Perpetual Chess Podcast

After 8 rounds, things have changed! As you may have heard, Magnus Carlsen has taken a 5-3 lead in the 2021 World Championship, highlighted by a record breaking, unforgettable win in Game 6. Please listen in as a do a quick rundown of the highlights of the match, then bring in two great guests: Grandmaster Jan Timman is the 9 time champion of the Netherlands, an award winning author, and was one of the highest rated players in the world for over a decade. Jan shares his thoughts on the match so far and discusses the ascendance of young Super GM Alireza Firouzja. John MacArthur is an accomplished scholastic coach and Twitch streamer who joined me just after returning from Dubai on Monday. Dubai was the 6th World Championship match he has attended. John shares some great stories and contrasts this event with the many other memorable matches he has attended. Timestamps and the links you need are below. 9:00- GM Jan Timman joins New in Chess Magazine  His latest book, The Unstoppable American: Bobby Fischer's R

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess marks the return visit of one of the top female players in the US, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan. I caught up with Tatev after a hectic few months in which she competed in the FIDE Women’s World Cup and also competed in and placed 4th in the US Women’s Championship. For good measure, she moved from Southern California to Kansas City to begin her work as the Director of Chess Content at chess startup Bryght Labs. Tatev’s busy schedule gave us plenty to talk about, as Tatev gave some insightful tournament reports, discussed her new job, and, of course, dispensed some chess improvement advice and some reflections on dealing with setbacks in chess. It is always fun to talk chess with Tatev, so we hope you make time for this interview in between World Championship rounds. Please read on for more details and show notes.  0:00- GM Johan Sebastian Christiansen recently expressed his extreme frustration with a slump in his competitive chess. Tatev talks about how common such feelings of f

With the Carlsen-Nepomniatchtchi World Championship match tied after 3 hard-fought draws, I do a quick rundown of the main story lines emerging from what has been a tense and entertaining battle so far. Then, we get reports from Dubai from Chessable C.E.O. Geert van der Velde, followed by Chess.com reporter/Trivia Whiz Jonathan Corbblah. Timestamps and the links you need are below. 0:00- Ben on the 3 key story lines from the match so far. 14:00- Chessable C.E.O. Geert van der Velde on what its like to watch the match from the Play Magnus lounge in Dubai. 30:30- Trivia Whiz turned Chess.com reporter Jonathan Corbblah on how he wound up in Dubai, and his favorite foods and memories from his trip so far. Links: Geert’s Twitter Jonathan’s Twitter Chessable Classroom (as Geert mentioned) Jonathan's Chess: A Reflection of Us is being premiered each day on Chess.com’s World Championship Broadcasts. Perpetual Chess Episode 161 with Geert van der Velde Perpetual Chess Episode 48 with Jonathan Corbblah Learn more ab

My guest for Part 2 of the World Chess Championship preview is chess blogger Tai Pruce Zimmerman. Tai is an accountant by training, who created the excellent Chess by the Numbers blog to write about elite chess from a statistical perspective. With the World Championship just days away, I was excited to have the opportunity to ask Tai to walk us through various scenarios in the upcoming showdown between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniatchtchi. We tackled questions such as the following:  Based on rating, how likely is Magnus to win? How likely are we to see tiebreaks? Would Magnus be as big a favorite if the match were to go to rapid tiebreaks? How likely would it be that one player “adopt” another? We take on all of these questions and more, as Tai describes how his model is made and tells all of the numbers we need to know for the match. As always, please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links!  0:00- Info from the Intro:  Be sure to go to MagnusNepo.com to join Aimchess’ Prediction Cha

Grandmaster Daniel King is a popular Commentator, Author, YouTube Creator and Chessable Author. As a player, he has represented England internationally, won many tournaments, and has beaten the likes of Anand and Korchnoi! On his excellent YouTube channel, Powerplay Chess, Daniel has recently been sharing his analysis of key games between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniatchtchi. With such a resume, he is the perfect person to join me for a preview of the World Championship match, which is less than a week away. Of course, when Daniel visits the podcast there is always more to be discussed. Other highlights include his unforgettable interactions with GM Viktor Korchnoi, and his long relationship with the Kalashnikov Sicilian, which is the subject of his excellent new Chessable course. Please read on for all of the details and relevant links.  0:00-  Info from the Intro:  Be sure go to MagnusNepo.com to join Aimchess’ Prediction Challenge!  Check out Chess.com’s easy-to-read World Championship schedule breakdow

GM Andy Soltis is an award winning journalist,World Chess Hall of Fame member, a Chess Life Magazine columnist , and a  prolific author who has written over 50 books. In this interview, we discuss Andy’s most recents works,  Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and Averbakh: A Chess Multibiography with 220 Games, and 500 Chess Questions Answered: for all new chess players.  We also discuss Andy’s own chess improvement journey, as well as the upcoming World Chess Championship. Andy is always fun to chat with due to his encyclopedic knowledge of all things chess. For lots more details, relevant links, and timestamps, please read on.  Previous appearances by GM Andy Soltis: Episode 91 with GM Andy Soltis  Episode 172 with GM Andy Soltis  Book Recap #17 - Discussing Zurich 1953 with FM Nate Solon and GM Andy Soltis   0:00- We begin by getting Andy’s chess improvement advice, including a Patreon question about whether Andy thinks chess books are superior to online learning tools as means for improving your game.

John Hartmann is the Editor of US Chess’ Chess Life and Chess Life Online, and the host of the podcast, Cover Stories with Chess Life. He was recently named the 2021 Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America, the second consecutive year he received this honor. When John last visited the podcast, US Chess was just coming to grips with the financial impact the pandemic would have on the organization. 18 months later, I am happy to report that John is back to give a more upbeat assessment of the state of the US Chess Federation. John is also an expert in chess computers - he built his current chess computer from scratch! John shares some fascinating tidbits about how top players use engines these days. Lastly, although it is not his top priority, John tries to work on his own game when time permits. While he prefers to think of himself as a #chessamateur instead of a #chessimprover, his online blitz rating is at an all-time high, and he always has useful book recommendations for improvers

This week FM Asa Hoffman joins us for an interesting talk. Asa is an author, speed chess specialist, and New York City chess legend. Like Bobby Fischer, Asa was born in 1943, and both spent their formative years in NYC. With such shared history, Bobby Fischer is one of the many chess legends with whom Asa had personal encounters and blitz battles. In fact, Asa has met every chess World Champion who came after Max Euwe! He also has beaten Fischer in a famous blitz game, and once defeated Gata Kamsky in a rapid game. In our interview, Asa sheds light on the personality of Bobby Fischer and tells a few of his favorite stories from his encounters with countless chess legends who have passed through New York. Please read on for more details, timestamps and relevant links.  0:00- What are Asa’s memories of Bobby Fischer? How does the current chess moment compare to the Fischer boom? Mentioned: Hans Kmoch, Al Horowitz, Sylvia Miles, GM Yasser Seirawan, Bernard Zuckerman, Asa Hoffman vs. Bobby Fischer (blitz, 1963) 

We are back for another edition of Chess Books Recaptured. This month we take a brief break from discussing books that are focused on chess improvement and discuss the eventful, insightful, autobiography, Chess is My Life, by legendary GM Viktor Korchnoi. Korchnoi, of course, was a 4 time Soviet champion, who eventually emigrated to Switzerland, and twice challenged GM Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship.  My guest co-host this month is John Fernandez. In addition to being an old friend of mine, John is a member of the US Chess Executive Board, a USCF expert, and was an early admin and employee of the Internet Chess Club. By day, he works as a Senior Vice President of Marketing at Glia, and he is also the father of twins. John has had some memorable interactions with GM Korchnoi, so it was great to hear those, as well as to discuss the book of this legendarily irascible chess figure. As you will hear, this 2 hour podcast only scratches the surface of Korchnoi’s legacy, so you might want to click through

Our guest this week is one of the world’s leading experts on chess ratings. Mark Glickman is a senior lecturer on Statistics at Harvard University, from which he completed a Ph.D. in statistics. Mark has been researching and sharing ideas about ratings for decades, and has been the chairman of the US Chess Ratings committee since 1992. He is the inventor of the Glicko and Glicko2 rating systems, versions of which are used on liChess and Chess.com. He is also a USCF Master, and has written and co-written several papers on ratings. In our conversation, we review the history of chess ratings, the efficacy of the “Elo rating system,” rating deflation and other potential issues with the current online and OTB systems. This was a fascinating conversation during which I learned a great deal! More info and shownotes below.  0:00- We begin by discussing how Mark became interested in ratings, and a bit about the history of chess ratings.  Mentioned: Arpad Elo, Kenneth Harkness Bradley-Terry Model, Ernst Zermelo 15:1

