EP 437- Coach Jay Stallings and NM Adam Weissbarth talk Chess Teaching, Chess in the Movies and The Challenges and Rewards of Running a Chess Business

As the dust settles on the FIDE Candidates tournament and its attendant news, three- time British Champion and popular Chess24 commentator GM David Howell joins me to assess the news. As you might expect, we discuss the World Championship plans of David’s friend GM Magnus Carlsen, and we discuss both of the potential World Championship matchups, based on Magnus’ decision about whether to retain his title. David also assesses the performances of other notable players including GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Ding Liren, and GM Alireza Firouzja. In the second half of the interview we focus on David’s own career. David will be heading to India soon to represent Great Britain in the Olympiad, and he discusses his recent and upcoming tournaments. Lastly, David discusses his plans for commentating in the coming months and how he balances it with his playing career. I always appreciate David’s insights and modesty, and there is lots to learn from this conversation. Please read on for timestamps, for referenced links go to the podcast webpage here: Listen to Episodes! — The Perpetual Chess Podcast  Prior appearance: Episode 176 with GM David Howell  02:00- What are David’s thoughts about Magnus Carlsen and the World Championship cycle and any potential format changes ?  12:30- Patreon mailbag question: Is Magnus’ memory for chess positions on a par or better than other top players? 17:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 18:00- David shares his thoughts on Nepo’s dominant performance in the FIDE Candidates, as well as his other observations.  25:00- What did David think of the quality of the games in the Candidates? Could Nepo give Carlsen a better match in a rematch?  31:00- What chess improvement lessons can we learn from the Candidates?  35:00- We briefly discuss Firouzja’s disappointing showing in the Candidates.  38:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find IM Andras Toth’s new course, IM Irina Bulmaga’s, as well as so many others, here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/ 40:00- How is David’s OTB game as he prepares to represent Great Britain in the upcoming Chess Olimpiad?  45:00- David discusses his upcoming course with Magnus Carlsen, “Grind like a Grandmaster”  Mentioned: Chessable Tweet regarding the Course 46:00- British Olimpiad Team  49:00- David discusses playing the 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss, where he was close to qualifying for the 2022 Candidates, but lost a crucial game to GM Alireza Firouzja. 55:00- How is David enjoying work as a Chess24 commentator with WGM Jovanka Houska and Kaja Snare?  1:06:00- What does David think about the current trajectory of chess?   1:08:00- How is David enjoying doing the podcast The Late Knight Show?  1:13:00- David reviews his performance in the most recent World Rapid and Blitz tournament 1:16:00- How would David assess a Ding-Nepomniatchtchi match? 1:20:00- Thanks so much to David for sharing his insights! Here is how you can keep up with him: Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidHowellGM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidhowellchess/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Juli 20221h 23min

Chess Books Recaptured returns to discuss the beginner-oriented chess book, Play Winning Chess, by legendary GM, Yasser Seirawan. I am joined by Sam Robinson, who is a 28 year old, Chicago-based chess enthusiast. Sam got into chess in recent years, and this was one of the first chess books that he read. For him, it was the book that really started to demystify the subtler parts of the game. It was also my first time reading Play Winning Chess, and I found it to be a solid choice for newer chess players or for chess trainers looking to sprinkle some good anecdotes and instructive games into their lessons with newer players. Tune in to hear our conversation about the pros and cons of GM Seirawan’s landmark book. Timestamps and links can be found below.  0:00- Sam delves into his background and what got him into chess.  05:00- What resonated with Sam about Play Winning Chess to the extent that he wanted to discuss it?  Mentioned:  Book Recap #11- Yasser Seirawan’s Winning Chess Strategies with Neal Bruce  08:00- Which Formats are Available -  Book- Play Winning Chess (Everyman Chess) Ebook- ttps://everymanchess.com/products/winning-chess-strategies-revised-edtion?variant=17966519943230 Chessable- https://www.chessable.com/play-winning-chess/course/89222/ 09:00- Yasser’s bio and chess origins  11:00- What rating range would find this book most useful?  13:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out what’s new from them here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 15:00- How useful is Yasser’s construct of the four principles of chess: Force, Time, Space and Pawn Structure  19:00- Likes, dislikes and memorable quotes from Play Winning Chess  26:00- Does the difficulty of the material escalate too quickly?  32:00- How useful is Yasser’s concept of a “space count”?  36:00- We briefly discuss some YouTube videos that are great for beginners. Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew’s Chess Fundamentals, Naroditsky’s Speed Run, Hanging Pawns 39:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 40:00- Improvement takeaways from this book 49:00- What grade would we give this book? What similar books might I recommend?  Mentioned: Learn to Play Chess Like a Boss, Winning Chess Strategy for Kids, First Book of Morphy, Chess Steps, Chess by Laszlo Polgar, My First Chess Opening Repertoire  51:00- Thanks so Sam for helping out!  Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/sam_robs Or on Chess.com here: https://www.chess.com/member/samrobs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8 Juli 202258min

On this month’s Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess I am joined by Dr. Nicholas Vasquez. Dr. Vazquez is a dad and emergency physician who finds chess a welcome escape from a very stressful job. Despite the fact that chess is escapism for him, Dr. Vasquez has recently decided to get serious about chess improvement. He started working with a coach (NM Han Schut), playing tournaments, and working on puzzles from Chess Steps and Chessbase. Nicholas has learned a lot of lessons, and seen significant progress, raising his Chess.Com rapid rating from about 1350 to 1650 over the last couple of years. Dr. Vasquez shared lots of great insights in our interview, and I am confident that you will find this interview helpful and entertaining. You can find more information on all of the topics referenced, as well as timestamps below.  0:00- Be sure to subscribe to How To Chess on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-chess/id1572917817 0:02- After some time away, what event re-interested Nick in chess?  Mentioned: The Chess Steps Method, Episode 142 with Han Schut, Episode 274 with Adult Improver Paul Hedrick, Episode 167 with IM Jop Delemarre, Step 2 Thinking Ahead 09:00- With a hectic life, does Nick ever struggle with finding motivation for chess study?   15:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find IM Andras Toth’s new course, IM Irina Bulmaga’s, as well as so many others, here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/ 16:00- When Nick plays training games, does he use a chess set or a screen?  20:00- Nick shares the training regimen that his coach, Han Schut has devised for him.  25:00- Nick shares what he is learning from competing in the LiChess4545 league.  Mentioned: GM Jesse Kraai’s video “An Easy System Against the French”  28:00- What does Han’s trainer consider to be the key pillars of his success? What does it mean to “orient” oneself to a chess position?  32:00- What is Nick’s approach to openings?  34:00- What do Han and Nick prefer Chessbase tactics?  38:00- Which book helped Nick the most? Mentioned: The Improving Chess Thinker by NM Dan Heisman, Think Like a Super GM by GM Michael Adams and Philip Hurtado  41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 42:00- A few features to be aware of on Chesskid.com:  Summer Clubhouse : https://www.chesskid.com/learn/articles/summer-chess-clubhouse You can check out FunMaster Mike’s videos either on Chesskid itself or on YouTube for kids.   If you decide to sign your kid or your student(s) up for Chesskid, be sure to use this link to save 30% on a Chesskid Membership https://www.chesskid.com/membership/promo/perpetual 46:00- Was Nick surprised by the intensity of OTB chess?  54:00- Nick discusses the importance of feeling part of a community.  Mentioned: ChessDoJo discord 57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Is there stuff Nick needs to work on outside of doing the Steps Method?”  1:05:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Vazquez for joining the show.  You can play/reach him on Lichess here: https://lichess.org/@/nvasquez Or Chess.com here:  https://www.chess.com/member/nfv1972 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Juli 20221h 13min

Award Winning Author, Chessable Author, and Noted Opening Theoretician, IM Christof Sielecki joins me to discuss the FIDE Candidates Tournament through 12 rounds. Topics include: Nepo's dominance, the important battle for 2nd place, Alireza's struggles, Nakamura's Quick Draw in Round 12, the Quality of Play, and whether Magnus might be enticed to defend his crown if the World Championship format were tweaked. Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com and Aimchess.com. Here are a few of the articles, and videos we referenced: Hikaru's Round 12 Recap Click here to Download the Episode Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com and Aimchess.com. Here are a few of the articles, and videos we referenced: Chess by the Numbers Updated Probabilities Hikaru's Round 12 Recap MVL's Interview with Chessbase Tarjei Svenson for Chess24 on GM Kramnik's Comments The Games from the Candidates Nepo discussed a letter from FIDE in the postgame interview on Chess.com’s Broadcast GothamChess' Round 3 Recap Check out all of IM Christof Sielecki's Chessable Courses here: https://www.chessable.com/author/Chessexplained/   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess MVL's Interview with Chessbase Tarjei Svenson for Chess24 on GM Kramnik's Comments The Games from the Candidates GothamChess' Round 3 Recap Check out all of IM Christof Sielecki's Chessable Courses here: https://www.chessable.com/author/Chessexplained/ 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

2 Juli 20221h 8min

IM Irina Bulmaga is a Chessable Author, a writer, a  5 time chess Olimpian, and the highest rated woman player in Romania, where she now lives. Before emigrating from Moldova, Irina was the 2 time National Woman’s champion in her native country. But as Irina will tell you, she probably spends more time traveling for competitive chess than she spends in any one country.  In fact, she thinks she might be the most active chess professional on the European circuit. Irina joined me on a brief break between tournaments to recap some 2022 tournament successes. We also discussed her upcoming plans for the Olympiad and her lifelong goal of chasing the  Grandmaster title. This was a fun conversation filled with personal reflection, tournament recommendations and chess study tips and plans. Please read on for more details, links, and timestamps.  01:00-  Irina reflects on her recent tournament performances.  Mentioned: Irina’s Chessbase Tournament Report  07:00- Why does Irina think she prefers playing in open tournaments rather than women’s tournaments?  Mentioned: Irina’s Blog 12:00- How has getting a coach for the first time ever helped Irina’s game? What books has she read?  Mentioned: Think Like a Super GM, Seven Deadly Chess Sins, Improve Your Chess Calculation   GM Lubomir Ftacnik  19:00- As a 5 time Olimpiad member, How is the tournament different from others?  27:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 29:00- Does Irina enjoy the life of an itinerant chess professional?  33:00-In Irina’s opinion, how could professional chess be improved?  35:00- What big open tournaments would Irina recommend for chess amateurs? Mentioned: Isle of Man (Chess.com International), Gibraltar International Chess Festival, Sunway Sitges Chess Festival  38:00- What is Irina’s favorite tournament of any type?  European Men’s Championship  41:00- Does Irina think sexism is worse in chess than in other walks of life?  45:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find IM Andras Toth’s new course, IM Irina Bulmaga’s, as well as so many others here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/ 53:00- What tournaments does Irina have planned in addition to the Olimpiad? How was the experience of playing competitive chess in Cuba?  Mentioned: European Women’s Championship  58:00- How many languages does Irina speak?  1:00- Does Irina still hope to chase the GM title?  1:03:00- Thanks so much to Irina for joining me! Here is how to keep up with her: Chessable course: https://www.chessable.com/the-smyslov-ruy-lopez-3g6/course/114883/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/irinabulmaga?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iribulmaga/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Juni 20221h 6min

We’ve got 6 rounds in the books and GM Ian Nepomniathchtchi and GM Fabiano Caruana are comfortably in first and 2nd place, respectively. GM Jonathan Tisdall is an American born, Norway based author, journalist and is the 3 time champion of Norway. Jonathan has been covering high level chess for decades, so it was great to get his thoughts on the first 6 rounds of the Candidates. Is he surprised by Nepo’s dominance? What has gone wrong for Firouzja and Ding? Do the current leaders make it less likely that we will see Magnus defend the crown? It has been a fascinating tournament so far, and it was fun to discuss it with GM Tisdall! 03:00- GM Jonathan Tisdall joins the show. Mentioned: Chess by the Numbers Blog 15:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out GM Anish Giri’s Candidates videos on his YouTube ,and go Pro to get the course here: Learn chess online: openings, tactics & more - Chessable.com 16:00- Will Magnus defend against these guys? 28:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 30:00- Do we like the fact the clocks don’t have increments for this tournament? 39:00- Why does Nepo excel against everyone but Magnus? 45:00- Double blindness! We were referencing this moment in Anand’s game” https://twitter.com/norwaychess/status/1534982377293893633?lang=bg https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2288820 53:00- When will Jonathan’s next book finally come out? Mentioned: Nick Doody 57:00- We almost forgot to talk about GM Ding Liren! 1:00:00- Thanks to GM Tisdall for joining the show! You can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/GMjtis?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Juni 20221h 6min

This week I am joined by two accomplished players, trainers, and co-authors, Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn, and FM Nate Solon. Together, Nathan and Eugene have written the forthcoming book, Evaluate like a Grandmaster. As highly-accomplished players and trainers, Nate and Eugene noticed that there wasn’t a lot of chess literature helping players improve their ability to evaluate positions. They have written a great book to help address this problem. In our conversation, they highlight some of the lessons from the book, including an important discussion of the perils of relying too heavily on numerical engine evaluations. We also discuss some of the standout points and anecdotes from Nate and Eugene’s other work. Nate is a data scientist who writes a great, free chess newsletter called Zwischenzug, and Eugene is a respected opening theoretician who has recently released his first Chessable course, The Grand Prix Attack Reloaded. As always, you can find more details, relevant links, and timestamps below.  Prior Appearances by Eugene and Nate :  Episode 31 with GM Eugene Perelshteyn  Book Recap #17- Zurich 1953 with FM Nate Solon and GM Andy Soltis 02:00- Why write a book on evaluating positions?  09:00- Where do they find the puzzles? For what rating level is the book best suited?  12:00- Why does Nate think that the “centipawn” evaluation system is flawed? 20:30- Patreon mailbag question: “When calculating, how can we know when to shift from crunching potential moves to evaluating a position?” 25:00 What did GM Romani Dzindzichashvilli teach Eugene about evaluating positions? 27:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find the free “Endgame Strategy” Lesson from GM Sam Shankland here:  https://www.chessable.com/course/115673 28:00- Nate’s takes! What does Nate consider the “bare essential” chess improvement checklist to hold oneself accountable?  38:00 How well do club level players really know their openings?  52:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 53:00- Eugene tells the story of playing Magnus OTB at Isle of Man Masters in 2017.  1:00:00- What can we learn from Magnus’ approach to a recent Titled Tuesday?  1:07:00- How did Eugene find an unexplored move on move 5 in his Chessable Course, The Grand Prix Attack Reloaded? 1:12:00- Eugene shares a few stories about legendary, deceased Grandmaster, Alex Wojtkiewicz 1:17:00- Nate is an accomplished adult improver, he discusses how his background in poker helped his mental game in chess.  1:20:00- Parting book recommendations!  Mentioned: Zurich 1953, Perfect Your Chess, The Questions of Modern Chess Theory, Positional Decision Making in Chess, Dan Heismans books, GM Jacob Aagaard’s books, IM Kostya Kavutskity’s Chessable Course: Endgame Studies 101  Thanks to Nate and Eugene for joining us! Here are the key links to keep up with them: Evaluate like a GM website Nate’s Newsletter: Zwishenzug Eugene’s Chessable Course: The Grand Prix Attack Reloaded Nate’s Twitter Eugene’s Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Juni 20221h 31min

This week on Perpetual Chess we talk about chess improvement with one of the premier chess trainers in the world! GM R.B. Ramesh has worked with many of India’s top players including GMs Vidit Gujirathi, Harikrishna and Adhiban. I caught up with Ramesh on the night before he would commence a training camp with one of India’s Olimpiad teams. This team included Ramesh’s star student, GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who is one of the top junior players in the world and recently made headlines by defeating Magnus Carlsen. GM Ramesh is an author, including of the excellent new book, Improve Your Chess Calculation. In our conversation, we discussed Chess in India as it prepares to host the Olimpiad, the keys to Praggnanandhaa’s success, plus Ramesh answers many listener questions related to chess improvement. There is always so much to learn from GM Ramesh, and this conversation is no exception!  Prior Interviews:  Episode 144 with R.B. Ramesh Episode 166 with GM R.B. Ramesh and GM Jacob Aagaard  0:00- GM Ramesh joined me shortly before starting a training camp for one of India’s Olimpiad teams. How does he prepare materials for these phenoms?  08:00- What was it like to work with GM Praggnanandhaa as a younger chess student? 14:00- GM Ramesh has written that training should be more challenging than competing OTB. Is this approach feasible for adult improvers?  16:30- Ramesh shares visualization advice for adult improvers.  23:00- Patreon mailbag question- “At what rating is it appropriate to begin training with blindfold puzzles?”  Mentioned: Visualize series on Chessable  30:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. Or use this link for the same discount: https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12 31:30- GM Ramesh considers Anand a personal hero and now knows him personally, Is he surprised by GM Anand’s success at 2022 Norway Chess? 39:00- How did Ramesh react the first time GM Praggnanandhaa beat GM Magnus Carlsen?  43:00- Patreon mailbag question- “Will Ramesh do a Chessable course? How many books will be in his series?”  45:30- Patreon mailbag question- “What is Ramesh’s advice for handling tough losses?”  52:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are some common calculation mistakes that even GMs make?”  55:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What can we learn from the success of another of Ramesh’s students, WGM Divya Deshmukh?  57:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find the free “Endgame Strategy” Lesson from GM Sam Shankland here:  https://www.chessable.com/course/115673 59:30- Are chess players as a whole getting better at calculation?  Mentioned: Free excerpt of Ramesh’s book here.  Mentioned: GM John Nunn’s Secrets of Practical Chess 1:07:00- How does Ramesh define “the drawback principle”?  1:10:00- What advice can Ramesh share for knowing when to stop calculating within a variation?  1:14:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Ramesh observe from Firouzja’s phenomenal success? Does he have any Candidates predictions?” 1:17:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ramesh have an opinion on the fact that Indian players can no longer compete in the British Championship” (which Ramesh won in 2002)? 1:19:00- With the Chess Olimpiad set to take place in Chennai in July, Ramesh shares his thoughts on the explosion of chess in India.  1:24:00- In our last interview, Ramesh gave a ton of book recommendations. Is he keeping up with new chess books?  Mentioned: Judit Polgar’s Quality Chess Series, New in Chess Books, Quality Chess Books, Thinker’s Publishing  1:28:00- Thanks so much to Ramesh for sharing some of his chess expertise. Here are links for ways to keep up with him: Improve Your Chess Calculation  ProChessTraining.com  Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Juni 20221h 32min