EP 312- GM Noel Studer- The Swiss National Champ Turned Trainer Shares Advice on Overcoming Plateaus, Calculating, Analyzing Games & More

This week on Perpetual Chess, we are rejoined by 2019 Swiss National Champion, blogger and trainer, GM Noel Studer. Noel is always extremely insightful on matters related to chess improvement, and has recently released a video course sharing his own recommended approach. The course, Next Level Training: Conquer the Chess Information Chaos, tackles many of the questions commonly contemplated on the pod, such as which aspects of the game to prioritize, how to analyze games and how to approach opening study. Noel even has a section on how one should learn any discipline, and relates his experiences as a tennis and poker improver. Lastly, Noel shares some thoughts and his own experiences on cheating in tournament chess and discusses his continuing recovery from a brain injury. You can find timestamps for topics discussed below. Prior Interview with Noel- Episode 248 with GM Noel Studer 02:00- Patreon mailbag question: I am working hard on my chess, but I am not improving. Should I give up on the possibility of improvement? 13:00- We discuss Noel’s chess course. What audience did Noel have in mind? How did he go about making the course? 19:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 20:00- We discuss a few of the chess improvement recommendations from Noel’s course that resonated with me, and the reasons that they struck a chord with me. 28:00- What was the primary contributor to Noel’s chess growth when he was an up and coming player? Mentioned: GM Artur Yusopov, Lee Child “Jack Reacher” Novels, The Tim Ferris Podcast 33:00- Why does Noel think it's important to write down one’s thoughts when reviewing OTB games? 37:00- What did Noel learn from doing calculation-training with GM R.B. Ramesh and GM Sam Shankland? 44:00- How would Noel respond to someone who says that his course, at $297, is too expensive? 48:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 49:00- Has Noel read any good books lately? Mentioned: Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism 50:00- What has Noel learned about chess learning through trying to improve at tennis and poker? 1:04:00- We discuss top level chess, especially the Magnus/Niemann saga and the issue of cheating in chess. Mentioned: Episode 310 with John Hartmann, Belgian IM Stephen Docx expelled from tournament, Episode 301 with Dr. Kenneth Regan 1:22:00- What is next for Noel? How is his health? Thanks to Noel for joining me, you can keep up with him by subscribing to his blog! Blog- https://nextlevelchess.blog/ Course- Next Level Training: Conquer the Chess Information Chaos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices