IM Kostya Kavutskiy

IM Kostya Kavutskiy has basically done it all in the chess world. He is an active tournament player, has written for chess magazines, authored a book on the Open Sicilian, and has coached many, many students across all skill levels. He is also an accomplished streamer who has been at it on Twitch for a few years!

Last year, IM Kavutskiy created the "Chess Dojo" as a means of gathering chess improvers and improvement resources under one virtual roof. The results have been electrifying -- along with GM Jesse Kraai, IM David Pruess, and a dedicated community on Discord, Kostya and the Chess Dojo are helping players get better at chess. Kostya is also working on a Chessable course which will be out soon.

I recorded this episode just a few days before I flew to Copenhagen, and I'm really excited for you all to hear Kostya's insights on climbing the rating ladder and on the chess world.

Some highlights from this week's episode:

• Kostya's upcoming Chessable course on "endgame studies", aimed for beginner and intermediate players

• I ask Kostya a question that's been on my mind for a while: at what point should a chess player consider buying Chessbase?

• Kostya talks about forming the Chess Dojo, teaming up with IM David Pruess, and fleshing out the virtual space into what it is today

• We also talk about how the philosophy behind Chess Dojo improvement videos/streams/classes/etc.

• Kostya and I talk about elusive and arbitrary goals regarding rating milestones and "getting good at chess"

• "The best chess book is the one you read"; how Bobby Fischer's "My 60 Memorable Games" pushed Kostya onto the path towards a lifelong professional career in chess

• Improving positional play vs. tactical play when you're unsure what to study in order to improve

• Another edition of "Aimchess Instant Insights" with Kostya!

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

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Thanks again to IM Kostya Kavutskiy for joining the show -- follow him on Twitter!

Chess Dojo socials: YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Discord

Follow the podcast on Twitter: @64Podcast

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