GM Noel Studer is a top Swiss player and a winner of many Swiss national titles. He has a popular and insightful blog called Next Level Chess, where Noel shares great chess improvement advice, book recommendations, and relates anecdotes from his experiences as a chess professional. Noel recently surprised his readers by announcing that at the age of 24 he is retiring from professional chess. In our conversation, Noel shares the reasons for his decision, and dispenses all kinds of awesome chess improvement advice. It was both helpful and enjoyable to hear all of Noel’s recommendations and stories. Please read on for lots more details and any relevant links.   0:00- What led to GM Noel Studer’s decision to retire from OTB chess at the age of 24? What is he planning next?  Mentioned: Derek Sivers  13:30- What will be the topic of Noel’s upcoming chess course?  16:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com  Chessmood offers a huge library of instructive videos. You can hear GM Avetik Grigorya

Michael Ross Franco is a 28 year old Applied Mathematics Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley who is also an accomplished chess improver. As Michael tells us, his interest in chess was sparked when he was looking for an engaging hobby while fighting leukemia in 2013. He started following the 2013 Carlsen-Anand World Championship match, and his interest has blossomed from there. Michael’s chess rating has also blossomed, as he has slowly climbed from beginner level to a 2300 peak Lichess Rapid Rating in the subsequent 8 years. In our interview, Michael details the books, experiences and lessons that have influenced him along the way. Please read on for lots more details and any relevant links.  0:00- Michael shares the unique story of how in 2013, the leukemia diagnosis left him looking for an engaging hobby, which turned out to be chess. Michael followed the 2013 Carlsen-Anand match and developed a particular affinity for Magnus Carlsen.  Mentioned: Chess Network YouTube Channel, PowerPlay YouTube Channel  10:30- M

Programming Note- this podcast is also being published in video format on Tryfon’s YouTube channel-link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw1o0opNJ-s Tryfon Gavriel, better known as “KingsCrusher” was one of the trailblazers of “Chess YouTube” and still uploads regularly to his following of over 110,000 subscribers. Tryfon launched his channel on a whim in 2007, and spent years as one of the most popular chess channels in the world. It was fun to hear Tryfon take us through those early days of online chess content, which feel like so long ago. As we discuss, Tryfon also has a keen knowledge of chess history, with a special interest in Bobby Fischer, Paul Morphy, and Mikhail Tal. Tryfon shares what makes these players so special and how we can apply lessons from their games. Tryfon is a bullet chess specialist who believes that studying these greats has even helped him at the fastest time controls. It was fun to talk chess history, chess content history and get some improvement tips from one of the origin

Chess Books Recaptured is back for another monthly book review/recap. This month I am joined by UX designer and recently-minted chess enthusiast, Jessi Shakarian to discuss the 1921 classic, Chess Fundamentals by former World Champion, Jose Raoul Capablanca. Jessi provides the perspective of someone new to chess who was looking to learn some basics from one of the all time greats of the game. I try to give some historical perspective on the book, as well as to detail why this did not turn out to be my favorite book, despite its being written by one of my favorite players. Of course, there are still many useful insights and beautiful chess moves in the book, and we try to share a few highlights in our conversation. As always, you can find more details and timestamps below. 0:00- We introduce this month's guest co-host Jessi Shakharian. Jessi shares a bit about her background and her recent deep dive into the chess world, and chess books in particular.  3:45- Patreon mailbag question- “What approach has Jessi

GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave is a 3 time champion of France, 2 time Sinquefield Cup winner, and perennial top 10 player in the world. Maxime joined me from his home in Paris while on a brief break from a hectic tournament schedule. In addition to some events in St. Louis, Maxime recently played in FIDE World Cup in Russia, and won the Zagreb Grand Chess Tour event in July. Maxime was very candid in our conversation as he discussed his recent successes, his 2nd place finish in the 2020-2021 Candidates Tournament, his thoughts on the World Championship match, and his opinions on the formats and qualification criteria of various important tournaments. It was amazing to hear the honest reflections of a chess player who is amongst the best in the world and still working to get even better! Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links.    0:00- We begin by discussing Maxime’s recent travels and chess events. Mentioned: MVL interview with Agadmator, FIDE Candidates, FIDE World Cup, FIDE Grand Swiss i

21 year old GM Andrew Tang (aka “PenguinGM”) is a former National High School champion chess player, popular Twitch streamer and Princeton University student. He is best known as one of the strongest “bullet chess” players in the world. Andrew is quite possibly the fastest moving Grandmaster in the world and has had many epic online battles with other elite bullet players like GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Daniel Naroditsky, and GM Alireza Firouzja. In our conversation, Andrew shares some great stories from his bullet battles, and talks about the origins of his chess skills. Other highlights of the interview include the lessons he learned from his childhood coach IM John Bartholomew, the feeling of playing GM Magnus Carlsen in person in the World Blitz championship, and his professional plans when he finishes college. This was a fun conversation with a very talented young man. More details and timestamps below.  2:00- How is Andrew so fast at chess? When did he realize he was good at bullet? What kind of mouse does

GM Anna Muzychuk is the winner of 3 FIDE World Championship events, and is consistently amongst the highest-rated woman players in the world. In 2012, Anna made history when she became the 4th Woman in history to cross the 2600 FIDE rating. After a lull during the Covid-quarantine, Anna has been actively competing again, and she made a deep run in the FIDE World Cup. Anna came in 4th place in this prestigious event, which earned her a coveted spot in the 2022 Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winner of that Candidates Tournament will challenge GM Ju Wenjun for the Women's World Championship title. As we discuss, Anna’s schedule of competitions is generally packed, but the Covid quarantine gave her a chance to try out commentating, Twitch streaming and even organizing a tournament, with her sister GM Mariya Muzychuk. We discuss which new hobbies Anna is likely to stick with, as well as her thoughts on many recent and upcoming events, and, of course, Queen’s Gambit. As always, timestamps and the details of all

GM Surya Ganguly is one of the top players in India, and was the India national champion for 6 consecutive years starting in 2003! He has won countless medals in National team events, and was the Asian champion in 2009. GM Ganguly also works actively as a trainer, and most notably, worked on the preparation team of of GM Viswanthan Anand for the 2008, 2010 and 2012 World Championship Matches. Given this unique experience, I couldn’t wait to hear GM Ganguly’s insightful reflections on the upcoming World Championship match. GM Ganguly is also an active trainer for us non-World Champions, and in fact, has recently released his first Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires: Nimzo/Semi-Tarrasch. Last but not least, Surya is a founding trainer of ProChessTraining.com. This experience informs Surya’s ability to share some useful tips for young chess talents and adult improvers alike. Please read on for more details and timestamps.  0:00- World Championship Match Talk! As a former member of GM Anand’s World Champion

This week on Perpetual Chess, we have two interviews in one for you! Return guest, FM Peter Giannatos, who many know as the founder and head of the award-winning Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy, is also an extremely accomplished adult improver, and in the first half of this interview, Peter shares many inspirational words and his best chess improvement advice.  As we discuss, in the past decade, Peter has made the difficult climb from 2100 to 2390 USCF! Peter has also improved his blitz game, but, as Peter explains, he does not think that requires the same skill set as playing slower tournament games. In the second half of the interview we turn our attention to Peter's new book and Chessable course.. It is a great resource for newer chess players and chess teachers. Last, but definitely not least, we discuss the current system for players seeking to earn the Grandmaster title. There has been a fair bit of conversation and controversy on this topic of late, so it was great to have one of the worl

This week’s Perpetual Chess is the much anticipated “Pawn Book Championship” with popular adult improver Neal Bruce. Neal learned chess from scratch after the age of 40, and has been consistently studying and using flashcards to improve his skills in the last handful of years. In the past year, Neal has turned his attention to better understanding pawn play and positional chess, and he has read 6 (!) different books in order to facilitate better chess understanding. We Perpetual Chess listeners are very fortunate that Neal has offered to do a podcast crowning the “champion” of the pawn books, and has also agreed to give his honest assessment of the other books. When not working on his chess game, Neal is the Chief Product Officer of a software startup and a father of 3, so we greatly appreciate his taking the time for this large project. Please read on for more details and relevant links.  0:00-  The transcript of episode 237 with GM Vladimir Kramnik is here If you would like to subscribe to the Perpetua