EP.83 - Grandmaster Paco Vallejo

25-year-old GM Sam Shankland is already one of United States' best chess players and he hopes to achieve even greater heights in the chess world. In this interview, we discuss his Chess Olympiad succe...

24 Jan 201743min

GM Jon Ludvig Hammer shares what it's like to be a top-level player in chess-crazed Norway. We also discuss the highs and lows of his playing career, and we're privileged to hear his first-hand perspe...

17 Jan 201749min

IM Sielecki (Chess Explained on youtube) started competing in chess at the relatively late age of 13 and only recently turned chess teaching into a career. In this interview, Sielecki shares freely ab...

11 Jan 20171h 16min

Simon Williams (aka the Ginger GM) is an entertaining and original chess player, educator and personality. In this fun interview we discuss his background, the chess culture in England, and detail his...

4 Jan 201748min

Fresh from earning his 3rd and final IM norm, Kostya joins the podcast to tell us about his initial introduction to chess as a young kid in Los Angeles, and then about the event that rekindled his int...

28 Dec 20161h 4min

While only 23, Nazi Paikidze has already achieved a great deal in chess including recently winning the US Women's championship. We talk about this experience as well as the Olympiad, and her journey f...

9 Dec 201644min

In addition to being the funniest person in Germany, Jan Gustafsson is a pretty good chess player. He was once among the 100 highest rated players in the world and is widely respected for his vast ope...

9 Dec 201646min

Greg Shahade is an innovative and dedicated chess player, teacher and promoter. He is best known for founding the US chess school, the New York Masters, and the US chess league (now the pro chess leag...

9 Dec 201650min