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

This week Perpetual Chess welcomes back IM Kostya Kavutskiy. Kostya is a respected trainer, a founder of the ChessDojo training platform, a YouTube creator, and a Chessable author. I caught up with Kostya shortly after he returned from the North American Open, so we got the rundown on his own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the U.S. tournament landscape. Since Kostya is a popular online presenter, he received a bunch of listener questions soliciting chess improvement tips.  Lastly we checked in on Kostya’s content- creation plans, and the “state of the Dojo,” as Kostya discussed visions for the teaching platform that he heads, along with GM Jesse Kraai and IM David Pruess. It is always insightful to talk chess with Kostya! Please read on for timestamps and show notes.  Prior Interviews: Perpetual Chess Episode 4 with IM Kostya Kavutskiy   Perpetual Chess Episode 89 with IM Kostya Kavutskiy  How to Chess #20 with IM Kostya Kavutskiy  0:00- Kostya shares lessons learned from his recent tournament in the North American Open about improving game preparation and execution. You can watch video recaps of all of his rounds here.  Mentioned: Continental Chess, The Secret Ingredient by GM Jan Markos, GM Andrew Tang, IM Levy Rozman  19:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here:  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 21:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are the chances a Class A player over the age of 50 can earn the Master title?”  Mentioned: IM Levy Rozman’s Tweet  30:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Where can older players find a coach?” Mentioned: Lichess coaches page, Chess.com coaches page  34:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What might the subject of Kostya’s next Chessable course be?”  Mentioned: How to Chess #20 with IM Kostya Kavutskiy  37:00- What is discord? What is Chess Dojo? What is new with Chessdojo? Mentioned: IM David Pruess, GM Jesse Kraai,   41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Aimchess analyzes your online games and provides actionable improvement insights. Check out their updated website, and if you decide to subscribe please use the code “Perpetual30” to save 30%.  42:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Kostya balance his time between ChessDojo and his own chess goals?”  46:00- Patreon mailbag question “With the growth of the Dojo, what content would you like to see it offer that is currently missing?”  Mentioned: Link for ChessDoJo Discord here 53:00- What chess advice does Kostya repeat the most often?  55:00- What chess books does Kostya recommend? List of his recs here, Top 4 Most Overrated Chess Books Video, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, My System, How to Reassess Your Chess, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual  1:05:00- Kostya’s has other interests outside of chess. We talk about them here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Jan 20221h 11min

Perpetual Chess is back with another adult improver multi-guest “special edition.” This episode is called, “Master to IM” and continues the series started in Episode 217 (IM to GM). As the title suggests, we feature Master-level players who are training and competing with the hope of earning the FIDE International Master title (IM.) Our three guests are FM Doug Eckert, NM Evan Rosenberg, and FM Dalton Perrine. Each interview is entertaining and insightful in its own way. Our guests discuss questions like, “What chess skills differentiate a Master from an IM?” and “Why are our 3 guests willing to sacrifice so much time and money to play competitive chess in order to earn this title?” And, of course, they share many details about their regimens for training and competing.. Please read on for more details and timestamps! 0:00- Intro Mentioned: Check out the new dedicated Perpetual Chess Adult Improver page here, and the Spotify Adult Improver Playlist here  4:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Aimchess analyzes your online games and provides actionable improvement insights. Check out their updated website, and if you decide to subscribe please use the code “Perpetual30” to save 30%.  5:00- FM Doug Eckert joins the show! Doug is a 57 year-old retired CPA, dad, and board member of the St. Louis Chess Club.  Mentioned: GM Patrick Wolff, GM Maxim Dlugy, GM Jacob Aagaard’s Killer Chess Training, Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos, Charlotte Winter Invitational Results here, Reykjavik Open 2022  35:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here.   36:30- NM Evan Rosenberg joins the show! Evan is a 38 year-old lawyer, dad, and chess trainer, with a Masters in Education.  Mentioned: Dojo All Stars: Evan Rosenberg, FM Sunil Weerumantry, Info for the Norm tournament that Evan and Levy Rozman will be playing in is here: http://nycchessnorms.com/players/, Evan Rosenberg-Dominique Myers 2021, How to Chess with GM Eugene Perelshteyn, Abdusattorov-Carlsen 2021  52:00- New sponsored segment! Evan and I discuss  Chess.com insights, which is one of many features available with a diamond level Chess.com membership that highlights your strengths and weaknesses based on your games. It also tests you on any missed tactics. Diamond level membership also gets you full access to Chess.com’s huge video library. Whatever membership level of Chess.com you choose, you can help support the pod by signing up using this link.  1:21:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessvis.com. Chessvis is an educational chess app which helps you train your visualization skills. You can check out their website, or search for the app on Android or Iphone.  1:23:00- FM Dalton Perrine joins the show! Dalton is a 28 year- old chess trainer and the author of the Chessable course, Survive and Thrive: How to Blunder Less and Defend Better.  Mentioned: Episode 8 with GM Sam Shankland, Episode 217 IM to GM Episode , How to Chess with FM Dalton Perrine, Recognizing Your Opponent’s Resources by IM Mark Dvoretsky , GM Jacob Aagaard’s Grandmaster Preparation Series and Excelling at Chess Series, Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors Series, GM Johan Hellsten’s books, Strategic Chess Exercises, Critical Moments  1:55:00-  Thanks so much to our guests for joining the pod! Here are the chess.com accounts at which you can reach them: Chess.com accounts:  FM Doug Eckert  NM Evan Rosenberg FM Dalton Perrine Twitter: Evan Rosenberg Dalton Perrine Dalton’s Website: https://nextlevelchesscoaching.com/  Email Dalton at NextLevelChessCoaching at gmail.com Dalton's Course: Survive and Thrive: How to Blunder Less and Defend Better. 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

11 Jan 20222h 3min

Perpetual Chess is back with an edition of Chess Books Recaptured, a recurring book review podcast. Today I am joined by Martin Justesen to discuss the underrated Soviet-era classic Questions of Modern Chess Theory, by Isaac Lipnitsky. Originally published in 1956 in the Soviet Union, it was not translated and published in English until Quality Chess did it in 2006. And the chess world is quite lucky that it was translated! As usual we share historical details, lessons learned from the book and a few favorite segments in our discussion. Of course we also get into some of the details of Isaac Lipnitsky’s life, as well as discussing what is new with our returning guest-co-host, Martin. Please read on for more details and timestamps.  Martin's prior Adult Improver Interview: Episode 209 0:00- Why did Martin choose this book? What makes it noteworthy?  Mentioned: Book Recap #18- Nimzowitsch’s My System, Endgame by Frank Brady  8:30- For what level chess player is this book most helpful?  Mentioned: Logical Chess Move by Move, Winning Chess Strategies, Simple Chess  12:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Aimchess analyzes your online games and provides actionable improvement insights. Check out their updated website, and if you decide to subscribe please use the code “Perpetual30” to save 30%.  13:30- We discuss the formats in which the book is available. We couldn’t find much beyond the paper book format.  17:00- Who was Isaac Lipnitsky?  19:00- Why is this book sometimes compared to IM John Watson’s Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy? Mentioned: Lipnitsky-Petrosian 1950, Episode 258 With GM Matthew Sadler, Translator John Sugden  28:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here:  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com 29:30- What were the most noteworthy segments of the book?  Mentioned: Anderson-Kieseritzky, Botvinnik-Capablanca 1938, Steinitz-Von Bardeleben 1895   46:00- Thanks so much to Martin for joining the show Check out all of Martin’s Books Here:  Amazon.com: Martin B. Justesen: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle Also Mentioned: Street Smart Chess, Improve Your Chess Now  Sign up for Martin’s newsletter here. This month we will make another donation to Chess in Slums.  Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chess-education-in-africa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet Listen to my Interview with Tunde Onakoye on Episode 219 54:00- This month's blindfold puzzles are straight from Martin's new book, Blindfold Opening Visualization Puzzle #1, White to move - 1. E4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. Nc3 Ne7 5. Nd5 g6?? Puzzle #2, White to move- 1. Nf3 d5 2. G3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. D4 e6 5. 00 Nf6 6. C4 dxc4 7. Ne5 Nxd4? You can find a Lichess study with the answers to both puzzles here: https://lichess.org/study/ZYkBctm8/gXF6JORT If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Jan 20221h 1min

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess marks the return of award-winning author, Chessable writer, and noted opening theoretician, IM Christof Sielecki. Christof has recently released, Keep it Simple: Black, an ambitious course which provides solid opening lines against every possible White first move. We discuss how Christof’s process for creating Chessable courses, using engines and choosing opening lines, has evolved over the years. Of course, there was quite a bit of chess news in the form of the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz, so we also spent some time discussing this tournament, its standout performances, and its many attendant controversies. Lastly, Christof always has a few fun stories to share, and this interview was no exception.  He shared some details about the process behind helping to create The Magnus Touch with Magnus and his team. As always, you can read on for more details and show notes below.  Prior interviews with IM Christof Sielecki:  Episode 6 Episode 153 Book Recap 18- My System  0:00- FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Recap and discussion Mentioned: Dude fell from his chair!, GM Magnus Carlsen-GM Nodiberk Abdusattorov Blitz game  26:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out IM Christof Sielecki’s courses, including free “Short and Sweet” previews of his new course here.  27:30- How did Christof decide which openings to include in “Keep it Simple Black?”  Mentioned: Lifetime Repertoires: Pirc Defense, Lifetime Repertoires: Caro-Kann, Lifetime Repertoires: Nimzo-Ragozin  44:00- How has Christof’s use of engines evolved during the process of designing courses?  Mentioned: Chessify Cloud Engine Rental  49:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com.  Aimchess analyzes your online games and provides actionable improvement insights. Check out their updated website, and if you decide to subscribe please use the code “Perpetual30” to save 30%.  51:00- Christof tells the story of meeting and working with GM Magnus Carlsen and family in conjunction with Magnus’ course The Magnus Touch.  1:02:00- What will Christof be working on next?  Mentioned: Episode 257 with GM Erwin L’Ami  1:05:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What role should openings and Chessable opening courses play for amateur club-level players?’ 1:17:00- Thanks so much to Christof for rejoining us! Here are links to keep up with him: Keep it Simple Black is ON SALE now. Get it here: Keep It Simple For Black - MoveTrainer™ Course - Chessable.com Short and sweet free previews here and here  Follow Christof on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ChessExplained Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4 Jan 20221h 23min

On this holiday week, with The Perpetual Chess Podcast having recently turned 5 years old, it seemed like an appropriate time to feature myself as “the guest” on Perpetual Chess. In order to help out, I brought in longtime listener of the pod, chess journalist and improver, Chris Wainscott, to perform hosting duties. Chris and I covered lots of ground, as he asked me about the origins of Perpetual Chess, its growth over the years, my approach to interviewing people, favorite interview types and “dream guests.” He asked probing questions about  my own chess origins and improvement efforts. Although I do prefer being the interviewer rather than the interviewed, it was fun to play the other role and to answer so many good listener questions. Details and show notes are below.  0:00-    My chess background, and when did chess initially captivate me? 15:00-  There are always great new courses from Chessable including FM Kamil Plichta’s Lifetime Repertoires: Accelerated Dragon. Check out what else is new here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 16:00- Patreon mailbag question:’When will GM Yasser Seirawan be on the show?”  Mentioned: EP 134 with Megan Chen 19:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How did Perpetual Chess come to be?”  23:00- Patreon mailbag question: ‘To what do you attribute the podcast’s success?” 25:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What do you wish you had  known at the beginning? Any regrets?” 26:00- Patreon mailbag question: “ How has your  interviewing style/approach evolved?”  31:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What do you consider to be the highlights of the show?”  35:00- Twitter question:  “Which handful of episodes are most representative of Perpetual Chess?”  Mentioned: Ep. 193 Tom Murphy, EP 250- FM Asa Hoffmann, EP. 76 Andrez Kryzdwa, GM Jan Timman, EP 15 GM Alex Yermolinksky. plus I forgot to mention my favorite episode, a World Championship prep oral history with GM Peter Heine Nielsen 40:00- Twitter question: “When will you do a Chessable course?’ 42:00- Twitter question: “What are the most challenging types of interviews? What are your favorite non-chess podcasts?”  Rights to Ricky Sanchez, Animal Spirits Podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Fresh Air, The Ezra Klein show, Death, Sex and Money  46:00-  Patreon mailbag question: “What is your work flow/chess study regimen like in a given week?” 50:00- What value does my producer, Mathew Passy bring to the podcast?   52:00- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  53:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How has your approach to chess studying changed over the years?”  Mentioned: Greg and Jen Shahade, GM Maurice Ashley  58:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are your own favorite training tools? What guests’ advice resonated with you?”  Mentioned: Neal Bruce, GM Jacob Aagaard, Thinking Inside the Box, GM Jan Gustafsson  1:03:00- When it comes to competitive chess? What is my “why?  Mentioned: GM Jonathan Rowson’s The Moves that Matter  1:07:00- What are my goals in OTB chess? Mentioned: Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos, Episode 232 with James Altucher  1:10:00- Patreon mailbag question: What are my favorite learning tools?  Mentioned: Episode 257 with GM Erwin L’Ami  1:13:00- How has life changed since Queen’s Gambit?  1:16:00- My evolving philosophy for choosing Adult Improver guests  Mentioned: Episode 256 with Alex Crompton  1:19:00- Who are my “dream guests?”  Mentioned: Lazslo Polgar, Magnus’ Bullet Twitch Stream, GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic, GM Ulf Andersson  1:25:00- Thanks so much to Chris for guest co-hosting!  You can read his blog and book reviews here: http://ontheroadtochessmaster.com/ And follow him on Twitter here:  https://twitter.com/cwainscottmke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Dec 20211h 35min

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is 2 time British champion, and award winning author, GM Matthew Sadler.  Matthew has been one of Great Britain’s top players for decades and is currently ranked #41 in the world. He has impressively managed to maintain his form well into his 40s while working outside of chess. Matthew has also made quite a mark as an author. His books,Gamechanger and the adult improver focused, Chess for Life, both co-authored with WIM Natasha Regan, are both favorites of this podcast. You can hear us discuss these books in Episode 112. In Matthew’s new book, The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement, Matthew goes beyond just Alphazero and extracts lessons for humans from many of the other modern chess super engines. He is also the regular book reviewer for NIC magazine, and did game recaps of the 2021 FIDE World Championship with none other than GM Garry Kasparov! I am happy to report that Matthew was very generous with his time, so we managed to cover all of these areas of chess interest in our conversation. Timestamps and relevant links are below.  0:00- As a full time IT professional, author, New in Chess book reviewer, content creator and top player, how on earth does Matthew get so many things done?  04:45- What are some of Matthew’s favorite recent chess books? Mentioned: Winning by GM Nigel Short , The Creative Power of Boguljubov, The Unstoppable American  10:00- What did Matthew observe from Magnus’ play in the World Championship.  Mentioned: Silicon Road to Chess Improvement YouTube Channel, Chessbase India video with GM Peter Heine Nielsen, More Info on the TCEC- Top Engine Chess Championship, Games from the match here  24:00- What can club players learn from super engines?  Mentioned: Small Steps to Giant Improvement 31:00- Does Matthew see an engine footprint in GM Alireza Firouzja’s play? Mentioned: Erdos-Firouzja 2021, Acquisition of Chess Knowledge in Alpha Zero  36:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Did Alphazero’s opening acquisition trace the path of the evolution of chess?” 38:00- There are always great new courses from Chessable including FM Kamil Plichta’s Lifetime Repertoires: Accelerated Dragon. Check out what else is new here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 40:00- Why does it seem like the numerical evaluations of engines are getting more extreme, i.e. “+5 in an even position?”  45:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Do engines still threaten to end competitive chess"?” Mentioned: GM Pia Cramling, GM Juan Bellon, GM Robin van Kampen  50:00- What are Matthew’s thoughts on Magnus’ recent mention of potentially dropping out of the World Championship cycle?   55:00- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  57:00- Patreon mailbag question “If chess is fundamentally a draw, why do top engines still sometimes beat each other?  1:00:00- Patreon mailbag question; “Will engine play become more “human” in the future?’ Plus, Matthew on Magnus’ uncanny ability to play mistake-free chess.   Mentioned: Maia bots on Lichess, Topalov interview with Chess24 1:09:00- Matthew describes the experience of working with Kasparov on World Championship recap videos 1:15:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does correspondence chess have a future given the preponderance of draws?’  1:22:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Are there engines that are more instructive about how to convert advantages in a “human” way that avoids complications?”  1:28:00- Patreon mailbag question: What chess improvement and maintenance tips can Matthew share for other adults? 1:38:00- Patreon mailbag question: Why does The Carlsbad structure fascinate Matthew so much?” 1:41:00- Thanks so much to Matthew for being so generous with his time. Here are the links to keep up with his content.  Twitter Silicon Road to Chess Improvement YouTube Channel Buy the Book here Or The E Book from New in Chess here  Chess for Life Gamechanger  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Dec 20211h 51min

Perpetual Chess is back for one more World Championship wrap-up (among other topics) with top Dutch player, trainer, and popular Chessable author, GM Erwin L’Ami. As the second to GM Anish Giri, and a former member of GM Veselin Topalov’s World Championship team, Erwin shares his general reflections on the Carlsen-Nepomniatchtchi match, as well as lots of insights about the opening choices of each player. We also talk about chess improvement. Erwin himself is gearing up to compete in the prestigious Tata Steel tournament in Wijk an Zee after a long layoff from OTB chess. He also answers some listener questions relating to how amateurs should approach openings. Lastly, I was quite interested to hear how chess engines and opening theory have changed, even in the time since Erwin last was a guest on Perpetual Chess, in 2020. There is always lots to learn from GM L’Ami, so please enjoy the conversation, and check out the relevant links and timestamps below if needed.  Prior interview: Episode 186 with GM Erwin L’Ami  0:00- Erwin shares his thoughts about the World Championship, especially the openings chosen.  Mentioned: The games we discuss can be viewed here, Chessbase India interview with GM Peter Heine Nielsen and GM Vladimir Potkin, Sesse Engine  30:00- There are always great new courses from Chessable including FM Kamil Plichta’s Lifetime Repertoires: Accelerated Dragon. Check out what else is new here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ 30:30- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.  31:30- How is Erwin preparing for the Challenger’s group of the upcoming Tata Steel Chess Tournament?  Mentioned: More on the Dubov-Karjakin issue here. Perpetual Chess W.C. Pod with GM Jan Timman,   44:00- How does Erwin work on his tactics?  Mentioned: The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement, FM Frank Erwich’s 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players Silicon Road YouTube Channel, Kasparovchess World Championship Game Recaps  49:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. They offer a huge video library with instruction on every phase of the game.  50:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Is 1. e4 still ‘best by test’?”  Mentioned: Carlsen-Tari 2021  55:00- Patreon mailbag question: Have super-engines recently refuted any openings?  57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Would having a second for a round robin event be of any use for a 2200 level player?” 1:02:00- Patreon mailbag question: ‘What approach and opening resources does Erwin recommend for club level players?” 1:05:30- How did IM Cor van Wijgerdan, co-creator of the Chess Steps Series come up with so many cool puzzles?  Mentioned: Episode 142 with Han Schut, Episode 167 with IM Jop Delemarre 1:08:00- Are cloud-based engines taking over from heavy duty private machines?  Mentioned: Chessify  1:12:00- We wrap up with a bit more World Championship and Candidates Cycle talk  Mentioned: FIDE Grand Prix 2022 1:18:00- Thanks so much to Erwin for sharing his insights.  You can follow him on Twitter here.  Keep up with his Chessable courses here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Dec 20211h 29min

GM Vasyl Ivanchuk is a modern chess legend who has won countless tournaments including the 2016 World Rapid Championship and the 2007 FIDE World Blitz Championship. He has been ranked #2 in the World on 3 separate occasions. Vasyl is known for his creative play and his wide opening repertoire. Vasyl joined me just after the World Championship concluded to share his thoughts on the match, and to discuss his recent foray into Twitch streaming, his passion for checkers, and to answer my many questions about his illustrious career. So much fun to talk chess with "Chucky!" You can follow/subscribe to Vasyl's Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/ivanchukchess 0:00- Intro, Match Wrapup 6:00- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk joins the podcast! If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Dec 202145min