IM Willy Hendriks is a Netherlands based chess trainer, and an author of three books: Move First Think Later ( 2012 ECF Book of the Year), On the Origin of Good Moves, and his new book, Ink War: Romanticism vs. Modernity in Chess. Ink War is an entertaining and informative look at the first World Championship Match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. As we discuss the two players had some common biographical traits, but were bitter rivals away from the board. Willy explains why the job of a chess professional was harder in those days, and shares some common misconceptions about the contributions that each player made to the advancement of chess. Since Willy is an accomplished player, trainer and improver, we also discuss Willy’s chess improvement philosophy, his own OTB game, and a few of his favorite chess books. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.

0:00- Thanks to our presenting Chess Education sponsor, Chessable! You can check out their new courses here:

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

Info on GM Daniel King’s upcoming March 24 Masterclass here:

https://www.chessable.com/using-the-outpost-masterclass/course/156548/

Episode 182 - IM Willy Hendriks’ Prior Appearance

3:00- How is Willy’s OTB game progressing?

06:30- Does Willy have an overall chess improvement philosophy?

16:30- What gave IM Hendriks the idea to write about the Steinitz-Zukertort Match?

21:00- Patreon Mailbag Question- What led to Zukertort’s 2nd half collapse in the match against Steinitz, and what is Zukertort’s chess legacy?

28:00- Why does Willy think that the writings of Lasker, Euwe and Reti led to a misinterpretation of chess history?

Mentioned: Masters of the Chessboard, Lasker’s Manual of Chess

33:00- Where does the title The Ink War come from?

41:00- Did the famous game, Grimshaw-Steinitz actually occur or was it made up?

Mentioned: Grimshaw-Steinitz

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1718604

46:00- Patreon Mailbag Question- Does Willy know what his next book project will be?

50:00- What Chess Books were influential for Willy?

Tarrasch’s 300 Games, Nunn’s Secrets of Practical Chess, Pawn Power in Chess, Kotov’s Think Like a Grandmaster

53:00- Does Willy have favorite players or personal favorite games?

57:00- Patreon Mailbag Question- When Willy evaluates a position does he consciously count material?

Mentioned: Move First Think Later

1:04:00- As someone who has just written about the first World Championship, what does Willy think of the potential phasing out of the Classical World Championship tradition?

Mentioned: Episode 319 with Dr. Howard Burton

Thanks to IM Hendriks for joining us! Links for his books are here:

New in Chess:

https://www.newinchess.com/the-ink-war

Free Sample Here-

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9134.pdf

Move First Think Later

On the Origin of Good Moves

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Sendung 19:30 Uhr vom 16.1.2026

SWR Aktuell Baden-Württemberg

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