Perpetual Chess Podcast

GM Jacob Aagaard is an award winning author, and a founder of Quality Chess and of Killer Chess Training.com. With Magnus Carlsen firmly ahead in the match (by a score of 6.5 to 3.5), I thought it would be fun to check back in with GM Jacob Aagaard, who had written a prescient prediction for the match which was shared with our listeners in Episode 254. In our conversation, Aagaard expounds a bit on his thoughts on the match, and also shares his concerns about future World Championships when it comes to potential match formats and venues. It is always illuminating to hear GM Aagaard's thoughts! Following the Aagaard interview Shaun McCoy of Chess.com joins the show to give an update from Dubai. Shaun shares his highlights so far and discusses what it was like to be on the premises for Magnus' historical win in Game 6. As always, you can find the timestamps for the interviews below. 0:00- Intro 10:00- GM Jacob Aagaard interview 43:45- Shaun McCoy joins the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to another Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess. In this episode, we feature another Queen’s Gambit convert to Perpetual Chess. 30-year-old tech executive and musician Alex Crompton recently became obsessed with the game and dove headlong into the best ways to improve at it. Alex is quick to note that his accomplishments are modest, but as he detailed on his blog, he has gone from total beginner to a respectable 1500 FIDE rating in less than a year. As our conversation reveals, lots of research and work went into this improvement. In our conversation, Alex shares tons of good study tips and reflections about the science of learning, including the ways that the study of languages has helped him improve his chess. It was a lot of fun hearing about Alex’s chess progress, and any listener of any rating can learn from this conversation. Please read on for lots of details, timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- For more information about the Harvard Chess Cognition Study go here. 3:00- Alex joins the show, and we begin by discussing why Alex finds it challenging to follow the World Championship despite his enthusiasm for chess. Mentioned: The Art of Learning by IM Josh Waitzkin 12:00- We discuss Alex’s adult improvement journey, which you can read about in his blog post here. 18:30- NEW SPONSOR! Chessvis is an app designed designed to help you train your visualization skills. Search for it at an app store or get the links here. https://www.chessvis.com/ 19:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They offer a huge video library with instruction on every phase of the game. 20:00- What were Alex’s first steps to develop a system to study chess? Mentioned: Squareoff Chess, Bryght Labs’ ChessUp, Woodpecker Method on Chessable, Woodpecker Method Podcast with Neal Bruce, Michael De La Maza article- 400 Points in 400 Days, Tim Brennan’s Tactics Time on Chessable 39:00- How did Alex approach the study of openings? Mentioned: Make it Stick by Peter C. Brown 41:00- Alex shares some interesting research about why adults may improve at chess more slowly than kids. Mentioned: Some of the research Alex referenced is here. Lichess study, Episode 231 with Braden Laughlin, James Heisig: Remembering the Kanji, Episode 215 with Dr. Vishnu Sreekumar 54:00- 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! 54:30- 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%. 55:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Alex’s approach to learning openings?” Mentioned: My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White, Lifetime Repertoires: Chessable 1. b3, Logical Chess Move by Move 1:11:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Any theories on why ratings tend to repeatedly plateau and then jump?” Mentioned: Episode 181 with Elijah Logozar 1:15:00-What resources have helped Alex blunder less, rather than just solve tactics? Susan Polgar’s How to Learn Chess the Right Way Volume 3, FM Peter Giannatos’ Everyone’s First Chess Workbook 1:19:00- What are Alex’s next chess goals, if any? Mentioned: Sean Carroll’s Mindscapes: Episode 169 Games 1:28:00- Thanks so much to Alex for sharing his insights. You can keep up with him via his blog here: https://www.alexcrompton.com/ 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 decades. Among other topics, Jan shares his thoughts on the match so far and discusses the ascendance of young Super GM Alireza Firouzja, who we could potentially see in the next World Championship. My second guest, 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. 10:00- GM Jan Timman joins me! Jan is a founding editor and columnist for New in Chess Magazine His latest book is, The Unstoppable American: Bobby Fischer's Road to Reykjavik 33:30- NM John MacArthur joins Check out his photos from Dubai on his Instagram here. Follow him on Twitch here. On Twitter here If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. 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

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess marks the return visit of one of the top female players in the US, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan. I caught up with Tatev after a hectic few months in which she competed in the FIDE Women’s World Cup and also competed in and placed 4th in the US Women’s Championship. For good measure, she moved from Southern California to Kansas City to begin her work as the Director of Chess Content at chess startup Bryght Labs. Tatev’s busy schedule gave us plenty to talk about, as Tatev gave some insightful tournament reports, discussed her new job, and, of course, dispensed some chess improvement advice and some reflections on dealing with setbacks in chess. It is always fun to talk chess with Tatev, so we hope you make time for this interview in between World Championship rounds. Please read on for more details and show notes. 0:00- GM Johan Sebastian Christiansen recently expressed his extreme frustration with a slump in his competitive chess. Tatev talks about how common such feelings of frustration can be for be top players, and ways to work through it. Mentioned: Episode 49 with WGM Tatev Abrahamyan , Chess.com Article with GM Alireza Firouzja’s quote regarding chess and mental health 11:00- How does Tatev reflect on her 4th place finish in the 2021 US Women’s Chess Championship? Mentioned: GM Alejandro Ramirez, You can review Tatev’s games here, How to Chess Episode 17 with IM Lawrence Trent, 26:00- Now that she has a 9-5 job, Tatev reflects on how she will manage her chess career as well as a new job in a new town (Kansas City, MO). 29:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They offer a huge video library with instruction on every phase of the game. 31:00- Tatev gives the trip report from the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup in Sochi, Russia, and we discuss the Women’s World Championship Cycle. Mentioned: Episode 243 with GM Anna Muzychuk, Information on the 2022 FIDE Woman’s Candidate Tournament is here, Goryachkina-Motylev 2021 39:00- 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! 39:30- 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%. 40:00- Does Tatev think that US Women's Champion IM Carissa Yip will be competing for a World Championship someday? Mentioned: FM Jennifer Yu, IM Annie Wang 43:00- What sort of products is Tatev working on at her chess startup, Bryght Labs? Mentioned: ChessUp, GM Levon Aronian 1:01:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What tips can we share for how to evaluate a position?” 1:05:00- We discuss GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s recent interview about chess engines and his work with GM Fabiano Caruana. Mentioned: More information about Kasimdzhanov’s interview with Ilya Levitov here 1:14:00- Patreon mailbag question: What is the secret to Tatev’s success in her OTB games against Latvian/American legend GM Alex Shabalov? Mentioned: Krush-Abrahamyan 2021, 1:17:00- Thanks so much to Tatev for joining us! If you decide to order ChessUp from BryghtLabs.com, use the promo code “Perpetual” or the promo code should be inputted directly with this link. 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

My guest for Part 2 of the World Chess Championship preview is chess blogger Tai Pruce Zimmerman. Tai is an accountant by training, who created the excellent Chess by the Numbers blog to write about elite chess from a statistical perspective. With the World Championship just days away, I was excited to have the opportunity to ask Tai to walk us through various scenarios in the upcoming showdown between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniatchtchi. We tackled questions such as the following: Based on rating, how likely is Magnus to win? How likely are we to see tiebreaks? Would Magnus be as big a favorite if the match were to go to rapid tiebreaks? How likely would it be that one player “adopt” another? We take on all of these questions and more, as Tai describes how his model is made and tells all of the numbers we need to know for the match. As always, please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links! 0:00- Info from the Intro: Be sure to go to MagnusNepo.com to join Aimchess’ Prediction Challenge! Check out Chess.com’s easy-to-read World Championship schedule breakdown here. Perpetual Chess Bonus World Championship Pods are planned for: November 29, December 2, December 6, December 9 and December 13 3:00- We briefly review the format of the World Championship Match, and then Tai dives into what goes into his statistical model, and what it says about the upcoming match. Mentioned: Episode 249 with Dr. Mark Glickman, Nate Solon’s article about the World Championship 11:00- How would Tai’s model assess a potential rapid playoff? 16:00- What did Tai do to guess the competitors rating strengths other than just use their current FIDE ratings? Mentioned: Pinnacle Sports World Chess Championships Odds 20:30- If the match goes to blitz tiebreaks, who would be the favorite to win the match? Mentioned: Matt Jensen’s World Championship Preview of Chess.com 27:00- 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! 27:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. ACT NOW to enter their free Magnus-Nepo challenge on this site: https://magnusnepo.com/ 29:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does acclaimed trainer and author, GM Jacob Aagaard of KillerChessTraining.com assess the World Championship?” Mentioned: Tarjei Svenson’s summary of a recent Magnus Carlsen interview 31:00- Patreon mailbag question “What are the odds of Magnus adopting Nepo?” 33:30- How does the Aimchess.com algorithm assess the players strengths and weaknesses? Mentioned: Aimchess analysis here 35:00- We briefly discuss GM Alireza Firouzja’s recent dominance. 42:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They offer a huge video library with instruction on every phase of the game. 43:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Any chance of Tai’s blog being sponsored by a major chess site?” Mentioned: TwoPlusTwo chess forum, New in Chess Free World Championship Digital Magazine, Dennis Monokroussos’ The Chess Mind Blog 50:00- Tai shares a few more details about the methodology of his model. 54:00- Tai shares a bit more about his background and his other interests outside of chess. 56:00- In terms of rating differential, what prior World Championship provides the best historical analogue? 57:00- Thanks so much to Tai for sharing his data with us. Check out and subscribe to his blog here: https://chessnumbers.wordpress.com/ You can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ChessNumbers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grandmaster Daniel King is a popular Commentator, Author, YouTube Creator and Chessable Author. As a player, he has represented England internationally, won many tournaments, and has beaten the likes of Anand and Korchnoi! On his excellent YouTube channel, Powerplay Chess, Daniel has recently been sharing his analysis of key games between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniatchtchi. With such a resume, he is the perfect person to join me for a preview of the World Championship match, which is less than a week away. Of course, when Daniel visits the podcast there is always more to be discussed. Other highlights include his unforgettable interactions with GM Viktor Korchnoi, and his long relationship with the Kalashnikov Sicilian, which is the subject of his excellent new Chessable course. Please read on for all of the details and relevant links. 0:00- Info from the Intro: Be sure go to MagnusNepo.com to join Aimchess’ Prediction Challenge! Check out Chess.com’s easy-to-read World Championship schedule breakdown here. Perpetual Chess Bonus World Championship Pods are planned for: November 29, December 2, December 6, December 9 and December 13 6:00- Daniel King joins me to share his thoughts on the World Championship match. Mentioned: Wang Hao 2021-Nepomniatchtchi Candidates 2021, Vachier-Lagrave-Nepomniatchtchi Candidates 2021, GM Nigel Short, GM Michael Adams, GM John Nunn, Peter Doggers interview with GM Fabiano Caruana, Caruana-Carlsen Game 1, 2018, World Championship Odds on Pinnacle.com 32:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is the etiquette for former seconds discussing their work with a World Championship contender, a la Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s recent comments about GM Fabiano Caruana. ?” 35:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chess.com- be sure to check out their new Game Review feature after every game 35:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They offer a huge video library with instruction on every phase of the game. 37:00- What is Daniel’s history with the Kalashnikov opening, the opening that is the subject of his new Chessable course? 45:30- Does Daniel have a favorite opening? 47:00- Patreon mailbag question:” Does Daniel have any plans to update his classic book Mastering the Spanish?” Mentioned: Chess Magazine 52:00- 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! 52:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. ACT NOW to enter their free Magnus-Nepo challenge on this site: https://magnusnepo.com/ 53:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Will Daniel ever flip the board so Black is on the bottom when showing the Black POV on Powerplay Chess?” 56:00- Patreon mailbag question- “Is there any video of Daniel playing the bass?” Mentioned: Nette Robinson art 58:00- What were Daniel’s interactions with Korchnoi like? Mentioned: Book Recap #20- Talking Korchnoi with John Fernandez, Korchnoi-Karpov Game 31, 1978 Thanks as always to Daniel for joining the show! If you enjoy his content, feel free to support his Patreon page, as I do. Youtube- Powerplay Chess Free short and sweet version of Daniel’s Kalashnikov course: https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-kings-kalashnikov-sicilian/course/83454/ Purchase the full course here: King’s Kalashnikov Sicilian Follow Daniel on Twitter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Andy Soltis is an award winning journalist,World Chess Hall of Fame member, a Chess Life Magazine columnist , and a prolific author who has written over 50 books. In this interview, we discuss Andy’s most recents works, Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and Averbakh: A Chess Multibiography with 220 Games, and 500 Chess Questions Answered: for all new chess players. We also discuss Andy’s own chess improvement journey, as well as the upcoming World Chess Championship. Andy is always fun to chat with due to his encyclopedic knowledge of all things chess. For lots more details, relevant links, and timestamps, please read on. Previous appearances by GM Andy Soltis: Episode 91 with GM Andy Soltis Episode 172 with GM Andy Soltis Book Recap #17 - Discussing Zurich 1953 with FM Nate Solon and GM Andy Soltis 0:00- We begin by getting Andy’s chess improvement advice, including a Patreon question about whether Andy thinks chess books are superior to online learning tools as means for improving your game. Mentioned: DeGroot’s Thought and Choice in Chess, GM Hikaru Nakaura, GM Yasser Seirawan Weltgeschichte Des Schachs Lieferung 27- Boris Spassky, GM Daniel Gormally, GM Walter Browne 12:45- What is the proper mix between studying and playing? Mentioned: GM Alireza Firouzja 15:30- What most helped Andy improve at chess? Mentioned: GM Reuben Fine 17:30- How did GM Yefim Geller go from Candidate Master to World Class player in his early 20s? Mentioned: GM Bobby Fischer, 22:00-Patreon mailbag question: What was Andy’s most memorable Marshall Chess Club Championship victory? Mentioned: FM Orest Popovich 26:00- 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! 26:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. ACT NOW to enter their free Magnus-Nepo challenge on this site: https://magnusnepo.com/ 27:00- We discuss a bit about each player in GM Soltis’ beautiful new book, Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and Averbakh starting with former World Champion GM Vassily Smyslov. 33:00- What should we know about GM David Bronstein? Was his Candidates match with Boleslavsky in 1950 really fixed? Mentioned: Episode 80 with GM Genna Sosonko, Ruth Haring, GM Bobby Fischer 42:00- What should we know about legendary Ukrainian GM, Yefim Geller? Mentioned: GM Boris Spassky 44:00- Mark Taimanov was a world class pianist and chess player both. What else distinguished him from his chess contemporaries? Mentioned: I was the Victim of Fischer, Vspominiaia-Samykh-Samykh, GM Eduard Gufeld, Chessgames.com Taimanov-Matulovic “Caveat Emptor” 53:00- What should we know about GM Yuriy Averbakh? Mentioned: GM Boris Spassky, GM Lubomir Kavalek 59:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They offer a huge video library with instruction on every phase of the game. 1:00:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What book would Andy love to write that he hasn’t written yet?” 1:03:00- What does Andy think are the most important factors in which of his books sell the best? Mentioned: GM John Fedorowicz, GM Arthur Bisguier, GM Pal Benko: My Life Games and Compositions, Magnus Carlsen: 60 Memorable Games, Pawn Structure Chess, Chess Fundamentals, Episode 240: Pawn Book Championship with Neal Bruce 1:12:00- Patreon mailbag question: What does Andy think of the World Championship match? Has Magnus been out of form recently? 1:19:00- Thanks as always to Andy for sharing his immense chess knowledge. You can check out his latest books here: 500 Chess Questions Answered Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and Averbakh 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

John Hartmann is the Editor of US Chess’ Chess Life and Chess Life Online, and the host of the podcast, Cover Stories with Chess Life. He was recently named the 2021 Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America, the second consecutive year he received this honor. When John last visited the podcast, US Chess was just coming to grips with the financial impact the pandemic would have on the organization. 18 months later, I am happy to report that John is back to give a more upbeat assessment of the state of the US Chess Federation. John is also an expert in chess computers - he built his current chess computer from scratch! John shares some fascinating tidbits about how top players use engines these days. Lastly, although it is not his top priority, John tries to work on his own game when time permits. While he prefers to think of himself as a #chessamateur instead of a #chessimprover, his online blitz rating is at an all-time high, and he always has useful book recommendations for improvers. So as always, there is much to learn from John Hartmann in this interview! Please read on for all of the details, plus timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by catching up on the financial health of US Chess, which hit some tough times during the pandemic. Mentioned: Cover Stories with Chess Life with GM Alex Lenderman, Episode 179 with John Hartmann (John was also on episodes 60 and 120), John Rockefeller III Endows US Chess National Tournaments 20:00- Has John read any good chess books lately? Are chess books truly, finally, in decline? Mentioned: Episode 4 with IM Kostya Kavutskiy, On the Origin of Good Moves by IM Willy Hendriks, Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon, JJ Lang, IM Levy Rozman, Agadmator, FM Robert Shlyakhtenko, Dr. Christopher Chabris 42:00- Patreon Mailbag Question: “What was the most instructive chess book John has ever read?” Mentioned: Chess Steps Method Workbooks, Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos, Everyone’s First Chess Workbook by FM Peter Giannatos, Rakhmanov’s Secrets of Opening Preparation 47:00- 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%. 47:30- 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! 49:00-What is John doing to work on his own games? Mentioned:Jacob Aagaard’s Killer Chess Training, Botvinnik: One Hundred Selected Games, GM Sam Shankland on Cover Stories with Chess Life, IM John Watson 1:02:00- What are the most recent developments in the advancement of chess engines? Mentioned: Stockfish 14.1, Leela 0.28.0, 2021 Russian Championship Superfinals, Vitiugov - Andreikin, Chessify, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, Skolkovo Innovation Center 1:11:00- How will Chess Life Online be covering the World Championship? 1:15:00- Thanks to John for joining us! For more information about US Chess and Chess Journalists of America upcoming seminars, go here: https://new.uschess.org/news/cja-continuing-education-series-announced For US Chess annotated games from the US Championships, go here: https://lichess.org/study/iLDop9iy Follow John on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/hartmannchess?lang=en Email John at John.Hartmann at Uschess.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week FM Asa Hoffman joins us for an interesting talk. Asa is an author, speed chess specialist, and New York City chess legend. Like Bobby Fischer, Asa was born in 1943, and both spent their formative years in NYC. With such shared history, Bobby Fischer is one of the many chess legends with whom Asa had personal encounters and blitz battles. In fact, Asa has met every chess World Champion who came after Max Euwe! He also has beaten Fischer in a famous blitz game, and once defeated Gata Kamsky in a rapid game. In our interview, Asa sheds light on the personality of Bobby Fischer and tells a few of his favorite stories from his encounters with countless chess legends who have passed through New York. Please read on for more details, timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- What are Asa’s memories of Bobby Fischer? How does the current chess moment compare to the Fischer boom? Mentioned: Hans Kmoch, Al Horowitz, Sylvia Miles, GM Yasser Seirawan, Bernard Zuckerman, Asa Hoffman vs. Bobby Fischer (blitz, 1963) 13:00- Who are the strongest blitz players Asa ever played? Mentioned: GM Valentin Arbakov, GM Roman Dzindzichashvili, GM Yasser Seirawan, Polgar sisters, Episode 185 with IM Stuart Rachels, IM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, GM Nicolas Rossolimo 19:30-After Fischer won the World Championship in 1972, did Asa ever see him again? 22:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They have a huge library of opening, middlegame, and endgame instructional videos, as well as a free blog. 23:45- Asa tells some more stories from playing against Fischer, as well as describing many of the classic NYC chess venues. 29:00- Why did Asa decide to drop out of Columbia University to pursue chess? 31:00- What was Asa’s involvement with the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer? Mentioned: GM Nona Gaprindishivili lawsuit against Netflix 33:00- What did Asa do to improve at chess? Mentioned: Mike Valvo, IM Greg Shahade, John Fernandez, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Julio Becerra, GM Michael Rohde, IM Jay Bonin 39:00- Patreon Mailbag Question: What was Asa’s most memorable game against IM Jay Bonin? Mentioned: Active Pieces by IM Jay Bonin and Greg Keener 43:00- 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%. 43:30- 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! 45:00- What were Asa’s highest stakes blitz matches? Mentioned: IM Cris Ramayrat, Episode 193 with Tom Murphy, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Robert Hess, GM Alex Lenderman, GM Irina Krush 51:00- Patreon Mailbag Question: When will Asa’s memoir be published and will it be available as an e-book? Mentioned: Dr. Frank Brady 53:00- Asa has met every world champion since Max Euwe. What are his most memorable interactions? Mentioned: GM Miguel Najdorf, Edward Lasker 57:00- Asa tells a few stories of fights and muggings at NYC gaming establishments 1:02:00- In addition to chess, Asa plays Scrabble, bridge, poker, and backgammon, and he dabbled in betting at horse racing as well. What is Asa’s 2nd best game after chess? 1:04:00- Has Asa had any non-chess jobs? Mentioned: Al Horowitz 1:06:00- Has Asa played GM Maurice Ashley? Did he ever see GM Viktor Korchnoi in New York? Mentioned: GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Maxim Dlugy, IM Anatoly Lein 1:09:00- Did Asa ever play GM Samuel Reshevsky? Mentioned: GM John Fedorowicz 1:12:30- Asa's World Championship thoughts 1:14:30- What are Asa’s favorite chess books? Mentioned: Masters of the Chessboard by Richard Reti, The Psychology of the Chess Player by Reuben Fine 1:18:00- Why did Asa stop betting on horse racing? 1:22:00- Thanks to Asa for joining the show! You can reach him via his chess.com profile here: https://www.chess.com/member/asahoffmann Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back for another edition of Chess Books Recaptured. This month we take a brief break from discussing books that are focused on chess improvement and discuss the eventful, insightful, autobiography, Chess is My Life, by legendary GM Viktor Korchnoi. Korchnoi, of course, was a 4 time Soviet champion, who eventually emigrated to Switzerland, and twice challenged GM Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship. My guest co-host this month is John Fernandez. In addition to being an old friend of mine, John is a member of the US Chess Executive Board, a USCF expert, and was an early admin and employee of the Internet Chess Club. By day, he works as a Senior Vice President of Marketing at Glia, and he is also the father of twins. John has had some memorable interactions with GM Korchnoi, so it was great to hear those, as well as to discuss the book of this legendarily irascible chess figure. As you will hear, this 2 hour podcast only scratches the surface of Korchnoi’s legacy, so you might want to click through to some of the links below, which are given with timestamps. 0:00- Why did we pick Korchnoi’s Chess is My Life? Mentioned: Book Recap #17 of Bronstein’s Zurich 1953, Korchnoi’s Best Games Volume 1 and Volume 2 5:30- We go over Korchnoi’s amazing chess resume and exceptional life story. Mentioned: Caruana-Korchnoi 2011 15:30- 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. 16:00- 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. 17:00- We read a few excerpts from the Preface (by Kasparov), the Foreword(by GM Sergey Ivanov) and the Prologue by Korchnoi himself and discuss Korchnoi’s playing style. Mentioned: Book Recap #1 Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, Closing Gambit, Episode 235 with Joe Posnanski 29:15- 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! 30:00- 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%. 31:00- We each draft our top 5 storylines from Chess if My Life, starting with Korchnoi’s difficult upbringing. 37:00- We discuss the insanity of the 1978 World Championship Match with Karpov. Mentioned: Korchnoi’s Mirrored Glasses, YouTube footage of the match 51:30- Why did Petrosian and Korchnoi hate each other? 56:00- How was the Korchnoi-Fischer relationship? 1:01:00- Did Korchnoi know the rules of castling? Mentioned: Korchnoi-Karpov Game 21 1974, Bagirov-Korchnoi 1960 1:07:00- Patreon mailbag question- “Korchnoi had a rules issue in a game with a young Magnus Carlsen- What happened there?” Mentioned: Photo and Reddit Thread about Korchnoi-Carlsen 2004 1:13:00- Korchnoi played Maroczy while he was dead! How was the game? Mentioned: Maroczy/Robert Rollans vs. Korchnoi 1985, Lichess analysis here 1:18:00- Korchnoi played Che Guevara! 1:20:30- What were Korchnoi’s interactions with Tal like? 1:24:30- Korchnoi lived in New York for 2 years!? 1:27:00- Korchnoi on Nimzowitsch! Mentioned: Book Recap #18: Talking Aron Nimzowitsch’s My System with IM Christof Sielecki 1:31:30- John discusses his own involvement in one of Korchnoi’s most legendary displays of poor sportsmanship Mentioned: Reddit thread about Korchnoi-Polgar incident 1:41:00- Coming next month-- recapping the allegedly excellent book for newer players: A First Book of Morphy 1:43:00- Thanks to John for helping out! You can support US Chess here You can support Perpetual Chess here You can reach John via Twitter here: Or Chess.com here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest this week is one of the world’s leading experts on chess ratings. Mark Glickman is a senior lecturer on Statistics at Harvard University, from which he completed a Ph.D. in statistics. Mark has been researching and sharing ideas about ratings for decades, and has been the chairman of the US Chess Ratings committee since 1992. He is the inventor of the Glicko and Glicko2 rating systems, versions of which are used on liChess and Chess.com. He is also a USCF Master, and has written and co-written several papers on ratings. In our conversation, we review the history of chess ratings, the efficacy of the “Elo rating system,” rating deflation and other potential issues with the current online and OTB systems. This was a fascinating conversation during which I learned a great deal! More info and shownotes below. 0:00- We begin by discussing how Mark became interested in ratings, and a bit about the history of chess ratings. Mentioned: Arpad Elo, Kenneth Harkness Bradley-Terry Model, Ernst Zermelo 15:15- Mark tells the funny story of some work they did developing a “rating” model for Tinder to improve their dating app. 17:00- Why have ratings been such a boon for the popularity of chess? 21:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Mark think of IM Ken Regan’s concept of Intrinsic Rating?” Mentioned: Dr. Ken Regan’s paper on Intrinsic Rating, Episode 136 with IM Kenneth Regan 28:00- Does Mark think the FIDE and USCF rating systems are working? 34:00- What is the history of Mark’s “Glicko system” and where does the name come from? Mentioned: Dr. Christopher Chabris 37:30- 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%. 38:00- 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! 41:00- Patreon mailbag question: How do we know if rating gains reflect a gain in strength rather than just that they were underrated to begin with? 47:30- Patreon mailbag question: What could FIDE and US Chess learn from the advances in rating systems that have been made by online video game sites? Mentioned: Trueskill Ranking System 52:00- Has Mark had any conversations with FIDE about implementing changes to the rating system? 54:00- 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. 54:30- 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. 56:00- Mark has written that the ELO rating system may have a deflationary tendency. Mark explains why this is, and suggests some potential fixes. Mentioned: Pandemic Lag by Dr. Kenneth Regan 1:06:00- Mark reflects on his own competitive chess career and shares a few stories and study tips from his journey to USCF Master. Mentioned: Alexey Troitsky 1:14:00- Are there any lessons to be derived for chess from the sports analytics revolution? 1:18:00- Could Mark envision a universal rating system across live and online sites? Mentioned: Rating conversion site here 1:20:00- Thanks so much to Mark for sharing his knowledge. You can keep up with him via his website: http://www.glicko.net/index.html You can read his papers here: http://www.glicko.net/research.html 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

Michael Ross Franco is a 28 year old Applied Mathematics Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley who is also an accomplished chess improver. As Michael tells us, his interest in chess was sparked when he was looking for an engaging hobby while fighting leukemia in 2013. He started following the 2013 Carlsen-Anand World Championship match, and his interest has blossomed from there. Michael’s chess rating has also blossomed, as he has slowly climbed from beginner level to a 2300 peak Lichess Rapid Rating in the subsequent 8 years. In our interview, Michael details the books, experiences and lessons that have influenced him along the way. Please read on for lots more details and any relevant links. 0:00- Michael shares the unique story of how in 2013, the leukemia diagnosis left him looking for an engaging hobby, which turned out to be chess. Michael followed the 2013 Carlsen-Anand match and developed a particular affinity for Magnus Carlsen. Mentioned: Chess Network YouTube Channel, PowerPlay YouTube Channel 10:30- Michael began his chess climb with about an 1100 LiChess rating. Which books helped him ascend from there? Mentioned: A First Book of Morphy, How to Reassess Your Chess 19:30- 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! 20:15- How did Michael approach game analysis and learning from his games when he was climbing from Lichess 1100 to 2000 or so? Mentioned: Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces by GM Igor Stohl 25:30: Once he started grad school, Michael was able to take advantage of an IRL chess club at University of California-Berkeley. What lessons did he learn from face-to-face games with stronger players? Mentioned: Chess Club at Berkeley 30:30- What was Michael’s approach to studying openings? 34:00- When did Michael play his first tournament? What does he advise other online players who are new to tournaments? 43:00- Perpetual Chess is also 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. 43:30- 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%. 44:30- Michael shares some more book recommendations. Mentioned: Pump Up Your Rating, Essential Chess Sacrifices, Thinking Inside the Box, Winning Chess Middlegames, Chess Structures, James Altucher interview with GM Judit Polgar, Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos 49:00- What was Michael’s approach to studying tactics? 54:30- Michael shares the various online resources he has joined: Mentioned: IM Andras Toth Twitch channel, Chessbrah Twitch channel, Morphy Chess Club Discord, GM Jesse Kraai The Plus Minus Equal of Chess Improvement 57:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Has Michael’s mathematical background helped him succeed at chess?” Michael also gives some background on his academic/professional career. 1:02:00- What are Michael’s 3 biggest chess improvement tips? Play longer games and analyze them in depth. Play higher-rated people Enjoy the game, expand your chess culture! 1:05:00- Thanks so much to Michael for sharing what he has learned about chess improvement. You can reach him via his Lichess account, NoseKnowsAll, here: https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Programming Note- this podcast is also being published in video format on Tryfon’s YouTube channel-link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw1o0opNJ-s Tryfon Gavriel, better known as “KingsCrusher” was one of the trailblazers of “Chess YouTube” and still uploads regularly to his following of over 110,000 subscribers. Tryfon launched his channel on a whim in 2007, and spent years as one of the most popular chess channels in the world. It was fun to hear Tryfon take us through those early days of online chess content, which feel like so long ago. As we discuss, Tryfon also has a keen knowledge of chess history, with a special interest in Bobby Fischer, Paul Morphy, and Mikhail Tal. Tryfon shares what makes these players so special and how we can apply lessons from their games. Tryfon is a bullet chess specialist who believes that studying these greats has even helped him at the fastest time controls. It was fun to talk chess history, chess content history and get some improvement tips from one of the original chess content creators! Timestamps and lots more details below. 0:00- We discuss the early days of Tryfon’s YouTube channel in 2007 and his website Chessworld.net! Mentioned: Veratasium YouTube algorithm, Chess on the Web by Sarah Hurst, Richard Palliser and Graham Brown, Sam Copeland’s TIme Lapse Video of the Most Popular Chess YouTubers, Agadmator, MatoJelic, GothamChess, ChessNetwork, 21:00- Perpetual Chess is also 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. 21:30- 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%. 22:00- From the Patreon mailbag: “Tryfon’s two most popular videos are about Bobby Fischer, and Tryfon is a big fan. What books has he read about Bobby Fischer?” 28:00- What sparked Tryfon’s interest in writing a LiChess blog? 30:00- What captivates Tryfon about Fischer, Morphy and Tal? 39:00- Patreon mailbag question- “Will the King’s Gambit ever feature in elite chess again?” This segues to a discussion of other openings that are underrated for club players Mentioned: Chris Callahan’s Twitter thread on how openings perform at different levels, Episode 221 with Chris Callahan 46:00- 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! 46:30- Tryfon offers many chess courses on Udemy, including its most popular chess course, what was the inspiration for branching out from YouTube? Mentioned: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 53:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What tips can we share for a 1200 player working to improve calculation and visualization skills?” Mentioned: Peter Giannatos’ Everyone’s First Chess Workbook, Benedictine’s Visualization Series, Chess Steps 2: Thinking Ahead, IM Ken Regan paper- Intrinsic Ratings Compendium 1:12:00- As a top junior, Tryfon played Demis Hassibis of DeepMind as a kid. How was Demis’ game? 1:18:00- Thanks so much to Tryfon for joining the show. Here is out to keep up with him. YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/user/kingscrusher Udemy Courses- https://www.udemy.com/user/tryfon-gavriel/ Twitter-https://twitter.com/kingscrusher?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Lichess- https://lichess.org/@/Kingscrusher-YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chess Books Recaptured is back for another monthly book review/recap. This month I am joined by UX designer and recently-minted chess enthusiast, Jessi Shakarian to discuss the 1921 classic, Chess Fundamentals by former World Champion, Jose Raoul Capablanca. Jessi provides the perspective of someone new to chess who was looking to learn some basics from one of the all time greats of the game. I try to give some historical perspective on the book, as well as to detail why this did not turn out to be my favorite book, despite its being written by one of my favorite players. Of course, there are still many useful insights and beautiful chess moves in the book, and we try to share a few highlights in our conversation. As always, you can find more details and timestamps below. 0:00- We introduce this month's guest co-host Jessi Shakharian. Jessi shares a bit about her background and her recent deep dive into the chess world, and chess books in particular. 3:45- Patreon mailbag question- “What approach has Jessi taken to reading chess books?” 8:30- Patreon mailbag question- “What tips can Ben share for how to analyze games? Mentioned: How to Chess” interview with GM Davorin Kuljasevic 10:00- We discuss Jose Raoul Capablanca’s background and the context of the book’s publication in 1921. Mentioned: GM Mikail Botvinnik, LiChess study with Chess Fundamentals, GM Nick DeFirmian’s Chess Fundamentals Revised Book Recap #18 of My System with IM Christof Sielecki, Everyman’s Chess Fundamentals, Martin Justesen’s new version of Chess Fundamentals 17:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out whats new from them here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 18:00- What do we think of Capablanca’s famed “learn the endgame first” philosophy? What are the pros and cons of the book itself? Jostein Langstrand’s Review of Chess Fundamentalsi, Edward Winter’s Capablanca: A Compendium 30:00- What insights does Capablanca share about the relative value of the chess pieces, especially about how the bishop compares to the knight? 39:00- 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 the YouTube channel here. 39:30- 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% 40:00- What did “Friend of the Show” Fred Wilson think of this book? What alternative books might we recommend? Mentioned: Fred Wilson books in NYC, Episode 86 with Fred Wilson, Learn to Play Chess Like a Boss, A First Book of Morphy, Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings, Logical Chess Move by Move, Make it Stick, Episode 242 GM Surya Ganguly, How Grandmasters Memorize Opening Variations by GM Avetik Grigoryan 55:00- What grade would we give Chess Fundamentals? Mentioned: Episode 240 Pawn Book Championship with Neal Bruce 58:00-Coming next month- Chess is My Life with John Fernandez Thanks to Jessi Shakarian for helping out this month! I will be making another donation to Chess in Slums on her behalf. You can follow her on Twitter here. 1:00:00- Blindfold Puzzles! Puzzle #1- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. e5 Ne4 6. d3 Bc5! 7. dxe4 Black to move and win For the answer, go to #1 here Puzzle #2- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Bc5 6. Bc4 Ng4 7. O-O Qh4 8. h3 Nxf2 9. Qf3 Nxh3+ 10. Kh1 Black to move and force mate For the answer, go to #2 here * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave is a 3 time champion of France, 2 time Sinquefield Cup winner, and perennial top 10 player in the world. Maxime joined me from his home in Paris while on a brief break from a hectic tournament schedule. In addition to some events in St. Louis, Maxime recently played in FIDE World Cup in Russia, and won the Zagreb Grand Chess Tour event in July. Maxime was very candid in our conversation as he discussed his recent successes, his 2nd place finish in the 2020-2021 Candidates Tournament, his thoughts on the World Championship match, and his opinions on the formats and qualification criteria of various important tournaments. It was amazing to hear the honest reflections of a chess player who is amongst the best in the world and still working to get even better! Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by discussing Maxime’s recent travels and chess events. Mentioned: MVL interview with Agadmator, FIDE Candidates, FIDE World Cup, FIDE Grand Swiss in Riga 11:00- Does Maxime feel that his OTB game has been progressing? Which upcoming tournaments are his biggest priorities? Mentioned: GM Ian Nepomniatchi, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda, GM Sergei Karjakin, GM Teimour Radjabov, 2022 FIDE Grand Prix 20:30- Patreon mailbag question: How does Maxime feel about the current rules for qualifying for the FIDE Candidates tournament and the formats for FIDE’s other major events. 27:00- Perpetual Chess is also 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. 27:30- 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%. 31:30- Maxime has several GMs on his team, as well as a performance coach. What do they work on? How did he feel that GM Ian Nepomniachtchi handled his nerves in the Candidates? Mentioned: MVL In Conversation with GM Surya Ganguly 37:30- What are Maxime’s thoughts on the upcoming World Championship match? 41:30- How much does Maxime discuss match preparation strategy with other elite players? 42:00 Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out whats new from them here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com Also don’t forget to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast! 47:00 Patreon mailbag question: What is Maxime’s training regimen? Mentioned: Maxime’s blog post and video is here. 49:00- Patreon mailbag questions: How does MVL’s prep regime change for an open tournament as compared to a closed? Has his prep routine changed as he has gotten stronger? Mentioned: GM Etienne Bacrot 58:00- Is Maxime in favor of OTB playoff matches for the FIDE Candidates and FIDE Grand Swiss? Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade 1:02:00- Has Queen’s Gambit changed chess at the elite level? GM Anish Giri interview with IM Levy Rozman, Twitch Streamer, NM Kevin Bordi aka Blitzstream 1:07:00- Patreon mailbag question: why did Maxime decide to pursue a degree in Mathematics? 1:15:00- Is MVL inspired by the longevity of his favorite tennis player, Roger Federer 1:17:00- What are Maxime’s thoughts on GM Alireza Firouzja joining the French team? 1:19:00- Maxime is famous for his devotion to the Najdorf and the Grunfeld defenses. Is it a philosophical or practical choice to frequently play those openings? Mentioned: GM Wesley So 1:23:00- Thanks so much to Maxime for joining the show. You can read his reflections on his blog here: https://www.mvlchess.com/en/#panel1 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

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

GM Anna Muzychuk is the winner of 3 FIDE World Championship events, and is consistently amongst the highest-rated woman players in the world. In 2012, Anna made history when she became the 4th Woman in history to cross the 2600 FIDE rating. After a lull during the Covid-quarantine, Anna has been actively competing again, and she made a deep run in the FIDE World Cup. Anna came in 4th place in this prestigious event, which earned her a coveted spot in the 2022 Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winner of that Candidates Tournament will challenge GM Ju Wenjun for the Women's World Championship title. As we discuss, Anna’s schedule of competitions is generally packed, but the Covid quarantine gave her a chance to try out commentating, Twitch streaming and even organizing a tournament, with her sister GM Mariya Muzychuk. We discuss which new hobbies Anna is likely to stick with, as well as her thoughts on many recent and upcoming events, and, of course, Queen’s Gambit. As always, timestamps and the details of all that we covered can be found below. 0:00- We discuss the recent FIDE Women’s World Cup and the 2022 Candidates Tournament for the Women's World Championship. Mentioned: GM Ju Wenjun, GM Tatev Abrahamyan 13:00- Anna’s training regimen Mentioned: Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, Theory and Practice of Chess Endings by GM Alexander Panchenko, the books of GM Jacob Aagaard, Chess Calculation Training: Middlegame by GM Romain Eduoard,and Learn from GM Michal Krasenkow . 19:00- What is it like to frequently play her friends and her sister in Elite Women’s events? Mentioned: GM Mariya Muzychuk, IM Elisabeth Paehtz, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina 23:00- Perpetual Chess is also 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 the YouTube channel here. 24:00- Anna’s upcoming tournament schedule. 28:30- Patreon mailbag question: “How have you balanced competing and preparing for top women events with trying to improve your chess level by playing significantly stronger opponents? Mentioned: 2021 European Club Cup 31:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What has led to her decisions regarding which country to represent?” Mentioned: Boris Kutin, GM Levon Aronian, GM Alireza Firouzja 38:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest here. New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com More info on the How to Chess podcast here: https://howtochess.com/ 39:00- 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%. 40:00- Anna and Mariya’s parents are both professional chess trainers, Anna shares a bit about the way she and her sister were taught as kids. 48:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How should club level players approach game analysis?” 55:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is the key to calculating at an elite level?” 57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What did Anna think of Queen’s Gambit? Did Beth Harmon’s life resemble Anna’s in any way?” Mentioned: GM Garry Kasparov visits US Chess Girls Club 1:06:00 -Anna famously refused to play in the 2017 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz in Saudi Arabia when she would have been required to wear a hijab and an abaya during the tournament competition. Patreon mailbag question: “Does she think that her stance helped change things?” Mentioned: Anna’s Facebook Post is here 1:11:00- Anna discusses the first annual Muzychuk’s Sisters Cup, in Ukraine. Mentioned: Read more here 1:14:00- What are Anna’s plans for her Twitch channel? Mentioned: Challenger’s Chess Cup 1:22:00- Thanks to Anna for joining the show! Here are the best ways to keep up with her. Twitch channel- https://www.twitch.tv/annamuzychuk Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/anna.muzychuk.9, Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/anna_muzychuk.official/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Surya Ganguly is one of the top players in India, and was the India national champion for 6 consecutive years starting in 2003! He has won countless medals in National team events, and was the Asian champion in 2009. GM Ganguly also works actively as a trainer, and most notably, worked on the preparation team of of GM Viswanthan Anand for the 2008, 2010 and 2012 World Championship Matches. Given this unique experience, I couldn’t wait to hear GM Ganguly’s insightful reflections on the upcoming World Championship match. GM Ganguly is also an active trainer for us non-World Champions, and in fact, has recently released his first Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires: Nimzo/Semi-Tarrasch. Last but not least, Surya is a founding trainer of ProChessTraining.com. This experience informs Surya’s ability to share some useful tips for young chess talents and adult improvers alike. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- World Championship Match Talk! As a former member of GM Anand’s World Championship team, what would a prep team’s routine look like 100 days before the match? Mentioned: The Anand Files, Mind Master, Episode 156 with FM Michiel Abeln, Episode 177 with GM Peter Heine Nielsen, Surya’s YouTube show, In Conversation with GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Peter Leko, Challenger’s Chess Tour with Kramnik and Polgar 23:00- Patreon mailbag question- Does Surya think that his past work on World Championship Teams makes him more likely to be hired on another team? 25:30- Perpetual Chess is also 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%. 26:00- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by Chessmood.com They offer 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. 27:00- What does Surya mean when he says, in his new Chessable course, “Memorization without understanding is a sin.” Mentioned: Lifetime Repertoires Nimzo and Ragozin 38:00- 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/ 38:30- What is the vision behind ProChessTraining, which Surya has launched with GM Ramesh R.B. and GM Magesh Panchanathan? 51:00- How does Surya advice to budget one’s chess study time? 58:00- When Surya was 9 years old, Surya worked on the demonstration board when GM Anand came to Kolkata for an elite tournament. What does Surya remember about this experience? Mentioned: GM Luke McShane, GM Levon Aronian, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Etienne Bacrot, GM Ruslan Ponomariov, GM Sergei Azarov, GM Mark Paragua, GM Paco Vallejo 1:01:00- Surya tells a memorable story of playing a 13 year old Magnus Carlsen in 2004. Mentioned: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1283190, GM Yevgeniy Vladimirov 1:05:00- Patreon mailbag questions: How are Surya’s ping pong skills? Who is his favorite player other than Anand? Mentioned: GM Bobby Fischer 1:07:00- GM Ganguly did not have a coach until he was already a titled player. What was it like to workwith legendary GM Alexei Shirov? 1:10:00- Thanks to GM Surya Ganguly for joining us. You can root for him in the following upcoming tournaments Sharjah Masters 2021, Bundesliga, and the FIDE Grand Swiss. Here are the other links you might find helpful: Pro Chess Training: https://prochesstraining.com/ Surya’s Chessable Course: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-nimzosemi-tarrasch-part-1/course/66522/ Surya’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/suryachess64?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Surya’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suryasekharchess/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess, we have two interviews in one for you! Return guest, FM Peter Giannatos, who many know as the founder and head of the award-winning Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy, is also an extremely accomplished adult improver, and in the first half of this interview, Peter shares many inspirational words and his best chess improvement advice. As we discuss, in the past decade, Peter has made the difficult climb from 2100 to 2390 USCF! Peter has also improved his blitz game, but, as Peter explains, he does not think that requires the same skill set as playing slower tournament games. In the second half of the interview we turn our attention to Peter's new book and Chessable course.. It is a great resource for newer chess players and chess teachers. Last, but definitely not least, we discuss the current system for players seeking to earn the Grandmaster title. There has been a fair bit of conversation and controversy on this topic of late, so it was great to have one of the world’s leading organizer’s of “norm tournaments' ' help us separate fact from fiction. 0:00- Peter shares his beginnings in tournament chess and discusses the 2 major rating plateaus he faced (Approximately 1600 and 2100 USCF) Mentioned: Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos, Episode 151 with JJ Lang, Matthew Noble, On the Origin of Good Moves, A First Book of Morphy, NM Dominique Myers, Noel Studer’s Blog 16:45- Peter talks about how his chess evolved in his 20s and the ways that GM Ben Finegold and GM Alexander Shabalov helped Peter improve Mentioned: Episode 239 with GM Jan Markos, 26:30- How do adult improvers approach chess improvement differently from kids? Mentioned: #chesspunks, Neal Bruce 33:00- How did Peter change his opening repertoire once he started working with GM Alexander Shabalov? 37:45- Perpetual Chess is also 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%. 38:15- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by Chessmood.com They offer 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. 40:00- How many hours per week did Peter study while his rating was climbing? Mentioned: Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, Perfect Your Chess 48:00- How does Peter adapt his game for speed chess? Mentioned: Simple Chess, How to Reassess Your Chess 57:00- Recommendations for players rated below 1600 Mentioned: Step 2 Thinking Ahead, Forcing Chess Moves 1:05:00- 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/ 1:06:30- Peter’s improvement bullet points Play Stronger Players Be willing to change things up and exit your comfort zone Work hard! Do 10-15 minutes puzzles that push yourself (my addition)- find a training partner 1:14:00- We discuss Peter Giannatos’ new book and Chessable course Everyone’s First Chess Workbook, Mentioned: Laszlo Polgar’s Chess, Al Woolum’s Chess Tactics Workbook, Chess Steps Books 1:21:00- We discuss a recent, somewhat controversial New York Times article about how title norms are achieved. Link for the article here Mentioned: GM Abhimanyu Mishra, GM Sergey Karjakin, GM Bobby Fischer, GM Judit Polgar Ian Nepomniatchi’s tweet is here, IM Nikolas Theodorou, GM Nigel Short, IM John Bartholomew . Chess for Charity Jacksonville 1:55:00- Thanks so much to Peter for coming on the show! Here are the links you need to reach Peter or buy his book/course: See a preview of the book here Buy the book here: Buy it in Chessable form here: Follow Peter on Twitch here: Email him here: Peter.giannatos at charlottechesscenter.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s Perpetual Chess is the much anticipated “Pawn Book Championship” with popular adult improver Neal Bruce. Neal learned chess from scratch after the age of 40, and has been consistently studying and using flashcards to improve his skills in the last handful of years. In the past year, Neal has turned his attention to better understanding pawn play and positional chess, and he has read 6 (!) different books in order to facilitate better chess understanding. We Perpetual Chess listeners are very fortunate that Neal has offered to do a podcast crowning the “champion” of the pawn books, and has also agreed to give his honest assessment of the other books. When not working on his chess game, Neal is the Chief Product Officer of a software startup and a father of 3, so we greatly appreciate his taking the time for this large project. Please read on for more details and relevant links. 0:00- The transcript of episode 237 with GM Vladimir Kramnik is here If you would like to subscribe to the Perpetual Chess Patreon page, you can do so here. 4:00- Other podcasts to hear Neal Bruce: Book Recap 6- Woodpecker Method and Rapid Chess Improvement Book Recap 11- Winning Chess Strategies How to Chess with Neal Bruce Dojo Talks #24 with Neal Bruce 5:00- Which books are entrants in Neal’s “Pawn Book Championship,” and how and why did he choose them? Small Steps to Giant Improvement by GM Sam Shankland (Most appropriate for those 1700-2400 FIDE) Small Steps 2 Success by GM Sam Shankland (Most appropriate for those 1800-2400 FIDE) Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andy Soltis (Most appropriate for those 1500-2200 FIDE) Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios (Most appropriate for those 1500-2200 FIDE) The Power of Pawns by GM Jorg Hickl’s (Most appropriate for those 1200-2000) Pawn Power by IM Hans Kmoch (Not recommended for any rating range) 22:30- 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/ 23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com They offer 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. 24:00- Hans Kmoch Pawn Power 30:30- GM Andy Soltis’s Pawn Structure Chess 34:00-GM Sam Shankland’s Small Steps 2 Success https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/345/small_steps_2_success_by_sam_shankland/ Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine 38:30- 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%. 39:00- Small Steps to Giant Improvement Free sample from Quality Chess here: https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/316/small_steps_to_giant_improvement_by_sam_shankland/ 43:00- The Power of Pawns by Jorg Hickl. Link with free sample from New in Chess Books here: https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/the-power-of-pawns 47:00- Chess Structures Free sample from Quality Chess here: https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/235/chess_structures_-_a_grandmaster_guide_by_mauricio_flores_rios/ 51:00- In what order would Neal recommend that you read these books? Mentioned: Interview with Magnus Carlsen on Wolfgang Wee Uncut- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElHa52f_bC8&t=4725s 58:30- What lessons did Neal learn from these readings? What books are next for him? Mentioned: Mastering Chess Strategy, Mastering Positional Sacrifices, Silman’s Reassess Your Chess Workbook, Practical Chess Exercises, Zurich 1953, New York 1924, Judit Polgar’s How I Beat Fischer’s Record, Book Recap #7 with Jen Shahade 1:04:00- Thanks so much to Neal for undertaking this massive project and sharing his findings with the chess community! You can keep up with Neal on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/NealBruceBC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This month on Chess Books Recaptured I am joined by renowned Chessable author, IM Christof Sielecki, to discuss what may be the best known chess book of all time. Aron Nimzowitsch’s My System. There was a time when My System seemed to be universally recommended as an indispensable manual for newer chess players, but in recent years, with so many excellent learning resources, it has often been criticized as well. Christof and I try to contextualize the good and the bad of My System. We discuss everything in the book from Nimzo’s famous quotes to his “dad jokes”, to what does, and does not hold up to the scrutiny of modern chess analysis. Whether you love or hate this book, we hope that this podcast can help you decide if this book is worth (re)visiting. Please read on for timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- Why is My System so famous? Why are there so many versions of it? Mentioned: Episode 6 with IM Christof Sielecki, Episode 153 with IM Christof Sielecki, Quality Chess’ Edition of My System, also available on Forward Chess, Chess Metrics, Chess24’s Top 50 Player of All Time Series with GM Jan Gustafsson and GM Peter Heine Nielsen 8:30- For what rating range or audience would this book be most helpful? Mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, Episode 239 with GM Jan Markos 16:00- 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/ 16:30- Perpetual Chess is also 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%. 17:00- How is the book structured? Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard, GM John Shaw, IM John Watson’s Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy , Johner vs. Nimzowitsch 1926 36:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com They offer 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. 37:00- How would we describe Nimzowitsch’s writing style? Mentioned: John Watson’s Review of My System, Lou Hays’ Edition of My System, Siegbert Tarrasch, Rubinstein-Duras (1908), Winning Pawn Structures by GM Alexander Baburin, 54:00- What books might we recommend as instructional substitutes for My System? Mentioned: THe Neal Bruce Pawn Book Championship is coming August 24!, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios, Simple Chess by GM Michael Stean, IM Jeremy Silman’s Books, Book Recap Podcast #13, Simple Chess, On the Origin of Good Moves by IM Wily Hendricks 1:00:00- We will be back next month discussing Jose Raoul Capablanca’s Chess Fundamentals, 1:02:00- Thanks so Christof for donating his time! We close by discussing what Christof is working on next for Chessable. Mentioned: Chess in Slums Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chess-education-in-africa Check out Christof’s whole Chessable catalog here: https://www.chessable.com/author/Chessexplained/ Check out his books here: Amazon.com: Christof Sielecki: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ChessExplained Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest today is the three-time champion of Slovakia, the highest rated player in his country and an award-winning author! Jan Markos’ 2018 book Under the Surface has been recommended on this show many times and was the winner of the ECF book of the year this year. He is out with another offering, The Secret Ingredient. Jan's new book is co-authored by GM David Navara and is also Quality Chess books. Both of Jan’s works are fantastic books which display an accessible writing style and a breadth of knowledge that extends far beyond the chess board. In our conversation, we discuss many of the ideas presented in these books, as well as a bit about Jan’s own competitive career, his advice for improvers, and his busy life away from the chessboard. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks. 3:00- We discuss a question raised in Under the Surface. “What do Grandmasters see that club players do not?” Mentioned: Thinking Fast and Slow, JJ Lang, GM Jesse Kraai 9:30- Patreon mailbag question- “How did GM Markos come up with so many metaphors to describe chess thinking in Under the Surface?” 14:30- Listener question- “Why do adults find improvement so challenging?” Mentioned: GM John Nunn’s Secrets of Practical Chess, Street Smart Chess by GM Axel Smith 18:00- Twitter Question: “Who is the intended audience for Jan’s book?” 20:00- Twitter Question: “Was Jan inspired by Aron Nimzovich’s My System?” Mentioned: Patzer’s Review Blog Review of Under the Surface 22:00- Twitter Question: “Are there new chapters Jan would add to Under the Surface today?” 24:00- Twitter Question: “Why do we tend to notice mistakes just as we make a move, and not before we make a move?” Mentioned: Jan’s game where he hung a mate in one is here: Manage Your Favourite Games (chessbase.com) 26:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com They offer 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. 27:00- Perpetual Chess is also 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%. 30:00- We discuss The Secret Ingredient. How can adult chess players learn to translate chess knowledge into skills? 39:00- Why is trying to “get your openings down first” before tackling other aspects of the game often a “Sisyphean task”? 41:30- What advice can Jan offer on managing one’s time during a chess game? Mentioned: GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Daniel Fridman, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, Episode 08 with GM Sam Shankland 48:30- What should you do when confronted with an unknown idea in the opening? 50:00- How should chess improvers allocate their chess study time? Mentioned: Episode 237 with GM Vladimir Kramnik 54:00- Can online games be adapted so that they more resemble tournament chess? 58:00- 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/ 1:00:00- What was Jan’s journey to the GM tite like? Who are his favorite chess authors? Mentioned: GM Lubomir Ftacnik, Ludek Pachman’s Chess books, GM Boris Gelfand, GM Jonathan Rowson, GM Jacob Aagaard 1:04:00- What is Jan’s approach to writing? 1:05:30- How is the chess culture in Slovakia? 1:08:00- Does Jan miss playing chess professionally? What are his fondest memories? Mentioned: GM Jan-Khristof Duda, GM Sergei Karjakin 1:15:00- BOOK GIVEAWAY INSTRUCTIONS Take a screenshot of your subscription to the How to Chess Podcast on any podcast app or on Chessable’s YouTube channel. Email the screenshot to ben at perpetualchesspod.com The winners of Jan’s books will be announced on September 3, 2021 via email 1:17:00- Thanks to Jan for joining us. You can email him at jan.markos at gmail.com 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

Note- one can read a transcript of this interview here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-3Q-sZ9DYfI4N8sqNRZd4MNUef6_C1L3l5ak1fQAQnE/edit?usp=sharing This week on Perpetual Chess, we are privileged to be joined by the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion, Grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik. GM Kramnik spent decades atop the chess world, and is best known as the man who ended Garry Kasparov’s historic reign as World Champion. GM Kramnik is one of the 10 highest rated players of all time, and left a special imprint in his contribution to opening theory, as many of his favorite lines are now embraced by modern chess engines and frequently seen at the elite level. We had a wide-ranging conversation where GM Kramnik discussed his match with Kasparov, the effect of engines on chess, his recent “no-castling” exhibition match with GM Viswanathan Anand, and, of course, his new Chessable course. Vladimir’s course is called Thinking in Chess: A How to Guide, and it offers a Super GM level framework on how to think about preventing your opponent’s plans. There are many great insights in this interview, so I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as I did speaking with him. Please read on for more details, timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by discussing Kramnik’s rise in the 1990’s, including his breakout tournament at the 1992 Manila Olimpiad, a tournament for which he was a surprise choice to compete on the stacked Russian team. 08:30- Vladimir recently concluded his match with GM Vishy Anand in a new variant called “no-castling chess.” He discusses the match and the future of chess variants. Mentioned: GM Vasyl Ivanchuk 22:45- 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%. 23:45- GM Kramnik answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: "How has his game has been influenced by computer chess?" 26:00- A couple more Patreon mailbag questions- “Did computers help Vladimir prepare the Berlin endgame for his match against Kasparov?” “How much did his team help him with it?” 33:00- GM Kramnik discusses the match dynamics of the 2000 Kasparov-Kramnik match. Mentioned: GM Viswanthan Anand 41:30-Are there any modern players who use the engines especially effectively in their preparation? 45:30- 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/ 46:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Why did GM Kramnik decide to focus his chess course on “quiet moves” and prophylaxis?” 1:02:00- What does Vladimir think about the upcoming World Championship match? Mentioned: Norway Chess 2021 1:08:00- “Is it more stressful to be World Champion than to “just” to be a top-echelon player?” 1:12:00- “Can a player who has passed her 60th birthday compete in the top echelon?” 1:15:30- “Did Vladimir enjoy competing in Chess24’s Legends of Chess tournament last year?” 1:18:00- “What kind of improvement can amateur players expect to see in their games if they have jobs outside of chess?” 1:22:30- “What was it like to play his childhood hero, GM Anatoly Karpov, for the first time?” Mentioned: GM Garry Kasparov. You can review the game here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067080 1:29:00- Did working on Kasparov’s team give him a competitive advantage in their 2000 World Championship match, and might Nepomniachtchi have a similar advantage from having worked with GM Magnus Carlsen? 1:30:00- Thanks so much to GM Kramnik for joining the show! You can check out a free version of his Chessable course here: https://www.chessable.com/vladimir-kramnik-free-lesson/course/81696/ Or you can buy the whole course here: https://www.chessable.com/thinking-in-chess-a-how-to-guide/course/77175/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another “Adult improver” edition of Perpetual Chess. Our guest this time is Dr. Courtney Frey. Courtney is a 35 year old doctor (radiologist) and father of 2 kids. Like a lot of us he played in a chess club during his school years, but then didn’t play for many yearsuntil he finished medical school. He got more serious during the pandemic, started taking lessons with a coach, and he has seen his LiChess Rapid rating go from the 1500s to 1900 in about a year! As you will hear, Courtney has been successful with a very balanced approach to chess improvement that focuses on studying the aspects of chess that he enjoys most. Courtney had a lot of helpful tips to share- you can find relevant links and timestamps below! 0:00- Did you know that Chessable now sponsors an adult improvement weekly chess podcast called How to Chess? Did you know that you can subscribe to it on Spotify and all the other podcast apps? Be sure to subscribe, or go to Howtochess.com for more info. https://open.spotify.com/show/5SzyXVaBZtM8CA6dtBQj7o?si=Q5SZzmcXT4i65y219xKTzQ&dl_branch=1 2:00- Courtney briefly delves into his chess background prior to his renaissance that began during Quarantine. Mentioned: Episode 87 with Adult Improver Stacia Pugh 6:00- Once Courtney decided to start training what did he do? Mentioned: Episode 194 with Yuriy Krykun, Book Recap #14- Discussing The Seven Deadly Chess Sins with David Franklin, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins (Scotland's Youngest Grandmaster Discusses the Most Common Ca): Rowson, Jonathan: 9781901983364: Amazon.com: Books 13:00- 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%. 13:45- Courtney answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to how he selected his opening repertoire. Then he provides more detail on his chess study regimen. Mentioned: IM Yuriy Krykun’s Chessable Course- The Dynamic Italian Game 30:00- What does Courtney do when he faces an opening move he hasn’t seen before? Mentioned: Chessable Course- My First White Opening Repertoire 35:30- 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/ 36:00- Courtney shares a few more recommendations, he has found many ways to improve beyond tactics training! Mentioned: The Checkmate Patterns Manual Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Perpetual Chess features a different kind of guest, Joe Posnanski was twice- named the best sportswriter in America by the Associated Press. He is also a popular podcaster and best selling author of 6 books. I have been a huge fan of Joe’s writing for many years, so when he recently wrote about his enthusiasm for chess I couldn’t resist the opportunity to invite him to talk to us on Perpetual Chess. In our interview, Joe discusses the beginnings of his interest in chess (his dad was a USCF expert.) Joe then dives into topics including: the current state of his own chess game, why he has a "love-hate" relationship with the game, who his favorite chess YouTubers are, and the lessons that he has learned from his coach, FM Mikhail Perelshteyn. Whether in written word or on his Poscast, Joe is always entertaining and insightful, so it was a real thrill for me to talk chess with him! Please read on for more details and relevant links. 0:00- Joe tells us about the evolution of his interest in chess over the years. Mentioned: Read Joe’s recent blog post about chess here. Read his article about playing with NFL player Priest Holmes here. Read Joe’s famous, non-chess post about seeing Hamilton with his daughter, here. 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 - Chessable.com Also be sure to subscribe to our How to Chess podcast ! More info here: https://howtochess.com/ 13:30- Joe is a big fan of chess YouTube. Who are Joe’s favorite chess YouTubers? Mentioned: Agadmator’s YouTube Channel, Perpetual Chess Episode 160 with Agadmator, GM Hikaru Nakamura, IM Eric Rosen, IM Levy Rozman, Levy’s Guess the Elo playlist here, GM Simon Williams’ Jobava London Chessable Course here 25:45- 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%. 26:30- We discuss the state of Joe’s own chess game. What are his strengths and weaknesses? Mentioned: FM Mikhail Perelshteyn, GM Eugene Perelshteyn, How to Chess Episode with GM Eugene Perelshteyn here, Joe’s game that we are discussing can be found here 48:00- Joe’s most recent book is an excellent biography, The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini, Did he see any similarities between the magic and chess sub-cultures? Mentioned: The Baseball 100 53:00- If Joe were to write a feature about chess, what would he write? 1:02:00- Thanks so much to Joe for joining us to talk chess! Here is how to keep up with his great writing: Subscribe to his blog here: https://joeposnanski.substack.com/ Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/JPosnanski Check out his books on Amazon here: Amazon.com: Joe Posnanski: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle 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

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

It has been a while, but Perpetual Chess is back with a blockbuster bonus book recap podcast. For this episode of Chess Books Recaptured, I am joined by FIDE Master Nate Solon to compare two books about one of the most famous chess tournaments of all time, the 1953 Zurich-Neuhausen Candidates tournament.(More commonly known as just, Zurich 1953) GM David Bronstein’s book, Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 , is one of the most popular chess books of all time, and is often recommended on this podcast. GM Miguel Najdorf’s tournament book, Zurich 1953: 15 Contenders for the World Chess Championship, is also considered a classic by many, but may not be as well known due to having only been translated into English in the past decade. So how do we compare the books? Do they live up to their reputation as instructional chess book classics? What made the tournament so special? What are we to make of the “ghost writing” and “match fixing” allegations which have come to light in recent decades? So much to discuss! We even feature a guest appearance by renowned author and GM Andy Soltis to help answer these questions! Please read on for lots more details and relevant links. 0:00- Why did we choose these two books? Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 - Kindle edition by Bronstein, David. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Zurich 1953: 15 Contenders for the World Chess Championship - Kindle edition by Najdorf, Miguel. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Mentioned: GM Andy Soltis’ Soviet Chess 1917-1991, Chess24 series: The 50 Greatest Chess Players of all Time, GM Genna Sosonko’s Smylov on the Couch, Boris Samoilovich Vainstein (author, collaborator of David Bronstein) 20:00- 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 Also be sure to subscribe to Chessable’s new podcast focused on chess improvement How to Chess (hosted by me), more info here: https://howtochess.com/ 21:00- GM Andy Soltis joins the show to share his perspective on why he thinks these books are so famous. You can preorder Andy’s upcoming book here: Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and Averbakh: A Chess Multibiography with 220 Games: Soltis, Andrew: 9781476677934: Amazon.com: Books 42:00- 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%. 42:30- For what level chess fans are these books most beneficial? How do the books compare? Mentioned: IM Christof Sielecki video looking at the analysis of Zurich 1953: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCE68qr5oQ John Watson’s review of the Zurich 1953 books: https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/john-watson-book-review-106-zurich-1953-by-najdorf Episode 46 with IM John Watson 54:00- We share a few choice quotes from both books. 1:03:00- Who wrote Bronstein’s book? Bronstein or his friend Boris Vainstein? Is it important? Mentioned: GM Genna Sosonko’s The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein 1:07:00- We finally dive deeper into the allegations that the Soviet government ordered match fixing by the Soviet players Mentioned: Chesscafe.com, GM Yuri Averbakh, Taylor Kingston, Taimanov vs. Smyslov 1:21:00- Thanks so much to Nate for donating so much time! Tune in next time for a recap of My System with IM Christof Sielecki. Support Chess in Slums here: https://gofund.me/61ae63d6 Here Tunde on the Perpetual Chess Episode 219 here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2a57aGslpbGW08KozHQ2ih?si=Yg9RZqpgRMqonYQhGcBbOA&dl_branch=1 You can subscribe to Nate’s free email newsletter here: https://zwischenzug.substack.com/ Follow Nate on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/natesolon Lichess Study with Selected Games Here: https://lichess.org/study/pCrnDQxs/o0AoddYo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM Levy Rozman a/k/a “GothamChess” is a chess commentator, Twitch streamer, and, of course, creator of one of the most popular Chess YouTube channels in the World. His channel has seen explosive growth since his prior visit to Perpetual Chess, one year ago. It recently surpassed 1 million subscribers and is still growing quickly! In our conversation, Levy reflects on the success of his channel, and shares lots of advice for other aspiring content creators. We also discuss his recent return to competitive chess. Levy recently competed in the National Open in Las Vegas. He had pretty good results over the board, but perhaps more surprisingly, the videos analyzing his tournament games proved to be amongst his most popular ever! Why does he think that is? Will his comeback and pursuit of the Grandmaster title continue? Will he ever stop speaking out on political issues? We tackle all of these questions and many more in this fun, wide-ranging conversation. Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by doing a post-mortem on Levy’s recent return to over-the-board “OTB” chess. How does Levy reflect on his performance in the recently completed National Open in Las Vegas? 11:00- Levy answers a Patreon mailbag question, relating to whether making videos during a tournament is distracting, and why he thinks his game recap videos were so popular (often with more than 400,000 views per episode)! The first of Levy’s game recapps from Vegas is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqNenU-sQZI His recap of his game with IM Christopher Yoo is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPBLVuVk1zw Also mentioned: GM Alex Grischuk, Czech Open, GM Wojciech Moranda, FM Kyron Griffith 25:30- With so much content coming out, what steps has Levy taken to avoid burnout? 29:30- What aspects of his chess game does Levy think he needs to work on? 34:00- 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 Also be sure to subscribe to Chessable’s new podcast focused on chess improvement How to Chess (hosted by me), more info here: https://howtochess.com/ 35:00- Levy delves into some of the key decisions behind his YouTube channel’s huge growth in the past year. Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen, Agadmator, Guess the Elo, Kasparov vs. the World Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOrLfEZav14, Hanging Pawns YouTube, Mato Jelic YouTube, Kevin Durant, Dewa Kipas, WGM Irene Sukander 50:00- Levy answers another question from a Patreon subscriber, relating to explaining his YouTube success. 53:00 Another Patreon question- “What advice does Levy have for new chess streamers? “ Mentioned: Agadmator, GM Daniel King, IM John Bartholomew, GM Hikaru Nakamura, Mr. Beast, TierZoo, Daily Dose of Chess 1:01:00- What encounters with celebrities has Levy had as a result of his success? Mentioned: Levy’s lesson with Gordon Hayward, Joe Posnanski’s blog post about chess is here: https://joeposnanski.substack.com/p/chess 1:03:00- 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%. 1:04:00- Levy made a few enemies with this tweet, Does he stand by the sentiment? We also discuss Levy’s penchant for tweeting about politics. Mentioned: GM Daniel King, GM Ben FInegold 1:17:00- Levy also has been an outspoken advocate for helping to foster a more supportive atmosphere for women in chess. How did this issue come to his attention? 1:24:00- How is Levy’s girlfriend’s game progressing? 1:27:00- Has Levy made any big purchases in the wake of his recent success? Mentioned: Joe Rogan podcast, Magnus Carlsen If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Altucher is a best-selling author, popular business podcast host, entrepreneur, USCF Master and adult improver! I last interviewed James back in October of 2017. At the time, James had some fun stories to tell about his chess background, but he wasn’t actively working on his chess. As it has for many people, that has changed in the past year. In the wake of the Queen’s Gambit boom, James’ love for chess is back in full bloom. He has been training 3-4 hours a day and hopes to return to competitive chess soon. In addition to his chess expertise, James is a keen student of adult learning who has interviewed experts in the field, such as Anders Ericsson and Angela Duckworth, among others. James gives some great advice on how to approach chess improvement and shares what he has learned from working 1 on 1 with coaches like IM Eric Rosen, and GM Jesse Kraai. James also offers some actionable advice for aspiring content creators, and he asks me a few questions about how Perpetual Chess has been affected by the pandemic. As always, please read on for lots more details, timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- I am pleased to announce that Perpetual Chess is joining the Blue Wire Podcast Network! Blue Wire is a fast growing network of sports, comedy and lifestyle podcasts, and Perpetual Chess is the first chess podcast to sign on with them. More information about Blue Wire Podcasts here: https://www.bluewirepods.com/ 2:00- James rejoins the show, and we dive right into James’ recent chess studies.. Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 42 with James Altucher The James Altucher Episode 667 with Jen Shahade The James Altucher show Episode 716 with Garry Kasparov IM Eric Rosen, GM Jesse Kraai Perpetual Chess Podcast Episode 182 with IM Willy Hendriks Perpetual Chess Podcast Episode 213 with IM Greg Shahade Perpetual Chess Podcast Episode 11 with GM Alex Lenderman The Woodpecker Method by GM Axel Smith Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios 19:45- 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%. 20:30- How does James incorporate spaced repetition of tactics into his chess study? 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 Also be sure to subscribe to Chessable’s new chess improvement focused podcast, How to Chess (hosted by me), more info here: https://howtochess.com/ 32:30- I ask James, whether it is as intimidating to interview GM Garry Kasparov as it is to play against him. Mentioned: GM Michael Wilder, Episode 215 with Vishnu Sreekumar 37:00- We discuss another highly instructive book, GameChanger by GM Mathew Sadler, and WIM Natasha Regan 46:00- James asks me- What have I learned from interviewing so many adult improvers? Mentioned: Episode 231 With Braden Laughlin, GM Daniel Naroditsky, GM Sam Shankland’s Banter Blitz Videos, Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics, The Modern Tiger 1:01:00- James asks me: how were the download numbers for Perpetual Chess affected by the Queen’s Gambit? Mentioned: Episode 229 with GM Davorin Kuljasevic, Episode 44 with GM Jesse Kraai, GM Ben Finegold, IM Greg Shahade, WGM Jen Shahade, FM Mike Shahade 1:12:30- How close does James think podcasts are to their growth peak? + some helpful content creation advice Mentioned: Kevin Kelly- “Don’t Just Be the Best, Be the Only” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vincGfoF8FA 1:15:00- Thanks so much to James for rejoining the show! Here is how to keep up with him: Buy his latest book here: Amazon.com: Skip the Line: The 10,000 Experiments Rule and Other Surprising Advice for Reaching Your Goals eBook: Altucher, Jamhttps://jamesaltucher.com/es: Books Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaltucher Website: https://jamesaltucher.com/ The James Altucher show- https://open.spotify.com/show/0Tqw1AaZyrZ7kWnrNSgbNQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stejpan Tomic, bettter known on YouTube as "Hanging Pawns" discusses How to Choose an Opening. This will be the last time How to Chess is shared on the Perpetual Chess Feed, so please subscribe to How to Chess via the following links: Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/74A0JotybXUvnviTCzsSUp?si=qx4NioNpSGejntNjXIcxtA&dl_branch=1 Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-chess/id1572917817 Chessable YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxVGiP4dl19wwGJlCy3_u8g Google Podcasts- https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vaG93LXRvLWNoZXNzLw If you do not see "How to Chess" on your podcast platform, please email HowToChess at Chessable.com to let us know. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here is a preview of my brand new chess improvement podcast, "How to Chess," brought to you by Chessable. In Episode 1, Author, GM and the founder of ChessOpeningsExplained.Com, Eugene Perelshteyn shares advice on how to limit blunders. Here is how to subscribe: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74A0JotybXUvnviTCzsSUp?si=DZnY-yoRRl-Awcmn5OtPSg&dl_branch=1 Subscribe at Chessable's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Chessable/videos?view=0&sort=dd&flow=grid Apple Podcast- https://t.co/gBuwchfxRo?amp=1 Google Podcasts- https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vaG93LXRvLWNoZXNzLw For comments, guess suggestions, or a chess improvement question you'd like to hear answered on How To Chess you can email to HowToChess at Chessable.com 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

WGM and IM Irene Sukander is one of the top players in Indonesia, the two-time Asian Women’s Chess Champion, and she earned a Grandmaster norm at the Asian Continental in 2012. Although her numerous chess accomplishments required an investment of time, Irene did not shirk her studies. She studied English literature in Indonesia, and Irene earned a Masters Degree in International Relations at chess powerhouse Webster University in St. Louis. Irene was already a well-known and accomplished chess player, but we saw her fame explode when due to an unusual set of circumstances she participated in a live, high stakes chess match with 1.25 million online viewers! Irene reflects on that match, and the ways it changed her life both for better and for worse. We also discuss Irene’s current chess goals, the unique chess culture in Indonesia, ways to popularize chess for women, and many more topics. There is much to learn from Irene, so I hope you enjoy this conversation as I did. Please read on for more details, timestamp and related links. 0:00- We begin by discussing the latest on Irene’s chess game. Is she studying? Is she planning on chasing the GM title? This segment also touches on chess in Indonesia. Mentioned: Ray Robson, Eric Rosen, Ilya Nyzhnik, Le Quang Liem, Susan Polgar Ladies Knight Podcast interview with Jen Shahade: https://open.spotify.com/episode/108CgkISEvilraOmayh887?si=9df44dab494b4bb1 Biel Open, Jakarta Post article about Irene: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2021/04/09/meet-irene-kharisma-sukandar-the-grandmaster-thrust-into-the-spotlight.html 10:00- Irene was a bit of a prodigy as a child. She delves into the intense study regimen that helped her earn her chess success. Mentioned: GM Mikhail Botvinnik, Chess Informant’s, Hort-Karpov 1981 27:00- Irene answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag relating to ways that more women can be inspired to pursue chess. Mentioned: GM Judit Polgar, GM Maia Chiburdanidze, GM Hou Yifan, GM Ju Wenjun, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 33:00- 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 34:00- Irene reflects on the experience of participating in the most viewed chess match of all time, an event which came about under quite unusual circumstances. Mentioned: IM Levy Rozman a/k/a Gotham Chess , Dewa Kipas, Here is Peter Doggers’ Chess.com story- Cheating Controversy Results in Most Watched Chess Event of All Time- https://www.chess.com/news/view/most-watched-chess-stream-in-history-dewa-kipas 43:00- What content advice has Irene been given from her friend IM Eric Rosen? Mentioned: Episode 36 with IM Eric Rosen, Episode 130 with IM Eric Rosen 47:00- Patreon question- was the $14,000 Irene received for her match with Dewa Kipas her biggest chess payday? She also reflects a bit more on what she will remember from this landmark chess match. 58:00- 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%. 1:01:00- We talk a bit about Irene’s life and interests away from the board. Mentioned: Reykjavik Open Chess Tournament- https://www.reykjavikopen.com/, Kopi Luwak 1:08:00- Thanks so much to Irene for joining the podcast Here are the best ways to keep up with her: Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/irene_sukandar/?hl=en Twitter- https://twitter.com/irene_sukandar?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Twitch- https://t.co/tIJGJkZzLp?amp=1 Chess.com 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

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

This week we are rejoined by the always entertaining Twitch streamer,YouTube creator and accomplished Grandmaster, Ben Finegold! Ben was an early guest of Perpetual Chess, back in 2017. In the subsequent years, Ben has seen his online following grow rapidly, and The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta (which he co-founded with his wife Karen Boyd) continues to find its footing despite the pandemic. In this interview, Ben reflects on his recent success, and shares some great stories from his own journey to the GM title, his early encounters with the Polgar sisters, and some chess history wisdom regarding Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Tal and many others. It is always illuminating and amusing to get to chat with Ben, please read on for all of the details, relevant links and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by hearing the story of how Ben earned the GM title at the relatively late age of 40. Mentioned: Episode 9 with GM Ben Finegold, Episode 52 with GM Ben Finegold, Episode 271 “IM to GM special episode” with IMs Lawrence Trent, Sean Nagle and Attila Turzo, Bill Goichberg, Susan Polgar, Sevan Muradian, FM Peter Giannatos, GM Vishy Anand, GM Garry Kasparov, Albert Pujols, Robert Parish, GM Viktor Korchnoi, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson 18:00- Since Ben wasn’t a big book reader, to what does he attribute his chess accomplishments? Mentioned: GM Bobby Fischer, WGM Jenn Shahade, Episode 223 with Adult Improver Dr. Luka Popov 24:30- 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%. 25:30- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks: As someone with a popular chess center, what advice would Ben give for opening a venue in a major city? Mentioned: Episode 185 with IM Stuart Rachels, Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos Mentioned: The Queen’s Gambit, Silver Knights Enrichment 41:30- 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 42:00- Ben answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to the differences in playing style between GMs Magnus Carlsen and GM Garry Kasparov Mentioned: HBO’s Real Sports featuring GM Fabiano Caruana: https://www.youtube.om/watch?v=nbvrDspsGNU&feature=emb_imp_woyt Also mentioned: Paul Morphy, GM Anatoly Karpov 50:00- Ben had a few memorable games against the Polgar sisters. What were those experiences like? Mentioned: FM Emory Tate , GM Roman Dzindichashvilli, J. Polgar-Finegold 1989, Finegold, Gelfand 1989, J. Polgar-Finegold 1990, Finegold-Susan Polgar 1990 56:00- Why does Ben think he has found an audience on Chess Twitch? How does he think about some recent controversies involving chess Twitch personalities? Mentioned: GM Jon Speelman, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Eric Hansen, The Botez Sisters, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Aman Hambleton, IM John Bartholomew, IM Eric Rosen, IM Anna Rudolf, WFM Anna Cramling, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 1:10:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Ben have plans to improve his Twitch clips? Mentioned: The Family Guy 1:16:00- Patreon mailbag question: Which players of the past would have been good Twitch streamers? Mentioned: GM Ljubomir Ljubojević FM Emory Tate, GM Mikhail Tal, GM Alonso Zapata 1:21:00- GM Ben Finegold was featured in Sasha Chapin’s entertaining book All the Wrong Moves. What were Ben’s experiences with Sasha like? Mentioned: Episode 152 with Sasha Chapin, Howard Stern, George Stephonopoulos, 1:26:00- Thanks, as always to Ben for joining the show. Here is how to keep up with him: Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/gmbenjaminfinegold Twitter- https://twitter.com/ben_finegold?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Ben’s Personal Youtube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6EnFbK-P5q0zeaqI5yobKg Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta Youtube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqLLqbclDQ6IQg39Wsgy-4w See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WFM Maria Emelianova a/k/a “Photochess” is a popular Twitch streamer, photographer, translator, and chess journalist. Maria often spends more than half of her time travelling to cover and help organize chess tournaments. She has accumulated many memorable images and great stories from her time on the chess beat. To give an idea of her schedule, Maria worked on staff at the 2020-2021 FIDE Candidates in her native Yekaterinaburg, Russia, and she joined the podcast en route home from working at the Russian Team Championship in Sochi. In our conversation, Maria gave a first hand perspective on the Candidates Tournament, and we also touched on Maria’s chess book recommendations. We talked about her career as a chess competitor, as well as stories from her life as a chess photographer and advice regarding chess photography, Twitch streaming, and much more. Please read on for timestamps, lots more details and links related to this fun conversation. 0:00- As an Yekaterinaburg native and resident, Maria was part of the FIDE Candidates staff. She describes what her work entailed and gives some behind-the-scenes info from the tournament. Mentioned: https://www.sima-land.ru/, WGM Leya Garifullina, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, GM Peter Leko, Lennart Ootes 24:00- 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 24:45- What are Maria’s favorite chess resources? Mentioned: My Great Predecessors , Decision Making in Major Piece Endings , Chess Life Magazine, IM Elizabeth Paehtz’s Twitch channel- https://www.twitch.tv/ellipaehtz 32:30- Maria discusses her decision to play internationally for the United Kingdom, rather than Russia 39:00- 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%. 39:45- Maria reflects on her experiences as a Twitch streamer and shares some advice for other aspiring streamers and chess professionals. Mentioned: Twitch Streamer MrLlamaSC- https://www.twitch.tv/mrllamasc Also Mentioned: Episode 180 with IM Levy Rozman, Episode 140 with GM Aman Hambleton 53:30- Maria tells the memorable story of her first gig as a chess photographer Mentioned: GM Alexander Motylev, Former FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 1:00:00- What makes for a good chess photo? Who are Maria’s favorite players to photograph? Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, GM Anton Korobov, GM Alexander Grischuk 1:07:30- Which of Maria’s 5 cats is most beloved by her Twitch viewers? 1:13:00- Thanks so much to Maria for joining the show. Here is how you can keep up with her: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/photochess Webpage: https://photochess.com/ Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/member/photochess Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photochess/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/photochess?lang=en Reddit Photo Challenge: https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/6kywwe/psbattle_world_chess_champion_receiving_golden/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Krabbé is a popular Dutch novelist who is probably best known for the cult cycling classic The Rider, and the book The Vanishing, which was adapted into film in both The Netherlands and the U.S. In chess circles, Tim is a strong player who was once among the top 20 in the Netherlands, and he was a competitor in two Dutch National Championships. He has written for New in Chess Magazine, and wrote a classic (out of print) book called Chess Curiosities. Around the late 1990s and 2000s, Tim maintained an amazing blog which tracked chess news, shared stories and contained many noteworthy chess studies and records. Tim no longer updates the blog, but fortunately he maintains the archive, so that chess fans still can immerse themselves in it. Tim has accumulated some great stories from his interactions with legends like GMs Jan Timman, Garry Kasparov, and Vishy Anand. In our interview, he shares a few of the stories, assesses the chess boom, and shares his wisdom on the topics of writing, cycling, longevity, and of course, chess. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We dive right into chess talk, as Tim shares his thoughts on the FIDE Candidates tournament, and discusses his current relationship with chess. Mentioned: GM Anish Giri, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, Babson tasks , Episode 210 with Tom Vanderbilt. See Tom Vanderbilt’s profile of Tim Krabbé here- https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20026829/think-you-understand-the-rider-think-again/ 09:45- Tim made a comeback to cycling in his 60’s, and still works hard on his writing at the age of 78. What advice does he have for staying mentally and physically robust? This segues into Tim’s thoughts on the relative differences between chess, cycling, and racing. 16:00- 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 16:45- Tim answers a few questions from The Patreon mailbag relating to whether there are any similarities between cycling and chess. Mentioned: Marc Cavendish, GM Simen Agdestein, Tim’s article about Simen is here: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess2/agd_eng.htm 23:30- Tim tells the memorable story of how Bobby Fischer’s achievement’s deterred him from pursuing professional chess. He then tells a few stories derived from his attending the Fischer-Spassky World Championship in 1972. Game 1 here- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044722 Also mentioned: GM Friðrik Ólafsson 30:30- Patreon mailbag question: “How important does Tim think exercise is for competing at chess?” 34:00- 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%. 35:00- What is Tim’s most cherished chess memory? What sites does he read? Mentioned: Leonid Yarosh’s Babson Task- more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babson_task Also mentioned: Chessbase.com, Chessvibes.com 40:30- What are Tim’s favorite chess books? Mentioned: The Kingby GM Jan Hein Donner, Hein Donner, The Biography, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal 44:00- What does Tim think about the future of chess? Mentioned: GM Jan Timman, Read Tim’s chess short story, Master Jacobson, here: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/text/jacobson.htm 49:00- What advice does Tim have for how to tell a good story? Who are his favorite novelists? Mentioned: Lev Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev 53:00- Tim describes a memorable interaction with legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov. Mentioned: Kasparov vs. Piket 1995, Tim’s piece A Walk with Garry Kasparov: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/text/kaspeng.html Thanks so much to Tim for sharing his stories and wisdom! Read his archive here:https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess/chess.html Purchase his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Krabbe/e/B000APEA88%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share You can reach him at timkr At xs4all.nl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I am joined by one of my favorite modern authors, Grandmaster Axel Smith. Axel is a two-time Swedish Chess Olympiad member, who is probably best known for co-authoring the 2017 book, The Woodpecker Method with his fellow Grandmaster, Hans Tikkanen. Axel has written a few other books, which are excellent guides for more advanced players. They are Pump Up Your Rating, e3 Poison, and his latest offering from Quality Chess, Street Smart Chess. In our interview we discuss all of these books, and touch on topics like the origins of The Woodpecker Method, Axel’s own experience with using spaced repetition, and his improvement advice for ambitious club players. There are lots of useful nuggets in our conversation, so I hope you will enjoy it. Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by discussing what is probably GM Axel Smith’s most popular book, the famed The Woodpecker Method, which he co-wrote with GM Hans Tikkanen. The book is available from Amazon and is very popular on Chessable. Mentioned: Book Recap #6 discussing Woodpecker Method with Neal Bruce, Episode 187 with Christopher Chabris, Episode 216 with Dr. Jana Krivec 15:00- 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 16:00- In Pump Up Your Rating, Axel listed the 4 key components of chess improvement: “ (1) analyzing your games and making a ‘list of mistakes;” (2) using a De la Maza-esque program to study tactics; (3) doing serious opening work via the creation of ‘opening files’ in ChessBase; and (4) mastering approximately 100 key theoretical endgames.” Does he still think this is the best approach? Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know 20:45- In e3 Poison, Axel mentioned that we may be entering a post theoretical era- what does he mean by that? Mentioned: GM Anish Giri 24:30- What players does Axel look up to? Mentioned: GM Stellan Brynell, GM Ulf Andersson, YouTube Video- Play Like Ulf Andersson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDo--EPHnfc 27:00-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%. 28:30 What is the theme of Axel’s newest book, Street Smart Chess? Mentioned: Forward Chess, Street Smart Chess, Free book excerpt from Quality Chess here: http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/StreetSmartChess-excerpt.pdf GM David Navara, GM Aryan Tari, GM Baskaran Adhiban, GM Laurent Fressinet,GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Magnus Carlsen, My Chess World, The Secret Ingredient by Jan Markos and GM David Navara 39:45- What is the chess culture like in Sweden? 41:00- What are some of Axel’s favorite books? Mentioned: Learn from the Legends, Move First Think Later, On the Origin of the Good Moves 46:00- Axel Smith shares some life and chess advice before departing. You can keep up with him via his website: http://www.schackstudion.se/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is none other than former FIDE World Champion, 2 time Olympiad Gold Medalist, and 2011 Ukrainian National Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov! With the FIDE Candidates having concluded it was a great time to hear the thoughts of this genial super grandmaster. In our conversation, Ruslan puts the 2020-2021 FIDE Candidates into historical context, shares his perspective on GM Ian Nepomniachtchi’s victory, and then assesses the 2021 World Championship matchup between Nepomniachtchi and GM Magnus Carlsen. We then delve into GM Ponomariov’s storied career. How does he reflect on having been the youngest FIDE World Champion ever? What is he up to these days? We discuss this and much more in this fascinating, wide-ranging interview. Please read on for lots more details and timestamps. 0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings, inclluding IM Christof Sielecki's course on the Pirc defense here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 2:00- We begin, of course, by discussing the just-ended FIDE Candidates Tournament. What were GM Ponomariov’s impressions of the FIDE Candidates Tournament? Mentioned: Curacao 1962: The Battle That Shook the Chess World, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Alexei Dreev, Alexander Grischuk, GM Garry Kasparov, Rublevsky vs. Ponomariov 2007 20:00- How does he assess GM IanIan Nepomniachtchi’’s chances vs. Magnus Carlsen? Mentioned: Bwin World Championship Odds- https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/world-championship-2021-11184631 GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Peter Heine Nielsen 26:00- Ruslan answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: “How would a world championship team typically prepare for a match?” Ruslan describes his own experiences working with Magnus Carlsen. Mentioned: The Anand Files, GM Wang Hao, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, GM Sergei Karjakin, GM Boris Gelfand 37:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Ruslan place his FIDE World Champion title within historical context?” Mentioned: GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Bobby Fischer 43:00- 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%. 44:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ruslan have any professional chess plans outside of continuing to compete?” Mentioned: Dortmund Chess Days 2021 51:30- Patreon question: “Does GM Ponomariov have any suggestions for how to avoid information overload?” Mentioned: GM Noel Studer’s blog- https://t.co/4zQNhZV958?amp=1 56:00- GM Ponomariov discusses some of the chess-related projects on which he is working. Mentioned: German Bundeslga, GM Vladimir Baklan, GM Pavel Elianov, GM Yuriy Kuzubov, Russian Language Academy of Olympic Champions website here: Академия Олимпийских Чемпионов 1:01:00- Does Ruslan have any good stories involving GM Vasyl Ivanchuk? Has he ever played him in checkers? Mentioned: Ivanchuk interview with Fiona Steil Antoni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpT9el_9i8, GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Alexander Morozevich, GM Tiger Hillarp Person, GM Emanuel Lasker, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Mikhail Podharetz 1:15:00- Twitter question from GM Denes Boros: “Is there anything GM Ponomariov would have done differently from his time at the top of the chess world?” Mentioned: GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko , GM Vladimir Topolov, GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Wang Hao 1:23:00- In view of the fact that Ruslan lives in Spain, I asked whether he does any chess work there, or is it primarily on the road, and in his native Ukraine? 1:29:00- In 2008, GM Ponomariov told Chessbase.com of his desire to travel through the Mongolian steppes. Has he taken that trip yet? 1:32:00- Thanks so much to GM Ponomariov for sharing his time and reflections. Here is how you can keep up with him: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ruslanponomariov Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ponomariov?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another bonus book recap podcast, also known as Chess Books Recaptured! This month’s book of choice is one of the most popular beginner-oriented chess books of all time, Irving Chernev’s Logical Chess Move by Move. My guest co-host this month is Barry Katz. Barry is a Brooklyn based father of 4, and college writing instructor who discovered chess in recent years through the interest of his son. Irving Chernev has left quite a legacy as an accomplished and popular writer of 20 chess books. Logical Chess Move by Move was first published in 1957, so some have suggested it is outdated, but both Barry and I find it to be very readable and instructive, and an excellent book for those looking to understand the timeless principles of master level chess play. Please read on for lots more details, timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- Barry shares a bit about his background, and we discuss why we chose to discuss Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev Mentioned: Facebook Chess Books Collectors Group, GM Max Illingworth, GM Andy Soltis, Brian Karen, World Chess Hall of Fame, Chernev tribute: https://worldchesshof.org/hof-inductee/irving-chernev Also Mentioned: Episode 221 with Chris Callhan, Lichess Study Featuring Logical Chess Move by Move: https://lichess.org/study/Wn7aMkPy, Jen Shahade, Mike Klein, Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings, The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played The 1979 Chernev interview from the Chess Life and Review archive can be found here: http://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CL-ALL/1979/1979_All.pdf 12:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: Chessable.com 13:45- Is Logical Chess Move by Move secretly a good guide to openings? What other move by move chess books are available on the market? Mentioned: The Scandinavian Defense, Understanding Chess Move by Move by GM John Nunn, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy by IM John Watson, Episode 41 with GM Judit Polgar 20:30- We share a few noteworthy quotes of Chernev discussing the common early moves of chess games. Mentioned: IM Andras Toth, Girl vs. Wang Hao 2021 32:00- 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%. 33:30- We share a few more favorite quotes from the book. Mentioned: Dan Heisman, IM Eric Rosen, Jose Rauol Capablanca, Harry Pillsbury, GM Sam Shankland, Siegbert Tarrasch 44:30- We discuss a couple of our favorite games from the podcast. Mentioned: Rubinstein-Salwe 1908, Tarrasch-Mieses 1916 48:00- What were our main chess improvement takeaways? Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Caruana-Vachier-Lagrave 2021, World’s Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Dan Heisman, IM Cyrus Lakdawala 59:00- Thanks so much to Barry Katz for helping out this month’s book recap. You can email him at: Iambarrykatz at gmail.com Mentioned: Subscribe to FM Nate Solon’s email newsletter here: Zwischenzug (substack.com), Bronstein’s Zurich 1953 book, Najdorf’s Zurich 1953 book If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 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

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 [email protected] 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 are joined by Chris Callahan, who is the Community Organizer of LiChess.org. Lichess is a community supported, free, open-source, ad- and tracker-free chess site which plays host to over 5 million chess games per day. Back in 2017, I interviewed its founder, Thibault Duplessis, so it was past time to catch up on all that is new with this great site. It has been especially important during the past year as online chess has surged in popularity. We discussed everything from how they dealt with a huge traffic surge, to their capabilities in the area of cheating detection. We talked about the viability of their current business plan as well as their future plans. Chris also delved a bit into his own chess background, and shared his unique perspective on scholastic chess teaching and chess improvement. It was fun to catch up with him and to learn more about this website on which so many of us enjoy playing on a daily basis. 0:00- Chris shares a bit about his chess background, what is new with Lichess founder Thibault Duplessis, and how he became a LiChess employee, Mentioned: IM Christof Sielecki, LiChess Studies , Episode 25- Thibault Duplessis 7:00- LiChess traffic doubled in 2 weeks when the pandemic hit. How did they handle it? As a donation-driven non-profit, how is LiChess holding up financially? Mentioned: The Lichess Costs document we reference is here: http://lichess.org/costs 16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest here, including GM Peter Svidler's much anticipated course on the Grunfeld: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 17:00- Chris answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to various Lichess capabilities and future plans including what their philosophy is on sharing their open source coding. 25:30- Chris discusses a recent controversy involving Chessbase and the open source community. It is alleged that Chessbase was not transparent about using Stockfish’s Open Source Code for its Fat Fritz engine. More info in Peter Dogger’s summary here: https://www.chess.com/news/view/chessbase-fat-fritz-2-stockfish-leela-chess-zero 31:00- What is Lichess’ approach to the use of a cheat detection/engine by players? Mentioned: Episode 18 with IM Danny Rensch, Episode 136 with IM Ken Regan, GM Wesley So, GM Raunak Sadhwhani 48:00- What are the goals of the LiChess Twitch and YouTube channels? What other projects might LiChess work on? Mentioned: LiChess Study- Logical Chess Move by Move: https://lichess.org/study/Wn7aMkPy 58:00- What is Chris’ guiding principle in teaching chess to kids? What else would Chris like to see change in the chess community? Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen and The Stafford Gambit, Chess for Zebras 1:05:00- Thanks so much to Chris for sharing his knowledge and catching us up on Lichess. Join the LiChess Discord here: https://lichess.org/team/chesscord-discord-community You can follow Chris on LiChess here: https://lichess.org/@/NoJoke If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: The Perpetual Chess Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bruce Pandolfini is a trailblazer for American chess who is well known as a top scholastic coach, prolific author, and consultant on landmark chess productions like the 1993 movie, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and the 2020 smash hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. Bruce even served on the announcing team for PBS in the legendary 1972 Fischer vs. Spassky World Championship match. With such a resume, obviously Bruce has accumulated a treasure trove of stories, and perspective. In our interview, Bruce drew on his experience as an early coach of future GM Fabiano Caruana and IM Josh Waitzkin to discuss the nature of chess talent, and he told stories of a few of his interactions with Bobby Fischer as a New Yorker of the same generation. Bruce also opined on the growth of and future of chess, and discussed his involvement in The Queen’s Gambit, both the novel and the series. Obviously,I found this to be an entertaining and informative interview, and I hope that you will as well. Please read on for more details and links related to all that we discussed. 0:00- We begin by reliving some stories from Bruce’s youth in Brooklyn, and his interactions with chess legends like Bobby Fischer and GM Larry Evans. Mentioned: Caroline Marshall, Fabiano Caruana, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, Al Horowitz 9:30- How did Bruce end up a part of the announcing team for PBS for the 1972 Fischer vs. Spassky “Match of the Century?” Mentioned: Shelby Lyman, Eugene Meyer, GM Edmar Mednis, Dustin Hoffman, GM Nicolas Rossolimo, IM Bernard Zuckerman. Bobby Fischer’s Outrageous Chess Moves, Here is the video of Bobby Fischer appearing on The Tonight Show in 1972- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxvnEwvgfeI, Saul Bellow, Kurt Vonnegut 22:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can always check out what’s new there through this link: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 23:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Bruce deal with students whose parents are challenging?“ Mentioned: Bill Goichberg 29:00- Does Bruce notice any traits in common amongst the top talents he has worked with such as IM Josh Waitzkin and GM Fabiano Caruana? Carol Ann Caronia, Fred Waitzkin, Bonnie Waitzkin. Lou Caruana, Robert Hess, GM Joel Benjamin, GM Miron Sher 37:00- Another Patreon Mailbag question: “What are some of Bruce’s favorite chess books?” Mentioned: My 60 Memorable Games, Botvinnik: One Hundred Selected Chess Games, Alekhine’s My Best Games of Chess, Fred Reinfeld’s The Human Side of Chess, Irving Chernev, GM Andy Soltis 39:00- Another question from a Patreon supporter: “How has Bruce’s chess improvement advice changed over the years?” Mentioned: Shelby Lyman 46:30- Bruce answers the question, “How has the rise of chess on YouTube and Twitch impacted Bruce’s students?” Mentioned: Jose Raoul Capablanca, Wilhelm Steinitz 52:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. Check out their website and subscribe to their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBUU6aq2b07VtTAMO0xGTw 53:00- We talk about Bruce’s work on The Queen’s Gambit, both Walter Tevis’ novel and the series. Mentioned: John Hartmann interview with Bruce Pandolfini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpfWu-OvAlg Also Mentioned: Bill Horberg, Scott Frank, Anya Taylor Joy, Garry Kasparov’s talk with the US Chess Girl’s Group is here: https://www.kasparov.com/garry-kasparov-talks-to-us-chess-girls-group-about-the-queens-gambit/ Also Mentioned: Searching for Bobby Fischer, Lasker’s Manual of Chess, 1:03:00- In closing, we discuss Bruce’s future projects, including whether he may ever write a memoir. Thanks so much to Bruce for joining the show! Mentioned: Kimberly Doo McVay If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twenty-six year-old Tunde Onakoya is one of the top 50 chess players in his native Nigeria (rated 2165 FIDE), and is the founder of a life-changing organization called Chess in Slums. This organization introduces chess to kids in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria, and uses the game as a learning tool to instill confidence and teach critical thinking. It's a much-needed program, because the kids learning about chess are often unable to go to school due to financial or other life circumstances. As Tunde tells us, he was one of those kids not that long ago. Tunde credits chess with changing his life and aims to do the same for the next generation. Tunde is also a musician, a tech aficionado, a speed chess lover, and he has a university degree in Computer Science. Despite his many talents, it is his work bringing chess to kids that inspires him the most, and Tunde joined me amidst a week where a swarm of media attention had helped convince him to devote even more time and energy to the Chess in Slums cause. Tunde tells an inspiring story which is still in its early stages. Please read on for more details, relevant links and timestamps of our interview. 0:00- We begin by discussing the hectic week that Tunde had preceding our interview, in the wake of a viral tweet of his about the Chess in Slums program, that begat lots of message and media requests. 7:30- Tunde tells the story of how he discovered chess during his own childhood, and how the game changed the trajectory of his life. Mentioned: Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Jose Raoul Capablanca 15:45- What were the beginnings of the Chess in Slums program? Mentioned: Chess in Slums’ Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/chessinslums/?igshid=zmqk3bq3d52e Here is a tweet with the story of the girl named Basirat https://twitter.com/Tunde_OD/status/1265289693731721216?s=20 Facebook page here- https://www.facebook.com/pg/chessinslums/posts/ 27:45- How do the kids in the slums respond to chess? 31:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. They are having a big sale this week, to check out what's available, you can go here: Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 32:00- Tunde discusses Chess.com/Chesskid’s sponsorship of Chess in the Slums. Mentioned: Carey Fan, University of California, The Chess in Slums Go Fund Me link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chess-education-in-africa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1& 40:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out Chessmood’s blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 40:30-Tunde explains a bit about how the Nigerian school system works, and about the living situation for himself and the local kids. 48:00- Is a chess culture taking hold in Nigeria? 51:30- We talk a bit about Tunde's own blitz game. Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 42 with James Altucher, IM Eric Rosen, GM Simon Williams (Ginger GM), GInger GM’s Iron English course: https://www.chessable.com/the-iron-english-botvinnik-variation/course/50500/ Here is Tunde’s Lichess account: https://lichess.org/@/giftedhandz 58:00 Thanks so much to Tunde for joining the show, and for the work that he is doing! Please support Chess in Slums if you are able. Here is all the contact info you need: The Chess in Slums Go Fund Me link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chess-education-in-africa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1& Twitter- https://twitter.com/Tunde_OD Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/chessinslums/?igshid=zmqk3bq3d52e Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pg/chessinslums/posts/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a one month hiatus, Chess Books Recaptured is back to discuss two chess books, Grandmaster Igor Zaitsev’s Attacking the Strongpoint, and GM John Nunn’s Secrets of Practical Chess. The guest co-host this month is a regular visitor of the show, cognitive scientist and USCF Master Christopher Chabris. As we discuss, these books tackle chess study from opposite perspectives, as GM Zaitsev’s book has a very philosophical tone, while GM Nunn’s classic lives up to its promise of giving lots of practical advice for chess competitors. Of course, there is much to be learned from both books, and it is always a pleasure to talk chess with Dr. Chabris. Please read on for more details and timestamps. Click here to download the Episode Episode 95 with Christopher Chabris Episode 187 with Christopher Chabris Book Recap: Think Like a Grandmaster by Kotov Attacking the Strongpoint: The Philosophy of Chess by GM Igor Zaitsev Secrets of Practical Chess by GM John Nunn 0:00- How did we choose these two books? Mentioned: GM Anatoly Karpov, IM Mark Dvoretsky, GM Jacob Aagaard 08:00- We break down Attacking the Strongpoint including its title origins, highlights and weaknesses. 16:00 -Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. They are having a big sale this week, to check out what's available, you can go here: Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 17:00- Sample quotes from the book Mentioned: Steinitz-von Bardeleben 1895, Capablanca-Tartakower 1924, GM Genna Sosonko 30:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com 31:00- What can we learn from Secrets of Practical Chess? Mentioned: Secrets of Grandmaster Chess, Understanding Chess Move by Move, Beating the Siclian, Alexander Kotov’s Think Like a Grandmaster , Episode 8 with GM Sam Shankland , Andersson-Mestel 1982 IM John Watson’s The Week in Chess review of Secrets of Practical Chess is here: https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/three-improvement-books Dr. Patzer’s Review of Secrets of Practical Chess: https://patzersreview.blogspot.com/2020/01/nunns-secrets.html Book Recap Podcast of Woodpecker Method and Rapid Chess Improvement with Neal Bruce: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-recap-woodpecker-method-rapid-chess-improvement/id1185023674?i=1000471766064 Nikolaos Ntirlis (Quality Chess Author) 1:13:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out Chessmood’s blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 1:13:45- We summarize our thoughts on Secrets of Practical Chess and get a quick update on Christopher and his son’s latest chess studies. Mentioned: Chess Middlegames by Laszlo Polgar, GM Jan Markos, GM Michael Adams 1:26:00- Thanks as always to Christopher Chabris for helping out. You can check out his website here: chabris.com This month’s donation will go to Washington International Chess Tournament, more info here: https://www.mdchess.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=49 1:27:00- Blindfold puzzle #1- d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 What move did Greco play to make his opponent resign? (Answer shown in game link) Blindfold puzzle #2- d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. Nf3 d6 5. exd6 Bxd6 6. g3?? Black to play and win material (Answer shown in game link) If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices