Perpetual Chess Podcast

This week the Adult Improver Series continues with another inspiring guest. Twenty eight year-old Stjepan Tomić (creator of the Hanging Pawns Channel on Youtube) learned the rules of and fell in love with chess only a few years ago. Since that time he has not let a full-time job or a girlfriend (his life currently includes both) interfere with his drive to improve at the royal game. Stjepan details for us how he created a nine-year plan to become a Grandmaster, and three years into the plan, he has made steady progress, with an ELO peak nearing 1900. In our conversation Stjepan shares what he has learned about how to manage one’s time, deal with defeat, create a Youtube channel, and of course, improve at chess. For timestamps and relevant hyperlinks, please go to the episode webpage here: www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/3/12/episode-117-stjepan-tomi-adult-improver-series If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Mar 20191h 3min

GM Michal Krasenkow has battled many legends of the chessboard during the course of his life, and he has been one of the top 10 chess players in the world. He is also a respected chess trainer and author. His recently released and excellent new book, Learn from Michal Krasenkow shares many of his memories and favorite games. In our conversation, we discuss GM Krasenkow’s book in great detail, along with the usual assortment of improvement advice, recommendations, and favorite stories. Please read onward for many more details of this week's podcast.  For timestamps and relevant hyperlinks, please go to the episode webpage here: www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/3/5/episode-116-gm-michal-krasenkow If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Mar 20191h 20min

This week, the always popular and entertaining GM Jan Gustafsson makes his third appearance on Perpetual Chess. In addition to the broadcasting, streaming and video creation that Jan does for Chess24.com, he also was a part of "Team Magnus" for the 2016 and 2018 World Chess Championships. Naturally we discussed the most recent World Championships in great detail, as well as catching up on what else Jan has been up to since his Perpetual Chess interviews #1 and #2. As always you can keep up with Jan on twitter or by subscribing to and monitoring the calendar on Chess24.com Read on for details and timestamps about all that we discussed: 0:00- Glowing intro and discussion of Jan’s work as a member of Magnus Carlsen’s team for the 2018 World Championship Match. Jan reflects on his overall thoughts on the match and answers some follow up questions I had based on the excellent Chess24 series “Inside the 2018 World Championship Match” featuring Jan and GMs Peter Heine Nielsen and Laurent Fressinet. 31:30- More World Championship talk, but now with a focus on the openings that were played. 36:00- Is it really true that a Queen and Knight is better than a Queen and a Bishop? 38:00 What should one do to get back into playing shape after a layoff from competitive chess? (a discussion prompted because Jan will be playing in the Bangkok Chess Club Open in April) 39:00- Coaching Netherlands at Olympiad. What mystery book was Jan pictured reading while the games went on? The Patrick Melrose books 44:00- What is Jan’s favorite Jan Gustafsson game? What about his favorite other people games? Jan mentions his opening prep paying off in the following games: Naiditsch-Gustafsson 2007 and Gustafsson-Rodshtein 2007 Jan also highlights the modern classic, Wei Yi-Lazaro Bruzon Batista 2015 and Jinishi Bai vs. Ding Liren 2017 49:00- Some idle chit-chat and Jan’s latest pop culture recommendations. Jan gives a lukewarm recommendation for True Detective Season 3 and did not share Ben’s level of enthusiasm for Atlanta, but is a big fan of the movie Burning. 53:00- Goodbye and what to watch for coming from Chess24. Jan recommends GM Laurent Fressinet’s recent series Playing the Berlin and teased a blitz match between Magnus Carlsen and Peter Svidler, which you can now watch on Chess24. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Feb 20191h 1min

28 year old Grandmaster Romain Edouard has been a top 50 chess player in the world, with a peak rating over 2700, but in recent years, he has been quite busy with other chess related work. He is the author of the highly regarded, Chess Calculation series, and this year, has published, My Magical Years with Topalov.a book about his time working as the second to one of the strongest players in the world. GM Edouard is also the Editor-in-Chief at Thinker’s Publishing, the publisher of his acclaimed works. For more detail about all that we discussed, plus recommendations and contact information, please read on: 0:00- Intro and discussion of GM Edouard’s new book, My Magical Years with Topalov. This book annotates games and shares stories and reflections from GM Edouard’s time working as a second to GM Veselin Topalov, between the years of 2010-2014. Romain shares how the relationship began and how it evolved in the ensuing years. 17:00- What differentiates GM Topalov’s chess style from other top-level players? 20:00- Romain discusses his most recent chess tournament. He recently played in the super strong 2019 Gibraltar International, and finished with 7 points, as part of a big tie for 6th-22nd place. 25:30- GM Edouard retells how he became the Editor-in-Chief with Thinker’s Publishing, and what that works entails. The two new books that we mention are: Gata Kamsky - Chess Gamer, Volume 1: The Awakening 1989-1996, and Michal Krasenkow - Learn from Michal Krasenkow 32:00- Romain’s gives his chess improvement advice for those with a limited amount of time. 1) Play lots of games 2) Find openings you like and know well  3) Learn Endgames from Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual 4) Practice Calculation 37:30- Discussion of the London Lions of the Pro Chess League, who have had a disappointing season, but just had a strong showing in defeating the Montreal Chessbrahs. 39:00- Discussion of GM Edouard’s favorite game of his own (Edouard-Tkachiev 2010) , as well as his favorite game of all time (Kasparov-Topalov 1999) 43:30- Goodbye and contact info, you can follow Thinkers Publishing on Facebook and their website, and GM Edouard on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Feb 201949min

My guest this week is 21 year old GM-elect Michael Brown. Michael just earned his final GM norm in January 2019, but the path to earning the highest chess title has come with many challenges. In our conversation, Michael walks us through how he overcame those challenges, and gives advice for how others can do the same in their own chess journeys. For many more details about our conversation, check out the timestamps below. Michael can be reached via email here. 0:00- Intro and recap of the tournament at the Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy where GM-elect Michael Brown got that elusive and coveted 3rd GM Norm. The dramatic GM Norm clinching-game vs. FM Gauri Shankar that Michael discusses can be found here. 10:00- How did Michael stay sharp as his time became more scarce after enrolling in college? Michael mostly credits study partnering with other strong players, such as IM Keaton Kiewra,and IM Shiyam Thavandiran. 16:30- After graduating from BYU in December 2018 what is Michael’s next professional step? 19:30- We discuss Michael’s memorable experience beating world class GM Yu Yangyi in 2016. Michael annotates this game in this very instructive Youtube video, and you can also play through the moves here. We then discuss some of the “super GMs” Michael has played in addition to Yu Yangyi. 32:00- Michael tells a couple fun stories of playing at the notoriously strong Chess.com Isle of Man International tournament in 2017 and getting to see and meet the likes of GM Vishy Anand and GM Magnus Carlsen. 39:00- What have been the most challenging periods during Michael’s chess career? How did he get through them? What advice did his trainer at the time, IM Armen Ambartsoumian, give him? 44:00- What are Michael’s favorite chess books? As a young, improving player, he learned a ton from Winning Chess Brilliancies by GM Yasser Seirawan and later used CT-ART to sharpen his tactics. 51:00- What was the connection between his choice of college, Brigham Young University, and his desire to remain dedicated to chess? What other factors went into Michael’s decision as to which college to attend? 59:00- What is going on with the San Diego Surfers of the Pro Chess League? 1:04- Goodbye and contact info See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Feb 20191h 14min

This week I am joined by the authors by one of the most anticipated chess books in recent memory, Gamechanger: AlphaZero's Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI.GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan have written a fascinating and revelatory book, so I was very excited to chat with them about the background to the book and discuss some highlights from it. In our conversation, we also touch on other aspects of Matthew and Natasha’s accomplished careers, particularly, how adults can continue to make strides in chess, as discussed in their prior collaboration, Chess for Life.. You can find many more details about our conversation with timestamps below. Gamechanger is now available from New in Chess, Chessable, and Forward Chess, and will be released on Amazon in the US on February 15. For timestamps and relevant hyperlinks, please go to the show webpage here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/2/5/episode-112-gm-matthew-sadler-and-wim-natasha-regan-1 If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Feb 20191h 3min

This week it was my great honor to get to chat with the acclaimed author, trainer and co-founder of Quality Chess, GM Jacob Aagaard. GM Aagaard is chairing the FIDE trainer’s commission and has worked with elite chess players like GM Sam Shankland and GM Boris Gelfand. Jacob was very generous with his time and wisdom in our conversation. You can keep up with Quality Chess on their blog, and you can email GM Aagaard here. You can find out more about the Quality Chess Academy here. For timestamps and details about all that we discussed, read on. 0:00- Intro and discussion of the vision behind Quality Chess Publishing, co-founded by GM Aagaard in 2004 (along with GM John Shaw and IM Ari Ziegler). 12:40- A brief digression into some Science Fiction shows Jacob has been watching in his scant free-time. He recommends Altered Carbon on Netflix and a German series called Dark. 15:30- We segue into a detailed discussion of Jacob’s most recent highly acclaimed book, Thinking Inside the Box. As GM Aagaard discusses in the book, each move in chess can roughly be categorized into one of 4 decision types: Automatic Decisions (This includes a discussion of this game between GM Sam Shankland and GM Richard Rapport. ) SImple Decisions (This is where Aagaard’s famed 3 questions come into play- 1. Where are the weaknesses? 2. What is the opponent’s idea? 3. Which is my worst placed piece?) Critical Moments (positions where there is a large difference between the best move and the next best move) Strategic Decisions (complicated positions with no clear-cut way to approach them) 34:00- Jacob answers a question from a supporter of the podcast relating to how to use diagrams in chess books. While answering, Jacob rattles off a few of his favorite chess books. They include GM Romain Edouard’s calculation books, Imagination in Chess (out of print), Perfect Your Chess, and the Arthur Yusopov series. As a scholastic player, Jacob was a big fan of legendary Danish player Bent Larsen’s books. 42:30- GM Aagaard tells the story of how he became a trainer of other high level players. For any listener looking for a coach, GM Aagaard recommends his former student, Italian GM Sabino Brunello. Jacob also tells the story of how he became one of the trainers of former World Championship Challenger, GM Boris Gelfand and of US Champion Sam Shankland. 52:00- What feat did GM Sam Shankland accomplish that has gone a but under the radar? What does he think of GM Shankland’s prospects for a continued ascent in the world rankings? 1:02- GM Aagaard answers another question from a Patreon supporter about how to work on your chess when you do not have a coach. Jacob stressed the importance of analyzing one’s own games. 1:08- Jacob discusses his upcoming chess camp, The Quality Chess Academy, which will be co-taught along with renowned trainer R.B. Ramesh. You guys should sign up for the camp, then after attending you should email me to tell me about the camp. :) 1:15- Jacob discusses another new project of his, chairing the FIDE trainer’s commission. 1:26- Jacob gives his opinion on how big a role rapid chess should play in the World Championship Cycle. 1:35- What will be the next phase of chess, following what Jacob calls, “the digital period"? Jacob mentions a couple of alternatives to Chess960 that he finds interesting. 1:42- Jacob’s contact info and goodbyes If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

29 Jan 20191h 48min

USCF Master Michael Aigner is a player and coach who is well-known in the Bay Area of California. He has coached many future titled players, and also holds a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. Thanks to Michael for an informative and inspiring conversation. Read on for details of all that we discussed.0:00- Intro and quick discussion of how the Bay Area teams are doing in the Pro Chess League. What distinguishes Michael’s coaching style? Amongst his favorite games to share are those of Mikhail Tal, and any game between Carlsen and Aronian.8:00- How did Michael get into chess as a teen in the early 1990s? How did he get better quickly in the pre-computer age? (There were a lot of early losses involved.) Michael was not a big chess book aficionado but he learned openings from an encyclopedia called Modern Chess Openings and was a big fan of the book Mikhail Tal’s Life and Games. 18:50- Michael shares some of the advice he generally gives his students. For example, he thinks 15 minute chess is a good time control to practice online, as it is fast enough to be able to play multiple games, but slow enough to have educational value for the player.What was it like for Michael to coach future GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Steven Zierk? Michael tells some great stories to illustrate the tenacity and enthusiasm that these top players showed at a young age.27:30- A brief discussion of what scholastic chess teachers and US Chess can do to help chess players retain interest in chess past their teen years.31:00- Michael discusses the special role that chess plays in his life due to his physical condition, called quadrilateral phocomelia. As Michael discusses, this condition means that he gets around in a wheelchair, but this definitely does not deter him from competing over the board.37:30- Michael answers a question from a listener about how he handles wheelchair accessibility issues in his tournaments.44:30- Michael answers another question from a Patreon supporter of the podcast, about whether he would recommend chess as a hobby to others with physical disabilities.48:00- Michael tackles a list of questions sent in from Michael’s friend and sometime opponent, Stewart Katz, relating to chess teaching and competing.1:00- Michael discusses how he follows top level chess and names a couple of his favorite chess announcers, plus he gives his take on whether the World Championship format should be changed.1:06- Wrap up and contact info for Michael Aigner- You can keep up with Michael on his website,Facebook, Twitter and his blog. This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable.com- Check it out if you haven't already!   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

22 Jan 20191h 13min