The Chess Experience

For two decades, IM Dean Ippolito has been one of America’s top coaches. Throughout his career, he’s coached several scholastic talents to national titles. Plus, he’s authored six chess books. Dean’s own chess journey is just as impressive. He was a rising child star and competed professionally for a few years after high school.Today, he runs a successful coaching business called Dean of Chess Academy, which offers online classes and camps.In this episode, we also discuss the scourge of adult improvers who compete at OTB tournaments: rating deflation.We discuss what it is, how it affects adult club players like yourself, and some advice that Dean offers on how to deal with it.Finally, we talk about Dean’s new book, Tricks, Traps, and Tips in the Chess Opening. The book offers a unique (and much more fun!) approach to learning opening ideas and principles.More From Dean: Dean’s websiteDean’s TwitterDean’s new book, Tricks, Traps & Tips in the Chess OpeningHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

068 You may know him as best as “Fun Master” Mike, the face of ChessKid. For the past decade, Mike has been the Chief Chess Officer of ChessKid, the scholastic version of Chess.com. His mission has been to make the game fun and accessible for an ever-growing audience of young chess players.While my show primarily focuses on adult improvers, I’m always interested in how we grow this great game of ours, and reaching kids is a big part of that.And who better to discuss this subject than with Mike Klein!?Plus, if you’re a parent, Mike offers some great advice on how you can your kids’ school involved in teaching chess.We also discuss: Which top youth player he thinks has the best chance to stay in the game and make an impact for many years to come.The highlights of Mike’s journalism career, including which former world champ he would’ve loved to interview.His game and experiences with Josh Waitzkin, of Searching For Bobby Fischer fame.More From Mike:TwitterChessKid.comChess Grant for Schools Through ChessKidHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

067 How should you spend your chess time if you want to improve?  The problem for adult improvers isn’t always about having too little time or energy to get better. Often, the challenge is knowing how to use that time effectively. That’s where GM Noël Studer comes in to help us. A former Swiss chess champion, and the youngest GM ever from Switzlerland, Noël is now helping chess improvers fine-tune their study programs.The result?Better progress without having to spend countless hours each day studying or playing.In this interview, Noël discusses: How the One-Third Rule can simplify your study process and give you greater progress without any additional demands on your time.The surprising reason you can improve at openings with less study time instead of more.How to keep your energy high before going into an OTB tournament with a simple training strategy used by professional athletes.More From Noël:E-Book: The Art of Chess TrainingCourse: Next Level TrainingWebsiteBlogTwitterHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

This week features South Africa’s most charismatic chess streamer and commentator: WIM Jesse February.  Jesse has had an impressive tournament career that’s still going strong as she works toward the WGM title. Some of her accomplishments include representing the South African Women’s Team in three Chess Olympiads. Plus, she's a two-time winner of the South African Women’s Chess Championship.We chat about Jesse’s incredible and recent experience doing commentary for the inaugural Global Chess League tournament - a unique mixed-team event that featured some of the world’s best men and women players.And we talk about what Jesse feels she needs to work on to get the WGM title, her best advice from years of coaching, and whether she can give up bullet at 3am.More From Jesse: Twitch channelYouTube channelTwitterInstagramTikTokHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

065  WCM Alexandra Prado is a strong amateur player with a fast-rising chess Twitch channel. Rated 1859 FIDE, she has a renewed interest in competing in OTB classical. Plus, she’s aiming for the Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title. On that goal, she’s getting coaching help from Chess Dojo’s IM Kostya Kavutskiy, which we discuss in this episode.We also chat about her chess life in Bolivia, what has helped her improve the most as a player, and her unexpected opportunity to play in-person blitz against Andrea Botez.----I NEED YOUR HELP: Want to have a say in my upcoming chess membership? Please fill out this super-short survey about what features you want most.----More From Alexandra:Twitch ChannelInstagramTwitterYouTubeWebsiteGames against Andrea BotezLesson with IM Kostya KavutskiyHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

064 For the past two decades, WGM Anna Zatonskih has been a powerhouse among women chess players in America. She is a 4-time US Women’s champion (06’, 08’, 09’, and 11’.) Plus, she’s been a member of every US Women’s team for the Chess Olympiad since 2004.And while she has struggled a bit competitively in recent years, Anna just achieved an incredible first-place victory at the prestigious Cairn’s Cup in St. Louis in June of 2023.This event gathered some of the world’s best female chess players, including former World Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.Not only did Anna win the event - she did so with no losses.This has renewed the fire for Anna’s competitive careerIn this interview, we discuss highlights from the tournament, what she learned from the event, and her goal of proving that “age is just a number.” How You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

063 In the best possible way, Daniel King is a “triple threat” of chess: A GM professional competitor who’s played against some of the world’s best…A commentator who delivers GM-level analysis that’s easily accessible for us club players… And an educator who’s served up a library of phenomenal books, courses, and videos that’ll sharpen our chess skills.Not enough?He’s also a skilled and passionate musician who regularly plays in bands.Daniel launched his chess life with an exciting competitive career. He earned his IM title in ‘82,  his GM title in ‘89, and scored some notable achievements like placing 4th in the British Championship in ‘87.In the early 90s, he launched a career as a chess commentator. Later, he published countless books, DVDs, and online courses.These days, Daniel runs his popular YouTube channel, Power Play Chess. There you can find top-notch, insightful commentary on the biggest chess events.In this interview, we discuss:A few thrilling stories of Daniel defeating some of the world’s best as a professional player.Daniel’s favorite moments as a commentator covering World Champion Garry Kasparov. Why you shouldn’t be afraid to play the Open Sicilian as White (and how to get excited if your opponent plays an anti-Sicilian.)More From Daniel King:Daniel’s YouTube ChannelDaniel’s Chessable CoursesDaniel’s BooksDaniel’s WebsiteDaniel’s TwitterBook: How To Win At ChessHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

After a brief break, the latest on the next episode's release. Plus, a little info on the upcoming membership for this podcast, The Chess Experience. If you don't want to miss its announcement, sign up here: Get the info here when The Chess Experience Membership releases.

062 Few people have attended the world’s top chess tournaments. Or interviewed the most talented chess players on the planet, including legends like Garry Kasparov. But Peter Doggers has lived this life for nearly the past twenty years.In 2007, he launched the company Chess Vibes. At its peak, it was one of the world’s biggest online news sites for chess. It covered top events and offered in-depth journalism.Six years later, Peter sold Chess Vibes to Chess.com and became their Director of Content. Currently, he is Chess.com's Director of News and Events.In this interview, we discuss:What top chess player before his time Peter would have loved to interview.His favorite books for improvement that helped him rise to the level of 2292 FIDE and earn two IM norms.The strengths and weaknesses of modern chess journalism.More From Peter:The game that earned Peter an IM normPeter’s Interview with Kasparov at Fischer’s GravePeter’s Reporting on Whether FIDE Was Going BankruptKasparov Playing the King’s GambitHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

061 It’s not often a chess content creator is an everyday superhero who’s also a school teacher and mother of three. But that’s what makes NM Laura Smith so special. She gives much of her free time to helping others in chess, both as a coach, a Twitch streamer, and now…a brand-spankin’ new Chessable author!Laura was one of my first guests to appear on the show, and the first interview I ever recorded.So, I’m thrilled to have her back on the podcast to update the latest in her chess life.Her new course, Forcing Moves for Beginners, is now available and was a labor of love. (Link to the course is below.)In this episode, we discuss: Why solving “easy” tactics very fast is critical for club players.Laura’s new & deeper connection with the online chess community in the past year.An exciting forthcoming course collaboration between Laura and an esteemed, well-known chess coach.More From Laura:Laura’s new course, Forcing Captures for Beginners, on ChessableLaura’s Twitch channelLaura’s TwitterHow You Can Support the Pod:Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: Submitting questions to guestsA shout-out of your name on the podVote on future topics/guests Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showDM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodesClick here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.Or you can…>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)