GM Ori Kobo

GM Ori Kobo wears many hats. He is one of the strongest players in Israel, and recently delivered a strong performance in the Israeli Chess Championship. Beyond the chessboard, he is a student of psychology, and he is also a prolific chess coach, who has not only coached strong players in Israel, but is also MY chess coach! On this episode of 64, I discuss GM Kobo's chess career in brief; from the chess culture in his hometown of Jerusalem, to his ups and downs on his way to the grandmaster title. We talk about the recent controversy surrounding Iranian players forced to forfeit matches against Israelis, and about support for chess in Israel. We lastly dive into GM Kobo's chess philosophy and discuss how to improve broadly as a chess player. You can find GM Kobo on Twitch, where he's recently started FallenChessKnights with some friends and hopes to popularize chess with a younger generation in Israel.