’s 1. e4 e5 , so it was a great time to catch up with him. In addition to discussing the details of his course, and a bit about the theoretical trends of double king pawn openings, we also discussed Jan’s near term plans with Chess24, past and future World Championship matches, plus much more. Please read on for more details and timestamps.    0:00- We kick off by discussing a few recent Bundesliga games of Jan, and Jan’s impressive new Chessable course,  Lifetime repertoires: 1. e4 e5 Mentioned: German Chess Bundesliga (aka Schachbundesliga), Fatih Baltic-Jan Gustafsson 2019, Gustafsson-Naumann 2019, LeelaZero, Rybka, Stockfish, IM Christof Sielecki, GM Larry Kaufman, IM David Vigorito   15:00- We transition to discussing a popular Chess Reddit thread, in which Jan dared to criticize the theoretical status of the King’s Gambit opening.  Mentioned: The End of the King’s Gambit by GM Ivan Salgado. The Petroff defense   21:00 - A couple of  our Patreon supporters ask  some questions relating to Jan’s current work plans and the business of Chess24.com Mentioned:  Essential Pawn Structures by GMs Jan Gustafsson and Laurent Fressinet, GM Magnus Carlsen    28:00- How much credit does Jan deserve for  GM Magnus Carlsen’s Fantasy Football (soccer) League dominance?  What are the latest trends in coffee consumption?  .  Mentioned: flat white coffee, cold brew coffee, Bulletproof coffee, GM Laurent Fressinet, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave   31:30- We revisit a topic we discussed in our very first Perpetual Chess interview.  How important is talent in chess?  Mentioned: Magnus documentary   34:30- Jan recently read The Anand Files by recent guest of Perpetual Chess, FM Michiel Abeln, so I was very excited to pick his brain about it, based on his experiences on World Championship prep teams.  Mentioned: GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov, GM Radoslaw Wotjasek, GM Surya Ganguly, The Exchange Slav, IM Gary Lane, Facebook Chess Book Collectors Group, GM Cristian Chirilia, GM Alejandro Ramirez, GM Leineir Dominguez    47:00- What are Jan’s early thoughts on who will win the 2020 World Championship Candidates Tournament (for the right to face Magnus Carlsen in the next World Championship Match)? Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Ding Liren, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, GM Peter Svidler, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Anish Giri, Wijk an Zee chess (aka Tata Steel Chess)   54:30- We discuss a few movies, TV shows and podcasts, with a tinge of chess improvement philosophizing at the end.   Mentioned: Barry, Succession, Bill Burr, Jeselnik and Rosenthal Vanity Project, How Neal Feel, Two Bears One Cave, Frozen 2, Parasite, FM Fatih Baltic , IM Yochanan Afek, The Lowe Post, The Bill Simmons Podcast, Hollinger and Duncan NBA Podcast, and US Chess Podcasts   Thanks to Jan for coming on the show! The best place to keep up with him is on Chess24.com    Catch Jan Gustaffson’s prior Perpetual Chess visits here: Episode 2-  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-02-grandmaster-jan-gustafsson/id1185023674?i=1000378779364 Episode 62- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-62-grandmaster-jan-gustafsson-returns/id1185023674?i=1000405079252 Episode 115- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-115-gm-jan-gustafsson-returns-again/id1185023674?i=1000430646087   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate If you would like to help support the podcast via Patreon, you can do so here. https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess an author, an American Chess Magazine columnist, and the recently-crowned World Champion of correspondence chess, Dr. Jon Edwards. Correspondence chess historically was played by mail, without assistance. These days it is played by email, with engine assistance allowed. The current format makes for incredibly accurate games that often end in draws. So what enabled Jon to win the Championship? Did luck play a role?  Jon is an expert on how modern engines work, and what they say about various openings. We discuss the current opening battlegrounds of top engines, and discuss how correspondence chess has evolved as engines continue to get stronger. Should the rules of correspondence chess be tweaked because so many games end in draws? Among many other topics, we also discuss Jon’s massive chess book and chess stamp collections, and why Petrosian is his favorite player. Please read on for timestamps and links related to topics discussed.  0:00- How has Jon’s life changed since winning the title of World Correspondence Chess Champion?  Mentioned: FM Alex Dunne passed away, Jon Edwards wins 32nd World Correspondence Championship  08:00- It is pretty rare to win in modern correspondence chess. What happened in the two games that Jon won in the championship tournament?  14:00- What type of computer does Jon use to power his chess engines?  17:00- We take a quick detour to discuss Jon’s early investment in Apple Stock in 1984.  24:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 25:00- Jon tells me how engines are evaluating a handful of openings, including the Najdorf and the Semi-slav.  Mentioned: Chinese database referenced here: https://www.chessdb.cn/queryc_en/ 34:00- Why does Jon prefer correspondence chess to OTB chess?  38:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Would Jon consider doing a course on advanced uses on Chessbase?”  44:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 45:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What type of engine does Jon use?” Mentioned: Stockfish 15.1 52:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Jon think of the idea of changing the format of the correspondence championship due to the preponderance of draws?” 54:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Are there stylistic changes made in how correspondence games are played based on the strength of the engines?”  Mentioned: Dubov-Karjakin 2020, Joppen vs. Petrosian 1954, Edwards-Lobonov  59:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are the biggest contributions of correspondence chess to OTB chess?”  1:01:00- Does one see the French defense or the Caro Kann at top level Correspondence Chess? 1:04:00- Jon discusses his large chess book collection and his chess stamp collection.  Mentioned: Great Moments in Modern Chess 1:11:00- Jon discusses why Petrosian is his favorite player  Mentioned: Joppen vs. Petrosian 1954, Joseph Platz  1:16:00- Jon mentions his current favorite stock investment. :)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s return guest on Perpetual Chess is the renowned trainer and player GM Gregory Kaidanov. Gregory joined me in between travels, as he had returned home from competing in the FIDE World Cup, and he was soon heading to Macedonia for the World Senior Team Championship. Gregory shared his perspective on the FIDE World Cup both as a player, and as a fan. As we discuss, Gregory was not surprised by the continued success of GM Pragganandhaa and the younger generation, but the performance of the top finishers was nonetheless impressive. Gregory also shared his thoughts on the news that GM Hans Niemann is now able to return to Chess.com events, and he discussed his thoughts on the overall story. Lastly, Gregory answered a few listener questions related to chess improvement, and his thoughts on a few of his former students, including GMs Ben Finegold and Daniel Naroditsky. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.  Thanks to our Presenting Chess Education Sponsors, Chessable.com  You can learn more about the Chessable “Create Your Own Course” Contest here: https://www.chessable.com/create/ Check out their new courses, included Ginger GM’s The Killer Barry here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ Gregory’s Prior Appearance: Episode 295  0:02:- Gregory joins and shares his reflections on the FIDE World Cup, both as a competitor and an observer  Mentioned: GM Nijat Abasov, GM Wesley So, GM Dieter Nisipeanu  10:00- Was Gregory worried about cheating at the World Cup? 18:00- What does Gregory think of the “2003” generation of chess stars that Magnus highlighted, including Pragganandhaa?  25:00- How did the tournament go for Gregory from a personal perspective?  Mentioned- Karthik-Kaidanov 2023, Kaidanov-Karthik 2023, Heine-Nielsen-Kaidanov 2002 32:00- Why is the US Senior Invitational of special importance to Gregory? How did he fare in his other recent tournaments? Mentioned: Episode 344 with GM Melik Khachiyan  45:00- In the wake of GM Hans Niemann’s reinstatement on Chess.com, Gregory shares his thoughts on the whole saga.  Mentioned: Chess.com Statement on Hans Niemann  52:00- Are chess books still necessary?  Mentioned: Colin Stapcynski’s article on Coach of the Month 57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Gregory have any advice for how one can improve his approach to chess away from the board?”  Mentioned: Book Recap #32- Chess for Zebras 1:00:00- What has Gregory learned from working with adult chess players?   1:07:00- Gregory discusses his work GM Daniel Naroditsky, GM Ben Finegold and GM Sam Shankland and others.  1:12:00- What has Gregory learned from studying GM Ulf Andersson? What has he learned from playing Mikhail Tal.  Mentioned: Episode 300 with GM Ulf Andersson, Kaidanov-Andersson 2002 Thanks, as always to GM Kaidanov for joining me. You can reach him via his website:  https://kaidanov.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On episode 200 of Perpetual Chess we are joined by a legend of chess, GM Boris Gelfand! GM Gelfand has been one of the world’s top players since the 1990’s, has amassed countless tournament titles, and played a breathtakingly close World Championship match with GM Viswanthan Anand in 2012. He is also an acclaimed author, and has released recently two new books in cooperation with GM Jacob Aagaard and Quality Chess Books. The books are Decision Making in Major Piece Endings, and Technical Decision Making in Chess. Both are highly instructive reads which lay bare the thought processes of an elite chess player. In our conversation, we discuss his books and their implications for chess improvement.  GM Gelfand also  shares highlights of and reflections on his own life at and away from the chessboard. As always, read on for timestamps and related links.  0:00- We begin by discussing a few quotes from Gelfand, one of which distills his chess improvement advice to a few sentences. GM Gelfand also gives us  his opinion of how to use chess engines, a common topic in his writing.   Mentioned:  Surya Ganguly interview part 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxjBIWngFqo Surya Ganguly interview part 2-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFlInDxHMVo   10:00- GM Gelfand tells the story of the formative experience of seeing an elite level tournament up close when he was just an adolescent in Belarus.  Mentioned: GM Mikhail Tal, GM Garry Kasparov, Boris Postovsky, GM Alexander Nikitin, GM Salo Flohr    13:30- How can up-and-coming players manage the “curse and the blessing” of great online study tools but also the potential distraction of online bullet chess?  Mentioned: GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov    18:45- What does GM Gelfand think of the increased popularity of online chess with faster time control? How did he enjoy the recent Chess24 Legends of Chess Tournament in which he competed?    23:00- GM Gelfand discusses the increased importance of organizing knowledge as compared to the challenge of acquiring knowledge when he was a young player.    25:30- Since GM Gelfand collaborates with GM Jacob Aagaard in his writing, I asked him who wrote a particularly funny quote from Technical Decision Making in Chess.  Mentioned: Jumabayev-Gelfand 2016 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1976537   30:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here, including a brand new course from GM Yasser Seirawan: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/   30:45- GM Gelfand answers a question from one of the podcast’s Patreon supporters regarding the great documentary Album 61.  Album 61 covers his World Championship Match with GM Viswanathan Anand and is available for free with English subtitles on Youtube.  Mentioned: Watch Album 61 here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFrevXxAojY   34:00- On the road to qualifying to challenge Anand for the 2012 World Championship, GM Gelfand faced a must-win game with Black against Kamsky. How did he keep his composure in such a moment ?  Mentioned: GM Alexander Grischuk    40:00- As a World Championship challenger over the age of 40, did GM Gelfand make adjustments to his approach?  Mentioned: GM Surya Ganguly, GM Vladimir Kramnik, GM Viswanthan Anand, GM Alexander Grischuk    44:00- GM Gelfand answers another question from the Patreon mailbag relating to his thoughts on the current Candidates cycle, as well as the next one.  GM Maxim Vachier-Lagrave, GM Ian Nepomniatchi, GM Anish Giri, GM Fabiano Giri, GM Jeffrey Xiong, GM Danill Dubov    48:45- GM Gelfand answers another question relating to the subject matter of his new book, Decision Making in Major Piece Endings.    53:30- How can we know when to calculate in chess and when to rely on intuition?    57:30- What advice did GM Gelfand give to Magnus Carlsen’s family when they asked him if Magnus should pursue chess professionally?     1:02:00- GM Gelfand discusses a popular chess program in his hometown of Rishon Lezion, Israel, as well as his frustrations with the state of chess in Israel generally.    1:05:00- We discuss some of GM Gelfand’s favorite chess books.  Mentioned: Anand Files by FM Michiel Abeln, GM Yury Razuvaev, The Best Move by Hort and Jansa,  The Nemesis by Efim Geller, FM Eduard Zelkind,   World Chess Championship 1948 by GM Paul Keres   1:10:00- Thanks so much to GM Gelfand for an amazing interview! You can purchase his books from Quality Chess, Forward Chess or other book sellers.  https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/sections/2/improvement/ https://forwardchess.com/product/technical-decision-making-in-chess/?sscid=91k3_fazxa   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM David Pruess has been a fixture on the US Chess Scene throughout the 2000s. In our interview, we talk about David's early chess days in the Bay Area, his ideas for improving your tactics, and his complicated history as an early employee with chess.com. David also tells us about his new job, and why he chooses to pursue a career outside of the chess world in addition to teaching chess and chess announcing. Thanks to David for the thoughtful and candid interview, ping him on chess.com here and follow him on Twitter here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  My guest on this week’s adult improver edition of Perpetual Chess is Braden Laughlin. Braden is a 22 year old Canadian chess enthusiast who has seen robust gains in the first few years of his chess development. Braden went from 0 to 1750 (Canadian rating) in his first 16 months of chess!  In the subsequent 2.5 years he has continued to get stronger, and now has an online blitz rating peak of over 2100!  Not bad for four years work! How did he do it? As you will hear, Braden has an approach that is wholly different from any other adult improver that has appeared on Perpetual Chess. Braden has taken full advantage of all of the great free chess content on YouTube, and is also a big proponent of playing tons of games, and trying to derive a lesson from each game. For many more tips, as well as some background about Braden as a video editor and recently hired Chessable employee please check out our interview. As always, lots more details, timestamps and relevant links can be found below.    0:00- How to Chess Podcast info from your host Ben:  Here are the links to subscribe to How to Chess:  First YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Y_E7CjneE Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74A0JotybXUvnviTCzsSUp?si=DZnY-yoRRl-Awcmn5OtPSg&dl_branch=1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNK7qZ8m2n54hviCjAPNe7w Apple Podcasts- Coming Soon   For any how to chess related questions you’d like answered please email howtochess at chessable.com    6:00- Braden joins the show and digs into his chess background and his early steps in chess improvement.  Mentioned: Chess Network’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCDOQrpqLqKVcTCKzqarxLg Also mentioned: IM John Bartholomew- Climbing the Rating Ladder Playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2huVf1l4UE&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MCBnhtCk_bTZsD8GxeWP6BV Also mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, The St. Louis Chess Club’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM-ONC2bCHytG2mYtKDmIeA Also mentioned: Jonathan Rowson’s Chess for Zebras   18:00- Braden discusses how chess served as an escape for him when he faced some physical and mental health challenges:    21:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then if you subscribe use the promo code Perpetual30   22:00- How did Braden balance actual chess playing with the study he did and chess videos that he consumed?    27:00- What tips does Braden have for learning positional chess concepts?  Mentioned: ChessNetwork, IM John Bartholomew, Simple Chess by GM Michael Stean, Simple Chess Podcast, Book Recap #13, Episode 213 with IM Greg Shahade      33:00- How much time did  Braden spend working on tactics?  GM Roman Dzindzichashvili    38:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 39:00- Has Braden’s study approach changed as he has reached higher levels?    45:30- Braden answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to how the OTB tournament situation will compare in Spain to North America. (Braden is moving to Spain soon)    48:00- Patreon question: “Did Braden use any Chessable resources to help his chess improvement?” Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know, Braden’s video about the longest possible chess game is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5DXJxR3Uig Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen, IM Kostya Kavutskiy    56:00- Braden discusses how he got into creating Youtube videos.  Mentioned: Good Blood Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55OV4HSSKJEthG4ulsKkyw Zelda video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyUcwsjyd8Q   1:02:00- Thanks so much to Braden for sharing the details of his unique climb up the rating ranks! Subscribe to his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5DXJxR3Uig Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Braden_Laughlin See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I caught WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni just before she hopped onto her next plane for a chess tournament in Sicily. We discussed the production of Fiona's excellent travel/chess vlogs, and she shared insights into the chess culture in her native Luxembourg. Fiona also dissected her own chess game and recounted the ups and downs its had recently. Fiona is well-traveled and has lived in several European cities, so she also shared her favorite European tournaments to visit as well as a favorite non-chess destination. Follow Fiona's adventures on Facebook and twitter. Watch her vlogs on her Youtube channel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My final guest live from Nashville was none other than the seven-time winner of the US Women’s Championship, GM Irina Krush. Irina and I had a fun discussion, and covered the following topics: - Her reflections on the most recent US championships in St. Louis. (Irina finished in 3rd place)- How does she recover from tough losses? This is a crucial skill for all chess players to develop, and no, it doesn’t get much easier for grandmasters. - Why did she decide to devote herself full-time to chess while some of her peers have sought work in other fields? How does she manage to play so much while also teaching and writing about chess? Irina had many tales to tell, including stories of playing blitz with Magnus, playing future World Champ Hou Yifan when she was just 11 years old, the Olympiads and more. Thanks to Irina for a great chat. To see the puzzle from Shereshevsky's new book mentioned by Irina, go here. Black to move and win. To support the podcast go here. This is the last "Friday bonus" podcast, Perpetual returns to weekly Tuesday releases next week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FM Yuriy Krykun is a young and accomplished chess player, graduate student, trainer and author. As a player, Yuriy was the 2018 Under 20 Champion,  is rated nearly 2500 USCF, and in 2019, he attained 2 IM norms.  Since Yuriy’s hopes to earn one more IM Norm have been delayed by coronavirus, he has been focusing on churning out quality opening courses and books.  I was particularly eager to discuss Yuriy’s new Chessable course, The Dynamic Italian Game, which focuses on the Evans Gambit. As we discuss, modern chess engines have made lots of new discoveries in the famed Evans, so it was a fun course for him to write, and it’s a fun opening to play if you are a club player looking for dynamic positions. Lastly, since Yuriy is norm chasing himself, and is also an active coach, he had lots of good chess improvement recommendations. As always, you can find lots more details, timestamps and relevant links below.    0:00- We begin by discussing how Yuriy has been impacted by coronavirus. He got stranded when visiting his native Ukraine, but now he has returned to St. Louis, where he can train with the powerhouse Webster University Chess Team. Yuriy also discusses why he decided to study at Webster.  Mentioned:Webster University, Yuriy’s Chessable Course page,  A Complete Repertoire for Black after 1. e4-e5 ,  Squeezing the King’s Indian Defense GM  Ilya Nyzhnyk, GM Lázaro Bruzón Batista, GM Alexander Lenderman, GM Peter Prohaska, GM Aram Hakobyan, GM John Burke,GM Emilio Cordova, GM Yuniesky Quesada    10:00- Yuriy shares his reasons for designing a Chessable course on the historic Evans Gambit, The Dynamic Italian Game, Mentioned: Stacia Pugh, GM Jan Gustafsson    22:00- As always, Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. In addition to Yuriy’s courses, FM Kamil Plichta is out with a new course on the Budapest Gambit (free preview here- https://www.chessable.com/short-and-sweet-budapest-gambit/course/50173/) , and there is lots more to check out on the site.     22:45- We discuss Yuriy’s approach to engine use, as well as his advice for how much improvers should be using them.  Mentioned: Stockfish, AlphaZero, LeelaZero, Fat Fritz, GM Patrick Wolff, Stockfish NNUE   29:30- What study tools did Yuriy use during his quick ascent up the chess-rating ladder? What study advice does he have for current adult improvers of different levels?  Mentioned: GM Alex Yermolinsky’s The Road to Chess Improvement, Zurich 1953, Endgame Strategy, Yusopov Chess School Series, Logical Chess Move by Move, How to Reassess Your Chess     40:00- What are Yuriy’s current chess goals and plans? Mentioned: Charlotte Chess Center    44:30- What is next for Yuriy, chess-content wise? How is life in St. Louis?  Mentioned: Check for Yuriy’s YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzbPjAk6T87ZgaIxUX-aEg/about?disable_polymer=1   49:30- Despite coronavirus, FIDE has announced that the 2020 Candidates will resume in November. What does Yuriy think about it? Mentioned: GM Teimour Radjabov    53:00- Thanks to Yuriy for joining the show.  He has lots more stuff coming out, so it would be wise to keep up with him the following ways:    Twitter-https://twitter.com/KrykunYuriy YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzbPjAk6T87ZgaIxUX-aEg/about?disable_polymer=1   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, has won countless chess titles but is probably best known as The 12th Women’s World Champion and a perennial threat to retake that crown. GM Kosteniuk stays extremely busy, as in addition to being playing frequent top-level chess, she streams chess on twitch for chess.com, has been announcing high-level events and also somehow finds the time to work on her chess, spend time with her family, and even run marathons. In our conversation, Alexandra and touched on all of these facets of her life, and she tackled the following questions: What does she think of the format of the Men's World Championship? What about the announced changes in the Women's World Championship Candidates Cycle? What does she advise to study when one feels like they have hit a plateau? How can one maintain perspective when struggling at the chessboard? What advice would she give to young female chess players who may feel daunted by the preponderance of men playing chess?For someone who has had so much success, Alexandra clearly has a grounded perspective on chess and on life. When she is not battling at the board, you can follow her on twitter. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we enter the final rest day, The FIDE Candidates tournament is set up for maximum drama with a three-way tie for first place and two rounds remaining. Joining me from Toronto to discuss it is FM Dalton Perrine. We highlight the continued trend of surprising opening choices and results, as well as the increased tension in the room as the tournament builds to a climax. In the women's section, we are down to two contenders for the Candidates title, as Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie are separated by a half a point.Dalton and I discuss all of the key matchups and surprises we have seen, as we look forward to the final chapter of an entertaining tournament. I will be back with one more bonus pod later on Friday, as Chess.com’s FM Mike Klein joins me from Toronto.  Mentioned in pod: @ponysunrise photos: https://twitter.com/sunrise_pony @chessnumbers tweet - https://x.com/ChessNumbers/status/1781113720212742568 Calib Wetheralll's Tournament Simulations- https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1c7iy1g/fide_candidates_tournament_updated_predictions/ Thanks to FM Dalton Perrine for joining me! Here is how to reach him:  Chessable Author page: https://www.chessable.com/author/mattydperrine/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzuOx_63p9AIVkElyCh0z-A53EAAYASAAEgJY5vD_BwE Chess.com https://www.chess.com/member/mattydperrine  His Coaching Services: https://nextlevelchesscoaching.com/fm-dalton-perrine/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/PerpetualChess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Kenneth Regan is an International Master, an associate professor of Computer Science at the University of Buffalo, and is one of the world’s foremost experts on using predictive analytics to help detect computer-assisted cheating in chess tournaments. With the chess world abuzz about the alleged cheating of GM Igors Rausis, I thought it would be the perfect time to invite Dr. Regan to join me to discuss all of the challenges faced by those who work to stop chess cheaters from undermining the integrity of our beloved game. Naturally we also discuss IM Regan’s other research and hear stories and reflections on his background as a strong chess player. (Dr. Regan was the 1977 US Junior co-champion and broke the record of Bobby Fischer as the youngest USCF Master!)  Please continue reading for more details, links and timestamps.    0:00- Intro. We begin by discussing some background about the Igors Rausis cheating scandal and the issue of engine-assisted chess in tournaments more generally. As Kenneth explains, his work involves using predictive analytics to assess the probability that a person received engine assistance in a chess game or series of chess games.  Mentioned: 2006 Kramnik-Topalov World Championship Match (aka “ToiletGate”) ,  Frederic Friedel, Alekhine-Capablanca 1927 , Tamal Biswas  21:00- According to Dr. Regan’s metrics, what was the best played chess match in history prior to Fischer-Spassky 1972?  Mentioned: So-Karjakin 2019  26:00- Dr. Regan’s discusses some of the inherent challenges of his work detecting possible cheating in live chess tournaments, including the issue of the risk of “false positive” results in his algorithm.  Mentioned: Howard Goldowsky’s 2014 Chess Life Feature of Kenneth Regan 39:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks Dr. Regan what club players can do to detect and deter potential cheaters.  44:00- How does online cheating differ from live tournament cheating?  Mentioned: Daniel Sleator of the Internet Chess Club, Danny Rensch and Mike Klein of Chess.com (the February 2019 Chess Life article by Danny Rensch that Dr. Regan mentions is behind the USCF paywalll.) 46:45- Another supporter of the show submits a list of questions for Dr. Regan touching on topics ranging to his own experiences with cheating to his background as a strong chess player, to where he sees the next battle being fought in the realm of chess cheating.  Mentioned: Dennis Monokroussos’ The Chess Mind Blog , Dr. Regan’s Ted Talk ., IM Regan’s blog post,  London Calling , Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O Neil  1:05- How surprised was Dr. Regan by the rise of neural networks like AlphaZero and Leela? 1:09- We talk a bit about Dr. Regan’s own chess career. How did he improve? What were his favorite chess books?   Mentioned: Sam Copeland’s interview with Kenneth Regan  Pawn Power in Chess, My System,Capablanca’s Hundred Best Games of Chess, Laszlo Szabo, Jaan Ehlvest, Rafael Vaganian, John Fedorowicz,  Tarjei Svenson article summarizing Magnus Carlsen’s dispute with Norwegian Chess Federation  1:19- Goodbye! Keep up with IM Regan via his blog and his professional page. If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is GM Srinath Narayanan. Srinath is a 3 time Asian Junior Champion, a popular Chessable Author and a high-level trainer. GM Srinath has worked with many of India’s brightest young talents including, GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Nihail Sarin. I caught Arjun at an interesting time, as both Arjun and Nihail had just won events in the star-studded Tata Steel India tournaments. What does it feel like when your longtime students are suddenly outperforming world elites like Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So? How does Srinath adjust the training plans of his students as they go from 2500 to 2700? We also talked about openings, as Srinath has co-authored (with GM Sahaj Grover) standout Chessable courses on The London System and the Catalan. We also discussed chess improvement, engine use, and we got Srinath’s take on the Carlsen/Niemann saga. You can find timestamps for topics discussed below.  0:00- What has surprised Srinath about the rise of his students, GMs Arjun Erigaisi and GM Nihail Sarin?  Mentioned: Srinath’s Recent interview with IM Sagar Shah of Chessbase India’  15:00- GM Erigaisi unleashed some epic opening preparation in a game against Sarin in their recent Tata Steel India Tournament. Did Srinath have a hand in the prep? Mentioned: CORRECTION- The article mentioned is by IM V Saravanan, my apologies  V Saravanan article highlighting Erigaisi’s amazing prep  20:00- What training methods did Srinath use with GMs Sarin and Erigaisi? 29:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 31:00- Since he has co-written Chessable courses on both the London System and the Catalan, how would Srinath compare the two?  39:00- Srinath is an advocate of playing training games in an opening to learn it. Can improvers do this against a computer or is it better to find a training partner?  45:00- When discussing engine evaluations, Srinath says “not all zeroes are equal”. What does he mean by this?  49:00- Does Srinath have any tournaments coming up? Mentioned: FIDE World Rapid and Blitz  54:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 55:00- Srinath shares his thoughts on the Niemann/Carlsen story and cheating in chess generally.  Mentioned: His Tweets About it, Niemann-Erigaisi 2022 1:11:00- What is Srinath’s chess-improvement advice for ambitious amateurs?  Mentioned: Move First and Think Later, On the Origin of Good Chess Moves  1:17:00- Thanks to GM Srinath for joining. Here are links to keep up with him: Chessable Courses YouTube Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Jen Shahade. Jen, is a champion chess and poker player, an author, an award winning podcaster and the Woman’s Program Director at US Chess. It was the perfect time to catch up with Jen, as she has just released her new book, Chess Queens. Chess Queen’s is an insightful, entertaining and introspective look at key figures in the history of Women’s Chess, and a reflection on Jen’s own chess journey to the pinnacle of American chess. It is an updated and expanded version of Jen’s first book, Chess Bitch. In our interview, we dig into the process of updating and rewriting a book, and then Jen shares a few of the amazing life stories covered in the book. Jen also discusses her own upcoming projects, chess in the Queen’s Gambit age, and dispenses some chess and life improvement advice. There is always lots to learn from Jen! Lots more details and relevant links are in the show description.  Jen’s Prior Appearances on the Pod: Episode 50 with Jen Shahade  Book Recap #7 discussing Judit Polgar’s How I Beat Fischer’s Record with Jen Shahade  0:00- Jen discusses how her new book came into being.  Mentioned: GM David Howell match against GM Nils Grandelius, GM Simon Williams, Silman-James Publishing, GM Judit Polgar, GM Hou Yifan, Vera Menchik, Lisa Lane, Diana Lanni, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, Kieie Laymon  15:45- What was the experience like of doing an audio book?  Mentioned: Anya Taylor Joy  17:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here.  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 18:30- Jen tells the crazy story of the time a coin flip decided who gets to play for the Women’s World Championship.  Mentioned: GM Susan Polgar, WGM Nona Ioseliani  26:30- Why is chess so much more popular with women in some countries than others?  Mentioned: Ladies Knight with Martha Fierro, Nadya Ortiz 30:00- Jen discusses some her favorite figures mentioned in the book including some successful chess champions who became politicians and Sonya Graf.   Mentioned: Antoaneta Stefanova, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Vera Menchik  35:00- Patreon mailbag question: Why does Jen think many girls quit chess in their teenage years?  Mentioned: Rachel Crotto  40:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. Check the site out, and if you choose to subscribe, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Better Help. You can see some online reviews here, and if you sign up, use this link to save 10%: https://www.betterhelp.com/chess 42:00- Patreon mailbag question:When will a book about women in poker similar to Chess Queens be written?  Mentioned: Poker Power, The Biggest Bluff  45:00- Patreon mailbag question: How can chess players apply poker strategies to chess? Has Jen done so herself?  Mentioned: GM Danil Dubov, GM Fabiano Caruana, EP 265 with GM Simon Williams, How to Chess Episode 10 With FM Nate Solon , Zwischenzug Substack 52:00- Patreon mailbag question: Will there be ways to get signed copies of Chess Queens?  Mentioned: Dr. Alexey Root, Facebook Chess Book Collector’s Group  57:00- Patreon mailbag question: Has Jen read Robert B. Tanner’s book about Vera Menchik ? 59:00- What is Jen’s next book, Reset, about?  1:01- What skills is Jen looking to develop right now? Any chess improvement tips?  Mentioned: Daniel Kahneman, GM Jesse Kraai, GM Noel Studer  1:07:00- What can men do to help ensure a welcoming environment for female chess players?  1:08:00- Thanks so much to Jen for coming on the pod. Here are links to keep up with her. Twitter Instagram Chess Queens Website  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our book review series, Chess Books Recaptured, is back to discuss a “non-chess” book for the first time. However, the information in this book is vital for any student of the game. Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning is an extremely insightful encapsulation of best practices for learning and retaining information. The book is written by Peter C. Brown, Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel, and was the culmination of 10+ years of research. Joining me to discuss the book is emergency room physician and dedicated chess amateur Dr. Nick Vasquez. Nick has been blogging about how Make it Stick changed his thinking about learning and chess study, and we thought it was worth expanding the blog posts into a conversation. Key precepts of the book include the importance of mixing study themes, spacing out your study, testing your knowledge frequently, and emphasizing understanding and contextualization of the study material. Timestamps of the topics discussed are below.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com!  Be sure to check out their new courses including IM Christof Sielecki’s new course, and if you use this link to sign up for Chessable Pro, and/or make a Chessable purchase, it will help support Perpetual Chess.  https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro Interviews Mentioned:  Episode 286 Adult Improver Series Interview with Dr. Nick Vasquez  Episode 349 with Dr. Anique de Bruin  Nick’s blog posts about Make it Stick: Book Review- https://nickvasquezmd.substack.com/p/make-it-stick Chess Implications: https://nickvasquezmd.substack.com/p/making-it-stick 0:02- How did Make it Stick change Nick’s thinking about learning and studying chess?  0:09- What are the implications for opening learning of Make it Stick Mentioned: Make it Stick website  21:00- What is the difference between varied practice and interleaving?  24:30- How did the book alter Nick’s training plan?  Mentioned: The Chess Steps, Practical Chess Exercises, GM Wojciech Moranda’s Books, GM Winning Chess Exercises for Kids, Anki  29:00- When trying to ingrain something into one’s memory are you better off studying things over decreasing time intervals or increasing time intervals?  33:00- More chess study conclusions Mentioned: FM Nate Solon’s How to Learn an Opening in 2023 40:00- Is is true that “there is no such as a learning style?”  45:00- Final thoughts and favorite quotes and studies cited.  50:00- What is a “memory palace? Mentioned; Moonwalking with Einstein 57:00- Thanks to Dr. Vasquez for rejoining me! Be sure to sub to his blog here: https://nickvasquezmd.substack.com/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s Perpetual Chess is the 2nd in a series, a special edition, oral history of the 2012 World Championship, brought to you courtesy of GM Peter Heine Nielsen. Peter, of course, is an accomplished Grandmaster and a renowned opening theoretician who has worked as a trainer for 8 World Championship match winners, first with GM Viswanathan Anand, and in recent years with GM Magnus Carlsen. For this podcast, Peter takes us behind team Anand’s mindset and preparation, as they helped Vishy prepare to defend his title against GM Boris Gelfand in May of 2012. This continues a series, as Peter discussed Anand’s 2010 match with GM Veselin Topalov in Episode 177. For a chess history enthusiast like myself it is such a treat to get a blow by blow account of a World Championship match from someone who had a prominent role in the match and a ringside seat. Please read on for timestamps, links to topics referenced can be found on the podcast webpage.  You can review any of the games from the match discussed here:  https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1025310 03:30- Since we are discussing events of 10 years ago, I thought we should ask: Does Peter think that he has a good memory?  11:00- We begin by discussing the 2012 pre match training camp, in Bad Soden, Germany in January of 2012. Peter convened with Anand and fellow team members, GMs Radoslaw Wotjasek, Surya Ganguly, and GM Rustam Kasimzdhanov.  21:00- How did the team feel about Gelfand as an opponent for Vishy?  32:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find IM Andras Toth’s new course, IM Irina Bulmaga’s, as well as so many others, here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/ 33:30- Does Peter get more nervous as a competitor or a trainer? 36:30- Peter describes the background and mindset once the team arrived in Moscow for the match, in May of 2012.  41:00- What was the team’s method for testing Vishy’s memory on opening lines? What about for Magnus in more recent years?  46:30- The match begins, and Gelfand springs a surprise by playing the Grunfeld defense! (The game ends in a draw) How did the team feel?  50:00- The match takes shape, with 5 more draws before a victory. What was the mood after 6 games? 56:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 57:00- Gelfand strikes first! What was the mood after Game 7?  1:02:00- Patreon mailbag question: Did the team change match approaches after Game 7?  1:06:00- Anand strikes back! How did the team mood alter when Vishy won Game 8? 1:10:00- Anand tried the Nimzo-Indian for the first time in Game 9. How did it go?  1:15:00- Has Peter discussed the World Championship match with Gelfand in recent years? 1:20:00- Peter discusses Game 10  1:22:00- Despite two more draws, Peter shares why he felt the mood started to shift during games 11 and 12.  1:28:00- How did the team feel heading into the rapid playoffs?  1:34:00- Do opening surprises have added value in a faster time control?  1:35:00- What went right for Vishy to prevail in the Rapid playoffs? 1:39:00- After winnig the match did they feel euphoria more or relief?  1:41:00- Since Gelfand was sort of on home turf, were they worried about any Russian subterfuge?  1:44:00- Are non-team members who provide opening advice generally compensated for their assistance?  1:46:00- Did it bother the team that Kasparov was rumored to have offered to help Gelfand.?  1:48:00- How does Peter look back on the match 10 years later? Thanks to Peter for joining the podcast. Links you need below: The Chicken Chess Club on Apple Podcasts https://twitter.com/PHChess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Perpetual Chess Adult Improver Series is back, but this time with a twist. We feature a senior guest who is “more interested in sustainment than improvement”, and we have a guest co-host joining the conversation! Our guest, Paul Hedrick is a 56 year old literature and history teacher based in New Mexico. Paul enjoys listening to Perpetual Chess, but felt that older, less improvement focused chess lovers like himself were underrepresented on the podcast. To help guide the conversation, I enlisted the help of Han Schut. Han is a Chess Steps trainer, a Chessable Author and a frequent contributor to New in Chess magazine. The three of us try to sort out questions such as: Why does Paul study chess daily if his goal is not to improve? How can one know if they should shift their goals from “Adult Improver” to “Senior Sustainer?” How should one supplement the curriculum of the Chess Steps method? Both Paul and Han offered great perspectives on the different roles chess study can play in one's life, so I hope you all enjoy the conversation as I did. More details below. 0:00- Interested in appearing or suggesting an adult Improver guest for Perpetual Chess? Please use this form so that I can potentially refer back to it later : Potential Adult Improver Guest  Han Schut’s Prior Appearance- (Episode 142, 2019) Book Review #25- Review and Discussion of the Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games  06:00- Why did Paul volunteer to come on the show?  Mentioned: Episode 272- Positional Puzzle Book Championship with Neal Bruce  11:00- What is Paul’s “why” for playing chess?  19:00- Paul discusses his chess routine Mentioned: Second Piatgorsky Cup 1966, Ken Smith,  30:00- Patreon mailbag question- Was there a moment where Paul decided to switch from “improver” to “sustainer” mode?  33:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. If you choose to subscribe to Aimchess, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  35:00-  Patreon mailbag question How can one decide whether to focus on improvement or sustainment?  40:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Paul prioritize studying things he sounds fun?  42:30- Patreon mailbag question: Does Paul think his study is helping him avoid blunders? 43:30- Han’s advice for mitigating blunders.  46:30- Han describes the Chess Steps method, which you can order here. 47:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com, check out what is new from them here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 48:00- Patreon mailbag question: In the current chess climate, does one need to get better just to keep the same rating?    51:30-  The Chess dot bomb sponsored segment is brought to you by Chess.com! Paul and I discuss the Chess.com Explorer feature, which allows you to learn openings, study master games, your own archive, and to add them to a personal library.  If you decide to upgrade to a premium membership at Chess.com, you can help support the pod by signing up using this link (https://go.chess.com/Perpetual). 54:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Han think there will be greater adoption of the Steps Method in the US? Mentioned: Episode 167 with IM Jop Delemarre, IM Cor van Wijgerden 1:01:00- Patreon mailbag question: Question for Han: What makes a good compliment to the Chess Steps series?  Mentioned: Lichess Database, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios, Lichess 4545 League 1:14:00- Thanks so much to Paul for joining us! And thanks to Han Schut for guest co-hosting and sharing his expertise! Here is the link for Han’s scheduled live Chess Steps presentation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D7gfDpEiDks Saturday April 16 at 2 pm EST  Link to Dubov’s Explosive Italian: https://www.chessable.com/dubovs-explosive-italian/course/80152/ If you would like to join the Perpetual Chess Patreon community you can do so here:  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rochelle Ballantyne is best-known in the chess world as one of the star scholastic chess players featured in the excellent 2012 documentary, Brooklyn Castle, which chronicles the lives of the students and teachers  at the scholastic chess powerhouse school, IS 318 in Brooklyn, New York. In the years since that movie, Rochelle has continued to pile up impressive achievements. She earned a BA from Stanford University, a Masters of Education degree from Columbia University, and has been accepted into the New York University Law School for the fall. Rochelle also had many scholastic chess successes, she attained a peak US Chess rating of 2127, and she actively promotes chess as an educational tool. Last, but most importantly, Rochelle has long been a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform and the Black Lives Matter movement.   She shares her perspective on this movement, both as it pertains to the chess world, and to the world at large. Please enjoy our wide-ranging conversation. Timestamps and relevant links can be found below.    We catch up on what Rochelle has been doing since she was featured in Brooklyn Castle.  Mentioned:  Elizabeth Spiegel on Perpetual Chess December 10, 2019 ,  Brooklyn Castle’s Website Lists Where You Can Watch The Movie, here: https://brooklyncastle.com/#watch1l’  Read Melinda Mathews’ 2018 Interview with Rochelle here: https://new.uschess.org/news/qa-rochelle-ballantyne-representation-important   7:00- What is the update on Rochelle’s Chess Playing?  Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade, US Chess School   12:00- From her viewpoint as a woman and an African American chess player, what were Rochelle’s interactions like in the chess world?  Mentioned: FM Justus Williams, NM James Black, FM Joshua Colas, Stanford University,    23:45- A Patreon supporter of the podcast writes in to ask Rochelle how tournament players can help be supportive African American chess players. Mentioned: Alexandra Botez shares a personal experience about sexual harassment in the chess world:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6W8EgX9Uc0      29:00- The latest and greatest from Chessable is an updated and expanded comprehensive checkmate pattern course by CraftyRaf- check it out here:  https://www.chessable.com/the-checkmate-patterns-manual/course/17841/   30:00- What is Rochelle’s opinion of how race relations have been handled by the US Chess Federation and other entities?  Mentioned: Read the US CHess statement on Black Lives Matter here:  https://www.chessable.com/the-checkmate-patterns-manual/course/17841/ Chess GIrls DC,  Chess.com’s Peter Doggers interview series, On Racism, can be read here:  https://www.chess.com/article/view/on-racism-nm-daniel-jones https://www.chess.com/article/view/on-racism-gm-pontus-carlsson https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-racism-watu-kobese Bill Goichberg    38:00- Rochelle answers a few more listener-questions relating to education policy, both inside and outside of the chess world.  Mentioned: IS 318 Vice Principal John Galvin, GM Maurice Ashley, Queen City Classic Chess Tournament     47:00- Has Rochelle been attending any of the Black Lives Matter protests?  Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade’s Twitter and Facebook,     54:00- Does the fact that White moves first in chess have racist undertones in Rochelle’s opinion?  Mentioned: Jen Shahade, Alexandra Botez    1:00- Thanks to Rochelle, for sharing her perspective with us. Here is a list from Rochelle of Black Lives Matter causes and organizations that could use some support: https://linktr.ee/cdr3?fbclid=IwAR1URl1PP7wBQNIF2Tt1DvYdSz_XodqZBXqJR0Vle0TGLTzdCO8jY-0n-WQ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Danny Gormally joined me to recap his experience at the recent British Chess Championships. In addition to discussing his near-miss there, Danny also reveals which GMs could be found at the pub after the rounds and analyzes the impact such unseen factors can have on one's results. He also talks candidly about the challenges of playing chess for a living with a FIDE rating around 2500. Lastly, GM Gormally gave his perspective on the upcoming Candidates cycle for the World Championship and had some names to watch in the FIDE World Cup and beyond. Follow Danny on twitter here, and buy his book here. Lastly, due to popular demand from you, I have started a patreon page which will allow those of you interested in supporting the show monetarily to do so. As a bonus, anyone who signs up for the $2 a month plan, will be part of an exclusive email list where I’ll let you know the guest ahead of time, and you’ll be able to submit questions that I'll include in the episode. If you’re interested, please head to https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the heels of a thrilling rapid playoff, I am joined by GM Erwin L’ami to discuss the crowning of GM Ding Liren as the FIDE 17th World Chess Champion. Erwin is a return guest, and a popular Chessable author, who has worked on the team of former FIDE World Champion GM Veselin Topalov, and of GM Anish Giri. In our interview, Erwin shares his impressions of the dramatic playoff, the opening choices, and the psychological ups and downs that both players endured over the course of a long and closely contested match. We also take an early look ahead at the next World Championship cycle and discuss Erwin’s plans for a busy 2023. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.  GM Erwin L’Ami’s Prior Appearances:  Episode 186 Episode 257 0:00- Check out some of my favorite Chessable courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:04:30- GM Erwin L’Ami joins the pod. We begin by discussing the clinching game in the rapid tiebreak.  Mentioned: Kasparov-Topalov 1999 16:00- What did Erwin think of Ding’s opening choices? 23:00- What about Nepo’s propensity to move too quickly at times?  30:00- Were they playing at a higher level in the rapid than the classical?  32:00- Patreon mailbag question: As a high level trainer, what would Erwin do to try to help coach his player to avoid some of the psychological pitfalls on display in the Ding-Nepo match? 38:00- Should they change the format of the press conferences?  40:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Erwin think that Ding caused Nepo’s difficulties in game 12 or was it the pressure of the moment? 47:00- What does Erwin think of the format of the match, and of the existence of the Rapid playoff in particular? 54:00- Early discussion of the next Candidates/World Championship cycle. Will Magnus return? 1:03:00- What are Erwin’s plans for the rest of 2023? Mentioned: Norway Chess 2023, TePE Seigman 2023 in Malmo, Sweden If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess we are joined by Dr. Stuart Margulies, the co-author of the legendary, best-selling chess book, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. First published in 1966, and written along with Donn Mosenfelder and Fischer himself, this book has sold more than 1.25 million copies, and many believe it to be the best selling chess book of all time! Dr. Margulies tells the story of the modest beginnings of the book, and of his first and subsequent encounters with his fellow New Yorker, Bobby Fischer. Stuart is 89 years of age, but has vivid memories of Fischer and many other key New York City chess figures. Stuart worked as an educational psychologist, and also shares his take on the whether playing chess can positively impact reading scores, a subject about which he wrote a paper in the 1990s. It was so much fun to hear Stuart’s reflections on his life in chess! More details and timestamps can be found below.  0:00- Stuart shares his earliest first-hand memories of Bobby Fischer Mentioned: Alan Kaufman, Jack Collins, FM Asa Hoffman  0:08- We discuss the origins of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess Mentioned: Donn Mosenfelder, Leslie Ault, IM Raymond Weinstein, IM Michael Valvo, Shelby Lyman, Episode 250 with FM Asa Hoffman  16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com 17:00- We discuss more about the history of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, including the origins of its title.  Mentioned: Dr. Frank Brady, Fischer-Larsen 1958 28:00- Stuart discusses the one time he beat Fischer in a casual game, and shares more about his personal interactions with Fischer.  Mentioned: The Kevitz defense, Shernaz Kennady 44:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. 45:00- Patreon mailbag question: How did Margulies and his collaborators decide to use a format that had no chess notation?  Mentioned: Secrets of Spectacular Chess  50:00- Stuart discusses his own, and others people’s research into the effect of chess instruction on kids’ reading scores.  Mentioned: Margulies’ Whitepaper: The Effect of Chess on Reading Scores, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, GM Levon Aronian  58:00- Stuart describes his encounters with GM Nicolas Rossolimo and a young GM Judit Polgar  Mentioned: FM Jude Acers, Abraham Kupchik, Irving Chernev, Al Horowitz, Fred Reinfeld  1:07:00- What was the motivation for writing Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess? 1:13:00- As such a sharp 89 year old, does Stuart have any mental and physical health tips?  Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, GM Genna Sosonko’s books , A Change of Air by Ivan Gold can be found the compilation Nickel Miseries, Endgame by Dr. Frank Brady   1:21:00- Thanks so much to Stuart for joining the show!  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Michael “Mickey” Adams is a legend of British chess who has been an elite chess player for the last 30 years. He is a former World Champion finalist, the 7 time champion of Great Britain and has been ranked as highly as #4 in the world. Michael is also an author, most recently of the very original and instructive new book, Think Like a Super GM, with co-author Philip Hurtado. Michael is normally one of the most active players on the tournament circuit, and as Covid subsides he is preparing to resume a busy schedule, beginning with the Tepe Siegman invitational in May. In our fascinating and entertaining conversation, Mickey shares some memorable stories, and discusses whether he has made adjustments to his game as he turns 50. We also discuss Michael’s new book in detail and shared some of its chess improvement takeaways. Please read on for lots more details, timestamps, and links to topics that were referenced.   Brief timestamps are below, for full show notes please go to the podcast website EP 276- GM Michael Adams- Stories and Lessons from Mickey's decades Among the Chess Elite — The Perpetual Chess Podcast You can read my reviews of Think Like a Super GM on my Lichess blog or Chess.com blog. 0:00- Mickey has a tournament coming soon, how does he prepare especially after the pandemic?  10:00- How has Mickey maintained his chess strength up to age 50?  18:00- What is Mickey’s approach to using engines?  21:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on that data. If you choose to subscribe to Aimchess, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  22:00- Patreon mailbag question: Who is the most naturally talented player that Mickey has ever played against?  27:00- What was it like to play chess with legends like Spassky and Tal?  30:00- Patreon mailbag question: What is Mickey’s favorite victory over a fellow Super GM? 33:00- Mickey tells a few entertaining stories from his younger years involving Kasparov . Kramnik and GM Joel Lautier.  43:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here:  New Chess Courses  Best of British Chessable Course with GM Simon Williams   44:00- Chess improvement takeaways from Mickey’s new book 57:00- Patreon mailbag question: Will Mickey ever write a games collections book?  1:02:00- Patreon mailbag question: What self-study methods did Mickey use, and which does he recommend?  Mentioned: GM Mark Hebden, GM Keith Arkell 1:07:00- Patreon mailbag question: What is Mickey’s advice for how to approach big open Swiss tournaments?  1:11:00- Patreon mailbag question: Who does Mickey think will win the Candidates tournament? 1:20:00- Patreon mailbag question: What does Mickey think of the possibility that Magnus won’t play the next World Championship match? He also shares some ideas of alternative World Championship formats.  1:30:00- Is it true that Mickey has never had a “real job? 1:34:00- Does Mickey still have a condo in Florida? 1:36:00- What is Mickey’s favorite chess venu 1:39:00- Thanks so much to Mickey for joining the pod! Here are the best ways to keep up with him.  Mickey's Website Think Like a Super GM (free excerpt here) (Forward Chess version)  Best of British Chessable Course with GM Simon Williams  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we are excited to catch up with the most popular chess content creator in the world, IM Levy Rozman aka Gotham Chess. With a Chessable course launching, and a book coming soon, Levy took a break from his busy schedule to reflect on another year of explosive growth in his content. His YouTube channel recently passed 3 million subs, and Levy’s TikTok account went from 0 to 1 million+ followers in about 3 months! In our interview, Levy takes us behind the scenes of the work that goes into the growth, and speculates about what type of chess fans might be driving the latest surge in popularity. It has been almost 2 years since my last interview with Levy, so there are many other topics to catch up on, including the FIDE World Championship, his retirement from OTB chess, his DMs with Magnus Carlsen and much more. It is always entertaining and enlightening to hear Levy reflect on chess and on his success! Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  0:00- You can check out some of my favorite Chessable courses for different rating levels here:  https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/  Sign up for the Perpetual Chess Linkfest- https://benjohnson.substack.com/ Prior Levy appearances:  Episode 180 Episode 233 0:02: How much does Levy know about his audience?  0:08- What drives him to keep trying to grow his channel?  0:16:00- Does Levy think this recent growth is propelled by high school kids?  21:00- Does Levy still do his own editing? Who else helps him?  27:00- Has Levy interacted with Magnus one-on-one?  33:00- Levy’s thoughts on the Ding-Nepo World Championship 40:00- How does Levy reflect on his abandoned pursuit of the GM title?  47:00- Patreon mailbag question: What is Levy’s advice to a parent who may be trying to encourage a scholastic player to stick with tournament chess?  56:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Levy still have opening novelties he keeps to himself?”  58:00- What lines does Levy recommend in his new Chessable course? What rating range does it target?  1:04:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What differentiates Levy’s course from other Chessable 1. E4 courses?”  1:07:00- How did Levy’s visit to YouTube headquarters come about?  1:12:00- Has Levy’s daily life in New York changed much since our 2021 interview?  1:13:00- Life as a dog dad  1:15:00- Levy discusses his upcoming book, How to Win at Chess.  1:17:00- Levy’s 2023 plans  1:19:00- Thanks again to Levy for catching up with us!  You should check out his YouTube channel!  