Perpetual Chess Podcast

This week I am joined by the authors by one of the most anticipated chess books in recent memory, Gamechanger: AlphaZero's Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI.GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan have written a fascinating and revelatory book, so I was very excited to chat with them about the background to the book and discuss some highlights from it. In our conversation, we also touch on other aspects of Matthew and Natasha’s accomplished careers, particularly, how adults can continue to make strides in chess, as discussed in their prior collaboration, Chess for Life.. You can find many more details about our conversation with timestamps below. Gamechanger is now available from New in Chess, Chessable, and Forward Chess, and will be released on Amazon in the US on February 15.For timestamps and relevant hyperlinks, please go to the show webpage here:https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/2/5/episode-112-gm-matthew-sadler-and-wim-natasha-regan-1If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week it was my great honor to get to chat with the acclaimed author, trainer and co-founder of Quality Chess, GM Jacob Aagaard. GM Aagaard is chairing the FIDE trainer’s commission and has worked with elite chess players like GM Sam Shankland and GM Boris Gelfand. Jacob was very generous with his time and wisdom in our conversation. You can keep up with Quality Chess on their blog, and you can email GM Aagaard here. You can find out more about the Quality Chess Academy here. For timestamps and details about all that we discussed, read on. 0:00- Intro and discussion of the vision behind Quality Chess Publishing, co-founded by GM Aagaard in 2004 (along with GM John Shaw and IM Ari Ziegler). 12:40- A brief digression into some Science Fiction shows Jacob has been watching in his scant free-time. He recommends Altered Carbon on Netflix and a German series called Dark. 15:30- We segue into a detailed discussion of Jacob’s most recent highly acclaimed book, Thinking Inside the Box. As GM Aagaard discusses in the book, each move in chess can roughly be categorized into one of 4 decision types: Automatic Decisions (This includes a discussion of this game between GM Sam Shankland and GM Richard Rapport. ) SImple Decisions (This is where Aagaard’s famed 3 questions come into play- 1. Where are the weaknesses? 2. What is the opponent’s idea? 3. Which is my worst placed piece?) Critical Moments (positions where there is a large difference between the best move and the next best move) Strategic Decisions (complicated positions with no clear-cut way to approach them) 34:00- Jacob answers a question from a supporter of the podcast relating to how to use diagrams in chess books. While answering, Jacob rattles off a few of his favorite chess books. They include GM Romain Edouard’s calculation books, Imagination in Chess (out of print), Perfect Your Chess, and the Arthur Yusopov series. As a scholastic player, Jacob was a big fan of legendary Danish player Bent Larsen’s books. 42:30- GM Aagaard tells the story of how he became a trainer of other high level players. For any listener looking for a coach, GM Aagaard recommends his former student, Italian GM Sabino Brunello. Jacob also tells the story of how he became one of the trainers of former World Championship Challenger, GM Boris Gelfand and of US Champion Sam Shankland. 52:00- What feat did GM Sam Shankland accomplish that has gone a but under the radar? What does he think of GM Shankland’s prospects for a continued ascent in the world rankings? 1:02- GM Aagaard answers another question from a Patreon supporter about how to work on your chess when you do not have a coach. Jacob stressed the importance of analyzing one’s own games. 1:08- Jacob discusses his upcoming chess camp, The Quality Chess Academy, which will be co-taught along with renowned trainer R.B. Ramesh. You guys should sign up for the camp, then after attending you should email me to tell me about the camp. :) 1:15- Jacob discusses another new project of his, chairing the FIDE trainer’s commission. 1:26- Jacob gives his opinion on how big a role rapid chess should play in the World Championship Cycle. 1:35- What will be the next phase of chess, following what Jacob calls, “the digital period"? Jacob mentions a couple of alternatives to Chess960 that he finds interesting. 1:42- Jacob’s contact info and goodbyesIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

USCF Master Michael Aigner is a player and coach who is well-known in the Bay Area of California. He has coached many future titled players, and also holds a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. Thanks to Michael for an informative and inspiring conversation. Read on for details of all that we discussed.0:00- Intro and quick discussion of how the Bay Area teams are doing in the Pro Chess League. What distinguishes Michael’s coaching style? Amongst his favorite games to share are those of Mikhail Tal, and any game between Carlsen and Aronian.8:00- How did Michael get into chess as a teen in the early 1990s? How did he get better quickly in the pre-computer age? (There were a lot of early losses involved.) Michael was not a big chess book aficionado but he learned openings from an encyclopedia called Modern Chess Openings and was a big fan of the book Mikhail Tal’s Life and Games. 18:50- Michael shares some of the advice he generally gives his students. For example, he thinks 15 minute chess is a good time control to practice online, as it is fast enough to be able to play multiple games, but slow enough to have educational value for the player.What was it like for Michael to coach future GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Steven Zierk? Michael tells some great stories to illustrate the tenacity and enthusiasm that these top players showed at a young age.27:30- A brief discussion of what scholastic chess teachers and US Chess can do to help chess players retain interest in chess past their teen years.31:00- Michael discusses the special role that chess plays in his life due to his physical condition, called quadrilateral phocomelia. As Michael discusses, this condition means that he gets around in a wheelchair, but this definitely does not deter him from competing over the board.37:30- Michael answers a question from a listener about how he handles wheelchair accessibility issues in his tournaments.44:30- Michael answers another question from a Patreon supporter of the podcast, about whether he would recommend chess as a hobby to others with physical disabilities.48:00- Michael tackles a list of questions sent in from Michael’s friend and sometime opponent, Stewart Katz, relating to chess teaching and competing.1:00- Michael discusses how he follows top level chess and names a couple of his favorite chess announcers, plus he gives his take on whether the World Championship format should be changed.1:06- Wrap up and contact info for Michael Aigner- You can keep up with Michael on his website,Facebook, Twitter and his blog. This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable.com- Check it out if you haven't already!  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is Chilean Grandmaster, acclaimed chess author and newly minted Applied Mathematics Ph. D., Mauricio Flores. Mauricio and I covered a wide variety of chess related topics. Check them out below: 0:00- Introduction and we discuss Mauricio’s outstanding book Chess Structures. Mauricio explains how the idea for the book occurred to him and how he went about writing it. This includes a discussion of how Mauricio managed to become a GM despite a relative lack of resources in Chile, and the changes he made in his playing style as his study time became more scarce. How did he get great at tactics? Mauricio recommended CT-Art. He completed the entire tactics course 4 times! 16:00- How did Mauricio find out about the possibility of getting a chess scholarship in the United States, how did chess change his life? How did he find life in the US when he enrolled at University of Texas at Brownsville as an 18 yr. Old? What is next for Mauricio on the heels of finishing his math Ph. D? 25:00- Mauricio answers a question about his thoughts on other chess “structure books”, and reveals what he believes to be the most important aspect of writing a chess book. 34:00- Mauricio discusses his playing career and talks about why he is unable to compete much these days. We also discuss the Pro Chess League- Mauricio will be playing for his hometown Minnesota Blizzard along with IM John Bartholomew, GM Andrew Tang and others. 39:00- Book recommendations. Mauricio is a big fan of Quality Chess books such as Grandmaster Repetoire: 1.e4 , Learn from the Legends, and also of 100 Endgames You Must Know. 43:00- Mauricio gives his perspective on what the implications for chess could be of AlphaZero’s ascent. 50:00- What is the difference between 2500 level GMs and Super GMs? What steps would Mauricio take if he were to focus only on improving his chess even more? If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is well known chess competitor, presenter and Red Bull Athlete, IM Tania Sachdev. Check the timestamps below for discussion topics. 👇👇 0:00- Introduction and discussion of what to watch for and who is playing at the upcoming Gibraltar Chess Festival where Tania, along with GM Simon Williams and IM Jovanka Houska, will be a part of the announcing team. We also talk about the 2017 controversy at Gibraltar involving former Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan. 14:45- We segue into the schedule of upcoming tournaments in which Tania plans to compete These include the India Team Championship, and the Reykjavik Open The interview Tania mentions, which she conducted with GM Boris Gelfand at the 2018 Gibraltar Chess Festival, can be viewed here. Tania mentions that she always studies Mark Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual before a tournament. She also recommends the books Positional Play, and Thinking Inside the Box, both of which are part of the Grandmaster Preparation Series by GM Jacob Aagaard. 23:26- What was it like to train with renowned trainer GM Jacob Aagaard? Tania tells a great story regarding the memorable advice GM Aagard gave her as she struggled to keep up with stronger players at a training camp. 30:33- Actionable advice for chess players looking to improve. Tania emphasizes that remembering GM Aagaard’s fabled 3 questions when playing helped her game immeasurably. (The 3 questions are: What is your worst placed piece? What is my opponent intending? What is your opponent’s weakness?) 33:50- How did Tania became a representative of Red Bull India, and what is the nature of her role as a Red Bull athlete? 37:50- How are things changing for women in Chess within her native India? 41:00- Tania discusses how she spends her time away from the board when at home in Delhi. You can keep up with Tania on: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here.If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Perpetual Chess, Pro Chess League and US Chess School founder IM Greg Shahade makes his annual return to the podcast. Instead of giving a detailed description of all that we discussed, my New Years Resolution for the podcast is to endeavor to provide timestamps of the major topics that each guest addresses. Below, you can find this week's timestamps, including any relevant links. As always, you can keep up with Greg on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  For relevant hyperlinks, please go to the show webpage here:www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/1/4/episode-107-im-greg-shahade-returns-againIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week the popular, chess improvement-focused, "adult improver" edition of Perpetual Chess returns, but with a twist. This week's improver, USCF Master Vinesh Ravuri of California, is just 17 years old. Nonetheless, I felt that motivated chess players of all ages could learn from the meteoric rating gain that Vinesh has shown in the past few years (over 1000 USCF points since 2014). Check out his US rating graph here. Here is a bit more detail about what Vinesh and I discussed: Vinesh told the story of how he got into chess, and shared why he thinks it took multiple exposures to the game, in both the U.S. and India, for a passion for it to take hold. Vinesh and I discussed the many ways to try to improve at chess, and discussed which methods have been most effective for him. Spoiler: he has done a ton of tactics puzzles. Vinesh shared a few book recommendations for different levels, and talked about the challenges he has faced as his rating has climbed and his free time has become more scarce. Thanks to Vinesh for joining me, you can root on his San Jose Hackers in the upcoming Pro Chess League, and track his games or contact him about chess lessons here. This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, has won countless chess titles but is probably best known as The 12th Women’s World Champion and a perennial threat to retake that crown. GM Kosteniuk stays extremely busy, as in addition to being playing frequent top-level chess, she streams chess on twitch for chess.com, has been announcing high-level events and also somehow finds the time to work on her chess, spend time with her family, and even run marathons. In our conversation, Alexandra and touched on all of these facets of her life, and she tackled the following questions: What does she think of the format of the Men's World Championship? What about the announced changes in the Women's World Championship Candidates Cycle? What does she advise to study when one feels like they have hit a plateau? How can one maintain perspective when struggling at the chessboard? What advice would she give to young female chess players who may feel daunted by the preponderance of men playing chess?For someone who has had so much success, Alexandra clearly has a grounded perspective on chess and on life. When she is not battling at the board, you can follow her on twitter. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A giant of US Chess, GM Joel Benjamin, joins me this week. In addition to being a 3 time US champion, and hosting a weekly chess show on the Internet Chess Club, Joel has just published his fourth book, Better Thinking, Better Chess.  Naturally, Joel and I began our conversation by discussing some topics covered in the book such as: What are the causes of and potential solutions to typical mistakes that Joel sees in his students, such as a failure to generate candidate moves, and a hesitance about sacrificing the exchange? Joel and I also discussed the following: What was GM Benjamin's impression of the World Championship? Should the match format be changed? What are Joel's favorite chess games, stories and books? Joel has some great stories! Joel Benjamin has had a long and storied career, so needless to say, this was an entertaining conversation. Thanks to Joel for joining me. In addition to his excellent new book, Liquidation on the Chessboard, and American Grandmaster, also come highly recommended. The chess games Joel mentions are:Seirawan-Benjamin 1979Portisch-Benjamin 1987Abramovich-Benjamin 1984 game not online, but an excerpt can be found in his new book :) This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable.com If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Jóhann Hjartarson is a legend of Icelandic Chess and has a firm place in the chess history books. He is best known for defeating GM Viktor Korchnoi in a match during the 1988 Candidates Cycle (before succumbing to Anatoly Karpov), but he is also the 6 time champion of Iceland, and the 2 time Nordic Champion. Jóhann took some time out from his duties at the World Championship in London, and we discussed the following: His impressions of the World Championship, and what his responsibilities were as a member of the Appeals Committee for the match. Perspective and stories from the height of his chess career, when he was among the top players in the world and crossed swords with all time greats like Kasparov, Karpov and Korchnoi.  What led him to decide, at a time when he was near the peak of his chess powers, to transition from playing chess full time to working as a lawyer? Does he regret this decision? Has he kept up with the changes in study habits among world elites? What are his favorite chess books? This interview was quite a treat for me as a fan of chess history, and I think that you will enjoy it too. Thanks so much to Johann for sharing his experiences!  This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable.comGM Hjartarson's favorite game of his own, Game 1 of his match vs. Korchnoi is here. His favorite game by any player, Spassky vs. Fischer, Game 13, is here. For relevant hyperlinks, please go to the show webpage here:www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2018/12/4/episode-103-gm-jhann-hjartarsonIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices