Perpetual Chess Podcast

This week’s guest is the four-time U.S. women's champion and perennial US National Team Member WGM Anna Zatonskih. Anna joined me the week after her inspiring victory at the 2023 Cairns Cup to reflect on her standout performance. As Anna recounts, as the second to lowest seed in the tournament, most people had modest expectations for her, but despite self-doubt and busy life,  she nonetheless decided to prepare rigorously for the tournament and hoped to put her best foot forward. As it turned out, Anna not only won the tournament but unexpectedly secured her first Grandmaster norm at 44 years of age! Anna shares the advice that helped motivate her to double down on her study, how she went about studying, and she discusses how she plans to spend the $45,000 she won. We also discuss Anna’s emigration to the U.S. in 2002, her study regimen as a top youth player in Ukraine, and how she approaches teaching chess to her kids as a mom. I was so inspired by Anna’s story and I think that you will be as well! Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below: Recorded June 21, 2023 Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 01:00- What was Anna’s mindset going into the Cairn’s Cup? How did she work on her game? Mentioned: Vladmirov’s 1000 Chess Studies, GM Daniel Fridman 28:00- Does Anna have family members in Ukraine? What rules should FIDE have place for Russian players competing from different countries? Mentioned: IM Irina Bulmaga’s Blog post 35:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Anna approach teaching chess to her own kids?” 38:00- How did Anna study chess as a child in the former Soviet Union? 40:00- How does Anna describe her  first days in the US in 2002? 45:00- Anna discusses her upcoming chess plans and life in Germany. 47:00-  Patreon mailbag question: “Should the “WGM” title have a different name?”Mentioned: Jen Shahade’s FAQ52:00- What are Anna’s next chess plans? Mentioned: Recognizing Your Opponent’s Resources Thanks to Anna for sharing her story! If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 6 games, the 2023 FIDE Women’s World Championship is closely contested. The challenger, GM Lei Tingjie leads the Champion, GM Ju Wenjun 3.5-2.5 as the players take a 2-day break to switch host cities. One of the top female players in the United States, WGM Begim Tokhirjonova joins me to share her thoughts on the match. Begim was the 2018 Uzbek Women’s Champion and is now a member of the U.S. National team and a student at the University of Missouri. She has been annotating the games for Chess Life Online, you can view her annotations here. Thanks as always to Chessable for sponsoring Perpetual Chess! I forgot to mention in the podcast, but if you want to play the Italian game like Lei Tiangjie check out WGM Tatev Abrahmayan’s new course: The Italian Game: Inside & Out!You can check out some of my favorite courses here:https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:01- WGM Begim Tokhirjonova joins the podcast. Begim joins and shares her perspective on the match and on the openings we have seen so far. Mentioned: Cover Stories with Chess Life December 2022 (#49)11:30- Begim discusses her experience playing both GM Lei Tiangjie and GM Ju Wenjun 13:30- Can either player make any stylistic adjustments other than switching openings? 17:30- Begim discusses her plans for her own chess career including her study plans and her upcoming tournaments. Mentioned: How to Reassess Your Chess by IM Jeremy Silman .26:00- Thanks so much to Begim for joining us! Here is how to keep up with her: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/begim09/?hl=enTwitter: begim09 https://twitter.com/Gulruhbegim Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guests on Perpetual Chess are the award-winning co-authors and tournament chess players, Dr. Christopher Chabris and Dr. Daniel Simons. Dr. Chabris, of course, is a cognitive scientist, USCF Master, chess dad, and frequent guest on Perpetual Chess. Dr. Simons is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois-Urbana and a tournament chess player in his own right. Their excellent new book, Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken in and What We Can Do About It is not exclusively about chess, but touches on the subject repeatedly,  and has many implications for our game. In our conversation, we talk about the book generally but also try to focus on “chess takeaways,” from the book material,  with a particular emphasis on the future of cheating in chess. Dr. Chabris has also been active on the tournament scene since we last spoke, so he shares a few fresh observations about chess improvement. I learned a lot both from the book and from our conversation, and I am confident that you will enjoy it. 0:00- Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. Check out Anish Giri’s new course Lifetime Repertoires: Giri’s 1. E4 Part 3.   You can also see a list of my recommended courses here: You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:00- What is misunderstood about “Growth Mindset”? Mentioned: Chess Improvement, It's All in the Mindset, Episode 199 with Dr. Barry Hymer and GM Peter Wells 7:00- What is replication and why is it important for scientific studies?12:00- What is “desirable difficulty?” 16:30- Dan and Chris discuss a famous chess study that they recreated on their own involving the ability of chess players of different levels to recall chess positions. Watch the video here:Memory for chess positions (featuring grandmaster Patrick Wolff)24:00- Are there any studies of chess players that Dan and Chris would like to see done? 31:00- We have a  brief digression on how to deal with email scams, I was surprised by the advice given in Nobody’s Fool. 35:00- What can we do about cheating in chess? Mentioned: FM Nate Solon’s article Beating Hikaruhttps://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/beating-hikaruMore info on Apple Vision Pro:https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/48:00- Chris Chabris just played in two tournaments. What were his chess observations and conclusions?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nate Shuman is a New York City-based high school student who founded an organization called Mindmates. Mindmates has already facilitated workshops for many of the top scholastic chess organizations in the New York City area. Nate has experienced the benefits of mindfulness first-hand, as it helped him get through a lengthy chess plateau that he felt threatened to sap the joy of chess from him. In our conversation, Nate shares a couple of basic mindfulness techniques that can help any tournament player, and he reflects on his own chess career, including a 7-year plateau while going from 2100 to 2200 USCF. You can find the timestamps for the topics discussed below.  0:00- Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. Their new courses include Starting out with 1. D4 by GM Ben Finegold. And The Audacious Milner-Barry Gambit by NM Han Schut. You can also see a list of my recommended courses here: You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:02- Nate shares how he got into chess at one of the top chess programs in the U.S. The Dalton School. How is chess taught there? Mentioned: WIM Beatriz Marinello, David MacEnulty, FM Gus Huston, NM Corey Evans, NM Yevgeny Feldman, GM Max Dlugy 13:00- What did Nate learn from experiencing a lengthy chess plateau at the 2100 level? 21:00- What is the vision behind Mindmates, Nate’s mindfulness-based organization, ? Mentioned: Episode 289 with Tony Ballard of The Gift of ChessEpisode 155 with Elizabeth Spiegel 34:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What adjustments does Nate make for teaching younger kids?” Mentioned:How to Chess Episode 12 with Dr. Benjamin Portheault Dr. Benjamin Portheault’s course: https://mindfulness-for-the-tournament-player.teachable.com/p/mindfulness-for-the-tournament-player38:00- Nate walks us through a couple of simple mindfulness exercises46:00- Nate gives examples of affirmations chess players can use before games. 47:00- Nate discusses his future plans for MindMates. You can learn more about Mindmates via their website:https://www.mindmates.org/Email: Nate.Shuman at Mindmatesdot.org Follow @MindmatesChess on Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are trying a new format here on Perpetual Chess and are featuring tournament trip reports from 3 different amateurs who recently competed in the National Open in Las Vegas, Nevada. I have long wanted to know more about what it is like to attend and compete in this venerable chess festival, and I lined up 3 guests to share their reflections on the tournament and the chess lessons that they learned.My 3 guests are:1) NM Todd Bryant (aka StrongChess) joins the podcast to discuss his experience in the Under 2300 section. Todd is a Software Engineer for Chess.com, a chess dad, and a blitz and weight lifting enthusiast.2) Lindsey Newhall joins to report on the Under 1300 section, the Women’s Open tournament, and a family reunion of sorts. Lindsey is a California-based chess player, chess teacher and tournament director.3) Returning guest, Twitch streamer and chess teacher Cody Smith reports on the Under 1900 Section, and some Twitch streamer meetups.I hope you all enjoy this format, please let