New In Chess Podcast

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek was the captain of the winning team, the Triveni Continental Kings, at the recent Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London.Loek van Wely can look back on a rich career as a player. He won the Dutch championship 8 times and had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his achievements on the chess board, Loek is a renowned coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. In more recent years he’s been coaching the Italian national team and Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam.If you are new to the Global Chess League, Loek will fill you in as he speaks about the strategies, the players that made the difference and the pros and cons of the remarkable time control (20 minutes per player per game, no increment) that almost inevitably led to wild time scrambles. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Loek talks about the innovative format of the Global Chess League and the impact it may have on the chess world. In passing he reveals his ambitions as a coach and gives his take on Vladimir Kramnik’s anti-cheating crusade that continues to fuel heated and widespread discussions online.0:00 – Intro 2:59 – Loek explains how the Global Chess League works 6:00 – Is there a limit to every team’s financial means? 7:18 – Magnus and Ding’s participation 8:58 – Wei Yi’s participation in Loek’s team and the “point system” 13:43 – How does Loek deal with situations where teammates have strained relationships, such as between Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina? 17:29 – AD BREAK 18:27 – The format and length of the event 20:27 – The controversial 20+0 time control and Alireza Firouzja’s performance 24:10 – Does the Global Chess League change the chess world? 26:38 – Are the organisers happy with the way the Global Chess League has taken off? 28:27 – What considerations go into Loek’s selection of his players? 30:04 – The bidding process on players like Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura 33:25 – AD BREAK 34:04 – Magnus’s participation? 36:35 – Does the Global Chess League, operated by India, foreshadow Indian dominance on the chess organisation circuit? 40:46 – What does Loek bring to the table as a coach? 43:26 – Does Loek’s own playing strength and activity as a player help him as a coach? 45:35 – What were the crucial moments that contributed to Loek’s team’s victory this year? 47:24 – What did Loek do to make Wei Yi feel comfortable as part of the team? 49:36 – AD BREAK 50:25 – How does Loek see his future in coaching and beyond? 53:56 – Is it always a coach’s dream to work with young talent? 56:30 – Vladimir Kramnik’s controversial cheating allegations 1:05:40 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. Subject of this week’s episode is Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe (1901-1981). Machgielis “Max” Euwe was the fifth World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. After retiring as a player, he would later serve as FIDE president starting in 1970. In this capacity, he presided over the famous Fischer-Spassky of 1972 and had to navigate many other chess “situations” of the time, such as the defection of Viktor Korchnoi from the USSR and attempts by Soviet officials to remove him from power. Genna, a fellow native of The Netherlands, met Max Euwe around the time of the 1972 World Championship match, and the two remained in touch until Euwe’s death in 1981. Over four decades later, Genna’s story paints a picture of Max Euwe as both a friend and a historical chess figure.

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Alex Colovic. Alex is a grandmaster from North Macedonia, who lives in Skopje, and is active in the chess world in many ways. He’s not only a player, but also a trainer, a blogger, a YouTuber, a former president of the Association of Chess Professionals, and a FIDE Fair Play Officer.We invited Alex this week to talk about his new book "Capablanca's Endgame Technique: The Astonishing Chess Logic of the Third World Champion". In his new book, he pays tribute to one of his chess heroes, the Cuban genius who became the third World Champion and is admired by many as one of the greatest natural talents our game has ever seen. Capablanca was famous for his impeccable endgame technique and Alex is convinced that studying his endgames is beneficial for players of all levels. In his book, Alex looks at 15 endgames of Capablanca in great depth. Not with ultradeep variations, but with a lot of verbal explanations, general observations and with lots of exercises in between for the reader. In our conversation, Alex explains the underlying ideas and his fascination with the Cuban and much more. An eager talker with a broad knowledge of chess and its history, Alex also speaks about sleeping problems for chess players and his work as a FIDE Fair Play Officer. In this capacity he will be at the World Championship match in Singapore in November between Ding Liren and Gukesh, and he provides great insights in the precautions that will be taken there.Lots of insights, great suggestions to improve and wonderful stories. Don’t miss this talk with Alex Colovic!The New In Chess podcast is published every Friday and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the New In Chess website.Alex's book on Capablanca is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/capablanca-s-endgame-technique 0:00 – Intro 2:32 – What inspired Alex to write about Capablanca? 5:42 – Does Alex notice Capablanca’s influence in his own games? 8:08 – Why Alex thinks it’s valuable to study the old masters 9:51 – What lessons can modern players learn from Capablanca’s play?18:22 – Does Capablanca deserve to be counted among the greatest of all time?21:01 – Capablanca’s personality and superstar status27:38 – Alex’s biggest revelations when studying Capablanca’s legendary endgame play 32:22 – Should done always study with a board and pieces or is this an outdated concept? 37:20 – What other sources on Capablanca does Alex recommend? 41:19 – AD BREAK 42:17 – Emmanuel Lasker’s appraisal of Capablanca’s play 45:32 – Capablanca’s incredibly deep understanding of the game and ranking among the all-time greats 49:20 – AD BREAK 50:53 – Alex’s career in content creation, the importance of sleep58:44 – Alex’s upcoming projects and work as a FIDE Fair Play Officer 1:04:18 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.As the title of his autobiography, Chess Is My Life, hints at, Korchnoi’s drive, passion and obsession for the game of chess were as strong as they had always been. He simply lived for chess: his energetic spirit never aged, he was often one of the last to leave the playing hall, and during his analysis sessions he worked tirelessly to get to the bottom of things, after one goal and one goal only: the truth."The Essential Sosonko" is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Max Dlugy. Max Dlugy has had a rich and varied chess career: he was Junior World Champion, became president of the United States Chess Federation at the young age of 24, worked for IBM on the groundbreaking Deep Blue chess computer project, and today runs his own successful chess school, the Chess Max Academy in New York. Two years ago he got into the news for a different reason, when he was dragged into the cheating story involving Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen, when the world’s number one insinuated his involvement as Niemann’s ‘mentor’. The allegation had serious consequences, when in addition to being publicly named a cheater, his chess.com account was temporarily suspended by chess.com, a decision Dlugy considered ‘immoral and illegal’. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in Budapest during the Chess Olympiad, Max Dlugy talks about his Chess Max Academy, but the lion’s share of the conversation focuses on his role in Hans Niemann’s career and his view of the cheating story, a story that brought (and continues to bring) near-unprecedented levels of mainstream attention to the chess scene. Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!0:00 – Intro 3:38 – Max’s background and the beginning of the Chess Max Academy 19:31 – Max’s first meeting with Hans Niemann 25:21 – Max’s past coaching of Hans 29:18 – AD BREAK 34:51 – The infamous Magnus vs Hans game 36:36 – The “set-up” to implicate Max in the drama involving lawyer Richard Conn 42:55 – Max’s conflict with chess.com, online cheating allegations 46:27 – The Borislav Ivanov story 48:24 – Chess.com leaking Max’s communications “for the sake of public interest” 49:04 – AD BREAK 50:13 – How does the “cheating situation” affect Max these days? 51:30 – Why chess.com is doing a bad job at detecting cheaters 53:39 – Hikaru Nakamura calling out cheaters without good evidence 55:07 – The problem with online accuracy scores and chess.com’s immoral way of obtaining cheating “confessions” 58:15 – Max considering legal action against chess.com 59:51 – Max’s solution to the cheating problem 1:03:04 – How does Max assess the damage done to Hans Niemann as a result of this scandal? 1:06:39 – Vladimir Kramnik’s strange antics and unlikely “partnership” with Hans 1:09:00 – Does Max think Magnus regrets making the cheating allegations? 1:10:16 – Max’s future plans for the Chess Max Academy 1:12:30 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. Continuing where we left off in Episode #33, Sosonko invites us to sit beside him as Olga Clark continues her talk about Capablanca and the time that they spent together both in Europe and in America, punctuated by the actuality of being in the restaurant that she and Capa favoured and used to frequent.Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, in “‘I knew Capablanca…’” Sosonko shows us the human sides of Capablanca, effectively portraying the life of a man in whose life, as it appears, chess just happens to have found its place."The Essential Sosonko" is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Swedish grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson. Tiger is a three-time Swedish champion and has been described as one of the most creative and original players of our game. His creativity is on display in his latest book, “Tiger’s Chaos Theory”, in which, perhaps unsurprisingly, the topic of creativity in chess plays an important role.Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Tiger talks about creativity, the development of his chess philosophy throughout the years, and how this is reflected in his latest work."Tiger's Chaos Theory" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=tigers+chaos+theorhy&cvid=c748d3ce43f94efcaa1629a62b82fa03&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABhAMgYIAhAAGEAyBggDEAAYQDIGCAQQABhAMgYIBRAAGEAyBggGEAAYQDIGCAcQABhAMgYICBAAGEAyCAgJEOkHGPxV0gEIMzQ3MmowajGoAgCwAgA&FORM=ANNAB1&PC=U531 0:00 – Intro 1:33 – How did Tiger feel when finally holding the book he’d spent so much time working on? 3:04 - Tiger clarifies at what age he started playing chess and recalls playing with his father 5:02 – Why did his parents pick the name Tiger? 9:11 – How did Tiger’s “Tiger’s Chaos Theory” come about? 11:18 – Tiger’s database of his own games that impacted the way he played in the future 14:56 – Why Tiger’s book does not propose a “grand theory” of chess 17:21 – The chapter on queen sacrifices 20:30 - Why a good chess player should strive for objectivity 23:10 – Tiger’s use of metaphors and stories in his writing 26:31 – Why Tiger talks to his pieces, and his students should too 29:43 – Tiger’s scepticism towards material 30:41 – Tiger clarifies certain quotes from the book 31:12 – AD BREAK 33:37 – How does this book relate to Tiger’s other passions, like go and music? 38:40 – Tiger’s humble beginnings and relative disregard for money 42:01 – Tiger’s favourite classical music 46:21 – AD BREAK 47:21 – Why Tiger considers chess more of a science than an art, the role of the engine 58:01 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American IM John Donaldson. At this year’s Olympiad, John will be captaining team USA, the top seeds in Budapest. John has a long history of captaining the American Olympiad team, making his debut in Dubai in 1986 and leading the team to gold in Baku in 2016. This year will be his fifteenth time accompanying the American team to the event, which he describes as arguably the most exciting chess event in the world. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, John looks ahead to this year’s event, analyses each teams’ chances, and shares some Olympiad stories from the past. 0:00 – Intro 1:49 – John explains the significance of the San Francisco Mechanics Institute 5:06 – Why John thinks the Olympiad is the most exciting chess event 7:59 – How did John get his job as the first captain of the US Olympiad team? 13:28 – Was John always the “player-coach”? 15:20 – How does John see his role as captain, and how does this compare to the captain’s role back in the day? 27:05 – AD BREAK 28:03 - This year’s American Olympiad team, the strength of the current playing field and the other frontrunners 32:39 – Netherlands being a remarkable 4th seed in this year’s Olympiad 33:25 – Uzbekistan and Kramnik’s captaincy 36:35 – Norway and Magnus 39:20 – The Olympiad often being a tournament for young stars to break out 40:20 – AD BREAK 40:53 – Last year’s Olympiad in Chennai 41:55 – The many format changes the Olympiad has undergone throughout the years 46:50 – John’s nail-biting experience winning Olympiad gold in 2016 52:18 – What was it like to manage a team of “stars” as John did in 2016? 56:48 – AD BREAK 59:38 – John carrying his passion for reading over to his players 1:02:32 – John’s upcoming book for Bobby Fischer 1:06:59 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a riveting interview with the First Lady of Chess, Judit Polgar. With the Olympiad in Judit’s home city Budapest around the corner, it’s hard to think of a better guest!Judit Polgar is the strongest female chess player of all time. At the age of 15 years and four months she broke Bobby Fischer’s record to become the youngest grandmaster in history. For more than two decades she competed successfully with the very best and became the first and only woman ever to enter the world top-10. In her career she defeated eleven(!) current or former World Champions in classical or rapid chess. Judit retired from professional chess in 2014 but continues to be one of the most beloved ambassadors of the game. Judit also organises the Global Chess Festival, which will be held for the tenth time during this year’s Budapest Olympiad. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Judit shares Olympiad memories, speaks about the philosophy of her festival and sketches the outlines of a new title system to erase the difference between Open and Women’s competitions.0:00 – Intro 2:10 - How are Judits days filled in Budapest with the Olympiad coming up? 5:18 - What makes the Global Chess Festival in Budapest so special? 9:20 - What is Judits motivation for organising the festival? 13:25 - How did Judit react to the news of the Olympiad being held in Budapest? 15:15 - Why the Olympiad is a great place to meet old friends 17:04 - The Olympiad's unique atmosphere and the Bermuda party 19:06 - How does Judit remember her first Olympiad as a young girl? 22:02 - Did Judits success improve the family's relationship with Hungarian authorities? 23:47 - AD BREAK 24:20 - Judits as a pioneer for women players 26:18 - "Polgaria" 30:46 - The adjustment of playing the Olympiad with men 33:27 - What does Judit think of women's events? 37:45 - Judit suggests abolishing women's titles 41:41 - How does Judit reflect on her Olympiad achievements? 45:30 - Bled 46:36 - AD BREAK 47:35 - Judits experiences as Hungarian team captain 55:12 - Who are Judits favorites and dark horses? 1:00:20 - Magnus's participation 1:03:32 - The Chinese team 1:05:38 - Do Judits female mentees have the same passion and discipline for the game as the young men? 1:07:30 - Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, better known as Coach Vishnu. Vishnu is best known as the first trainer of Gukesh D, who will challenge reigning champion Ding Liren for the world title later this year. Vishnu has deep ties to the Indian city of Chennai, where he and his wife operate the Vishnu Chess Academy. Interviewed by our brand new host Jacob Aagaard, Vishnu talks about his school, the city of Chennai, and the meteoric rise of Gukesh. 0:00 – Intro 4:10 – Chennai as a chess city5:42 – The importance of Vishy Anand for the city of Chennai 7:18 – Gukesh’s formative years 10:40 – Vishnu’s coaching methods with Gukesh 13:15 – What was the role of the engine in their training sessions? 16:13 – AD BREAK 17:06 – What caused the split between Vishnu and Gukesh? 25:10 – Vishnu’s family life and other business ventures 29:30 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. This week’s episode features the first half of the story of legendary World Champion Capablanca. José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942) was a Cuban chess prodigy who became the third World Chess Champion, reigning from 1921 to 1927. Often referred to as the "Human Chess Machine" due to his exceptional endgame skills and nearly flawless technique, Capablanca is celebrated for his natural talent and intuitive grasp of the game. His crowning achievement was his victory over Emanuel Lasker in 1921, which made him the World Chess Champion. Known for his clarity of play and the ability to exploit the smallest of advantages, Capablanca was unbeaten in tournament play from 1916 to 1924, an unprecedented record. Though he lost the title to Alexander Alekhine in 1927, Capablanca's contributions to chess theory, especially in the endgame, remain highly influential. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest natural talents in the history of chess. "The Essential Sosonko" is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from Genna Sosonko's “The Essential Sosonko” on Lev Polugaevsky.An expert on the Sicilian Defence, Polugaevsky wrote two books on the opening and has one variation named after him. He was one of the strongest chess players of the late 1960s and early 1970s, but had to bow to his nemesis Viktor Korchnoi twice in the Candidates Tournament.Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, in “‘I must work, I must work…’” Sosonko shows us the struggles of a world-class player plagued with human features: from excessive awe for his opponents to the bad timing of occasional absent-mindedness."The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American FIDE master and chess author Charles Hertan. Charles’s latest work “The Real Paul Morphy” focuses on the life and career of one of the most enigmatic figures in chess history. Paul Morphy (1837-1884) learned chess at a young age and quickly made a name for himself as a prodigious talent. Known for his brilliant, aggressive style and deep understanding of the game, Morphy quickly vanquished all opposition in the United States. At one point, he travelled from his native New Orleans to Europe to seek stronger opposition, but to no avail. When a match with Howard Staunton did not materialise, Morphy, age 22, returned to the United States and promptly retired from chess to start a legal career. He would repeatedly decline invitations to return to competitive chess, even as his law practice failed to pick up steam. In his later years, Morphy developed severe mental illness and died at the young age of 47. His short but brilliant career would earn him the nickname “The Pride and Sorrow of Chess”, which has stuck to this day. Charles Hertan is not only good at chess and writing, he has also worked as a psychotherapist, which informs much of his understanding of Morphy’s eccentric mind. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Charles takes us deeper into his writing process and gives his assessment of Paul Morphy as a chess player and human.“The Real Paul Morphy” is now available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-real-paul-morphy Timestamps 0:00 – Intro 1:43 – How did the concept for “The Real Paul Morphy” come about? 2:55 – How good was Morphy in Charles’s estimation? 5:00 – Morphy’s incredible natural talent 10:25 – Morphy’s dominance in the US and first European tournaments 13:01 – AD BREAK 13:53 – Morphy’s gentle personality 17:19 – Why did the match with Howard Staunton fall through, according to Charles? 19:20 – The difficult character of Howard Staunton 24:11 – Frederick Milnes Edge 29:03 – AD BREAK 30:26 – Morphy’s mental illness, comparison with Fischer 35:40 – Morphy’s later years as a psychotic 38:15 – The women’s shoes myth 40:41 – Can we draw a connection between Morphy’s brilliance and madness? 44:00 – Morphy’s disdain for chess as a hobby worthy of pursuing as an occupation 49:40 – AD BREAK 50:12 – Charles’s desire to keep Morphy’s legacy alive 55:20 – The “romantic” label, Charles’s assessment of Morphy, Staunton and Anderssen 58:10 – Morphy’s influence on the game, Wilhelm Steinitz 1:00:10 – Will Charles write about Pillsbury next? 1:02:20 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second half of the narration from Genna Sosonko's “The Essential Sosonko” on Mikhail Botvinnik. Continuing where we ended two weeks ago, we find Botvinnik giving his perception on several his chess colleagues. He then proceeds to talk about other matters that are close to his heart, such as the future of computer chess and his own painful losses. Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, in “His Journey to Immortality” Sosonko does recites a long monologue given by the former World Champion himself, in a way making this chapter a double autobiography. 00:00 Introduction 01:18 Botvinnik's position to the divide between Karpov and Kasparov 04:34 Botvinnik's regards on Kramnik, Shirov and Beliavsky 07:27 Botvinnik defused Bronstein, Smyslov and Tal 09:35 How Botvinnik took care of himself 12:13 Botvinnik on the future of computer chess 13:03 AD BREAK 13:56 Botvinnik's relation with and views on politics 17:31 What old age meant to Botvinnik 23:08 Botvinnik remembered his painful losses 24:28 Botvinnik's principles and convictions 27:17 AD BREAK 27:50 To understand Botvinnik is to understand him in the context of his time 30:44 The last time Sosonko met Botvinnik 34:30 Botvinnik’s death and the journey to immortality

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with FIDE Master Jimmy Adams. Jimmy has had a rich career in chess publishing, both as an editor (CHESS magazine, Batsford and others) and as a writer and compiler of countless books. Among his best-known books published by New In Chess are impressive tomes on Breyer, Chigorin and Zukertort. His latest chess-historical gem is an impressive four-volume set dedicated to the career of late Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres. Paul Keres is regarded by many as the strongest chess player to never win a world championship. His impressive play and charming personality made him a popular figure both in and outside the chess world. When he died at the relatively young age of 59, a crowd of 100,000 Estonians turned out for his funeral procession in Tallinn. However, his life was also marred by stress and health issues, brought on in a large part by the suffocating grip of the Soviet regime on chess. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jimmy reflects on the life and career of “Paul the Second”, which includes various personal encounters with Keres as well as many stories involving other legendary players, including Fischer, Korchnoi and even Capablanca.Jimmy's full Paul Keres series will be published in november and can be pre-ordered at a 20% discount on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/keres 0:00 – Intro 2:40 – Jimmy’s initial obsession with Paul Keres 5:15 – What attracted Jimmy to Keres specifically? 8:45 – Meeting Keres personally 15:20 – Keres’s hilarious Capablanca anecdote 17:02 – AD BREAK 18:10 – Keres’s love of tennis, attending the Wimbledon final 20:45 – More funny anecdotes about Reti, Flohr 24:05 – Was Keres politically pressured by the Soviet regime to not defeat Botvinnik? 28:55 – Keres’s constant harassment by the KGB 31:53 – AD BREAK 33:58 – Keres’s best results 36:20 – Keres’s personal issues 40:30 – The things that surprised Jimmy the most about Keres 43:15 – Jimmy’s discussion with Korchnoi about Keres 44:00 – Why was Keres always the “eternal second”? 45:49 – Keres’s friendship with Spassky 48:25 – Keres’s fluency in several languages 50:33 – Jimmy tells a hilarious story about Fischer and Najdorf 53:26 – AD BREAK 54:06 – Keres’s relationship with Fischer 1:00:10 – Keres’s great annotations 1:03:16 – Keres’s legacy, large state funeral in Estonia 1:07:57 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. This episode is the first of a two-part story about Mikhail Botvinnik. He won the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament and thus became the sixth World Chess Champion, thereby succeeding Alekhine who had died two years prior. He lost and regained the title twice – to Smyslov and Tal respectively – before he was ultimately dethroned by Petrosian in 1963. In that same year, Botvinnik founded his own chess school, which ensured that the Soviet Union dominated the world of chess for many years to come. The “Soviet School of Chess” has world champions such as Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik among its graduates, as well as many other Grandmasters. Next to his chess career, Botvinnik was very interested in engineering. He sought to combine the two and became one of the pioneers in the world of computer chess. Thanks to his endeavours on computer chess, Botvinnik was awared an honorary degree in mathematics in 1991, at the age of 80. In this episode, Sosonko talks of his personal contacts with Botvinnik. He then takes a step back and gives the stage to Botvinnik himself. “The Engineer” talks of his youth in St. Petersburg, his becoming acquainted with the game of chess, and the often difficult relationships with his rivals. Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! Remember, you can find us on popular platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts, making it convenient for you to browse the chapters and listen to your favourite parts.The hardcopy version of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction 01:23 - Genna plays a game with Botvinnik for the Dutch national television 04:43 - “Misha” Botvinnik's visit to Amsterdam in 1989 07:28 - Genna meets with Botvinnik in Moscow in 1988 09:48 - Botvinnik talks about his family 15:25 - Botvinnik learns chess; having to deal with anti-Semitism 17:17 - AD BREAK 17:49 - A 9-year-old Misha becomes interested in Russian literature 20:23 - How Botvinnik met his wife thanks to music 23:13 - Botvinnik remarks on his connections with the Russian composers 26:36 - Botvinnik begins his chess journey 29:04 - Botvinnik's strained relationships with Bronstein, Levenfish, Romanovsky, Petrosian, Smyslov, and Euwe

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Robert Hess. A former US #5 with a peak FIDE rating of 2639, Robert is renowned as one of Chess.com’s star commentators, covering its largest events such as the World Chess Championship and the Candidates Tournament. Growing up in New York City, Robert showed promise in chess at an early age, but he credits his success to one man in particular: the late Soviet-born American grandmaster and coach Miron Sher (1952-2020). Miron Sher, together with his wife and son, emigrated from Ukraine to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York in 1997. There, he would foster the talent of Robert and, among others, Fabiano Caruana. The book “Dream Moves: Eye-Opening Chess Lessons For Improvers” is a collection of instructive chess materials that Miron gave to his students. Thanks to the tireless work of his wife Alla and son Mikhail, New In Chess is now able to posthumously publish Miron’s work. With hundreds of exercises ranging from easy to very difficult, Dream Moves is both an instructive work for improving players and a sentimental window into the life and teachings of one of chess’s most beloved coaches. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Robert reflects warmly on his personal experiences with Miron as both a coach and a human. He also talks about his career as a commentator and how Miron’s lessons continue to inform his approach to the game. “Dream Moves: Eye-Opening Chess Lessons for Improvers” is available at a 20% discounted rate in the New In Chess web shop. Click the link below and enter the code “DREAM20” to claim your discount!https://www.newinchess.com/dream-moves 0:00 - Intro 1:52 - What Miron Sher meant to Robert and his other students 5:20 - How Miron would teach different students differently 8:56 - Robert's fondest memory of Miron 11:00 - Miron's love of his family 14:33 - "It's very Miron to not speak about his difficulties", the respect Miron earned in the chess community 19:28 - Miron taking early notice of Robert's fighting mentality 21:35 - Robert's part in having the book published after Miron's passing 25:45 - The structure of the book, Miron "tricking" his students and how his teachings continue to inspire Roberts play and commentary 29:00 - The "20% rule" and the "Dream Move" 32:30 - How Miron would incorporate "themes" into his material and the lasting impact on Robert's play 37:13 - AD BREAK 37:45 - How Robert incorporates Miron's teachings into his commentary 42:06 - Does Robert have a favourite event to commentate on? 44:50 - How difficult is it to analyse bullet games in real-time and, conversely, how does Robert keep his commentary interesting during slower-paced classical games? 45:48 - Robert's ideal commentary setup 48:05 - How does Robert see the game of chess develop in the forthcoming years? 52:00 – The lack of statistics as a preparatory tool in chess 53:53 – What does Robert like about chess’s recent development in the mainstream? 58:10 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. In this episode Sosonko draws up a portrait of the ninth World Champion Tigran Petrosian. Lauded by the Armenian populus as a national hero, Tigran often found himself accompanied by fans wherever he went.Petrosian turned prophylaxis into a trademark of his playing style, which gained him the nickname “Iron Tigran” as well as several tribute books. Refining many defensive and prophylactic ideas, he raised the positional Exchange sacrifice into an art form."The Main Thing Is Happiness" focuses on Petrosian's personal background. Born in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, to parents from Armenia, he lived in Moscow for most of his life. This begs the question as to Petrosian's nationality, especially now that the Soviet Union as an entity no longer exists.Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! Remember, you can find us on popular platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, making it convenient for you to browse the chapters and listen to your favourite parts.Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:17 Petrosian was celebrated as an Armenian hero 06:33 The reception by the people when Petrosian became World Chess Champion 10:35 "Our Tigran": Petrosian did not belong to just one country 12:31 Petrosian the Polyglot 13:56 AD BREAK 14:29 Petrosian's friendship with composer Arno B abajanian 15:46 The Armenian-Jewish combination17:02 Khrushchev's joke and Mikoyan's warning 19:31 How Petrosian's life might have been if he had still been alive today 22:35 Petrosian in anticipation of his demise

