EP.35 - Writer Sean Williams

The book review series Chess Books Recaptured is back to discuss a couple of great puzzle books with a strategic orientation. 1) First up, we discuss a lesser-known but excellent collection of puzzles and insightful analysis, Strategic Chess Exercises by GM Emanuel Bricard. Following that, we discuss one of the most (rightfully) acclaimed books of recent years, Think Like a Super GM by Phillip Hurtado and GM Michael Adams. Because these are both reasonably advanced books, we also share some similarly-spirited recommendations for lower-rated players. Joining me for it all, is returning guest, Dr. Michael Franco (NoseKnowsAll) who is a Software Engineer and fast-improving amateur player, who is active in various online chess communities.   Timestamps of books and topics discussed are below.  Spotify playlist for other book reviews: https://spotify.link/Sx2hLmiTiDb Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. Among countless other instructive courses, Strategic Chess Exercises is available via Chessable: https://www.chessable.com/strategic-chess-exercises/course/16565/ 0:00- For what levels are these books best suited?  0:03- Why does Michael love the book Strategic Chess Exercises ? What is its format?   Mentioned: Available on Chessable and Amazon, Michael’s appearance on Chess Journeys (Episode 102) 14:00- What are my quibbles about this high-quality book?  20:00- We discuss Think Like a Super GM by GM Michael Adams and Phillip Hurtado  Mentioned: Thought and Choice in Chess by de Groot, GM Jesse Kraai’s Video Review of Think Like a Super GM, My written review of Think Like a Super GM  35:00- Any quibbles with Think Like a Super GM? 39:00- Conclusions from and comparison between the 2 books.  47:00- We suggest similar books to these two that are accessible for players rated below 1500.  Mentioned: Evaluate like a GM, The Reassess Your Chess Workbook, Power of Pawns, Simple Chess, Mastering Chess Strategy, Winning Chess Strategy  52:00- We finish up by discussing Michael’s next chess books and tournaments.  Mentioned: Small Steps to Giant Improvement  Contact Michael via Lichess: https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll Pre-order Perpetual Chess Improvement here (or wait for it to be available in other formats!)  https://www.amazon.com/Perpetual-Chess-Improvement-Practical-World-Class/dp/9083336549/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PPCN7OZTKJU6&keywords=perpetual+chess+improvement&qid=1695235338&s=books&sprefix=perpetual+chess+improvement%2Cstripbooks%2C79&sr=1-1 If you would like to volunteer to potentially co-host a book discussion, you can do so via the form here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/co-host If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Sep 20231h

Perpetual Chess returns for the second edition of what will be an occasional series, Perpetual Tournament Reports. (First edition here). For this episode, two guests join me to share their respective experiences at ALTO (“At Least Twenty One”), which was a tournament that took place in early September, and was hosted by the Charlotte Chess Center. ALTO is a semi-annual tournament that has quickly gained a loyal roster of attendees, due to the unique opportunity it presents to compete against and socialize with other adult chess players.  My guests are 1) Returning guest, data scientist, blogger and Chessable Author, FM Nate Solon. Nate hasn’t been competing OTB much lately, in part due to the arrival of his first baby at home, but somehow he won the open section of the tournament! Despite this incredible success, Nate feels he has plenty of chess to work on, and he shares reflections from his games and away-from-the-board experiences in Charlotte. 2) James Braindmair got into chess via The Queen’s Gambit and is already quite active in his chess community in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition to a busy work and family life, James is President of the Columbia Chess Club. With so many responsibilities, James doesn’t get much time to study, but he and some local chess friends all made the trip to play and compete. James reflects on the chess and non-chess lessons he has recently learned. Timestamps of guests and topics discussed can be found below.  Prior tournament report podcast- https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2023/6/30/f82nnc8zc3crw6pxaprlkd5rgil5a7 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Hmf19bVCz3WiwqFTmuHAE?si=8eedbfe0a6154989 If you are rated below 1300 Chess.com or lower (approximately,)  and would like to send me games for my forthcoming Chessable course, please email Ben at perpetualchesspod.com  4:45- FM Nate Solon joins the pod! Was he surprised that he won the tournament? What were the key moments?  Mentioned:  https://www.chessable.com/100-repertoires-reti-1nf3/course/170854/ Episode 346 with NM Todd Bryant  LiChess study with most of Nate’s games  Episode 307 with IM Dean Ippolito  Nate’s post on Time Management- https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/time-management 16:00- Nate describes his mindset going into his final-round game against IM Dina Belenkaya.  Mentioned: GM Eugene Perelshteyn  21:00- Nate just hit a new rating high at age 38- How is he able to defy chess gravity?  23:00- What was ALTO like away from the board? 26:00- How is the 1. Nf3 repertoire from Nate’s Chessable course working out?  30:00- How did Nate’s new openings as Black work out? Mentioned: King’s Kalashnikov Sicilian, Shankland’s Semi-Slav  38:00- What are Nate’s chess takeaways from the tournament?  Mentioned: Check Nate’s video recap of his White games here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd6niI6KllI 45:00- James Brandmair joins the pod! He begins by discussing how he recently got into tournament chess.  Mentioned: Paul Copeland, NM Sam Copeland’s YouTube Channel  48:00- What were James’ goals going into the tournament?  Mentioned: Hanlon-Brandmair 2023, IM Dina Belenkaya, JJ Lang, IM David Vigorito  54:00- What has James learned from reviewing the games?  Mentioned: GM John Shaw’s King’s Gambit, Godly Gambit  1:00:00- What are the goals for the Columbia Chess Club?  Mentioned: Is James’ wife supportive of chess weekends?  1:05:00- Did the tournament have a different feeling dur to the absence oft kids in the competition?  Thanks to James for joining! You can email him at Jamesbrandmair at gmail dot com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Sep 20231h 12min

This week’s return guest on Perpetual Chess is the renowned trainer and player GM Gregory Kaidanov. Gregory joined me in between travels, as he had returned home from competing in the FIDE World Cup, and he was soon heading to Macedonia for the World Senior Team Championship. Gregory shared his perspective on the FIDE World Cup both as a player, and as a fan. As we discuss, Gregory was not surprised by the continued success of GM Pragganandhaa and the younger generation, but the performance of the top finishers was nonetheless impressive. Gregory also shared his thoughts on the news that GM Hans Niemann is now able to return to Chess.com events, and he discussed his thoughts on the overall story. Lastly, Gregory answered a few listener questions related to chess improvement, and his thoughts on a few of his former students, including GMs Ben Finegold and Daniel Naroditsky. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.  Thanks to our Presenting Chess Education Sponsors, Chessable.com  You can learn more about the Chessable “Create Your Own Course” Contest here: https://www.chessable.com/create/ Check out their new courses, included Ginger GM’s The Killer Barry here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ Gregory’s Prior Appearance: Episode 295  0:02:- Gregory joins and shares his reflections on the FIDE World Cup, both as a competitor and an observer  Mentioned: GM Nijat Abasov, GM Wesley So, GM Dieter Nisipeanu  10:00- Was Gregory worried about cheating at the World Cup? 18:00- What does Gregory think of the “2003” generation of chess stars that Magnus highlighted, including Pragganandhaa?  25:00- How did the tournament go for Gregory from a personal perspective?  Mentioned- Karthik-Kaidanov 2023, Kaidanov-Karthik 2023, Heine-Nielsen-Kaidanov 2002 32:00- Why is the US Senior Invitational of special importance to Gregory? How did he fare in his other recent tournaments? Mentioned: Episode 344 with GM Melik Khachiyan  45:00- In the wake of GM Hans Niemann’s reinstatement on Chess.com, Gregory shares his thoughts on the whole saga.  Mentioned: Chess.com Statement on Hans Niemann  52:00- Are chess books still necessary?  Mentioned: Colin Stapcynski’s article on Coach of the Month 57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Gregory have any advice for how one can improve his approach to chess away from the board?”  Mentioned: Book Recap #32- Chess for Zebras 1:00:00- What has Gregory learned from working with adult chess players?   1:07:00- Gregory discusses his work GM Daniel Naroditsky, GM Ben Finegold and GM Sam Shankland and others.  1:12:00- What has Gregory learned from studying GM Ulf Andersson? What has he learned from playing Mikhail Tal.  Mentioned: Episode 300 with GM Ulf Andersson, Kaidanov-Andersson 2002 Thanks, as always to GM Kaidanov for joining me. You can reach him via his website:  https://kaidanov.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Sep 20231h 22min

The Adult Improver series returns to look at both the macro and the micro of adult chess improvement. My guest is NM Todd Bryant. Todd is a software engineer (for Chess.com) and an accomplished player, who has used his analytical skills to gather lots of data about the most accomplished adult improvers in recent US Chess History. Todd shares information about the standout improvement cases at different age ranges. What would be considered an exceptional rating gain for someone over the age of 30? What about age 50? What patterns does Todd notice in looking at the rating graphs of these accomplished amateur? In addition to sharing all of this data that Todd has dutifully gathered, he discusses his own improvement philosophy. Todd plays frequently OTB, and when at home he emphasizes opening study and frequent speed chess play. This approach has been working for Todd as he recently passed 2500 Blitz on Chess.com for the first time! This was a fascinating conversation, and I really appreciate Todd’s gathering and sharing all of this interesting data! Timestamps of the topics discussed are below.  Todd’s previous Perpetual Chess appearance: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2023/6/30/f82nnc8zc3crw6pxaprlkd5rgil5a7 If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via the Patreon community you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Chess.com’s First #Chesspunks tournament! More info here: https://www.chess.com/news/view/chesspunks-champs Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. Here are a few of NM Todd Bryant’s favorite Chessable courses and authors:  GM Gawain Jones: FM Kamil Plichta  You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 6:00- Todd shares his findings from his independent research into what type of rating gains are seen by the most accomplished adult improvers at different ages.  13:45- What were the outlier cases of improvement after the age of 25?  Mentioned: Michael Johnson, NM Philemon Thomas, NM Fred Wilson   19:30- What type of rating gains have improvers over the age of 50 achieved?  Mentioned: Tom Hickenlooper, James Altucher, Skip the Line   29:00- Does Todd think there is rating deflation in US Chess and FIDE?   Mentioned: Paul Iinuma 32:00- How does this data impact how Todd approaches chess?  36:00- Why does Todd choose to focus on speed chess and blitz with his chess time?  Mentioned: Pre-order My Book- Perpetual Chess Improvement, IM Greg Shahade’s Blog Post “Slow Chess is Dying”  44:00- Is there a rating below which playing speed chess does not result in an improvement in playing?  46:00- Why does Todd still play the King’s Gambit?  Mentioned: The King’s Gambit by GM John Shaw, IM Ryo Chen  52:00- Patreon mailbag question: What is Todd’s advice for improving thinking processes at the board?  Mentioned: The Amateur’s Mind by IM Jeremy Silman  57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Should amateurs invest the time to learn antidotes to dodgy but popular amateur openings like The Stafford Gambit?”  1:01:00- What other chess books made a difference for Todd?  Mentioned: Attacking Chess with Josh Waitzkin, Best Lessons of a Chess Coach by FM Sunil Weerumantry 1:04:00- What has Todd learned from watching his son pursue chess?  1:07:00- Todd’s final chess improvement advice? 1:12:00- Thanks to Todd for joining!  Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/thestrongchess?lang=en Or chess.com here: https://www.chess.com/member/toddbryant If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Sep 20231h 16min

This week our guest is WFM Maaike Keetman. Maaike is a 2016 Dutch Chess Olimpian and youth champion, who is also a Chessable author and member of its content creation team. Maaike joined me shortly after competing in a big open tournament in Europe, The Czech Open. Maaike reflected on her own performance and also highlighted what anyone considering playing in this tournament in future years could expect. Following that, we discuss the September 1 launch of Chessable’s ‘Create Your Own Course’ contest. This contest is a unique opportunity for community members to share their passion for chess, and to potentially win prizes and earn extra income. Lastly, we discuss a few topics important to Maaike’s chess experience, including The Chess Steps Method, and the most memorable moments of her chess career.  The Chessable Contest Launches September 1, here is all the info you need: https://www.chessable.com/create/ 0:02- Maaike joined me shortly after returning from The Czech Open in Pardubice. For prospective tournament players, she discusses what she liked and disliked about the tournament, and she assessed her own performance. Maaike had to withdraw from the tournament due to sickness, so she was unable to finish the tournament.  Mentioned: CM Vjekoslav Nemec, More Czech Open Info here: https://www.czechopen.net/en/, Sunway Sitges, Reykjavik Open  11:00- Maaike plays in the Dutch Chess League and the English 4NCL League as well. She discusses the formats of these leagues.  15:00- What are Maaike’s current objectives with her chess game?  19:00- Maaike discusses her work at Chessable and the annual “Create Your Own Chess Course” contest. Upon context launch on September 1, there will be more info at this link: https://go.chessable.com/create/ Mentioned: The Checkmate Patterns Manual, Visualize by Benedictine, CM Can Kabadayi’s Chessable Courses, GM Maurice Ashley’s Secrets of Chess Geometry, Maaike’s How to Create a Chessable Course Video  31:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are the best practices of the most accomplished Chessable users?’  Mentioned: NM Han Schut, NM Todd Bryant, Perpetual Chess Improvement, Available November 1!, Alex Crompton’s Blog Post, EP 256 with Alex Crompton  35:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What changes have taken place at Chessable since it was acquired by Chess.com?’  40:00- What was it like growing up vis-a-vis The Chess Steps system in The Netherlands?  Mentioned: EP 335 with Matthew Ball and WIM Natasha Regan  43:00- Maaike shares her memories of playing on the Dutch National Team at the Olympiad.  47:00- If Maaike were to emphasize improving her chess game, what would she prioritize?  50:00 Maaike’s fondest and least fond chess memories!  51:00- Thanks to Maaike for joining the pod!  If you have questions about the Chessable contest, email hello at chessable dot com Or post in the Chessable forums: https://www.chessable.com/discussion/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate You can pre-order my forthcoming book here: https://www.amazon.com/Perpetual-Chess-Improvement-Practical-World-Class/dp/9083336549/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32H1VUUP9AHO8&keywords=perpetual+chess+improvement&qid=1692411671&s=books&sprefix=perpetual+chess+%2Cstripbooks%2C119&sr=1-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

29 Aug 202357min

GM Melik Khachiyan is a top player and former chess Olympian. He is also a trainer who has taught many future GMs and has coached the US Women’s national team for many years. Despite his many successes, Melik had never won a US Championship of his own…until this year. In 2023, Melik beat out many higher-rated U.S. legends to comfortably win the U.S. Senior Championship! In our conversation, Melik takes us behind the scenes of the games and opening preparation, and his training regimen during the weeks leading up to the tournament. Melik thinks that he was propelled to victory by a couple of decisions in particular: 1) a focus on physical fitness and 2) his staying active in competitive chess. Melik always has lots of chess knowledge to impart, but his recent successes highlight the importance of perseverance, both at and away from the board. And of course, as GM Levon Aronian’s childhood coach, and a former student of World Champion Tigran Petrosian, Melik always has a few stories to share. You can find timestamps of topics discussed below.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com.  New courses include:  Starting Out: The Scotch by Fiona Steil-Antoni and IM Alex Astaneh  Techniques of Positional Play featuring GM Peter Heine Nielsen  Check out my favorite Chessable courses here:  You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ My prior interview with Melik:  Episode 64 with GM Melik Khachiyan 0:00- Melik explains the story behind his last-minute invitation to the U.S. Senior Championship.  5:00- What did Melik do to change his chess training and fitness routine leading up the tournament?  Mentioned: Khachiyan-Root 2023 12:00- Patreon mailbag question- “How has Melik’s tournament approach changed over the years?”  20:00- Did Melik gain an edge over his competitors by continuing to compete? Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein  25:00- Patreon mailbag question:  Has Melik changed his opening repertoire in recent years? 30:00- What was the story behind Melik’s game with Dlugy which began with the unusual sequence 1. Nf3 c5 2. C3 ? Melik also discusses his unusual preparation for GM Patrick Wolff  Mentioned: Khachiyan-Dlugy 2023, Khachiyan-Wolff 2023 39:00- What  does Melik do to deal with sleep problems that occur during tournaments?  42:00- What are Melik’s memories of competing in the 1996 Olimpiad in Yerevan, with his then student FM Levon Aronian, also on the Armenian team?  44:00- In my recent interview with GM Aronian he discussed traveling to tournaments in the cargo department of a plane. What were Melik’s recollections of those rides? What does Melik think Levon learned from growing up so poor?  Mentioned: Episode 341 with GM Levon Aronian  50:00- How was World Champion GM Tigran Petrosian’s table tennis game? What did Tigran think of speed chess?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

22 Aug 202357min

We catch you up on the riveting 2023 FIDE World Cup. I am joined by Chessable author and blogger, CM Vjekoslav Nemec to discuss the tournament so far, then FIDE Press officer IM Michael Rahal joins me from the playing hall in Baku to describe the venue and what it has been like to do post-game interviews with the players, including one with Magnus Carlsen that went viral.  Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsor, Chessable.  Check out FM Nate Solon’s new course here:  https://www.chessable.com/100-repertoires-reti-1nf3/course/170854/ And check out GM Pepe Cuenca’s Lifetime Repertoires: Queen’s Gambit Declined here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-queens-gambit-declined/course/57401/ 0- Rundown of the results at the FIDE World Cup.  4:30- Vjekoslav Nemec joins the show. What have the most noteworthy stories of this World Cup? What do we expect in the final round? 24:00- FIDE Press Officer IM Michael Rahal joins me from Baku!  You can check out all of Michael’s interviews in Baku on the FIDE YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FIDE_chess You can follow Michael on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/rahal_michael?lang=en You can follow Vjekoslav here: https://twitter.com/chessentials_?lang=en Read his blog here: https://t.co/1tZcgGs5uW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Aug 202352min

Jeff Sonas is a software engineer and database consultant who is also one of the world’s leading experts on chess ratings. As you may have read, FIDE recently proposed some changes to its rating system (partially due to Jeff’s advice). . In our conversation, Jeff explains the background of his work on ratings, and why he feels that changes to the system are necessary. Following a detailed and fascinating conversation about chess ratings, we discuss Jeff’s excellent historical chess site, Chessmetrics.com, which compares the relative strength of top chess players across eras. Due to his expertise on the topic, I also invited FM Nate Solon to co-host this episode. Nate writes about chess and data on his excellent blog, Zwischenzug.As always, you can find timestamps of topics discussed below.  Sign up for my newsletter, The Perpetual Chess Linkfest here:  https://benjohnson.substack.com FIDE Press release about Proposed Rating Changes- https://fide.com/news/2538 Jeff’s paper-  https://www.fide.com/docs/presentations/Sonas%20Proposal%20-%20Repairing%20the%20FIDE%20Standard%20Elo%20Rating%20System.pdf NM Vanessa West's Summary of the Proposed Changes: https://www.chess.com/news/view/fide-mathematician-proposes-changes-to-improve-rating-accuracy Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable. Here are some courses to check out FM Nate Solon’s course here: 100 Repertoires: Reti (1.Nf3)  You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 04:00- We welcome Jeff Sonas to the show!  04:30- He begins by discussing the history of his work in ratings, and specifically with FIDE. Jeff also discusses how he has gone from worrying about inflation to deflation? Mentioned: Rating Inflation: Its causes and Its possible cures  26:00- Patreon mailbag question- Could Jeff put a number on the amount of deflation? Is there deflation on the chess playing websites?  36:00- More explanation of the causes of deflation  Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard’s Tweet, Article by Tarjei Svensen about Velpula Sarayu’s Record Performance  42:00- Does the deflation matter, other than for reasons of vanity?   48:00- What does Jeff think of the Glicko system?  Episode 249 with Dr. Mark Glickman, Jeff’s Archive of Chess Writing  53:00 Patreon mailbag question: How feasible is a universal rating system based on engine move matching?  Mentioned: Read Jeff’s paper here: https://www.fide.com/docs/presentations/Sonas%20Proposal%20-%20Repairing%20the%20FIDE%20Standard%20Elo%20Rating%20System.pdf 59:00- Jeff discusses the history and methodology of his awesome chess history website, Chessmetrics Mentioned: Jeff’s Series: Who is the Greatest Player of All Time  1:10:00- Where would Carlsen rank? 1:14:00- What would be the biggest challenge to creating a chess site similar to a basketball reference or ultimate tennis statistics?  1:16:00- Has Jeff ever gotten inquiries about his data from top players? Mentioned: Chess24 top 50 of all time Series with GM Jan Gustafsson and GM Peter Heine Nielsen  1:18:00- Which historical player is underrated?  1:25:00- What is Jeff’s own chess background?  1:28:00-  Thanks so much to Jeff for joining the podcast! You can reach him via the Chessmetrics website: http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/Introduction.asp And be sure to subscribe to FM Nate Solon’s free blog here: https://zwischenzug.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

15 Aug 20231h 34min