me know if you enjoy it and if it is something you would like to hear more of for big tournaments. Timestamps for guest appearances and info is below:0:01- Intro to the podSubscribe to my free newsletter here:https://benjohnson.substack.com/Thanks to Chessable for the support, check out their latest courses:https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/0:03- NM Todd Bryant “StrongChess” joins.23:00- Lindsey Newhall joins the podcast.Lindsey was featured in Episode 58 of Chess Journeys46:00- CL Smith rejoins the pod! CL Smith was in Episode 270 of Perpetual ChessFollow Cody on Twitch here:https://www.twitch.tv/clsmithxvIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Franklin is a constitutional law professor and practicing appellate lawyer. David also is a USCF expert and chess enthusiast who follows the chess world closely. In 2022, David came on Perpetual Chess to help explain the Hans Niemann lawsuit after it was filed. At the time he felt it was an uphill battle for Hans, which has proven to be the case given the lawsuit's dismissal. David rejoins the podcast to review the dismissal and to discuss what further recourse GM Hans Niemann might have, if any.You can hear David’s prior discussion of the lawsuit here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ciBvYBT6BD69w1TR3j1nJ?si=969ca9c1d61e47650:01- Brief addendum0:02- Professor David Franklin joins the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we are re-joined by a legend of the game, 9 time Dutch champion and award winning author, GM Jan Timman. GM Timman has just released his latest book, Max Euwe’s Best Games, which puts the games of his fellow Dutch legend under a modern microscope. We discuss Jan’s personal relationship with Euwe, and Jan answers some questions about the World Champion’s legacy. Is it fair to say that Euwe only beat Alekhine in 1935 due to Alekhine’s drinking problem? What were Euwe’s best games? How did he develop his tactical flair? Why did he blunder more often than other elite players? We also discuss other news from the chess world, as GM Timman shares thoughts and stories on Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann, Garry Kasparov, and the state of Dutch chess. It is always an honor to speak with GM Jan Timman! Please read on for timestamps of topics discussed.Prior GM Jan Timman appearances: Episode 1962021 Discussion of the Carlsen-Nepo match 0:02- GM Jan Timman shares his personal recollections of former World Champion Max Euwe, who Jan played in a simul as an 11 year old boy. 0:07- Jan took a trip for a chess training camp to the Soviet Union as a 19-year-old in 1970. What was that trip like?10:00- Jan has described one of Max Euwe’s books as formative for him as a child, what does he remember about the “book with a blue cover?” 14:00- Does Jan consider quantitative analyses of players’ ability, such as that done by Chessmetrics to be useful? Mentioned: Euwe-Pirc 1949, Boguljubow15:00- Patreon mailbag question: Is the perception that Max Euwe was a weaker world champion an accurate one? 18:00- Is it true that Euwe beat Alekhine because Alekhine was drunk the entire match?20:00- How does Jan think Euwe developed such a creative style, as evidenced in his games against Alekhine and Geller?Mentioned: Euwe-Alekhine 1934, Euwe-Geller 195321:45- GM Timman discusses the approaches to chess of Karpov, Kasparov and Tal. 23:00- Why did Euwe blunder so often?26:30- What are Jan’s favorite games of Euwe’s? Mentioned: Euwe-Geller 1953 Euwe-Pirc 1949 Euwe-Alekhine 1935 (Pearl of Zandvoort) 29:30- Jan discusses the Max Euwe center in Amsterdam. Mentioned: More information on the center here:https://maxeuwe.nl/en/home-english/31:30- Jan shares his thoughts on the World Championship match. 35:00- What does Jan think of Magnus Carlsen’s slump? He also shares his thoughts on the World Championship cycle format. Mentioned: Caruana-Nakamura Norway Chess 2023 41:00- Patreon mailbag question: Is there any facet of chess where Timman’s generation of GMs are better than modern GMs? 44:00- What would be the best way to study endgames today? Mentioned: GM John Nunn’s Secrets of Rook Endings, Levinfish and Smyslov’s Rook Endings 48:00- Patreon mailbag question: Any chance GM Timman would do a 21st century update to The Art of Chess Analysis?50:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Jan have a good GM Ljubomir Ljubojević story? 51:00- Which players in the younger generation does Jan admire?Mentioned: GM D Gukesh, GM Hans Nieman52:00- Jan’s thoughts on the Niemann-Carlsen controversy Mentioned: 2023 Samford Fellowship Winners 56:00- Jan discusses his upcoming tournament plans. 58:00- Jan shares his memories of a television interview he did with Kasparov in 1997 as well as some of their games Mentioned: Timman-Kasparov 1985 , Kasparov-Timman 19921:00:00- Does Jan ever look at his old games with engines? Mentioned: Stockfish 14 1:04:00- Jan discusses the state of Dutch chess. Mentioned: GM Anish Giri, IM Eline Roebers, GM Jorden van Foreest 1:06:00- Thanks to GM Timman for sharing his wisdom and stories, you can order his new book here: From New in Chess:https://www.newinchess.com/max-euwe-best-chess-gamesFree Sample here: https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9180.pdfYou can also read it on Forward Chess: https://forwardchess.com/product/max-euwes-best-games?section=New%20Arrival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Adult Improver Series returns with two insightful guests joining the podcast. WIM Natasha Regan is an author and actuary who among many other chess accomplishments recently became the British over 50 Women’s National Champion! Natasha recently collaborated on a Chessable course with Matthew Ball, who is a chess dad and dedicated improver who has made significant rating progress since returning to competitive chess in recent years. Natasha and Matthew shared lots of helpful chess study tips covering topics ranging from The Woodpecker Method, to the Chess Steps series, to whether one should alter their approach to a game against a younger opponent. We also discussed their fun and instructive new course, Zwischenzug: A Comprehensive Guide to Intermediate Moves. You can find timestamps for all of the topics discussed below. 0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out Natasha and Matthew’s new CHessable course here: :https://www.chessable.com/zwischenzug-a-comprehensive-guide-to-intermediate-moves/course/139623/You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:03- Matthew Ball and Natasha discuss their shared background as junior players, and how their paths recrossed in recent years. 7:30- Patreon mailbag question- Does Natasha have any different strategies when playing against kids as compared to adults? 17:00- Matthew came back into chess a few years back and his seen some rating gain. He discusses his training regimen. Mentioned: Chess for Life, Chess Steps Books, Woodpecker Method 22:00- More on the Woodpecker Method Mentioned: Pump Up Your Rating by GM Axel Smith, Book Recap #6 on the Woodpecker Method 23:00- How does Natasha tune up for a tournament? 26:00- Natasha discusses some similarities between Shogi and Chess. Mentioned: Karolina Styczyńska of the Shogi Harbor Twitch Channel 32:00- Matthew shares a few more improvement recommendations. 35:00- Why did Natasha and Matthew decide to do a course on intermediate moves? 45:00- Natasha and Matthew discusses their approaches to openings 52:00- Do they work with coaches? 56:00- Natasha and Matt discuss their tournament and summer plans. Thanks so much to Natasha and Matt for joining the show! Check out their course here:https://www.chessable.com/zwischenzug-a-comprehensive-guide-to-intermediate-moves/course/139623/If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s return guest is the always entertaining and informative, GM Ben Finegold. Ben is a popular Twitch Streamer and YouTuber who has just released his first Chessable course, Starting out with 1. D4. Ben is always among my favorites to interview because he offers a unique blend of entertaining stories, hot-takes on top level chess and improvement advice. This episode is no exception, as Ben discusses the status of his OTB retirement,  whether Magnus Carlsen’s best OTB days are behind him, the resurgence of Hikaru and Fabiano, and why doing a course on 1. D4 was an easy choice for him. You can find a full list of topics discussed below, as well as timestamps. 0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Get Ben’s new Course Starting out with 1.d4 here:https://www.chessable.com/course/156667You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/ 0:03- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ben ever regret pursuing chess, or think that adult amateurs should not devote so much energy to it?”Mentioned: IM Stuart Rachels, GM Patrick Wolff, Stuart Leaf 0:08- Is Ben having any second thoughts about retiring from OTB chess? Mentioned: The National Open 11:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Ben’s advice for amateurs who want to improve at chess?” 17:30- How does Ben think back on the four years he was covering lots of events for US Chess in Europe in the 1990s? Mentioned: Chess Life Magazine Archive, Kasparov-Karpov 199122:00- Ben shares more memories from the 1988 World Chess Festival Mentioned: Ray Stone, Fred Lindsay, GM Jonathan Speelman, GM Valery Salov, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ivanchuk-Kasparov Linares 1991, Linares, Linares 30:00- Ben’s updated thoughts on the Magnus-Niemann controversy33:00- Why did Ben decide to do a course on 1. D4 ? 42:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ben have a refutation to Marc Esserman’s refutation of Finegold’s line in the Mayhem in the Morra book and Chessable course?”47:00- We discuss Norway Chess and whether Ben is surprised by GM Fabiano’s Caruana’s resurgence. 48:00- Has Magnus peaked?Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein, GM Dmitri Gurevich, GM Eric Lobron 50:00- How does Hikaru stay so strong? 52:00- Which junior has the best chance of being World Champion? 55:00- Ben’s wife Karen won a seat to the World Series of Poker Main Event! Will Ben go? Will he play poker? 57:00- Other summer plans Mentioned: Episode 292: Adult Improver Interview with Karen Boyd 58:00- Thanks, as always,  to Ben for joining the pod! Here are the links to keep up with him. Twitchhttps://www.twitch.tv/itsbenandkarenYouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/GMBenjaminFinegoldChessable Coursehttps://www.chessable.com/starting-out-with-1d4/course/156667/Chessable Course and Master Class Bundle-https://www.chessable.com/starting-out-with-1-d4-queen-s-gambit-fundamentals-masterclass/course/182439/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is U.S. Chess Hall of Famer, IM James Sherwin. An 89-year-old New York City Native, Sherwin has played and met many chess legends. He knew Bobby Fischer from his teenage years. Jim did not pursue chess professionally and had a successful career as an attorney and a corporate executive, but he still managed to compete extensively and participated in 8 US Championships, often finishing near the top of the standings. Sherwin now lives in the London area, and as recently as three years ago, was still winning chess tournaments! After talking to him, I can see why he is still able to perform so well, because James’ memory of his games and encounters with Fischer, Petrosian, Tal, Reshevsky, and many others was truly dazzling. You can find timestamps for the topics discussed below. 0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! You can check out some of my recommended courses here:https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/Check out what's new here:https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/0:03- Jim begins by discussing his childhood summers in Vermont, where he improved at chess by practicing against himself. Mentioned: My System, Cambridge Springs 1904, Dr. Elliot Hearst 10:00- Jim discusses the Columbia University Chess Team, which won the intercollegiate championship.CORRECTION- When discussing the Columbia University chess team, Jim notes that he regrets not mentioning that Ralph Italie and Ed Sher also both performed substantial service for the team.12:30- Did Jim ever consider becoming a chess professional? 15:00- Jim reminisces about a few tournaments including the World Junior Championship in Copenhagen in 1953 and Portoroz 1958, an Interzonal tournament, featuring Fischer, Tal and many others. Mentioned: Boris Ivkov, Penrose, Reshevsky, Penrose 22:00- What are Jim’s first memories of Fischer? Mentioned: Fischer-Sherwin 195832:00- Jim shares his recollections of Fischer-Spassky 1972, as well as his own games against Fischer. Mentioned: Sherwin-Fischer Log Cabin Open 1957, Fischer-Sherwin 195737:00- What does Jim recall about his games with Tal and Petrosian? 40:30- Does Jim ever review his old games? Does he use an engine? 43:30- Jim’s Memories of the legendary tournament in Lone Pine 1976, featuring Petrosian and Smyslov.. How did his blitz battles with a young Yasser Seirawan go?47:00- Did Jim know the well-known authors like Fred Reinfeld, Al Horowitz and Irving Chernev? 50:00- Jim discusses his time supporting American professional chess as head of the American Chess Foundation.Mentioned: GM Boris Gulko, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Judit Polgar, Allen Kaufman57:00- How are Jim’s chess skills at age 89? How does he keep up with the game? 1:03:00- Jim recalls the only game in which he beat GM Andy Soltis, where Fischer joined the post mortem analysis. 1:09:00- What were Jim’s closest friendships in the chess world?Mentioned: IM Donald Byrne, GM Larry Evans, Dr. Edward Lasker, GM Arthur Bisguier, GM Edmar Mednis, Dr. Eliot Hearst  1:11:00- Which is Jim’s favorite of his games?Mentioned: Sherwin-Gligoric 1958If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here:https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices