The Chess Angle22 Jan 2023

Ep. 56 (S3 Finale): Active Pieces feat. NY Chess Legend IM Jay Bonin, the "Iron Man of Chess"

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This week's episode is our Season 3 Finale and features International Master Jay Bonin, a legend of the New York chess scene. He is one of the most active tournament players ever, having amassed an estimated 30K - 40K rated OTB games, sometimes playing over 700 games in one year. As such, he is known as the "Iron Man of Chess." Neal spoke with Jay recently via phone where he shared his experiences and knowledge. The basis of this conversation is his 2016 book, Active Pieces (Amazon) which discusses Jay's approach to chess with explanatory prose and annotated games. Some of the talking points in this episode include the following:

Why Jay feels draw offers are best made when capturing a piece
The influence of Bobby Fischer
Winning with the "rope-a-dope" method
Jay's strong friendship with fellow NY chess legend Asa Hoffmann
The "Bonin-Kann" opening (1...c6, 2...a6!?, holding back ...d5, which often throws the opponent off balance)
Thoughts on mate with the bishop and knight
Playing Queenless middlegames
His win against chess giant GM Samuel Reshevsky
How Jay adapts his style and openings for specific opponents

Links for IM Jay Bonin:

Mentioned:

Bellon - Bonin (2008) 1/2-1/2

Season 4 of The Chess Angle coming soon!

Our links:

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