The Adult Improver Series returns with the remarkable story of FM Nick Matta, a five-time Louisiana State Champion who made one of the most unusual rating climbs in recent memory. Nick returned to tournament chess as a college freshman and went from roughly 1400 to 2400 USCF over the next decade. In our conversation, he breaks down the habits and mindset shifts that fueled that rise, including:

How complete immersion in chess during his college years accelerated his progress
Why the mental game became increasingly important as he climbed the rating ladder
The books, videos, and tools that helped him at each stage

Nick’s improvement in his 20s may be rare, but his insights are applicable to players of a wide range of levels. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.

Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! If you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

And you can check out their new offerings here:

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

00:00 – Intro & AnnouncementsFInd out more about the teaching job opportunity at IS 318 here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/796878173716685/posts/32637324772578611/
Join the Perpetual Chess discord here!

https://discord.gg/27AXnaUr

03:00 – Intro & Announcements

Find out more about the teaching job opportunity at IS 318 here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/796878173716685/posts/32637324772578611/
Join the Perpetual Chess discord here!

https://discord.gg/27AXnaUr

06:00 – Who Is FM Nick Matta?

Mentioned

Nick was also interviewed in episode 450- Hikaru in Louisiana

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2025/9/9/ep-450-hikaru-in-louisiana-stories-from-his-surprise-appearance-in-the-louisiana-state-championshipnbsp

Check out Nick’s USCF Rating History here:

https://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=12845401 His rapid rise from 1480 → 2390 and return to chess after Katrina.

Also Mentioned: Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andy Soltis, IM Jeremy Silman’s How to Reassess Your Chess, Pawn Power in Chess

11:30 – How the Improvement Started Immersion, study habits, book recommendations, and developing a love for feedback.

Mentioned: Kasparov’s My Story with GM James Plaskett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeEY66T0q80

GM Melih Khachiyan’s Evaluation and Planning Series on Chess.com

https://www.chess.com/video/player/evaluation-and-planning---part-1

26:00 – Openings, Training, and Evolution Why he constantly changed openings, how his training shifted as he reached master level, and learning from top coaches.

Mentioned: GM Gregory Kaidanov, IM John Bartholomew, GM Jacob Aagaard’s Thinking Inside the Box

35:00 – Time Trouble & Mental Game Breakthroughs Aagaard’s tough feedback, decision-making, cold-plunge training, meditation, and building emotional resilience.

Mentioned: Karpov in a cold plunge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAhtMKhvG1A

59:00 – Coaching, Pursuing the IM Title & Final Advice Balancing coaching with personal ambition, whether he’ll chase the IM title, and his distilled guidance for adult improvers.

1:15:00- Thanks to Nick for joining me! Here is how to reach him:

Lichess coaches page:

https://lichess.org/coach/nickmatta

Chess.com coaches page:

https://www.chess.com/member/nickmatta

Email-

Nickmatta13 at gmail.com

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

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