Paulo SantAnna is living the dream of many adult chess improvers. The retired software engineer has spent the past several years devoting serious time and energy to improving his game, and the results have been impressive. When Paulo rekindled his interest in tournament chess, his FIDE rating had fallen to a recent low of 1850. Through years of hard study, travel, disciplined training, and resilience, he recently reached a new high over 2100 FIDE in his mid-50s!
We discuss:
The moment Paulo decided to get serious about improvement
The mistakes he made early in his comeback
How he structures his training
Study recommendations and practical advice for adult improvers
Physical fitness, tournament selection, and maintaining motivation
I found Paulo’s story inspiring, and it offers hope for the rest of us, if we only could get rid of these pesky jobs.
0:00 Intro
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4:00 Paulo’s chess comeback story begins
Check out Paulo’s FIDE history here:
https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2027402
6:00 Why his rating rebounded after moving to Europe
8:00 Retirement, Spain trips, and dedicating serious time to chess
11:00 Studying 35 hours a week
13:00 The dangers of doing too much
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17:00 Calculation training and daily routines
20:00 Openings, Chessable streaks, and training structure
23:00 Online blitz, model games, and coaching
25:00 How much he studies versus other adult improvers
27:00 Avoiding burnout and keeping motivation
29:00 Brazilian chess streamers and coaches
Paulo has worked with: GM Rafael Leitao, GM Andres Rodriguez,GM Diego Flores, GM Lenderman, GM Izoria, GM Eugene Perelshteyn,GM Raven Sturt, IM Jorge Bobadilla
31:00 Working with top trainers like Eugene Perelshteyn and Axel Bachmann
33:00 Blindfold training with GM Roven Vogel
36:00 What mattered most for improvement
38:00 Hiding online repertoires and preparation
40:00 Sparring games and training partners
41:00 His breakthrough tournaments
42:00 Tournament prep philosophy
46:00 Fitness, stamina, and nutrition for chess
49:00 Chess scenes in New York and California
52:00 Senior tournaments and future plans
54:00 Favorite chess books and resources
Mentioned: Postional Play by GM Jacob Aagaard, Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky
57:00 Advice for busy adult improvers
58:00 Rating goals and pursuit of FM
1:00:00 Why adults struggle to improve
1:03:00 Final thoughts
1:04:00- Thanks to Paulo for sharing his story! You can reach him at:
psantann at gmail.dot.com