Perpetual Chess Podcast

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

This week Dr. Jana Krivec joins me. She is the seven-time Woman’s National Champion of Slovenia. Jana is also a Professor of Psychology at the School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. She has recently released a book that synthesizes her interests in chess and brain science. Her book, Improve Your Life by Playing a Game, gives a rundown of the many psychological issues that chess players often confront, and offers actionable advice on how we all can improve our study habits and our approaches to playing chess. I had a good time speaking with Dr. Krivec, and I think that you will enjoy the interview. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by discussing the cognitive biases that are most prevalent amongst chess players. Mentioned: Adult Improver interview with Dr. Vishnu Sreekumar, (The book recap I mentioned with Dr. Christopher Chabris will be out later this month) , The Dunning Kruger Effect, Emanuel Lasker, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman 15:00- How can we combat these biases? 20:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Their latest offerings include, Lifetime Repertoires: The Queen’s Gambit Declined by GM Alex Colovic and The Psychology of Chess Tactics 21:00- Dr. Krivec answers a question from the Patreon mailbag about how to deal with the common issue of online “chess tilt.” Mentioned: The Power of Habit 39:00- Jana answers a Patreon question about how to deal with stress in online chess and she’s asked whether she thinks chess is helpful or harmful with anxiety issues. Mentioned: Autogenic Training, Progressive Muscle Relaxation 55:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out Chessmood’s blog is here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 56:00- What factors were most instrumental in Jana’s chess successes? 1:04:00- Does Dr. Krivec have an opinion about whether it is better to learn from books or from online tools like Chessable? 1:12:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Krivec for joining the show. You can contact her via Facebook. You can purchase or see a free teaser of her book via Thinkers Publishing Here: Improve Your Life by Playing a Game – Learn how to turn your life activities into lifelong skills - Thinkers Publishing If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back with another Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess. My guest, Vishnu Sreekumar, is a 35 year-old cognitive scientist and dad, who has been dedicating many hours to studying and playing chess since he rediscovered his love for the game in 2018. There have been plenty of obstacles along the way, but Vishnu has had great success, as his USCF rating has risen from 1675 to 1954 in the 1.5 years preceding the onset of Covid’s changes to all of our lives. During this period he has continued to work on his chess, although unfortunately work responsibilities and a pending move back to his native India may soon slow down his chess schedule. Vishnu is also a classically-trained pianist. This background gives him even more perspective on the field of adult learning. So between the chess talk and the neuroscience talk, there is a lot to learn from Vishnu. Please read on for many more details and timestamps. 0:00- Vishnu shares a bit about his background and his beginnings in chess, as well as his initial tentative return to tournament play in 2018. . Mentioned: GM Nihail Sarin, Meet the Dojo with GM Jesse Kraai- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAGwWsRsKU&t=1381s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance How to Reassess Your Chess by IM Jeremy Silman, Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andy Soltis 12:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. To check out their latest offerings, you can go here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/for-beginners/ 13:00- At the peak of his chess obsession, Vishnu was spending 3+ hours a day on chess while maintaining work and family responsibilities as well. In this segment, Vishnu shares some of the resources he studied, but he also reflects on that period of obsession, and the adjustments he has since made to make sure that chess doesn’t supplant his family and work responsibilities. Mentioned: Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies, Grandmaster Chess- Positional Play, Test Your Chess IQ. Understanding Chess Move by Move, Tal Botvinnik 1960 , GM Jesse Kraai, Episode 44 with GM Jesse Kraai, Episode 175 with GM Jesse Kraai 21:00- Vishnu answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag. “Is it better to study tactics from a book or from an online tactics trainer?” Mentioned: The Test of Time, Winning with the King’s Indian by Eduard Gufeld 26:00- Patreon question: “What are Vishnu’s biggest regrets in how he has studied chess?” Mentioned: GM R.B. Ramesh 33:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com which collates data from your online games and gives you actionable advice and lessons. Check out the site, and if you subscribe use the Promo code “Chess30” to get a 30% discount. 35:00- Vishnu answers a few questions from Patreon supporters relating to the cognitive science of chess. Mentioned: Practical Chess Exercises, Lev Alburt Pocket Chess Training Books, Woodpecker Method, Sherlock’s Method, Universal Chess Training, IM Elizabeth Paehtz, Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics 41:00- Patreon question: “As a cognitive scientist, why does Vishnu think it’s so hard for adults to improve at chess?” Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Peter Svidler, GM Jan Gustafsson, IM Kostya Kavutskiiy, GM Jesse Kraai, GM Avetik Grigoryan 57:30- Another Patreon question- “Is there a correlation between chess and long term brain health?” 1:00:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out their blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 1:01:00- Does Vishnu have advice for how to balance a desire to improve at chess with work and family responsibilities? 1:08:00- We discuss Vishnu’s background in music, as well as his daughter’s burgeoning interest in music. He also answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to whether he thinks that chess talent and music talent are transferable? Mentioned: The Steps Method 1:16:00- With Vishnu moving to India and opening a lab, what role will chess take in his life? Thanks to Vishnu for sharing his chess story! You can keep up with him via Twitter https://twitter.com/VishChess or Facebook Vishnu Sreekumar | Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Czech grandmaster Vlastimil Hort was among the world's best players in the 1960s, '70s, and into the mid-'80s. Born in Czechoslovka, the five-time national Czech champion emigrated to West Germany in 1985 and was subsequently the 3 time West German national champ. GM Hort has played against most World Champions of the modern era, and has memorable stories about Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Paul Keres, and countless others. GM Hort is also the co-author of the classic instructional book, The Best Move, and his latest book, My Chess Stories, 64 Stories From His Life Near the Top in Chesshas recently been translated to English. GM Hort reflects on a few of the standout stories in our interview, including how a bribe at a chess tournament in Tunis helped him escape Czechoslovakia in 1985. He also gives us the details of his less-than-pleasant interactions with GM Mikhail Botvinnik. So many fun stories below, and such an honor to speak with GM Hort. Please read on for timestamps and more details. In addition to listening via audio, a transcript is available of this podcast thanks to the efforts of Dr. Stephen Sparks. You can read the interview transcript here. 0:00- We launch in by GM Hort sharing his memories of attending Hastings 1967, a tournament for which he had no money to attend, so he ended up sleeping in a park en route to the facilities. Chess has come a long way! Mentioned: Hastings 1967-1968 7:30- Why did GM Hort decide to emigrate from the Czechoslovakia to Germany? He tells the amazing story of bribing passport control after theTunis Interzonal in 1985. Mentioned: Wilfried Hilgert, Tunis Interzonal 1985, GM Mikhai Suba, GM Evgenij Ermenkov 14:00- Hort tells a story involving his fellow Czech native who recently passed away, GM Lubomir Kavalek. Mentioned: GM Anatoly Karpov, Leonid Brezhnev 16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Get Chessable’s IOS app if you haven’t already, and you can check out their latest offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 17:30- GM Hort did not have the best relationship with former World Champion, GM Mikail Botvinnik. What events led to this bit of discontent? Mentioned: GM Bent Larsen, GM Paul Keres 24:00- GM Hort had a famously tough loss against GM Boris Spassky in 1977 during the Candidates cycle. How does he look back on that match? And how is GM Boris Spassky doing today? Mentioned: GM Vladimir Kramnik, GM William Lombardy. GM Lajos Portisch, GM Pal Benko, GM Bent Larsen, GM Viktor Korchnoi 30:00- GM Hort answers a Patreon mailbag question: how did it feel to compete against Soviet players when one had to worry about the possibility of collusion? Mentioned: GM Karpov, GM Lajos Portisch, GM Bent Larsen, Wolfram Hartmann, 34:00- It has been alleged that GM Milan Matulovic accepted a bribe to throw the Candidates match against Taimanov in the FIDE Candidates in 1970? Does GM Hort find this story credible? 36:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out their blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 37:30- Was there a test given to Czech youth to assess chess talent? What constitutes chess talent? Mentioned: Lubomir Ljubovic, GM Tony Miles, GM Lajos Portisch 42:00- How did GM Hort study middlegames? Mentioned: GM Hans Kmoch, Rubinstein Chess Masterpieces 44:00- Another Patreon question: How did the idea for the classic book, The Best Move, come about? Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand, GM Jacob Aagaard 46:30- Patreon question: Who was the most intimidating player to play against? This leads to GM Hort sharing some recollections of the famed Match of the Century in 1970. Mentioned: GM Lev Polugaevsky 50:00- How was GM Hort’s relationship with Bobby Fischer? Mentioned: GM Svetozar Gligoric, GM Eugenio Torre 55:00- What does GM Hort think of modern chess and the increased importance of computers? He also mentions the name of the player who, in his opinion, is the best player that ever was. Mentioned: GM Firouzja, GM Jorden van Forrest, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Anish Giri, Bobby Fischer 58:00- Patreon question: What keeps GM Hort loving chess after all of those years? 1:02:00- How does GM Hort keep up with modern chess? 1:03:00- What are GM Hort’s favorite activities outside of modern chess? 1:06:00- Thanks so much to GM Hort for joining us and sharing some amazing stories! His book is available here: https://chess.co.uk/products/vlastimil-hort-my-chess-stories Thanks to Michael Busse of the Schachgeflüster Podcast. 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

In an annual tradition, IM Greg Shahade returns to the show. Greg is the founder of the Pro Chess League as well as the US Chess School, and is a former scholastic champion turned adult-improving, dangerous speed chess specialist. His Chess.com blitz rating hovers in the 2600-2700 range, and he has beaten the likes of GM Alexey Shirov and GM Praggnanandhaa in recent Chess.com TItled Tuesday tournaments. Greg breaks down the secrets to his success- it turns out it has involved a lot of hard work on his openings! He also impart lessons from his success in order to help improving players lower on the rating ladder. Additional topics include: the growth and evolution of chess, why Greg isn’t as vocal about his chess promotion ideas anymore, plus he answers a few fun Patreon mailbag questions. Whether you agree with Greg’s views of chess or not, its always fun to hear his perspective. Please read on for lots more details and timestamps. Prior Interviews with IM Greg Shahade Episode 1 Episode 55 Episode 107 Episode 159 0:00- Greg’s blitz rating has been consistently improving even as he hits his early 40s. What are his study tricks? What approach should he take to study openings? Mentioned: Chessable.com, GM Alexei Shirov, GM Kiril Alekseenko, GM Jan Gustafsson’s Lifetime Repertoires Course, GM Elshan Moriadibadi, The London System, IM Andras Toth, GM Magnus Carlsen 10:00- A question from the Patreon mailbag. What is the best way for a beginner to study an opening repertoire? Mentioned: Fight like Magnus: The Sveshnikov Sicilian, Lifetime Repertories: Nimzo-Ragozin Defense, Sam Shankland’s 1. D4 Chessable course 18:00- What is the status of Greg’s blitz game? Mentioned: GM Kirill Alekseenko, GM Conrad Holt 22:00- What is the status of Greg’s Twitch streaming career? 23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Get Chessable’s IOS app if you haven’t already, and you can check out their latest offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 23:45- Patreon question: “Dude, when is Greg going to start blogging again?” We also discuss the ongoing Chess.com I am Not a GM Tournament Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew, I am not a GM Tournament, IM Levy Rozman, IM Tania Sachdev, IM Kostya Kavutskiiy, Alexandra Botez, IM Lawrence Trent 30:00- Another Patreon question relates to the status and format of the 2021 Pro Chess League, which of course also leads to a discussion of the explosion of popularity in online chess. Mentioned: Klay Thompson, Lennox Lewis, Gordon Hayward, Leveon Bell 37:00- Another Patreon question: are there improvements to the Pro Chess League website in the works? 39:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by AImchess.com which collates data from your online games and gives you actionable advice and lessons. Check out the site, and if you subscribe use the Promo code “Chess30” to get a 30% discount. 39:00- Patreon question- has Greg read any good books lately? This segues into a general discussion of how to study chess. Mentioned: Playing 1. E4 by GM John Shaw, GM Peter Svidler, 100 Endgames You Must Know Endgame Strategy by Mikhail Sherevsky, Vancura Defense, Frontal Defense, Jeremy Silman’s Endgame Course, GM Jacob Aagaard 49:00- In his chess development, did Greg do any targeted blindfold chess training? Mentioned: Chessboard Magic by Irving Chernev, GM Jeffrey Xiong, GM Ray Robson, IM Christopher Yoo 56:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out their blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 57:00- Greg answers a Patreon question pushing back against the importance of the idea that Classical Chess wouldn’t exist if chess were invented in modern times. (As Greg has previously said) Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Alexander Grishchuk, IM Andras Toth 1:03:00- Greg makes his brief, shining singing debut on The Perpetual Chess! And then gives some shout outs. Mentioned: Episode 204 with FM Nathan Resika, Episode 12 with Christopher Yoo Agadmator, Chessbrahs, IM Levy Rozman, Jennifer Shahade, The Botez Sisters, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM David Howell, GM Jovanka Houska, Kaja Snare, Mark Crowther, ChessDoJo YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFJol3ToXA&list=PLH4lD9b6ZgbeAzMlaYoWSHL_lEF5BWZA0 Thanks as always to Greg for joining the show! You can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/gregshahade?lang=en See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In addition to being a strong player, and often the Captain of the US Olimpiad team, IM John Donaldson is a renowned chess historian and author. He has been researching the life of Bobby Fischer for over a decade, and he has been on the podcast in the past to discuss his prior publications on Fischer. Late in 2020, IM John Donaldson published his most comprehensive, and acclaimed Fischer work yet, Bobby Fischer and his World. This book was already named Chess.com’s 2020 book of the year, despite some stiff competition in a stellar year for chess books. I greatly enjoyed John’s work, which is a combination of biography and game analysis. In our conversation, of course we discuss details of Fischer’s life in some detail, with a particular emphasis on the new details John has uncovered. We also take time to remember the life and legacy of John’s friend, legendary GM Lubomir “Lubosh” Kavalek, and to discuss the state of John’s own chess game. As always, you can get lots more details and related hyperlinks in the description or on the Perpetual Chess webpage. Enjoy! 0:00- We begin by discussing the legacy of John’s friend, legendary player and trainer, GM Lubomir “Lubosh” Kavalek who recently passed away. Mentioned: Episode 54 with IM John Donaldson Episode 143 with IM John Donaldson Also Mentioned: GM Bobby Fischer, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Wesley So, GM Lubosh Kavalek, Fred Wilson’s interview with GM Lubomir Kavalek, GM Joel Benjamin, GM Lev Alburt, Jerry and Fran Weikel of the Western States Open, GM Kavalek’s Huffington Post archive, Peter Doggers chess.com obituary of GM Lubosh Kavalek, Chess Life and Review of Archive, Milos Forman, Ivan Passer, Gufeld-Kavalek 1962, Portisch-Kavalek 1975, GM Andrew Soltis 18:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by AImchess.com which collates data from your online games and gives you actionable advice and lessons. Check out the site, and if you subscribe use the Promo code “Chess30” to get a 30% discount. 18:45- Are there any fact that John and his friend and fellow eminent Fischer biographer Frank Brady disagree on? Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand’s Technical Decision Making in Chess, FM Andrey Terekhov’s The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov, IM Stuart Rachels’ The Best I Saw in Chess, GM William Lombardy, Dragoljub Minec, Jackie Beers 27:00- John’s book is published by the publishing company of IM Jeremy Silman and his wife, Gwen Feldman- Did John work directly with Silman on this book? Mentioned: Silman-James press 29:00- A question from the Patreon Mailbag: Which modern player most resembles Fischer in playing style? Mentioned: GM Peter Leko, Leko discussing studying with Fischer. GM Miguel Najdor 33:00- How would Bobby have enjoyed modern chess with faster time controls? Mentioned: GM Walter Shipman 35:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Get Chessable’s IOS app if you haven’t already, and you can check out their latest offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 37:00- How close was Bobby Fischer to playing a comeback match against GM Yasser Seirawan? Is John glad that Fischer did make a comeback? Mentioned: Lou Hays, GM Alex Sherzer, GM Larry Christiansen, GM Boris Spassky, GM Duncan Suttles 43:00- Patreon question: Did Bobby have any students or proteges? Mentioned: GM Michael Bezold, Carmine Nigro, GM Reuben Fine, Episode 202 with Dr. Frank Brady, No Regrets, Fischer-Spassky 1992 48:30- How is this book different from John’s prior publications about Fischer? Mentioned: A Legend on the Road 53:00- Will there be more Fischer projects forthcoming from John? What mysteries still remain from the details of Bobby’s life? Mentioned: World Chess Hall of Fame, GM Jesse Kraai’s interview with John Donaldson, David Delucia, GM Svetozar Gligoric, James Gore, IM Anthony Saidy, John Collins 1:05:00- As an expert on American chess history, can John think of any historically accomplished adult improvers? Mentioned: GM Akiba Rubinstein, Jerry Hanken, GM Mihai Suba, Abe Turner, Carmine Nigro, 1:09:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out their blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 1:10:00- John discusses the underappreciated chess legacy of IM Bernard Zuckerman 1:13:00- From 1988-2000, John and GM Yasser Seirawan published a legendary chess magazine called Inside Chess, how does John recall those years? Mentioned: Hanon Russell, IM Nikolay Minev, GM Alexander Baburin, TheChessLibrary.com, FM Michael Shahade 1:21:00- Now that this book has been published, will John be resuming OTB chess? If he were to resume chess training, what would he do to sharpen up? Mentioned: Mark Pinto, Your Jungle Guide to Chess Tactics by GM Peter Prohaszka, IM Yuriy Krykun, Quality Chess, Thinker’s Publishing, New in Chess Books, Russell Enterprises, GM Boris Gelfand 1:29:00- What will John work

Perpetual Chess is back with another monthly bonus edition of Chess Books Recaptured. This month Chicago-based law professor, dad, and speed chess specialist, David Franklin joins me. Like me, David is a long-time fan of the writing of GM Jonathan Rowson, and of his 2000 book, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, in particular. Due to its uniquely philosophical, digressive tone and its advanced chess subject matter, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins is not universally loved. Nonetheless, both podcast hosts and many other chess fans consider it to be a classic. In our conversation, we define and discuss each of GM Rowson’s 7 "chess sins", as well as sharing a bit of information about the author, the guest-co-host, and of course, a few of our favorite quotes. Please read on for many more details, links, and timestamps! 0:00- Why does David love this book? Why is this book somewhat polarizing despite many rave reviews? Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 193 with Tom Murphy, Adult Improver Episode 151 with JJ Lang 08:30- We discuss GM Rowson’s background and his other chess books briefly. Mentioned: Understanding the Grunfeld,Chess For Zebras, The Moves that Matter, Perpetual Chess Episode 150 with GM Jonathan Rowson, IM Andras Toth, IM John Watson’s review of Seven Deadly Chess Sins: Some Products and Two First-Rate Books 12:00- What other books might have been the intellectual inspirations of this unique book? Mentioned: Facebook Chess Collectors Group, The Chess Mind by Gerald Abraham, Secrets of Practical Chess, Improve Your Chess Now, Genius in Chess, Improve Your Chess Now Book Recap Podcast with FM Alex Chua, Alex King, Godol, Escher and Bach, Emotional Intelligence, Richard James, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Dynamics of Chess Strategy, GM David Navara 15:00- For what rating level is this book best suited? 20:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out their blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 20:45- We discuss Sin #1- “Thinking”- lack of faith in intuition, and “bureaucracy” Mentioned: “Talking to Your Pieces”, Tom Murphy 27:00- Sin #2- “Blinking” Identifying, missing critical moments Mentioned: Bobby Fischer, Russians vs. Fischer , GM Alex Yermolinksy’s The Road to Chess Improvement, The Road to Chess Improvement Recap Podcast, Episode 7 with GM Jon Ludvig Hammer 31:00- Sin #3- “Wanting” Attachment to results, carelessness, ‘chalking it up’ expectation Mentioned: “The Theory of Infinite Resistance,” FM Bill Jordan, GM Ian Rogers, GM David Smerdon, Jerry Wheeler 42:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Be sure to download the much-anticipated Chessable app for IOS, and Seven Deadly Chess Sins will be available on Chessable later this year! 43:00- Sin #4- “Materialism” Lack of dynamism, oversights Mentioned: Plato’s Symposium, 49:30- Sin #5- “Egoism” ‘forgetting the opponent’- fear - how many results am I playing for? 54:00- Sin #6- “Perfectionism” time trouble, jam-lust (asking too much of your position), moralizing (punishing the opponent), copy-cat crime (trying to emulate another player) Mentioned: GM Alexander Grischuk, Chess Explained’s YouTube Channel , GM Michael Adams 1:03:30- Sin #7- Looseness- losing the plot, drifting (playing without a plan), “neural hijackings” (emotions overwhelm the thinking brain, whether consciously or not), “tension transference” (relieve tension at all costs, uncomfortable with discomfort) Mentioned- Anand-Carlsen 2013, Kasparov-Sokolov 1999 1:07:00- We share a few favorite quotes from the book. Mentioned: Endgame Strategy, GM Tiger Hillarp Person, GM Jonathan Levitt, GM Jan Gustafsson, GM Luke McShane 1:11:30- A question from Patreon supporter and friend of the pod- is it a fair characterization that Rowson characterizes this book in hindsight as “a good first draft?” 1:14:00- What were David’s personal interactions with GM Rowson like? 1:18:30- Does David get more nervous before a tournament chess game or before arguing before the Supreme Court? 1:19:30- Thanks to David for contributing his time and knowledge! You can keep up with David on twitter or Facebook. Next month will likely feature a recap of Attacking the Strongpoint by GM Igor Zaitsev Twitter- https://twitter.com/DFranklinChi Facebook- David Franklin | Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM Andras Toth is a Canberra, Australia-based chess trainer who has built a loyal online following due to his no-nonsense YouTube chess videos and popular Chessable courses. Andras originally hails from Hungary, where he trained under the same trainer as the Polgar sisters and was the two-time Hungarian Junior Champ. Andras’ background as a school teacher is evident in his engaging and energetic teaching style. As is clear from our conversation, Andras is not shy about expressing his hard-earned chess opinions. Andrey answers questions such as, should you play the London System?--do you need to hire a coach?--can one improve by focusing only on chess calculation?-- plus many more pertinent queries. This was a fun conversation that revealed many insights about chess improvement. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- Andras begins by discussing his chess and chess-training background a bit. Mentioned: IM Laszlo Hazai, The Polgar Sisters 0:8:15- Does Andras agree that club players should not learn much opening theory? Mentioned: The Road to Chess Improvement 16:30- Andras answers the first of many questions from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: Neal Bruce asks, “ How important is it to have a chess coach?” 23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by Chessable.com! Be sure to download the much-anticipated Chessable app for IOS, and you can check out Andras Toth’s courses here: https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/ 24:00- Another Patreon listener question: “What is the proper way to analyze one’s own games and to study strategic concepts?” Mentioned: Alexander Alekhine: My Best Games of Chess, Paul Keres: The Road to the Top The book and game to which Andras refers can be found here: Mark Dvoretsky’s School of Chess Excellence, Tactical Play, Borkowski-Nunn 1974 34:00- Why is Andras so blunt in his communication as a teacher and presenter? Mentioned: IM Jop Delemarre 41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out their blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 42:00- How much can a 1500 player improve by working on calculation alone? How should we divide our study time? Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard 55:30- Another Patreon question: “How can one transition from slower games, like Correspondence chess, to rapid games?” Mentioned: Episode 191 with GM Daniel Naroditsky 1:05:00- What are the pros and cons of correspondence or “daily” games? IM John Bartholomew. Tata Steel Masters 1:14:00- What Chessable courses would we recommend for a player rated below 1000? Mentioned: Jan Gustafsson’s Lifetime Repertoires 1. E4 e5, Endgame Bootcamp with IM John Bartholomew, Learn Chess the Right Way Series, with GM Susan Polgar, 100 Endgames You Must Know, The Checkmate Patterns Manual, Mastering Mates, 1001 Deadly Checkmates , Andras’s book recommendations, via YouTube videos, are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCwQyNLblm0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg-u_HlZKco&t=1334s 1:18:00- What books have informed Andras’ teaching style? What is his background? How did he end up in Canberra, Australia? Best Lessons of a Chess Coach. 1:30:00- Why has making Chess YouTube videos been frustrating for Andras? Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYZTGsTO5TbCaA1O0wcBzw Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 180 with IM Levy Rozman 1:34:00- Another listener question: “ What is the chess culture like in Australia and New Zealand?” Mentioned: GM Murray Chandler, FM Nicholas Croad 1:43:00- One last Patreon question… “Why did Andras stop playing OTB chess?” Thanks to IM Toth for joining the show! Here are all the links you need in order to keep up with him: Twitter- https://twitter.com/chesscoachandra?lang=en YouTube-https://t.co/RgSPMwU9Is?amp=1 Chessable- https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/ Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/im_andras See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As chess fans may have heard, legendary GM Lubomir “Lubosh” Kavalek passed away this week at the age of 77. GM Kavalek was a fierce, attacking player, who at his rating peak, was a top 10 player in the world. He was two-time winner of the Czechoslovak National Championship, and after emigrating from Czechoslovakia, he went on to become US National Champion three times as well. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to interview GM Kavalek, but Fred Wilson has given me permission to share with you all a long audio interview that he did with GM Kavalek. The interview took place on September 10, 2003. In this conversation, they cover many of the highlights of GM Kavalek’s illustrious career as a player, trainer, and author. They discuss Kavalek’s beginnings in chess, and his work helping with the World Championship matches of Bobby Fischer (against Spassky in 1972), and assisting GM Nigel Short against Kasparov in 1993. In listening to this interview, I was struck by the wit and personality of GM Kavalek. You can read on for brief timestamps, but of course you should listen to the entire interview with this chess legend! 02:45- GM Lubomir Kavalek discusses his beginnings in the chess world,, and his experiences with some of the other great Czech and US players of his generation. 17:00- What chess books influenced Lubosh? 23:30- He talks about working as the second of Nigel Short in the 1990s. 53:00- Question from Alex Baburin. Did chess help him adapt when he immigrated to Virginia? 58:00- What was his most pleasant and worst tournament? 1:02:15- What are his thoughts on quick draws? 1:10:00- How to optimize one’s time in preparation for a tournament? 1:11:00- Are there any plans for a book about his best games? 1:22:00- What was it like to play against Bobby Fischer? 1:24:00- What was GM Kavalek’s role in working with Fischer in the 1972 World Championship Match against GM Boris Spassky? If you enjoy this interview, you could consider becoming a Perpetual Chess Patreon subscriber in order to access the entire audio archive of Fred Wilson’s great interviews. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, bestselling author Tom Vanderbilt joins me to talk about his 5th book, the recently released, Beginners:The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning. In this book Tom writes about his experience learning a handful of new activities from scratch while in his late 40’s. These new adventures include learning chess, surfing, singing, juggling and drawing. Tom, like many adult chess enthusiasts, discovered chess through his school-aged daughter’s interest in the game. In our conversation, Tom reflects on what was like to be thrown headfirst into the chess world, and shares many of the resources that he found most helpful in accelerating his learning. Tom also shares broader conclusions from his learning experiences across disciplines. It was a fascinating conversation about an enjoyable book. As always, read on for more details, timestamps and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- Why is the pandemic a good time to release a book about starting new things? Mentioned: NY Times review of Beginners 06:00- How was Tom’s interest in chess piqued? What were his first steps to learn more about the game? Mentioned: The Queen’s Gambit , Szymon Rudowski, GM Daniel Naroditsky’s YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/c/DanielNaroditskyGM/playlists Daniel King’s YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBATpFb--uLNAODOVWvCTA The Amateur’s Mindby Jeremy Silman IM Levy Rozman’s YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHX6ViZmPsWiYSFAyS0a3Q IM John Bartholomew’s Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hOVYvNn79Sl1Fc1vx2mYA 19:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com . To check out the many choices of beginner-oriented material they offer, go here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/for-beginners/ 20:00- Tom mentions a few more resources that were helpful in his dive into chess. Mentioned: Chessable’s 100 Endgames You Must Know, The Brooklyn Strategist, The Marshall Chess Club 25:00- How is his daughter progressing in chess during the pandemic? Mentioned: Her Move Next, US Chess’ Women in Chess Initiative 34:30- Was it more challenging to learn a mental game like chess or a physical endeavor like surfing? What other broader lessons did Tom draw from his learning adventures? Mentioned: William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days, The Passion Paradox, Mindset, Anders Ericsson, Tim Krabbe’s The Rider, Perpetual Chess Episode 44 with GM Jesse Kraai, GM Robert Hess, Tim Krabbe’s Chess Curiosities Website: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess/chess.html 54:00- Now that his book is finished, will Tom continue to play chess? Mentioned: Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition 57:00- Thanks so much to Tom for the fascinating interview. You can find him on Lichess here: https://lichess.org/@/wernerherzog You can purchase his book here: https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Transformative-Power-Lifelong-Learning/dp/1524732168/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=beginners&qid=1610383429&s=books&sr=1-2 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

Welcome to another Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess. My guest is Martin Justesen, who is a 34 year, Denmark-based father of 3. He works as an archivist in the Library of the Danish Parliament, but devotes a lot of his free time to chess improvement and chess-related projects. His efforts have paid off, as Martin has gained a few hundred points in the past years. Prior to the pandemic, Martin had ended a long plateau, as his Danish rating went from 1600 to 1820. During the covid shutdown, he has seen continued improvement, his Lichess classical rating is now up to 2200! In our interview, Martin reveals what he thinks to be the key contributors to his improvement success. Martin is also a blogger, and has recently released a great new book called, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Positions. We also discuss how Martin decided to take on this project and why we think that it’s an important study tool. Please read on for lots more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We begin by discussing Martin’s background and his entree into the chess world. Mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, Playchess.com , Winning Chess Series by GM Yasser Seirawan, Logical Chess Move by Move 12:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%. 13:00- How has Martin’s approach to chess improvement evolved in recent years? Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 117 with Stjepan Tomic 17:30- A Patreon supporter writes in to ask Martin how his approach to openings has changed as he has improved. Mentioned: Chessable Short and Sweet Free Courses are Here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/s/short%20and%20sweet Opening Tree.com 27:00- Another Patreon question: How does Martin find games and construct his opening repertoire? Did he adjust his repertoire choices due to time constraints? Mentioned: Chessgames.com, Bobby Fischer: The Career and Complete Games of the American Chess World Champion, Chess DoJo Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ChessDojo, IM Kostya Kavuitskiy, GM Jesse Kraai, GM David Pruess Greg Shahade video: Chess Opening Study for Serious and Advanced Players: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93kO7OXn9Lc 37:00- - Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their holiday sale here. It ends in a few days: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/offer/ 38:00- As a busy working father, has Martin experienced periods of burnout? Mentioned: Neal Bruce 43:00- Does he have trouble taking online games seriously? Mentioned: ChessDojo Discord, 50:00- What was the idea behind Martin’s great new book, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Positions? Mentioned: Alexey Troitsky 59:00- What are the main lessons Martin has learned through his improvement efforts? Mentioned: Mastering Pawn Endgames on Chessable, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Ruiz, Pump Up Your Rating by Axel Smith, Atomic Habits by James Clear 1:08:00- Thanks so much to Martin for joining the show, here are all of the links you need to keep up with him: Twitter- https://twitter.com/saychess1?lang=en YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/c/say_chess Blog- https://saychessblog.com/ Book- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QRB3H7M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_zzk3Fb7A3ZTE9 Twitch- https://t.co/hZvPmFCBdL?amp=1 If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back with another bonus podcast edition of Chess Books Recaptured. This month I am joined by Jonathan of The Abysmal Depths of Chess Blog to discuss a classic book, Simple Chess, by GM Michael Stean. Simple Chess is an excellent positional primer which features succinct and helpful annotations for the club player. Over the past couple of months, Jonathan has been blogging about each of the 30 games in the book, so he knows the material inside and out, and I was very glad to have him share some highlights of what he has learned from studying Simple Chess so thoroughly. As always, we discussed improvement takeaways, favorite quotes and lessons distilled from this excellent book. You can get all of the details, timestamps and hyperlinks below. 0:00- Why did Jonathan volunteer to discuss Simple Chess? Mentioned: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Perpetual Chess Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos, Perpetual Chess Episode 195 With GM Keith Arkell, The Chess Dojo ranks: Classic Chess Books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRETstfHyDE, Fred Wilson books 6:30- What is the format of the book? GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Wolfgang Uhlmann, GM Lajos Portisch, GM Samuel Reshevsky, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Bobby Fischer 12:30- What should we know about the author, GM Michael Stean Mentioned: Sicilian Najdorf by GM Michael Stean, GM Viktor Korchnoi , End Game: Kasparov vs. Short by Dominic Lawson, GM Ray Keene, William Hartston 17:30- For what rating is this book most helpful? (Probably around 1300-1900) Mentioned: Recap of Winning Chess Strategies with Neal Bruce, Mastering Chess Strategy by GM Johan Hellsten, Link to Jonathan’s blog post about Karpov-Westerinen 1974 24:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%. 25:00- Why is Karpov Westerinen from the book Jonathan’s favorite game ever? Jonathan’s blog post about the game is here: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/12/sc-week-73-karpov-westerinen-nice.html 28:00- I read the opening paragraphs and we discuss the major themes and chapters of the book. 32:00- We discuss some listeners questions relating to how this book compares to My System, Positional Decision Making in Chess, Mastering Chess Strategy, Chess Fundamentals 37:00- Is it worth uploading the games from Simple Chess into Chessbase? What is the best way to study it? Mentioned: Chessgames.com list of games from Simple Chess: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1038489 The Passion Paradox, Peak Performance, Chess Improvement: Its All in the Mindset 46:30- What positional concepts are not covered in Simple Chess? Hanging Pawns, Isolated Queen Pawn, Karpov Spassky 1975 50:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable! Resources to work on your positional chess there include Winning Chess Strategies, and Chess Strategy for Club Players: https://www.chessable.com/chess-strategy-for-club-players/course/27755/ 51:30- We discuss a few of our favorite games from the book. Mentioned: Fischer - Gadia, Unzicker - Fischer, Spassky-Fischer Game 5 1972, Andersson-Knaak, Vogt-Andersson, Recapping Reassess Your Chess with Todd Kennedy 55:00- We read a few favorite quotes from the book. 56:30- What are the chess improvement takeaways? 1:02:00- Do we have any quibbles with the book? Mentioned: Everyman Chess e-books, Fred Wilson, Martin Justesen 1:15:00- Thanks to Jonathan for joining the show and sharing his incredibly detailed knowledge of Simple Chess. Follow him on twitter here: https://twitter.com/Berlin_Endgame Read/Subscribe to his blog here: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/ 1:16:00- Blindfold puzzles are back! This month’s puzzles are courtesy of Martin Justesen’s book, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Compositions #1- White to move and draw White: Kc6, Ba4 Black: Kb1, Pb2 Link To Position, Turn Engine On for Solution #2- White to move and win White: Kc4, Pc6 Black: Kh2, Nd8 Link to Position, Turn Engine on For Solution If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, You can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam is a Dutch chess journalist, organizer and commentator who is best known as the Editor-in-Chief of New In Chess magazine. New in Chess Magazine has been the industry leading chess magazine for decades and is known for its on-the-scenes reporting of major events, its high-level Grandmaster analysis of games, and insightful interviews and book reviews. In conjunction with his work for New in Chess, Dirk Jan has travelled the world and shared conversations and meals with many of the games most revered figures. In our conversation, Dirk shared several of the amazing stories he has collected over the years, and also discussed how New in Chess is being affected by the pandemic and the chess boom. Please read on for more details and the timestamps. 0:00- How have the pandemic and the online chess boom affected New in Chess, which as the preeminent chess print magazine often devotes lots of pages to elite OTB chess tournaments? GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Wesley So, Magnus Carlsen interview with GM Jonathan Tisdall here: https://new.uschess.org/news/were-trying-grow-chess-interview-magnus-carlsen 14:00- What did Dirk Jan learn from interviewing the young phenom, GM Alireza Firouzja? 16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their holiday sale here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/offer/ 17:00- What was it like for Dirk Jan to spend a day with legendary GM Miguel Najdorf? Mentioned: The Day that Kasparov Quit, Finding Bobby Fischer, GM Viswanathan Anand 23:00- Dirk Jan shares his experiences spending time with the author of Zurich 1953 GM David Bronstein Mentioned: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein by GM Genna Sosonko, Zurich 1953 29:00- Dirk shares a few Korchnoi and Botvinnik stories! Mentioned: GM Ljubomir Ljubojević, GM Vassily Smyslov, GM Mikhail Botvinnik, GM Hein Donner, GM Max Euwe, GM Tony Miles, GM Alexei Shirov 38:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast requested that Dirk share some stories about GM Vasyl Ivanchuk. Mentioned: GM Garry Kasparov, Haruki Murakami 46:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%. 47:00- On the day that GM Vladimir Kramnik defeated GM Garry Kasparov for the World Championship in 2000, Dirk spoke to both the winner and the loser of the match. What is the story behind that? Mentioned: GM Jan Timman 57:00- What was it like to spend time with Danish great, GM Bent Larsen? Mentioned: GM Nigel Short 1:02:00- Thanks so much to Dirk Jan for sharing some amazing stories. You can learn more about or subscribe to New In Chess Magazine here: https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/new-in-chess-2020-8 If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Returning guest, FM Carsten Hansen, is one of the busiest chess authors in the business, as he writes a tactics column for Chess Life Magazine, a book review column for American Chess Magazine, and is a prolific chess author in his own right. Carsten has recently released a new book, Marvellous Modern Miniatures, and has also collaborated with popular co-author, IM Christof Sielecki for the Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires 1.c4 1.Nf3 Part 1. As 2020 nears a conclusion, I thought it would be a great time to catch up with Carsten on his new projects, the year in chess books, and on his own dreams of attaining the IM title as he nears the age of 50. Please read on for more details and timestamps of all that we discussed. 0:00- What is Carsten doing to work on his own chess game? Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 84 with FM Carsten Hansen- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-84-fide-master-carsten-hansen/id1185023674?i=1000416496522 , GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Loek Van Wely, GM Alexander Stripunsky, Chess Life Magazine, Episode 81 with FM Peter Giannatos , GM Jens Kristiansen 12:00- Carsten answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Facebook Group- How does the chess scene in the US compare with that in Carsten’s native Denmark? Mentioned: Info on the online US Amateur team tournaments can be found here 16:30- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%. 17:30- Another listener question: What should I do to a make a new high on the chess.com tactics trainer? IM Cyrus Lakdawala, Chess Tactics for Improvers Volume 1 23:30- What were Carsten’s favorite chess books of 2020? Mentioned: Carsten’s Chess.com Article- My Favorite Books of 2020, Match of the Century, Rewire Your Chess Brain, My Chess World, Petrosian Year by Year, The Complete Chess Swindler, Chess for Tigers, Technical Decision Making in Chess, Timman’s Triumphs, Emanuel Lasker Volume 2- Choices and Chances, Bobby Fischer and His World, A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns, Logical Chess Move by Move 36:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com Check out IM Christof Sielecki and FM Carsten Hansen’s new Lifetime Repertoires course on 1. C4 and 1. Nf3 here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-1-c4-1-nf3-part-1/course/53985/ 36:45- Carsten discusses self publishing and the chess book industry more broadly, including which of his books have resonated with readers the most. Mentioned: Catastrophes and Tactics in the Chess Opening, Chess Book Collectors Group 52:00- What draws Carsten to the English opening? Why would he recommend it? Mentioned: IM Christof Sielecki 1:00:00- Another listener question: Is it challenging to work on a course/book with a co-author, as Carsten has on different projects with IM Christof Sielecki and GM Peter Heine Nielsen? Mentioned: Stockfish 12 1:08:00- Another listener question: What led to the decline in popularity of the once popular chess site, ChessCafe.com? Mentioned: Hanon Russell, GM Karsten Muller, GM Lev Alburt, GM Tony Miles, GM Hans Ree, GM Susan Polgar, FM Chris Despasquale 1:10:00- Thanks as always to Carsten for joining the show! Here is how you can keep up with his many projects: Website- https://www.winningquicklyatchess.com/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/CazHansen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Facebook- Carsten Hansen | Facebook 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

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

Welcome back to another edition of Perpetual Chess, Chess Books Recaptured, a monthly bonus book recap podcast. This week, I am joined by FM Alex Chua, a 32 year old Texas based dad, who works for a green chemical manufacturing startup called Solugen. Alex wanted to discuss the underrated gem, Improve Your Chess Now by GM Jonathan Tisdall, which he and I both love. We think it provides a great blend of instructive games, practical advice, philosophizing, and humor. It presents fairly challenging material, which is probably best suited to intermediate to advanced players, but anyone can pick up at least a few things from this book, as we hope they can from this podcast. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- FM Alex Chua and I begin by discussing why we love this book and wanted to talk about it. 12:45- For what rating level is this book most appropriate? Alex thinks 1400-2000, I think 1800-2300. 17:30- As always, Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Two great courses to improve your chess now are: The Checkmate Patterns Manual and the Visualize Series. Links below: https://www.chessable.com/the-checkmate-patterns-manual/course/17841/ https://www.chessable.com/visualise-1/course/25695/ 18:30- We list the chapters and then discuss our favorite chapters. Mentioned: The Complete Chess Swindler, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins 26:30- Why discuss two of the key concepts investigated in the book, GM Alexander Kotov’s “tree of analysis”, and the idea of using “stepping stone diagrams” to improve blindfold/visualization skills. Mentioned: Book Recap Podcast of Think like a Grandmaster with NM Christopher Chabris, GM Alexander Kotov’s Think Like a Grandmaster, GM Anatoly Lein, GM Jacob Aagaard, Book Recap Podcast of Blindfold Chess with Jerry Wells, Zurich 1953 by GM David Bronstein, GM Lubosh Kavalek, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Ljubomir Ljubovic, GM Efim Geller, GM Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Boris Gelfand 48:00- We share a few of our favorite quotes and aphorisms from the book. Mentioned: GM Sam Shankland’s Small Steps to Giant Improvement 1:00:00- What are favorite games shared in the book? What are the chess improvement takeaways? Ljubobevic-Torre 1975 , Polugaevsky-Petrosian 1983, IM Cyrus Lakdawala’s Rewire Your Chess Brain,GM Baadur Jobava’s Twitch Channel, Chessable’s Checkmate Patterns Manual 1:14:00- In lieu of payment, I am making a donation of Alex’s behalf to Lichess.org. Keep up the great work, Team Lichess! Mentioned: Simple Chess by Michael Stean, coming next month You can message FM Alex Chua on lichess. Here is his account: https://lichess.org/@/highlama See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FM Nathan Resika has accomplished one of the rarest feats in the annals of adult competitive chess, progressing from rank beginner to FIDE Master. Along the way, Nathan has picked up many more titles: USCF Master at age 31, FM Title at age 40, rating high of 2318 and US Senior Open Champion at age the of 53. Despite some breaks along the way, at age 60, Nathan is still going strong, as he recently had a stellar showing at the 2020 Southwest Open, where he defeated a 2550 IM! How does Nathan continue to amass new titles, all while he is working and helping to raise his twin children? What is his top chess advice? In this very inspiring conversation, Nathan shares lots of tips, many book and opening recommendations, and even discusses the story of how he defied the odds in another field and became a professional opera singer in his 40s! As always, please read on for lots more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- Nathan shares the story of his chess beginnings, playing in the park at Harvard Square in Boston at the age of 23, and mentions some books fundamental to his growth as a player. Mentioned: Logical Chess Move by Move, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess , Lasker’s Manual of Chess, GM Eugene Perelshteyn, My 60 Memorable Games . Nathan’s article in US Chess about his career can be found here: https://new.uschess.org/news/fm-resika-us-senior-singing-chess-icing-cake, Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Daniel King’s How Good is Your Chess, NM Bruce Pandolfini 15:30- How much time was Nathan putting into the study of chess in his early competitive days circa 1985? Mentioned: NM Murray Turnbull, GM Alexander Ivanov, NM Christopher Chabris, NM Danny Edelman, NM Girome Bono, IM Joseph Fang, IM David Vigorito, IM William Paschall, Secrets of Grandmaster Play by GM John Nunn Nathan also wanted to mention that Senior Master Jacob Rasin was instrumental to his progress 24:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. A few of the courses in which you might be interested, based on this interview, are: The Modern Defense Against Everything by CM Vjeokslave Nemec, and Lifetime Repertoires, 1.c4/ 1. Nf3 by IM Christof Sielecki and FM Carsten Hansen 25:00- Nathan answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag about whether adult improvers should consider playing less aggressive repertoires as they age, and another about the rating level at which opening knowledge begins to take on an added importance. Mentioned: The Berlin Opening, The Scotch Game, The English/Reti, How to Think Ahead in Chess by Fred Reinfeld , FM William Kelleher, Small Steps to Giant Improvement by GM Sam Shankland, Pawn Power in Chess by Hans Kmoch, GM Richard Reti’s Best Games, Grandmaster Repertoire by GM Mikhail Marin, Starting Out: The Reti by GM Neil McDonald, Howard Staunton, GM Mikhail Botvinnik, GM Tony Miles, NM Harry Lyman 52:00- Nathan tells the story of how he became a professional opera singer past the age of 40. 58:00- Nathan answers another question from a Patreon supporter of the podcast. How does Nathan’s musical knowledge help his chess, if at all? GM Mikhail Tal, GM Mark Taimaino, GM Lajos Portisch, Andre Phillidor, Gregor Piatigorsky 1:03:00- IM Kare Kristensen writes in to ask, “What is the biggest challenge of competing at a high level as an adult?” Mentioned: IM Ilya Figler, Perpetual Chess Episode 178 with IM Kare Kristensen, GM James Tarjan vs. GM Vladimir Kramnik 2017, GM Boris Gelfand, Nakamura-Resika, GM Alexander Chernin 1:14:00 What went wrong when Nathan had a rating slump of nearly 130 points? How did he seek to correct it? Mentioned: Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos 1:19:30- What was it like to play in a tournament in Texas amidst the pandemic? How did Nathan and his family get comfortable with the decision to play? Mentioned: 2020 Southwest Open, IM Justin Sarkar, IM Zurab Javakhadze, Raghav Kalyanaraman, Check out the Whole Crosstable here: http://www.dallaschess.com/2020SWOpen/OpenWallchart.html 1:30:00- What are Nathan’s current chess goals? Why does he think it's important to play stronger competition? 1:34:00- Question from Neal Bruce! What are the minimum and maximum amount of hours per day/week that an improver should study? Mentioned: GM Sam Shankland’s Method 1 and 2, GM Neil McDonald, GM Daniel King, GM John Nunn, IM Andrew Martin 1:39:00- Closing summary of Nathan’s improvement advice! Don’t get discouraged Study Structures Keep up with Your Tactics, no matter your age Read good chess books and great authors Read biographies of great players 1:41:00- Thanks so much to Nathan for joining the podcast! You can reach him at [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we are joined by top chess player, trainer and author GM Wojciech Moranda. GM Moranda is one of the highest ranked and most accomplished players in Poland, with a FIDE rating of 2618 and many tournament victories. Wojciech has also been a frequent competitor in the Pro Chess League, where he has beaten the likes of GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Alexander Grischuk. As a trainer, GM Wojciech has worked with both amateur adults and with top young players in conjunction with the National Youth Chess Academy of the Polish Chess Federation. GM Moranda is a chess bibliophile who has developed a unique chess instruction style, which is on display in his excellent new book,Universal Chess Training, recently published by Thinkers Publishing. We talk about the book as well as chess improvement more generally, including getting Wojciech’s takes on the age old questions of what to study, how to study, and how much to study. If you are looking to improve your own game you are assured to pick up something both from Wojciech’s book, and from our conversation. Please continue reading for timestamps and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We begin by discussing GM Moranda’s new book from Thinker’s Publishing, Universal Chess Training. GM Moranda shares how he decided on the unique presentation style of this book, and what he likes and dislikes about other recent chess books. Mentioned: Reshevsky-Petrosian 1953 (25...Re6), Jon Edwards, My Great Predecessors, Kasparov-Topalov 1999, Episode 199 with Dr. Barry Hymer and GM Peter Wells 24:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. One of their latest offerings is a Lifetime Repertoires course on the Taimanov Sicilian by GM Harikrishna. Check it out here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-taimanov-sicilian/course/45749/?utm_source=chessable&utm_medium=tw 25:30- GM Moranda answers a question from the Patreon mailbag about whether playing blitz and rapid is bad for one’s chess development. Mentioned: Lichess.org, Episode 200 with GM Boris Gelfand, GM Alireza Firouzja 34:30- We discuss how much one should study, and how one should allocate chess study time. Mentioned: Applying Logic in Chess by IM Erik Kislik 41:00- Are the rumors true that GM Moranda has a law degree? How did Wojciech get into chess? Mentioned: FM Kamil Plichta 48:30- GM Moranda answers another question relating to the state of the chess culture in Poland. Mentioned: GM Jan Krzysztof Duda, Paul Morphy, The Queen’s Gambit Series 56:30- What are GM Wojciech’s favorite chess books? Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard’s Grandmaster Preparation Series, Beyond Material, GameChanger 1:03:00- GM Moranda has some experience teaching blindfold chess and visualization. What advice does he usually give his students? 1:19:00 Thanks so much to GM Moranda for sharing his chess wisdom! You can reach him via email at [email protected] You check out a teaser of Universal Chess Training here: https://thinkerspublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Teaser-PDF-Wojciech-Moranda-Universal-Chess-Training-1.pdf and you can buy it here: https://thinkerspublishing.com/product/wojciech-moranda-universal-chess-training/ Its also available from Forward Chess here: https://forwardchess.com/sample/universal-chess-training See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Frank Brady has led a long and distinguished career both in and out of the chess world. Before retiring, he was the Chairman of the Department of Mass Communications, Journalism, Television and Film at St. John’s University. Frank is also the Founding Editor of Chess Life Magazine, and is well known for writing multiple books about Bobby Fischer, who Frank knew since Bobby’s teenage years, and about whom he is a leading authority. Dr. Brady is best known for his best-selling and brilliant 2011 biography of Fischer, Endgame: Fischer’s Rise and Fall from Remarkable Prodigy to the Edge of Madness. In our conversation, Frank shares many personal recollections about his interactions with Bobby, including a first-hand account of what it was like to be at the famed Fischer-Spassky Match of the Century in Reykjavik in 1972. Frank contextualizes the brilliance and the faults of Bobby Fischer, and tells some great stories from his personal experiences. You will not want to miss this first hand account of chess history! Please read on for more details, relevant links, and timestamps. For more detailed show notes, go to: www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/11/17/episode-202-dr-frank-brady 02:00- What was it like to attend the “Match of the Century” between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in person in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972? 10:30- Frank discusses the question of whether Bobby knew who his father was, and whether he was aware of his Jewish heritage. 18:30- How would Frank describe Bobby’s personality? 28:00- What chess improvement advice did Bobby Fischer give to Frank Brady? 32:30- Does Frank think that Bobby Fischer had Asperger’s Syndrome? How did Frank find out Fischer’s IQ? 40:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. If you would like to learn about the chess brilliance of Bobby Fischer utilizing their patented Movetrainer technology, you can check out GM Garry Kasparov’s My Great Predecessor’s Volume 4, among other books and courses: https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-4/course/29726/ 41:00- Frank answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to the history of The Log Cabin Chess Club. 47:00- What were Bobby’s political views before they became more radical? When was Bobby’s chess peak? Does Frank think that Bobby was clinically insane? 52:00- What did Bobby’s Icelandic friends from his later years think of Bobby? 53:30- Douglas Griffin asks Frank whether he is aware of Fischer being particularly influenced by GM Isaac Boleslavsky. 56:00- What were Frank’s interactions with GM Boris Spassy like? 1:00:00- Frank's encounters with famed artist Marcel Duchamp 1:04:00- Frank still plays the occasional tournament chess game, and he is in great health as an 86 year-old. What health advice can he share? 1:05:30- As an expert on film and chess, Frank compares the smash-hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit as it compares to other representations of chess in film/on television. 1:10:00- To what does Frank attribute the success of Endgame outside of the chess world? 1:17:00- Whom does Frank think I should interview? 1:19:30- More discussion of The Queen’s Gambit. 1:25:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Brady for an amazing interview! You can reach him via email at bradyfm at msn.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

FM Peter Giannatos,is the Founder and Executive Director of the Charlotte Chess Club and Scholastic Center (CCCSA), which is an award-winning chess club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 2007, Peter has taken the club from a small group meeting in a local library to a thriving organization with a large scholastic program, indispensable international tournaments, and a rapidly growing Twitch presence. In our conversation, Peter shares a lot of his hard-won wisdom about how to help build a vibrant local chess community, and he also discusses the difficulty that the club has faced recently due to the pandemic. Given the exploding popularity of chess, Peter is optimistic that any “brick and mortar” chess organization which can survive the lockdown period will come out of the Covid period better than ever. Lastly, Peter is a very accomplished chess player (2390 USCF peak rating) and improver in his own right, so he concludes the interview with some chess improvement tips and a few great book recommendations. Many of the details and timestamps related to the topics we discussed can be found below. 0:00- We begin our conversation by getting into reliving the modest beginnings of the Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy, which has gone from being run at a local library to a beautiful brick and mortar facility, with city-wide outreach and international tournaments. Mentioned: Grant Oen, FM Mike Klein, GM Daniel Naroditsky, Bradley Juopperi, Ursula Smith 28:30- GM Ben Finegold has built a successful chess center in Atlanta and credited Peter with helping him get started. How did Peter help? In this segment Peter also discusses how the pandemic has affected the chess center. Mentioned: CBS Sunday Morning chess story featuring GM Maurice Ashley and WFM Alexandra Botez: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/online-chess-makes-its-biggest-move/, Silver Knights Chess Academy, Kids Chess, Chess Achieves, Raleigh Chess Academy 40:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out one of their latest, Lifetime Repertoires, Sam Shankland’s 1. d4, from former US Champion Sam Shankland. The course is on sale for a limited time, check it out here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-sam-shanklands-1-d4-part-2/course/53465/ 40:30- Peter discusses the rough beginnings and then growth of Charlotte’s International Norm tournaments, which are well-regarded tournaments that enable young talents to earn GM and IM norms. Mentioned: FM Yuriy Krykun, GM Michael Brown, IM Kassa Korley, Grant Oen. DGT Smart Boards, GM Pragganandha, GM Aman Hambleton, IM John Bartholomew, FM Gauri Shankar, IM Brandon Jacobsen 57:30- We discuss the Chess Center’s relationship with GM Daniel Naroditsky, Twitch Streaming, and their popular “Daniel Naroditsky vs. the World” Online events Mentioned: Castle Chess Camp, Episode 191 with GM Daniel Naroditsky- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-191-gm-daniel-naroditsky/id1185023674?i=1000489096841 Charlotte Chess Center Twitch Channel- https://www.twitch.tv/charlottechesscenter, GM Wesley So, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, GM Jan-Krzysctof Duda, GM Vladimir Fedoseev, GM Rauf Mamedov, GM Salem Saleh, GM David Bronstein 1:10:00- Peter has made huge gains in his rating in his 20s. What advice does he give for improvement? Where did he learn about all of the chess greats that he covers in his Learn from the Legends Twitch Series. Mentioned: chessgames.com, Douglas Griffin’s twitter page, The Art of Sacrifice in Chess, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Magnus Carlsen, Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, GM Alexander Shabalov, GM Vassily Smylov, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Mikhail Botvinnik, GM Vladimir Kramnik, Simple Chess, NM Matthew Noble, Perfect Your Chess (Out of Print but Available on Kindle!), 1:22:30- Thanks so much to Peter for sharing so much of his experience and knowledge! Here are all of the ways to keep up with the CCCSA: Email Peter here: [email protected] Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy- https://www.charlottechesscenter.org/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/charlottechesscenter/ Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/charlottechesscenter YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/user/charlottechesscenter 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

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

This week I am joined by Dr. Barry Hymer and GM Peter Wells, who are the authors of the new book, Chess Improvement: It’s All in the Mindset. Dr. Hymer is a Professor of Psychology in Education, as well as a long time chess enthusiast. GM Peter Wells, in addition to being an active player is a prolific chess author and a trainer for some of Great Britain’s top juniors. As a pair, they are perfectly suited to write a book tackling so many persistent questions related to chess improvement. Our conversation discusses questions such as the following: What is a growth mindset, and how can it apply to chess improvement? What can parents and trainers learn from the approach to nurturing talent taken by the family of GM Magnus Carlsen? How much of chess talent is determined by genetics? What are Peter’s favorite games of his career? How has Barry managed to go from the 1800 level to over 2000 while in his 50s? For the answers to these questions and many more, please enjoy the show. You can find timestamps and show notes below. 0:00- We begin by discussing the source of the authors’ idea for this book, and they explain the research that framed their writing of it. Mentioned: Tim Kett, Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success 7:00- What psychological issues in his own chess game did Carol Dweck’s research help Peter address? 10:30- Barry and Peter answer the first of many Patreon mailbag questions relating to whether their book is more of a “how-to guide” or more of an overview of research chess players should know? Mentioned: GM Boris Gulko, GM Boris Gelfand, Tim Kett, Henrik Carlsen, GM Erwin L.Ami Henrik Carlsen interview with IM Sagar Shah here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAGKisuHUg 20:00- Another Patreon question- what advice do Peter and Barry have for managing chess study while working full time? 25:00- Must “deliberate practice” be inherently unenjoyable? Mentioned: Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers 30:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Chessable is a great way to put in your deliberate practice and learn opening lines, tactical patterns and other aspects of the game. Check out their latest offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 31:00- Dr. Barry Hymer is an adult improver who has gained over 200 rating points in his 50s. What has been his approach to chess study? Mentioned: GM Luke McShane, The King’s Indian Attack Move by Move, Bill Goichberg 38:30- How will this research affect GM Peter Wells' approach as chess trainer? 42:30- Another Patreon mailbag question: What does Peter think can be done to help improve the British chess scene, especially for talented juniors? Mentioned:GM Alexander Morozevich, GM Gawain Jones, IM Malcolm Pein 48:00- What is the chess scene like in Barry’s native South Africa? 50:00- The authors answer another Patreon mailbag question relating to the always controversial topic of the extent to which chess ability is determined by nature as opposed to nurture. Mentioned: Chessdojo, Robert Plomin, GM Bobby Fischer, IM Kostya Kavutskiiy, GM Jesse Kraai, IM David Pruess, GM Luke McShane, 1:02:00- The authors interviewed many of the top players of Great Britain, including IM Harriet Hunt and GM Nigel Short. Were they more struck by the similarity of their approaches or their differences? Mentioned: IM Harriet Hunt, GM Nigel Short 1:04:30- Another Patreon question- How can parents find the right balance between being encouraging their children and being pushy with their encouragemen? Mentioned: IM Merijn Van Delft, Angela Duckworth 1:15:00- Peter answers a listener question relating to what it was like beating GM Alexei Shirov with the Trompowsky Opening in just 13 moves. Mentioned: IM William Hartston, GM Joel Lautier, GM Judit Polgar, GM Patrick Wolff Wells-John Emms 2000 Wells- Zoltan Almasi 2001 Chess24 coverage of Norway Chess Round 6, featuring GM Joel Lautier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8LNhYDyHFo&t=3437s 1:23:30- Another listener question: What type of work will Barry be doing with Chessable.com? GM Alex Colovic 1:26:00- Thanks so much to Peter and Barry for sharing their knowledge and experiences. You can buy the books here: https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Improvement-Its-all-mindset-ebook/dp/B08KHY4S6B/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=chess+improvement+mindset&qid=1603735477&s=books&sr=1-1 You can keep up with them in the following ways: Barry Hymer website- https://barryhymer.wordpress.com/ Chessable blog-https://www.chessable.com/blog/page/2/ Peter Wells twitter- https://twitter.com/GMPeteWells Email the authors through Crown house publishing- https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/contact-us You can help support the podcast here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

Since our first interview in June of 2019, IM Cyrus Lakdawala has increased the number of books he has authored to 50! Cyrus’ newest published book is Rewire Your Chess Brain: Endgame Studies and Mating Problems to Enhance Your Tactical Abilities . I have been excited for this book because endgame studies have frequently been mentioned by guests as an effective way to improve one’s visualization abilities and pattern recognition. The book did not disappoint me! It is filled with creative, diabolical and often difficult chess problems that can stump you for hours or days. We also discuss Cyrus’ recent award-winning book In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History. In the book, Cyrus deconstructs the magic of chess hot streaks and reveals who he thinks had the most impressive tournament performance of all time. For those interested in chess improvement, this interview is packed with useful advice. Cyrus shares his advice for how to tackle difficult chess problems, and reveals a simple formula for how one should allocate one’s chess study time. Please read on for lots more details and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by discussing his newest, the excellent book of endgame studies and difficult mate problems, Rewire Your Chess Brain. Mentioned: Episode 129 With Cyrus Lakdawala: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perpetual-chess-podcast/id1185023674?i=1000440582141 Chess Endgame Studies and Compositions Facebook Group- https://www.facebook.com/groups/544412592978833 Also Mentioned: GM Max Illingworth, Jonathan Fry, GM Nigel Short, GM Alexei Shirov, Joseph William Abbott “It’s not the solving that matters, it’s the combination of straining to solve… mixed with seeing an original pattern in the solution, and you are adding to your internal database a new pattern.” 13:15- This episode is brought to you in part by Chesskid.com. If you sign your child up for a Gold level Membership, you can use promo code “HOMEFUN” for a 10% discount, and if you are interested in bulk discounts on chess club memberships, you can email [email protected] 14:15- Cyrus answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to the proper way to tackle chess endgame studies. As Cyrus explains, the key is to strain for the answer. Mentioned: Reti-Alekhine 1925, Satanick Mukhuty, Steven Dowd 25:15- What are some common themes you might come across in chess studies? The Blathy 1962 endgame study we discuss can be found here: https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=PpLRGEZBY5eLQlzzQQv+/N4VI8U9AXmYqIP6SVLGeTjkwp8mnb+O+65veM1erWS7 28:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Whether you are interested in openings, endgames, or chess history, Chessable has plenty of books and courses to help you learn and retain the information you learn using its MoveTrainer technology. https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 29:30- We talk some chess improvement, as Cyrus answers another question from the Patreon mailbag- What aspects of studying chess are overrated and underrated? 35:30- In the wake of the recent Pro Chess League cheating scandal, we discuss the issue of cheating in chess a bit. Background on the cheating scandal here: https://www.chess.com/news/view/saint-louis-arch-bishops-2020-pro-chess-champions Mentioned: GM Tigran L. Petrosian, GM Wesley So, GM Miguel Quinteros 43:15- Another recent book of Cyrus’ In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History, just won an award for Best Instructional Book from the Chess Journalists of America. What can we learn from studying the winning streaks of the greats? Mentioned: Paulsen, Morphy, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Veslin Topalov, GM Levon Aronian, GM Magnus Carlsen. GM Bobby Fischer, GM Bent Larsen, GM Mark Taimanov, GM Alexander Alekhine 58:30- One more supporter question for Cyrus: Who would he pick as the best opening, middlegame, and endgames specialists in chess history? Mentioned: GMs Kasparov, Korchnoi, Karpov, Carlsen, Alekhine 1:00:30- Thanks to Cyrus for rejoining the show! You can buy his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Zone-Greatest-Winning-Streaks-History/dp/905691877X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=K2M59FKPTJUD&dchild=1&keywords=cyrus+lakdawala+chess+books&qid=1602458255&s=books&sprefix=cyrus%2Cstripbooks%2C139&sr=1-1 Join the Facebook Chess Endgame Studies and Compositions Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/544412592978833 And contact Cyrus here: https://www.facebook.com/cyrus.lakdawala See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess, it's a privilege to be joined by a chess legend. GM Jan Timman! GM Timman is the 9 time champion of the Netherlands and spent decades as one of the top players in the world. He has had numerous tournament triumphs, and played GM Anatoly Karpov for the FIDE World Championship in 1993. For all of his striking chess successes, GM Timman may be equally skilled as a writer. He is a founding editor of New in Chess Magazine, and penned the outstanding and award-winning book, Timman’s Titans, among many other works. In 2020, GM Timman has released another great book, Timman’s Triumphs: My 100 Best Games. GM Timman has a treasure trove of amazing chess stories, and we are lucky that he touched on many of them in this interview. A few of the topics discussed include: what modern chess engines taught him about his classic games, what it was like to drink with Mikhail Tal, and go to a disco with Bobby Fischer, and what his most cherished and painful memories are from a lifetime’s worth of chess battles. GM Timman is someone I have always hoped to interview, so it was an honor and pleasure to hear his stories and reflections. Please read on for more details, timestamps and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We begin by discussing GM Timman’s latest great book, Timman’s Triumphs. Why does he think that, under today’s circumstances,he would not become a chess professional as an up-and-coming player? Mentioned: GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic, Chessbase, NICBase, Fritz, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Erwin L’Ami 08:00- After reviewing his games with today’s state of the art engines, how did the quality of play in GM Timman’s games hold up? GM Wolfgang Uhlmann, GM Judit Polgar 10:45- GM Timman tells a story of travelling to a tournament in Stockholm when young, and staying at a hotel where he couldn’t afford lodging unless he won prize money. How did it turn out? Mentioned: Rilton Cup, IM Hans Bohm 14:30- GM Timman answers the first of many questions from the Patreon mailbag relating to his dynamic play as Black. Does GM Timman agree with IM Mark Dvoretsky that this style may have cost him some points? Mentioned: GM Max Euwe, GM Hein Donner 19:00- What was GM Timman’s approach to preparing for games? Timman-Ribli 1978, GM Bobby Fischer, GM Judit Polgar 23:00- Bobby Fischer was a chess hero of GM Timman. What was it like to meet and spend time with him? Mentioned: Bessel Kok 26:30-GM Timman tells another great story from Timman’s Titans, of discovering, as he shopped at a second hand shop in Lisbon, a chess set that once belonged to World Champion Alexander Alekhine. 29:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Whether you are interested in openings, endgames, or chess history, Chessable has plenty of books and courses to help you learn and retain the information you learn using its MoveTrainer technology. https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 30:00- GM Timman answers a listener question comparing the feeling of playing Kasparov over the board to that of playing GM Anatoly Karpov. Yasser Chessable interview here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoXeFM3tmZ8 33:30- GM Timman discusses his relationship with GM Viktor Korchnoi and offers his theory of how Korchnoi stayed so strong into his golden years. Biel 2001, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Peter Svidler, GM Lajos Portisch, GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic 38:30- What has changed in Jan’s chess game over the years? Mentioned: The Ragozin Defense 41:00- We discuss modern chess a bit. Who is Jan’s favorite player? What does he think about the soon to be resumed 2020 FIDE Candidates tournament? GM Ding Liren, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, GM Ian Nepomniatchi, German Bundesliga 45:00- Jan answers another question from the Patreon mailbag relating to a memorable result in the Immopar rapid tournament in 1991. Timman-Karpov 1991, Immopar 1991 47:30- What are Jan’s most pleasant and most memorable chess memories? Mentioned: GM Arthur Yusopov 50:00- What was it like to be a celebrity in his native Netherlands in the 1990’s? Why does GM Timman think Magnus Carlsen prefers to defend his World Championship title outside of Norway? Mentioned: Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam of New in Chess Magazine, Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes, GM Nigel Short, GM Boris Spassky, GM Bobby Fischer 52:00- How does GM Timman spend his chess-focused time these days? What are his interests outside of chess? Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, Luis Borges, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa 54:30- What are GM Timman’s favorite cities and tournament venues that he has attended? Mentioned: Paris, London, Madrid, Prague, Reykjavik Open 57:30- What was it like to spend time with legendary World Champion GM Mikhail Tal? If he were to be stranded on a desert island with one GM, who would it be? Mentioned: Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer 1:00:00- GM Timman answers another listener question: Does he think that much of his success in chess can be attributed to the cr

GM Keith Arkell is a constant presence in chess tournaments ranging from smaller British weekend tournaments, to big-stage open tournaments like the Chess.com Isle of Man International. Over the years, he has amassed dozens of tournament victories, including winning the 2014 European Over 50 Championship, and tying for first in the 2008 British Championships. Of course, Keith is best known for his legendary endgame prowess, and he shows off and explains his approach to endgames in his enjoyable and instructive new book, Arkell’s Endings. In our interview,Keith discusses the book, including his fascinating “hierarchy of pawns.” Keith shares some great chess tips as well as life reflections from a life spent wholly immersed in chess. As always, please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by discussing the genesis of Arkell’s Endings, as well as the origins of Keith’s legendary endgame skills. Mentioned: Chess for Life by GM Mathew Sadler and Natasha Regan, Ginger GM Publishing, GM Simon Williams, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Ulf Andersson, GM Tony Miles, 08:00- Does Keith think he is uniquely feared due to his propensity for grinding down opponents in long games? Mentioned: GM Mark Hebden 12:00- In Arkell’s Endgames, he lays out his “heirarchy of pawns”- how does he value each pawn, and how did he come upon that framework? 18:30- Keith makes no secret that he dislikes opening theory. How does he approach chess to minimize memorization? How does he characterize his chess style generally? Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew, GM Simon Williams 26:30- As a European senior champion what is Keith’s advice for other older players? How does he balance a desire to socialize with his chess colleagues while also trying to perform well in tournaments? 30:30- In addition to an evident endgame prowess, Simon Williams shows some impressive tactical melees that Keith has played in Arkell Endgames. How did Keith learn to calculate? 34:00- Keith has a light touch in Arkell’s Endings, with regard to how much analysis he includes. How did he decide on this approach? Mentioned: Bertrand Russell, GM Peter Svidler, IM Ali Mortazavi 41:50- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out all of their latest offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 42:30- How does Keith stay sharp in blitz? Mentioned: Hodgson, Howell, GM Simon Williams, IM Ameet Ghasi, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Mickey Howell, GM Luke McShane, GM Gawain Jones,GM Ivan Sololov, John Naylor 46:00- Are the rumors true, that Keith’s fun first book, Arkell’s Odyssey, will soon be updated and reissued? Keith expounds on some personal issues touched upon in the book, including a lack of confidence before he discovered chess, and a history of panic attacks. 56:00- Keith made an early decision in life to try to avoid a “real job.” How old was he when he made this decision? How strong was he at chess? Mentioned: IM Susan Lalic, GM Glenn Flear, WIM Christine Flear 1:03:00- What are Keith’s favorite places that he has visited for tournaments? Mentioned: GM Vassily Smyslov, GM Lev Psakhis, Arkell-Psakhis 1983, GM Leonid Yudasin, GM Alexander Khalifman, Marshall Chess Club, 1:08:00- How did Keith find his chess heroes, like Anatoly Karpov and Ulf Andersson? Mentioned: Simple Chess, My System, Think Like a Grandmaster, Chess for Zebras, Fred Reinfeld, Irving Chernev, GM Yuri Averbakh 1:13:00- What is Keith’s approach to analyzing his own games? 1:15:30- What was it like to play Magnus Carlsen when Magnus was 11 years old? What other memorable encounters has Keith had with top players? Mentioned: Arkell-Carlsen 2002, Isle of Man International, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Sergei Karjakin, Arkell-Karjakin 2003, GM Michael Adams, Gm Jonathan Speelman, GM Nigel Short, GM Anish Giri, GM Teimour Radjabov, GM Vidit Gujrathi 1:22:00- Thanks so much to Keith for joining the show! Get Arkell’s Endings here: https://gingergm.com/library/arkells-endings Follow Keith on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/atomrod?lang=en Track him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Atomrod Check out how he did at Pardubiche here: https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/czech-open-pardubice-2020/8/1/1 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

USCF expert Tom Murphy is undoubtedly one of the most renowned “park speed chess” players to live in the U.S. in the last few decades. He is a local legend in the cities in which he has lived: Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Chicago, and has often been featured in the local media in those cities. It’s hard to miss Tom in popular chess hotspots due to his strong play and his entertaining banter. In our conversation we cover topics ranging from blitz and trash-talking tips, to Tom’s unique improvement advice, to the most money he has made in a day while gambling on chess. Tom shares many great stories and has an evident love of chess, but his life has not always been easy. As we also discuss, Tom has battled addiction at times, and even had a short stint in jail as a result of these issues. As you can tell, Tom has quite a story to tell! More details can be found below, along with time stamps and relevant links. 0:00- Perpetual Chess Happy Hour info here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/happyhour 2:45- Tom tells the origin story of how he discovered chess as a teenager in Philadelphia and began to take it increasingly seriously over time. Mentioned: Central High School, NM Norman “Pete” Rogers, A Contemporary Approach to the Middle Game by GM Alexei Suetin, NM Wilbert Paige 8:30- Tom tells the formative story of a moment when a top player underestimated him, and how this served to motivate him to work to improve. Mentioned: IM Anthony Saidy, GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Robert Byrne 11:30- Does Tom consider himself a chess hustler? Mentioned: Daaim Shabazz of The Chess Drum’s coverage of Tom Murphy: https://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2018/10/24/tom-murphy-wins-chicagos-3rd-tate-memorial/ Tim Ferris video in which GM Maurice Ashley plays a park player - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5vnpOp0U_g 14:45- Tom Murphy answers a question from the Patreon mailbag about the art of trash- talking. Sideline: The History of Chess from a Black Point of View preview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVEWz_mzT8Q 16:45- What is the story behind the birth of the Chicago based National Blitz League? Mentioned: Nathan Kelly, https://www.nblchess.com/, Daniel X Jones, George Li 19:45- Tom reveals his “3 Ps” for chess improvement- Patience, Perseverance and a Peaceful Mind Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade, WGM Jennifer Shahade 23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out all of their latest offerings here. https://www.chessable.com/courses/ 24:00- Who is Tom’s best “customer” of all time in terms of playing him in blitz for money? Mentioned: FM Sunil Weerumantry 27:15- Who is the strongest player Tom ever faced? What were the reasons for his moving from Philly to DC, and then later to Chicago? GM Roman Dzindzichashvilli, GM Ben Finegold, GM Nikola Mitkov 30:30- Does Tom think that park chess is dying? The National Blitz League Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/NationalBlitzLeague Henry Getz, Steve Jennings 32:00- Tom has battled addiction in the past, has been homeless for periods and even spent six months in jail due to addiction issues, so he reflects on that experience and offers advice to others battling addiction. 37:30- Is Tom stronger online or over the board? 38:00- What are Tom’s favorite chess publications to read? Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, Endgame Strategy, The Art of The Middle Game in Chess,My System, 500 Master Games of Chess 44:00- How does Tom use computers to work on his chess game? Mentioned: The Perpetual Chess Facebook Group 46:00- What is Tom’s blitz chess advice? Mentioned: GM Pablo Riccardi 48:30- IM Greg Shahade writes in to ask about the state of Tom Murphy’s Ms. Pac Man skills, then Tom discusses his enthusiasm for poker and backgammon. Mentioned: Paul Baraz 55:00- Thanks so much to Tom for sharing his great stories! If you would like to contact him about online lessons, you can text him at 202-279-1442 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

Embrace the Process of Daily Chess Study This week on Perpetual Chess, the first two adult improver guests return to the podcast 2+ years after our first interviews. Both Andrzej Kryzdwa and Stacia Pugh exude the same passion for chess today that they did in our prior conversation. They update us on their recent results, share some new study tips, recent chess realizations, and book recommendations This week we have a special edition of Perpetual Chess, as the two first adult improver guests return to the show to update us on the state of their chess games, their lives, and their improvement regimens. The guests are Andrzej Krzydwa and Stacia Pugh, who both originally appeared on the show 2+ years ago (links to their interviews below.) Andrzej is a Polish small business owner, dad and programmer who manages to devote a ton of time to his chess improvement. At the time of our first interview he had just earned an IM norm by posting a dazzling 2579 performance rating in a tournament called the Katowice Spring 2018 . Stacia is a former professional cornhole player who now devotes all of her time to studying chess and teaching with Ohio’s Progress with Chess. At the time of our first interview she had gained 300 rating points in the prior years, and Stacia exuded an evident passion for chess improvement. Both guests come back with new improvement tips in addition to a continued appreciation of some of their favorite study methods mentioned in their first interviews. Lastly, I wanted to thank another former adult improver guest, Jason Cigan. A follow up with Jason was originally planned to be part 3 of this episode, but through no fault of Jason’s we encountered technical issues that forced me to postpone that interview. For more detailed show notes with links go here: Adult Improver follow up - Andrzej Kryzdwa and Stacia Pugh return! Episode 76 with Andrzej Krzydwa, June 3,2018 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-76-andrzej-krzywda-adult-improver-series/id1185023674?i=1000413058930 Episode 87 with Stacia Pugh, August 14, 2018: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-87-stacia-pugh-adult-improver-series/id1185023674?i=1000417781378 0:00- Here is the info you need for the announcements made at the top of the show. The annoucements made at the top of the show are no longer applicable as of 12/2021 6:00- Andrzej Krzyydwa rejoins the show, and we dive right into an update of how his chess games have been going. Mentioned: Kasparov on Kasparov 32:00- Thanks to Andrzej for coming back on the show, you can keep up with him via the following outlets: Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/From2100ToInternationalMaster Twitter- https://twitter.com/From2100ToIM 33:00- Perpetual Chess Yasser Seirawan’s classic book Winning Chess Strategies is now available on Chessable.com! Check out a free sample of it here: https://www.chessable.com/winning-chess-strategies-free-lesson/course/50034/ 1:01:00- Thanks to Stacia for stopping by and catching up. Here is how to keep up with her: Chess.com blog-https://www.chess.com/member/midnaslament YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn2k14U03rNRHApDIloxOkA Twitter- https://twitter.com/StaciaMelinda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avetik Grigoryan is an Armenian grandmaster and chess trainer, who is also the founder and lead instructor of Chessmood.com. Chessmood is a subscription based educational chess site that offers a large library of instructive videos, covering all phases of a chess game. Avetik has a team of grandmasters working with him on the site, who also answer member questions, stream shows, and write articles. In our conversation, Avetik shares his vision for chessmood, gives some improvement tips and book recommendations, and tells some great stories of a few key moments in his life that changed his perspective about life and about chess. It was a fun and wide ranging conversation. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by discussing a bit about the background of Chessmood, and the day-to-day life of running Chessmood.com and generating tons of videos related to all phases of the chess game. 07:30- What issues does Avetik see in the students he works with through Chessmood.com? 13:00- GM Kevin Goh’s recent Perpetual Chess Interview (Episode 184) really resonated with listeners, and in the interview Kevin gave Avetik a lot of credit for helping him attain the grandmaster title. What is Avetik’s perspective on Kevin’s accomplishments? Mentioned: Kevin Goh on Perpetual Chess- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-184-gm-kevin-goh-adult-improver-series/id1185023674?i=1000483159400 19:00- What type of material is available on Chessmood? Mentioned: GM Ulf Andersson, GM Vassily Smyslov, GM Akiba Rubinstein , The Scotch Game, The Benko Gambit, The Maroczy Bind, The London System, The Open Sicilian, Caro Kann, The Grand Prix Attack, The King’s Gambit 28:30- Avetik answers a Patreon mailbag question about whether Chessmood will be covering 1. d4 in addition to 1. e4, This leads to a general discussion about its philosophy regarding course design. Mentioned: The Benko Gambit, The Scotch Game 34:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be sponsored in part by Chessable.com. They are releasing new courses practically every day, including a new course on the Chebanenko Slav, and GM Anish Giri on the French Defense. Check out their latest offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 35:00- Avetik tells the story of how a taxi ride as a teenager changed his life, and then discusses the chess culture and general lifestyle in his native Armenia. Mentioned: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, GM Melik Khachiyan, GM Levon Aronian, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Alex Colovic interview with Avetik-https://www.alexcolovic.com/2020/01/interview-with-gm-avetik-grigoryan/ 42:30- Why did GM Grigoryan transition from focusing on OTB competitive chess to training? Mentioned: GM Patrick Wolff, GM Viswanthan Anand, GM Hrant Melkumyan, Anand-Grigoryan 2011 51:00- Avetik answers a question from the Patreon mailbag about what it was like to play at the St. Louis Chess Club, and whether he would do so again despite being partially retired from competitive chess. 56:30- What did Avetik study when he was working to achieve the grandmaster rating? What does he recommend? Mentioned: GM Zaven Andriasian, IM Mark Dvoretsky, Gelfand’s My Most Memorable Games, GM Vladimir Akopian 1:03:00- How should we divide our chess study time? Once your opening repertoire is decent, Avetik recommends dividing study time evenly between openings and tactics. GM Daniel Naroditsky 1:08:00- Is it true that Avetik is a Kung Fu GM? What other interests does he have outside of chess? Way of the Peaceful Warrior, IM Josh Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning, Tools of Titans, Arnold Schwarzenegger, IM Sagar Shah of Chessbase India 1:15:00- Thanks so much to Avetik for coming on the show! Here is how to reach him: Chessmood.com Avetik’s Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=avetik%20gm%20grigoryan 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 month on Chess Books Recaptured, guest co-host Jerry Wells and I do a deep dive on the topic of Blindfold Chess. Jerry is an Arkansas-based school teacher, chess coach, and dedicated adult improver who has emphasized blindfold chess in his study regimen. The first half of the show is devoted to discussing the definitive work on blindfold chess, called Blindfold Chess, History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games. The book is by NM Eliot Hearst and John Knott, and it was clearly a labor of love from two passionate chess enthusiasts. Following our conversation about this detailed historical tome, Jerry and I summarize and share many other resources you all can check out if you are interested in improving your own blindfold and visualization skills. We’ve got lots of detailed links and show notes for this one, so please read on to find them along with timestamps. 0:00- We begin by learning a bit about the background of our guest co-host, Jerry Wells, and about why he was interested in the book Blindfold Chess, History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games, by Eliot Hearst and John Knott, and why he has worked on his own blindfold game. Mentioned: Perpetual Chess 191 with GM Daniel Naroditsky, Link for forthcoming blindfold study book by Martin Justesen: https://saychessblog.com/100-blindfold-endgame-studies/ 10:30- As we discuss, Blindfold Chess is primarily available in paperback from Macfarland Publishing. There are no e-books available. Mentioned: GM Richard Reti, GM George Koltanowski 12:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. One way to work on your visualization skills is through Chessable’s excellent, Visualize series by Benedictine. Check it out here: https://www.chessable.com/visualise-1/course/25695/ 13:00- We read the opening paragraphs of the book and dive into its contents. Mentioned: GM Alexander Alekhine, Alfred Binet, Harry Pillsbury, GM Timur Garyev, GM Andy Soltis, John Knott’s essay on Timur Garyev’s Blindfold Simul Record: https://www.blindfoldchess.net/blog/2017/07/timur-gareyev-and-blindfold-chess . NM Christopher Chabris, Andre Philidor, Lionel Kieseritzky, Louis Paulson, Paul Morphy, Joseph Blackburne, Johannes Zukertort, GM Patrick Wolff 31:00- A recurring question in the book is whether or not performing many blindfold simuls can drive you insane? What did the authors conclude? Mentioned: Harry Pillsbury George Koltanowski 35:30- We discuss a few of the other notable players mentioned in the book. Mentioned: GM Miguel Najdorf, GM Ken Rogoff, The simul Polgars, GM Robert Hungaski 40:00- We answer a Patreon mailbag question about the ranking of George Koltanowski in the pantheon of blindfold players throughout chess history. Mentioned: GM Hans Ree, GM Erich Eliskases 48:30- We discuss part 2 of the book, which synthesizes a lot of the research available regarding how chess players learn, and whether they have superior memories, etc. Mentioned: NM Christopher Chabris, The Melody Amber Blindfold Tournaments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_chess_tournament, GM Peter Svidler, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, GM Aman Hambleton 56:30- We share a few of our favorite quotes from the book. Mentioned: GM Richard Reti, GM Reuben Fine. GM Alexander Alekhine 1:03:00- We briefly discuss a few of the highlight games from the book. Mentioned: Alekhine-Schwartz 1926- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012453 Koltanowski-Burnett 1937- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1080667 The Polgar game Jerry mentions is not available online. :( 1:05:00 What blindfold-playing tips are shared within the book? Mentioned: George Koltanowski, Branco Tchabritch, GM Anthony Miles, IM John Watson 1:11:00- We synthesize a lot of Blindfold Tips from other chess books and other resources. Here are the resources we discuss: Improve Your Chess Now by GM Jonathan Tisdall Noir Chess- http://www.noirchess.com/ Chessvis- https://www.chessvis.com/ IM Danny Rensch’s- Achieving Full Board Awareness and Nivana videos- https://www.chess.com/video/player/achieving-full-board-awareness https://www.chess.com/video/player/achieving-full-board-nirvana Chess Steps Thinking Ahead Volume 2- https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Chess-Thinking-Chess-Steps-Stappenmethode/dp/9077275991 Visualize 1 on Chessable by Benedictine- https://www.chessable.com/visualise-1/course/25695/ ChessFox Visualwize- https://chessfox.com/discover-visualwize/ NM Elliott Neff’s Step by Step Blindfold Tips- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4U336yifjg NM Elliott Neff on Perpetual Chess- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-94-uscf-master-and-author-elliott-neff/id1185023674?i=1000420893461 Blindfold Chess Podcast- https://open.spotify.com/show/28ktA1QA3CDeVlsmqyBNjU?si=-xR-VwdQSE2p3ostg_B60g 1:28:00- Thanks so much to Jerry Wells for suggesting this great topic and preparing so much. You can follow him twitter here: https://twitter.com/jerrywaynewells And thanks t

