This week’s double episode features one more look back at the historic 2022 Chess Olympiad. We are joined by two different guests who just returned to their homes from Chennai. Our first guest is Lula Roberts, a 24 year-old popular Twitch streamer who got the chance to represent her country (Jersey) at the Women’s Olympiad. Lula retells her chess results and her many memorable moments at what she hopes will be her first Olympiad of many. Speaking of many Olympiads, our second guest is return guest and award winning author and historian, IM John Donaldson. John served as captain of the United States’ team for the 14th time, so he was able to draw on his vast knowledge of prior Olympiads to contextualize this one. In addition to discussing the Olympiad, John is a leading scholar of Bobby Fischer, so we discuss John’s latest Fischer research and his upcoming projects later in the interview. It was a lot of fun to get two vastly different perspectives on the Olympiad, and I am already looking forward to the next one in 2024!

0:00- Intro, brief discussion of the results of the Olympiad

4:00- Thanks to our presenting sponsors, Chessable.com, be sure to check out Grind like a Grandmaster, and Levon Aronian’s new course, along with the rest of their huge catalog of chess courses.

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

4:45- Lula Roberts joins the show!

5:00- How did the opportunity for Jersey and Lula to compete in the Olympiad present itself?

Mentioned: Jen Shahade’s book Chess Queens

8:00- Lula discusses the tournament itself, as well as how she spent time in between rounds

24:00- Did she like the team dynamic as opposed to individual tournaments?

26:00- What has Lula’s approach to chess improvement been?

30:00- How did the Reykjavik Open compare to the Olympiad for Lula?

37:00- Thanks to Lula Robert for joining the show! Here is how you can keep up with her:

Twitch:

https://www.twitch.tv/lularobs

Linktree:

https://linktr.ee/lularobs

38:00- 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

40:00- IM John Donaldson joins the show just after returning home to the U.S. John gives an overview of the tournament from his perspective.

Mentioned: Chessbase Interview with GM Ivan Sokolov, coach of the Uzbek team, Giri vs. Vidit Death Match

1:06:00- What is a typical day like for the captain of the team at the Olympiad?

1:21:00- How will John look back on this tournament?

1:31:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does John have any plans to publish additional Fischer physical books?

1:33:00- Is it true that Fischer liked to yell “Bobby Kill!” during his blitz games as a teen?

1:34:00- More info on the Spassky-Fischer exhibition in St. Louis is here:

https://explorestlouis.com/event/1972-fischer-spassky-the-match-its-origin-and-influence/2022-09-27/

1:3700- Has John heard anything about the health of GM Boris Spassky recently?

Mentioned: Episode 64 with GM Melih Khachiyan

1:47:00- Thanks, as always to IM John Donaldson for joining the show! If you haven’t already be sure to read Bobby Fischer and his World.

Bobby Fischer and His World

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S7 E4: The Killer Might Be Inside