New In Chess Podcast

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein. Simen made history by becoming the first Norwegian chess grandmaster in 1985. A nine-time Norwegian chess champion, Simen also had a notable career in professional football, representing the Norwegian national team nine times. Additionally, he has been credited with discovering and fostering the talent of Magnus Carlsen, becoming the latter’s first chess coach. Two weeks ago, Atle Grønn appeared on the New In Chess Podcast to discuss “Games and Goals: the Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein”, a reflection on Simen’s dual professional careers and influence on the game of chess. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, this week Simen is here himself to talk about the book, his own career achievements and regrets, as well as the past and future of Norwegian chess. "Games and Goals" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website:https://www.newinchess.com/games-and-goals 0:00 – Intro 3:25 – How did “Games and Goals” come about? 7:09 – Becoming the first Norwegian grandmaster 11:55 – Simen’s professional football career and the pressures of combining two high-level sports 19:03 – Simen’s career regrets 22:59 – His knee injury and retirement from football 27:55 – AD BREAK 28:37 – How it feels to play football against all-time greats like Baresi and Maldini 31:03 – Simen’s image in the media and reflections on his football career 37:32 – Being the “clown” of the Norwegian football team 40:18 – Discovering Magnus 43:47 – The Norwegian school of chess 47:37 – Comparing Magnus to the greatest players before him 49:37 – Elham Amar: the next Magnus? 53:15 – Winning the Norwegian championship for the 9th time in 2023 58:01 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with British grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Often called “the strongest amateur in the world”, Matthew, a two-time British chess champion, has retired from playing full-time with a more-than-respectable FIDE rating of 2694. Despite his inactivity as a player, Matthew is far from done with chess. In addition to his own writings (the most notable of which is Game Changer, a game analysis of Google’s AI-powered AlphaZero engine), Matthew also actively reviews the work of other chess authors, from highly technical endgame books to biographies and more personal chess stories. His review column in the New In Chess Magazine is amongst the publication’s most popular rubrics. Interviewed by Dirk-Jan ten Geuzendam, Matthew talks about chess literature, his own personal favorites, and his process for reviewing the work of other authors, among other things. 0:00 – Intro 2:05 – Matthew’s work in IT 5:08 – Why Matthew hasn’t played since COVID 6:47 – The role of (chess and non-chess) literature in Matthew’s upbringing 12:20 – Matthew’s music taste, his brother’s career in music 15:55 – The chess books that molded a young Matthew 21:13 – Why the quality of chess literature has drastically improved 26:20 – How should a chess author explain playing styles of less accessible players? 28:06 – How much time does Matthew spend reading chess books? 32:02 – Top players creating their own material, the effects of the computer age 34:54 – Does reading chess biographies help a player become stronger? 40:13 – AD BREAK 40:45 – Why young players should be wary of old literature 46:01 – Should we replace the “one-to-five-star” system with a rating system? 48:15 – Matthew’s favorite chess book of all time 56:19 – Matthew’s other favorites 59:19 – Where does Matthew think chess literature is headed? 1:00:01 – Writing Game Changer 1:05:03 – Which book still urgently needs to be written? 1:07:32 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Atle Grønn, the author of Games and Goals, The Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein. Atle Grønn is Professor of Slavic linguistics at the University of Oslo, but he is also a strong chess player - an International Master - and has written several books on chess. In Norway, he is a familiar face on television as chess expert in the live broadcasts of big chess events by NRK. Games and Goals is the biography of Simen Agdestein, who not only was the greatest Norwegian chess player before Magnus Carlsen appeared on the scene, but who also - and this can safely be called spectacular - had a successful football career. Agdestein won the Norwegian Chess Championship nine times, while as a footballer he played for the Norwegian national team eight times. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Atle Grønn talks about his new book, the most remarkable double career of Simen Agdestein, the unique approach of ‘the Norwegian school of chess’, Magnus Carlsen, chess biographies in general and much more.Games and Goals is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/games-and-goals 0:00 – Intro 2:18 – Why did Atle decide to write the book? 3:51 – How involved was Simen in the writing process? 5:42 – Finding out new things about Simen’s life and childhood 12:50 – How would Atle characterise Simen’s influence on Norwegian chess? 15:46 – Simen’s father 17:11 – Simen’s insistence on privacy as a young player 20:20 – The pressures of combining professional chess and football 26:35 – Could Simen have gone further in chess? 27:56 – Simen’s influence on Magnus 32:26 – AD BREAK 32:58 – What is Simen’s legacy in Norwegian football? 37:02 – How did Simen deal with his career-ending football injury? 38:32 – Discovering Magnus and the “Norwegian school of chess” 43:02 – Simen’s competitive nature 45:24 – Which other chess biographies inspired Atle to write this one? 51:21 – Which other biographies would Atle recommend? 57:12 – Will Atle write Magnus’s biography? 1:00:42 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Georgian-Dutch grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili. Born in 2001, Robby has represented the varsity chess team of St. Louis University since 2019, winning numerous national prizes with his teammates. Interviewed by Alex Polak, Robby talks about his life as a chess player on the American collegiate circuit, his strong performances in blitz play, and his impression of St. Louis, deemed by many to be the chess capital of the world. 0:00 – Intro 1:01 – What it means to be a student athlete in the world of chess 1:54 – How Robby ended up in St. Louis 3:30 – Chess and academics 7:00 – The collegiate tournament schedule 9:43 – Robby’s strong coaches at SLU 11:03 – St. Louis, the city of chess 13:11 – Robby’s incredibly strong online play 17:53 – Other strong chess universities 23:13 – Robby’s training schedule 24:49 – Experiencing the chess boom while a part of SLU 28:48 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from Genna Sosonko’s “The Essential Sosonko”. The subject of this week’s audiobook is one of the most beloved and inspiring chess players of all time: Mikhail Tal. With his fierce attacking style, “Misha” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvinnik to claim the World Chess Championship in 1960. Widely acclaimed as a genius, Misha’s tactical play would produce numerous brilliancies, as well as a 95-game unbeaten streak, a record that would stand for over forty years. Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, “My Misha” is a retelling of Genna’s twenty-five year friendship with Misha. It is a first-hand account of everything the “Magician from Riga” was known for: his striking appearance, his notoriously unhealthy lifestyle, his complicated family dynamics, but most importantly: his deep love of chess. The hard-copy of the entire "The Essential Sosonko" is available on the New In Chess Website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko 0:00 – Intro 1:15 – Misha’s victory in the 1959 Candidates Tournament 1:52 – Misha’s early reputation as a reckless player 2:53 – Stories of Misha’s first meeting with Mikhail Botvinnik 3:47 – Genna’s experience analysing openings with Misha 5:34 – Misha’s deep love of chess, especially blitz 6:55 – Misha’s very complicated family 10:16 – Misha’s simple and lazy lifestyle 11:57 – Alcohol 13:36 – Misha’s talent on the piano despite his physical deformity, his love of football 15:23 – Misha’s poor health, addiction 16:40 – AD BREAK 17:19 – Misha’s imposing appearance, piercing eyes, and mental strength 20:03 – Genna’s personal Misha stories 27:35 – Witnessing Misha’s declining health, Misha’s last tournaments 30:14 – Genna’s last letter from Misha32:26 - Outro 

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen.A five-time Danish champion, Peter Heine Nielsen is primarily known for his highly successful coaching career. From 2007 till 2023, he continuously coached World Champions Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen. In that capacity he was a winning coach in a World Championship match a record eight times.Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Peter Heine Nielsen looks back on the Candidates tournament in Toronto that ended earlier this week. The sensational winner was 17-year-old Gukesh from India who will now challenge World Champion Ding Liren in a match for the world title. That match is scheduled to take place in November. The exact dates and place have not yet been announced. Nielsen shares his views of Gukesh and also speaks extensively about the three favourites – Caruana, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi – that were pipped at the post by the youngster in one of the most exciting last rounds ever.0:00 - Intro1:33 - How did Peter follow the Candidates, now that Magnus is not involved in the cycle?5:53 - Peter's expectations before the event vs reality7:36 - The dramatic final round11:58 - Peter's criticism of the 8-player, 14-round format18:18 - Peter unfavourably compares Magnus's experience winning World Championship matches with winning big tournaments, like Tata Steel19:41 - How special winning the World Cup was for Magnus21:34 - Gukesh's impressive performance and mindset30:09 - How Peter has seen chess become more of a sport, the evolving role of opening preparation33:30 - Is the "middlegame-focused"-approach34:58 - AD BREAK35:41 - Fabiano's devastating result, his playing strength and status as the unofficial #2 in the world41:39 - Nepo's performance44:33 - Hikaru's impressive performance, media career51:09 - Gukesh's strength and potential, chances against Ding55:37 - Ding's state of mind following World Championship win, lackluster performances1:00:07 - Peter tells the world not to count out Ding1:01:16 - Magnus's reaction to Gukesh's win1:03:07 - Alireza1:06:48 - Future games between Gukesh and Magnus1:11:20 - Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features not one, but to esteemed guests. Women International Master Natasha Regan and Matt Ball are longtime collaborators, having recently co-authored “Zwischenzug!”, a book about a concept that will be familiar to many but, according to its authors, is missed exceedingly often in modern (online) chess. The zwischenzug, also known as the in-between move, intermediary move, or intermezzo, occurs regularly in chess at all levels, from amateur games to the last World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Interviewed by Remmelt Otten, Regan and Ball expand on the concept of the zwischenzug and draw parallels with various other strategy games, like go and shogi, and introduce concepts from those games that may even be interesting for chess players to learn. "Zwischenzug!" will be available on the New In Chess website soon:https://www.newinchess.com/zwischenzug 00:06 – Intro 02:14 – How Matt and Natasha met 02:53 – Why name the course “Zwischenzug”? 04:09 – How did the idea to write the book come about? 05:13 – How does one become an official FIDE coach? 07:05 – Why should people buy the book instead of using some online course? 08:33 – How should a student use the book? 09:43 – How the online "pre-move" makes people forget about in-between moves 11:25 – The beauty of the zwischenzug move 12:48 – How common are zwischenzugs? 14:01 – The unbelievable amount of zwischenzugs that occurred in the Ding-Nepo match 16:10 – Natasha and Matt coming up with new phrases to describe specific zwischenzug situations 18:29 – AD BREAK 19:11 – Matt gives the listener a visualisation exercise 22:34 – Natasha's affinity for abstract games such as go and shogi 25:39 – Natasha carrying over phrases from go into chess 25:57 – “Tenuki" 27:10 – “Aji” 30:50 – Natasha and Matt's participation in the European Senior Team Championship, using Puzzle Rush in preparation 36:12 – What books do Natasha and Matt recommend for chess improvement? 38:14 – Outro

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast, Anish Giri returns to give his take on the first half of the Candidates. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he candidly shares his assessment of the players so far. 0:00 – Intro 1:35 – Anish’s experience following the Candidates so far 2:57 – Alireza-Gukesh (round 7) 6:25 – Nepo’s performance so far, games against Pragg and Hikaru 14:13 – How many points does Anish think the winner will need? 16:18 – Fabiano’s performance so far 20:52 – Gukesh’s play 23:03 – Pragg’s crazy combinations 28:32 – Vidit-Pragg (round 3) 32:29 – Could this be Pragg’s tournament? 34:20 – Vidit’s play thus far, his early win against Hikaru 37:20 – Vidit’s “meditation”, other top players’ rituals before games 43:24 – AD BREAK 44:04 – Hikaru jumping right to YouTube after a game, even a loss 48:30 – Anish’s dislike of post-game press conferences, his preference for Hikaru’s approach 52:32 – Alireza’s tournament 58:33 – Who does Anish favour, halfway through the tournament 1:06:23 – The Women’s Candidates Tournament

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with grandmaster Jacob Aagaard. Jacob Aagaard is a GM - he was the British Champion in 2007 – but is best known as a prolific and award-winning chess writer, the founder of Quality Chess publishers, and a top coach who has worked with many big names we know and no doubt various that have remained a secret. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jacob Aagaard shares memories of Mark Dvoretsky (1947-2016), the legendary coach and writer, who was a dear friend of his and a great inspiration. The occasion is the publication of the book "Chess Coach, The profound and lasting Influence of Mark Dvoretsky by New In Chess", a tribute to Dvoretsky compiled by Vladimir Barsky that first appeared in Russian. Aagaard has called Dvoretsky ‘the biggest authority in my adult life’ and considers Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manuel simply ‘the best chess book ever written’. In a one-hour interview he explains why that is and treats the listeners to many wonderful stories about one of the most influential writers and coaches chess has ever seen. He also provides advice how to read Dvoretsky’s (and his close associate Jussupow’s) books, while also speaking about his own acclaimed books that would not have been written without the inspiration of a great example and their interaction. "Chess Coach" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/chess-coach0:00 – Intro 2:16 – What Mark Dvoretsky meant to Jacob during his adult life 4:30 – Jacob clarifies that two of his chess awards are now defunct and emphasizes Dvoretsky’s legacy 6:47 – Jacob’s first meeting with Dvoretsky, attending the Dvoretsky school as a kid 11:19 – How the relationship between Kasparov and Dvoretsky soured 15:51 – Life as a young Dvoretsky pupil 18:28 – Dvoretsky’s strong personal convictions 19:59 – Jacob recalls Mark Taimanov getting arrested in the Soviet Union after his loss to Fischer 21:20 – How wealth and fame affected Dvoretsky, him refusing to charge money from his strongest pupils 26:19 – Jacob rebuffing a request to coach a national team 27:50 – Why Jacob chose to end his coaching relationship with Nodirbek Abdusattorov 32:30 – The mental toughness required to become world champion 34:30 – The complex characters of Karpov and Kasparov 38:39 – Insights about Dvoretsky from his wife Inna 40:17 – Jacob shares a personal story about Dvoretsky 43:42 – AD BREAK 44:15 – Dvoretsky knowing even the most obscure books 44:55 – Why Dvoretsky’s “Endgame Manual” is the greatest chess book ever written 49:35 – Jacob’s book “Practical Chess Defence” 52:30 – Are Dvoretsky’s books accessible to beginners? 53:30 – Being proud to publish books containing Dvoretsky’s lessons 56:48 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, one of the strongest and most popular chess players in the world. A prodigy, Anish achieved the grandmaster title at the age of 14 and steadily grew into one the world’s leading players, eventually joining the select group of grandmasters to have breached the 2800-barrier. Among his finest victories is last year’s Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Anish is also one of the most many-sided players around. His online presence has brought him hundreds of thousands of followers, he has produced highly successful Chessable courses and he is, of course, a contributing editor to New In Chess magazine.Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Anish looks ahead to the Candidates tournament that will kick off on April 3rd in Toronto. Providing great insights, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the eight Candidates and speaks openly about his expectations and personal favourites. Anish’s expert analysis is a must-hear treat for everyone who is looking forward to one of the greatest chess events of 2024.00:00 – Intro01:40 – Anish’s upcoming tournament schedule02:44 – The unprofessional way FIDE tournaments are scheduled 08:16 – How Anish feels about the events that led to him missing the Candidates tournament 16:00 – Anish will make predictions for each Candidate 16:28 – Abasov 20:37 – Why Anish likes the dynamic of having one weaker player in a strong tournament 22:51 – Vidit 28:08 – Gukesh 29:51 – AD BREAK 30:30 – Pragg 35:47 – Nepo 37:53 – Will Russian and Indian Candidates feel pressure from their governments to perform well? 40:55 – Alireza 46:30 – Hikaru 53:17 – Fabiano 57:18 – How would have the best chances against Ding? 1:01:11 – Anish’s personal favourite to win the tournament 1:02:10 – Having grown closer to Fabiano 1:04:10 – How closely will Anish follow the event? 1:05:43 – Anish stresses that his predications may vary according to his mood 1:06:47 – Outro