GM Eugene Perelshteyn

Based in Boston, MA, GM Eugene Perelshteyn has done it all in the American chess world. He has competed in virtually every major tournament in the United States (World Open, U.S. Open, etc.), even finishing in 4th place at the 2008 US Championship. He has coached many students, from relatively new players to titled players. He is a published chess author, writing a complete repertoire for White and Black with Lev Alburt and Roman Dzindzichashvili. He also has created content online for chess improvement. With so many stories and with so many thoughts on chess, I was delighted to invite Eugene to the podcast for this week's episode.

Some topics we talked about:

• The Las Vegas Open, which was ongoing at the time of recording. Who are we rooting for? How do players who have been away from OTB chess for so long get acclimated to tournament play?

• Chess improvement: why does Eugene recommend that all adult improvers study chess from books? What are some great chess books for improving players?

• How do players identify their own weaknesses in their game? This is very difficult for people to do! So what role does coaching/outside help play in chess improvement?

• Playing against Magnus Carlsen and other strong grandmasters recently in Europe. What's it like playing against the best of the best over the board? David also tells a fun story about playing Maxime Vachier-Lagrave online in a simul!

• Eugene's early life experiences: studying chess in the USSR, emigrating to America in the 90s, working his way to GM in the USA as a college student. Eugene shares his thoughts and memories of many years ago.

• The Samford Fellowship, which gave Eugene the financial support he needed to acquire the Grandmaster title.

• Playing against Hikaru Nakamura back when both he and Eugene were strong International Masters (IMs). Also, chess culture in America vs. the USSR.

• The work and mentality needed to become a grandmaster. Also, setting goals for chess improvement vs. fostering a natural love for the game.

• "Chess openings are like fashion"

64: A Chess Podcast is sponsored by Aimchess. Use code "DAVID30" to get 30% off of your first month with Aimchess.

Thanks to GM Eugene Perelshteyn for coming onto the show. You can follow him on Twitter: @EugenePerel

Follow the podcast on Twitter: @64Podcast

Follow David Vizgan (the host) on Twitter: @davidvizgan