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest on Perpetual Chess is renowned chess teacher and author, FM Sunil Weerumantry. Sunil has been teaching chess in the New York area for more than 30 years and has coached more national scholastic champions than one can count. He is also the step dad of GM Hikaru Nakamura and his brother Asuka, who also broke many US Scholastic records as a child. Sunil and I discussed: The great new book he co-authored with Alan Abrams and Robert McClellan called Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History. I highly recommend this book for chess teachers and chess history buffs. Sunil's story of growing up in Sri Lanka, making his way to New York, and becoming a chess teacher. What does one need to be "talented at chess"? Did he notice it in Hikaru and Asuka? Stories from travels with Hikaru and meeting chess legends Thanks to Sunil for joining me. You can order his book here. To support the podcast, go here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess we feature two chess enthusiasts who are driving initiatives to improve the chess world. 1) Emilia Castelao is a history grad student, chess photographer and chess historian, who is collaborating with Mr. Dodgy to launch the Women in Chess Foundation. Their mission is to advocate for and empower women in the chess community. Emilia has a broad vision for the foundation, but the first order of business is to ensure a safe competitive environment for tournament players. With this goal in mind, the foundation is training onsite advocates to volunteer at tournaments all over the world. In our conversation, we also discuss Emilia’s chess background and the roots of her enthusiasm for chess photography and history. 2) Craig Dubose is an Ireland-based dad and relatively recent chess enthusiast. Craig believes that more can be done to convert new chess fans into tournament players, and is running an annual tournament in Ireland, The Sligo Chess Tournament. Craig runs this tournament on a not-for-profit basis with the aim to improve the playing experience of area chess enthusiasts. Craig and his team made a documentary about last year’s event, which you can see here. In our conversation, Craig discusses the challenges and rewards of running such a tournament, and shares tips for anyone interested in starting to run their own tournaments.  As always, timestamps of guests interviewed and topics discussed can be found below.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsor, Chessable.com. You can check our their new courses here:  https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ And some of my favorites here:  https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ Subscribe to my free newsletter, The Perpetual Chess Linkfest here: https://benjohnson.substack.com/ 3:15- Emilia Castelao joins the pod to discuss a new initiative called the Women in Chess Foundation.  Mentioned: Lula Roberts, Mr. Dodgy  To volunteer to become an advocate go to: https://www.womeninchess.com/ 19:00- Emilia discusses her background and her interest in chess history. Mentioned: Endgame by Dr. Frank Brady, Chess Notes by Edward Winter, Profile of a Prodigy, Episode X with Dr. Frank Brady  26:00- What got her into chess photography? 28:00- Does Emilia play and study chess much?  32:00- Thanks to Emilia for joining the pod! Keep up with the Women in Chess Foundation here: https://www.womeninchess.com/ Follow her on Twitter/X here: https://twitter.com/emiliacastelao 33:00- Craig Dubose joins the podcast to discuss the background of the upcoming Sligo tournament in Ireland.  Mentioned: Welcome to Wrexham, Word Wars  45:00- Is it a priority to recruit titled players to compete in the tournament? 48:00- Why does Craig run the tournament on a non-profit basis?  52:00- Is it challenging to find a venue for a chess tournament? 58:00- What is Craig’s advice for anyone interested in running a weekend tournament?  59:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Craig have a plan for what would happen if he were no longer able to run his tournaments?”  1:01:30- Does Craig get to play much? 1:04:00- Thanks to Craig for joining the pod! You can learn more about the Sligo tournament here: https://itsligochesstournament.ie/ You can watch the documentary about last year’s event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSx5qHpI5lw&feature=youtu.be Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 8 rounds, things have changed! As you may have heard, Magnus Carlsen has taken a 5-3 lead in the 2021 World Championship, highlighted by a record breaking, unforgettable win in Game 6. Please listen in as a do a quick rundown of the highlights of the match, then bring in two great guests: Grandmaster Jan Timman is the 9 time champion of the Netherlands, an award winning author, and was one of the highest rated players in the world for over a decade. Jan shares his thoughts on the match so far and discusses the ascendance of young Super GM Alireza Firouzja. John MacArthur is an accomplished scholastic coach and Twitch streamer who joined me just after returning from Dubai on Monday. Dubai was the 6th World Championship match he has attended. John shares some great stories and contrasts this event with the many other memorable matches he has attended. Timestamps and the links you need are below. 9:00- GM Jan Timman joins New in Chess Magazine  His latest book, The Unstoppable American: Bobby Fischer's Road to Reykjavik 33:00- NM John MacArthur joins Check out his photos from Dubai on his Instagram here. Follow him on Twitch here. On Twitter here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chess writer, teacher and book reviewer John Hartmann is not a titled chess player, but man, does he know his chess books! In our conversation, John reveals his list of "desert island" chess books and gives chess book recommendations of all shapes and sizes. We talk of chess memoirs/game collections, books about chess tactics, endgame books, and even about chess software.  John also tells the unique story of how he got into chess as a somewhat troubled teen and how he became a book reviewer for the USCF's venerable Chess Life magazine. Lastly, John gives an overview of the increasingly popular Chess Steps curriculum and all of the details about why he finds it so helpful for his students and his chess study. You can check out John's reviews here and contact him here . You can view his full list of recommendatons here. To support the podcast go here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest, Steffen Slumstrump Nielsen is one of the most accomplished chess endgame study composers in the world. Steffen’s new book, Endgame Labyrinths (co-authored with GM Jacob Aagaard) compiles what they consider to be the most instructive endgame studies of all time. It is a beautiful book filled with challenging and instructive studies. In our conversation, we discuss how Steffen came to be interested in the “subgenre” of designing chess puzzles,  the components that make a good study, and who he believes to be the best endgame study composers of all time. Finally, Steffen shares some details on his creation process and offers recommendations if you would like to learn more about endgame studies. Links of the topics referenced can be found below.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsor, Chessable.com. You can check our their new courses here:  https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ And some of my favorites here:  https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:00- How did Steffen discover the art of composing endgame studies?  0:04- How does Steffen work with engines when comprising a study?  Mentioned: Chessbase India feature on Steffen Nielsen: https://www.chessbase.in/news/Giants-of-Modern-Studies-Part-I-The-Tactical-Thaumaturgy-of-Steffen-S-Nielsen- 11:30- What makes a good endgame study?  15:30- How useful are endgame studies for chess improvement? (potential break) Mentioned: Episode 339 with WGM Anna Zatonskih  19:00- As an study composer, is calculation a strength of Steffen’s?  21:50- How much time per week does Steffen spend composing studies? What does his family think of it?  Mentioned: Steffen’s YouTube talk 27:00- What, if anything, differentiates Steffen’s prize-winning studies from others?  Mentioned: Tim Krabbe’s blog, Episode 226 with Tim Krabbe  33:00- Which famous players has Steffen meant who enjoy endgame studies? Mentioned: GM Jan Timman  35:30- What did Steffen observe from observing the approach to solving of people like GM Sam Shankland and GM Christopher Yoo?  Mentioned: Free Preview of the Book here: https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/EndgameLabyrinthsOnlineExcerpt.pdf Also mentioned: GM Kasper Piorun 41:00- We discuss the invaluable endgame study database from Harold van der Heijden. More info here:  https://www.hhdbvi.nl/ 44:00- What endgame study books has Steffen studied: Mentioned: Kasparyan’s Domination in 2545 Studies, Oleg Pervakov’s Studies and Books, The Art of the Endgame  46:00- What was Steffen’s approach to chess study? What authors did he like? Mentioned: Bent Larsen 48:30- How long has this book been in the works?  49:00- Steffen’s closing thoughts! Mentioned: GM Wojciech Moranda  51:00- Thanks to Steffen for joining the program! Follow Steffen on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/SteffenNielsen8?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor You can read more about composing studies on this blog: www.chessstudy.art  Buy the book from Quality Chess: https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/3/443/endgame_labyrinths_hardcover_by_jacob_aagaard_and_steffen_nielsen/ Or on Forward Chess: https://forwardchess.com/product/endgame-labyrinths Free preview from Quality Chess: https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/EndgameLabyrinthsOnlineExcerpt.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s pod is a special edition featuring 10 different short interviews from the 2024 National Open in Las Vegas. We feature stories and perspectives from GM Ben Finegold, adult improver return guests, other chess podcasters, and even two different Grandmasters named Daniel Fernandez! Big tournaments like the National Open are great opportunities to bond over a shared love of chess, and I hope this episode helps encapsulate the many ways that chess can touch our lives,  teach us lessons, and bring us together. Timestamps and a brief description of each interview and guest can be found below.  GM Ben Finegold- 6:45  (recorded Wednesday, June 5) -Ben discusses his personal history at the National Open, the Nimzo-Indian defense, and dispenses some chess advice  Glenn Panner- 17:30-   (recorded Friday, June 7) The tournament co-organizer discusses the tournament history , the recent cheating story from the Chicago Open, and the cheat detection methods being used at the National Open.   GM Daniel Fernandez (US) 31:00-  (recorded Friday, June 7) The first of our GM Danil Fernandez guests, a Houston based player and trainer discusses how the stresses of playing compare to the stresses of coaching, and the advice he gives to his students who are competing in the tournament.  Kamryn Hellman 40:15  -  (recorded Saturday June 8) The popular streamer and YouTuber reflects on her first big tournament and the recent chess lessons that she has learned. You can hear more from Kamryn in Episode 314.  And check our her YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@kamrynheidi Kevin Scull-  -49:50  (recorded Saturday June 8) - The host of the Chess Journeys podcast reflects on the highs and lows of an ongoing tournament and discusses why he is trying to read fewer chess books!  Be sure to sub to the Chess Journeys podcast! Lennart Ootes- 59:30- (recorded Saturday June 8) - The renowned chess photographer and multimedia maestro compares photographing amateurs to photographing his usual subjects, the top pros of chess. Check out Lennart’s beautiful photos here: Lennart Ootes And his National Open photos here: https://www.chessphotoshop.com/National-Open-2024-Las-Vegas Kyle Boddy-  1:10:00 (recorded Saturday June 8) -I am rejoined by the founder of Driveline Baseball to discuss why he makes time for the National Open in the middle of the baseball season,and to share the lessons he has learned from IM Calvin Blocker, IM Marc Esserman and others. You can hear more of Kyle’s chess story in Episode 303.  GM Daniel Fernandez (UK)- 1:21:00 -(recorded Sunday, June 9) The U.K. based player, author and trainer discusses what he is doing in an effort to push through mental barriers and the importance of physical training at the GM level.  GM Kayden Troff- 1:31:15 (recorded Tuesday June 11)- Kayden’s primary role at the National Open was to provide free post-mortem analysis of amateur games. What type of mistakes did he see recur after reviewing dozens of games over a long weekend?  Check out Kayden’s epic game here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1753125 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETcq8kmlMic You can find the Chesssharkz Twitch stream with Tony Padron here: https://www.twitch.tv/chesssharkz ElaynahTV - 1:46:30-  (recorded Friday,  June 14) The popular chess streamer and newly minted podcaster discusses how the women’s tournament compared to the Open event, and the challenges of streaming a tournament.  Check out Elaynah’s Twitch stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/elaynah And her new podcast with Dylan Quercia here: https://chesslounge.podbean.com/  Photo in thumbnail of ElaynahTV by Lennart Ootes- https://www.chessphotoshop.com/National-Open-2024-Las-Vegas And thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com. If you sign up for Chessable pro, please use this link to help support the pod: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  GM Davorin Kuljsevicis an  author, a trainer and, of course, an accomplished chess player. Davorin has won several international tournaments and competed with the Croatian National team. As a trainer, he has coached the Finland Men’s and Women’s National Chess teams,and he has taught many titled players. In recent years, Davorin is becoming best known for his books. His first book, Beyond Material, helps players learn to sacrifice for initiative and to play more dynamically. Davorin’s new book,How to Study Chess On Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works and Sticking to it, is an expansive and instructive book that provides both chess instruction and study plans for the ambitious improver. The book, and our interview, contain useful tips on how to properly use engines, improve tactics, structure study time, and lots more. Please read on for more details and relevant timestamps.    0:00- We dive right into Davorin’s new book,How to Study Chess On Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works and Sticking to it. What advice can be gleaned from this impressive book?  Mentioned: GM Efstratios Grivas, IM Lawrence Trent, GM Daniel Fridman, Kuljasevic-Fridman 2013,  GM Richard Rapport, GM Judit Polgar, GM Veselin Topalov  12:00- Davorin’s book advocates a very ambitious study plan.  Can it be adjusted for those who have less time to devote to chess study? Mentioned:Pump Up Your Ratingby GM Axel Smith, Berlin Wall by GM John Cox   18:00- Davorin answers a few Patreon mailbag questions, including, “Is there a minimum amount of study one must to do to expect chess improvement?”  Mentioned: IM Cyrus Lakdawala  24:00- Patreon mailbag question:  “How should adult improvers measure progress?” 28:00-Patreon mailbag question:  “Can humans use non GM strength engines as playing partners?”  Mentioned: ChessDojo, Episode 215 with Dr. Vishnu Sreekumar  31:00- How should one properly use chess engines? James Altucher Episode 716 with Garry Kasparov    37:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com  38:00- How can we break the spell of excessive “materialism” in chess, and learn to sacrifice for dynamic compensation?  Mentioned: Beyond Material by GM Davorin Kuljasevic,  Gamechangerby GM Mathew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan, Artemiev-Motylev 2015, Mastering Positional Sacrifices by IM Merijn van Delft  46:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 49:00- How would Davorin ramp up for a tournament if he were getting ready to compete?  Mentioned: WGM Iva Videnova,   51:00- What was it like to do a Chess TV show in Croatia? How is the chess culture there? Mentioned:  Episode 160 with Agadmator, Episode 117 with Stjepian Tomic aka Hanging Pawns, Episode 223 with Dr. Luka Popov, GM Alojzije Janković 54:30- Davorin discusses his experience studying in the US at University of Texas at Dallas, and at Texas Tech University  Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew, IM Dmitry Schneider, FM Andrei Zaremba  58:00- Davorin names a few of his favorite chess authors Mentioned: IM Mark Dvoretsky, GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Boris Gelfand, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual   1:02:-- Thanks so much to Davorin for joining the show. Link below for where to reach him and  purchase his books: Buy from New in Chess Publishing (including ebook): https://www.newinchess.com/how-to-study-chess-on-your-own Buy from Amazon: How to Study Chess on Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works… and Sticking to it! - Kindle edition by Kuljasevic, Davorin. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Reach Davorin here: https://lichess.org/coach/GrandmasterThinking   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

41-year-old IM Renier Castellanos had all but given up on earning the Grandmaster title. His life was getting busier, and after 2 potential GM norms were not ratified by FIDE, he felt like it just wasn’t meant to be. But his friends and Killer Chess Training co-workers, GM Jacob Aagaard and Kallia Kleisarchaki, convinced him to keep trying. It turned out that was all it took! Two weeks ago, Renier got his final GM norm, to earn the title of Grandmaster at age 41. In our interview, Renier reflects on the lessons he has learned, and why he thinks he was still able to earn the title in this challenging era, despite not working on chess as much as he did in his 20s. Renier also shares his own advice on chess improvement, some book recommendations, and discusses what he observed from facing Super GM level players like GM Vladimir Fedoseev. This interview was conducted while the Candidates was still ongoing, but you can even hear Renier’s Candidates prediction to see how it played out. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  0:00- Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com  New courses include - Michael Roiz’s Fighting the Grunfeld and King’s Indian   If you use the link below to sign up for a Chessable pro membership, it helps to support the pod!  https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro 0:01- Renier discusses why he had given up on the GM title  Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard of Killer Chess Training, Killer Chess Training Review of Renier’s Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeI0AazBw1I 0:08- What shortcoming in his game did Renier need to overcome in order to earn the title? 9:45- How did he think about the expense of pursuing the GM title? 16:00- What is Renier’s approach to the opening? What else did he do to train? Mentioned; KillerChessTraining.com 22:00- How did Renier’s wife, WGM Raluca Sgircea, help him with his daily habits?  25:00- Renier discusses his early years growing up in Cuba, moving to Chile and then to Spain in his teens and 20s  Mentioned: GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista, Chess Reddit thread about Renier’s GM title   31:00- We discuss the congratulatory notes Renier has gotten, including this tweet from GM Kevin Goh Wei Ming  Mentioned: Episode 184 with GM Kevin Goh Wei Ming  34:00- Did an emphasis on physical fitness help his chess? What about community? 43:00- What is the best way to spend one’s chess improvement time? 46:00- Renier’s recommended open tournaments, based on his time on as a traveling chess professional: Mentioned: Benasque, Spain Chess Open, Menoraca, Sitges  51:00- Renier’s favorite chess books Mentioned: Perfect Your Chess, Dynamic Chess Strategy by GM Mihai Suba  54:00- What did Renier learn from playing Fedoseev and other super GM-level players?  1:03:00- Renier’s most memorable game Mentioned: Video of his World Bitz victory vs. GM Peter Svidler  1:10:00- Thanks to Renier for sharing his inspiring story!  You can reach him via his Lichess coaches page or find his classes at KillerChessTraining: https://lichess.org/coach/RenierChess KillerChessTraining.com If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this week’s (non-Candidates) podcast I am honored to be joined by Lou Hays. Lou Hays is a businessman, accomplished chess author, and the founder of Hays Publishing, which published many popular books beginning in the 1990s. Lou also is an accomplished amateur player, who began tournament chess in his 20s and made it up to near master level. Lou has had the opportunity to meet some of the true legends of the game, and shares some amazing stories about his time spent with Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and David Bronstein. We also discuss how chess improvement has, and has not changed over the decades, as well as Hays Publishing’s most successful books, and how the chess publishing industry has changed. I greatly enjoyed hearing Lou’s stories, and I am confident that you will as well.  0:00-  Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com. New courses include GM Romain Eduoard’s Lifetime Repertoires: King’s Indian Attack.   If you use the link below to sign up for a Chessable pro membership, it helps to support the pod!  https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro Mentioned: Winning Chess for Juniors   https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Juniors-Hays/dp/1880673932 0:03- In 1992, Lou got to spend the weekend with Bobby Fischer. How did that come about, and what was the experience like? Mentioned: Bobby Fischer, Complete Games of the World Champion, Zita Rajcsanyi, Ken Smith (founder of Chess Digest and the Smith-Morra Gambit), Fischer voicemail is on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/shorts/CCa15k61MLY?si=igrs2WYVuyYHbltj 25:00- Lou shares his own chess story, including how chess improvement has, and has not changed  Mentioned: Hastings 1895 (Out of print), NM John Jacobs, Hal Bogner, IM Anatoly Lein  37:00- What was it like to spend a weekend with Boris Spassky? 46:00- Lou tells the story of playing legendary blitz player Israel Zelber.  49:00- How did Lou get into the chess publishing business?  Mentioned: My System: 21st Century Edition, Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Stuart Margulies, Yasser Seirawan  55:30- Patreon mailbag question: Would Lou consider putting Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors on Chessable?  Mentioned: James Stallings  1:00:00- Lou is also an accomplished improver at golf! Are there any parallels to chess improvement? Mentioned:Lou’s book Make Your Golf Dream a Reality ,  1:01:00- What was it like to spend time with legendary GM David Bronstein? Mentioned: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein by Genna Sosonko, Mikanes Bronstein 1965  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Picking up on the theme of FIDE politics from the last episode, ChessBase Editor-in-Chief Macauley Peterson also spoke with IM Malcolm Pein while attending the first stop on the Grand Chess Tour in Leuven, Belgium. Macauley and Malcolm discuss the GCT 2018, which is continuing with more rapid and blitz in Paris, before turning to issues related to the FIDE election. Malcolm weighs in on the FIDE / Agon proposed "broadcast policy," the upcoming World Championship in London, why he joined the Makropoulos team, the impact of the pending RCF nomination of Arkady Dvorkovich, whether the election will be free and fair, and of course his old friend Nigel Short. While you listen, swing by the ChessBase shop, using this special link through which any orders will help support Perpetual Chess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week IM Eric Rosen joined me to give a report from the 2017 Sinquefield Cup, where he has been doing some reporting. I also asked him to recap his epic Summer Chess Europe trip. We also talked about Eric's favorite podcasts, some ways to improve your chess game, and the secrets of the robust scholastic chess scene in the state of Illinois (which I kept calling Chicago for some reason. :-) ) . Thanks to Eric for a great conversation, follow him on twitter here, check out his website and blog here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back for one more 2024 FIDE Candidates reflection as we start to take stock of a historic tournament. Joining me (again) to discuss it is renowned trainer, opening theoretician, Chessable author, and 2022 Dutch National Champion, GM Erwin Lami. Erwin has frequently collaborated with GM Anish Giri, and he was on the World Championship preparation team for GM Veselin Toplov. Erwin shares his thoughts on GM Gukesh’s impressive ascendance, Fabiano and Nepo’s disappointment, and what this result does and does not mean for the trajectory of professional chess. We also discuss the performance of the other players, the Women’s Candidates, and Erwin’s plans for 2024. I always love to hear Erwin’s perspective, and discussing this tournament was not an exception. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  Thanks to our sponsors Chessable.com! Check out what they have to offer, and if you sign up for Chessable Pro (as you should), use this link to help support Perpeutal Chess: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro 0;00- Upcoming events and info: Chess in the Schools Poker Fundraiser; https://secure.givelively.org/event/chess-in-the-schools-inc/chess-in-the-schools-poker-night-fundraiser National Open/Las Vegas Chess Festival Info: https://www.vegaschessfestival.com/national-open/ 4:30- GM Erwin L’Ami joins me! What does he think made this tournament was so compelling?  10:00- How surprised was Erwin by Gukesh’s performance? What should we expect from him from here?  18;30- Patreon mailbag quesiton: “How can Caruana recover from his devastaiting loss to Nepo? “  .27:00- What did Erwin think of Nepo's performance? 29:30- Where does Nakamura go from here? Will this be his last Candidates?  38:00- What went wrong for GM Alireza Firouzja?  43:00 What are Erwin’s thoughts on Pragganandhaa’s performance?  46:00- What were Erwin’s thoughts on the Women’s Candidates?  49:00- Where might the World Championship be held? Would it help or hurt Gukesh if it were in India?  53:00- Who does Erwin think would be the favorite in Gukesh vs. Ding? Mentioned: Gotham City Podcast with GM Gukesh  57:00 Does the format for the Candidates or Candidates qualification need to be changed?  Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade’s blog post  1:08:00- What are Erwin’s remaining 2024 plans?  Thanks as always to GM Erwin L’ami for providing his perspective!  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s return guest is the always entertaining and informative, GM Ben Finegold. Ben is a popular Twitch Streamer and YouTuber who has just released his first Chessable course, Starting out with 1. D4. Ben is always among my favorites to interview because he offers a unique blend of entertaining stories, hot-takes on top level chess and improvement advice. This episode is no exception, as Ben discusses the status of his OTB retirement,  whether Magnus Carlsen’s best OTB days are behind him, the resurgence of Hikaru and Fabiano, and why doing a course on 1. D4 was an easy choice for him. You can find a full list of topics discussed below, as well as timestamps.  0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com!  Get Ben’s new Course Starting out with 1.d4 here: https://www.chessable.com/course/156667 You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/  0:03- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ben ever regret pursuing chess, or think that adult amateurs should not devote so much energy to it?” Mentioned: IM Stuart Rachels, GM Patrick Wolff, Stuart Leaf  0:08- Is Ben having any second thoughts about retiring from OTB chess?  Mentioned: The National Open  11:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Ben’s advice for amateurs who want to improve at chess?”  17:30- How does Ben think back on the four years he was covering lots of events for US Chess in Europe in the 1990s?  Mentioned: Chess Life Magazine Archive, Kasparov-Karpov 1991 22:00- Ben shares more memories from the 1988 World Chess Festival  Mentioned: Ray Stone, Fred Lindsay, GM Jonathan Speelman, GM Valery Salov, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ivanchuk-Kasparov Linares 1991, Linares, Linares  30:00- Ben’s updated thoughts on the Magnus-Niemann controversy 33:00- Why did Ben decide to do a course on 1. D4 ?  42:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ben have a refutation to Marc Esserman’s refutation of Finegold’s line in the Mayhem in the Morra book and Chessable course?” 47:00- We discuss Norway Chess and whether Ben is surprised by GM Fabiano’s Caruana’s resurgence.  48:00- Has Magnus peaked? Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein, GM Dmitri Gurevich, GM Eric Lobron  50:00- How does Hikaru stay so strong?  52:00- Which junior has the best chance of being World Champion?  55:00- Ben’s wife Karen won a seat to the World Series of Poker Main Event! Will Ben go? Will he play poker?  57:00- Other summer plans  Mentioned: Episode 292: Adult Improver Interview with Karen Boyd  58:00- Thanks, as always,  to Ben for joining the pod! Here are the links to keep up with him.  Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/itsbenandkaren YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/c/GMBenjaminFinegold Chessable Course https://www.chessable.com/starting-out-with-1d4/course/156667/ Chessable Course and Master Class Bundle- https://www.chessable.com/starting-out-with-1-d4-queen-s-gambit-fundamentals-masterclass/course/182439/   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cody Smith is a 31 year old Alabama- Twitch streamer, and chess instructor.  Cody started serious chess at age 24 and has seen a slow and steady climb over the years to a Lichess blitz rating of about 2050 and about 2150 Rapid. Cody is self-taught, using free online resources and has barely ever cracked a chess book!  He recently has tried out OTB tournaments, and offers lots of useful reflections and advice for anyone interested in making a similar transition. Cody also offers lots of tips about how to get the most out of game review, and shares his approach to studying openings, tactics, and many other phases of the game. Please read on for many more details, timestamps, and any relevant links.  Check out the rest of the Adult Improver series here Or on this Spotify Playlist 0:00- Are you interested in appearing on Perpetual Chess as an adult Improver? Please fill out this form so that I can keep it for future reference: Potential Adult Improver Guest  02:00- Cody’s chess beginnings  Mentioned: GM Simon Williams YouTube, IM John Bartholomew’s Climbing the Rating Ladder, NM ChessNetwork’s Beginner to Chess Master, GM Ben Finegold, IM Levy Rozman, GM Daniel Naroditsky’s Speed Run  09:00- Why didn’t Cody play much speed chess in his early chess days?  12:00- Cody discusses his approach to engine game review.  21:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. Check the site out, and if you choose to subscribe, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  24:30- Has Cody hit any major rating plateaus?   26:00- How many hours a day does Cody spend on his chess? 28:00- Cody has recently begun playing an OTB live league in Alabama. What can he share about that experience? Was he nervous? 40:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here.  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com 41:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Cody’s approach to learning from videos?” 45:00- What is Cody’s approach to learning about openings?  Mentioned: My blog can be read on Chess.com or LiChess  50:00- Chesskid offers a safe environment for kids to learn chess, and provides opportunities to play against other kids and bots, watch instructive videos and lessons, do puzzles, and join clubs where coaches can run tournaments.  You can receive a discount when you sign up or upgrade your child or students to a gold membership by using this link: https://www.chesskid.com/membership/promo/perpetual CHESSKID CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS- Play the Anand bot here, he’s the avatar on the bottom right  If you win, draw, or last at least 40 moves, email the game or your Chesskid screenname to support@chesskid.com (with subject line Perpetual Chess) The first 3 winners receive a free 1 yr gold membership both for themselves and 1 kid  54:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Cody think about the issue of Twitch streamers and their followers potentially forming ‘parasocial relationships.’ ” Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold  1:01:00- What is Cody’s advice for getting into Twitch streaming?  1:05:00- Cody has also gotten into scrabble, shogi, and go, how does learning these games compare to chess?  Mentioned: Episode 263 with Oliver Roeder, GM Mathew Sadler, GM Peter Heine Nielsen 1:11:00- Thanks so much to Cody for sharing his tips and his story.  Follow CLSmith15 on his Twitch channel here.  Follow him on Twitter here.  If you would like to help to support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Perpetual Chess features an interview with USCF Master and renowned Cognitive Scientist Christopher Chabris. In the world of psychology, Christopher is best known for his collaboration with Daniel Simons regarding "inattentional blindness". This was most famously demonstrated in the viral Youtube video called "Invisible Gorilla." Professors Chabris and Simons later published a book expanding on their research and Christopher has published many more interesting studies related to human biases and cognition. But of course, we mostly talked about chess and how Christopher's research relates to chess! Are there examples of "inattentional blindness" or other cognitive biases in chess competitions? If so how can we combat them? Detailed advice on how to assimilate chess patterns and improve quickly at the game based on Christopher's experiences and his knowledge of how the brain works. Stories from Professor Chabris' time in the chess world. He has been in involved in publishing chess books and periodicals (see here), and has rubbed shoulders with Kasparov, Caruana and other chess luminaries. A discussion of the state of Christopher's own chess game, and some prominent and some lesser known chess book recommendations. Thanks to Christopher Chabris for a fascinating discussion! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elizabeth Spiegel is a USCF expert who played in the US Championship in 2006 and the US Women’s Championship in 2007. Of course, her greatest accomplishments have come in the realm of coaching, as she is an award winning and renowned scholastic coach, as well as a New York Public City School teacher.  Elizabeth has been a guiding force for the incredibly successful Junior High School chess program at IS-318 in Brooklyn. The students at IS 318 have amassed 57 National Championship Titles (!!), and the program was featured in the award-winning, outstanding 2012 documentary, Brooklyn Castle.  Elizabeth was honored as the 2019 Chess Educator of the Year by University of Texas at Dallas, and her teaching was also memorably featured in the excellent book, How Children Succeed.  In our conversation, Elizabeth shared tons of insights from her experiences as a chess teacher, and parent. We also talked about ways to further popularize chess, and a bit of  US Chess politics, as Elizabeth voiced her frustration about some recent rule changes relating to age groupings at US Chess Scholastic Nationals. Please read on, as always for more details.  If you are not seeing any embedded hyperlinks in the episode description, you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/12/10/episode-155-elizabeth-spiegel 0:00- We begin by talking about the chess activity in Elizabeth’s own household. Wiith chess-obsessed 12 and 6 yr old’s living under her roof, she sees a lot of chess learning first hand.  Mentioned: FM Mike Klein of Chesskid (aka FunMasterMike), Chessable, The Steps Method 13:50- How much is it appropriate for typical scholastic players and club level players and study openings?  Mentioned: Elizabeth’s 2019 Chess Educator of the Year Acceptance Speech, FM Justus Williams, NM James Black, FM Donny Ariel  19:30- 2 Patreon supporter of Perpetual Chess submit questions for Elizabeth asking for some teach tips.1)  How to motivate students to do chess puzzles? 2) How to manage classes with disparate skill levels?  Mentioned: The great chess Books for kids by Jeff Coakley 25:00- How has Elizabeth’s teaching changed since Brooklyn Castle was released in 2012?IS 318 Web Site  Mentioned: IS 318 Vice-Principal John Galvin, Facebook Chess Teacher’s Forum, Katie Dellamaggiore (Director of Brooklyn Castle), John Hamm of Mad Men    32:00- To check out the World Championship chess mugs, go toChessmugs.com. If you decide to buy a set of mugs, use the code “perpetualchess” at checkout to save 15%. 33:00- Elizabeth shares a few more book recommendations.  Mentioned: Mastering Chess Strategy, Positional Decision Making in Chess,  Chess School: The Manual of Chess Combinations. More of Elizabeth’s favorite books for teaching can be found here and here.  37:00-  How could chess be better marketed? Elizabeth thinks there should be more titles in scholastic chess, and that chess could be better marketed to autistic students.  Mentioned: IM Cyrus Lakdawala   45:00- As Elizabeth details on her blog, in 2019 the US Chess Scholastic Committee changed the rules regarding which grade levels are eligible for Junior High Nationals prizes. Despite the fact that most schools labeled “Junior High” in the U.S. go up to 8th grade, the US scholastic Nationals allows 9th graders to compete for Junior High prizes as well. As Elizabeth explains, this primarily benefits private schools and magnet schools, at the expense of more traditional junior highs, such as, IS 318. A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks for Elizabeth’s thoughts on this issue, as well as whether it may have effected her winning the 2019 Chess Educator of the Year prize from University of Texas at Dallas.   Mentioned: Elizabeth’s blog, FM Sunil Weerumantry, WIM Beatriz Marinello, J.J Lang’s Perpetual Chess Interview  1:03- We discuss Elizabeth’s developing thoughts on chess parenting.  Mentioned: GM Jonathan Rowson’s All the Moves that Matter , Elizabeth’s beginner curriculum is available for download here,   Elizabeth’s “pin and skewer puzzle” here- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=Ohq5ew6aMX8jfa/9PpWEh02Z/+kYuDvPO6m93orqYYhrxTLkgkYoQifCP5/kltL7 Solution here-  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=9X/QHzGoTQrE3QVL9browbeYG4G76LfpL8sT73650khNCeYFbxN1wTRYJhcptlP0 1:09- Thanks to Elizabeth for joining us! You can keep up with her via Facebook and her blog.  If you would like to help support the kids at IS 318, you can do so here: https://t.co/YUUvGHIl1L?amp=1 If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chess Books Recaptured is back to discuss one of my favorite chess books ever, Mikhail Shereshevsky’s Endgame Strategy. Unlike a technical manual, this book simply shows some of the greatest endgame conversions of all time, and pulls together themes from the play, such as “do not hurry,” and “the principal of two weaknesses.” It is an intermediate to advanced book, best suited to those rated over 1600 USCF/FIDE. Joining me to guest co-host is my fellow chess podcaster, Dr. Kevin Scull. Kevin is an avid chess enthusiast who returned to the game in recent years. He has been working through Endgame Strategy in recent months and believes it has “transformed his game." Please tune in to the pod to find out why, as well as to the usual historical context, favorite chapters and lessons, and more. Please read on for more details and timestamps.  0:00- We dive right into Kevin’s history with the book, and discuss what chess experience level is best suited to this book.  Mentioned: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings, 100 Endgames You Must Know 9:00- What is the “principle of two weaknesses?” 15:00- We discuss another key precept of the book- “do not hurry.” 18:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com! If you subscribe, be sure to use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Check out their yearly recap here:  https://www.aimchess.com/recap 19:00- We share a bit about Mikhail Shereshevsky’s bio, the background of the book and its few minor flaws. Mentioned: Lots of discussion of Endgame Strategy on The Facebook Chess Book Collectors Group  32:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels- Chessable.com 34:00- What are our favorite parts of the book? Least favorites?  Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Magnus Carlsen, Episode 195 with GM Keith Arkell, Fred Wilson Books, GM Edmar Mednis Endgame Books here, Timeless Techniques by GM Sahaj Grover and FM Daniel Barrish, Small Steps to Giant Improvement, Smyslov-Aronin 1951, Episode 261, “Master to IM”  58:00- Thanks so much to Kevin for helping out this month. As an honorarium I will make a donation to the Berkeley Chess School.  Mentioned: Under the Surface, Episode 239 with GM Jan Markos  Be sure to subscribe to Chess Journeys on your favored podcast app. Chess Journeys Episode 28 with Neal Bruce. Follow Kevin on Twitch  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess we are joined by award winning chess author and renowned trainer, GM Jacob Aagaard. It has been more than 2 years since our last long-form interview, and we had tons of topics to cover. We discussed topics including the rise of the top young talents in the chess world, potential World Championship format chances, and chess business news. There was also plenty of talk about chess training and improvement. Our talk about improvement was particularly focused on endgames, because Jacob has recently released an ambitious and highly informative new book, A Matter of Endgame Technique. This book is nearly 900 pages in length and is packed with practical tips and illustrations of moments at which Grandmasters have gone wrong in endgames. Although Perpetual Chess is an audio only format, we tried to extract a few lessons that listeners can apply to their own games. GM Aagaard is never hesitant to share his opinions, and I always learn a lot from speaking with him. You can find timestamps of the topics discussed, as well as links for topics referenced below.  0:01-  Perpetual Chess Link Fest Sign Up- https://benjohnson.substack.com/ GM Jacob Aagaard Blog post about his experience working with GM Hans Niemann  https://forum.killerchesstraining.com/t/paranoia-and-insanity-by-jacob-aagaard/856 0:02- Jacob discusses the “tidal wave” of young chess talents emerging from India and elsewhere. In 10 years, how many of the top 20 players in the world does he predict will be from India? 13:00- Which young players does Aagaard consider most likely to someday be World Champions? Mentioned: Gukesh-Abdussatorov 2022, IM Levy Rozman Gukesh Interview  21:00- What in particular precipitates Jacob’s suggestion that IM Vaishali R may someday be Woman’s World Champion? 24:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 25:00- What was Jacob’s reaction to the news that Chess.com is acquiring The Play Magnus Group?  35:00- Patreon Mailbag Question- “What does Jacob think of potential changes to the World Championship Format?”  51:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out all of their latest offerings here:  https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 53:00- What chess lessons can we learn from Jacob’s great new book A Matter of Endgame Technique?  Mentioned: Think Like a Super GM, Under the Surface, Chess Tactics from Scratch, Positional Decision Making in Chess, Thinking Inside the Box  1:05:00- What is “The Steinitz Rule”? 1:11:00- What is “The Shankland Rule”? 1:16:00- Patreon Mailbag Question- “What books similar to Thinking Inside the Box does Jacob recommend?  Mentioned: Chess Structures, GM Johan Hellsten, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, The Road to Chess Improvement  1:20:00- What does Jacob think of GM Firouzja’s game? 1:24:00- Patreon Mailbag Question- “Does Jacob think it is important for trainers to occasionally play?”  Mentioned: Charlotte Chess Center, IM Kassa Korley  1:30:00- Jacob discusses his pending emigration back to his native country, Denmark  1:33:00- What is the structure of Jacob’s training academy, Killer Chess Training?  Mentioned: GM RB Ramesh 1:41:00- Thanks to GM Aagaard for joining us! Links below: Book- A Matter of Endgame Technique Quality Chess- http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ Killer Chess Training Facebook- 365 Chess Academy / Killer Chess Training | Facebook GM Jacob Aagaard’s Twitter- https://twitter.com/GMJacobAagaard?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess I am joined by co-authors of a great new book, Winning the World Open, by GM Joel Benjamin and Harold Scott. Joel Benjamin is a 6 time World Open Champion, 3 time US Champion, 2020 US Senior Champion, an Author, a Trainer and a Dad. He has been amongst the top 50 players in the world and battled with many chess legends over the years, as we discussed in our prior interview in 2018. His co-author is FIDE certified trainer, tournament director and USCF expert, Harold Scott. Their book is part historical retrospective, part chess instruction and has lots of fun stories and tons of instructive high stakes games. We discuss the history of the largest open tournament in America and tell some amusing stories involving cheating, alcohol, and, of course, chess. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- Ukraine related links:  Photo of GM Alexandr Sulypa here  US Chess/Kasparov Chess Support for Ukrainian Chess Players Initiative here  Here are many other ways to support Ukrainians directly, via GothamChess’ Twitter:  https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ 03:00- Brenda Goichberg who was CCA founder Bill Goichberg’s wife, and a key contributor to the World Open, among many other things, passed away recently. Harold shares a few details about her personality.  07:30- How did this book come into being?  09:30- The World Open was founded in 1973. What were the early days of the World Open like?  Mentioned: GM Bent Larsen  14:00- GM Joel Benjamin has won the World Open more times than anyone else? What are his most memorable moments? Who were the most impressive competitors?  Mentioned: GM Alex Yermolinksy, GM Alex Shabalov, GM Alex Goldin  24:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. Check the site out, and if you choose to subscribe, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  25:30- What are the most memorable cheating scandals at the World Open? Mentioned: GM Alexander Shabalov, GM Nukhim Rashkovsky, GM Igor Glek, “John von Neumann vs. Daniel Shapiro   39:00- Any memorable stories involving alcohol at the World Open? Mentioned: GM David Norwood  42:00- Any tips for playing under pressure and/or in large stakes games?  Mentioned: GM Ilya Nyznhik  47:00- GM Eduard Gufeld was notoriously irascible. What memorable stories can Joel and Harold share about his behavior? Mentioned: Gufeld’s “Mona Lisa” vs. Bagirov 1973, FM Sunil Weerumantry, Weerumantry-Gufeld 1996, Benjamin-Gufeld 1998, GM John Fedorowicz  55:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here:  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels- Chessable.com 55:30- Patreon Mailbag Question: “Will Joel sell his stockpile of Chess Chow magazine?” 58:00- Patreon Mailbag Question: “Does Joel have any tips for converting advantages?” Mentioned: Better Thinking, Better Chess, GM Ilya Smirin  1:01:00- Do the authors have some general tournament advice to share?  1:06:00- Patreon Mailbag Question: “Any chance the authors would write a book about the famed US Amateur Team tournaments?”  Mentioned: Facebook Chess Book Collectors Group  1:11:00- SIGNED BOOK CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS- Write a review or simply give 5 stars on Spotify to Perpetual Chess  Take a screenshot  Email the screenshot to Ben at perpetualchesspod.com with the subject line “Contest” That’s it! Winners will be announced via email on March 15, 2022.  1:12:00 Thanks to Joel and Harold for joining the show! Here is where to get their books: Amazon Ebook via New in Chess App  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14-year-old David Brodsky has been piling up the norms lately and has recently achieved the final norm necessary to earn the International Master title (pending 20 more FIDE rating points and FIDE approval). We talk about the secrets of his chess success, how he developed his ability to write about chess, how math competitions compare to chess tournaments, and the differences between the FIDE and the US Chess rating scales. Read all of David's excellent tournament recaps and chess advice on Chess Summit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chess Books Recaptured is back for another review and discussion of a chess book. This month, I am joined by Steve Wollkind, to discuss the excellent book and Chessable course Chess Tactics from Scratch. The title might make you think it is for beginners, but it is actually an intermediate-level book which aims to break down the core elements of various tactics. The book was written by an accomplished adult chess learner, and Steve believes that this is evident in the clear explanations of basic tactics. The book is differentiated by an incredible selection of illustrative positions, making it a great choice for chess students and teachers alike. To learn more about the book please tune in. You can find timestamps of topics discussed and links below.  To apply to be a guest-co host on Chess Books Recaptured please submit an email via this link: Interested in Guest co-hosting Chess Books ReCaptured? — The Perpetual Chess Podcast 0:00- Steve discusses his background and why he suggested the book/Chessable course, Chess Tactics from Scratch.  10:00- Chess Tactics from Scratch is available on Chessable, in book form, and on Forward Chess  13:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 14:30- We discuss the history behind the 2 editions of the book,which was originally called Understanding Chess Tactics.  22:00- We share a few quotes in which the author breaks down tactical concepts like the pin and  “The Reloader” 29:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Be sure to check out what is new, including NM Bryan Tillis’ Olimpiad course for Pro Members, as well as their other great new courses.  31:00- We share a few favorites quotes and explanations from the book.  Mentioned: The Inner Game of Chess by GM Andy Soltis  42:00- Do we have any quibbles with this book?  Mentioned: Thinking Inside the Box, GM Boris Gelfand’s Books, Chessable’s The Checkmate Patterns Manual 53:00- Thanks so much to Steve for suggesting a great book and helping out. I will be making a donation to The Gift of Chess on his behalf.  Follow Steve on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/stevewollkind And on his chess accounts here: Steve’s Chess.com Steve’s Lichess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chess Books Recaptured returns to discuss an excellent game compilation book, The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games by GM John Nunn, GM John Emms, GM Michael Adams, and GM Wesley So. Joining me to discuss the book are cognitive scientist and USCF Master, Dr. Christopher Chabris, and a co-author and editor of the book, FM Graham Burgess. We discuss questions such as “What defines a great chess game?” “How are the best games chosen in this book?” “Why aren't any wins by Nakamura or Aronian in the book?” “What other books attempt to cover the best chess games in history?” It is a fascinating project, and the book is excellent, with an amazing compilation of historic games with instructive, succinct prose and high-level analysis. You can find lots more details, timestamps, links below.. Prior appearances by Dr. Christopher Chabris: Episode 95 with Christopher Chabris  Episode 187 with Christopher Chabris  Book Recap #4: Think Like a Grandmaster by Kotov  Book Recap #15: Secrets of Practical Chess and Attack the Strongpoint  Gambit apps on which you can purchase Mammoth for Apple and Google 0:00- Why did Christopher Chabris choose this book to discuss? What is the structure of the book?  13:00- What other game compilations are comparable? Mentioned: Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors, Logical Chess Move by Move, The Most Instructive Games of All Time, The Golden Dozen, Understanding Chess Move by Move,100 Best Games of the 20th Century  20:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. Check the site out, and if you choose to subscribe, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  21:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Better Help. You can see some online reviews here, and if you sign up, use this link to save 10%: https://www.betterhelp.com/chess 22:00- We are joined by the co-author and overseer of The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games, FM Graham Burgess 35:00- How did GM Wesley So and GM Michael Adams get involved in the project?  43:00- Graham shares some details on the game selection process.  Mentioned: Kramnik-Kasparov 2000 48:00- Did the authors think of using engines to judge the “quality” of the games?  Mentioned: Krogius-Stein, Kasparov-Karpov Game 24, 1985 58:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Their new and upcoming courses include GM Simon Williams updating The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, and GM Hans Niemann course on Jobava London.  59:00- We return to discuss some highlights of the book.  Mentioned: Gufeld’s Mona Lisa, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, Boguljubow-Alekhine 1922 1:13:00- Which legendary player is featured the most in the book? Mentioned: Alekhine’s Gun , Aronian Anand, Rotlewi-Rubinstein, Anand-Adams 1:23:00- Should they have more engine games? 1:26:00- Patreon mailbag question- “What are Dr. Chabris’ recommendations for aging chess players aka “senior sustainers”? Mentioned: GM Larry Kaufman, Cognitive Chess  1:31:00-  Patreon mailbag question- “Is there a Mozart effect in chess?” If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 year old GM Daniel “Danya” Naroditsky is one of the top players in the US, and won many scholastic titles in his career, including the 2007 World Under 12 Championship. He also has written two chess books, and graduated last year from Stanford University with a degree in history. Since graduating, Danya has relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina and turned his attention to chess full time. Aside from his classical chess accomplishments, Danya is making a name for himself as an entertaining and insightful Chess.com announcer, Twitch Streamer and Youtube presenter. GM Naroditsky is especially talented at fast chess, and has had many blitz and bullet battles with the likes of GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Alireza Firouzja and GM Andrew Tang. Danya sometimes wins and sometimes loses these matches, but the results are always entertaining. In our interview,  we discuss Danya’s many roles in the chess world, and Danya also provides the usual helping of chess improvement talk and entertaining stories. Please read on for more details and timestamps.  0:00- We begin by discussing GM Daniel Naroditsky’s favorite Perpetual Chess interviews and the recent dramatic conclusion to Chess24's Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 46 with IM John Watson, Perpetual Chess Episode 190  with Andrew Zinn, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Hikaru Nakamura     7:30- I love watching Danya play blitz, so I had to ask him about his rise up the ranks, and his battles with the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Andrew Tang and other great bullet and blitz players.  Mentioned: Mechanics Institute Chess Club in San Francisco, IM John Donaldson    14:00- Our conversation segues into Danya’s practical advice for improving at fast chess, expanding on a great series he wrote for Chess.com, starting with The Blitz Chess Manifesto: https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-blitz-chess-manifesto Mentioned: How to be Lucky in Chess: The Swindle, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Alireza Firouzja   24:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Chessable  is constantly releasing new courses utilizing its MoveTrainer technology. It helps players assimilate patterns and learn opening lines efficiently. One of their latest is  a brand new course on the French by Super GM Anish Giri. Check out a free mini-course on it here: https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-french-defense/course/48354/    24:30- We delve more into Danya’s blitz escapades including some great stories of his first encounters with Magnus Carlsen in online blitz.  Mentioned: Limitless,  Daniel’s YouTube Video- One of My Best Wins Against the World Champion:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9rd97X9Too   34:45- How could Danya get better at fast chess? What could he do to crack 2700 ELO at Classical Chess?  Mentioned: GM Lev Psakhis, FIDE World Cup    44:00- Despite Danya’s success with multiple chess platforms, chess teaching remains his #1 passion? Why? And what are the pros and cons of streaming?  Mentioned: IM Levy Rozman    55:00- a Patreon supporter of the podcast writes in to ask Danya to discuss a story he had heard about Danya’s taking  tons of notes about his games when he was a child. If you are interested in supporting Perpetual Chess and submitting questions for upcoming guests, you can find out more here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate Mentioned: Mastering Positional Chess, Mastering Complex Endgames  1:01:30- Danya tells a great story of a personal encounter, as a promising young chess player,  with Garry Kasparov.  Then he names a few of his favorite books.  Learn from the Legends, Zurich 1953, My 60 Memorable Games, Capablanca’s Chess Primer, IM John Donaldson    1:04:30- We talk chess improvement, as I ask Danya the age old question of how to manage chess study time.  Mentioned: The Best Move    1:07:30- GM Naroditsky answers a Patreon mailbag question regarding whether he enjoys announcing scholastic tournaments, and how the presentation of these events could be improved.  Mentioned: GM Robert Hess, Chess.com’s “I am Not a GM tournament”   1:11:00- Why are all these Chess Twitch stars so good at chess impersonations? Here is Danya doing GM Yasser Seirawan and GM Garry Kasparov  Mentioned: IM Levy Rozman, GM Aman Hambleton, GM Alexander Grischuk   1:14:00- Why did Daniel relocate to Charlotte, and how is life there? Mentioned: FM Peter Giannatos, Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy, Charlotte Chess Center Summer 2020 Norm Invitationals    1:19:00- Thanks so much to GM Naroditsky for his insights, impersonations and fun stories. Here is how to keep up with him: His Website- http://danielnaroditskychess.com/Home.html YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP9CdeguNUI-_nBv_UXBhw Twitch-https://www.twitch.tv/GMNaroditsky Twitter-https://twitter.com/gmnaroditsky?lang=en      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s double episode features one more look back at the historic 2022 Chess Olympiad. We are joined by two different guests who  just returned to their homes from Chennai. Our first guest is Lula Roberts, a 24 year-old popular Twitch streamer who got the chance to represent her country (Jersey) at the Women’s Olympiad. Lula retells her chess results and her many memorable moments at what she hopes will be her first Olympiad of many.  Speaking of many Olympiads, our second guest is return guest and award winning author and historian, IM John Donaldson. John served as captain of the United States’ team for the 14th time, so he was able to draw on his vast knowledge of prior Olympiads to contextualize this one. In addition to discussing the Olympiad, John is a leading scholar of Bobby Fischer, so we discuss John’s latest Fischer research and his upcoming projects later in the interview. It was a lot of fun to get two vastly different perspectives on the Olympiad, and I am already looking forward to the next one in 2024! 0:00- Intro, brief discussion of the results of the Olympiad 4:00- Thanks to our presenting sponsors, Chessable.com, be sure to check out Grind like a Grandmaster, and Levon Aronian’s new course, along with the rest of their huge catalog of chess courses.  https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 4:45- Lula Roberts joins the show!  5:00- How did the opportunity for Jersey and Lula to compete in the Olympiad present itself?  Mentioned: Jen Shahade’s book Chess Queens  8:00- Lula discusses the tournament itself, as well as how she spent time in between rounds  24:00- Did she like the team dynamic as opposed to individual tournaments? 26:00- What has Lula’s approach to chess improvement been?  30:00- How did the Reykjavik Open compare to the Olympiad for Lula?   37:00- Thanks to Lula Robert for joining the show! Here is how you can keep up with her: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lularobs Linktree: https://linktr.ee/lularobs 38:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 40:00- IM John Donaldson joins the show just after returning home to the U.S. John gives an overview of the tournament from his perspective.  Mentioned: Chessbase Interview with GM Ivan Sokolov, coach of the Uzbek team, Giri vs. Vidit Death Match  1:06:00- What is a typical day like for the captain of the team at the Olympiad?  1:21:00- How will John look back on this tournament?  1:31:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does John have any plans to publish additional Fischer physical books?  1:33:00- Is it true that Fischer liked to yell “Bobby Kill!” during his blitz games as a teen?  1:34:00- More info on the Spassky-Fischer exhibition in St. Louis is here: https://explorestlouis.com/event/1972-fischer-spassky-the-match-its-origin-and-influence/2022-09-27/ 1:3700- Has John heard anything about the health of GM Boris Spassky recently?  Mentioned: Episode 64 with GM Melih Khachiyan  1:47:00- Thanks, as always to IM John Donaldson for joining the show! If you haven’t already be sure to read Bobby Fischer and his World.  Bobby Fischer and His World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week features another return guest, as John Hartmann joins me from the US Chess Championships in St. Louis. As listeners who heard our popular first interview will recall, John is the book reviewer for Chess Life Magazine, but they may not know that he was also recently named digital editor for Chess Life Online. Some of the highlights of this conversation include: a discussion of the 2019 US Championship, a rundown of some recent standout chess books, details on John’s new job, and his reflections on how to find work in the chess world. For timestamps and relevant hyperlinks, please go to the episode webpage here: www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/4/2/episode-120-john-hartmann-returns If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loek Van Wely is the 8 time Dutch National Champion, and he has played against and analyzed with many of this era's greatest chess players. Which one of them impressed him the most? He answers that question when he joins the podcast this week.  We also talk Dutch chess history, tales from his chess travels, and Loek discusses what it was like to work with GM Kramnik, as he reflects on his life, career, and the current chess landscape. You can contact Loek via Facebook here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 year old GM Andrew Tang (aka “PenguinGM”) is a former National High School champion chess player, popular Twitch streamer and Princeton University student. He is best known as one of the strongest “bullet chess” players in the world. Andrew is quite possibly the fastest moving Grandmaster in the world and has had many epic online battles with other elite bullet players like GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Daniel Naroditsky, and GM Alireza Firouzja. In our conversation, Andrew shares some great stories from his bullet battles, and talks about the origins of his chess skills. Other highlights of the interview include the lessons he learned from his childhood coach IM John Bartholomew, the feeling of playing GM Magnus Carlsen in person in the World Blitz championship, and his professional plans when he finishes college. This was a fun conversation with a very talented young man. More details and timestamps below.  2:00- How is Andrew so fast at chess? When did he realize he was good at bullet? What kind of mouse does he use?  Mentioned: IM Ali Mortazavi, Azio Exo1 Gaming Mouse  10:00- Does Andrew play video games?  Mentioned: Video of Andrew playing 2D Aim, Cloud9 Gaming  12:00- How did Andrew learn to convert winning endgames so quickly?  Mentioned: GM Daniel Naroditsky  13:30- Who, in Andrew’s opinion, are the best bullet players in the world?  Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Daniel Naroditsky, FM OrangeGhost (not OrangeCrush, as I said)  16:15- How does GM Andrew Tang describe his exchanges with GM Magnus Carlsen ? Mentioned: FIDE World Rapid and Blitz, Watch Andrew’s OTB Blitz Match with Magnus here 20:00- What are Andrew’s goals in Classical chess, if any? What are his professional plans for life after college?  23:30-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out their site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  24:00- Chessmood offers a huge library of instructive videos. You can hear GM Avetik Grigoryan on Episode 192 of Perpetual Chess. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel here.  25:00- How seriously does Andrew take his blitz game? How did he develop his tactical vision?  Mentioned: Episode 164 with IM John Bartholomew  29:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Do you have any advice for getting better at time management in blitz?” 33:00- Does Andrew plan on playing in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz if it happens?  39:30-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest offerings here.  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com Also be sure to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast, more info here: https://howtochess.com/ 40:00- Who is the strongest player Andrew has ever played in classical chess?  Mentioned: GM Le Quang Liem, GM Wesley So, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Nikola Mitkov 44:00- What was it like to have IM John Bartholomew as a coach?  47:30- What are Andrew’s most memorable online bullet escapades?  51:00- Quick hitter round. Andrew answers Twitter questions relating to browser tabs, playing chess against prisoners, blindfold chess, and his upcoming schedule.  Mentioned: Video of GM Andrew Tang playing blindfold UltraBullet  1:10:00- Thanks to Andrew for coming on the show! Here is how to keep up with him: Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/penguingm1 YouTube-  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcJxY7NovRrYCsxyl6qaFLA Twitter- https://twitter.com/penguingm1 Email-  Penguingm1 at gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest on the podcast is adult improver Dr. Luka Popov. Luka is a 39 year-old Croatian dad, theoretical physics Ph.D., software engineer and content creator. Luka started serious chess in 2017, and was primarily emphasizing over-the-board chess before the pandemic. Then he  switched to online chess, and  his Lichess rapid rating has gained about 250 points in the last 1.5 years.  Luka shares a lot of his wisdom and experiences on his YouTube channel called “The Adult Chess Improver.”  As the channel and our interview make clear, Luka has quickly gained expertise in the topic of adult chess improvement, and our interview is filled with quality recommendations for like-minded players. Please read on for lots more details.  My guest on the podcast is adult improver Dr. Luka Popov. Luka is a 39 year-old Croatian dad, theoretical physics Ph.D., software engineer and content creator. Luka started serious chess in 2017, and was primarily emphasizing over-the-board chess before the pandemic. Then he  switched to online chess, and  his Lichess rapid rating has gained about 250 points in the last 1.5 years. Luka shares a lot of his wisdom and experiences on his YouTube channel called “The Adult Chess Improver.”  As the channel and our interview make clear, Luka has quickly gained expertise in the topic of adult chess improvement, and our interview is filled with quality recommendations for like-minded players. Please read on for lots more details.  0:00- Luka delves into his chess background.  Mentioned: Agadmator, Hanging Pawns 12:00- Why does Luka think many titled players struggle to understand the plight of adult improvers?  Mentioned: IM Andras Toth, Dr. Jana Krivec  17:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here:  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 18:30- Why is it important for improvers to try to acquire chess skills rather than gain chess knowledge?   Mentioned: Neal Bruce  26:00 What do Luka’s family and friends think of his chess hobby? 28:30- Luka answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to developing board visualization.  Mentioned:: Jason Cigan, JJ Lang, Benedictine’s Basic Chess Patterns: https://www.chessable.com/basic-chess-patterns-/course/46181/ Also Mentioned: Chesstempo, Perpetual Chess Book Recap of Woodpecker Method and Michael De La Maza’s Rapid Chess Improvement: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/4/17/bonus-pod-recapping-the-woodpecker-method-and-rapid-chess-improvement-with-neal-bruce 36:45- Patreon mailbag question: “What are the best ways to improve tactically and strategically respectively?”  Mentioned: GM Jesse Kraai, IM John Bartholomew, IM Andras Toth, GM Jacob Aagaard’s Thinking Inside the Box  43:00- Luka answers another Patreon question: “What is the best way to improve at endgames?” Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know, Positional Chess Handbook by FM Israel Gelfer  45:30- Patreon question: “What advice does Luka have when it comes to setting goals?”  50:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. If you subscribe use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%.  51:00- How does Luka think about the concept of “ceilings” in chess potential?  55:30- What are Luka’s plans for tournaments as the pandemic recedes?  1:01:00- What other hobbies does Luka have?  1:05:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Popov for joining the show.  Be sure to follow his YouTube channel here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCChy0letCdw0KtnMnfAukLw You can email him at drpopovchess at gmail.com -  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Vasyl Ivanchuk is a modern chess legend who has won countless tournaments including the 2016 World Rapid Championship and the 2007 FIDE World Blitz Championship. He has been ranked #2 in the World on 3 separate occasions. Vasyl is known for his creative play and his wide opening repertoire. Vasyl joined me just after the World Championship concluded to share his thoughts on the match, and to discuss his recent foray into Twitch streaming, his passion for checkers, and to answer my many questions about his illustrious career. So much fun to talk chess with "Chucky!" You can follow/subscribe to Vasyl's Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/ivanchukchess 0:00- Intro, Match Wrapup 6:00- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk joins the podcast! If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the FIDE Chess Olympiad enters the homestretch, it has been as entertaining as ever. It is hard to keep up with all of the emerging storylines, but Chessable's Mr. Dodgy joined me from Budapest to discuss a few, as well as to describe the atmosphere in Budapest and at the playing hall. Topics covered include: the cell phone camera controversy, GM Ding Liren's disappointing performance, India's dominance, and the inspiring story of Eman Sawan. You can find links to all of the stories referenced below. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the tournament! 0:00- Welcome  3:00- How Budapest compares to the 2022 Chennai Olympiad  5:55- The Women in Chess Foundation 08:56- The Kramnik camera phone controversy  12:00- GM Ding Liren’s uninspiring performance at the tournament  15:00- Final thoughts: Is India inevitable?  Find out more about the phone in the playing hall controversy here: https://x.com/chess24com/status/1837226230082588923 Chessbase India shorts: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessBaseIndiachannel/shorts Check out FM Mike Klein’s interview with Palestinian star performer Eman Sawan here: https://x.com/chess24com/status/1836815099614400866 Magnus arrival by bicycle to an early round: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1ffxngn/twitter_photochess_magnus_carlsen_arrives_late/ GM Peter Svidler’s Ding Liren comment: https://x.com/FIDE_chess/status/1836397064143438001 Thanks to Mr. Dodgy for joining, Check out the Women in Chess Foundation here: https://www.womeninchess.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we return with another “Chess Improvement Q & A” episode, with another top trainer. Our returning guest is 2-time Swiss National Champion, turned trainer and blogger, GM Noel Studer. Noel is always insightful on everything related to chess improvement. He answers a wide range of questions from the online chess community. Topics discussed include: how to diagnose weaknesses, what to look for in a chess trainer, limiting blunders,and improving tactics, as well as Noel’s helpful advice for dealing with various common psychological pitfalls that chess players face. After 75 minutes of chess improvement talk, we turn our attention to Noel’s new course, Beginner Chess Mastery. It is a comprehensive guide for newer chess players, designed to take you up to about the 1200 level. If this describes you or someone you know, you will want to stay tuned until the end of the pod. Timestamps of all the topics discussed can be found below. If you or someone you know is below 1200 and looking to improve their games, check out Noel’s course. (on sale for a limited time)  (Using this link helps to support Perpetual Chess)  Beginner Chess Mastery  Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter, the Perpetual Chess Linkfest, here:  https://benjohnson.substack.com Sign up for Noel’s chess improvement blog here: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter/ 0:00- Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com. New courses include Introduction to Chess Calculation, and GM Ganguly’s Lifetime Repertoires: Sidelines and Flank Openings for Black   If you use the link below to sign up for a Chessable pro membership, it helps to support the pod!  https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro Prior Noel Studer appearances on episodes 248 and 312  04:30- Chess improvement Q and A! Is it possible that an amateur player would be a better teacher for a beginner than a Grandmaster would?  Mentioned: Nate Solon’s Tweet Also Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard 18:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Noel diagnose what a student needs to do to improve? How does he know when a weakness has been sufficiently addressed?”  22:00- Advice for limiting blunders  25:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Noel’s advice for someone who struggles at rapid speed compared to slower time controls?”  31:00- Advice for improving at tactics  Mentioned: 600 Practical Chess Exercises  36;30- Is it more effective to have a coach than to use online training courses?  38:00- Noel’s excellent advice for avoiding making impulsive moves.  45:00- Noel’s advice for a player who struggles to embrace complications when short on time 51;00- Is one better off studying the games of lower level masters compared to those of Super GMs and the all-time greats?  56:00- What does Noel think of solitaire chess/guess the move?  1:00:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Diet and weight loss are known as the keys to losing weight. What are the chess-improvement analogs to diet and weight loss?”  1:03:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are some ways to evaluate improvement besides rating?”  1:05:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Noel’s favorite chess book on the middlegame?”  Mentioned: Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios  1:07:00- Does Noel think its better to repeat tactical puzzles a la the Woodpecker method, or to solve new ones?  1:09:00- Noel’s tips for avoiding burnout  1:13:00- What is the best time control to practice online?  1:15:30- We discuss Noel’s new course, Beginner Chess Mastery 1:19:50- Who is the target audience for this course?  Thanks to Noel for joining me again!  Sign up for his blog here: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter/ And get his course here (using this link helps support Perpetual Chess): https://nextlevelchesscourses.teachable.com/p/beginner-chess-mastery?affcode=1152624_qcx_s87s If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan “JJ” Lang is a Chicago-based 28 year old Philosophy grad student, chess player and chess teacher. In July 2018, JJ returned to tournament chess after a 7 year hiatus. In the following 17 months, he has taken his rating from 1798 to a high of 2106!! How has he done it? Can it be easily replicated? Tune in to hear all of JJ’s reflections on the keys to his rapid improvement. Timestamps, links and more details can be found below (or if the links aren't showing up, check for them at PerpetualChessPod.com) Enjoy!  0:00-  We dive right into JJ’s chess background. What brought him back from a 10 year hiatus from tournament chess? To which factors does he attribute his impressive success?  Mentioned: Marshall Chess Club,  JJ’s coach, WGM Adriana Nikolova, Charlotte Chess Center, FM Peter Giannatos   14:00- A few of the secrets of JJ’s success include: 1) Play in tournaments as frequently as possible 2) Address your biggest weaknesses (openings in his case). In this segment JJ expounds on these lessons.  19:00- JJ reveals a good rule of thumb for when to calculate in faster time control games, and we discuss JJ’s approach to different time controls generally.  Mentioned: Nathan Kelly, Chicago Chess Blitzers, National Blitz League, Stephen Jennings, Tom Murphy  33:45- Back to openings! How did JJ fix his opening repertoire?  Mentioned: Chess Structures by Mauricio Flores Rios, Listen to GM Flores' Perpetual Chess Interview here 40:00- How did JJ allocate his chess study time, and what would he recommend for others? JJ has a unique approach to studying openings that could be helpful for many.  Mentioned: GM Ding Liren, FM Kamil Plichta, Jay Bonin, Rubinstein-Janowski 1907 (30… Qb8!) 47:30- How does JJ recommend tweaking his approach to study for lower rated players? This includes some tactics books recommendations for the 1500-1800 level. Magnus Carlsen’s explanation for the move he missed vs. GM Matlakov can be found within this recap by Peter Doggers of Chess.com Mentioned: ChessTempo, Chess.com tactics trainer, Chess Tactics for Champions by Susan Polgar, Chess by Laszlo Polgar, LiChess, Chess Calculation Training by GM Romain Edouard, Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation by Jacob Aagard, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand,  Carlsen-Matlakov 2019, Tactics Time by Tim Brennan, Winning Chess Exercise for Kids by Jeff Coakley, The Steps Series, Can You be a Positional Chess Genius by Angus Dunnington, Practical Chess Exercises by Ray Zheng  1:05- We talk a bit how JJ’s approach to playing has changed since he moved to Chicago, and what tournaments he is planning. Mentioned: Chicago Class Tournament, Amateur Team Midwest, Adia Onyango  1:10- We go back to discussing JJ’s opinion on how to allocate one’s study time.  Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know, NM William Aramil of Dynamic Chess, 100 Endgames You Must Know on Chessable, GM Jan Gustafsson, Christopher Chabris, Prior Adult Improver Interview with Jason Cigan, My Great Predecessors on Chessable  1:23- JJ gets philosophical (as is his wont) about why he quit chess and why he came back.  1:34- We wrap up with JJ’s contact info. Find him on Facebook, chess.com or contact him via email   If you would like to find out more and/or support the “Square Off Chess robot” Kickstarter project that I mentioned at the top of the show, check it out here.  If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess features NM Jeremy Kane:   Blitz specialist, USCF Master, Curriculum Director for Chess.com, and the author of the new book, The Next to Last Mistake.   Jeremy gained nearly 200 points in his 20s, and has a peak USCF rating of 2389.  Because he is the dad of two young kids, Jeremy has recently  turned his attention to online blitz. Jeremy shares some great tips for how to adapt your game to faster online play. Jeremy’s chess.com blitz rating is usually around 2700, so clearly he has some expertise on this subject. Jeremy is also a chess bibliophile, and a former scholastic teacher, so he is full of good chess- improvement advice and recommendations for chess players of all ages and experience levels. As always, relevant links and timestamps can be found below.  0:00- To Keep up with Ben’s blog:  Follow me Chess.com  Follow me on LiChess 03:00- For those rated under 1500 online, what is the best way to spend one’s chess improvement time?  Mentioned: Adult Improver Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos, GM David Smerdon’s The Complete Chess Swindler  09:00- How did Jeremy ascend from 2200 to 2390 USCF in his 20s?  Mentioned: Silver Knights Chess Academy  14:00- A few of Jeremy’s favorite game-collection books. Mentioned: My Great Predecessor’s, Seven Deadly Chess Sins, Chess for Zebras, Young Sam Sevian vs. Greg Shahade video, The Road to Chess Improvement  22:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Better Help. You can see some online reviews here, and if you sign up, use this link to save 10%: https://www.betterhelp.com/chess 22:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out all of their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 23:30- How has Jeremy adapted his game to online play, and blitz in particular?  Mentioned: IM Kostya Kavutskiy’s Video on the Tromp Wall  29:00- For what rating level is blitz a useful training tool? (plus more blitz tips)  Mentioned: GM Daniel Naroditsky Article The Blitz Manifesto  34:30- Aimchess has a brand new feature called Aimchess recap! It summarizes your year in chess a la Spotify wrapped. If you subscribe to Aimchess, be sure to use code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  Check it out here: https://www.aimchess.com/recap 35:30- Patreon mailbag question: “As a dad, has it become difficult to stay motivated for chess?”  38:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Jeremy’s advice for a fellow dad who is working on chess while tired?” Mentioned: Gotham Chess YouTube, Kostya Kavutskiy YouTube 43:00- The Chess dot bomb sponsored segment is brought to you by Chess.com! Jeremy and I discuss the Lessons feature which contains interactive instruction for players of all levels. Here are a few of Jeremy’s favorites:  GM Eugene Perelshteyn’s “Every Gambit Refuted” -  GM Fabiano Caruana’s “Road to the World Championship”  GM Shak Mamedyarov’s Games vs. World Champions  IM Kostya Kavutskiy’s - “How to be Materialistic in Chess”  If you decide to upgrade to a premium membership at Chess.com, you can help support the pod by signing up using this link (https://go.chess.com/Perpetual). 46:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Why are the Chess.com Puzzle ratings sometimes so high?” 48:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What are some tips for teaching chess to kids?” Mentioned: https://www.chesskid.com/classroom-planner, Chesskid Curriculm PDF- Chess Steps books  55:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Jeremy agree with the advice that one shouldn’t resign?”  Mentioned: Episode 48 with Jonathan Corbblah  59:30- How does Jeremy recommend budgeting study time?  1:00:30- Thanks to Jeremy for joining the show. Here is how you can keep up with him:  Jeremy’s book is called The Next to Last Mistake , edited by Ali Thompson.  You can follow Jeremy on Twitter here You can email Jeremy at Jeremy at chess dot com    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Adult Improver Series returns with two insightful guests joining the podcast. WIM Natasha Regan is an author and actuary who among many other chess accomplishments recently became the British over 50 Women’s National Champion! Natasha recently collaborated on a Chessable course with Matthew Ball, who is a chess dad and dedicated improver who has made significant rating progress since returning to competitive chess in recent years. Natasha and Matthew shared lots of helpful chess study tips covering topics ranging from The Woodpecker Method, to the Chess Steps series, to whether one should alter their approach to a game against a younger opponent. We also discussed their fun and instructive new course, Zwischenzug: A Comprehensive Guide to Intermediate Moves. You can find timestamps for all of the topics discussed below.  0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com!  Check out Natasha and Matthew’s new CHessable course here: : https://www.chessable.com/zwischenzug-a-comprehensive-guide-to-intermediate-moves/course/139623/ You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/  0:03- Matthew Ball and Natasha discuss their shared background as junior players, and how their paths recrossed in recent years.  7:30- Patreon mailbag question- Does Natasha have any different strategies when playing against kids as compared to adults?  17:00- Matthew came back into chess a few years back and his seen some rating gain. He discusses his training regimen.  Mentioned: Chess for Life, Chess Steps Books, Woodpecker Method  22:00- More on the Woodpecker Method  Mentioned: Pump Up Your Rating by GM Axel Smith, Book Recap #6 on the Woodpecker Method  23:00- How does Natasha tune up for a tournament?  26:00- Natasha discusses some similarities between Shogi and Chess.  Mentioned: Karolina Styczyńska of the Shogi Harbor Twitch Channel  32:00- Matthew shares a few more improvement recommendations.  35:00- Why did Natasha and Matthew decide to do a course on intermediate moves?  45:00- Natasha and Matthew discusses their approaches to openings  52:00- Do they work with coaches?  56:00- Natasha and Matt discuss their tournament and summer plans.  Thanks so much to Natasha and Matt for joining the show!  Check out their course here: https://www.chessable.com/zwischenzug-a-comprehensive-guide-to-intermediate-moves/course/139623/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Jonathan Levitt is a chess journalist, an author and a professional cricket bettor!  Jonathan is retired from competitive chess, but he has written a few great chess books, including co-authoring the classic Secrets of Spectacular Chess, and Jonathan has recently released his first non-chess book,  Contemplating Comedy, which, as you might guess, is a meditation on the topic of humor. In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss Jonathan’s varied chess career, his transition to cricket betting, the upcoming World Chess Championship, and the intersection of chess and humor. There is lots to learn from Jonathan, so I hope you all enjoy this conversation. Please read on for many more details and relevant links.  London Chess Festival Info here!-  https://www.englishchess.org.uk/chessfest-in-londons-trafalgar-square/ 0:00- We tackle the age old question, “What constitutes chess talent?” This is a question that Jonathan grapples with in his excellent 1997 book, Genius in Chess.  Mentioned: IM Malcolm Pein, Episode 20 with GM Timur Garyev, Book Recap #10- Talking Blindfold Chess with Jerry Wells, Episode 95 with Dr. Christopher Chabris  14:00- Jonathan answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag relating to ways he could potentially tweak his famed “Levitt question.”  18:00- Jonathan tells the story of what he learned from studying and sharing a house with legendary GM Alexei Shirov.  Episode 189 with GM Patrick Wolff  25:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out their site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  26:30- What were the key components to Jonathan’s own chess improvement path?  Mentioned: GM Mikhail Botvinnik, Lasker’s Manual of Chess, Fischer’s 60 Memorable Games  35:00- Secrets of Spectacular Chess by Jonathan and FM David Friedgood is a great book that shares a lot of brilliant endgame studies. Did endgame studies help Jonathan’s own game?  41:00- Jonathan talks about the only “real job” when he worked for a few months for the original Kasparov Chess website.  Mentioned: Mig Greengard, GM Vladimir Kramnik 43:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest offerings here.  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com Also be sure to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast, more info here: https://howtochess.com/ 44:00- How did Jonathan’s chess background help him become a professional cricket bettor? What does his work entail?  Mentioned: Episode 57 with GM Pascal Charbonneau  53:00-Jonathan’s newest book, Contemplating Comedy is a meditation on what makes things funny. Does Jonathan think chess players are funnier than non-chess players? Does he have any good chess jokes?  Mentioned: GM Tony Miles, GM Nigel Davies, GM Nigel Short, GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Benjamin Finegold, GM Jan Gustafsson  1:04:00- What were Jonathan’s interactions with Kasparov like?  Mentioned: Magnus Carlsen, GM Bobby Fischer  1:09:00- What are Jonathan’s thoughts on the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match?  1:11:00- Thanks so much to Jonathan for joining us!  Here is how to keep up with him:  Buy his books here:  Amazon.com Follow him on Twitter here:  https://twitter.com/JonathanLevitt7?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor You can email him directly at jonathanlevitt at btinternet.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elliott Neff, my guest this week on Perpetual Chess comes to us direct from the Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia.  Elliott is a USCF Master who founded the thriving Chess4Life chess education organization. He is also a chess trainer who will be releasing his first book, A Pawn's Journey: Transforming Lives one Move at a Time, on October 9. Elliott and I discussed: Elliott's perspective on the Olympiad. This is his first time attending, so he told us what has surprised him about the event. He reported on a couple of the teams, including the Ugandan women's team, which he is helping to coach. How Elliott became a friend and coach of Phiona Mutesi of Queen of Katwe fame. Plus, Elliott gives an update on Phiona's life and chess career since the release of the movie telling her story. Elliott's recommendations for chess improvement, plus some awesome advice on how to get better at blindfold chess and visualization. What inspired Elliott to write a book? What impact can chess have away from the chessboard? Thanks to Elliott for joining me. You can reach him via Chess4life here, or at his website here. If you would like to help support the podcast go here.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM David Howell is the three-time champion of the United Kingdom and holds the record as the youngest player to earn the GM title in UK history. He has been a top 50 player in the world rankings and has a peak rating of 2712. He has been well-known in British chess circles since the age of 8, when he impressively beat GM John Nunn in a blitz game! As David tells, such accomplishments,have come with amazing opportunities, such as playing against and alongside GM Magnus Carlsen and training with GM Garry Kasparov, but he has also had to reckon with significant external expectations placed on him from a young age.  In the past year, David has also been getting more involved in chess media. He is now the chess columnist for The Times of London, was one of the broadcasters of 2019 Gibraltar Chess, and has begun doing entertaining “banter blitz” shows for Chess24.com. David also recently released a great instructional DVD, called “Winning Grandmaster Methods: How I Got to 2700.” We discuss all aspects of David’s chess work, and David candidly relives the ups and downs of his chess career, and shares some of the standout stories and improvement advice from his DVD. Please read on for more details and timestamps.  0:00- We chat a bit about how the coronavirus is treating David, and what he has been up to lately, including his newly released instructional DVD with GingerGM productions.    Mentioned: Seaford UK, Fiona Steil-Antoni vlogs, Tarjei Svenson, GM Glenn Flear, Jonathan Tuck Get David’s DVD here:  https://www.gingergm.com/shop/winning-grandmaster-method-how-i-reached-2700   12:00- David reflects on his early successes as a chess player, which included a highly publicized victory in a blitz game over GM John Nunn when David was only 8 years old.    Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Maxime Vachier Lagravel, GM Ian Nepomiatchi, GM Sergei Karjakin GM Gukesh, GM Nihail Sarin, GM Praggnanandha    17:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks what a player of David’s caliber sees in his head when he calculates.  Mentioned: IM Mark Dvoretsky’s books, WGM  Irina Bulmaga, IM Alex Astaneh Lopez The challenging study David mentions is here (courtesy of GM Howell). Study without solution- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=Thm/+4QGsQHfyDb55qwo4REWIVCKvhD977E7/BrRE7MFkgmTATFslXhf5s5JATWH Study with solution and GM Howell's notes- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=Thm/+4QGsQHfyDb55qwo4ZWrCY08yKCmpxLo+sU05WHO9bKH07ZkGszC+OXuIZvb   26:00- What was it like to have high expectations placed on him by chess fans once David was identified as a bright chess talent? Does he think about different paths his career might have taken based on different life choices?  Mentioned: GM Nihail Sarin, GM Alireza Firouzja   35:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable. If you want to work on knowing the classics and improving your calculation at the same time check out Chess Calculation Training 3: Legendary Games, by GM Romain Edouard https://www.chessable.com/chess-calculation-training-3-legendary-games/course/1587/    36:45- What was it like to travel to GM Garry Kasparov’s home to play training games with him in 2017?    43:45- GM Howell also helped Peter Svidler prepare for the 2016 Candidates Tournament.  What did he learn from that experience?    45:30- What does GM Howell think of this year’s FIDE Candidates so far?    46:30- Out of his recent jobs as banter blitzer, chess writer, chess announcer, and chess competitor, which is David’s favorite?    Mentioned: GM Jan Gustafsson    50:00- In the final rounds of the 2019 Chess.com Isle of Man Grand Swiss, GM David Howell came agonizingly close to qualifying for the 2020 FIDE Candidates, but he missed out. How has he processed that experience?  Did it affect his mental health?  Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Simon Williams, WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, GM Wang Hao-Howell 2019    57:30- David tells a few more fun stories about encounters with celebrities, both in and out of the chess world.  GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, GM Magnus Carlsen, Woody Harrellson, Dave Grohl    1:01:00- We discuss a bit more of what can be learned from David’s instructive and fun DVD, Winning Grandmaster Method, How I Reached 2700.   Mentioned: Short-Timman 1991, Fischer-Benko 1963, Howell,D-Bitalzadeh 2009,  GM Simon Williams, IM Simon Ansell,    1:05:00- Thanks to David for a fun interview.  Help him boost his follower count on Twitter and Instagram.    David’s Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DavidHowellGM?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor David’s Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/davidhowellchess/?hl=en   If you would like to help support the podcast you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vishnu is a 31 year old tech consultant, chess author and dad who has been waking up at 4 AM to study chess for hours before his family and work life begins. Vishnu shares his study routine and chess resource recommendations from studying chess intensively in recent years. Vishnu also candidly discusses his long term goal of becoming a GM, a goal that many would say is impossible for someone with so many other responsibilities to achieve. Lastly,  Vishnu’s shares some of his best advice from his new book,  The Chess Bible – Most Instructive Tips, Axioms, One-Liners & Mantras. Although I am not sure if Vishnu will be able to achieve his ultimate goal, I enjoyed talking chess with him and can’t wait to see how his chess journey continues to unfold. Please read on for timestamps and relevant links.  0:00- Why does Vishnu work so hard on his chess? What are his goals?  Mentioned: Vishnu’s rating page is here 4:30- Why does he think no one has ever gone from the 2100 level to GM in their 30s? What makes Vishnu think he can be the first?  8:00- Vishnu details his study routine.  10:00- Welcome to the Chess dot bomb! Vishnu utilizes his Chess.com premium membership by making Puzzle Rush a part of his daily routine. If you decide to upgrade to a premium membership at Chess.com, you can help support the pod by signing up using this link (https://go.chess.com/Perpetual). Mentioned: GM Noel Studer’s Next Level Chess Blog  12:00- Vishnu continues discussion of his daily chess study routine? Mentioned: Chess Tempo, ChessMood.com, Blog Post- How Grandmasters Memorize Openings  25:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 26:00- How has Vishnu’s routine changed? How often does he compete?  30:00- Vishnu shares a few book recs: Small Steps to Giant Improvement, Soviet Middlegame Technique  33:00- How does Vishnu deal with frustration and naysayers?  Mentioned: FM James Canty, GM Ben Finegold, GM John Shaw  38:00- Does Vishnu’s tournament routine change with a tournament coming up?  42:00- What has Vishnu learned from ultra marathon runner David Goggins?  47:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 48:00- We discuss Vishnu’s book. He shares the inspiration for The Chess Bible – Most Instructive Tips, Axioms, One-Liners & Mantras and shares a few axioms…  Mentioned: IM Jeremy Silman’s How to Reassess Your Chess, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy  1:01:00- What improvement advice would Vishnu give to other improvers?  Mentioned: 45 Positional Methods and Techniques, Chess Training for Post Beginners  1:04:00- Thanks to Vishnu for joining me! You can find him on Facebook or email him at kvwarrier108 at gmail dot com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An ongoing World Championship match means more bonus coverage from Perpetual Chess! I am joined by FM Mike Klein from on-site in Astana, Kazakhstan. Mike and I chat about the surprising turns that have taken place in a match that has already seen 2 decisive results in 4 games, as GM Ding Liren looks to have overcome a rocky start. In addition to discussing the openings, Mike shares details about what the venue is like and how it compares to the other World Championships he has attended. You can find brief notes and timestamps below.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsor, Chessable.com. You can check out some of my favorite Chessable courses for different rating levels here:  https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ Ding Liren course here: https://www.chessable.com/world-class-ding-liren-/course/164045/ 02:00- What is the venue like, are there lots of fans there? Which chess personalities are at the match?  10:00- Ding’s mindset- has he turned the tides in the match after a slow start?  18:00- We have seen a different opening in all 4 games, will we start to see some variety?  23:00- How does Astana compare to Dubai and the other World Championships Mike has attended?  28:00- Thanks to Mike Klein for joining me! Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ChessMike?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2024 FIDE World Championship has been somewhat surprisingly tense and entertaining, and is tied after 6 games. I was privileged to be joined by two return guests to discuss the following:  Trainer, author and FIDE Press Officer, IM Michael Rahal (0:00) describes the venue in Singapore and provides behind the scenes details and perspective on the match. GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (35:00)  has been Commentating the Event for The TakeTakeTake YouTube Channel and therefore has analyzed every move as it occurs. He discusses the Openings, as well as whether he thinks Ding can continue to keep Gukesh on his heels. We hope to have more bonus coverage to come, and will definitely be following and covering the World Championship once it has concluded. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is FM Andrey Terekhov, who has recently released the book, The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov. (With Foreword by Peter Svidler!) This biography about the 7th World Champion is an excellent book that has critics raving. The book features both game analysis and biographical details, and our conversation also covers both life details, as well as takeaways for adult improvers from Smyslow’s games. Andrey had access to Smylov’s private archive and has been laboring during nights and weekends on this book for years. Away from the board, Andrey  has a Ph.D. in computer science, and works for Microsoft in its Singapore office. Andrey is also a devoted dad, and of course, an active chess player when time permits. Thanks to Andrey for sharing so many details from this great, multi-volume project! Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks.    0:00- To join or find out more about the North American Corporate Chess League, go here: https://www.nacorporatechess.com/   0:02- FM Andrey Terekhov discusses his background and chess in Singapore, where he lives. He talks about the beginnings of his giant Smylov project. .  Mentioned: John Hartmann, FM Carsten Hansen, Perpetual Chess Episode 184 with GM Kevin Goh, Andrey’s interview with Olimpiu Urcan is here: New Smyslov research project | ChessBase, Junior Tay, Find Andrey’s free course on The Two Knights Defense on Chessable here: https://www.chessable.com/two-knights-defense/course/18646/   11:30- Andrey reads the opening paragraphs of his book, The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov, and discusses Smyslov’s amazing feat of making the Candidates semi-finals at the age of 63!    16:00- What can club players learn from Smyslov’s approach to chess?  Study the classics!  Focus on endgames    21:30- Is it true that Smyslov didn’t calculate that much during his game?  Mentioned: Hans Kmoch, Max Euwe, GM Vladimir Kramnik    26:15- What are some lesser known facets of Smylov’s playing style from which we can learn?    29:00- What did Smyslov do better than other great players? How complex/understandable is Smylov’s style of play?  Mentioned: Smyslov-Golombek 1947, Smyslow-Euwe 1946, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Peter Svidler    34:30- How did the project of annotating the games compare to that of researching Smyslov’s life?    37:00- How does this book compare to GM Genna Sosonko’s Smyslov on the Couch?    41:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Chessable has a new course on the Najdorf by GM Anish Giri, and you should also check out Andrey’s free course on The Two Knights Defense here: https://www.chessable.com/two-knights-defense/course/18646/   42:30- What was it like to go to Moscow to visit Smyslov’s estate?  Masterpieces and Dramas of the 20th Century by Sergei Voronkov   49:30- Was he hindered by the Soviet government?  Did Smyslov ever consider defecting?  Mentioned: GM Mikhail Botvinnik    54:00- What was Andrey’s experience like growing up in the Soviet Union? Mentioned: Everything was Forever Until it was No More    58- How much was Smyslov’s music career affected by his chess aspirations?    1:03:00- How were Smyslov’s career, and chess generally, affected by World War 2?  Mentioned: Bazya Dzagurov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Isaac Boleslavsky   1:08:00- How did it Andrey persuade GM Peter Svidler to write the foreword for his book? Mentioned: GM Peter Svidler, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Vasily Yemelin, GM Aleksei Lugovoi, GM Sergey Klimov, FC Bayern Munich, and Baden-Baden Bundesliga teams, GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM Viswanthan Anand    1:13:00- What has Andrey learned about chess from studying hundreds of Smyslov’s games?    1:17:00- Andrey book giveaway! If you write a 5 star review on the Perpetual Chess Apple Podcasts page- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perpetual-chess-podcast/id1185023674 email a screenshot to Ben at Perpetualchesspod.com by January 8, 2020 to win a copy of the book    1:18:00- Thanks so much to Andrey for writing this book and joining the show! You can keep up with Andrey the following ways: Chess.com- https://www.chess.com/member/ddtru Facebook-Andrey Terekhov | Facebook Twitter- https://twitter.com/ddtru If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The popular and prolific chess author, FM Carsten Hansen is my guest this week. By his current count, Carsten has written 26 chess books.. The depth of his chess knowlege is quite impressive, but his knowledge of chess openings is a particular specialty.  Carsten and I discussed the following topics: Carsten's latest book, The Full English Opening. How did he pick the topic, and what is the story of how he came to love the English opening? How did his initial venture into the world of writing and publishing chess books come about? He also shares some insider intell on how the chess publishing business works, including the impact that Print on Demand may have on the industry in the future. Carsten's favorite chess players, advice for chess improvement, and a couple of book recommendations that have not previously been suggested on Perpetual Chess. Thanks to Carsten for joining me. You can buy his books here, Follow him on twitter here, and check out his webpage here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the bombshell news that GM Hans Niemann is suing Magnus Carlsen, Chess.com, and Hikaru Nakamura, we brought in a legal expert to help us make sense of the case. I am joined by Professor David Franklin. David is a Constitutional Law Professor and an appellate lawyer, who is also a chess enthusiast who had already been following the Carlsen/Niemann story closely. In our conversation, David answered important questions about the legitimacy of the lawsuit, and which potential scenarios are likely to unfold from here. You can find timestamps of topics discussed below.  0:00- I review a few key points about the Niemann lawsuit.  Mentioned: Here is the Niemann complaint 6:30- Thanks to our chess sponsors, Chessable and AImchess. If you decide to subscribe to Aimchess, use this link or the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  08:00- Professor David Franklin joins the podcast.  9:00- Did he expect a lawsuit? 11:00- Can Magnus be held accountable for damages in the U.S. as a Norwegian citizen.  13:00- Is this writing style in the complaint likely to impact the case’s outcome?  17:00- Is David surprised that collusion is included in the case?  19:00- Should we take the $100 million amount in this seriously?  20:00- Was David surprised that Hikaru is in the lawsuit?  Mentioned: Akiva Cohen Esq. Twitter Thread 23:00- What is the strongest claim in the case?  36:00- What is the timeline for likely events that will be forthcoming in the case?  41:00- What charges or parties might be struck/removed from the case?  44:00- Do any frivolous elements in the case make it less likely the case will succeed?  45:00- What does David think of the “big picture” issue of OTB cheating?  46:00- Thanks to David for sharing his expertise, you can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DFranklinChi If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FM Alex Dunne is the author of over 12 books,  including the recently released, Fred Reinfeld, The Man Who Taught America Chess. Alex is also an ICCF Correspondence Chess Master, and is well known for  his popular column about correspondence chess in Chess Life magazine, called The Check is in the Mail. In our interview we discuss Fred Reinfeld, correspondence chess, chess improvement, Bobby Fischer and more. Please read on for more details.  0:00- We kick off by discussing Alex’s latest book,  Fred Reinfeld, The Man Who Taught America Chess. We discuss the life and legacy of Fred Reinfeld. Reinfeld was a top 10 player in the US, and is probably the best selling chess author of all time. He was also one of the first Americans to make a living from chess, and managed to do so despite coming of age during The Great Depression.  Mentioned: Israel “Al” Horowitz, Irving Chernev, Fred Reinfeld Whales and Whaling . 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate . Keres Best Games of Chess. 1931-1940  18:00- Alex discusses how correspondence chess has changed at its highest levels, and assesses the future of correspondence chess. We also discuss the nuts and bolts of how correspondence games are transmitted,  and the rules regarding when book/engine assistance is and is not allowed in correspondence chess.  27:45- Alex has written a book about chess books, and has over 2,000 chess books titles in his library, so naturally I had to ask him about chess books.  Mentioned: My Great Predecessors, Vassily Ivanchuk: 100 Selected Games, Mato Jelic’s YouTube Channel , The Complete Chess Course by Fred Reinfeld  36:00- It took Alex about 20 years to go from the expert level to the master level, and then he continued to ascend up to a peak rating over 2400 USCF. How did he improve so much as an adult?  Mentioned. Interview with Bob Ferguson and Alex Dunne  42:00- Alex reminisces about playing ping pong with Bobby Fischer as a teenager. Also mentioned GM Arthur Bisguier, GM Larry Evans  47:00- How did Alex get into chess writing?  49:30- Goodbye! You can email FM Alex Dunne here. If you would like to help support the podcast, go here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess, we are rejoined by 2019 Swiss National Champion, blogger and trainer, GM Noel Studer. Noel is always extremely insightful on matters related to chess improvement, and has recently released a video course sharing his own recommended approach. The course, Next Level Training: Conquer the Chess Information Chaos, tackles many of the questions commonly contemplated on the pod, such as which aspects of the game to prioritize, how to analyze games and how to approach opening study. Noel even has a section on how one should learn any discipline, and relates his experiences as a tennis and poker improver. Lastly, Noel shares some thoughts and his own experiences on cheating in tournament chess and discusses his continuing recovery from a brain injury. You can find timestamps for topics discussed below.  Prior Interview with Noel- Episode 248 with GM Noel Studer  02:00- Patreon mailbag question: I am working hard on my chess, but I am not improving. Should I give up on the possibility of improvement?  13:00- We discuss Noel’s chess course. What audience did Noel have in mind? How did he go about making the course?   19:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 20:00- We discuss a few of the chess improvement recommendations from Noel’s course that resonated with me, and the reasons that they struck a chord with me.  28:00- What was the primary contributor to Noel’s chess growth when he was an up and coming player?  Mentioned: GM Artur Yusopov, Lee Child “Jack Reacher” Novels, The Tim Ferris Podcast  33:00- Why does Noel think it's important to write down one’s thoughts when reviewing OTB games?  37:00- What did Noel learn from doing calculation-training with GM R.B. Ramesh and GM Sam Shankland?  44:00- How would Noel respond to someone who says that his course, at $297, is too expensive? 48:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 49:00- Has Noel read any good books lately?  Mentioned: Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism 50:00- What has Noel learned about chess learning through trying to improve at tennis and poker?   1:04:00- We discuss top level chess, especially the Magnus/Niemann saga and the issue of cheating in chess.  Mentioned: Episode 310 with John Hartmann, Belgian IM Stephen Docx expelled from tournament, Episode 301 with Dr. Kenneth Regan  1:22:00- What is next for Noel? How is his health?  Thanks to Noel for joining me, you can keep up with him by subscribing to his blog! Blog- https://nextlevelchess.blog/ Course- Next Level Training: Conquer the Chess Information Chaos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Ivan Cheparinov is a very active player whose name can regularly be found amongst the top 50 players in the world,. He attained a peak rating of 2718, and has won or tied for first place in many tournaments, including the 2007 European Individual Championships, the 2014 Gibraltar Chess Festival, and the 2009 and 2010 Ruy Lopez Masters.   He has just released his first book, with Thinker's Publishing, called Cheparinov's 1. d4. As we discuss, this is to be the first of a multi-volume project, and offers some fighting lines to play against the Grunfeld and King’s Indian defenses.  Last but not least, Ivan was former FIDE World Champion, GM Veselin Topalov's second for 7 years, and had some great stories to tell from those times. He also dispensed a few important recommendations about the importance of visualization training and fitness for chess players. Please read on for more info and timestamps.  If you aren't seeing embedded hyperlinks on your podcast feed,you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/1/28/episode-162-gm-ivan-cheparinov 2:30- Ivan joined me days before jetting off to the Gibraltor Chess Festival. At the beginning we discussed how he prepares before a big event such as this.  Mentioned: WGM Antoaneta Stefanova (his wife) 4:15- We dive into his book, Cheparinov’s d4, which is available from Thinker’s Publishing (Thinker’s website includes a free preview),  and is also now available on Forward Chess.  Mentioned: Grandmaster Repertoire 1.d4 by GM Boris Avrukh, GM Veselin Topalov, GM Jan Gustafsson’s Lifetime Repertoire, GM Ding Liren, GM Vishy Anand, GM Wesley So, GM Gawain Jones, GM Bassem Amin  18:50-A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks for a less common opening recommendation to use in play against 1. D4 for club players.  Mentioned: The Benoni, The Benko, The King’s Indian, The Grunfeld Opening, Nimzo-Indian, The Slav  21:30 Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable. If you are a club-level player who would like to improve her visualization skills, check out this cool course called Visualize: https://www.chessable.com/visualise-1/course/25695/ 22:30- GM Cheparinov worked with GM Veselin Topalov for 7 years. He shares some stories and reflections from that period.  Mentioned: Topalov-Kasparov 2005 (Kasparov’s last game) , Topalov-Kramnik 2008, GM Jan Smeets  31:00- With the recent publication of the books The Anand Files and Mind Master, a lot of information has been shared about the 2010 Anand-Topalov World Championship match in Sofia, Bulgaria, so I was excited to ask GM Cheparinov (a team Topalov member) about some of the details.  Mentioned: GM Erwin L’Ami , Topalov-Anand World Championship Game 12, GM Vladimir Kramnik  42:00- Both GM Viswanathan Anand and Anand Files author, Michiel Abeln, wrote about Anand’s team’s  fears that team Topalov had a “super computer” at their disposal in 2010 to help with World Championship preparation- Was this true?  Mentioned: Silvio Danailov, Rybka Chess Engine, GM Romain Eduoard, Thinker’s Publishing  47:00- What are GM Chepariniv’s current study methods? What did he do as a rising scholastic player?  Mentioned: GM Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Boris Gelfand, Csaba Balogh’s Chess Books, Perfect Your Chess  59:00- Thanks to GM Cheparinov for joining the show. You can keep up with him via Facebook. Watch his last few rounds of the Gibraltor Chess Festival here.  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week marks the return of the very first Perpetual Chess guest, IM Greg Shahade. With the Pro Chess League set to resume Thursday, January 18, Greg told us about the changes that he and the Chess.com team have cooked up with the goal of improving the viewer experience. He also reeled off the names of some of the top players slated to play this year (Carlsen, Anand, MVL, Caruana, among others). Greg talked about the rules that are in place to incentivize teams to recruit top players, including strong female players. Greg also named a few favorite chess books and relayed advice that he absorbed in his younger days when he took a few lessons with the legendary trainer, IM Mark Dvoretsky. Lastly, Greg and Ben reminisced about the time Greg had a chance to play Garry Kasparov in a simul in 1997. Be sure to tune in to watch the Pro Chess League starting Thursday, January 18 on chess.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In addition to being the funniest person in Germany, Jan Gustafsson is a pretty good chess player. He was once among the 100 highest rated players in the world and is widely respected for his vast opening knowledge. He also co-founded the popular chess site chess24.com and frequently announces grandmaster tournaments where he provides both humor and insight into top level games. In this interview, we talk about his chess career, new fatherhood, and of course about American pop culture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ren Escalera is a 37 year-old dad and adult chess improver. As Ren describes, he had a brief, but strong, passion for chess as a scholastic player in the Phillipines and has rekindled his love for the game in order to help his talented young son improve. Ren’s son, Scott, is rated 1248 at the age of 7, which is good for #16 for his age in the country!  Meanwhile, Ren has seen some vast improvements of his own. Prior to the pandemic, Ren had taken his rating from 1056 to a peak of 1702 in just 1.5 years! How did Ren do it? How did Scott do it? What is next for this powerful father-son tandem?  I think you will enjoy Ren and Scott’s inspiring story, as well as his equally useful chess improvement and parenting reflections. You can find more information and timestamps below.  0:00- We begin by discussing how Ren and his son, Scott, became interested in chess. As Ren describes, he loved chess as a kid in the Phillipines but walked away.  He introduced his son to it when he was a young boy, and it was  then that Ren found himself coming back to it.    10:40- When did his son start to play tournament chess? How did this affect Scott’s interest in chess?    17:00- How many hours per day are Scott and Ren spending on chess? What is their daily routine?  Mentioned: IM Angelo Young, Megan Chen    22:00- What do Scott and Ren study during their 2-3 hours of training per day?  Mentioned: Chess 5334 Problems by Laszlo Polgar, The London System with 2. Bf4 by Ginger GM, Pirc video Damian Lemos, Fundamental Chess: Logical Decision Making by GM Ramesh, Chessking App, Perpetual Chess Episode 190 with Adult Improver Andrew Zinn, Perpetual Chess Episode 42 with James Altucher    28:00- With limited finances, how does Ren’s family handle the expense of chess?    32:00- Are there times that Scott does not want to do chess? How does Ren handle it?    34:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Winning Chess Tactics by GM Yasser Seirawan is one of their latest offerings. You might find it on sale if you act quickly.    35:00- Ren answers a Patreon mailbag question regarding whether he believes its true that club-level players should focus primarily on tactics. After that he discusses his approach to reviewing games.     41:00- Ren answers a question from another of the podcast’s Patreon supporters relating to the nature of his rating climb, and whether he has had moments of stagnation and frustration in his quest to improve at chess.    47:00- Ren gives a bit of advice about how to allocate chess study time.    50:00- Ren gives some advice to a fellow parent about how to potentially introduce his 4 year old to chess.    58:30 Ren discusses his goals, and how he thinks he will approach chess as both he and his son continue to improve.    1:01:30- Thanks so much to Ren for sharing his inspiring story! You can keep up with him via the Kings Wisdom Chess Club web page, or email him at escalerarv at gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This month on “Chess Books Recaptured” we discuss a book that is especially vital for club players, Winning Chess Strategies, by the beloved former top player, turned author and announcer, GM Yasser Seirawan. As the title might suggest, this is a book that focuses on the subtler, non tactical aspects of chess that are not always intuitive for adult improvers. I am joined again by popular guest co-host Neal Bruce. Neal has read many chess books focused on positional chess, and feels that this is the best one. In our recap, we discuss a few of the key concepts, and some of our favorite quotes and games, all of which Yasser explains in his inimitable style. Please read on for more details, timestamps and show notes.  0:00- We begin by discussing why Winning Chess Strategies is a beloved and well-reviewed book, and discussing the various formats in which it’s available.    April 2020- Book Recap: Talking Woodpecker Method Recap with Neal Bruce    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-recap-woodpecker-method-rapid-chess-improvement/id1185023674?i=1000471766064   December 2019- Book Recap: Talking Reassess Your Chess with Todd Kennedy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-recap-talking-silmans-reassess-your-chess-by-jeremy/id1185023674?i=1000460297334 Winning Chess Strategies is in print, and is available on Chessable among other formats: https://www.chessable.com/winning-chess-strategies/course/30038/ 8:30- What guests on Perpetual Chess Have recommended this book?  Mentioned: GM Robert Hess, GM Lev Alburt, Stjepan Tomic GM Maurice Ashley on the Tim Ferris show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/449-grandmaster-maurice-ashley-on-magic-chess-art-trash/id863897795?i=1000486480639   10:30- Despite the oft repeated dictum that chess is “99% tactics” Neal and I both think books like this are important. Why?  Mentioned: GM Avetik Grigoryan on why chess isn’t just tactics: https://chessmood.com/blog/the-myth-about-chess-tactics-and-solving-chess-puzzles   14:00- For what level is this book appropriate? How difficult are the quiz questions?  Neal thinks the 1200 to 2000 range.  I think more like 1000-1800 would benefit the most from it.  Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold    20:45- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com- check out Yasser’s Chessable offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/s/yasser%20seirawan   21:30- We read a few key paragraphs from the book, and then discuss our favorite chapters.    Mentioned: Wilhelm Steinitz, Akiba Rubinstein, GM Jose Raul Capablanca, Aron Nimzowitsch, Tigran Petrosian, GM Anatoly Karpov   30:00- We discuss a few of our favorite strategic concepts from the book. Mine include good, bad and active bishops, static vs. dynamic advantage and rules for when to attack. Neal highlighted the importance of a strong center, and “target consciousness” among a few other ideas.     43:00- We discuss a few of our favorite games from the book. They are: Alekhine-Nimzowitsch- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012683 Steinitz-Blackburne- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1028959  Seirawan-Zarnicki- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1458901 Seirawan-Karpov- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068297 Karpov-Spassky Game 9-  https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067812   Also mentioned: GM Maurice Ashley, Endgame Strategy by Mikhail Sherevsky    50:00- Power rankings! Neal ranks his favorite chess strategy books for club players.   Books discussed include: Simple Chess, Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, The Amateur’s Mind, How to Reassess Your Chess , Chess Strategy for Club Players, Find the Right Plan, and Modern Chess Strategy, Positional Chess Handbook by Israel Gelfer,Practical Chess Exercises, Blindfold Chess    1:02:00- Thanks again to Neal for coming on and sharing his knowledge. You can keep up with all of his chess reading and puzzle sharing by following him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nealbrucebc?lang=en If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Melik Khachiyan is a top player and former chess Olympian. He is also a trainer who has taught many future GMs and has coached the US Women’s national team for many years. Despite his many successes, Melik had never won a US Championship of his own…until this year. In 2023, Melik beat out many higher-rated U.S. legends to comfortably win the U.S. Senior Championship! In our conversation, Melik takes us behind the scenes of the games and opening preparation, and his training regimen during the weeks leading up to the tournament. Melik thinks that he was propelled to victory by a couple of decisions in particular: 1) a focus on physical fitness and 2) his staying active in competitive chess. Melik always has lots of chess knowledge to impart, but his recent successes highlight the importance of perseverance, both at and away from the board. And of course, as GM Levon Aronian’s childhood coach, and a former student of World Champion Tigran Petrosian, Melik always has a few stories to share. You can find timestamps of topics discussed below.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com.  New courses include:  Starting Out: The Scotch by Fiona Steil-Antoni and IM Alex Astaneh  Techniques of Positional Play featuring GM Peter Heine Nielsen  Check out my favorite Chessable courses here:  You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ My prior interview with Melik:  Episode 64 with GM Melik Khachiyan 0:00- Melik explains the story behind his last-minute invitation to the U.S. Senior Championship.  5:00- What did Melik do to change his chess training and fitness routine leading up the tournament?  Mentioned: Khachiyan-Root 2023 12:00- Patreon mailbag question- “How has Melik’s tournament approach changed over the years?”  20:00- Did Melik gain an edge over his competitors by continuing to compete? Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein  25:00- Patreon mailbag question:  Has Melik changed his opening repertoire in recent years? 30:00- What was the story behind Melik’s game with Dlugy which began with the unusual sequence 1. Nf3 c5 2. C3 ? Melik also discusses his unusual preparation for GM Patrick Wolff  Mentioned: Khachiyan-Dlugy 2023, Khachiyan-Wolff 2023 39:00- What  does Melik do to deal with sleep problems that occur during tournaments?  42:00- What are Melik’s memories of competing in the 1996 Olimpiad in Yerevan, with his then student FM Levon Aronian, also on the Armenian team?  44:00- In my recent interview with GM Aronian he discussed traveling to tournaments in the cargo department of a plane. What were Melik’s recollections of those rides? What does Melik think Levon learned from growing up so poor?  Mentioned: Episode 341 with GM Levon Aronian  50:00- How was World Champion GM Tigran Petrosian’s table tennis game? What did Tigran think of speed chess?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guests on Perpetual Chess are the award-winning co-authors and tournament chess players, Dr. Christopher Chabris and Dr. Daniel Simons. Dr. Chabris, of course, is a cognitive scientist, USCF Master, chess dad, and frequent guest on Perpetual Chess. Dr. Simons is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois-Urbana and a tournament chess player in his own right. Their excellent new book, Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken in and What We Can Do About It is not exclusively about chess, but touches on the subject repeatedly,  and has many implications for our game. In our conversation, we talk about the book generally but also try to focus on “chess takeaways,” from the book material,  with a particular emphasis on the future of cheating in chess. Dr. Chabris has also been active on the tournament scene since we last spoke, so he shares a few fresh observations about chess improvement. I learned a lot both from the book and from our conversation, and I am confident that you will enjoy it.  0:00- Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. Check out Anish Giri’s new course Lifetime Repertoires: Giri’s 1. E4 Part 3.   You can also see a list of my recommended courses here:   You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/  0:00- What is misunderstood about “Growth Mindset”?  Mentioned: Chess Improvement, It's All in the Mindset, Episode 199 with Dr. Barry Hymer and GM Peter Wells  7:00- What is replication and why is it important for scientific studies? 12:00- What is “desirable difficulty?”  16:30- Dan and Chris discuss a famous chess study that they recreated on their own involving the ability of chess players of different levels to recall chess positions. Watch the video here: Memory for chess positions (featuring grandmaster Patrick Wolff) 24:00- Are there any studies of chess players that Dan and Chris would like to see done?  31:00- We have a  brief digression on how to deal with email scams, I was surprised by the advice given in Nobody’s Fool.  35:00- What can we do about cheating in chess?  Mentioned: FM Nate Solon’s article Beating Hikaru https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/beating-hikaru More info on Apple Vision Pro: https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/ 48:00- Chris Chabris just played in two tournaments. What were his chess observations and conclusions?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week it was my great honor to get to chat with the acclaimed author, trainer and co-founder of Quality Chess, GM Jacob Aagaard. GM Aagaard is chairing the FIDE trainer’s commission and has worked with elite chess players like GM Sam Shankland and GM Boris Gelfand. Jacob was very generous with his time and wisdom in our conversation. You can keep up with Quality Chess on their blog, and you can email GM Aagaard here. You can find out more about the Quality Chess Academy here. For timestamps and details about all that we discussed, read on. 0:00- Intro and discussion of the vision behind Quality Chess Publishing, co-founded by GM Aagaard in 2004 (along with GM John Shaw and IM Ari Ziegler). 12:40- A brief digression into some Science Fiction shows Jacob has been watching in his scant free-time. He recommends Altered Carbon on Netflix and a German series called Dark. 15:30- We segue into a detailed discussion of Jacob’s most recent highly acclaimed book, Thinking Inside the Box. As GM Aagaard discusses in the book, each move in chess can roughly be categorized into one of 4 decision types: Automatic Decisions (This includes a discussion of this game between GM Sam Shankland and GM Richard Rapport. ) SImple Decisions (This is where Aagaard’s famed 3 questions come into play- 1. Where are the weaknesses? 2. What is the opponent’s idea? 3. Which is my worst placed piece?) Critical Moments (positions where there is a large difference between the best move and the next best move) Strategic Decisions (complicated positions with no clear-cut way to approach them) 34:00- Jacob answers a question from a supporter of the podcast relating to how to use diagrams in chess books. While answering, Jacob rattles off a few of his favorite chess books. They include GM Romain Edouard’s calculation books, Imagination in Chess (out of print), Perfect Your Chess, and the Arthur Yusopov series. As a scholastic player, Jacob was a big fan of legendary Danish player Bent Larsen’s books. 42:30- GM Aagaard tells the story of how he became a trainer of other high level players. For any listener looking for a coach, GM Aagaard recommends his former student, Italian GM Sabino Brunello. Jacob also tells the story of how he became one of the trainers of former World Championship Challenger, GM Boris Gelfand and of US Champion Sam Shankland. 52:00- What feat did GM Sam Shankland accomplish that has gone a but under the radar? What does he think of GM Shankland’s prospects for a continued ascent in the world rankings? 1:02- GM Aagaard answers another question from a Patreon supporter about how to work on your chess when you do not have a coach. Jacob stressed the importance of analyzing one’s own games. 1:08- Jacob discusses his upcoming chess camp, The Quality Chess Academy, which will be co-taught along with renowned trainer R.B. Ramesh. You guys should sign up for the camp, then after attending you should email me to tell me about the camp. :) 1:15- Jacob discusses another new project of his, chairing the FIDE trainer’s commission. 1:26- Jacob gives his opinion on how big a role rapid chess should play in the World Championship Cycle. 1:35- What will be the next phase of chess, following what Jacob calls, “the digital period"? Jacob mentions a couple of alternatives to Chess960 that he finds interesting. 1:42- Jacob’s contact info and goodbyes If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Adult Improver interview is with Derek Wilder. Derek is a 33 year old Detroit- based Scholastic Chess Coach and Chess Podcaster (host of the Detroit Chess Killers pod). Derek is always working on his game, and he recently leveled up and surpassed the USCF rating of 2000 for the first time. This puts Derek in the 95th percentile of all USCF players. It took Derek years of hard work to break through this plateau, and it was illuminating to hear what he believed to be the keys to his success. Derek was quick to credit lots of friends and trainers with advice and tips that helped his game, and he offered lots of advice for those looking to achieve a similar breakthrough. Please read on for timestamps, resources, and people that were referenced in our interview.  0:00- Derek recently had a breakthrough in his OTB game. How’d he get to that moment?  Mentioned: IM John Brooks, Paul Grams, Chrysler Elementary School 08:00 Growing up in Detroit, Derek was one of the top scholastic players in his state, but he was bullied a bit for playing chess. How did he get through it?  09:30- What influence did FM James Canty and others have on his chess game?  12:00- What adjustments did Derek make when he came to chess in 2016 after a long hiatus?  Mentioned: Nunn’s Chess Openings  14:30- What kind of chess learner is Derek?  Mentioned: NM Mike Zaloznyy, IM Atulya Shetty, Derek’s interview with NM Kofi Tatum  18:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice of how to improve your game. Check it out for free and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  19:00- In his recent gains, did Derek focus more on strengthening his strengths or on shoring up his weaknesses?  Mentioned: FM Josh Posthuma, NM Gopal Menon, My System, IM Mark Dvoretsky’s books, IM Jeremy Silman, Charisse Woods 26:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How much did studying theoretical endgames help Derek’s game?”  Mentioned: Kameron Tolliver  30:00- -Patreon mailbag question: “Did Derek’s training method change leading up to his recent breakthrough?” 39:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com 40:30- How big was the goal of reaching the USCF expert level for Derek? Do his students follow his chess progress?  43:00- How does Derek approach his openings?  Mentioned: IM Orlando Husbands, IM Richard Leyva Proenza 48:00- How does Derek think about budgeting for chess tournaments?  49:30- Welcome the the Chess dot bomb! On this month’s sponsored segment we discuss the Global Chess Championship and Chess.com’s new verification feature. If you get verified on Chess.com you are eligible to compete in the $1,000,000 Global Chess Championship for free. If you decide to get verified ($15 for initial verification / $10 per year thereafter), please use this link to help support Perpetual Chess.  Chess.com verification:  Verified - Chess.com Global Chess Championship  https://www.chess.com/article/view/chesscom-global-championship-2022?ref_id=17919348 Premium Membership:  https://go.chess.com/Perpetual 52:30- What does Derek think he needs to do to become a USCF master?  Mentioned: Max Euwe, Tigran Petrosian  55:30- When did Derek start working with coaches? How much do they help him?  58:00- Why is it important to play against tougher competition? Mentioned: FM Ylon Schwartz  1:00:00- Thanks to Derek for joining the pod!  You can check out his podcast, Detroit Chess Killers, here: Detroit Chess Killers Follow Derek on Twitter here:  https://twitter.com/derekewilder Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back with another edition of Chess Books Recaptured, a monthly bonus pod where we break down the highlights, best quotes and chess tips to be derived  from a classic chess book. This month, I am lucky that a friend of the podcast, USCF Master, author, and renowned Cognitive Scientist Christopher Chabris, has agreed to join me to discuss the classic Soviet era book, Think Like a Grandmaster, by GM Alexander Kotov. Lots and lots more details and timestamps below. Enjoy! 😀 0:00- Chris provides a background details and shares why he wanted to discuss this book.  Mentioned: Christopher Chabris’ Perpetual Chess Interview, October 9, 2018,  Recommended by Perpetual Chess guests, GM Rafeal Leitao, GM R.B. Ramesh, and Adult Improver Stepian Tomic (aka Hanging Pawns), Book versions- Batsford paperback, Kindle version,  GM John Nunn, FM Graham Burgess  9:00- What was happening in the chess world when this classic was first published, in 1971?   Mentioned: 1971 in Chess (link includes top 10),  Zurich 1953, GM Bobby Fischer,  The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein by GM Genna Sosonko,  16:00- We segue into some biographical details about GM Kotov.  Play Like a Grandmaster, GM Mikhail Botvinnik, GM Vassily Smyslov, GM Grigory Levenfish, The Soviet School of Chess, The Soviet Chess School, Averbakh-Kotov 1953, Averbakh-Kotov Kingscrusher Video, LiChess Analysis Board, GM Viswanathan Anand  22:00- For what level of chess player is this book best suited?   24:30- Perpetual Chess Recaptured is brought to you in part by Chessable. If you are looking for a great improvement manual for club-level players, check out Chess Strategy for Club Players by IM Herman Grooten here: https://www.chessable.com/chess-strategy-for-club-players/course/27755/ 25:00- We dive into the opening paragraph of the book and discuss the structure of Think Like a Grandmaster.  Mentioned: My System, Chess Fundamentals, Lasker’s Manual of Chess, Tree of Analysis, Candidate Moves  33:00- What have other authors written about the idea of “candidate moves”? Mentioned: IM Mark Dvoretsky’s Attack and Defense, Move First,Think Later, by IM Wlly Hendricks, Improve Your Chess Now by GM Jonathan Tisdall, Secrets of Practical Chess by GM John Nunn, GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Eugene Perelshteyn on Perpetual Chess, GM Arthur Yuspov  45:00- We exchange some of our favorite quotes from the book.   There are some fun ones. :)  Mentioned: GM Mikahil Botvinnik, GM Miguel Najdorf, Mr. Mike Shahade, Sitsfleisch, Spassky-Korchnoi 1968, Game 7, Hot-Cold Empathy Gap, IM Kostya Kavutskiy’s Blueprint: Time Management, GM Alexander Grischuk  1:03:00- We highlight a few of our favorite games that are mentioned in Think Like a Grandmaster  Mentioned:Rossolimo-Nestler 1950, Chessgames.com Membership, Plater-Botvinnik 1947  Im Peter Romanovsky, GM Mark Taimanov 1:10:00- What are the chess improvement takeaways from this book? Mentioned: Sergey Belavenets, GM Salo Flohr, Gm Vassily Smyslov, GM Jonathan Rowson, GM Jacob Aagaard, IM Erik Kislik, Blumenfeld’s Rule  1:21:00- How useful for your chess improvement is this book?   1:23:00- What would we change about this book if we could?  Mentioned: Quality Chess Books 1:25:00- We share our closing thoughts on the book, including the reading of  a quote from IM Kostya Kavutskiy about why he included it in this fun and popular YouTube Video Top 4 Overrated Chess Books.  Mentioned: Pump Up Your Rating, Improve Your Chess Now  1:28:00- Thanks to Chris Chabris for sharing so much great insight.   You can keep up with him on Twitter or reach him via his website.  Mentioned: Maryland Chess Association, Donate to support the Washington International here:  Tournament Director Michael Regan’s Perpetual Chess Appearance  1:31:00- In keeping with our tradition, I leave with 2 blindfold chess puzzles. Here is the piece placement and the diagram links.  Puzzle #1-  White- Pawns on c5, d5 and f4, king on b2 Black- Pawns on d7, e7 and h7, King on b5  Puzzle-  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=RHhuFi0hv1fonVvn7AHKZPBb3dE65H4q4k9H27j+iKB/hlMfqSErCmr2NcYnwHmJ Solution  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=PyQ8CWaYgNLRBSbjvHE34rLBbU3Gt9h8bfgm1g/pKsKRGnSA46tFfsapiV3sUxPt Puzzle #2- White- Pawns on f2 and g4, Bishop on f5, Queen on h8, King on d8 Black- King on g5  Puzzle-  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=MGHFVw9/+CFYT8LQnSRn80+L5fcqpbxWlMLIBI2RP8uTrfCE3KgfhsKbj/pwrIw2 Solution- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=Hq/Y1By5LdPw3sRhFRdNF7dtVRn9oT8SgVFc92ZAWSkTS+BhVMmpF3OOdhSq3tIZ   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the highly anticipated FIDE Candidates tournament starting in a matter of days, I am honored to be joined by Grandmaster Daniel King to preview the tournament. GM King is well known for his accomplishments as a chess player, journalist and announcer. The videos on his YouTube channel, Powerplay Chess, are always a must-watch for me.  GM King will be part of FIDE’s announcing team for this event, and we talked to him just days before he planned to leave for Yekaterinaburg, Russia for the tournament. We recorded this interview on Tuesday, March 10.  Please read on for details and timestamps.  0:00- Intro.  We set the scene for the FIDE Candidates Tournament and discuss the dramatic late entry of GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who is replacing GM Teimour Radjabov who withdrew from the tournament due to concerns about the Corona/Covid-19 virus.  Mentioned: FIDE World Senior Team Championship: https://www.europechess.org/fide-world-senior-team-chess-championship-2020-starts-today/  10:00- This episode is brought to  you in part by Chessable! Check out GM Simon Williams brand new course “The Black Lion” here: https://www.chessable.com/the-black-lion/course/34040/ 12:00- The odds I listed for the Candidates come from Unibet UK, you can find them here (They have changed a bit since we recorded):  https://www.unibet.co.uk/betting/sports/filter/chess/world_championship/candidates/all/competitions/1005917216  We discuss the individual Candidates in the following order:  13:00- GM Kirill Alekseenko  Mentioned: GM Ali Firouzja 16:23- GM Fabiano Caruana  19:00- GM Anish Giri  23:20- GM Alexander Grischuk  Mentioned: Chess24’s Candidates 2020 A Preview: https://chess24.com/en/learn/advanced/video/candidates-2020-a-preview/candidates-2020-intro GM Peter Svidler  26:15- GM Wang Hao  Mentioned: Chessbase India’s IM Sagar Shah interviews Wang Hao: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_elqkx-IgI 30:30 GM Ding Liren  34:30- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi  39:00- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Mentioned: UEFA Euro 1992 Final: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_1992_Final, GM Etienne Bacrot  45:00- Thanks so much to Daniel King for joining the show. You can watch the FIDE Broadcast with GMs King, Judit Polgar and Evgeni Miroschenko beginning on March 15 here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9B47GnzCRFHTT1BIBWvStQ Subscribe to GM King’s PowerPlayChess here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBATpFb--uLNAODOVWvCTA Support GM King via Patreon here:  https://www.patreon.com/powerplaychess/posts If you would like to support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchessual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David MacEnulty is an award-winning author and chess teacher who coached for many years at CES 70 school in the Bronx. In this  public school in a disadvantaged school district, the chess program began with modest expectations, but went on to win many national championships. David’s new book, Sunrise in the Bronx: Chess and Life Lessons from the South Bronx to the White House, tells the story of the many kids whose lives were changed through chess. In our interview, David shares a few of his favorite stories, with plenty of lessons to impart for both parents and anyone else who wishes to introduce the younger generation to chess. After CES-70, David went on to head the chess program at the Dalton School, an elite private school. In the book, and in our conversation, David also reflects on the similarities and differences in coaching at such different schools. As a longtime friend of David’s, I was excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint me. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! Be sure to check out their new offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ And if you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro 0:02- How did David accidentally become a chess teacher in his 40s? What lessons did he learn? 22:00- Will there be an audiobook, will the book be on KIndle?  24:00- What surprising skills did chess help kids develop?  28:30- Patreon mailbag question- “Does David have any advice for motivating students to study chess at home?”  Mentioned: Matthew Looks, Bruce Alberston  35:40- Patreon mailbag question: “What is David’s advice for encouraging your kid to pursue tournament chess without ‘bulldozing them’?” 45:00- How did David and CES 70’s National Championship team get to meet President Bill Clinton?  46:00- What are the crucial components of chess improvement?  47:00- How does David spend his time in retirement?  48:00- We discuss the value of extra-curriculars at school 50:00- Should kids get trophies  for just participating in tournaments?  52:00- Thanks to David for joining me! Sunrise in the Bronx is available from Amazon, New in Chess, and many major booksellers. https://www.amazon.com/Sunrise-Bronx-Chess-Lessons-South/dp/9083434907 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, the always popular and entertaining GM Jan Gustafsson makes his third appearance on Perpetual Chess. In addition to the broadcasting, streaming and video creation that Jan does for Chess24.com, he also was a part of "Team Magnus" for the 2016 and 2018 World Chess Championships. Naturally we discussed the most recent World Championships in great detail, as well as catching up on what else Jan has been up to since his Perpetual Chess interviews #1 and #2. As always you can keep up with Jan on twitter or by subscribing to and monitoring the calendar on Chess24.com Read on for details and timestamps about all that we discussed: 0:00- Glowing intro and discussion of Jan’s work as a member of Magnus Carlsen’s team for the 2018 World Championship Match. Jan reflects on his overall thoughts on the match and answers some follow up questions I had based on the excellent Chess24 series “Inside the 2018 World Championship Match” featuring Jan and GMs Peter Heine Nielsen and Laurent Fressinet. 31:30- More World Championship talk, but now with a focus on the openings that were played. 36:00- Is it really true that a Queen and Knight is better than a Queen and a Bishop? 38:00 What should one do to get back into playing shape after a layoff from competitive chess? (a discussion prompted because Jan will be playing in the Bangkok Chess Club Open in April) 39:00- Coaching Netherlands at Olympiad. What mystery book was Jan pictured reading while the games went on? The Patrick Melrose books 44:00- What is Jan’s favorite Jan Gustafsson game? What about his favorite other people games? Jan mentions his opening prep paying off in the following games: Naiditsch-Gustafsson 2007 and Gustafsson-Rodshtein 2007 Jan also highlights the modern classic, Wei Yi-Lazaro Bruzon Batista 2015 and Jinishi Bai vs. Ding Liren 2017 49:00- Some idle chit-chat and Jan’s latest pop culture recommendations. Jan gives a lukewarm recommendation for True Detective Season 3 and did not share Ben’s level of enthusiasm for Atlanta, but is a big fan of the movie Burning. 53:00- Goodbye and what to watch for coming from Chess24. Jan recommends GM Laurent Fressinet’s recent series Playing the Berlin and teased a blitz match between Magnus Carlsen and Peter Svidler, which you can now watch on Chess24. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Noel Studer is a top Swiss player and a winner of many Swiss national titles. He has a popular and insightful blog called Next Level Chess, where Noel shares great chess improvement advice, book recommendations, and relates anecdotes from his experiences as a chess professional. Noel recently surprised his readers by announcing that at the age of 24 he is retiring from professional chess. In our conversation, Noel shares the reasons for his decision, and dispenses all kinds of awesome chess improvement advice. It was both helpful and enjoyable to hear all of Noel’s recommendations and stories. Please read on for lots more details and any relevant links.   0:00- What led to GM Noel Studer’s decision to retire from OTB chess at the age of 24? What is he planning next?  Mentioned: Derek Sivers  13:30- What will be the topic of Noel’s upcoming chess course?  16:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com  Chessmood offers a huge library of instructive videos. You can hear GM Avetik Grigoryan on Episode 192 of Perpetual Chess. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel here.  16:30- Perpetual Chess is also brought you in part by Chess.com!  Among their many resources, you can check out their Drills here and their vision trainer here.  17:30- Patreon mailbag question from Neal Bruce! “What are the most common mistakes Noel sees from amateurs?”  Mentioned: Atomic Habits  23:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is the minimum amount of work to do to maintain a level while one is unable to train chess seriously due to life circumstances?”  Mentioned: FIDE World Rapid and Blitz 2021  29:00-  Patreon mailbag question “How much do openings matter for club players?”  Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Noel’s posts Chess Improvement: Simple not Easy, What is The Best Chess Opening?, GM Surya Ganguly, GM Avetik Grigoryan’s Post: How to Memorize Chess Openings and Variation- Without Forgetting Them a Few Days Later    36:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What would Noel recommend for breaking through a tactics training plateau?”  Mentioned: The Woodpecker Method , Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos, GM Pentala Harikrishna   48:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out what's new from them here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels- Chessable.com Don’t forget to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast as well! 48:30-  Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  49:00- What are the best sources of motivation for chess improvement? How did Noel get through a period where he was bullied as an adolescent?  Mentioned: Simon Sinek’s Start With Why  1:01:00- What approach does Noel recommend for analyzing games after you play them?  Mentioned: How to Analyze Your Game Part 1, How to Analyze Your Game Part 2  1:11:00- What lessons has Noel learned from working with GMs Artur Yusopov, Josif Dorfman, Markus Ragger? Mentioned: My Favorite Chess Advice: Talk With Your Pieces, IM Mark Dvoretsky, IM Josh Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning  1:22:00- What are Noel’s favorite books? Mentioned: Atomic Habits, The Art of Learning, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Learn from the Legends, GM Boris Gelfand’s Books ,GM Judit Polgar’s Books, GM Alireza Firouzja, Bortnyk-Studer 2014, Harikrishna-Studer 2019 1:31:00- What is Noel’s life like away from the board?  Mentioned: Lucy the Golden Queen’s Instagram!  1:32:00- Thanks so much to Noel for sharing his insights! Be sure to subscribe to his blog/newsletter at https://nextlevelchess.blog/ You can follow him on Twitter here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM Jop Delemarre is a former Dutch Youth Champion who has been a full-time chess trainer since 2004. Over the years, he has worked with many strong young players who went on to earn IM and GM titles.  Jop is an expert in the Chess Steps curriculum, and was a student of one of its founders, Rob Brunia. Due to his expertise in the Steps Method, Jop recently offered a Chess Steps Certification Workshop, that I and a few other U.S. based chess teachers completed and greatly enjoyed. Jop joined me to discuss this workshop, share plans for potential future workshops, and to reflect on his career in general. Jop shared plenty of great advice for chess improvers and teachers alike. Please read on for more details and show notes.  0:00- Jop shares some details about his life background, and the background of the Chess Steps Method.  Mentioned: GM Robin Van Kampen, Chess Steps Method, Rob Brunia, IM Cor van Wijgerdan, NM Matan Prilleltensky, Paul Swaney, NM Shawn Hoshall, NM Han Schut, US Chess Digital Editor John Hartmann  11:50- A Patreon supporter of the pod writes in to ask if the Chess Steps Method can be used as a “stand alone” improvement method.  Mentioned: Chess Steps Manuals, Chess Steps Workbook, Chess Tutor CDs 21:30- IM Jop Delemarre gives more details about how an opportunity for a Chess Steps Teacher Training Workshop came about, and discusses what the future plans are for more teacher certification workshops.   Mentioned: Paul Swaney, Geert van der Velde  26:40- Question from friend and former guest of the podcast, NM Han Schut, about whether the Steps Teacher Trainer program is sanctioned by the founder of the Steps Method, IM Cor van Wijgerdan Mentioned: Han Schut on Perpetual Chess  31:00- For the teachers listening, and for those interested in learning more about this generally, I share a few of the lessons that I learned from completing Chess Steps Teacher Certification Training.  Mentioned: Email Jop here: jdelemarre@hotmail.com,  39:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable. You can check out FM Kamil Plichta’s new course, Four Horsemen: The Sicilian Four Knights here: https://www.chessable.com/four-horsemen-the-sicilian-4-knights-defense/course/33443/ 39:30- Jop discusses the reasons why practicing things repeatedly is important to acquire chess skills.  Mentioned: Peter Newhall, Susan Polgar series, Yusopov series   47:00- Jop shares a few of his favorite chess books.  Mentioned: Techniques of Positional Play, Chess Lessons by Popov, Tatiana and Nadhezda Kosintseva, Greatest 525 Puzzles by GM Csaba Balogh, IM Mark Dvoretsky’s books, Aagaard’s books, GM Boris Gelfand’s books, My Great Predecessors by GM Garry Kasparov , Tactics Time, Elizabeth Spiegel, IM Jeremy Silman, Mastering Opening Strategy by GM Johan Hellsten, IM Herman Grooten  1:01:00- Jop shares a few highlights from his career as a chess competitor, including a mini match with Dutch chess legend GM Jan Timman.  Mentioned: GM Alexey Dreev, GM Evgeni Bareev. GM Anatoly Karpov, Delemarre-Brodsky 1994,  Delemarre-Timman 1995, Sokolov-Delemarre 1997, GM Loek Van Wely  1:06:00- As a polyglot, what language-learning practices is Jop able to apply to chess improvement?  1:14:00- Thanks to Jop for joining the show! You can reach him via email here: jdelemarre@hotmail.com Visit his website here:  https://schaaktrainer.nl/online-chess-lesson/ You can learn more about the Steps method on the official website here: https://www.stappenmethode.nl/en/index.php And you can order the Steps books in the U.S.here: https://www.chess-steps.com/home.php If you would like to help support the podcast you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was my pleasure to interview my longtime friend, two-time US Women's Champion Jennifer Shahade this week. Jenn is a well-known chess player and announcer, but she stays busy with many other roles as well. Her popular books,  Play Like a Girl and Chess Bitch aim to attract more women to chess. She is also the Mind Sports ambassador for PokerStars, editor of the US Chess Federation website, and a board member of the World Chess Hall of Fame. We had a fun, wide-ranging talk about how Jenn juggles her many roles, as well as her most important role of all- the mother of almost -1 -year-old Fabian. Jenn and I traded stories about her growing up in a game-centric household, and about her ascendance in chess and poker. When I asked Jenn whether she'd be writing another book, she did not dodge the question. Tune in to hear what she said. You can find Jenn on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to tune it in to watch Jenn and GM Yasser Seirawan and the rest of the team announce the  The London Chess Classic. If you enjoy this podcast, you can support it at Patreon or by buying chess improvement videos at Chessuniversity.com  using the promo code "PERPETUAL."  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jerald Times is a USCF Chess Master, and the 2 time Chess champion of Harlem. Jerald is also a chess commentator, and is probably best known as a chess teacher who recently received the 2021 Chess Educator of the Year award from the University of Texas at Dallas. Jerald has been predominantly based in his native New York City, where he twice was the chess champion of Harlem, and where he has served in different capacities at successful chess programs such as The Dalton School, The Harlem Children’s Zone, and The Success Academy. Jerald also spent a few years as a chess trainer in South Africa, and coached the South African National team. These days, Jerald is launching a new organization, called Chess Across Borders, which aims to use digital tools to enable chess players from all backgrounds to compete in national and international chess championships. Jerald shared insightful comments as he on his own chess journey to a peak FIDE rating of 2400, as well as his reflections on how chess, and chess education has changed. Jerald also highlighted some important instances of racial discrimination that he has seen in his career both in the chess world, and as a teacher. All in all, there is lots to learn from this discussion with Jerald, please read on for more details and timestamps.  0:00- How did Jerald get into chess in his native New York City in the 1980s and 1990s? Mentioned: Think like a Grandmaster, My System, Alexander Alekhine, GM Vassily Smyslov, GM Jose Raoul Capablanca, IM Levy Rozman, WGM Alexandra Botez, GM Miron Sher, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Robert Hess   13:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest offerings here.  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com Also be sure to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast, more info here: https://howtochess.com/ 14:00- Jerald discusses his plans to launch a new organization, called Chess Across Borders  20:00- How have chess teaching tools changed in recent decades? Mentioned: Google Classroom, FM Mike Klein, Chesskid.com  25:00- Jerald’s most recent position was heading the chess program at a New York- based network of charter schools called Success Academy. Jerald discusses both the positive and the negative of his experiences with Success Academy. Mentioned: Jessica Hyatt   41:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out their site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  42:30- Patreon mailbag question: How does chess in South Africa (where Jerald lived, and worked as a chess trainer) compare to chess in the United States? Mentioned: GM Kenny Solomon, Nick Vandernot, IM Henry Steele, IM Watu Kobese , GM Maurice Ashley, IM Kassa Korley, Tani Adewumi, James Black, IM Justus Williams, FM Joshua Colas  52:00- Where is Chess Across Borders in its launch process?  53:30- Jerald shares stories about his encounters with GM Garry Kasparov and GM Maurice Ashley. Mentioned: Rochelle Ballantyne, Maurice Ashley to host recaps of the Upcoming World Championship on NBC Sports: https://twitter.com/FIDE_chess/status/1417258790169321472?s=20 1:01:00- Thanks to Jerald for joining the show! Find out more about Chess Across Borders here: https://chessacrossborders.site123.me/ Email Jerald at: jtimes at gmail.com                         Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s podcast is a special feature that includes three different IM guests who are working to attain the Grandmaster title! My guests are popular commentator, IM Lawrence Trent, 9-time Minnesota State Champion IM Sean Nagle, and Hungary-based chess trainer, IM Attila Turzo. These guests have very different backgrounds, chess distances to travel and life situations, but they all share the common goal of wanting to earn the highest title in chess. Why is it important to them? What do they need to improve in order to climb this final steep step? What will their study routines entail? I know that many of you will also be pursuing new chess milestones and goals post-pandemic, so I hope that you find some good advice and inspiration in these 3 interviews! Please read on for more details and timestamps for each interview.   For complete show notes and links, please go to the webpage: Episode 217- "IM to GM" special episode with IMs Lawrence Trent, Sean Nagle, and Attila Turzo 0:00- Intro Mentioned: IM Kostya Kavutskiy, IM Eric Rosen, IM Kassa Korley, IM John Bartholomew, IM Greg Shahade, IM Abimanyu Mishru, IM Christopher Yoo, IM Carissa Yip   5:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by HotSaucery.co You should try some of their delicious hot sauces. Use the promo code PERPETUAL to save 10%. You can Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/hot.saucery/   6:00- IM Lawrence Trent joins the show! Lawrence is a frequent and popular chess commentator, streamer and content creator. He has served as the manager for his friend GM Fabiano Caruana, and was one of the co-hosts of the original chess podcast, The Full English Breakfast, with Macauley Peterson, GM Stephen Gordon, and GM Simon Williams. He joins us to share his reasons for deciding that now is the time for him to pursue his last GM norm and the 100 FIDE points that he requires to earn the GM title. Thanks to Lawrence for joining the show.   45:50- IM Sean Nagle joins the show. Sean is a Minnesota based Corporate and Securities Attorney, 9-time Minnesota State Chess Champion,husband, and dad of 3 kids.  1:30:30- IM Attila Turzo joins the show.   Here is how you can contact him and track his quest: Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/attilaturzo Twitter- https://twitter.com/AttilaTurzo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCezDjmS_25xjLYi8_jLAWeA First Saturday Tournament- http://www.firstsaturday.hu/2012/index.htm  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Norwegian reporter, chess player, and photographer Tarjei Svensen is a frequent correspondent at elite chess tournaments and a popular and indispensable source of information on “chess Twitter.” Tarjei joins me this week to discuss the following: - How he gets scoops and manages finances as a chess reporter who is often working independently. - His plans for covering the 2018 World Chess Championships and some info on whether his friend and collaborator, GM Jonathan Tisdall, will be writing about the match again this year. - Tarjei’s own chess game, including some discussion of encounters with a very young Magnus Carlsen, and a few books that he recommends. We also talk about some interesting match-related statistics that Tarjei recently revealed on Twitter, and his twitter recommendations for whom to follow during the World Championships. Tarjei recommends following Olympiu Urcan, GM Jonthan Tisdall, Chess.com, Chessbase, and Chess24. Thanks to Tarjei for taking time from his busy schedule! You can follow him on Twitter here, and read his chess coverage here. If you are interested in supporting Perpetual Chess go here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Perpetual Chess makes a "zwischenzug" over to Europe where Macauley Peterson, Editor-in-Chief of ChessBase.com, is filling in for Ben this week. Macauley caught up with Grandmaster Nigel Short in Leuven, Belgium, at the close of the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour 2018, the "Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz" tournament, where Short was a commentator. The former World Championship challenger is still an active player, but in May he launched a bid to succeed Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. Shortly before the interview, news broke that in addition to FIDE's current Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, who declared his candidacy in April, a new candidate from Russia was entering the race: Arkady Dvorkovich, a prominent figure in Russian chess circles who currently serves as Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the FIFA 2018 World Cup, and has deep Kremlin ties, as a former Deputy Prime Minister. Short explains why he's in the race, what's wrong with FIDE, and how he intends to fix it.  If you're interested in browsing the vast ChessBase shop, use this special link to help support Perpetual Chess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another edition of Perpetual Chess, Chess Books Recaptured!  My guest co-host this month is Bryan Castro. Bryan is a dad, businessman, chess teacher and adult improver from Buffalo, NY. Bryan and I are both fans of GM Alex Yermolinksy, and we share a strong affinity for his instructive and readable 1999 chess-improvement memoir, The Road to Chess Improvement. We like this book so much that we were not going to let a global pandemic stop us from getting together and sharing our favorite quotes, games and chess-improvement takeaways from this somewhat underappreciated gem. Please read on for more details, timestamps and relevant links.  4:00- After a few programming notes, Bryan Castro joins the show and shares a bit about his personal background. 7:00- What does Bryan like about The Road to Chess Improvement?  Mentioned: Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, IM John Watson’s Review of Road to Chess Improvement, Hear GM Yermolinksy’s interview on Perpetual Chess here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perpetual-chess-podcast/id1185023674?i=1000382608741 10:00- Both of us used the original Gambit version of Road to Chess Improvement  11:00- What was happening in the chess world when this book was released in 1999?  Mentioned: GM Kasparov, GM Alexander Khalifman, GM Alexei Shirov, GM Viswanthan Anand  13:00- Bryan shares a bit more about Yermolinksky’s background.  Mentioned: GM Gregory Serper, GM Alexander Shabalov  15:00- For what level player is this book most helpful? 16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.  Check out GM Pentala Harikrishna’s 2020 FIDE Candidates “Game of the Day” analysis and accompanying course here:  https://www.chessable.com/candidates-2020/course/34649/  17:30-  We dive into the book, as Bryan reads some inspiring opening paragraphs from The Road to Chess Improvement   Mentioned: GM Alekhine, GM Botvinnik,  20:00- We discuss the structure of the book and our favorite chapters.  Mentioned: Vladimir Zak 29:30- We share a few of our favorite quotes from the book.  Mentioned: GM Evgeny Bareev, GM Vassilly Ivanchuk, GM Peter Svidler, GM Vladimir Kramnik, GM Sam Shankland, GM Viktor Korchnoi, GM Jan Timman, GM Alexander Beliavsky, GM Mikhail Tal, GM Mikhail Botvinnik 40:00- We each pick a favorite game from the book.  Mentioned: GM Arthur Yusopov, Yermolinsky-Khmelnitsky 1995, Hjartarson-Yermolinsky 1996   45:00- What are the chess improvement takeaways from The Road to Chess Improvement?  Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade  48:00- How useful is the book for improvement?   49:00 What, if any, are our quibbles with the book?  Deep Blue vs. Garry Kasparov 52:00- Closing remarks and good bye to Bryan Castro. In lieu of paying Bryan for his efforts I will be making a small donation to the East Aurora Chess Club.  You can keep up with Bryan the following ways:  Bryan’s Youtube Channel here: https://youtube.com/betterchesstraining Bryan’s website, Better Chess Training here:  http://www.betterchesstraining.com/ Follow him on twitter here: https://twitter.com/YourBryanCastro 56:00- Blindfold puzzles of the month: Puzzle #1- White to move, find the best move  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=xyVYfoozbF6iR+wCrD8E3LVWoPU8wRa2aKCSWt9SSPcJjEME8Mrb+Gps4wVo0mBi Solution #1-  https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=BTkwJm0GgCBPOr6bmORI2c020+oxdq6CvPpZFqSIU5JeJajZLmJQ+1Dar2t6cnXF Puzzle #2- Black to move and win material e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Nxc6 Qxc6 6. Qe2 Bc5 7. Nc3 Ne7 Qf3 Ng6 9. Bc4 Ne5 10. Qe2 {Black to move and win material} 0-1   https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=PORw9ncvRoVlZBKq9xADW1F9Baqw/xYlJ4PcRqNZuq6OstdGFms4ToOP81KIlbJi   Solution #2- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=oTOKuSqLokqFRarUHxOWMZ4rMpkpXZC0Sg8zv++1qev07Vg9PA0sgLjIvYHJXcdE   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest this week is Adam Weissbarth, a USCF National Master and the founder of Washington, D.C.- based Silver Knights Enrichment program. With 14 full-time employees, and more than 5,000 students participating in Silver Knights classes per week, Silver Knights is one of the largest providers of afterschool chess instruction in the United States.  In our conversation, we discuss Adam’s modest beginnings as an independent chess teacher. He talks about the planning and the detail that went into the growth of this large and impressive organization. Spoiler alert- there was a TON of hard work and hustle involved.  In addition to discussing the history of the business, Adam shares some chess improvement advice, gives some recommendations and weighs in on the potential impact that the upcoming World Championship could have on the popularity of chess You can email him here. To support the podcast go here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess, we are fortunate to get a return visit from the legendary commentator, Super GM, and now Chessable author, GM Peter Svidler! Peter talked with me a few days before he was set to depart for Yekaterinaburg, Russia. Yekaterinburg, of course, is where the FIDE Candidates Tournament will resume after being postponed amidst the Covid pandemic in March 2020. The tournament resumes on April 19, and the winner of the tournament will face GM Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship in November of 2021. As a competitor in prior Candidates Tournaments, and someone who is now assisting GM Kirill Alekseenko, one of the participants, it was amazing to hear GM Svidler’s perspective on the tournament.  Of course, GM Svidler has also just released his much anticipated Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires: Peter Svidler’s Grunfeld. We talked about how he researched this huge project, as well as what surprised him about the process of writing his first Chessable course.  Lastly, we got lots of questions from supporters of the Perpetual Chess Podcast. GM Svidler tackled questions relating to his famed modesty, his plans for competing and commentating in 2021, and much more. Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links.        0:00-  We begin by discussing the FIDE Candidates Tournament, which is set to resume on April 19, 2021.  Mentioned: Russian Superfinals, GM Kirill Alekseenko, FIDE Candidates Wikipedia Page including participants and standings here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2021 Candidates odds to win: https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/candidates-tournament-2020-9514213 22:30-  Peter answers the first question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: “is it possible that Peter’s famed modesty gives him a competitive disadvantage?” Mentioned: GM Sergei Shipov    26:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can pick up GM Peter Svidler’s The Grunfeld: Lifetime Repertoires Part 1 here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-peter-svidlers-grunfeld-part-1/course/63116/ The free short and sweet version is here: https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-peter-svidlers-grunfeld/course/70030/ 27:00 What were the biggest challenges of creating Peter’s much- anticipated course on the Grunfeld opening?  Mentioned: GM Danill Dubov, GM Harikrishna    41:25- Patreon question: How can a player improve at quiet positions?  Mentioned: Peter’s Svidler’s “Training with Tani” Youtube Series   48:30- Patreon question: “When will we see Peter and GM Jan Gustafsson announcing again?”    53:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess  collects and analyzes your online games and gives you actionable advice on what phases to work on. You can check out their site for free, and if you sign up, use the Promo Code “Chess30” to save 30%   54:00- Patreon question: “Does Peter’s love for the video game Hearthstone help his chess?”  GM Evgeny Tomashevsky, GM Ian Nepomniatchi    56:30- Patreon questions: “Will Peter ever write a chess book? If he did, what would it be about?”  Mentioned: Masterclass with GM Yannick Pelletier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paCReNKAcNg Peters’s Recap of his Tilburg 1997 win vs. GM Garry Kasparov https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1iefMAb-Tk   Also Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand’s books with GM Jacob Aagaard, FM Michiel Abeln’s The Anand Files, From London to Elista    1:04:00- Patreon question: “Who are Peter’s favorite cricket players?”    1:05:30-  Patreon question: “Does Peter think that there are similarities between learning languages and chess?”  Mentioned: Leisure Suit Larry    1:10:00- Thanks to much to GM Peter Svidler for re-joining the show! Here are the links for his Twitter account, Twitch Streaming, and Chessable course: https://twitter.com/polborta?lang=en https://www.twitch.tv/plbrta https://www.chessable.com/discussion/thread/242991/lifetime-repertoire-the-grunfeld-peter-svidler-/ Peter Svidler “Lifetime Repertoires” Grunfeld-Part 1- Course Giveaway Instructions!  Go to Perpetual Chess Youtube page here-  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtcudElmRsQYTwULtd_gnFw/videos  Subscribe to the channel and take a screenshot  Email the screenshot to ben@perpetualchesspod.com with the subject header “YouTube”  Done!  Deadline April 30. Winners will be determined by random drawing, and announced via email on May 1. I will not be able to respond to all contestants emails, but you all should get an email when the winners are announced. Thanks for playing! If you would like to join the Perpetual Chess Patreon community, or to help support Perpetual Chess in other ways, you can learn more here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we feature a double attack from two of the premier chess trainers in the world! GM Jacob Aagaard is the co-founder of Quality Chess Publishing,  is an award winning author, and has worked with many elite grandmasters including GM Boris Gelfand and GM Sam Shankland. GM R.B. Ramesh, is an award-winning trainer and author, who has coached the India National Team many times, and has worked with many young talents including GM Pragganandha. GMs Aagaard and Ramesh are both return guests  to Perpetual Chess, as they visit to discuss their new project, 365ChessAcademy.com. This new site offers dedicated chess students worldwide the ability to access daily lectures from a cadre of high level trainers, including themselves. In addition to explaining the vision behind this new project, they fielded many chess-improvement questions from Perpetual Chess listeners and provided many insights about common issues faced over the board. As always, you can find more details and timestamps below.  (If embedded hyperlinks aren't visible in your podcast feed you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/2/25/episode-166-gm-jacob-aagaard-and-gm-rb-ramesh) 0:00- We kick off by discussing the vision behind GM Aagaard and GM Ramesh’s new initiative, an online chess academy, called 365ChessAcademy.  Mentioned: GM Sam Shankland, GM Ivan Salgado-Lopez, GM Julen Arizmendi Martinez, IM Renier Castellanos Rodriguez, GM Sabino Brunello  16:00- What have been the unexpected challenges of launching this website?    19:30- This episode is brought to you part by Chessable.com. You can check out the first two volumes of GM Arthur Yusopov’s acclaimed Fundamental chess series on Chessable, here: https://www.chessable.com/the-fundamentals-1-build-up-your-chess/course/19145/ https://www.chessable.com/the-fundamentals-2-boost-your-chess/course/14534/ 20:30- We dive into some questions from the Patreon mailbag, beginning with Jacob and Ramesh tackling the age-old question of how to allocate one’s chess study time. Is it better to focus on improving your weaknesses or building your strengths in your game? As a baseline for club players, GM Ramesh recommends spending 60% of study time on middlegame, 20% on endgame, and 20% on opening.  Mentioned: GM Elizbar Ubilava   35:30- The next Patreon question relates to chess study.  How does one know when to switch areas of focus in study, and how to draw up chess training plans.  Mentioned: GM Sam Shankland, GM Boris Gelfand, GM Viswanathan Anand, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual   45:00- Another Patreon supporter writes to ask how he can work to limit tactical oversights in his games.  Mentioned: Quality Chess’s Yusopov Build up Your Chess Series, 365 Chess Academy’s Youtube Channel  54:30- Another Patreon question: How can one structure studies such that they acquire actual chess skills instead of just chess knowledge?  Mentioned: Quality Chess Academy Camps: https://qualitychessacademy.com/june2020/ 1:00:00- One more question: Should we change our study approach as we get closer to a tournament?  Mentioned: John Hartmann, GM Jan Gustafsson  1:02:00- Why is it that GM Aagaard has said that he doesn’t believe in goals?  Mentioned: TheBestChessBooks.com, S.M.A.R.T. goals, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big 1:06:00- Would GM Ramesh or GM Aagaard be interested in working on a World Championship prep team if an opportunity presented itself?  Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand, The Anand Files, IM Christopher Yoo  Thanks again to Jacob and Ramesh to share so much of their wisdom about chess improvement. To find out more about their academy head on over to https://365chessacademy.com/       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the Carlsen-Nepomniatchtchi World Championship match tied after 3 hard-fought draws, I do a quick rundown of the main story lines emerging from what has been a tense and entertaining battle so far. Then, we get reports from Dubai from Chessable C.E.O. Geert van der Velde, followed by Chess.com reporter/Trivia Whiz Jonathan Corbblah. Timestamps and the links you need are below. 0:00- Ben on the 3 key story lines from the match so far. 14:00- Chessable C.E.O. Geert van der Velde on what its like to watch the match from the Play Magnus lounge in Dubai. 30:30- Trivia Whiz turned Chess.com reporter Jonathan Corbblah on how he wound up in Dubai, and his favorite foods and memories from his trip so far. Links: Geert’s Twitter Jonathan’s Twitter Chessable Classroom (as Geert mentioned) Jonathan's Chess: A Reflection of Us is being premiered each day on Chess.com’s World Championship Broadcasts. Perpetual Chess Episode 161 with Geert van der Velde Perpetual Chess Episode 48 with Jonathan Corbblah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I got the chance to catch up with author, trainer and Chessable author, GM Eugene Perelshteyn. We begin by discussing a recent online cheating controversy. An anonymous account was banned from Chess.com after beating GM Daniel Naroditsky in an online bullet match using only the “Meadow Hay” Gambit. Is this gambit so bad that it makes cheating likely? This controversy served as a springboard to discuss both online cheating and dodgy gambits. Eugene has recently released a course “Every Gambit Refuted” so he also shared general advice on how to react when you face an unknown gambit. These days, gambits can be particularly dangerous, as creators like IM Eric Rosen and GothamChess teach their audiences tricky openings. Finally, Eugene and I discuss some issues from the world of professional chess, including a lack of affordable opportunities to compete for the non-elite, the FIDE Candidates (which Eugene attended) and “the great eval bar debate.” Eugene is always insightful and it was great to catch up with him!  ERROR CORRECTION- In the podcast, I said that the online match that led to the Viih_Sou account getting banned was a bullet match, but it was 3 0 time control. My apologies for the mistake- Ben Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! If you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro 0:01- Eugene Perelshteyn joins me! We begin by discussing recent cheating controversies. This includes a recent controversy involving an account being banned after winning a bullet match against GM Daniel Naroditsky. GM Brandon Jacobson was playing the Meadow Hay Gambit. Is this gambit any good?  More info on Chess Reddit:  https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1claxsm/its_me_viih_sou/ https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1ctu6qc/question_what_happened_in_full_with_brandon/ Mentioned: Jospem on Chess.com, Episode 368 with Erik Allebest  18:00- How have creators like IM Eric Rosen changed the paradigm when it comes to gambits? Mentioned: Fight Like Magnus, Lifetime Repertoires: Hyper Accelerated Dragon  22:00- Patreon mailbag question: What is Eugene’s advice for how to approach playing against gambits you don’t know?  Mentioned: Eugene’s Chess.com Lesson plan on Gambits is here: https://www.chess.com/lessons/every-gambit-refuted 32:00- What is different about how a player like Pragganandhaa uses surprise openings compared to club players? 37:00- Eugene shares his own perspective on attending the FIDE Candidates in Toronto.  42:00- Does Eugene think evaluation bars should be used during chess broadcasts? 48:00- Has Eugene been pleased with the reception of his collaboration with FM Nate Solon Evaluate like a Grandmaster?  51:00- What else is Eugene working on? Mentioned: Chess Openings for Black explained,GM Lev Alburt, GM Roman Dzindzichashvilli  55:00- What does Eugene think of recent discussion about a lack of financial opportunities for “middle-class” Grandmasters?  Mentioned: GM Jorden van Forreest tweet here: https://x.com/jordenvforeest/status/1790333612874666440  1:08:00- Thanks to Eugene for joining me!  Check out his Chessable courses here: https://www.chessable.com/author/EugenePerel/ Contact him via Twitter https://x.com/EugenePerel?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Or Chess.com https://www.chess.com/member/eugeneperelshteyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Danny Rensch, International Master, and Chess.com VP stopped by to talk all things chess.com. We previewed the upcoming Speed Chess Championship, and reviewed the good and bad of the Pro Chess League's successful first season. We also talked about Danny's dormant chess playing career, shark tank, and how a high school dropout learned to navigate the business world. This was a fun and inspiring glimpse into the future of chess. Follow Danny on twitter here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices