Perpetual Chess Podcast

My guest this week is renowned chess author, International Master John Donaldson. Along with his co-author, IM Eric Tangborn, IM Donaldson recently completed and released a 5 volume biography of Bobby Fischer. So naturally, John and I did a deep dive on the life and legacy of chess legend Bobby Fischer. John tackled several unanswered questions about Fischer's life that drove him to undertake this project. He also shared some memories about the recently deceased grandmaster Bill Lombardy, with whom John spent some time shortly before he died. Following that, we discussed the venerable Mechanic's institute Chess Club in San Francisco, where John is the Director of the Chess Room. Along the way John gave some detailed and practical chess improvement advice and book recommendations. Thanks to John for joining me. You can buy his books here, and he can be emailed here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I enjoyed talking with Sweden's highest rated chess player, the impressive young Grandmaster Nils Grandelius. Despite his being only 24 years old, Nils has had a wealth of experience in the chess world, including having played and held his own against such titans as Carlsen, Caruana, Kramnik, and Anand. Nils discussed those experiences with us and talked about what he thinks he needs to improve to ascend toward that level. He also shared some behind-the-scenes details about what it was like to work as part of Magnus Carlsen's team in the last World Championship match. Before we ended our conversation, Nils touched on his affinity for playing bughouse and named some of the world's best bughouse players, and shared his upcoming tournament schedule. Thanks to Nils for a great interview. Follow him on twitter here. If you enjoy this podcast, you can support it at Patreon or by buying chess improvement videos at ChessUniversity.com using the promo code "PERPETUAL." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To mark the one year anniversary of Perpetual Chess, Ben Finegold returned as our first repeat guest. When Ben first talked with us in January 2017, he talked about plans for The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta, and in the past year GM Finegold and his wife, Karen Boyd, have seen the club go from dream to reality.  Ben shared the surprises and successes that they have encountered during the club's first year. We also talked about the chess world more broadly, as Ben discussed the FIDE Candidates' Cycle (and why he picks Wesley So to win every event), and his plans for the upcoming Pro Chess League.  He also told some great stories, old and new, from his chess travels. Follow Ben on twitter here, watch his YouTube lectures here. If you would like to donate to Perpetual Chess you can do so here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 IM Andrey Ostrovskiy joined me this week for an insightful conversation. We started off discussing the biggest news in the chess world, as Andrei gave his perspective on what Alphazero’s landmark success means, and doesn't mean. We then dug into Andrey's background. Andrey talked about why he made the move from his native Ukraine to Germany a few years ago and transitioned from his family business to working as a chess professional. Andrey was also happy to share some ideas about improving one's calculation and chess-playing skills. Lastly, Andrey answered a long-festering question of mine about how players of his caliber can tell when an opening line has become obsolete. Thanks to Andrey for joining me. Check out his YouTube channel here,and follow him here on Twitter. If you enjoy this podcast, you can support it at Patreon or by buying chess improvement videos at ChessUniversity.com using the promo code "PERPETUAL." The game analysis video we discuss in our interview is here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was my pleasure to interview my longtime friend, two-time US Women's Champion Jennifer Shahade this week. Jenn is a well-known chess player and announcer, but she stays busy with many other roles as well. Her popular books,  Play Like a Girl and Chess Bitch aim to attract more women to chess. She is also the Mind Sports ambassador for PokerStars, editor of the US Chess Federation website, and a board member of the World Chess Hall of Fame. We had a fun, wide-ranging talk about how Jenn juggles her many roles, as well as her most important role of all- the mother of almost -1 -year-old Fabian. Jenn and I traded stories about her growing up in a game-centric household, and about her ascendance in chess and poker. When I asked Jenn whether she'd be writing another book, she did not dodge the question. Tune in to hear what she said. You can find Jenn on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to tune it in to watch Jenn and GM Yasser Seirawan and the rest of the team announce the  The London Chess Classic. If you enjoy this podcast, you can support it at Patreon or by buying chess improvement videos at Chessuniversity.com  using the promo code "PERPETUAL."  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan was my guest this week on Perpetual Chess. Tatev recounted the challenges of moving from Armenia to Southern California with her family at the age of 13. Tatev's family moved for economic and professional reasons, but the young chess talent quickly made a mark on the American chess scene while slowly acclimating to American culture and language. After overcoming the culture shock, Tatev has built a nice life for herself as a chess professional who plays, teaches and reports on chess events all over the world. She gave us some simple advice for improving at chess, discussed the past and future of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship and, of course, we talked about penguins. Follow Tatev on Twitter here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In addition to being an USCF expert, chess teacher, and blitz specialist, Jonathan Corbblah is a game show wizard! He has appeared on 12 game shows and is a Jeopardy champion. In our interview, Jon tells us how chess helped inform his knowledge of trivia and how chess players can improve their trivia games. Jonathan also has many funny stories to tell about his brushes with fame in New York City. Among other adventures, he has played basketball with Magnus Carlsen and slow chess with George Soros. Lastly, Jonathan leaves with an impassioned defense of his controversial "never resign" policy. You may not always agree with him, but you will definitely be entertained. Get in touch with Jonathan on Facebook or chess.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Cristian Chirila is a chess player, journalist, coach and commentator. He talked with me about why he believes that's its necessary for a modern chess professional to wear many hats, and about what he likes about each of the roles that gen plays. Cristian also discusses his youth in Romania and tells what it was like to move to Texas to attend college. Cristian also pulls back the curtain on what it was like to attend the Chess Olympiad in 2016 in order to assist GM Eric Hansen. Lastly, we talk about Cristian's current goal for his own play, and discussed his training methods. Follow GM Chirila on twitter here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM John Watson has over 30 chess books under his belt, and several of them are widely considered classics. In addition, John is a renowned chess teacher and player. In our interview, we discussed numerous interesting topics, including John's recent trip to play in the Isle of Man Tournament, tales from his glory days on the chess circuit (including Mikhail Tal's drinking habits), and John reveals what it felt like to look at a chess board for the first time after suffering a stroke. You can email John here, and you can watch his Internet Chess Club/Youtube show, "Ask the Master" on Tuesday's at 6 here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM Sagar Shah is best known in the chess world as a reporter for and co-founder of Chessbase India. Sagar travels the world and covers many of the top tournaments. In this role, he watches the world elites up close, and in our talk, he shares some observations from this unique perspective. Additionally, Sagar has his ear to the ground in the Indian chess world, so he tells us which Indian talents to watch for, and tells us what factors have contributed to the many recent successes of Indian chess players. We also talk about assorted topics such as Sagar's own chess ambitions, and the highlights of the recent "teaching tour" of India conducted by renowned chess trainer, GM Jacob Aagard (and arranged by IM Shah). You can read IM Shah's excellent work on Chessbase India, or email him here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices