Episode 200- GM Boris Gelfand

Photo by David Llada courtesy of Quality Chess Books

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.

Click here to download the episode

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

Episode 199-Dr. Barry Hymer and GM Peter Wells

Cover image, Dr. Barry Hymer, and GM Peter Wells, respectively, photos courtesy of Crown House Publishing

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. 

Click here to download the episode

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 the 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

Book Recap- Talking Winning Chess Strategies with Neal Bruce

Photo by Fernando Pererira via Wikimedia Commons, Cover Image from Everyman Chess

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. 

Click here to download the episode

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

Episode 198- Ren Escalera (Adult Improver Series)

Photo courtesy of Ren Escalera

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. 

Click here to download the episode

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

Episode 197- IM Cyrus Lakdawala returns

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.  

Click here to download the episode

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 sales@chesskid.com 

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

Episode 196- GM Jan Timman

GM Jan Timman in Wijk an Zee, in 1978 and 2014 respectively. Photos courtesy of New in Chess Magazine

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. 

Click here to download the episode

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. 

Here is the set that belonged to GM Alexander Alekhine that GM Jan Timman happened across in Lisbon. Photo courtesy of GM Jan Timman.

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 creative environment that surrounded him in the Netherlands?  

Mentioned: De Kring, Hein Donner, GM Evgenii Sosonko 

1:02:00- How much is Jan keeping up with chess literature? What are his favorite chess books? 

Mentioned: My 60 Memorable Games, Paul Keres: The Road to the Top, Rapport-Sprenger 2020 

1:06:00- GM Jan Timman answers one last Patreon mailbag question: How does GM Timman keep his motivation and focus to play lower rated players in club games? 

Mentioned: GM Max Euwe 

1:08:30- Thanks so much to GM Timman for joining the show! His books are widely available including from New in Chess, as well as Forward Chess. 

https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/catalogsearch/result/index/q/Jan%20Timman/?authors=66

https://forwardchess.com/product/timman's-triumphs:-my100-best-games?sscid=91k3_fazxa

Episode 195- GM Keith Arkell

GM Keith Arkell pictured with Anuurai Sainbayer

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.

Click here to download the episode.

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

Episode 194- FM Yuriy Krykun

Photo courtesy of FM Yuriy Krykun

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. 

Click here to download the episode.

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) and there is tons 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

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-

YouTube-

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here.

Episode 193- Tom Murphy

Photo by Nathan Kelly of the National Blitz League

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. 

Click here to download the episode.

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 Finefold, 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

Adult Improver follow up - Andrzej Kryzdwa and Stacia Pugh return!

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. Please read on for more details and show notes. 

Episode 76 with Andrzej Krzydwa, June 3,2018

Episode 87 with Stacia Pugh, August 14, 2018

Click here to download the episode.

0:00- Here is the info you need for the announcements made at the top of the show. 

1. If you are interested in signing up for the randomized trial of best improvement methods sign up at the following link or email empirical.chess@gmail.com

I make a couple of announcements at the top of Tuesday’s episode.   First, a devoted improver is going to run a proper randomized trial of best improvement methods. It is only for certain ratings, but go to the link below to get all the details. Matt is hoping to run a similar study in the future for higher rated players as well. 

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAN__g8mdqpUOVhEQTBKRUlKQzNDQTlVMDdWUkpOR0s5Ti4u

1. You can find more information about the Perpetual Chess Happy Hour here: 

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/happyhour 

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 

11:45- What does Andrzej  notice from analysing his games? What are the tournament fields like in Poland? 

Mentioned: GM Bartosz Soćko  

19:30- Andrzej  discusses the ways that he finds chess competition meditative, and also discusses his actual meditation practice. 

23:00- How is Andrzej able to maintain his morale when results aren’t going as well as he would like? He also answers a question from the Patreon mailbag about whether or not he ever suffers from chess burnout, and he gives a few improvement recommendations. 

Mentioned: GM David Navara, Perpetual Chess Episode 173 with Philemon Thomas, 365ChessAcademy.com, Chessable.com, Hiarcs Chess Explorer, ChessPublishing.com, FM Kamil Plichta 

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/

33:30- Stacia Pugh rejoins the show to talk about how her life and chess have progressed since our previous conversation. 

NM Michael Joelson, IM Calvin Blocker, IM Marc Esserman, Stacia’s blog is here:

https://www.chess.com/member/midnaslament 

44:00- Why did Stacia revamp her opening repertoire, and how has it affected her results? 

49:00- In our first interview Stacia was an advocate of the use of flashcards, does she still believe in them? She also delves into her current chess study regimen. 

Mentioned: The Art of Checkmate, Progress with Chess’ Tuesday Tussle 

56:00- We revisit Stacia’s top 10 improvement tips, shared in our first interview. 

59:00- Stacia shares her advice regarding how to deal with burnout in chess. 

1:00:00- Have Stacia’s goals changed since our first conversation? 

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

Episode 192- GM Avetik Grigoryan

Photo courtesy of Chessmood.com

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. 

Click here to download the episode.

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

Book recap: Talking Blindfold Chess with guest co-host Jerry Wells

Illustration in Harper's Weekly, November 1858, of Paul Morphy playing eight simultaneous games blindfold is from from Fred Wilson's book "A Picture History of Chess".

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. 

Click here to download the episode

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 to his suggestion of another donation to Books Through Bars: http://booksthroughbars.org/

1:31:00- Blindfold Puzzle Time! 

1.  (from Chess steps thinking ahead)- 1. E4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 Nc6 5. ?

Answer in link 

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=i/SeZIPEV+zgh1vQyYxcsHPf4zRuWjC/BEK3DPMwAJMLK3ZaqBz4oIh/i6Lj2FcH

1. Mate in 2 from Chess Steps vol. 3)

White: pawn on a5, queen on h1, King on c5

Black: King on a7, White to move and mate in 2

Puzzle here- https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=i/SeZIPEV+zgh1vQyYxcsPBGfWNYaw1qv8rv75i7wdqAgWRjQ5ZJJsHKak3PbZpn

Solution here- 

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=i/SeZIPEV+zgh1vQyYxcsAPaHMPl3f4XVKuYmauWUmXuob4BDxSjxMtMPOQGmvN7

1. Pillsbury- BVD Dixon, 1900, Blindfold Simul- what move did Pillsbury “overlook” on move 10 for Black 

[Event "Pillsbury blindfold sim"]

[Site "New Orleans"]

[Date "1900.03.08"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Pillsbury, Harry Nelson"]

[Black "Dixon, B."]

[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. Nxe5 Qe7 7. Nxc6 dxc6

2. Bd3 Qe5 9. h3 Bxh3 10. gxh3 

What move did Pillsbury “overlook” on move 10 for Black? 

Game link with conclusion here… 

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=c57YHXax2Ne7ie/drf4LwuRfIo9w1v+xHVLGC+AXsXkMMdtS+IPivvhL+brTDBwn

Thanks for listening everyone! If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate

Episode 191- GM Daniel Naroditsky

Photo by LavaPK/CC0 via Wikimedia Commons 

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. 

Click here to download the episode

0:00- We begin by discussing GM Daniel Naroditsky’s favorite Perpetual Chess interviews and the dramatic conclusion to the recent tournament, Impact Chess, which concluded last week. 

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 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

Episode 190- Andrew Zinn (Adult Improver Series)

Andrew Zinn at the venerable Marshall Chess Club

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.

Click here to download the episode.

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 aska  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. Thanks to Andrew for joining the show!

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

Episode 189- GM Patrick Wolff

Photo courtesy of GM Patrick Wolff

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. 

Click here to download the episode

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

Episode 188- GM S.P. Sethuraman

Photo by Sophie Triay

Photo courtesy of GM Sethuraman by St. Louis Chess Club

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.

Click here to download the episode.

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

Episode 187- USCF Master and Cognitive Scientist Christopher Chabris returns

Photo courtesy of Christopher Chabris

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.

Click here to download the episode

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

Twitter

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess you can do so here:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate

Book Recap: Bobby Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games with guest co-host FM Donny Ariel

Photos from WikiMedia

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.

Click here to download the episode

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

Episode 186- GM Erwin L'Ami

Photo by IM Alina L’Ami

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: 

Click here to download the episode

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

Episode 185- IM Stuart Rachels

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.

Click here to download the episode

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 recently been removed, so you have to jump around YouTube to different excerpts to watch the whole thing, but here is part 1 )

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 here.

You can buy the book from Amazon, New in Chess, or Forward Chess.

Lastly, you can email IM  Rachels here