Episode 90- IM V. Saravanan

Photo courtesy of IM V. Saravanan

V. Saravanan is an International Master, a chess journalist and a voracious reader of chess books. Saravanan resides in Chennai, India, but joined me from St. Louis where he had just concluded covering the Sinquefield Cup for Chessbase. We discussed: 

• IM Saravanan’s impression of the St. Louis Chess Club, and of the tournaments he had just witnessed.

• Stories and impressions of Super GM Viswanathan Anand, whom he has known for decades. What makes Anand a special talent and person? Saravanan also shares broader perspective about the Indian chess boom.

• Saravanan expounded on the incredible YouTube video he did, showing off his chess library to IM Sagar Shah. He rattled off a few more favorite chess books and shared his views regarding chess improvement.

Thanks to Saravanan for an entertaining and informative conversation. Follow him on twitter

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 89- IM Kostya Kavutskiy returns

                                    Photo Courtesy of IM Kostya Kavutskiy 

This week on Perpetual Chess, one of my earliest guests returns for an update on his life and travels. Twenty-five year old IM Kostya Kavutskiy is an active chess player, teacher, writer and content creator.  We catch up with him after his busy summer of traversing 3 continents while playing and coaching chess.  

Kostya discusses the highlights of his trip, and the primary chess lessons he derived from his summer of high level competitive chess. (This includes a discussion of a position where he agreed to a draw in what was actually a winning position.) Check out the game here. 

We also cover:

• Chess improvement advice focused on methods of analysis of one's own games, plus some fresh chess book recommendations. 

• A breakdown of some of his favorite chess announcers, both in the English and the Russian languages. 

• A discussion of how he uses chess engines, and what it means when two different engines give starkly different evaluations. 

Thanks to Kostya for joining me.   He has a Patreon page on which he shares great chess educational content. Check it out here. You can also follow/contact him via twitter or his webpage. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 88- GM Yannick Pelletier (guest host Macauley Peterson)

Photo by Lennart Ootes

Today's show was recorded in Switzerland: Biel to be exact, home of the 51st International Chess Festival — which included a GM tournament won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ahead of Magnus Carlsen — and also the birthplace of today's guest, Grandmaster Yannick Pelletier. In chess, he's the Tournament Director in Biel as well as an accomplished player and commentator, but also polyglot and soon-to-be art/design/lifestyle media entrepreneur. Check out his YouTube channel and new magazine project Yunomi. Pelletier has been the Swiss Champion six times, and although he doesn't play more than a few tournaments a year nowadays, he has won three games from Magnus Carlsen, including one after Carlsen became World Champion. Yannick talks about life as a chess professional both before and after having kids, provides a history of the Biel Festival plus gives the 101 on how the Swiss manage to get along so well despite having multiple official languages.

Macauley Peterson (Editor in Chief of ChessBase News) guest hosts once again and strongly suggests you support Perpetual Chess either via Patreon or using this special link at the ChessBase shop. Perhaps a video series from Yannick himself — he's recorded several and also contributes to ChessBase Magazine!

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 87- Stacia Pugh (Adult Improver Series)

Photo Courtesy of Stacia Pugh

This week on Perpetual Chess, the popular adult improver series makes its triumphant return, with another great guest. I am joined by Stacia Pugh. Stacia has only been playing tournament chess for a few years but has seen her rating rapidly rise to 1777, including a 300 point rise in the past year. What's her story? How did she do it?  Stacia joins us to discuss exactly that. Please read on for more details and timestamps. 

Click here to download the episode 

0:00- Stacia tells a bit about her background and how she got into chess, and what the chess scene is like in the Cleveland, Ohio chess club. 

Mentioned: Progress with Chess  

7:00- Has Stacia experienced much sexism in the chess world? 

Mentioned: Cornhole 

9:30- With a full time job outside of chess, how has Stacia managed to work hard on her game? 

13:20- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks what chess study habit gives Stacia gives her the best ROI? Spoiler: One of Stacia’s secret weapons is flashcards. 

Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew, Andrezj Kryzdwa 

22:00- Stacia goes into more detail  on her daily study routine

Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, IM John Bartholomew, GM Simon Williams  

• - Stacia retells how she got into chess, and shares how the male and youth dominated chess world has treated an adult woman. She also discusses how she is managing to turn her love of chess from a hobby into a career. 

• - She gives tons of study advice, including book recommendations and a discussion of the study habit that she feels helped her chess the most. To see her recommendations and those of all the other Perpetual Chess guests, go here. (and scroll way down)

•  Stacia even made a list of her top 10 chess improvement tips for Perpetual Chess listeners; it can be found at the bottom of this capsule. 

24:30- Stacia evaluates the efficacy of various chess practice methods ranging from Online Blitz, to watching videos to analyzing games. 

34:00- Stacia shares her top 10 study tips that she has embraced! 

1. Maintain balance between hard work and passion

2. Game Analysis - always learn from your mistakes

3. Work with a coach or stronger player

4. Tactics book with themes

5. Teach or explain what you learn (helps solidify)

6. It's not about rating; it's about learning

7. Patterns make you better

8. OTB and community will inspire you and keep your interest

9. Don't forget end game

10. Openings choices should be chosen by someone else!  (that knows what they're doing)

40:30- Stacia shares her favorite books and improvement resources

Mentioned: Build Up Your Chess (Available on Chessable), Chess Tactics from Scratch, Chess Tactics by Paul Littlewood

43:00- Stacia discusser her change to working full time in chess, working with Progress with Chess, as well as giving a bit more info about playing cornhold professional. 

Mentioned: Judit Sztray of Bay Area Chess 

54:45- Thanks so much to Stacia for sharing her improvement secrets! Here is how you can keep up with her: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/staciamelinda?lang=en

Chess.com Blog- https://www.chess.com/member/midnaslament

You can help support Perpetual Chess here:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate/

Episode 86 USCF Master Fred Wilson

This week's guest on Perpetual Chess is USCF Master Fred Wilson. Fred is a chess author, teacher and for forty-five years, he has run a business, selling used and rare chess books! He also still competes actively, and he recently became one of the oldest US chess players to attain the USCF Master title for the first time, at the age of 71. How did he do it? Fred joins us to tell us just that, as we discussed the following topics:

• His #1 piece of advice for older chess players, along with plenty of study tips and recommendations of chess books.

• His stories from his time hosting a chess interview show, "Chess and Books with Fred WIlson,"  in the early 2000s for the Internet Chess Club. Fred discusses his favorite guests, and reveals what has become of the audio files of these interviews. 

• His memories of a few of his encounters with Bobby Fischer and other NY chess personalities. 

Thanks to Fred for joining me, check out the books he has written here. 
You can see the list of books he is currently selling here, or visit his store in NYC at:

41 Union Square West (at 17th Street),,Suite 718,  New York 10003. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 85- FM Mike Klein

                                          Photo by Photgrapher Extraordinaire/IM Eric Rosen

FM Mike Klein is an old friend of mine.  He also is a guy who has been involved in many facets of the chess industry. Mike was a scholastic champion, he's a great chess teacher, he was recognized as chess journalist of the year in 2012, and now he writes, edits, and creates content for chess.com and chesskid.com (for the latter he goes by the moniker "Fun Master Mike"). Here is what Mike and I discussed:

• Mike's newest project, an entertaining and informative chess-free podcast, called Extreme Travel Odysseys

• Chess advice relating to competing in, studying, and teaching chess

• Stories from his reporting assignments, including the times he spent playing tennis, soccer, and basketball with the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Rex Sinquefield and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and others. 

Thanks to Mike for joining me. You can reach him via chess.com here. Subscribe to his podcast here. 

To download the episode click here

Episode 84- FM Carsten Hansen

Photo courtesy of Carsten Hansen 

The popular and prolific chess author, FM Carsten Hansen is my guest this week. By his current count, Carsten has written 26 chess books.. The depth of his chess knowlege is quite impressive, but his knowledge of chess openings is a particular specialty.

 Carsten and I discussed the following topics:

• Carsten's latest book, The Full English Opening.  How did he pick the topic, and what is the story of how he came to love the English opening?

• How did his initial venture into the world of writing and publishing chess books come about? He also shares some insider intell on how the chess publishing business works, including the impact that Print on Demand may have on the industry in the future. 

• Carsten's favorite chess players, advice for chess improvement, and a couple of book recommendations that  have not previously been suggested on Perpetual Chess. 

Thanks to Carsten for joining me.   You can buy his books here, Follow him on twitter here, and check out his webpage here. 

To support the podcast click here. 

To download the episode click here. 

Episode 83- Grandmaster Paco Vallejo

                                              Photo courtesy of Paco Vallejo

Thanks to 5 time Spanish National Champion, GM Paco Vallejo, for being my guest on Perpetual Chess this week.   GM Vallejo had just returned from the Leon Masters Chess Tournament, featuring GM Wesley So, and young talents, GM elect- Ramesh Praggnanandhaa and IM Jaime Santos. Paco recapped the event for listeners, with a particular emphasis on the peculiar "dual blunder" that helped him get by IM Santos in the opening round.

 Other topics covered in our conversation:

• Paco discussed the experience of serving as a second to GM Topalov, and revealed why he is unlikely to pursue a similar job again. 

• Paco discussed the challenges he has faced in his life away from the board over the past few years, including family issues and a vexing tax issue courtesy of the Spanish government. 

• Paco gave detailed chess improvement advice to hungry chess students, and even gave some advice for male chess players looking to meet women!

You can follow Paco on twitter here.or via his website here. 

To support the podcast go here. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 82- Frederic Friedel (co-founder of ChessBase) (Guest host Macauley Peterson)

Photo courtesy of Chessbase.com

Summer substitute Macauley Peterson takes another turn on the mic, this time close to home with a sort of guided oral history by ChessBase co-founder Frederic Friedel. Frederic tells stories of meeting Garry Kasparov, Nigel Short, Viswanathan Anand and many others for the first time, and later hosting them at his home in a suburb of Hamburg. There may be something in the water there, because it seems like practically every World Champion and challenger since Kasparov has spent time with the Friedels over the past 35 years.

You'll learn how ChessBase came to be, how Vladimir Kramnik felt about an early version of Fritz, what endgame kept Peter Leko up at night, which Leonard Barden book Frederic keeps in arms reach, and much more. 

Check out bonus material and support Perpetual Chess using this special link at the ChessBase shop.

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 81- Judit Sztaray (Executive Director of Bay Area Chess)

                                         Photo Courtesy of Judit Sztaray (3rd from left)

Judit Sztaray, the Executive Director of Bay Area Chess, is my guest this week on Perpetual Chess.  Bay Area Chess, based in San Jose, California, is the largest provider of chess classes on the west coast of the US, with programs in over 100 schools.  Bay Area Chess frequently runs tournaments as well as its classes, and Judit has a great deal to share about the goals and the work of the organization. In my conversation we discuss:

• The recent simul they hosted, conducted by Former Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan. Judit discussed how an event like this comes about, and how the event was received in the Bay Area. 

• The origins of BAC and how Judit wound up as Executive Director. Judit also discussed the funding of their program and the challenges she and her team can face in looking to raise money for BAC and for the Pro Chess League. 

• The role of Bay Area Chess' as supporter of the San Jose Hackers of the Pro Chess League. Judit reviewed their 2018 season and talked some about how they recruited world class players like Grandmasters Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Rauf Mamedov. 

Thanks to Judit for joining me on the podcast.  You can reach her via email here, and learn more about Bay Area Chess here. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 80- GM Genna Sosonko

                                                Photo courtesy of Elk and Ruby publishing

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is the eminent chess author, GM Genna Sosonko. GM Sosonko has enjoyed a distinguished career as a chess player.  He  was once in the top 20 of the world's players and has helped train chess legends like Mikhail Tal and Viktor Korchnoi.  But in recent years he has become best known for his beautiful chess writing. 

In our interview, we touch on GM Sosonko’s career and on the story behind his emigrating from the USSR to the Netherlands in the 1970’s, but the main focus of our discussion is his two most recent books: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein, and Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi. We talked about:

• What made David Bronstein's chess so brilliant? What did his peers think of him?

• What did those who trained with Viktor Korchnoi' say about him?  Has GM Sosonko met any other chess player who could rival Korchnoi's legendary love for, will to study, and obsession with chess? 

• What shaped the personalities of these two notoriously prickly chess legends?

In closing, we touched a bit on the modern chess landscape, and of course GM Sosonko told some great stories during our conversation.  He even recommended a book (although it may not be so easy to find. ) Thanks so much to GM Sosonko for joining me for a very entertaining and informative conversation. 

Please buy and enjoy his wonderful books here:

Evil Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi

The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 79- IM Malcolm Pein (guest host Macauley Peterson)

                      Photo via @telegraphchess

Picking up on the theme of FIDE politics from the last episode, ChessBase Editor-in-Chief Macauley Peterson also spoke with IM Malcolm Pein while attending the first stop on the Grand Chess Tour in Leuven, Belgium. Macauley and Malcolm discuss the GCT 2018, which is continuing with more rapid and blitz in Paris, before turning to issues related to the FIDE election. 

Malcolm weighs in on the FIDE / Agon proposed "broadcast policy," the upcoming World Championship in London, why he joined the Makropoulos team, the impact of the pending RCF nomination of Arkady Dvorkovich, whether the election will be free and fair, and of course his old friend Nigel Short. 

While you listen, swing by the ChessBase shop, using this special link through which any orders will help support Perpetual Chess.

Click here to download the episode 

Episode 78- GM Nigel Short (guest host Macauley Peterson)

Perpetual Chess makes a "zwischenzug" over to Europe where Macauley Peterson, Editor-in-Chief of ChessBase.com, is filling in for Ben this week. Macauley caught up with Grandmaster Nigel Short in Leuven, Belgium, at the close of the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour 2018, the "Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz" tournament, where Short was a commentator. 

The former World Championship challenger is still an active player, but in May he launched a bid to succeed Kirsan Ilymzhinov as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. Shortly before the interview, news broke that in addition to FIDE's current Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, who declared his candidacy in April, a new candidate from Russia was entering the race: Arkady Dvorkovich, a prominent figure in Russian chess circles who currently serves as Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the FIFA 2018 World Cup, and has deep Kremlin ties, as a former Deputy Prime Minister. 

Short explains why he's in the race, what's wrong with FIDE, and how he intends to fix it.  

If you're interested in browsing the vast ChessBase shop, use this special link to help support Perpetual Chess.

Click here to download the episode 

Episode 77- GM Josh Friedel

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is well-regarded American GM Josh Friedel. Josh is a frequent competitor on the American GM circuit, who also teaches, writes and lectures about chess. We talked about the following:

- His most recent project, a YouTube series called “Autopsy,” in which he does an in-depth analysis of an educational chess game, with an emphasis on highlighting critical mistakes. 

- The matter of prearranged draws in GM games (an issue recently raised by Magnus Carlsen) is there a way to avoid them? 

- Lots of other topics, including what openings we might expect in the upcoming World Championships, reflections on Sam Shankland’s torrid 2018, and a couple of fun stories about Kasparov and Karpov. 

Thanks to Josh for joining me.  Check out his new YouTube series here, follow him on twitter here, and Facebook here. 

Click here to Download the Episode 

Episode 76- Andrzej Krzywda (Adult Improver Series)

Photo courtesy of Andrzej Kryzdwa

This week on Perpetual Chess, by popular demand, we begin an occasional series which will be called "Adult Improvers".  For Adult Improvers we will feature a guest who is making significant strides in improving his or her chess performance, and focus extensively on how that improvement is being attained. The first such guest is Polish Candidate Master Andrzej Kryzdwa.  Andrzej had been hovering around 2100 FIDE for over 20 years when he decided to devote a significant amount of his time to pursuing the International Master title.  Andrzej is 38 years old, runs a small business, and is married with two children, so the time that he can devote to this pursuit is limited. Nonetheless, in the past couple of years, Andrzej has shown great success, culminating in a recent tournament with a 2579 Performance Rating, his first IM Norm (!), and a FIDE rating now well north of 2200. How did he do it? Tune in to find out. You can find more details and timestamps below:

Click here to download the episode 

0:00- We begin by discussing Andrzej’s background and how he got into chess. 

5:00- Andrzej discusses his study schedule. 

Mentioned: Reddit thread here- https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/8l1glf/i_was_2100_for_20_years_im_38_last_week_i_made_an/

10:00- Does online blitz count as studying chess? 

Mentioned: Chessable, Quality Chess Books, Chess Publishing 

14:00- How does Andrzej  divide his study time? He does divides his serious study time between endgame studies and game review, then sneaks in some openings and tactics throughout the day. 

Mentioned: Domination in 2,545 Studies by Kasperian, Kasparov on Kasparov, Zurich 1953, Chess Tempo, 

21:30- What has Andrzej learned from his coach GM Bartosz Socko? How is the chess scene in Poland? 

Mentioned: Monika Socko, GM Jan-Krzystof Duda, Alexander Prokhorov

28:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast writes in to have Andrzej  give more detailed advice about how one should approach solving chess studies. 

Mentioned: GM Mesgen Amanov, GM Melih Khachiyan, Pump Up Your Rating by GM Alex Smith 

34:00- Lightning round!  Andrzej  evaluates the efficacy of various chess study methods. These include watching chess tournament commentary, studying endgames, online blitz, studying openings, studying games collection books, exercise, 

Mentioned: IM Kostya Kavutskiiy, GM Peter Leko 

41:30- Andrzej shares some time management tips that he has learned.

47:00- What were the factors that contributed to  Andrzej’s outstanding result that got him an IM norm recently? 

58:00- How does Andrzej approach analyzing his own games? 

1:00- What chess books would Andrzej  recommend? 

Mentioned: My System, My Great Predecessors, Kasparov on Kasparov, Move First Think Later, From Amateur to IM, A Year Inside the Chess World, Reality Check, The Complete Hedgehog 

1:06:30- How does Andrzej  prepare for opponent’s within a tournament? 

1:08:00- Andrzej discusses his upcoming tournament schedule.

Mentioned: Najdorf Memorial Tournament 

1:12:00- In closing Andrzej gives his 3 biggest things to emphasize to improve at chess.

They are 1) Work on calculation 2) Work on fitness 3) Have a chessplayer circle of friends to motivate you

Thanks to Andrzej for joining the show! You can keep up with his progress via his Facebook group here:https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=from%202100%20to%20international%20master%20-%20andrzej%20krzywda

Or via Twitter here: https://twitter.com/From2100ToIM

If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

Episode 75- GM David Navara

                                            Photo by Anezka Kruzikova, courtesy of GM David Navara

On this week’s Perpetual Chess I talk to Super GM David Navarra. GM Navara is the eight time champion of the Czech Republic.  He has been ranked as high as #14 in the world, but you wouldn’t know it by talking to him. GM Navara and I discussed the following- 
- His busy schedule of upcoming tournaments
- His most memorable chess achievements, including being a part of the winning European Club Cup winning team in 2013, and playing with the likes of Kasparov and Karpov.
- His advice for improving your chess play and enhancing your chess intuition. 

Thanks to GM Navara for joining me for an insightful interview.

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 74- GM Irina Krush

                                                                Photo by Paul Swaney 

My final guest live from Nashville was none other than the seven-time winner of the US Women’s Championship, GM Irina Krush. 

Irina and I had a fun discussion, and covered the following topics:

• Her reflections on the most recent US championships in St. Louis. (Irina finished in 3rd place)

• How does she recover from tough losses? This is a crucial skill for all chess players to develop, and no, it doesn’t get much easier for grandmasters. 

• Why did she decide to devote herself full-time to chess while some of her peers have sought work in other fields? How does she manage to play so much while also teaching and writing about chess?

Irina had many tales to tell, including stories of playing blitz with Magnus, playing future World Champ Hou Yifan when she was just 11 years old, the Olympiads and more. Thanks to Irina for a great chat. 

• To see the puzzle from Shereshevsky's new book mentioned by Irina, go here. Black to move and win. 

• This is the last "Friday bonus" podcast, Perpetual returns to weekly Tuesday releases next week. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 73- FM Sunil Weeramantry

                                    Photo Courtesy of the National Scholastic Chess Foundation

Today's guest on Perpetual Chess is renowned chess teacher and author, FM Sunil Weerumantry. Suniil and I recorded this interview live in Nashville, Sunil has been teaching chess in the New York area for more than 30 years and has coached more national scholastic champions than one can count. He is also the step dad of GM Hikaru Nakamura and his brother Asuka, both of whom broke many US Scholastic chess records.. Sunil and I discussed:

• The great new book he co-authored with Alan Abrams and Robert McClellan called Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History. I highly recommend this book for chess teachers and chess history buffs. 

• Sunil's story of growing up in Sri Lanka, making his way to New York, and becoming a chess teacher. 

• What does one need to be "talented at chess"? Did he notice it in Hikaru and Asuka? 

• Stories from travels with Hikaru and meeting chess legends

Thanks to Sunil for joining me. You can order his book here. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 72- Coach Jay Stallings returns

                                                               Photo by IM Eric Rosen

My second guest  this weekend  in Nashville, Tennessee marked the triumphant return to Perpetual Chess of popular chess teacher Jay Stallings. 

• Jay gave an update on the status of the publication of the instructional chess books that he has been working on, which are an amazing resource for chess teachers, and for which he launched a successful Kickstarter campaign. You can order them here. 

• Jay explained the difference between a "growth mindset" and a "fixed mindset", and shared what chess players can learn from Beyonce and baseball player Trevor Bauer. 

• He discussed upcoming travel plans, including plotting a potential trip to the upcoming World Championships

• Jay suggested a few future Perpetual Chess guests.

Thanks much to Jay for joining me again, it is always fun to hear his ideas and absorb his enthusiasm for chess. 

Click here to download the episode. 

Episode 71- Carol Meyer (USCF Executive Director ) and Mike Hoffpauir (President of USCF Board of Directors)

This weekend at the biggest annual scholastic chess tournament in the United States, the Elementary School National Championships, I was honored to interview US Chess Federation (USCF) Executive Director Carol Meyer, and the President of the US Chess Board of Directors, Mike Hoffpauir.  They both devote a big part of their lives to chess, and I think you will enjoy it as:

• Carol and Mike both talk about their backgrounds and share how they became involved with the USCF

• Carol discusses her vision for the USCF and discloses short-term and long-term plans that the organization is undertaking

• Carol and Mike discuss the role that the USCF plays with an American competing in the upcoming World Chess Championship. 

• Mike and Carol discuss some changes that they are implementing at future scholastic tournaments in light of a recent controversy. 

We also got some book recommendations and discussed the overall health of the USCF. Thanks to Carol and Mike for an insightful and fun interview.  

Photos courtesy of US Chess 

Click here to download the episode.