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

Andrew Zinn is a 29 year old Mathematics graduate student who also works in the finance industry . Despite his busy career, Andrew managed to take his USCF rating from 1567 to 2027 in the two years leading up to the coronavirus shutdown. How did he do it? As Andrew tells us, he has an approach based on playing lots of tournament chess, reading classic chess books, and really focusing on improving his visualization skills. Of course, there is more to Andrew’s approach than that, as you will hear in the interview. Andrew has much to say about what contributed to his remarkable rating leap. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- Andrew tells the story of his discovery of chess as a kid, and his rediscovery of the game in recent years. As Andrew explains it, his approach has changed a lot as an adult. Mentioned: GM Alex Shabalov, NM Jerry Meyers, Richard James, GM Magnus Carlsen 09:45- Andrew is also an adult improver as a piano player. How did learning piano as an adult inform his chess learning? Mentioned: Chess by Laszlo Polgar, Blindfold Chess: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games, Pillsbury, Alekhine, Lasker’s Manual of Chess, The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by Reuben Fine 22:30- A supporter of the podcast asks Andrew what classical player he most likes to study. Mentioned: Masters of the Chessboard by Richard Reti, GM Alexander Alekhine 25:30- We discuss tournament chess. Andrew discusses how often he played competitively, and answers a Patreon mailbag question about his approach to analyzing those games. Mentioned: Marshall Chess Club Mentioned: GM Jesse Kraai 34:00- How much time per week has Andrew been devoting to chess? 37:30- Chessable is out with another new course by none other than World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Like all of Chessable’s courses, it utilizes spaced repetition to make sure you remember what you learn. Check it out here: https://www.chessable.com/the-magnus-touch-endgame/course/42361/ 38:00- What has Andrew done to improve his chess visualization abilities? Mentioned: Think Like a Grandmaster by GM Alexander Kotov, IM John Donaldson, GM Jacob Aagaard, Chess Books Recaptured discussing Think Like a Grandmaster with NM Christopher Chabris. https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/2/21/bonus-pod-chess-books-recaptured-discussing-think-like-a-grandmaster-with-nm-christopher-chabris 44:00- Andrew answers one more Patreon question about which training technique he thinks has given him the best return on time invested. Mentioned: Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 52:00- What is Andrew’s approach to studying openings? 54:30- What about endgames? Mentioned: Chess Endgames by Laszlo Polgar 57:00- In closing, Andrew discusses his future plans for chess as his life continues to get busier. You can keep up with Andrew via Lichess: https://lichess.org/@/Andrew_Zinn or you can email him via email at zinn.andrew.m at gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two-time US Chess Champion GM Patrick Wolff retired from competitive chess in 1998 and has led a busy life away from the board. He is married with two kids, and has had a successful career in the hedge fund industry. Nonetheless, Patrick shares, he still thinks about chess “all the time,” and he follows top level chess whenever he can. On the topic of top level chess, in the 1990’s Patrick had a ringside seat to World Championship Level chess, as he was a member of young Viswanthan Anand’s inner circle. Patrick wrote a great book about these experiences, Kasparov vs. Anand, The Inside Story, and shares some vivid recollections from observing the historic 1995 World Championship up close. Patrick is also the author of the popular series, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Chess (newly updated with the title, Learn to Play Chess Like a Boss.) As his unique background might suggest, Patrick is full of insights and ideas about the past and future of chess, artificial intelligence in chess, and the ways that chess could potentially be promoted differently to increase its popularity even more.I greatly enjoyed our conversation, and I think you will too! More details and timestamps can be found below. 0:00- We begin by talking about GM Wolff’s current relationship with chess. Despite being retired from competitive chess for decades, a day doesn’t go by during which Patrick doesn’t think about chess, and he has had periodic binges of internet blitz addiction, which ultimately leave him unsatisfied. Mentioned: Chess24, Chess.com, GM Viswanathan Anand, Internet Chess Club, Christopher Chabris, GM Viktor Korchnoi. GM Vassily Smyslov, Anand-Wolff 1984 9:00- Patrick dives deeper into his working and professional relationship with GM Viswanathan Anand. He worked on his team for a few key matches, including his world championship match with Kasparov. Mentioned: PDF link for Kasparov vs. Anand, The Inside Story- here: http://chabris.com/pub/Wolff/index.html , GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, GM Boris Gelfand, Tim Henke, American Chess Journal featuring GM Wolff’s article about the 1992 Anand-Ivanchuk match can be read here: http://chabris.com/pub/acj/1/AmericanChessJournalPremiereIssue.pdf, Luis Rentero, Ivanchuk-Anand 1992 21:00- Patrick walks us through his decision to pursue a career outside of chess. Mentioned: IM Stuart Rachels, American Gambit documentary (not “American Grandmaster”, as I called it in the show) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYoEvvYi3YI 27:00- We return to the topic of GM Viswanathan Anand, as Patrick reflects on working on his team for the 1995 World Championship Match against Kasparov. Mentioned: GM Elizbar Ubilava, GM Jonathan Speelman, GM Artur Yusopov, Anand-Kasparov Game 11: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1018626, GM Vladimir Kramnik 39:00- Chessable has many great ways to study the World Champions, including a brand new Free Endgame Course from World Champion, GM Magnus Carlsen. You can get it here: https://www.chessable.com/the-magnus-touch-free-endgame-lesson/course/48079/ 40:00- Patrick has a keen interest in the use of AI in chess and took this opportunity to expand here on a great lecture he gave regarding the topic at the St. Louis Chess Club. (Talk here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6ePHTsqn0) Mentioned: AlphaZero, Leela, Learn to Play Chess Like a Boss, IM David Levy, Deep Thought, GM Walter Browne, GM Alex Fishbein, Deep Blue, Hydra, GM Michael Adams, 47:30- We are all enjoying the recent online chess boom, but Patrick shared some fascinating ideas for ways to promote online chess even more. Mentioned: 2015 Patrick Wolff interview with GM Maurice Ashley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQgJO_bMZcQ, Chess24.com, CHess.com , GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Peter Svidler, IM Greg Shahade Professional Chess Association, 1:02:30- Patrick answers a question from the Patreon mailbag about which skills as a chess player have helped his career in finance, and then tells some stories about how chess has intersected with his professional life. Mentioned: Emanuel Lasker, Peter Thiel, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger 1:09:30- Patrick shares a few tips from his experiences doing blindfold chess exhibitions. Mentioned: GM Michael Wilder, GM Kenneth Rogoff, Peter Thiel 1:12:30- My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer was a formative book for Patrick. He discusses the reasons for its powerful impact and gives a few other book and improvement recommendations. Mentioned: Wolff-Rachels 1992, Fischer-Trifunovich, R. Byrne-Fischer, Pawn Structure Chess, Art of Defense in Chess, The Art of Attack in Chess, which is also available from Chessable, Alexander Alekhine. Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Zurich 1953 1:21:00- Patrick answers another listener question relating to whether he will ever write a chess book for intermediate players. 1:25:00- Thanks to Patrick for sharing his experiences! If you would like to reach him his email is: Patrick at grandmastercap.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. L

S.P. Sethuraman is a Grandmaster and Author based in Chennai, India. GM Sethuraman is known as a dynamic and well-prepared player, and he has earned lofty titles such as the 2016 Asian Chess Champion and the 2014 National Champion of India among many others. He has now put his formidable opening knowledge to use by publishing a new book with Thinker’s Publishing. Beat the Najdorf and Taimanov Sicilians. It offers sharp lines against two of the more popular Sicilian variations. We discuss this book, as well as topics ranging from the life of a traveling chess pro during quarantine, to the highs and lows of his career, to why chess players should practice yoga and meditation. I also enjoyed our usual discussion of chess books, chess engines, chess improvement and more. As always, please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by discussing how coronavirus is impacting India and GM Sethuraman, and he discusses his new book, Beat the Najdorf and Taimanov Siclians Mentioned: GM Viswanathan Anand, GM R.B. Ramesh, Geert van der Velde of Chessable, Archangel Variation of the Ruy Lopez, Sicilian Najdorf, Siclian Taimanov, Daniel Vanheirzeele of Thinker’s Publishing, Sethuraman-Giri FIDE World Cup 2017, Anand-Ding Liren 2020 11:30- Chennai is one of the strongest chess cities in the world with both established and up and coming GMs among its residents. GM Sethuraman discusses how chess has grown there and in India generally, and answers a Patreon mailbag question about whether he has picked up any new hobbies during the time he’s been stuck at home. Mentioned: GM Baskaran Adhiban, GM Pragganandha, GM Aravindh Chatrambaram, GM Sasrikan, GM R.B. Ramesh , GM Surya Ganguly’s YouTube Channel, GM Wesley So, GM Vidit Gujrathi’s Twitch Channel, Chessbase India YouTube Channel 21:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. There are great courses for purchase as well as free of charge. One of the latest is GM Pascal Charbonneau’s free, Short and Sweet: Legendary Chess course. Check it out here: https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-legendary-tactics/course/47106/ 22:30- What did GM Sethuraman learn from training with GM R.B. Ramesh Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Sam Shankland, IM Stuart Rachels 29:00- What were GM Sethuraman’s toughest losses and most memorable victories? Mentioned: Le Quang Liem vs. Sethurman 2019, Wei Yi vs. Sethuraman 2016, Le Quang Liem vs. Ganguly 2016 32:00- GM Sethuraman tells a story about how seeing an interesting game, Karjakin-Anand 2006, ignited a fierce interest for him in opening theory and made an impression on his trainer, GM R.B. Ramesh. Mentioned: GM R.B. Ramesh, https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1385670 36:00- What are GM Sethuraman’s recent preferred books and training methods? Mentioned: Python Strategy by Tigran Petrosian, Alekhine’s Greatest Games, Positional Decision Making in Chess by GM Boris Gelfand, Gata Kamsky: Chess Gamer, David Navara: My Chess World 40:45- How widely available and affordable are chess books in India? What is the “chess business” landscape like there? Mentioned: Chess.com India, Chessbase India, Chess24.com, 44:00- How would GM Sethuraman recommend that club players utilize engines? GM Lawrence Kaufman, GM Erwin L’Ami, Stockfish, LeelaChessZero 49:00 GM Sethuraman takes a couple of questions from the chess Twitter community Mentioned: IM Venkat Saravanan, Tal Chess Club in Chennai, Chessable 53:45- Thanks so much to GM Sethuraman for joining us. Keep up with him here: Twitter- https://twitter.com/sethuramanchess?lang=en Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/sethuramanchess/?hl=en Book via Thinker’s Publishing (with a link to a downloadable free preview)- https://thinkerspublishing.com/product/s-p-sethuraman-beat-the-najdorf-taimanov-sicilians/ Book via Forward Chess- https://forwardchess.com/product/beat-the-najdorf-and-taimanov-sicilians 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

Christopher Chabris is a renowned cognitive scientist, and co-author (with Daniel Simons) of the best selling book, The Invisible Gorilla. Long-time Perpetual Chess listeners will know that he is also a USCF Master, an adult-improver, and a chess dad, thus making him a great recurring guest. Since we have been discussing the science of learning a lot in recent conversations, I thought it would be a great time to check back in with someone with specific domain knowledge. Christopher walks us through the latest in scientific research, as it pertains to learning. This includes explanations of spaced repetition and how aging effects chess skill. Christopher also shares some thoughts about ways that chess learning could be properly studied scientifically. Of course, there was a lot more to discuss than just the science of learning, so Christopher and I also talked about the latest, greatest chess books, what he learned from an online camp with GM Jacob Aagaard. He also told a few more fun stories from his many chess adventures. As always, keep reading for more information and timestamps. 0:00- Since Christopher is a frequent Perpetual Chess Listener, we begin by hearing his perspective on the recent chess improvement tips that have been shared on the show, especially as they relate to the science of learning. Mentioned: Listen to Christopher’s prior Perpetual Chess interview here: https://podcasts.apple.com/jm/podcast/ep-95-uscf-master-cognitive-scientist-christopher-chabris/id1185023674?i=1000421410393 Also Mentioned: IM Erik Kislik 8:45- What do we really know for sure when it comes to chess learning? Mentioned: Spaced repetition. Some of the information cited comes from a study by Yana Weinstein, Christopher R. Madan, & Megan A. Sumeracki- Teaching the Science of Learning Christopher recommends this book for a general overview of the science of learning: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013 GM Jacob Aagard, Perpetual Chess: Woodpecker Method book recap with Neal Bruce, Perpetual Chess Interview with NM Elijah Logozar, interleaving 20:30- Christopher tackles a couple of good Patreon mailbag questions relating to how one could conduct a study to test best practices in chess learning and how to correct any misconceptions that are cited about brain science in the chess world. Mentioned: GM Jan Gustafsson, Malcolm Gladwell 33:00- What do scientists know about aging as it relates to brain function? 37:45- As always, Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. One of the many free courses that I like is GM Alex Colovic’s Short and Sweet: Queen’s Gambit Declined. 38:00- Christopher gives a “trip report” on an online chess camp he did with renowned trainer, GM Jacob Aagaard. Also mentioned: GM Leonid Shamkovich, NM Bruce Pandolfini, IM Erik Kislik 49:00- Christopher’s son is playing chess fairly actively, and gives an update on his progress. Then he discusses the aspect of chess he is finding most challenging in his competitions these days, and how he is spending his study time. Mentioned: IM Jim Rizzitano, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy 57:00- Christopher is an avid chess reader, so he gives a detailed update on some chess books he has recently enjoyed. Mentioned: Gambit App Books here: http://www.gambitbooks.com/webapp/appbooks.html, The Anand Files, The Road to Chess Improvement, Game Changer Improve Your Chess Now, Secrets of Practical Chess, GM Jonathan Rowson We also mentioned, but haven't yet read the following: Think Like a Machine, GM Tukmakov ‘s Modern Chess Formula, The Powerful Impact of Engines 1:02:00- Christopher discusses some of the online leagues in which he has played and gives preparation tips as well as a general comparison of playing online compared to OTB. Mentioned: Lichess4545.com 1:16:30- Christopher was ready this time for the question of brushes with famous chess players! Mentioned: IM Dan Edelman, GM Anatoly Karpov, Deep Thought, GM Walter Browne, GM Patrick Wolff, GM Viswanathan Anand, Murray Campbell, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Fabiano Caruana, Dan Smith, Twitter Chess Tournament 1:25:00- Thanks as always to Christopher for stopping by and sharing his knowledge and stories. Here is his info: Website-http://chabris.com/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/cfchabris 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

On this month’s edition of Chess Books Recaptured, I am joined by FM Donny Ariel to discuss one of the most acclaimed chess books of all time, Bobby Fischer’s My 60 Memorable Games. This book, of course needs little introduction. It is a game compilation that covers the period 1957-1967, a stretch that saw Fischer ascend from talented teen to the world’s elite. The book has been mentioned as a favorite countless times on Perpetual Chess, and was a formative one for both Donny and me. My co-host, like Fischer, is a New York native, who used to frequent the Manhattan Chess Club, and has heard stories passed down about Fischer throughout his chess-playing life. When Donny is not helping me recap chess books, he is a bankruptcy lawyer with 2 young kids at home, so I greatly appreciate his taking the time to help with this project. As always, you can find lots more details and timestamps below, and embedded hyperlinks are on the podcast website here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog 0:00- We begin by talking about Donny’s background, and about the long shadow that Fischer casts in New York City, where Donny lives. Mentioned: Profile of a Prodigy by Frank Brady, GM Garry Kasparov on Fischer in the NY Review of the Books, GM Alex Fishbein, Fischer-Geller 1967, Fred Wilson books- https://www.fredwilsonchess.com/, The Art of Chess Analysis by GM Jan Timman, IM Kamran Shirazi, GM Larry Evans, 19:00- We share a few stories from those who had the experience of being alive when Fischer’s book came out in 1969. Mentioned: NM Fred Wilson, Richard Reich, GM William Lombady, Fischer-Gligoric Candidates 1959, Spassky-Fischer Game 1 1972 31:00- We discuss the available formats of the book. It is available on Kindle, but there it is not available on Chessable, Forward Chess or another e-book app that enables you to play through the moves. ,A LiChess study compilation here has all 60 games: https://lichess.org/study/fokh9Tmy,and Chessgames.com lists the games here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1000498, GM Jesse Kraai 34:00- My Great Predecessors Part 4 by Garry Kasparov is largely about GM Bobby Fischer, and it is a great way to study his games. It is available with MoveTrainer technology on Chessable.com: https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-4/course/29726/ 35:00- We read the introduction and then discuss the themes of the book a bit. Mentioned: GM Larry Evans, GM Emanuel Lasker, NM Nick Conticello, Fischer-Lombardy 1960, GM Mark Taimanov, GM Bent Larsen, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Peter Svidler 44:30- We share and discuss some of our favorite quotes from the book and talk about some of the most famous games. Mentioned: Fischer-Larsen 1958, Fischer-Larsen 1963/4, Agadmator’s Fischer-Botvinnik Recap, The Old Riddle of Fischer-Botvinnik by Karsten Muller for Chessbase.com, Botvinnik-Fischer brief YouTube footage, Szabo-Fischer 1960, Fischer-Tal 1961,Endgame by Frank Brady , Fischer-Lombardy 1960, Fischer-Bolbachan 1962, Walther-Fischer 1959, Fischer-Gligoric 1959 1:10:00- Why did he choose the title “My 60 Memorable Games?” Fischer-Celle 1964, IM Anatoly Lein, IM Kostya Kavutskiy 1:17:00- Getting back to our favorite games, Fischer-Geller 1967 is another fascinating game, despite its being one of the 3 in the book that Fischer lost. Mentioned: Fischer-Benko 1963, Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions, GM Jan Gustaffson, Fischer-Najdorf 1962 1:29:00- What chess improvement lessons can we learn from My 60 Memorable Games? For what level student is it appropriate? Mentioned: GM Hikaru Nakamura,GM Jesse Kraai, Logical Chess Move by Move, Zurich 1953 1:48:00- Thanks to FM Donny Ariel for helping out! Next month’s book recap will be Blindfold Chess: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games By Eliot Hearst and John Knott If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

35 year-old Grandmaster Erwin L’Ami has had quite a varied and interesting chess career thus far. He is one of the top players in the Netherlands, and has competed on every Dutch Olympiad team since 2006. He has had many impressive finishes in individal tournaments, including winning the 2015 Reykjavik Open. When not competing himself, Erwin is a highly respected opening theoretician, who has worked with former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov and currently works with perennial top 10 player, GM Anish Giri. All of this makes Erwin the perfect person to publish a Lifetime Repertoires course on the Caro-Kann defense for Chessable. In our conversation, we touch all aspects of his chess career. Topics included how he works with engines, the life of a traveling second, the 2020 FIDE Candidates, Anish Giri and Magnus’ Carlsen’s twitter banter, the latest in Caro-Kann theory, improvement advice,and the identity of his favorite player of all time. As you can imagine, there is lots to dig into! Show notes and timestamps can be found below: 0:00- We begin by chatting a bit about the Caro-Kann and about Erwin’s new course. Why was now a good time to do a course on the Caro-Kann? This also includes talk of what sort of engine use goes into top-level opening preparation generally. Mentioned: Leela Chess Zero, Stockfish Open Source Engine, Setting up Engines in Chessbase Video with John Hartmann of US Chess- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_G-tvePe6Q, Jon Edwards, GM Viswanthan Anand 14:00- Erwin tells some stories about working with GM Veselin Topalov during his 2010 World Championship Match Mind Master by GM Viswanthan Anand, The Anand Files by VIshwanathan Anand, Episode 177 with GM Peter Heine Nielsen 19:00- Should the format of the World Chess Championship be changed? Mentioned: Daryl Morey interview with GM Hikaru Nakamura- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prI_EEq6Xsc IM Greg Shahade, GM Magnus Carlsen, FIDE Candidates Tournament 2011 23:30- We talk about what it was like for GM Erwin L’Ami to travel to the 2020 FIDE Candidates tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia and what he thinks of how the tournament was handled generally. Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 174 with GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov , GM Teimour Radjabov, GM Emil Sutovsky 33:00- GM Anish Giri has been showing great results in rapid and blitz chess lately. What is his secret to his improvement? Mentioned: GM Ian Nepomniatchi, Chessable Masters 2020, GM Mikhail Botvinnik 41:00- We finally tackle the Girl-Carlsen “Twitter Beef!” Erwin answers two related questions from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag! Mentioned: IM Anna Rudolf 46:30- As always, Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable! Check out GM Erwin L’Ami’s Free Short and Sweet Caro Course here: https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-the-caro-kann/course/45388/ Check out his comprehensive and impressive, Lifetime Repertoire Caro-course here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-caro-kann/course/37366/ 47:30- We talk about some of Erwin’s favorite chess books and a novel he has been enjoying. Mentioned: On the Origin of Good Moves by IM Willy Hendriks, Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, My Great Predecessors, GM Jacob Aagaard, Game Changer by GM Mathew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan 54:00- What is GM Erwin L’Ami’s Best Chess Improvement Advice? Mentioned: GM Peter Svidler 59:00- Erwin tells the story of being in attendance while Garry Kasparov, his favorite player, played one of his most famous games, vs. GM Veselin Topalov in Wijk an Zee in 1999. Mentioned: Test of Time by GM Garry Kasparov 1:02:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks about the role that body language plays in top level chess. Mentioned: GM Viswanthan Anand, GM Michael Adams, IM Stuart Rachels’ The Best I Saw in Chess, see Chess24’s coverage of Magnus’ 2014 blunder against Anand, here: https://chess24.com/en/read/news/carlsen-blunders-but-wins-game-6-video-recap 1:08:00- Erwin briefly discusses what it was like to be the student of famed trainer GM Vladimir Chuchelov, who has also worked with GMs Caruana and Anand. 1:10:00- What is life on the road like for the second of a top 10 player? Mentioned: GM Max Euwe, GM Jan Timman, IM Alina L’Ami, Jeroen Van Den Berg, organizer of Tata Steel Chess 1:20:00- We bring it back to the Caro-Kann, and Erwin answers some questions, including one from a Patreon supporter, relating to the theoretical state of the Caro Kann defense. Mentioned: Panov-Botvinnik attack, Shirov variation, Short variation of the Advanced Caro Mentioned: GM Danil Dubov, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Vladislav Artemiev, GM Jan Gustafsson 1:28:00- Thanks to GM Erwin L’Ami for an insightful and enjoyable interview. Get his Caro-Kann Chessable course here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-caro-kann/course/37366/ Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/erwinlami?lang=en If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystu

In 1993 IM Stuart Rachels was one of the top young chess players in the United States. He was the winner of the U.S. Junior Championship in 1988, was United States co-champion in 1989-1990, and had played casual and tournament games with the likes of GM Garry Kasparov, GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Boris Spassky, and many others. So why did he decide to hang up the chessboard when he pursued a doctorate in philosophy? Stu answers this question in our interview, as well as discussing a few of the highlights from his great new book The Best I Saw in Chess. In the book, he tells some amazing stories and provides high level analysis of his many memorable chess skirmishes. In our conversation, we talk about how this 8 year project came to be, as well as Stu's future plans related to the chess world. Please keep reading for more details, links and timestamps. IM Stuart Rachels 0:00- Stuart walks us through the eight- year process of writing this book Mentioned: FM Dave Gertler, NM Kyle Therrell, GM Garry Kasparov 8:00- How did IM Rachels, as a young chess prodigy, get to play Garry Kasparov in 2 simuls? Mentioned: American Gambit (Some videos have been removed, so you have to jump around YouTube to different excerpts to watch the whole thing, but here is part 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh3zlmAG8x4 ) GM Alex Fishbein, GM Patick Wolff, Kudrin-Rachels 1989, GM Andy Soltis, GM John Nunn, FM Dave Gertler, My Great Predecessors, GM Yasser Seirawan 17:30- IM Rachels shares one of his many Yasser Seirawan stories, and shares a few more of his favorite memories from his life in chess. Mentioned: IM John Donaldson, GM Samuel Reshevsky, GM Robert Byrne, GM Alexander Kotov, GM Miguel Najdorf, GM Boris Spassky, GM Tony Miles, GM Anatoly Karpov, Karpov-Miles 1980 25:00- GM Ben Finegold told me to ask Stu who he thinks is better, Kasparov or Carlsen? So I did! Mentioned: Howard Stern, NM Dan Heisman, IM Vivek Rao, IM Jim Rizzitano, GM Patrick Wolff 33:00- My Great Predecessors Part 5 is now available on Chessable! Get it here: https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-5/course/34892/ 34:00- We dive into the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag. Why did Stu decide to retire from tournament chess after so much success? Mentioned: IM Vivek Rao, FM Mike Klein, GM Tal Shaked, IM Boris Kogan, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Ben Finegold, GM Larry Christiansen, Alexey Troitsky, Genrikh Kasparyan, Francois Labelle, GM Jonathan Rowson, Andrew Metrick, Joel Friedman, GM Maxim Dlugy 52:00- In 2017 Stu drove to St. Louis to see Kasparov, Anand and other greats at the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz. What was that experience like? Mentioned: Allen Kaufman , GM Vassily Smyslov 57:00- What are some of Stuart’s favorite chess books? Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi by GM Andy Soltis, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, Secrets of Practical Chess by GM John Nunn 1:04:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks Stu a question related to a story that he heard about Stu’s ability to calculate as a kid and about the abilities of strong players generally to calculate and visualize. 1:10:00- Has Stu kept up with his chess peers from his active days? Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Adam Lief, Andrew Metrick, GM Joel Benjamin 1:14:00- Thanks so much to Stuart for sharing his experiences! You can read an excerpt of his book from New in Chess Publishing: https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9097.pdf You can buy the book from Amazon or New in Chess or Forward Chess: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Saw-Chess-Instruction-Champion/dp/9056918818/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=stuart+rachels&qid=1594673740&s=books&sr=1-1 https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/the-best-i-saw-in-chess-paperback-interactive-ebook https://forwardchess.com/product/the-best-i-saw-in-chess?sscid=91k3_fazxa Lastly, you can email IM Rachels at StuartRachels at hotmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Kevin Goh Wei Ming is the seven- time champion of Singapore, and is a renowned opening theoretician who wrote Chess Developments, Sicilian 6. Bg5 Najdorf, and has published many articles for ChessPublishing.com. This year, Kevin earned the GM title at the relatively late age of 36 while working full time as the CFO of an oncology company! As Kevin tells us, earning the title was the culmination of a 10 year quest, which involved many setbacks, much travel and time off from work and an indispensable support network of friends, family and a few GM mentors. Kevin’s inspiring story is full of good chess improvement advice no matter what title or rating you may be chasing. You can find many more details of our conversation and the related links and timestamps below. 02:00- We begin by discussing the current state of Coronavirus and chess in Kevin’s native Singapore, and the Chess against Covid initiative that Kevin and some friends of his recently started. Mentioned: Chess against Covid initiative, Junior Tay, Olimpiu Urcan (see his great Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/urcan ), GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov 8:30- Kevin walks us through his long journey to the GM title, which has been a nearly a decade-long quest as well as the highlight of his chess career. Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew 14:00- Once Kevin decided to pursue chess full time, what study routine did he implement? Mentioned: Perfect Your Chess, IM Erik Kislik, GM Gyula Sax, see Gyula-Sax-Kevin Goh 2011 here: https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=N1Q2wYdh/tNWwlrJVxBDAkPiax9hdmoywl1jMwd0KJF0mYtLI6YQ7V3O/cExPR3z Secrets of Spectacular Chess by GM Jonathan Levitt and FM David Friedgood, GM Daniel Fernandez, Chessbase India feature on Kevin Goh by Junior Tay here: https://chessbase.in/news/Dressed_to_Impress_How_IM_Kevin_Goh_prepped_and_persevered_for_his_final_GM_norm, Episode 178 with IM Kare Kristensen 36:00- When Kevin got his 3rd norm in 2018, he needed just 7 more ELO points for the title, little did he know that these last rating points were far from a formality! Mentioned: GM Ashwin Jayaram, IM Elect Donny Ariel!, GM Avetik Grigoryan, GM Boris Avrukh, Chessmood.com 49:00- What did it feel like to finally earn the GM title in 2020 after all of these struggles? 51:00- Chessable.com has many excellent “Lifetime Repertoire” courses including ones by GM Jan Gustafsson, IM Christof Sielecki and a brand new one on the Caro Kann, from GM Erwin L’ami. The place to see the all of Chessable’s Lifetime Repertoire courses is here: https://www.chessable.com/chess-openings/s/lifetime 51:45- What is Kevin Goh’s chess improvement advice for fellow adult improvers? GM Karsten Muller, GM David Smerdon, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Anatoly Karpov, Positional Sacrifices by GM Neil McDonald, Karpov-Gelfand 1993: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1048256 GM Jonathan Rowson , IM Willy Hendriks On the Origin of Good Moves, NM Elijah Logozar, 1:08:00- What is Kevin’s opinion and experience with The Woodpecker Method and spaced repetition generally? Mentioned: GM Hans Tikkanen and GM Alex Smith, Recapping the Woodpecker Method with Neal Bruce , The Road to Chess Improvement. Caruana-Carlsen Game 1 2018 1:14:00- Patreon supporter of the show, FM Andrey Terekhov, writes in to ask his friend Kevin what his next goal is now that he has gotten the GM title. Mentioned: Aeroflot Open, FIDE Online Olympiad 1:20:00- What advice did GM Jacob Aagaard give Kevin when he was stuck at a plateau? 1:23:00- Thanks so much to Kevin for sharing his story and his wisdom. Here is his contact info: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/GMkevingwm?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARAnkjbSRRYN_2CulGTyid0y7WpIDj2QMkJ-wDYtOOFN7ip64ExECRkK2BWZ-uqeSv4gU3bJXgZ7rSR5&hc_ref=ARQT0DEi2WlenxdbN_3NX6qg3_ffFhCYDVGMLIwg9I3xJoAFO0UpEuGwqcO5wrPM8Iw Twitter- https://twitter.com/kevingohwm Email- kgwm83 at hotmail.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

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

Welcome back to another monthly edition of Perpetual Chess, Chess Books Recaptured! This month, I am joined by electrical engineer, Chessable author, and chess blogger, Vjekoslav “Vjeko” Nemec. Like me, Vjekoslav is a big fan of GM Genna Sosonko’s writing, so we were eager to discuss one of his books. Vjeko and I agree that The World Champion’s I Knew may not be Sosonko’s best book, but due to its prominent subjects, it might be the most accessible. Like his other books, The World Champions I Knew is marked by vivid first hand accounts and beautiful prose, and its high points make the book well worth reading. In his book, GM Sosonko writes about 7 different world chess champions, so Vjeko and I spent time sharing quotes and reflections about each essay, and ranked our favorite chapters. Please read on for more details and timestamps. If you are not seeing embedded hyperlinks in your podcast feed, you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/6/23/bonus-pod-recapping-the-world-champions-i-knew-by-gm-genna-sosonko 1:00- We begin by discussing why Vjeko Nemec wanted to discuss a book by Grandmaster Genna Sosonko, why we settled on The World Champions I Knew , and we share a few details from GM Sosonko’s fascinating life story. Mentioned: Perpetual Chess interview with GM Genna Sosonko (June 2018), Smart Chip from St. Petersburg, Russian Silhoettes, The Reliable Past, Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi, GM Garry Kasparov 13:45- As always, Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable. Two of the many courses that you can check out right now are Vjekoslav Nemec’s The Modern Against Everything, and GM Sam Shankland’s new course, Lifetime Repertoires: Black Against the English, The Reti, and sidelines 14:30- We read a bit of the introduction to the book and give an overview of the book before discussing the book chapter by chapter. Mentioned: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein, John Hartmann, 19:00- The first chapter we discuss is the one about Jose Raoul Capablaca, which focuses on GM Sosonko’s interactions with Capablanca’s then wife, Olga Clark Capablanca. The Genius and The Princess by Edward Winter 26:30- Next up is legendary world champion Alexander Alekhine Mentioned: Chess Historian Edward Winter on Sourcing 32:45- Smyslov Mentioned: Smyslov on the Couch, The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn 45:00- Legendary Dutch Champion Max Euwe Mentioned: Todd Bryant, Mike Zaloznyy 54:00- We discuss the chapter about Sixth World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik Mentioned: Soviet Outcast: The Life and Games of Grigory Levenfish, GM Viktor Korchnoi 1:02- GM Tigran Petrosian Mentioned: GM Boris Spassky, GM Efim Geller 1:13- Tal time! We discuss the best part of the book, the chapter GM Mikhail Tal. Tal-Lautier 1992, Timman’s Titans, The Longest Game, Chess Duels by Yasser Seirawan, Tal Keller Zurich 1959, Steve Doyle, GM Alexei Suetin, Lev Tolstoy, Bacchus, Mythos by Stephen Fry 1:35:00- Thanks to Vjeko for helping out and sharing his knowledge! In lieu of payment for his efforts, Vjeko is donating to Tunde Onakoya’sChess in Slums Program. You can donate to support them here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-chess-in-the-slums-in-nigeria 1:39:00- Blindfold puzzles of the month courtesy of SayChess1 Puzzle #1- White to move White Pawn h4 King b1 Queen c2 Black Pawns g7 and h5 King h7 Queen g6 https://lichess.org/study/2Jj2xWA5 Puzzle #2- White to move White Rook a1 King d2 Black Pawns on b2 and c2 King b4 https://lichess.org/study/z7M9gUy5! Follow Vjeko on twitter here: https://twitter.com/chessentials_ Read his Chessentials blog here: https://chessentials.com/ Buy his Chessable course here: https://www.chessable.com/the-modern-defense-against-everything/course/27749/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM Willy Hendriks is a Netherlands based chess trainer, and an award winning author of two books: Move First Think Later (2012) and his excellent new book, On the Origin of Good Moves. IM Hendriks is quite an impressive chess player and adult improver. He has two GM norms, and he attained his peak rating at the age of 43. Eleven years later his 2438 FIDE rating is still not far from his personal best. IM Hendriks and I had a fascinating conversation about both of his books ,and about the subject of chess improvement generally. Please read on for more details and time stamps. 2:30- After a brief intro we dig into how IM Hendriks came up with the original presentation style that distinguishes both of his books, as well as the unifying vision of chess that ties his books together. Mentioned: Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker 12:00- Willy’s first book, Move First Think Later was critical of some well-known chess authors. Did the controversy that this book caused in the chess world surprise him? Mentioned: IM Jeremy Silman, FM Carsten Hansen, Logical Chess Move by Move, Lasker’s Manual of Chess 18:15- We transition to discussing IM Hendriks new book, On the Origin of Good Moves, Mentioned: Emanuel Lasker, Wilhelm Steinitz, William Purdy, Adolf Anderssen, and Paul Morphy 31:30- What sort of feedback has he gotten for his new book so far? Mentioned: Richard James’ Review of Move First Think Later from British Chess News 34:30- Why does IM Hendriks think that one should, in fact, study openings frequently? Mentioned: IM Kare Kristensen 40:00- Check out Alan B’s Free Chessable series focusing on attacking with each piece type here: https://www.chessable.com/knights-on-the-attack/course/16475/ 45:45- As a strong player near his peak rating in his 50’s, what are Willy’s own chess study methods? What are his general opinions about best adult improvement practices? Mentioned: IM Levy Rozman, NM Christopher Chabris, Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations 58:30- OK but really, how is Willy staying so strong at chess? :) 65:30- Thanks to IM Willy Hendriks for joining the show. You can reach him and keep up with him via his website: https://movefirstthinklater.com/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennessee-based teenage improver (19 years old) and prolific Chessable author and superuser NM Elijah Logozar has taken his rating from the 1700s to the USCF Master title (2200) in about 3 years! He has probably improved even more in online blitz and puzzle rush, which he utilizes as serious training tools. As Elijah tells us, his “secret” is that he often spends 10 hours per day on chess, an approach that admittedly is not replicable for most of us. But Elijah also takes the science of chess improvement very seriously, and despite his young age, he is well-versed on the topic of chess improvement and aging. Elijah is also a big advocate of and exemplar of using spaced repetition and The Woodpecker Method, and he answers questions and shares insight on how he thinks to best use these training tools. So all in all, there is a lot to learn about chess improvement in this densely packed conversation. Please sit back and enjoy. As always you can find more information, timestamps and hyperlinks below. 04:00- After a brief intro Elijah dives into his experiences with spaced repetition in his training, and he talks about The Woodpecker Method in particular. Mentioned: Recapping The Woodpecker Method and Rapid Chess Improvement wiith Neal Bruce, David Milliern, The Mozart Effect 19:30- Elijah Logozar’s Chessable courses are on sale at Chessable.com! Check them out here: https://www.chessable.com/author/logozar/ 20:00- Elijah fields a question related to frustrations with using the Woodpecker Method. For what level chess player is it really appropriate? Is solving for accuracy or speed more important? Mentioned: IM Kostya Kavutskiy, Flamingo Chess’s Woodpecker-Related Blog Post , Pokerram’s Chess Diary on ChessTempo, Randy Julian, ChessIMO app 29:00- Elijah answers a question from a Patreon Supporter regarding other recommended methods of tactics training. Mentioned: Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors, Dvoretsky’s Analytical Manual 40:00- Openings talk! A Patreon supporter asks, “What should you do if you consult two different authors on chess openings and they each recommend a different move?” GameChanger by GM Mathew Sadler and Natasha Regan, Questions of Modern Chess Theory by Isaac Lipnitsky, Crush the Taimanov by Elijah Logozar 52:00- A Patreon mailbag question relates to how Elijah uses Chessable in his study regimen, and another relates to how to incorporate analyzing one’s games. Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual 57:00- This episode is brought to you in part by Decode Chess- a company whose software explains the suggestions of chess engines in plain language that you can understand. Go here to try it out for free: https://decodechess.com/ 58:00- One last Patreon mailbag question asks whether Elijah plays with training partners, and then we segue into the topic of Elijah’s favorite chess books. Mentioned: ChessDojo Discord Channel, Aagaard’s Thinking Inside the Box, Secret’s of Modern Chess Strategy by IM John Watson, Move First Think Later, Quality Chess Books, Small Steps to Giant Improvement, Dynamic Chess Strategy, The Road to Chess Improvement 1:13:00- Elijah volunteered to do an impromptu blindfold chess puzzle, so I read him a miniature that ends in a tactic. The game is here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1250708 1:17:00- Thanks to Elijah for coming on and sharing his chess improvement experiences. You can reach him on these platforms: Chessable- https://www.chessable.com/author/logozar/ Chess.com- https://www.chess.com/member/logoczar Twitter- https://twitter.com/ElijahLogozar 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

IM Levy Rozman is a 24 year-old, New York-based chess streamer, Chess.com announcer and instructor. Levy has quickly found an audience online due to his ability to explain chess in a humorous and accessible way. In our conversation, we talk about the origins of Levy’s announcing career, his chess ambitions, and about the fast-changing world of Twitch chess streaming in 2020. Please read on for lots more details, and timestamps. Embedded hyperlinks can be found on the podcast website here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/6/2/episode-180-im-levy-rozman 0:00- We dive right into a discussion of the ways that chess coverage on Twitch has been making news recently. This includes the continued ascension of GM Hikaru Nakamura’s popular Twitch channel Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Chessbae94, Alexandra Botez, GM Daniel Naroditsky 6:45- Levy traces the origins of his popular Twitch channel, Gotham Chess. Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen, IM Alex Ostrovskiy, Alexis Parades, Brooklyn Castle, Baruch College, 15:00- Friend and Patreon supporter of the podcast, Chris Wainscott, asks Levy about whether he plans to pursue the Grandmaster title. Mentioned: Chess.com’s I am not a GM tournament 23:00- What are Levy’s goals for his Twitch channel? What recommendations would he give to others thinking of getting into Twitch streaming? 28:00- The Magnus Touch by Magnus Carlsen is still on sale at Chessable.com. Get it here: https://www.chessable.com/the-magnus-touch-chess-strategy/course/39478/ 29:00- Levy tells the story of how he got his start as an announcer for Chess.com. Mentioned: GM Robert Hess, GM Daniel Naroditsky, IM Danny Rensch, Levy’s Recap of one of Magnus’ Recent Blitz Games, Mr. Dodgy’s compilation of GM Magnus Carlsen’s recent Twitch stream, GM Peter Leko, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Anish Giri, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Jan Gustafsson 35:00- Chris Wainscott asks Levy about the status of his amusing chess show, Post Mortem. 39:00- We also dive into a recent controversy involving Chess.com and Chess24.com, and the way that the sites broadcast events that are sponsored by their competitors. 44:30- Levy answers another question from the Patreon mailbag, and gives some advice to a newer player who is having trouble avoiding blunders. Mentioned: You can buy Levy’s opening repertoire course here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-75djkXcEvJns9wvhony5bItA8Bv_f63lLUyXmvMPlCfIRg/viewform 51:00- A related question has to do with how a newer player should be using Chessbase. Mentioned: The London System, The King’s Indian Attack 59:00- Levy fields a few fun questions from Twitter, and tells the story of why he got kicked out of legendary GM Arthur Yusupov’s chess camp as a kid. Mentioned: International Chess Academy, Sam Copeland’s interview with Levy Rozman, Greg Shahade, IM Teddy Coleman, Jen Shahade, IM John Bartholomew, IM Alex Ostrovskiy Thanks to Levy for coming on the show. Here is how you can keep up with him: Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/gothamchess Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHX6ViZmPsWiYSFAyS0a3Q Twitter: https://twitter.com/GothamChess?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US Chess’s John Hartmann is always a popular guest on Perpetual Chess due to his relatability and his encyclopedic knowledge of chess books. As of June 2020, John will no longer be writing the book reviewer for Chess Life, because he has been promoted to editor of the magazine! Nonetheless, John’s passion for chess books remains strong, and in this visit he gives us a comprehensive rundown on some of the best recent books. John also gives an update on his chess improvement ambitions, and we spend a lot of time talking about how coronavirus is affecting the finances and plans of US Chess, and how it might change tournament chess generally. (If you aren't seeing embedded hyperlinks in your podcast feed you can find them on the podcast webpage: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/5/26/episode-179-john-hartmann-returns-again ) 0:00- We begin by discussing how coronavirus is affecting tournament chess and especially the US Chess Federation. They are launching many exciting initiatives, but are also facing some financial headwinds, as the US Chess President Allen Priest recently discussed in a video. . Mentioned: John Hartmann Perpetual Chess Appearance #1, John Hartmann Perpetual Chess Appearance #2, Chris Bird’s The TD Show, Jen Shahade, IM Carissa Yip, WGM Sabina Foisor, US Chess’ YouTube Channel, Chess.com, IM Eric Rosen, Sunway Sitges Chess, GM Jesse Kraai, Steve Doyle, US Chess President Allen Priest, Melinda Mathews, Chess Life and Review Online Archives, Bob Sostack, Chess Life for Kids, Chessable.com, GM Jacob Aagaard on the US Candidates, Brian Karen, Ding Liren-Caruana 2020 You can renew Your US Chess Membership here: https://secure2.uschess.org/webstore/member.php 35:40- Chessable’s newest release is from GM Simon Williams AKA the Ginger GM. Simon has recorded 30+ hours of video to accompany the classic chess book, The Art of Attack. It’s on sale now. Check it out here: https://t.co/R93A3rez9K?amp=1 36:00- We talk about changes with the book review column for Chess Life Magazine, and about John’s favorite recent chess books. Mentioned: IM John Watson, Beyond Material, Keep it Simple, 1. d4 , GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s The Benoni is Back in Business, Hein Donner: The Biography, GM Max Euwe The Best I Saw in Chess by Stuart Rachels, On the Origin of Good Moves by IM Willy Hendricks The Nemesis: Geller’s Greatest Games, Douglas Griffin, Coaching Kasparov, The Anand Files, Training Program for Chess Players, 1st Category , Bob Long, The Search for Chess Perfection, Dale Brandreth, Bobby Dudley, Fundamental Chess Strategies in 100 Games, 55:00- John talks a bit about what it is like to be a member of 365ChessAcademy, and to learn from GMs Aagaard, Ramesh and others. Mentioned: GM Reinier Castellanos, IM Christopher Yoo, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, GM Karsten Muller, GM Alex Fishbein, Megan Chen’s Perpetual Chess Interview, Harold Stenzel 1:06:00- John answers some Patreon mailbag questions regarding the conditions under which OTB tournaments might eventually return. Mentioned: IM Steffan Löffler’s Chessbase Article on Long-Distance Chess, GM Jesse Kraai, Jack Spence, Nassau Chess Club, IM Jay Bonin 1:18:00- Thanks again to John for joining the show once again. You can follow all of US Chess’ Podcasts here: https://new.uschess.org/category/podcast/ Follow John on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/hartmannchess?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Sign up for the US Chess Fundraiser, “Blitzing Covid,” here: https://new.uschess.org/news/top-stars-register-blitzing-covid-event-may-30th/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: . . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This month for Chess Books Recaptured, my good friend Jennifer Shahade joins me to talk about a book that we both absolutely love, How I Beat Fischer’s Record by legendary GM Judit Polgar. Of course, Jennifer is a great person to discuss this book, as she herself is quite an ambassador for female chess players, and among other distinctions, Jen is the two-time US Women’s Champion, and the host of 2 award winning podcasts, Ladies Knight, and The Poker Grid. In this podcast, Jen and I share our favorite quotes, stories and games from this 2012 Quality Chess publication, and we also contextualize the life and legacy of GM Judit Polgar. Please read on for lots more details, hyperlinks and timestamps. For embedded hyperlinks, go to the podcast website here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/5/22/bonus-pod-recapping-judit-polgars-how-i-beat-fischers-record-with-jen-shahade 0:00- We kick off by discussing how we decided to discuss Judit’s book, and to talk generally a bit about how Jen personally, and the chess world generally, are being affected by the coronavirus. Mentioned: Ladies Knight Podcast, The Grid Poker Podcast, Jen Shahade’s Twitch Channel The Polgar Sisters, Training or Genius? by Cathy Forbes, IM Not a GM Speed Chess Championship, IM Greg Shahade, St. Louis Chess Club’s Clutch Chess 10:00- We drill down more specifically into Judit’s book and her story. What is the background of the Polgars? Do Judit’s books get the credit they deserve? For what level is the book most helpful? Mentioned: From GM to Top 10, A Game of Queens, David Llada, IM Eric Rosen, Lennart Ootes, GM Susan Polgar Forward Chess- Use Promo Code “Judit” if you buy one of her e-books from them! 20:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. To check out the exciting new course from World Champion Magnus Carlsen, go here: https://www.chessable.com/the-magnus-touch-free-strategy-lesson/course/40115/ Mentioned: IM Greg Shahade, IM John Bartholomew 23:00- We talk about how Judit changed women’s chess by eschewing Women’s Events in favor of mixed events. Will another woman follow in her footsteps? Mentioned: GM Hou Yifan, GM Humpy Koneru, GM Humpy Koneru on The Ladies Knight Podcast, Free Excerpt of Judit’s Book from Quality Chess here: https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/HowIBeatFischersRecordExcerpt.pdf 31:00- We discuss some of our favorite quotes and stories from the book. Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand, GM Susan Polgar, Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, My 60 Most Memorable Games, GM Pal Benko, GM Mikhail Marin, GM Boris Gelfand, GM Vasil Ivanchuk Gelfand-Polgar 1989, GM Jonathan Rowson, Magnus Kingdom app 48:00- It was tough to pick only a few favorite games each from the book, but we did! Here they are: Polgar-Chilingrova 1988 Polgar-Lars Bo Hansen 1989 Tisdall-Polgar 1988 Zifroni-Polgar 1990 Polgar-Flear 1989 Tolnai-Polgar 1991 Xie Jun- Polgar 1988 1:05:00- What are the chess improvement takeaways from this book? Mentioned: GM Judit Polgar’s interview on Perpetual Chess, GM Alejandro Ramirez, Polgar at London Chess Conference, Irving Chernev’s Chessboard Magic, GM Garry Kasparov 01:27:00- Thanks so much to Jen for helping out this month. You can follow her on Twitter here. This month’s donation went to the US Chess Women Initiative. 01:28:00- Next month we will be recappingThe World Champion’s I Knew by Gennadi Sosonko, and Vjekoslav Nemec, from Chessentials.com, will be helping me out! Here are the Blindfold puzzles: Puzzle #1 1500 level White to move and win - White- pawns f4 and g5, king on d4, Black- pawn on a4, king on b4 NOTE ON PUZZLE #2 I READ THE PUZZLE WRONG, IN ADDITION TO THE PIECES I NAMED, WHITE ALSO HAS A QUEEN ON A2 Puzzle 2 2100 level?- White to move, mate in 2 White: King on a1, queen on a2, pawns on e3 and e5, Rook on h1, knight on c7 Black- king on g7, pawn on g6, knights on g8 and e7, rook on f8 Puzzle #1 1500, (no answer) https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=p/sxHjHhQ80fM5Wyr61XVDyFOXYjK/iYLp/yrSAVD4QDSejK9esxUSalDqwfPRMa Puzzle #1 (with answer) https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=C5uNj27llXNFWn+fpTM5aJ5KAh6KUuvEy4NUwoMGsQu1GzQDUuWenT4JDbZIYkOT Puzzle 2 (no answer) https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=J7FWNzeNYfxbPbbZ0zvfhLMidbk2WTeOzHsDINW2lzM+ASdC3LiG6ffAHEHt+fYR Puzzle 2 (with answer) https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=52M6/pp9vjMEa4VHOSY8zwERFKd4U2rcHcmxDigzJUCyIZqEBGQD9CCR0+SjpAe2 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is the likelihood that a fully employed dad in his mid 40s could bring his rating from 2200 FIDE up to 2400 and earn the title of International Master at the age of 54? I didn’t know the answer to this question, but this week’s guest, IM Kåre Kristensen actually did it! Kåre was at such a low point in his chess in 2008 that he considered quitting. But instead he stuck with it and became one of the relatively rare folks to earn the IM title past the age of 50! How did he do it? What did he study? How hard did he work on chess? What does he do away from the chessboard? You can hear Kåre’s inspiring story in this week’s Perpetual Chess. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 0:00- We discuss the impact of the coronavirus in Denmark, as well as a bit about Kåre’s professional and family background. 8:00- Chess talk time! IM Kristensen shares his “chess origin story,” and traces some of the ups and downs of his career, culminating in his earning the IM title at the age of 54! 24:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable. They have just released what may be their most exciting course to date, The Magnus Touch! Check it out here: https://www.chessable.com/the-magnus-touch-chess-strategy/course/39478/?utm_source=&utm_medium=&utm_campaign= 25:00- Kåre answers a few questions from The Perpetual Chess Patreon Mailbag relating to his experiences with the effects of aging on one’s chess game, and whether he has made any age-related changes to his game. . Mentioned: GM Jens Kristensen, FIDE Title Application Webpage 43:00- Kåre shares the chess improvement methods that have been most effective for him, and gives a few universal tips. Mentioned: Tactics Trainer Endgame App. GM Mikhail Botvinnik 57:00- Now that we know what Kåre studied, it’s time to find out how much he studied to keep improving! Mentioned: The Anand Files by FM Michiel Abeln, The Slav Defense, Grandmaster Chess Move by Move by GM John Nunn 1:05:00- Jaydeep Chakrabarty writes in to ask Kåre for advice about building an opening repertoire. Read more about Jaydeep’s new Digital Chess Board, named Rolling Pawn, here: https://chessbase.in/news/The-Rolling-Pawn-Making-Digital-Chess-board-affordable Mentioned: My 60 Most Memorable Games 1:14:00- Another question from the Patreon mailbag: if Kåre could restart his chess career from scratch, how would he approach his studies? Mentioned: Bent Larsen’s Best Games , IM Christof Sielecki, 1:23:00- Kåre tells a story from a long-ago tournament where he sat near a young Vishy Anand and took notice of his play. Mentioned: Anand-DeFirmian 1986 1:30:00- Thanks so much to IM Kristensen for joining the show and sharing his experiences and advice. You can keep up with him as follows: Email him here: [email protected] Reach on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/karehove.kristensen See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices