Episode 43- GM Loek Van Wely

                                                Photo courtesy of Loek Van Wely 

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

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Episode 42- James Altucher

Photo courtesy, James Altucher, twitter.com

James Altucher is a best-selling author, successful entrepreneur, popular podcast host, and most recently, aspiring comedian. Of most importance to Perpetual Chess is his title of USCF Chess Master.  We asked him to join us because we wanted him to tell his own chess story and talk about the significance of chess in his own life. Of particular interest to James is the debate about whether talent or hard work is more determinant of success in chess and in other challenging pursuits. He shares his opinions on this matter, and he also talks podcasts, poker, Jim Cramer, the crafting of a comedy act and much more. You can follow James Altucher on twitter here and visit his website here.  

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Episode 41- GM Judit Polgar

                                                     Photo courtesy of juditpolgar.com

GM Judit Polgar needs no introduction to the Perpetual Chess audience, but here's one anyway.   Chess legend Judit Polgar joins me this week to tell us what she has been up to since retiring from tournament chess three years ago. As Judit shares, she has been keeping busy with family, chess education initiatives, and with organizing the upcoming Global Chess Festival on October 14, 2017, in Budapest, Hungary. We also talked about today's top players, the FIDE World Cup, and why she thinks top level chess is a different game from when she was competing actively. Follow Judi Polgar on twitter, here, To buy Judit's excellent books- go here. 

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Episode 40- GM Robert Hess

GM Robert Hess is this week's guest on Perpetual Chess. Young GM Hess already has loads of experience as a chess competitor, announcer, and coach. (He coached some of the most talented youth for the U.S. as well as the women's Olympiad team.)  We talk about all of these things, as well as the FIDE World Cup, sports, and whether or not he was a "rival" of Fabiano Caruana when they were both top scholastic players from New York.  Follow GM Hess on twitter here, and on chess.com here.

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Episode 39- Coach Jay Stallings

                                          Photo by Jim Doyle couresy of Jay Stallings 

"Coach Jay" Stallings has taught over 35,000 students to play chess over the past 23 years. Jay takes us back to the beginning (1994) when you counted full-time chess coaches nationwide on your fingers. Jay shares with us many of the teaching tricks and recommendations for improvement that he has gleaned from years of experience as he has refined what ultimately became Coach Jay's Chess Academy. He also assesses the general state of the chess world; discusses some of his current projects, including a Kickstarter project aimed at sharing his educational materials and promoting chess; and the Sean Reader Fund, which, among other programs, provides financial assistance to those who love chess but can’t afford tournaments and classes. Thanks to Jay for sharing his enthusiasm for chess, contact Jay here.

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Episode 38- GM Danny Gormally

Photo courtesy of chessbase.com

GM Danny Gormally joined me to recap his experience at the recent British Chess Championships. In addition to discussing his near-miss there, Danny also reveals which GMs could be found at the pub after the rounds and analyzes the impact such unseen factors can have on one's results. He also talks candidly about the challenges of playing chess for a living with a FIDE rating around 2500. 

Lastly, GM Gormally gave his perspective on the upcoming Candidates cycle for the World Championship and had some names to watch in the FIDE World Cup and beyond. Follow Danny on twitter here, and buy his book here.

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Episode 37- FM Alisa Melekhina

Alisa Melikhina is a practicing lawyer who has managed somehow to write a book while working long hours at a major law firm. We talk about her book, Reality Check, which details the parallels between the worlds of chess, business, and law.  We also discussed Alisa's scholastic chess career, women's chess titles, and how her Eastern European heritage affects her psychology during tournament chess games. Check out Alisa's website here, follow her on twitter here. 

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Episode 36- IM Eric Rosen

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

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Episode 35- Writer Sean Williams

On the heels of his terrific profile of GM Levon Aronian in the New Yorker, freelance writer Sean Williams joined me from Berlin to talk more about his subject. I was interested in hearing how this profile came to be published in one of my favorite magazines,  and in hearing more behind the scenes details from this excellent writer. He also gave us some writing tips and reading recommendations. Sean on Twitter here. Read the Aronian profile here. 

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Episode 34- WIM Fiona Steil Antoni

                                                     Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org

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

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Episode 33- Rex Sinquefield

Photo courtesy of U Chicago Booth School 

The founder of the St. Louis Chess Club, Rex Sinquefield is my guest this week. We have a timely conversation about the upcoming Sinquefield Cup, and about how Garry Kasparov's return to competitive chess came to be. We also talked about his vision for the future of chess, his favorite chess openings, finance, and baseball.  To donate to the St. Louis Chess Club, click here.

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Episode 32- Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura

                                             Photo courtesy of chess-db.com 

Perennial top 10 Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura was kind enough to join Perpetual Chess for an expansive interview. We talked about Garry Kasparov's upcoming return to competitive chess and about Hikaru's experience training with Kasparov. I asked him to handicap Kasparov's chances in St. Louis, and his answer may surprise you.  We also touch on a myriad of other topics of interest to chess fans, including computers in chess, Hikaru's passion for trading stocks options, and his training methods.  Enjoy this ringside seat to elite level chess. You can follow Hikaru on Twitter here. 

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Episode 31- Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn

Photo courtesy of chess.com

As someone who spent formative years in both the former Soviet Union, and the US, Eugene Perelshteyn has studied with and competed against many iconic chess players and trainers. Eugene discusses the different approaches he encountered from various trainers and also discusses how he approaches helping his chess own students. We also relive Eugene's playing career highlights, which include winning the Samford fellowship in 2001. Much more recently, he had the opportunity to play Anish Giri in the 2017 Reykjavik Open. To reach Eugene, look for him on his instructional chess website, Chess Openings Explained, or message him on chess.com.  

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Episode 30- GM David Smerdon

Photo courtesy of WIkipedia

GM David Smerdon is one of those people who seems to find more hours in the day than the rest of us. In addition to being the #2 player in Australia, he recently completed his Ph.D. in economics and landed a job as an assistant professor in his native Brisbane. David also manages to stay quite active in and vocal about chess, particularly on his excellent blog. In our conversation, we discuss David's experiences representing Australia at several Olympiads, including the 2016 Olympiad in which he drew against Magnus Carlson. We also talk about gender in chess and his economic research away from the board. Naturally, I didn't let David escape without coaxing him to dish some excellent chess advice as well. David gives great tips on how to play against higher rated opponents and also offers a book recommendation. Please enjoy our interview, and then check out David's blog here, follow him on Twitter here.

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Episode 29- GM Pontus Carlsson

GM Pontus Carlsson speaks several languages, has lived many places, and is, of course, excellent at chess. In our interview, Carlsson discusses his ascent as a young chess talent in Sweden, race relations inside and outside of the world of chess, plus he reveals a grandmaster's secret for how to play while in time trouble.  We also talk abut how GM Carlsson manages to balance a successful career outside of chess while continuing to teach and play chess. Pontus is a fascinating guy.  Enjoy the conversation, then visit his webpage. He can be reached on Twitter, Facebook or by e-mail.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

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Episode 28- IM David Pruess

IM David Pruess has been a fixture on the US Chess Scene throughout the 2000s. In our interview, we talk about David's early chess days in the Bay Area, his ideas for improving your tactics, and his complicated history as an early employee with chess.com.  

David also tells us about his new job, and why he chooses to pursue a career outside of the chess world in addition to teaching chess and chess announcing. Thanks to David for the thoughtful and candid interview, ping him on chess.com here and follow him on Twitter here. 

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Photo courtesy chess.com

Episode 27- Grandmaster Sandro Mareco

Photo courtesy of chess24.com

Grandmaster Sandro Mareco is the highest rated chess player in Argentina and is currently #89 in the world. GM Mareco gives the unique perspective of a top Grandmaster who brought his rating from 2200 FIDE at age 18 to its current standing at 2659 at age 30.  

Sandro also tells us which up and coming South American players to watch, discusses his work as a chess trainer, and reveals why he should be nicknamed "the Argentinian Turtle."  To reach Sandro you can e-mail him here.

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Episode 26- IM John Bartholomew

JB in Boston, photo courtesy of Boylston Chess Club

Just 2.5 years after posting his first Youtube video. IM John Bartholomew has become one of the most popular chess YouTubers in the world. John reveals his original motivation for starting his channel and talks about its phenomenal growth to over 38,000 subscribers. He also analyzes the impact his popularity has had on his chess teaching business.

We also discuss chessable, the chess training website that he co-founded. Other topics convered include John's influences, his chess playing career, and why he decided to drop out of law school after a semester. Subscribe to John's youtube channel here,follow him on twitter here.  

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Episode 25- Thibault Duplessis (founder of LiChess.org)

Thibault Duplessis is a 31-year-old computer programmer, world traveler and the creator of one of the world's most popular chess servers, LiChess.org.  Thibault tells us of the origins of LiChess, the driving philosophy that led him to create it and about his background in both programming and chess.  We also discuss the issue of cheating in online chess and Thibault's vision for the future of LiChess.org. 

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Photo courtesy of lichess.org

Episode 24- IM Luke Harmon-Vellotti

Photo courtesy of US Chess.org

For an 18-year old, IM Luke Harmon-Vellotti is rather ridiculously accomplished.. In addition to countless chess achievements, he will graduate from UCLA with a double major and was recently hired by Google for a highly coveted job as a programmer. 

During our interview, Luke talks about the rigorous interview process at Google, discusses the similarities between chess and computer programming and, of course, reflects on his chess career and how his new job will impact his pursuit of the Grandmaster title, Read all about Luke's new gig here, and reach him on his website here. 

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