EP.02 - Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson

FM Mike Klein is an old friend of mine. He also is a guy who has been involved in many facets of the chess industry. Mike was a scholastic champion, he's a great chess teacher, he was recognized as chess journalist of the year in 2012, and now he writes, edits, and creates content for chess.com and chesskid.com (for the latter he goes by the moniker "Fun Master Mike"). Here is what Mike and I discussed: Mike's newest project, an entertaining and informative chess-free podcast, called Extreme Travel Odysseys Chess advice relating to competing in, studying, and teaching chess Stories from his reporting assignments, including the times he spent playing tennis, soccer, and basketball with the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Rex Sinquefield and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and others. Thanks to Mike for joining me. You can reach him via chess.com here. Subscribe to his podcast here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

31 Juli 20181h 11min

The popular and prolific chess author, FM Carsten Hansen is my guest this week. By his current count, Carsten has written 26 chess books.. The depth of his chess knowlege is quite impressive, but his knowledge of chess openings is a particular specialty.  Carsten and I discussed the following topics: Carsten's latest book, The Full English Opening. How did he pick the topic, and what is the story of how he came to love the English opening? How did his initial venture into the world of writing and publishing chess books come about? He also shares some insider intell on how the chess publishing business works, including the impact that Print on Demand may have on the industry in the future. Carsten's favorite chess players, advice for chess improvement, and a couple of book recommendations that have not previously been suggested on Perpetual Chess. Thanks to Carsten for joining me. You can buy his books here, Follow him on twitter here, and check out his webpage here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Juli 20181h 26min

Thanks to 5 time Spanish National Champion, GM Paco Vallejo, for being my guest on Perpetual Chess this week.  GM Vallejo had just returned from the Leon Masters Chess Tournament, featuring GM Wesley So, and young talents, GM elect- Ramesh Praggnanandhaa and IM Jaime Santos. Paco recapped the event for listeners, with a particular emphasis on the peculiar "dual blunder" that helped him get by IM Santos in the opening round.  Other topics covered in our conversation: Paco discussed the experience of serving as a second to GM Topalov, and revealed why he is unlikely to pursue a similar job again. Paco discussed the challenges he has faced in his life away from the board over the past few years, including family issues and a vexing tax issue courtesy of the Spanish government. Paco gave detailed chess improvement advice to hungry chess students, and even gave some advice for male chess players looking to meet women!You can follow Paco on twitter here.or via his website here. To support the podcast go here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Juli 20181h 8min

Summer substitute Macauley Peterson takes another turn on the mic, this time close to home with a sort of guided oral history by ChessBase co-founder Frederic Friedel. Frederic tells stories of meeting Garry Kasparov, Nigel Short, Viswanathan Anand and many others for the first time, and later hosting them at his home in a suburb of Hamburg. There may be something in the water there because it seems like practically every World Champion and challenger since Kasparov has spent time with the Friedels over the past 35 years. You'll learn how ChessBase came to be, how Vladimir Kramnik felt about an early version of Fritz, what endgame kept Peter Leko up at night, which Leonard Barden book Frederic keeps in arms reach, and much more.  Check out bonus material and support Perpetual Chess using this special link at the ChessBase shop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10 Juli 20181h 17min

Judit Sztaray, the Executive Director of Bay Area Chess, is my guest this week on Perpetual Chess. Bay Area Chess, based in San Jose, California, is the largest provider of chess classes on the west coast of the US, with programs in over 100 schools. Bay Area Chess frequently runs tournaments as well as its classes, and Judit has a great deal to share about the goals and the work of the organization. In my conversation we discuss: The recent simul they hosted, conducted by Former Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan. Judit discussed how an event like this comes about, and how the event was received in the Bay Area. The origins of BAC and how Judit wound up as Executive Director. Judit also discussed the funding of their program and the challenges she and her team can face in looking to raise money for BAC and for the Pro Chess League. The role of Bay Area Chess' as supporter of the San Jose Hackers of the Pro Chess League. Judit reviewed their 2018 season and talked some about how they recruited world class players like Grandmasters Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Rauf Mamedov. Thanks to Judit for joining me on the podcast. You can reach her via email here, and learn more about Bay Area Chess here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 Juli 201852min

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is the eminent chess author, GM Genna Sosonko. GM Sosonko has enjoyed a distinguished career as a chess player. He was once in the top 20 of the world's players and has helped train chess legends like Mikhail Tal and Viktor Korchnoi. But in recent years he has become best known for his beautiful chess writing. In our interview, we touch on GM Sosonko’s career and on the story behind his emigrating from the USSR to the Netherlands in the 1970’s, but the main focus of our discussion is his two most recent books: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein, and Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi. We talked about: What made David Bronstein's chess so brilliant? What did his peers think of him? What did those who trained with Viktor Korchnoi' say about him? Has GM Sosonko met any other chess player who could rival Korchnoi's legendary love for, will to study, and obsession with chess? What shaped the personalities of these two notoriously prickly chess legends? In closing, we touched a bit on the modern chess landscape, and of course GM Sosonko told some great stories during our conversation. He even recommended a book (although it may not be so easy to find. ) Thanks so much to GM Sosonko for joining me for a very entertaining and informative conversation. Please buy and enjoy his wonderful books here:Evil Doer: Half a Century with Viktor KorchnoiThe Rise and Fall of David Bronstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

27 Juni 20181h 32min

Picking up on the theme of FIDE politics from the last episode, ChessBase Editor-in-Chief Macauley Peterson also spoke with IM Malcolm Pein while attending the first stop on the Grand Chess Tour in Leuven, Belgium. Macauley and Malcolm discuss the GCT 2018, which is continuing with more rapid and blitz in Paris, before turning to issues related to the FIDE election. Malcolm weighs in on the FIDE / Agon proposed "broadcast policy," the upcoming World Championship in London, why he joined the Makropoulos team, the impact of the pending RCF nomination of Arkady Dvorkovich, whether the election will be free and fair, and of course his old friend Nigel Short. While you listen, swing by the ChessBase shop, using this special link through which any orders will help support Perpetual Chess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Juni 201843min

Perpetual Chess makes a "zwischenzug" over to Europe where Macauley Peterson, Editor-in-Chief of ChessBase.com, is filling in for Ben this week. Macauley caught up with Grandmaster Nigel Short in Leuven, Belgium, at the close of the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour 2018, the "Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz" tournament, where Short was a commentator. The former World Championship challenger is still an active player, but in May he launched a bid to succeed Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. Shortly before the interview, news broke that in addition to FIDE's current Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, who declared his candidacy in April, a new candidate from Russia was entering the race: Arkady Dvorkovich, a prominent figure in Russian chess circles who currently serves as Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the FIFA 2018 World Cup, and has deep Kremlin ties, as a former Deputy Prime Minister. Short explains why he's in the race, what's wrong with FIDE, and how he intends to fix it.  If you're interested in browsing the vast ChessBase shop, use this special link to help support Perpetual Chess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Juni 20181h