Paulo SantAnna is living the dream of many adult chess improvers. The retired software engineer has spent the past several years devoting serious time and energy to improving his game, and the results have been impressive. When Paulo rekindled his interest in tournament chess, his FIDE rating had fallen to a recent low of 1850. Through years of hard study, travel, disciplined training, and resilience, he recently reached a new high over 2100 FIDE in his mid-50s!

We discuss:

The moment Paulo decided to get serious about improvement
The mistakes he made early in his comeback
How he structures his training
Study recommendations and practical advice for adult improvers
Physical fitness, tournament selection, and maintaining motivation

I found Paulo’s story inspiring, and it offers hope for the rest of us, if we only could get rid of these pesky jobs.

0:00 Intro

More on the Adult Improver series here:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/adultimprover

Thanks to those who keep the show running!

Patreon

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4:00 Paulo’s chess comeback story begins

Check out Paulo’s FIDE history here:

https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2027402

6:00 Why his rating rebounded after moving to Europe

8:00 Retirement, Spain trips, and dedicating serious time to chess

11:00 Studying 35 hours a week

13:00 The dangers of doing too much

More about the Chessdojo here (use code “Ben” at checkout to save 10%) :

https://www.chessdojo.club/signup

17:00 Calculation training and daily routines

20:00 Openings, Chessable streaks, and training structure

23:00 Online blitz, model games, and coaching

25:00 How much he studies versus other adult improvers

27:00 Avoiding burnout and keeping motivation

29:00 Brazilian chess streamers and coaches

Paulo has worked with: GM Rafael Leitao, GM Andres Rodriguez,GM Diego Flores, GM Lenderman, GM Izoria, GM Eugene Perelshteyn,GM Raven Sturt, IM Jorge Bobadilla

31:00 Working with top trainers like Eugene Perelshteyn and Axel Bachmann

33:00 Blindfold training with GM Roven Vogel

36:00 What mattered most for improvement

38:00 Hiding online repertoires and preparation

40:00 Sparring games and training partners

41:00 His breakthrough tournaments

42:00 Tournament prep philosophy

46:00 Fitness, stamina, and nutrition for chess

49:00 Chess scenes in New York and California

52:00 Senior tournaments and future plans

54:00 Favorite chess books and resources

Mentioned: Postional Play by GM Jacob Aagaard, Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky

57:00 Advice for busy adult improvers

58:00 Rating goals and pursuit of FM

1:00:00 Why adults struggle to improve

1:03:00 Final thoughts

1:04:00- Thanks to Paulo for sharing his story! You can reach him at:

psantann at gmail.dot.com

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