Perpetual Chess Podcast

Award Winning Author, Chessable Author, and Noted Opening Theoretician, IM Christof Sielecki joins me to discuss the FIDE Candidates Tournament through 12 rounds. Topics include: Nepo's dominance, the important battle for 2nd place, Alireza's struggles, Nakamura's Quick Draw in Round 12, the Quality of Play, and whether Magnus might be enticed to defend his crown if the World Championship format were tweaked.Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com and Aimchess.com.Here are a few of the articles, and videos we referenced:Hikaru's Round 12 RecapClick here to Download the EpisodeThanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com and Aimchess.com.Here are a few of the articles, and videos we referenced:Chess by the Numbers Updated Probabilities Hikaru's Round 12 RecapMVL's Interview with ChessbaseTarjei Svenson for Chess24 on GM Kramnik's CommentsThe Games from the CandidatesNepo discussed a letter from FIDE in the postgame interview on Chess.com’s Broadcast GothamChess' Round 3 RecapCheck out all of IM Christof Sielecki's Chessable Courses here:https://www.chessable.com/author/Chessexplained/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here:https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchessMVL's Interview with ChessbaseTarjei Svenson for Chess24 on GM Kramnik's CommentsThe Games from the Candidates GothamChess' Round 3 Recap Check out all of IM Christof Sielecki's Chessable Courses here:https://www.chessable.com/author/Chessexplained/If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here:https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM Irina Bulmaga is a Chessable Author, a writer, a  5 time chess Olimpian, and the highest rated woman player in Romania, where she now lives. Before emigrating from Moldova, Irina was the 2 time National Woman’s champion in her native country. But as Irina will tell you, she probably spends more time traveling for competitive chess than she spends in any one country.  In fact, she thinks she might be the most active chess professional on the European circuit. Irina joined me on a brief break between tournaments to recap some 2022 tournament successes. We also discussed her upcoming plans for the Olympiad and her lifelong goal of chasing the  Grandmaster title. This was a fun conversation filled with personal reflection, tournament recommendations and chess study tips and plans. Please read on for more details, links, and timestamps. 01:00- Irina reflects on her recent tournament performances. Mentioned: Irina’s Chessbase Tournament Report 07:00- Why does Irina think she prefers playing in open tournaments rather than women’s tournaments? Mentioned: Irina’s Blog12:00- How has getting a coach for the first time ever helped Irina’s game? What books has she read? Mentioned: Think Like a Super GM, Seven Deadly Chess Sins, Improve Your Chess Calculation  GM Lubomir Ftacnik 19:00- As a 5 time Olimpiad member, How is the tournament different from others? 27:00- 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=benjohnson1229:00- Does Irina enjoy the life of an itinerant chess professional? 33:00-In Irina’s opinion, how could professional chess be improved? 35:00- What big open tournaments would Irina recommend for chess amateurs?Mentioned: Isle of Man (Chess.com International), Gibraltar International Chess Festival, Sunway Sitges Chess Festival 38:00- What is Irina’s favorite tournament of any type? European Men’s Championship 41:00- Does Irina think sexism is worse in chess than in other walks of life? 45:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find IM Andras Toth’s new course, IM Irina Bulmaga’s, as well as so many others here:https://www.chessable.com/courses/53:00- What tournaments does Irina have planned in addition to the Olimpiad? How was the experience of playing competitive chess in Cuba? Mentioned: European Women’s Championship 58:00- How many languages does Irina speak? 1:00- Does Irina still hope to chase the GM title? 1:03:00- Thanks so much to Irina for joining me! Here is how to keep up with her:Chessable course:https://www.chessable.com/the-smyslov-ruy-lopez-3g6/course/114883/Twitter:https://twitter.com/irinabulmaga?lang=enInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/iribulmaga/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve got 6 rounds in the books and GM Ian Nepomniathchtchi and GM Fabiano Caruana are comfortably in first and 2nd place, respectively. GM Jonathan Tisdall is an American born, Norway based author, journalist and is the 3 time champion of Norway. Jonathan has been covering high level chess for decades, so it was great to get his thoughts on the first 6 rounds of the Candidates. Is he surprised by Nepo’s dominance? What has gone wrong for Firouzja and Ding? Do the current leaders make it less likely that we will see Magnus defend the crown? It has been a fascinating tournament so far, and it was fun to discuss it with GM Tisdall!03:00- GM Jonathan Tisdall joins the show.Mentioned: Chess by the Numbers Blog15:15- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out GM Anish Giri’s Candidates videos on his YouTube ,and go Pro to get the course here:Learn chess online: openings, tactics & more - Chessable.com16:00- Will Magnus defend against these guys?28:00- 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=benjohnson1230:00- Do we like the fact the clocks don’t have increments for this tournament?39:00- Why does Nepo excel against everyone but Magnus?45:00- Double blindness! We were referencing this moment in Anand’s game”https://twitter.com/norwaychess/status/1534982377293893633?lang=bghttps://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=228882053:00- When will Jonathan’s next book finally come out?Mentioned: Nick Doody57:00- We almost forgot to talk about GM Ding Liren!1:00:00- Thanks to GM Tisdall for joining the show! You can follow him on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/GMjtis?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I am joined by two accomplished players, trainers, and co-authors, Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn, and FM Nate Solon. Together, Nathan and Eugene have written the forthcoming book, Evaluate like a Grandmaster. As highly-accomplished players and trainers, Nate and Eugene noticed that there wasn’t a lot of chess literature helping players improve their ability to evaluate positions. They have written a great book to help address this problem. In our conversation, they highlight some of the lessons from the book, including an important discussion of the perils of relying too heavily on numerical engine evaluations. We also discuss some of the standout points and anecdotes from Nate and Eugene’s other work. Nate is a data scientist who writes a great, free chess newsletter called Zwischenzug, and Eugene is a respected opening theoretician who has recently released his first Chessable course, The Grand Prix Attack Reloaded. As always, you can find more details, relevant links, and timestamps below. Prior Appearances by Eugene and Nate : Episode 31 with GM Eugene Perelshteyn Book Recap #17- Zurich 1953 with FM Nate Solon and GM Andy Soltis02:00- Why write a book on evaluating positions? 09:00- Where do they find the puzzles? For what rating level is the book best suited? 12:00- Why does Nate think that the “centipawn” evaluation system is flawed?20:30- Patreon mailbag question: “When calculating, how can we know when to shift from crunching potential moves to evaluating a position?”25:00 What did GM Romani Dzindzichashvilli teach Eugene about evaluating positions? 27:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find the free “Endgame Strategy” Lesson from GM Sam Shankland here: https://www.chessable.com/course/11567328:00- Nate’s takes! What does Nate consider the “bare essential” chess improvement checklist to hold oneself accountable? 38:00 How well do club level players really know their openings? 52:00- 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=benjohnson1253:00- Eugene tells the story of playing Magnus OTB at Isle of Man Masters in 2017. 1:00:00- What can we learn from Magnus’ approach to a recent Titled Tuesday? 1:07:00- How did Eugene find an unexplored move on move 5 in his Chessable Course, The Grand Prix Attack Reloaded?1:12:00- Eugene shares a few stories about legendary, deceased Grandmaster, Alex Wojtkiewicz1:17:00- Nate is an accomplished adult improver, he discusses how his background in poker helped his mental game in chess. 1:20:00- Parting book recommendations! Mentioned: Zurich 1953, Perfect Your Chess, The Questions of Modern Chess Theory, Positional Decision Making in Chess, Dan Heismans books, GM Jacob Aagaard’s books, IM Kostya Kavutskity’s Chessable Course: Endgame Studies 101 Thanks to Nate and Eugene for joining us! Here are the key links to keep up with them:Evaluate like a GM websiteNate’s Newsletter: ZwishenzugEugene’s Chessable Course: The Grand Prix Attack ReloadedNate’s TwitterEugene’s Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess we talk about chess improvement with one of the premier chess trainers in the world! GM R.B. Ramesh has worked with many of India’s top players including GMs Vidit Gujirathi, Harikrishna and Adhiban. I caught up with Ramesh on the night before he would commence a training camp with one of India’s Olimpiad teams. This team included Ramesh’s star student, GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who is one of the top junior players in the world and recently made headlines by defeating Magnus Carlsen. GM Ramesh is an author, including of the excellent new book, Improve Your Chess Calculation. In our conversation, we discussed Chess in India as it prepares to host the Olimpiad, the keys to Praggnanandhaa’s success, plus Ramesh answers many listener questions related to chess improvement. There is always so much to learn from GM Ramesh, and this conversation is no exception! Prior Interviews: Episode 144 with R.B. RameshEpisode 166 with GM R.B. Ramesh and GM Jacob Aagaard 0:00- GM Ramesh joined me shortly before starting a training camp for one of India’s Olimpiad teams. How does he prepare materials for these phenoms? 08:00- What was it like to work with GM Praggnanandhaa as a younger chess student?14:00- GM Ramesh has written that training should be more challenging than competing OTB. Is this approach feasible for adult improvers? 16:30- Ramesh shares visualization advice for adult improvers. 23:00- Patreon mailbag question- “At what rating is it appropriate to begin training with blindfold puzzles?” Mentioned: Visualize series on Chessable 30:00- 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=benjohnson1231:30- GM Ramesh considers Anand a personal hero and now knows him personally, Is he surprised by GM Anand’s success at 2022 Norway Chess?39:00- How did Ramesh react the first time GM Praggnanandhaa beat GM Magnus Carlsen? 43:00- Patreon mailbag question- “Will Ramesh do a Chessable course? How many books will be in his series?” 45:30- Patreon mailbag question- “What is Ramesh’s advice for handling tough losses?” 52:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What are some common calculation mistakes that even GMs make?” 55:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What can we learn from the success of another of Ramesh’s students, WGM Divya Deshmukh? 57:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can find the free “Endgame Strategy” Lesson from GM Sam Shankland here: https://www.chessable.com/course/11567359:30- Are chess players as a whole getting better at calculation? Mentioned: Free excerpt of Ramesh’s book here. Mentioned: GM John Nunn’s Secrets of Practical Chess1:07:00- How does Ramesh define “the drawback principle”? 1:10:00- What advice can Ramesh share for knowing when to stop calculating within a variation? 1:14:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Ramesh observe from Firouzja’s phenomenal success? Does he have any Candidates predictions?”1:17:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ramesh have an opinion on the fact that Indian players can no longer compete in the British Championship” (which Ramesh won in 2002)?1:19:00- With the Chess Olimpiad set to take place in Chennai in July, Ramesh shares his thoughts on the explosion of chess in India. 1:24:00- In our last interview, Ramesh gave a ton of book recommendations. Is he keeping up with new chess books? Mentioned: Judit Polgar’s Quality Chess Series, New in Chess Books, Quality Chess Books, Thinker’s Publishing 1:28:00- Thanks so much to Ramesh for sharing some of his chess expertise. Here are links for ways to keep up with him:Improve Your Chess Calculation ProChessTraining.com Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The wait is almost over! With the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament beginning June 17, we present one last deep dive on this chess-history defining tournament. The winner of this tournament is slated to play GM Magnus Carlsen in the 2023 World Championship match if it takes place. I am joined by two separate guests to discuss the players and what we can expect. First up is GM Robert Hess. Robert, of course, is an insightful and popular commentator who will be traveling to Madrid to cover the event live with his Chess.com team. Robert and I discuss each player individually, as Robert shares his reflections on what he has observed from many years of observing these players up close. Robert’s other appearance on the podcast was nearly 5 years ago, so after an hour of FIDE Candidates talk, we spend some time catching up on other chess-related matters. Following Robert, I am joined by Tai Pruce Zimmerman of the “Chess by the Numbers” blog. I always enjoy getting Tai’s insights, which are primarily derived from an Elo-rating based model. Who is statistically most likely to win? How do Tai’s numerical assessments differ from those of other models and the betting markets? Tune in to hear some fascinating Candidates discussion!You can find brief timestamps below, and more detailed ones on the podcast website here.FIDE Candidates info here01:00- Intro with details on the Candidates format and Schedule. Prior GM Robert Hess appearance 05:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com you can find the free “Endgame Strategy” Lesson from GM Sam Shankland here:https://www.chessable.com/course/1156737:45- How does Candidates prep compare for Robert and his announcing team compare to prep for an event like the World Championship?13:00- What can Robert share about GM Jan-Krystof Duda? 16:45- GM Teimour Radjabov 20:00- GM Hikaru Nakamura 29:30- GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi 35:00- GM Richard Rapport41:00- GM Fabiano Caruana 47:15- GM Alireza Firouzja 55:45- GM Ding Liren 1:07:00- How does Robert approach commentating on an event like the ongoing “I am not a GM” tourney on Chess.com?1:15:15- Robert’s OTB exploits! How did it feel to draw GM Viswanathan Anand in 2018 and defeating GM Sam Shankland in 2019. 1:24:45- Global Chess Championship more info here 1:26:30- How does Robert work on his commentary?1:35:30- Robert’s Book Recs:1:36:30- Does Robert get recognized in public much? 1:42:45- What is Robert looking forward to most about the Candidates?1:46:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice of 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%. 1:48:00- Tai Pruce Zimmerman of the Chess by the Numbers blog joins to give an analytical perspective on the FIDE Candidates. We begin by discussing what differentiates the Candidates from other tournaments. 1:56:15- What do the betting markets and Tai’s model say the probabilities are for each player?Mentioned: BWIN odds here, Smarter Chess Probabilities here 2:06:00- Which player does Tai think the betting market undervalues? Thanks so much to Tai for joining us again. Be sure to subscribe to his blog and support his work via his website. Follow him on Twitter here.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess we are joined by Dr. Stuart Margulies, the co-author of the legendary, best-selling chess book, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. First published in 1966, and written along with Donn Mosenfelder and Fischer himself, this book has sold more than 1.25 million copies, and many believe it to be the best selling chess book of all time! Dr. Margulies tells the story of the modest beginnings of the book, and of his first and subsequent encounters with his fellow New Yorker, Bobby Fischer. Stuart is 89 years of age, but has vivid memories of Fischer and many other key New York City chess figures. Stuart worked as an educational psychologist, and also shares his take on the whether playing chess can positively impact reading scores, a subject about which he wrote a paper in the 1990s. It was so much fun to hear Stuart’s reflections on his life in chess! More details and timestamps can be found below. 0:00- Stuart shares his earliest first-hand memories of Bobby FischerMentioned: Alan Kaufman, Jack Collins, FM Asa Hoffman 0:08- We discuss the origins of Bobby Fischer Teaches ChessMentioned: Donn Mosenfelder, Leslie Ault, IM Raymond Weinstein, IM Michael Valvo, Shelby Lyman, Episode 250 with FM Asa Hoffman 16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com17:00- We discuss more about the history of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, including the origins of its title. Mentioned: Dr. Frank Brady, Fischer-Larsen 195828:00- Stuart discusses the one time he beat Fischer in a casual game, and shares more about his personal interactions with Fischer. Mentioned: The Kevitz defense, Shernaz Kennady44:00- 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%.45:00- Patreon mailbag question: How did Margulies and his collaborators decide to use a format that had no chess notation? Mentioned: Secrets of Spectacular Chess 50:00- Stuart discusses his own, and others people’s research into the effect of chess instruction on kids’ reading scores. Mentioned: Margulies’ Whitepaper: The Effect of Chess on Reading Scores, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, GM Levon Aronian 58:00- Stuart describes his encounters with GM Nicolas Rossolimo and a young GM Judit Polgar Mentioned: FM Jude Acers, Abraham Kupchik, Irving Chernev, Al Horowitz, Fred Reinfeld 1:07:00- What was the motivation for writing Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess?1:13:00- As such a sharp 89 year old, does Stuart have any mental and physical health tips? Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine, GM Genna Sosonko’s books , A Change of Air by Ivan Gold can be found the compilation Nickel Miseries, Endgame by Dr. Frank Brady  1:21:00- Thanks so much to Stuart for joining the show! If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here:Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a one month hiatus, Chess Books Recaptured returns to discuss another classic chess book- GM Alexei Shirov’s Fire on Board. This 1997 game collection book shows the games of one of the world’s best attacking players at the peak of his powers. Joining me to discuss the book is Mitchell Fabian. Mitch is a 26 year old dad, actuary and avid chess student who suggested this book because he felt that it helped his chess tremendously. In addition to many wild slugfest games and creative ideas, the book covers an interesting time in chess history, when the World Championship Title was disputed by different organizations. We cover all of this in a fun conversation about a challenging, but informative book. More details and timestamps below: 0:00- We welcome Mitch Fabian to the show and he discusses why he chose Shirov’s Fire on Board. Mentioned: IM Kostya Kavutskiiy 6:00- For what rating is Fire on Board best suited?Mentioned: Seirawan’s Play Winning Chess 12:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com, the premier chess education website. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com13:00- Patreon mailbag question: Any hot takes on the Shirov-Kasparov World Championship match that was supposed to take place in the late 1990's but never did? Mentioned: Fire on Board 2, Luis Rentero Suarez 24:00- Back to the book! We discuss the book’s structure and share some quotes from a great foreword by GM Jon Speelman Mentioned: Topalov-Shirov 2004 with 47… Bh3!!!36:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice of 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%. 37:00- We share a few of things that struck us about Fire on Board Mentioned: Attack with Mikhail Tal, Episode 273 with GM Johan Hellsten, GM Vasilios Kotronios, Lifetime Repertoires: Jan Gustaffson 1. E4 e5 , Everyman Chess “E Book” of Fire on Board 48:00- Should we be concerned about some errors in the book that modern engines identify? Mentioned: GM Samuel Sevian, Shirov-Kramnik 1994 51:00- Mitch and I share a few other things we like about Fire on the Board. Mentioned: Book Recap #1- The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios1:04:00- We wrap the book discussion before segueing to some adult improvement discussion with Mitch. In Mitch’s honor I will be making a modest donation to The US Chess School. 1:05:00- Mitch is quite an accomplished adult improver so before we wrap up he shares some improvement recs. Mentioned: Chess Dojo Discord, GM Eugene Perelshteyn 1:16:00- Thanks so much to Mitch for joining us! Here is where you can find him:Chess Dojo DiscordTwitterChess.comLichess  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we are re-joined by the popular and amusing Twitch streamer, YouTube presenter and commentator, GM Ben Finegold. Lots has changed since our last interview! For one thing, there has been lots of discussion recently about a decline in the popularity of chess?. Does Ben think chess is losing popularity? Is he seeing a decline in his viewership on Twitch? What about on his YouTube channel? Other recent developments which we discussed include: Why Ben and his wife Karen sold their chess center in Atlanta, the state of Ben’s OTB chess game in the wake of some recent tourneys, plus some discussion of the Candidates, recent elite tournaments, and a few stories about Ben’s earlier days in the chess world, including Ben Finegold, “the college years.” Its always fun to catch up with Ben, lots more details and links in the show notes below.  Prior Finegold appearances on Perpetual Chess- 2017- Episode 9 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2o91dlqfOFf2Lwl9hfbrGF?si=b01f64b4f4fe4f8a2018- Episode 52 https://open.spotify.com/episode/4f3W9CS9Q9nC5JUOYib5cn?si=e97663b0a8eb48792021- Episode 228 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ONlsNPYykFsH3sqM28LWL?si=5c1710b4b2514f790:00- Are Ben’s Twitch viewers down? Is the popularity of chess declining?Mentioned: Martin Justesen’s post “Is the Chess (Twitch) Boom Over?, IM Levy Rozman’s Tweet, GM David Smerdon’s post 13:00- With the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta having been sold, will Ben still be doing his popular chess history lectures? Mentioned: Kid Chess Atlanta, IM Carlos Perdomo 23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice of 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%. 24:00- Ben has been competing regularly OTB recently, he wonders “was I always this bad at chess?” Mentioned: Charlotte Chess Center ALTO tournament, Foxwoods Open, GM Alex Shabalov 40:00- Patreon mailbag question: How does Ben define a blunder at different rating levels? Mentioned: GM Gregory Kaidanov, 2022 Continental Chess Championships in El Salvador48:00- Which young players impress Ben? What does it take to reach and stay at the top? Mentioned: GM Sarin, GM Praggnanandhaa, GM Christopher Yoo, GM Hans Niemann, Episode 271 with GM Hans Niemann 56:00- Are there any chess talents that Ben has been surprised to see not to reach their potential? Mentioned: GM Baadur Jobava, GM Wei Yi, GM Etienne Bacrot, GM David Navara, GM Jeffrey Xiong, GM Sam Shankland 1:02:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com 1:03:00- Who does Ben expect to win the 2022 FIDE Candidates tournament? 1:06:00- Did Ben ever meet the recently passed legendary GM Yuri Averbakh? 1:08:00- How does Ben prepare for his chess history lectures? 1:11:00- What was it like for Ben to attend university in his 20s? Mentioned: Chess Life Magazine Article by Ben Finegold The 40 Year Old GM: https://t.co/3CozXi7lbC1:16:00- Ben’s upcoming Twitch and tournament plans! Here are the links to keep up with Ben. Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/gmbenjaminfinegoldYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6EnFbK-P5q0zeaqI5yobKgTwitter:https://twitter.com/ben_finegold?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Adult Improver interview is with Derek Wilder. Derek is a 33 year old Detroit- based Scholastic Chess Coach and Chess Podcaster (host of the Detroit Chess Killers pod). Derek is always working on his game, and he recently leveled up and surpassed the USCF rating of 2000 for the first time. This puts Derek in the 95th percentile of all USCF players. It took Derek years of hard work to break through this plateau, and it was illuminating to hear what he believed to be the keys to his success. Derek was quick to credit lots of friends and trainers with advice and tips that helped his game, and he offered lots of advice for those looking to achieve a similar breakthrough. Please read on for timestamps, resources, and people that were referenced in our interview. 0:00- Derek recently had a breakthrough in his OTB game. How’d he get to that moment? Mentioned: IM John Brooks, Paul Grams, Chrysler Elementary School08:00 Growing up in Detroit, Derek was one of the top scholastic players in his state, but he was bullied a bit for playing chess. How did he get through it? 09:30- What influence did FM James Canty and others have on his chess game? 12:00- What adjustments did Derek make when he came to chess in 2016 after a long hiatus? Mentioned: Nunn’s Chess Openings 14:30- What kind of chess learner is Derek? Mentioned: NM Mike Zaloznyy, IM Atulya Shetty, Derek’s interview with NM Kofi Tatum 18:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice of 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%. 19:00- In his recent gains, did Derek focus more on strengthening his strengths or on shoring up his weaknesses? Mentioned: FM Josh Posthuma, NM Gopal Menon, My System, IM Mark Dvoretsky’s books, IM Jeremy Silman, Charisse Woods26:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How much did studying theoretical endgames help Derek’s game?” Mentioned: Kameron Tolliver 30:00- -Patreon mailbag question: “Did Derek’s training method change leading up to his recent breakthrough?”39:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels - Chessable.com40:30- How big was the goal of reaching the USCF expert level for Derek? Do his students follow his chess progress? 43:00- How does Derek approach his openings? Mentioned: IM Orlando Husbands, IM Richard Leyva Proenza48:00- How does Derek think about budgeting for chess tournaments? 49:30- Welcome the the Chess dot bomb! On this month’s sponsored segment we discuss the Global Chess Championship and Chess.com’s new verification feature. If you get verified on Chess.com you are eligible to compete in the $1,000,000 Global Chess Championship for free. If you decide to get verified ($15 for initial verification / $10 per year thereafter), please use this link to help support Perpetual Chess. Chess.com verification: Verified - Chess.comGlobal Chess Championship https://www.chess.com/article/view/chesscom-global-championship-2022?ref_id=17919348Premium Membership: https://go.chess.com/Perpetual52:30- What does Derek think he needs to do to become a USCF master? Mentioned: Max Euwe, Tigran Petrosian 55:30- When did Derek start working with coaches? How much do they help him? 58:00- Why is it important to play against tougher competition?Mentioned: FM Ylon Schwartz 1:00:00- Thanks to Derek for joining the pod! You can check out his podcast, Detroit Chess Killers, here:Detroit Chess KillersFollow Derek on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/derekewilder Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices