The Chess Angle

This week's episode is a thematic analysis of an amateur game featuring the Steiner Variation of the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2. c4!?). Some other common French sidelines are discussed as well. Additional talking points include the following: Queenside castling The Hedgehog formation Does it make sense to to "prep for an opponent" at the club level? Blind spots when analyzing Game Referenced: 1. e4 e6 2. c4!? b6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Bxc3 5. dxc3 h6 6. Qd4 Qf6 7. e5 Qe7 8. Bf4 Bb7 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Qd3 O-O-O! 11. O-O-O g5 12. Bg3 Qf8 13. h4 g4 14. Nd4 h5 15. Rhg1 Qh6+ 16. Kb1 Nge7 17. f3 Nxd4 18. cxd4 Nf5 19. Be1 gxf3 20. Bxf3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Rhg8 22. Bd2 Qf8 23. Rxg8 Qxg8 24. Bg5 Re8 25. d5 Qg6 26. Ka1 Ng7 27. Qc3 Qf5? 28. Bf6! Qg6 29. Qd4 Nf5 30. dxe6?? Nxd4 31. exd7+ Kxd7 32. Rxd4+ Kc6 33. a3 Qg1+ 0-1 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at info@thechessangle.com. Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! 

This episode covers so-called "club-level" time controls, such as G/90 and G/60. These usually include a time delay ranging from 5 - 30 seconds per move. Neal also shares his thoughts on speed chess as it relates to amateur players and improvement. In addition, some helpful resources that may be underutilized by many are discussed. Additional talking points include the following: The (imaginary) decline of slow time controls DAUT: Don't Analyze Unnecessary Tactics* Your puzzle rating or online rapid rating is not your real rating... Our inaugural Listener Mailbag segment Mentioned: Secrets of Practical Chess (Amazon) by John Nunn* Recommended Chess.com Lessons: Errata: The tactics lessons below (the last 3) are listed here in the correct order of difficulty. In the episode, I switched the order of the last two.  Now What?  Roots of Positional Understanding  Why Simon Loves the French Defense  The London System for the Busy Chess Player  Build Your Technique Chess Potpourri Pawn Endings: Beginner to Expert Rook and Other Endgames Introduction to Tactics Step Up In Tactics Intermediate Tactics If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at info@thechessangle.com. Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon and Chess.com links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

This podcast discusses study plans, training programs, and improvement for amateur and club chess players. Topics include analyzing tournament games with an engine, clock management, opening repertoire, simple defense, and recommended chess training resources.

This episode is a review of The Complete Book of Chess Strategy (Amazon) by IM Jeremy Silman. This is an excellent all-in-one reference book for improvers and club players, covering all phases of the game as well as practical matters (blunders, time pressure, chess psychology, etc.).  Neal shares his thoughts on how the concepts in this book apply to the amateur tournament scene. Talking points include the following: The "cat and mouse" technique Opening principles and the correct way to develop your pieces Understanding the imbalances of a position Pawn structures Middlegame basics The minority attack The battle of the minor pieces Are the Lucena and Philidor endgame positions really a priority for most improvers? The reality of most endgames at  club-level tournaments Draw offers Have a question or topic for consideration in a future episode? E-mail us at info@thechessangle.com. Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

This episode explores the psychology of facing a lower-rated opponent who is playing really well. This is often highly frustrating for tournament players. Many times, however, it's more about your own mindset than your opponent's abilities. Conversely, this episode will explain the "ratings walk" phenomenon when facing a higher-rated opponent. Have a question or topic for consideration in a future episode? E-mail us at info@thechessangle.com. Mentioned: Chess for Tigers  (Amazon) The Survival Guide to Competitive Chess  (Amazon) Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

This week I spoke with National Master Nick Panico. Nick is a fellow educator with a background in science and has also been active as a storm chaser. Nick shared his vast experience from the amateur chess scene and our conversation went in a lot of interesting directions. Some of our talking points include the following: Tips for improvers The amateur tournament scene Should you play gambit openings? Cheating & sandbagging Bishop & knight mate Nick's journey to NM Online vs. OTB chess Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses!

To kick off Season 4, Neal spoke with Grandmaster Alex Lenderman. Alex resides in Brooklyn, NY where he was a member of the famous chess team at Edward R. Murrrow HS that won multiple national high school titles. This was depicted in the 2007 book The Kings of New York (retitled Game of Kings) by Michael Weinreb (Amazon). Alex was the winner of the 2021 US Open and is active as a chess coach for both children and adults. Some of this episode's talking points include the following: Why many adults have difficulty improving Chess psychology The chess cheating epidemic Alex's experience playing at local clubs Teaching chess Links for GM Alex Lenderman: Email  Chess.com Facebook Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon link above is an affiliate link which earns us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This week's episode is our Season 3 Finale and features International Master Jay Bonin, a legend of the New York chess scene. He is one of the most active tournament players ever, having amassed an estimated 30K - 40K rated OTB games, sometimes playing over 700 games in one year. As such, he is known as the "Iron Man of Chess." Neal spoke with Jay recently via phone where he shared his experiences and knowledge. The basis of this conversation is his 2016 book, Active Pieces (Amazon) which discusses Jay's approach to chess with explanatory prose and annotated games. Some of the talking points in this episode include the following: Why Jay feels draw offers are best made when capturing a piece The influence of Bobby Fischer Winning with the "rope-a-dope" method Jay's strong friendship with fellow NY chess legend Asa Hoffmann The "Bonin-Kann" opening (1...c6, 2...a6!?, holding back ...d5, which often throws the opponent off balance) Thoughts on mate with the bishop and knight Playing Queenless middlegames His win against chess giant GM Samuel Reshevsky How Jay adapts his style and openings for specific opponents Links for IM Jay Bonin: Active Pieces (Amazon) Facebook Chess.com: Boninknights Mentioned: Bellon - Bonin (2008) 1/2-1/2 Season 4 of The Chess Angle coming soon! Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook Support the Show E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Amazon links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This week's episode features WFM Maaike Keetman. We covered a number of important topics for adult improvers and amateur players. Maaike is the VP of Content for Chessable and is active with the ChessQueens Foundation which promotes the game of chess for women and girls in the Netherlands. Her Chessable course, The Fierce Nimzo-Indian, is designed for amateur players and is highly recommended. Some of our talking points include the following: Inducing errors from your opponent Why the Catalan may be the most dangerous opening at the amateur level The Nimzo-Indian defense for improvers Why most amateur games are decided by tactics Maaike's success despite little endgame study How Tal influenced Maaike's style Maaike's quest for the WIM title Grinding out wins in even positions How improvers should approach openings Links for WFM Maaike Keetman: The Fierce Nimzo-Indian (Chessable Course)  Maaike on Twitter: @MaaikeKeetman Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook Support the Show E-mail: info@thechessangle.com

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This episode offers some practical advice and insight for improvers and emerging tournament players. Some of the talking points include: How many games a year do you need to play to increase your OTB rating? Should you get up from the board during your game? How tournament pairing rules often make increasing your rating difficult A common pawn blunder to avoid Book study vs. digital/online study Mentioned: The Amateur's Mind by IM Jeremy Silman (Amazon) Our links: Website Twitter YouTube Facebook Support the Show E-mail: info@thechessangle.com The Amazon link above is an affiliate link which earns us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.