Dear Chess Friend, This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Jan Timman. One of the world’s leading players during the 80’s and 90’s, Jan was at some point considered the best non-Soviet chess player in the world, acquiring the nickname “The Best of the West”. Jan is also an active chess author and composer, and still spends much of his time creating endgame studies. However, at 72 years of age, Jan is far from a spent force in competition: with a FIDE rating of 2527, Jan is currently gearing up to participate in his seventeenth Dutch championship, of which he has won nine in the past. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jan reflects on his experiences as a world-class player, his encounters with eccentric figures like Hein Donner, and his preparatory work for what may just be his tenth national championship.0:00 – Intro 2:02 – Participating in the Dutch national championship again 4:03 – How did Jan work on his chess in the pre-computer era? 11:44 – Hein Donner stories 23:05 – Max Euwe stories 26:00 – Jan’s father’s initial objections to his chess career 29:25 – Jan’s brother, FIDE master Ton Timman 31:17 – AD BREAK 31:48 - Winning his first national championship fifty years ago, dominating the Dutch chess scene 35:41 – The rise (and stagnation) of rival Dutch players like Piket, Van Wely, Nikolic and Sokolov 38:07 – Gearing up for his first Dutch championship in 18 years 42:19 – When did Jan achieve his peak? 43:44 – What were Jan’s weaknesses as a player? 45:06 – Why did Jan’s contemporaries not achieve the same success? 47:00 – Does Jan still enjoy the game as much as before? 48:08 – Jan’s passion for composing endgame studies 50:36 – The upcoming Dutch championship 52:31 – Jan’s dream tournament and Kasparov's menacing stare56:02 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. One of the few bona fide chess superstars of the current era, Hikaru is the world’s 3rd ranked player with a June 2024 FIDE rating of 2794, and was one of the frontrunners to win this year’s Candidates Tournament. Other over-the-board successes include five US titles and a victory in the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship. In addition to his achievements as a player, Hikaru has built up a highly lucrative career as an online chess content creator, streaming live games and providing real-time analyses of top-level games, including his own. With his exciting style of play, extraverted personality and legitimate world-class playing strength, Hikaru has emerged from the 2020’s chess boom as perhaps the biggest voice in online chess, all the while maintaining (and some would say improving) his over-the-board performance. While participating in the recent Norway Chess tournament, Hikaru sat down with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam for an impromptu podcast. Armed with only a mobile phone and a quiet room, Dirk Jan and Hikaru nonetheless managed to create an engaging piece of chess content that we’re sure the listener will enjoy! 0:00 – Intro1:34 – How does Hikaru feel about the increasing prevalence of non-classical tournament play, like blitz, rapid and Fischerandom? 3:57 – The importance of sponsors and online viewership to further the growth of chess 6:14 – The start of Hikaru’s streaming career 8:25 – How does Hikaru stay motivated and energetic for his online content? 11:03 – Streaming during big tournaments 13:53 – How does Hikaru cope with losses? 15:15 – How does Hikaru’s newfound wealth affect his play? 19:56 – Why some players get “stuck” in chess 23:23 – Hikaru gives Dirk Jan a proper, YouTube-style introduction 23:35 – Is it hard for Hikaru to recap his own losses? 27:23 – The origins of “Gucci Piano” and “Fiancheeto” 29:27 – AD BREAK 30:05 – How long will the current chess boom last? 32:49 – Does Hikaru ever get too caught up in social media numbers? 34:18 – The relative lack of “big stars” in chess 36:23 – Hikaru’s personal and professional relationship with Magnus 38:22 – Hikaru’s criticism of the classical + Armageddon format used at Norway Chess 40:25 – Why does Hikaru like classical so much? 41:35 – Hikaru’s expectations for up-and-comers like Pragg, Erigaisi and Abdusattorov 46:03 – Fischerandom 47:00 – Indian chess 49:39 – Will Hikaru actually retire at 40? 53:18 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast delves into the life and career of one of the greatest chess-players of all time: Garry Kasparov. The "Beast of Baku", whose matches with Anatoly Karpov meant a redefining of the format of the World Championship match, was feared by many for his deep preparation and knowledge in the opening. After announcing his retirement from chess in 2005, Kasparov pursued his political ideals. His fierce opposition of the practices of the Russian political elite has forced him to leave Russia. But his energy and fierceness are nonetheless as strong as they have always been. With "His Unlimited Struggle" Genna presents a rather belated 55th birthday present to the thirteenth World Chess Champion: Kasparov turned 60 mere months before The Essential Sosonko was released. Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! Remember, you can find us on popular platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, making it convenient for you to browse the chapters and listen to your favourite parts. 00:00 - Introduction 01:23 - "The worst of the vices is to be over 55 years old" 05:26 - How Garry became as good as he was 07:39 - Garry set the standard with his dedication to the study and preparation of the opening 09:51 - Sosonko's impressions of "Garik" 11:27 - Garry dominates the world of chess for 15 years 12:45 - Garry retires from chess 13:09 - Going into politics: Garry is forced to leave Russia 14:15 - AD BREAK 14:47 - Chess is only one of Garry's outstanding talents 17:33 - "I won't spare myself": Garry's unlimited struggle 19:45 - Smear campaign in Russia: the chess speaks for itself, and time will tell 25:37 - 10 years of having left Russia 28:01 - Garry's move to the United States 29:17 - "One has to live long..."

