EP 314- Adult Improver Kamryn Hellman on How Discovering Chess via Queen's Gambit turned her into a Fast Improving Chess Obsessive

The Adult Improver Series of Perpetual Chess returns today. It is a series devoted to sharing the stories of dedicated chess amateurs. This week’s guest is Kamryn Hellman. Kamryn is a 23 year-old who got swept up by chess in 2021 after seeing Queen’s Gambit. At that time she learned the game from scratch, and in the subsequent time she has become immersed in the culture and brought her Chess.com rapid rating to a peak of over 1900. Kamryn has also gotten involved in her local chess community and has enjoyed her forays into tournament chess, despite the challenges that it created. I was really impressed with Kamryn’s quick rise in the chess ranks, and also her analytical approach to improving her game. She shared lots of useful advice in our interview, and it was fun to hear her story. Please read on for timestamps of topics discussed. 

Resources mentioned in intro: 

Spotify Adult Improver Playlist 

Adult Improver Webpage 

Submit Your Info to Potentially be a Guest on the Pod 

Support Perpetual Chess Via Patreon

Also be sure to subscribe to the Perpetual Chess Linkfest, for a free weekly email of the week’s biggest chess stories and chess improvement related blog posts. 

0:04- After Kamryn discovered chess via Queen’s Gambit, how did she dive deeper into the game? 

Mentioned: Gotham Chess 

0:09- How did Kamryn begin to find a community IRL? Was she welcomed at her local chess club? 

Mentioned: Todd Wolf

14:00 - Kamryn is doing some teaching of beginners. Does she think it helps her chess? 

16:00- 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

18:00- What was the tournament experience like? How has Kamryn learned to deal with nerves? 

27:00- What is Kamryn’s approach to analyzing her games? 

33:00- Patreon mailbag question: How does Kamryn work on her thought processes?

36:00- Does Kamryn have any other hobbies that have helped with her approach to chess?

38:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

40:00- How does Kamryn approach working on endgames?

Mentioned: GM Naroditsky’s Principles of Chess Endgames 

44:00- What motivates Kamryn to work so hard on her game?

Mentioned: Jen Shahade’s Chess Queens 

46:00- How does Kamryn study openings? 

53:00- Compared to most adults, Kamryn’s unusual rise in the  ratings have been meteoric.  How does Kamryn contextualize the unusual gains she has made?

 58:00- What other content creators does Kamryn enjoy? 

Mentioned: Hanging Pawns, Eric Rosen teaches Andrea Botez the London 

59:00- Has Kamryn read any chess books that have really helped her? 

Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know, Everyone’s First Chess Workbook, Best Lessons of a Chess Coach 

1:02:00- What do Kamryn’s friends think of her chess obsession?

1:04:00- What is Kamryn’s advice for new chess enthusiasts?

1:06:00- Thanks so much to Kamryn for joining me! You can follow her on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/kamrynheidi

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https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

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