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein. Simen made history by becoming the first Norwegian chess grandmaster in 1985. A nine-time Norwegian chess champion, Simen also had a notable career in professional football, representing the Norwegian national team nine times. Additionally, he has been credited with discovering and fostering the talent of Magnus Carlsen, becoming the latter’s first chess coach. Two weeks ago, Atle Grønn appeared on the New In Chess Podcast to discuss “Games and Goals: the Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein”, a reflection on Simen’s dual professional careers and influence on the game of chess. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, this week Simen is here himself to talk about the book, his own career achievements and regrets, as well as the past and future of Norwegian chess. "Games and Goals" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website:https://www.newinchess.com/games-and-goals 0:00 – Intro 3:25 – How did “Games and Goals” come about? 7:09 – Becoming the first Norwegian grandmaster 11:55 – Simen’s professional football career and the pressures of combining two high-level sports 19:03 – Simen’s career regrets 22:59 – His knee injury and retirement from football 27:55 – AD BREAK 28:37 – How it feels to play football against all-time greats like Baresi and Maldini 31:03 – Simen’s image in the media and reflections on his football career 37:32 – Being the “clown” of the Norwegian football team 40:18 – Discovering Magnus 43:47 – The Norwegian school of chess 47:37 – Comparing Magnus to the greatest players before him 49:37 – Elham Amar: the next Magnus? 53:15 – Winning the Norwegian championship for the 9th time in 2023 58:01 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with British grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Often called “the strongest amateur in the world”, Matthew, a two-time British chess champion, has retired from playing full-time with a more-than-respectable FIDE rating of 2694. Despite his inactivity as a player, Matthew is far from done with chess. In addition to his own writings (the most notable of which is Game Changer, a game analysis of Google’s AI-powered AlphaZero engine), Matthew also actively reviews the work of other chess authors, from highly technical endgame books to biographies and more personal chess stories. His review column in the New In Chess Magazine is amongst the publication’s most popular rubrics. Interviewed by Dirk-Jan ten Geuzendam, Matthew talks about chess literature, his own personal favorites, and his process for reviewing the work of other authors, among other things. 0:00 – Intro 2:05 – Matthew’s work in IT 5:08 – Why Matthew hasn’t played since COVID 6:47 – The role of (chess and non-chess) literature in Matthew’s upbringing 12:20 – Matthew’s music taste, his brother’s career in music 15:55 – The chess books that molded a young Matthew 21:13 – Why the quality of chess literature has drastically improved 26:20 – How should a chess author explain playing styles of less accessible players? 28:06 – How much time does Matthew spend reading chess books? 32:02 – Top players creating their own material, the effects of the computer age 34:54 – Does reading chess biographies help a player become stronger? 40:13 – AD BREAK 40:45 – Why young players should be wary of old literature 46:01 – Should we replace the “one-to-five-star” system with a rating system? 48:15 – Matthew’s favorite chess book of all time 56:19 – Matthew’s other favorites 59:19 – Where does Matthew think chess literature is headed? 1:00:01 – Writing Game Changer 1:05:03 – Which book still urgently needs to be written? 1:07:32 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Atle Grønn, the author of Games and Goals, The Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein. Atle Grønn is Professor of Slavic linguistics at the University of Oslo, but he is also a strong chess player - an International Master - and has written several books on chess. In Norway, he is a familiar face on television as chess expert in the live broadcasts of big chess events by NRK. Games and Goals is the biography of Simen Agdestein, who not only was the greatest Norwegian chess player before Magnus Carlsen appeared on the scene, but who also - and this can safely be called spectacular - had a successful football career. Agdestein won the Norwegian Chess Championship nine times, while as a footballer he played for the Norwegian national team eight times. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Atle Grønn talks about his new book, the most remarkable double career of Simen Agdestein, the unique approach of ‘the Norwegian school of chess’, Magnus Carlsen, chess biographies in general and much more.Games and Goals is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/games-and-goals 0:00 – Intro 2:18 – Why did Atle decide to write the book? 3:51 – How involved was Simen in the writing process? 5:42 – Finding out new things about Simen’s life and childhood 12:50 – How would Atle characterise Simen’s influence on Norwegian chess? 15:46 – Simen’s father 17:11 – Simen’s insistence on privacy as a young player 20:20 – The pressures of combining professional chess and football 26:35 – Could Simen have gone further in chess? 27:56 – Simen’s influence on Magnus 32:26 – AD BREAK 32:58 – What is Simen’s legacy in Norwegian football? 37:02 – How did Simen deal with his career-ending football injury? 38:32 – Discovering Magnus and the “Norwegian school of chess” 43:02 – Simen’s competitive nature 45:24 – Which other chess biographies inspired Atle to write this one? 51:21 – Which other biographies would Atle recommend? 57:12 – Will Atle write Magnus’s biography? 1:00:42 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Georgian-Dutch grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili. Born in 2001, Robby has represented the varsity chess team of St. Louis University since 2019, winning numerous national prizes with his teammates. Interviewed by Alex Polak, Robby talks about his life as a chess player on the American collegiate circuit, his strong performances in blitz play, and his impression of St. Louis, deemed by many to be the chess capital of the world. 0:00 – Intro 1:01 – What it means to be a student athlete in the world of chess 1:54 – How Robby ended up in St. Louis 3:30 – Chess and academics 7:00 – The collegiate tournament schedule 9:43 – Robby’s strong coaches at SLU 11:03 – St. Louis, the city of chess 13:11 – Robby’s incredibly strong online play 17:53 – Other strong chess universities 23:13 – Robby’s training schedule 24:49 – Experiencing the chess boom while a part of SLU 28:48 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from Genna Sosonko’s “The Essential Sosonko”. The subject of this week’s audiobook is one of the most beloved and inspiring chess players of all time: Mikhail Tal. With his fierce attacking style, “Misha” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvinnik to claim the World Chess Championship in 1960. Widely acclaimed as a genius, Misha’s tactical play would produce numerous brilliancies, as well as a 95-game unbeaten streak, a record that would stand for over forty years. Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, “My Misha” is a retelling of Genna’s twenty-five year friendship with Misha. It is a first-hand account of everything the “Magician from Riga” was known for: his striking appearance, his notoriously unhealthy lifestyle, his complicated family dynamics, but most importantly: his deep love of chess. The hard-copy of the entire "The Essential Sosonko" is available on the New In Chess Website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko 0:00 – Intro 1:15 – Misha’s victory in the 1959 Candidates Tournament 1:52 – Misha’s early reputation as a reckless player 2:53 – Stories of Misha’s first meeting with Mikhail Botvinnik 3:47 – Genna’s experience analysing openings with Misha 5:34 – Misha’s deep love of chess, especially blitz 6:55 – Misha’s very complicated family 10:16 – Misha’s simple and lazy lifestyle 11:57 – Alcohol 13:36 – Misha’s talent on the piano despite his physical deformity, his love of football 15:23 – Misha’s poor health, addiction 16:40 – AD BREAK 17:19 – Misha’s imposing appearance, piercing eyes, and mental strength 20:03 – Genna’s personal Misha stories 27:35 – Witnessing Misha’s declining health, Misha’s last tournaments 30:14 – Genna’s last letter from Misha32:26 - Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen.A five-time Danish champion, Peter Heine Nielsen is primarily known for his highly successful coaching career. From 2007 till 2023, he continuously coached World Champions Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen. In that capacity he was a winning coach in a World Championship match a record eight times.Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Peter Heine Nielsen looks back on the Candidates tournament in Toronto that ended earlier this week. The sensational winner was 17-year-old Gukesh from India who will now challenge World Champion Ding Liren in a match for the world title. That match is scheduled to take place in November. The exact dates and place have not yet been announced. Nielsen shares his views of Gukesh and also speaks extensively about the three favourites – Caruana, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi – that were pipped at the post by the youngster in one of the most exciting last rounds ever.0:00 - Intro1:33 - How did Peter follow the Candidates, now that Magnus is not involved in the cycle?5:53 - Peter's expectations before the event vs reality7:36 - The dramatic final round11:58 - Peter's criticism of the 8-player, 14-round format18:18 - Peter unfavourably compares Magnus's experience winning World Championship matches with winning big tournaments, like Tata Steel19:41 - How special winning the World Cup was for Magnus21:34 - Gukesh's impressive performance and mindset30:09 - How Peter has seen chess become more of a sport, the evolving role of opening preparation33:30 - Is the "middlegame-focused"-approach34:58 - AD BREAK35:41 - Fabiano's devastating result, his playing strength and status as the unofficial #2 in the world41:39 - Nepo's performance44:33 - Hikaru's impressive performance, media career51:09 - Gukesh's strength and potential, chances against Ding55:37 - Ding's state of mind following World Championship win, lackluster performances1:00:07 - Peter tells the world not to count out Ding1:01:16 - Magnus's reaction to Gukesh's win1:03:07 - Alireza1:06:48 - Future games between Gukesh and Magnus1:11:20 - Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features not one, but to esteemed guests. Women International Master Natasha Regan and Matt Ball are longtime collaborators, having recently co-authored “Zwischenzug!”, a book about a concept that will be familiar to many but, according to its authors, is missed exceedingly often in modern (online) chess. The zwischenzug, also known as the in-between move, intermediary move, or intermezzo, occurs regularly in chess at all levels, from amateur games to the last World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Interviewed by Remmelt Otten, Regan and Ball expand on the concept of the zwischenzug and draw parallels with various other strategy games, like go and shogi, and introduce concepts from those games that may even be interesting for chess players to learn. "Zwischenzug!" will be available on the New In Chess website soon:https://www.newinchess.com/zwischenzug 00:06 – Intro 02:14 – How Matt and Natasha met 02:53 – Why name the course “Zwischenzug”? 04:09 – How did the idea to write the book come about? 05:13 – How does one become an official FIDE coach? 07:05 – Why should people buy the book instead of using some online course? 08:33 – How should a student use the book? 09:43 – How the online "pre-move" makes people forget about in-between moves 11:25 – The beauty of the zwischenzug move 12:48 – How common are zwischenzugs? 14:01 – The unbelievable amount of zwischenzugs that occurred in the Ding-Nepo match 16:10 – Natasha and Matt coming up with new phrases to describe specific zwischenzug situations 18:29 – AD BREAK 19:11 – Matt gives the listener a visualisation exercise 22:34 – Natasha's affinity for abstract games such as go and shogi 25:39 – Natasha carrying over phrases from go into chess 25:57 – “Tenuki" 27:10 – “Aji” 30:50 – Natasha and Matt's participation in the European Senior Team Championship, using Puzzle Rush in preparation 36:12 – What books do Natasha and Matt recommend for chess improvement? 38:14 – Outro

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast, Anish Giri returns to give his take on the first half of the Candidates. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he candidly shares his assessment of the players so far. 0:00 – Intro 1:35 – Anish’s experience following the Candidates so far 2:57 – Alireza-Gukesh (round 7) 6:25 – Nepo’s performance so far, games against Pragg and Hikaru 14:13 – How many points does Anish think the winner will need? 16:18 – Fabiano’s performance so far 20:52 – Gukesh’s play 23:03 – Pragg’s crazy combinations 28:32 – Vidit-Pragg (round 3) 32:29 – Could this be Pragg’s tournament? 34:20 – Vidit’s play thus far, his early win against Hikaru 37:20 – Vidit’s “meditation”, other top players’ rituals before games 43:24 – AD BREAK 44:04 – Hikaru jumping right to YouTube after a game, even a loss 48:30 – Anish’s dislike of post-game press conferences, his preference for Hikaru’s approach 52:32 – Alireza’s tournament 58:33 – Who does Anish favour, halfway through the tournament 1:06:23 – The Women’s Candidates Tournament

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with grandmaster Jacob Aagaard. Jacob Aagaard is a GM - he was the British Champion in 2007 – but is best known as a prolific and award-winning chess writer, the founder of Quality Chess publishers, and a top coach who has worked with many big names we know and no doubt various that have remained a secret. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jacob Aagaard shares memories of Mark Dvoretsky (1947-2016), the legendary coach and writer, who was a dear friend of his and a great inspiration. The occasion is the publication of the book "Chess Coach, The profound and lasting Influence of Mark Dvoretsky by New In Chess", a tribute to Dvoretsky compiled by Vladimir Barsky that first appeared in Russian. Aagaard has called Dvoretsky ‘the biggest authority in my adult life’ and considers Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manuel simply ‘the best chess book ever written’. In a one-hour interview he explains why that is and treats the listeners to many wonderful stories about one of the most influential writers and coaches chess has ever seen. He also provides advice how to read Dvoretsky’s (and his close associate Jussupow’s) books, while also speaking about his own acclaimed books that would not have been written without the inspiration of a great example and their interaction. "Chess Coach" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/chess-coach0:00 – Intro 2:16 – What Mark Dvoretsky meant to Jacob during his adult life 4:30 – Jacob clarifies that two of his chess awards are now defunct and emphasizes Dvoretsky’s legacy 6:47 – Jacob’s first meeting with Dvoretsky, attending the Dvoretsky school as a kid 11:19 – How the relationship between Kasparov and Dvoretsky soured 15:51 – Life as a young Dvoretsky pupil 18:28 – Dvoretsky’s strong personal convictions 19:59 – Jacob recalls Mark Taimanov getting arrested in the Soviet Union after his loss to Fischer 21:20 – How wealth and fame affected Dvoretsky, him refusing to charge money from his strongest pupils 26:19 – Jacob rebuffing a request to coach a national team 27:50 – Why Jacob chose to end his coaching relationship with Nodirbek Abdusattorov 32:30 – The mental toughness required to become world champion 34:30 – The complex characters of Karpov and Kasparov 38:39 – Insights about Dvoretsky from his wife Inna 40:17 – Jacob shares a personal story about Dvoretsky 43:42 – AD BREAK 44:15 – Dvoretsky knowing even the most obscure books 44:55 – Why Dvoretsky’s “Endgame Manual” is the greatest chess book ever written 49:35 – Jacob’s book “Practical Chess Defence” 52:30 – Are Dvoretsky’s books accessible to beginners? 53:30 – Being proud to publish books containing Dvoretsky’s lessons 56:48 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, one of the strongest and most popular chess players in the world. A prodigy, Anish achieved the grandmaster title at the age of 14 and steadily grew into one the world’s leading players, eventually joining the select group of grandmasters to have breached the 2800-barrier. Among his finest victories is last year’s Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Anish is also one of the most many-sided players around. His online presence has brought him hundreds of thousands of followers, he has produced highly successful Chessable courses and he is, of course, a contributing editor to New In Chess magazine.Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Anish looks ahead to the Candidates tournament that will kick off on April 3rd in Toronto. Providing great insights, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the eight Candidates and speaks openly about his expectations and personal favourites. Anish’s expert analysis is a must-hear treat for everyone who is looking forward to one of the greatest chess events of 2024.00:00 – Intro01:40 – Anish’s upcoming tournament schedule02:44 – The unprofessional way FIDE tournaments are scheduled 08:16 – How Anish feels about the events that led to him missing the Candidates tournament 16:00 – Anish will make predictions for each Candidate 16:28 – Abasov 20:37 – Why Anish likes the dynamic of having one weaker player in a strong tournament 22:51 – Vidit 28:08 – Gukesh 29:51 – AD BREAK 30:30 – Pragg 35:47 – Nepo 37:53 – Will Russian and Indian Candidates feel pressure from their governments to perform well? 40:55 – Alireza 46:30 – Hikaru 53:17 – Fabiano 57:18 – How would have the best chances against Ding? 1:01:11 – Anish’s personal favourite to win the tournament 1:02:10 – Having grown closer to Fabiano 1:04:10 – How closely will Anish follow the event? 1:05:43 – Anish stresses that his predications may vary according to his mood 1:06:47 – Outro

This weeks episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with International Master Thomas Willemze. Thomas is one of New In Chess’s most prolific authors, with a varied body of work that includes opening books, puzzle books, endgame books, and strategy books. His two latest works, “What Would You Play” and “World Chess Champion Strategy for Club Players”, have received positive reviews for their high-quality analysis and educational approach, which aims to simulate over-the-board situations as much as possible. In addition to his authorship, Thomas has had 30 years of experience as a coach and draws heavily from his coaching experience when structuring his material. Perhaps surprisingly, he has found that a game does not have to be played at grandmaster level to be educational. “What Would You Play” draws lessons from games played at all levels, including by a very young Magnus Carlsen, popular online streamer and influencer Alexandra Botez, and Thomas himself. Interviewed by Alex Polak, Thomas talks about chess post-COVID, gives his view on what it takes to become a better player, and previews his future publications with New In Chess. Thomas's most recent work "What Would You Play" is available on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/what-would-you-play To purchase "World Chess Champion Strategy for Club Players", visit https://www.newinchess.com/world-chess-champion-strategy-training-for-club-players

This weeks episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Loek van Wely. “King Loek” is an 8-time Dutch champion, and, at 51, has remained active as a player while expanding his activities as a trainer and organiser. He reached his peak in 2001, making it into the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. As a coach, Van Wely has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, and more recently with the Italian national team and Dutch GM Max Warmerdam. He can also look back on a political career, as a senator in the Dutch First Chamber from 2019 to 2023. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Loek talks about his career highlights, his political years and his adventures as a second for the prodigious Gata Kamsky (and his father Rustam!), as well as the demanding Vladimir Kramnik. He also gives his take on the way chess preparation has evolved, and who he expects to do well in the upcoming Candidates tournament. 00:00:00 – Intro 00:01:16 – 01:40 Being excited about the podcast 00:01:41 – 02:52 Playing in the German cup, experiencing some fatigue 00:02:53 – 04:40 His fondest (chess) career memories 00:04:41 – 05:24 Turning his prize money into a BMW 5-series , crashing it 00:05:25 – 07:54 Winning numerous open tournaments, eight Dutch championships 07:55 – 10:30 Getting deported from the United States for having the wrong visa 10:31 – 12:00 When and why he got the nickname King Loek, being one of the first online chess players 12:01 – 14:00 His character, challenging himself, rivalries with other players 14:01 – 16:55 Dirk Jan witnessing his bloody football matches with Magnus in Wijk aan Zee 16:56 – 18:02 Loek’s love of placing bets 18:03 – 23:56 His remarkable career switch into politics 23:57 – 27:27 Joining the controversial Forum For Democracy party, leaving because of the weird conspiracy theories of some of its members 27:28 – 30:15 Where does Loek stand politically? 30:16 – 32:14 Similarities and differences between chess and politics 32:15 – 34:31 Does Loek have any regrets about his political career? 34:32 – 35:04 AD BREAK 35:05 – 40:51 Being a second for Gata Kamsky in preparation for the latter’s 1996 World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov, Gata’s crazy father Rustam 40:52 – 45:52 Seconding for Kramnik and Topalov, Loek’s expertise with early engines such as Rybka and Fritz 45:53 – 53:30 His predictions for the 2024 Candidates tournament, the evolution of engine analysis and preparation, not seeing Pragg’s potential early on 53:31 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration of a chapter from The Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits written by legendary grandmaster and chess author Genna Sosonko.In today's reading, Sosonko takes us along the path of his own personal history against the background of the geopolitical situation in Europe and Russia in the second half of the 20th century, and provides insight into the reasons why he took up the pen to write his chronicles. "The Essential Sosonko" is available in full on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko-hardcover

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Sergey Tiviakov. A talented player in his youth, Sergey studied under former World Champion Vasily Smyslov along the likes of Vladimir Kramnik. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he won the U-18 world title and later emigrated to the Netherlands, where he would win multiple national championships as well as a European Championship in 2008. Sergey's dominance in tournament play culminated in a baffling 110-game unbeaten streak, a feat surpassed by only some of the greatest players of all time. Sergey's book, “Rock Solid Chess”, has got unanimous praise from critics, including the very best players in the world, for its novel insights. Sergey describes his chapter on opposite-coloured bishops as a personal favourite. Additionally, the book takes a different approach to engine analysis: where some annotators would be happy to call a -0.05 evaluation a dead draw, “Rock Solid Chess” tries to look beyond the horizon of the silicon brain to find hidden winning chances in “drawn” positions. Together with Remmelt Otten, Sergey discusses his writings, his playing career, and his life in The Netherlands. "Rock Solid Chess" is available in the New In Chess webshop: https://www.newinchess.com/rock-solid-chess

Today’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration of a chapter from The Essential Sosonko, written by grandmaster Genna Sosonko. Sosonko is a prolific author of chess books. His works are non-technical, instead chronicling his personal experiences and the lives of famous players of the past and present. Today's reading centres around Alexander Alekhine. In the first half of the 20th century, Alekhine twice became World Chess Champion, but these were hardly the only interesting events in his life. His turbulent relationship with alcohol, women, his competitors, and the Russian political establishment made him a controversial figure during his lifetime, as well as after his death under mysterious circumstances in 1946. Narrated by Nick Murphy, please enjoy today's episode of the New In Chess Podcast: Alexander Alekhine: The Paris Years.The Essential Sosonko-collection is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website:https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

Today's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features in an interview with Grandmaster Nigel Short. Nigel Short is one of the greatest British chess players of all time and was became the first British player ever to challenge for a world championship title in 1993. He is also an avid traveller who has played many tournaments abroad, especially in India. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Nigel talks about his appreciation for Indian chess, Vishy Anand, and India's current status as an emerging chess superpower.

Today’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov. Ivan is a former Dutch and Yugoslav chess champion who holds victories over several former World Champions, including Kasparov, Kramnik and Anand. He has also been highly successful as a chess trainer, currently coaching the Romanian national team and having previously worked with the Iranian, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbek teams, the latter winning the 2022 Chennai Olympiad under his guidance. He is also a prolific author of chess books on a variety of technical topics. His most recent release, "Winning Chess Middlegames: An Essential Guide to 1.e4 Pawn Structures", is a sequel to the 2009 original, with stronger computer analysis and a heavier focus on open and half-open games. Together with Remmelt Otten, Ivan discusses his playing and coaching career, his greatest victory, the careers of Alireza and Pragg, and much more. Ivan's most recent release, "Winning Chess Middlegames: An Essential Guide to 1.e4 Pawn Structures", is available on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/winning-chess-middlegames-e4-structures

Today’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration of a chapter from The Essential Sosonko, written by grandmaster Genna Sosonko. Sosonko is a prolific author of chess books. His works are non-technical, instead chronicling his personal experiences and the lives of famous players he competed with. The Essential Sosonko is a collection of these player portraits. Today's reading centres around Tony Miles. Miles, the first Englishman to achieve the grandmaster title, came close to reaching the pinnacle of the chess world in the 1970's and 1980's, scoring victories over former world champions such as Smyslov, Spassky and Tal. He was also seen as a controversial figure; he clashed with chess authorities and his fellow players, and famously beat then-World Champion Karpov with the move 1...a6, a decision that drew allegations of unsportsmanlike behaviour despite its success. While these incidents may have made Miles a divisive figure in the chess world, his life story is all the more interesting for it. Narrated by Nick Murphy, this episode of the New In Chess Podcast features Sosonko's first-hand account of the life and career of Tony Miles.The full version of The Essential Sosonko is available for purchase on the New In Chess website:https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

Today’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Grandmaster Ramachandran Ramesh, also known as Ramesh RB or simply Ramesh. Ramesh is an award-winning chess coach, with pupils all around the world. He is also a popular chess author. His most recent title, Improve Your Chess Calculation, was published by New In Chess in 2022. Ramesh is best known as the trainer of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, popularly known as Pragg, and his sister Vaishali. Under Ramesh’s guidance, Pragg would eventually become, for a time, the highest-rated Indian player in the world, a position previously occupied by Vishy Anand for over three decades. But Ramesh’s influence on Indian chess extends beyond the performances of one player. As its number of grandmasters has grown from 1 in 1988 to 84 in 2024, Ramesh has played a continuous role in chess’s incredible rise in India. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Ramesh talks about Pragg’s win over World Champion Ding Liren in Wijk aan Zee, his relationship with Vishy Anand, and his coaching philosophy.Ramesh's work "Improve Your Chess Calculation" is available on the New In Chess website:https://www.newinchess.com/improve-your-chess-calculation

Davorin Kuljasevic is a Croation chess grandmaster and FIDE trainer with over 15 years of experience as a coach. In addition to training numerous grandmasters and coaching the Finland national team, he has collaborated with New In Chess to publish several instructive chess works, including the bestselling books "Beyond Material" and "How to Study Chess on Your Own". He discusses his latest book, "Ding Liren's Best Games: A Chess Biography of the World Champion", with New In Chess editor-in-chief Remmelt Otten. Davorin's books are available in the New In Chess webshop:- "Ding Liren's Best Games: A Chess Biography of the World Champion": https://www.newinchess.com/ding-liren-best-chess-games- "How to Study Chess on your Own": https://www.newinchess.com/how-to-study-chess-on-your-own - "Beyond Material":https://www.newinchess.com/beyond-material Davorin's coaching page can be accessed here:https://lichess.org/coach/GrandmasterThinking

Today's podcast features an interview with Grandmaster Peter Svidler. Peter is an eight-time Russian Chess Champion and three-time Candidate for the World Championship. In addition to his accomplishments on the board, he is renowned in the chess world as a prolific commentator, having provided real-time chess commentary for close to 25 years. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Peter will preview the upcoming Tata Steel Chess Tournament, while also giving his opinion on recent developments in the 2024 Candidates' cycle, Chess960, and the next generation of chess superstars, among other things.

Dit is de eerste aflevering van de New In Chess Podcast. Gast van vandaag is grootmeester Paul van der Sterren. Paul heeft een indrukwekkende carrière als profschaker achter de rug. Zo won hij tweemaal het Nederlands kampioenschap, plaatste zich voor het kandidatentoernooi van 1994, en vocht schaakgevechten uit met de grootste namen van zijn tijd, onder wie Karpov, Timman, Korchnoi en Najdorf. Het schaken is Paul altijd blijven boeien. Na zijn actieve carrière als speler bracht Paul meerdere boeken uit, waaronder zijn autobiografie, "In Black and White", en "Mindful Chess: The Spiritual Journey of a Professional Chess Player", waarin Paul verder ingaat op zijn spirituele zoektocht op en naast het schaakbord. Meer informatie over de New In Chess Podcast: https://www.newinchess.com/podcast Het volledige New In Chess-assortiment aan schaakboeken: https://www.newinchess.com/more-to-explore/books-new-in-chess Paul's biografie, "In Black and White": https://www.newinchess.com/in-black-and-white