Perpetual Chess Podcast

IM Andras Toth is a Canberra, Australia-based chess trainer who has built a loyal online following due to his no-nonsense YouTube chess videos and popular Chessable courses. Andras originally hails from Hungary, where he trained under the same trainer as the Polgar sisters and  was the two-time Hungarian Junior Champ. Andras’ background as a school teacher is evident in his engaging and energetic teaching style. As is clear from our conversation, Andras is not shy about expressing his hard-earned chess opinions. Andrey answers questions such as, should you play the London System?--do you need to hire a coach?--can one improve by focusing only on chess calculation?-- plus many more pertinent queries. This was a fun conversation that revealed many insights about chess improvement. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks.     0:00- Andras begins by discussing his chess and chess-training background a bit.  Mentioned: IM Laszlo Hazai, The Polgar Sisters 0:8:15- Does Andras agree that club players should not learn much opening theory?  Mentioned: The Road to Chess Improvement    16:30- Andras answers the first of many questions from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: Neal Bruce asks, “ How important is it to have a chess coach?”  23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by Chessable.com! Be sure to download the much-anticipated Chessable app for IOS, and  you can check out Andras Toth’s courses here: https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/   24:00- Another Patreon listener question: “What is the proper way to analyze one’s own games and to study strategic concepts?”  Mentioned: Alexander Alekhine: My Best Games of Chess, Paul Keres: The Road to the Top  The book and game to which Andras refers can be found here:  Mark Dvoretsky’s School of Chess Excellence, Tactical Play, Borkowski-Nunn 1974   34:00- Why is Andras so blunt in his communication as a teacher and presenter?   Mentioned: IM Jop Delemarre    41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com!  Check out their blog here:  https://chessmood.com/blog  and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood   42:00- How much can a 1500 player improve by working on calculation alone? How should we divide our study time?   Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard    55:30- Another Patreon question:   “How can one transition from slower games, like Correspondence chess, to rapid games?”  Mentioned: Episode 191 with GM Daniel Naroditsky    1:05:00- What are the pros and cons of correspondence or “daily” games?  IM John Bartholomew. Tata Steel Masters    1:14:00- What Chessable courses would we recommend for a player rated below 1000? Mentioned: Jan Gustafsson’s Lifetime Repertoires 1. E4 e5, Endgame Bootcamp with IM John Bartholomew, Learn Chess the Right Way Series, with GM Susan Polgar, 100 Endgames You Must Know, The Checkmate Patterns Manual, Mastering Mates, 1001 Deadly Checkmates , Andras’s book recommendations, via YouTube videos, are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCwQyNLblm0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg-u_HlZKco&t=1334s   1:18:00- What books have informed Andras’ teaching style? What is his background? How did he end up in Canberra, Australia?  Best Lessons of a Chess Coach.    1:30:00- Why has making Chess YouTube videos been frustrating for Andras?  Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYZTGsTO5TbCaA1O0wcBzw Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 180 with IM Levy Rozman    1:34:00- Another listener question: “ What is the chess culture like in Australia and New Zealand?”  Mentioned: GM Murray Chandler, FM Nicholas Croad   1:43:00- One last Patreon question… “Why did Andras stop playing OTB chess?”   Thanks to IM Toth for joining the show! Here are all the links you need in order  to keep up with him: Twitter- https://twitter.com/chesscoachandra?lang=en YouTube-https://t.co/RgSPMwU9Is?amp=1 Chessable- https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/ Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/im_andras See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As chess fans may have heard, legendary GM Lubomir “Lubosh” Kavalek passed away this week at the age of 77. GM Kavalek was a fierce, attacking player, who at his rating peak, was a top 10 player in the world. He was two-time winner of the Czechoslovak National Championship, and after emigrating from Czechoslovakia, he went on to become US National Champion three times as well. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to interview GM Kavalek, but Fred Wilson has given me permission to share with you all a long audio interview that he did with GM Kavalek. The interview took place on September 10, 2003. In this conversation, they cover many of the highlights of GM Kavalek’s illustrious career as a player, trainer, and author. They discuss Kavalek’s beginnings in chess, and his work helping with the World Championship matches of Bobby Fischer (against Spassky in 1972), and assisting GM Nigel Short against Kasparov in 1993. In listening to this interview, I was struck by the wit and personality of GM Kavalek.  You can read on for brief timestamps, but of course you should listen to the entire interview with this chess legend!    02:45- GM Lubomir Kavalek discusses his beginnings in the chess world,, and his experiences with some of the other great Czech and US players of his generation.    17:00- What chess books influenced Lubosh?   23:30- He talks about working as the second of Nigel Short in the 1990s.    53:00-  Question from Alex Baburin. Did chess help him adapt when he immigrated to Virginia?    58:00- What was his most pleasant and worst tournament?    1:02:15- What are his thoughts on quick draws?   1:10:00- How to optimize one’s time in preparation for a tournament?    1:11:00- Are there any plans for a book about his best games?   1:22:00- What was it like to play against Bobby Fischer?    1:24:00- What was GM Kavalek’s role in working with Fischer in the 1972 World Championship Match against GM Boris Spassky?    If you enjoy this interview, you could consider becoming a Perpetual Chess Patreon subscriber in order to access the entire audio archive of Fred Wilson’s great interviews. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, bestselling author Tom Vanderbilt joins me to talk about his 5th book, the recently released, Beginners:The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning. In this book Tom writes about his experience  learning a handful of new activities from scratch while in his late 40’s. These new adventures include learning chess, surfing, singing, juggling and drawing. Tom, like many adult chess enthusiasts, discovered chess through his school-aged daughter’s interest in the game. In our conversation, Tom reflects on what was like to be thrown headfirst into the chess world, and shares many of the resources that he found most helpful in accelerating his learning. Tom also shares broader conclusions from his learning experiences across disciplines. It was a fascinating conversation about an enjoyable book. As always, read on for more details, timestamps and relevant hyperlinks.  0:00- Why is the pandemic a good time to release a book about starting new things?  Mentioned: NY Times review of Beginners    06:00- How was Tom’s interest in chess piqued? What were his first steps to learn more about the game?  Mentioned: The Queen’s Gambit , Szymon Rudowski, GM Daniel Naroditsky’s YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/c/DanielNaroditskyGM/playlists Daniel King’s YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBATpFb--uLNAODOVWvCTA  The Amateur’s Mindby Jeremy Silman  IM Levy Rozman’s YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHX6ViZmPsWiYSFAyS0a3Q IM John Bartholomew’s Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hOVYvNn79Sl1Fc1vx2mYA   19:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to  be brought to you in part by Chessable.com . To check out the many choices of beginner-oriented material they offer, go here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/for-beginners/   20:00- Tom mentions a few more resources that were helpful in his dive into chess.  Mentioned: Chessable’s 100 Endgames You Must Know, The Brooklyn Strategist, The Marshall Chess Club    25:00- How is his daughter progressing in chess during the pandemic?  Mentioned: Her Move Next, US Chess’ Women in Chess Initiative     34:30- Was it more challenging to learn a mental game like chess or a physical endeavor like surfing? What other broader lessons did Tom draw from his learning adventures?  Mentioned: William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days, The Passion Paradox, Mindset, Anders Ericsson,  Tim Krabbe’s The Rider, Perpetual Chess Episode 44 with GM Jesse Kraai, GM Robert Hess, Tim Krabbe’s Chess Curiosities Website: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess/chess.html   54:00- Now that his book is finished, will Tom continue to play chess?   Mentioned: Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition   57:00- Thanks so much  to Tom for the fascinating interview.  You can find him on Lichess here: https://lichess.org/@/wernerherzog You can purchase his book here: https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Transformative-Power-Lifelong-Learning/dp/1524732168/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=beginners&qid=1610383429&s=books&sr=1-2 If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess. My guest is Martin Justesen, who is a 34 year, Denmark-based father of 3. He works as an archivist in the Library of the Danish Parliament, but devotes a lot of his free time to chess improvement and chess-related projects. His efforts have paid off, as Martin has gained a few hundred points in the past years. Prior to the pandemic, Martin had ended a long plateau, as his Danish rating went from 1600 to 1820. During the covid shutdown, he has seen continued improvement, his Lichess classical rating is now up to 2200! In our interview, Martin reveals what he thinks to be the key contributors to his improvement success. Martin is also a blogger,  and has recently released a great new book called, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Positions. We also discuss how Martin decided to take on this project and why we think that it’s an important study tool. Please read on for lots more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We begin by discussing Martin’s background and his entree into the chess world.  Mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, Playchess.com , Winning Chess Series by GM Yasser Seirawan, Logical Chess Move by Move    12:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%.   13:00- How has Martin’s approach to chess improvement evolved in recent years?  Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 117 with Stjepan Tomic   17:30- A Patreon supporter writes in to ask Martin how his approach to openings has changed as he has improved.  Mentioned: Chessable Short and Sweet Free Courses are Here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/s/short%20and%20sweet Opening Tree.com   27:00- Another Patreon question: How does Martin find games and construct his opening repertoire? Did he adjust his repertoire choices due to time constraints?   Mentioned: Chessgames.com, Bobby Fischer: The Career and Complete Games of the American Chess World Champion, Chess DoJo Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ChessDojo, IM Kostya Kavuitskiy, GM Jesse Kraai, GM David Pruess  Greg Shahade video: Chess Opening Study for Serious and Advanced Players: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93kO7OXn9Lc   37:00- - Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their holiday sale here. It ends in a few days:  https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/offer/ 38:00- As a busy working father, has Martin experienced periods of burnout? Mentioned: Neal Bruce    43:00- Does he have trouble taking online games seriously?  Mentioned: ChessDojo Discord,    50:00- What was the idea behind Martin’s great new book, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Positions?  Mentioned: Alexey Troitsky    59:00- What are the main lessons Martin has learned through his improvement efforts? Mentioned: Mastering Pawn Endgames on Chessable, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Ruiz, Pump Up Your Rating by Axel Smith, Atomic Habits by James Clear    1:08:00- Thanks so much to Martin for joining the show, here are all of the links you need to keep up with him: Twitter- https://twitter.com/saychess1?lang=en YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/c/say_chess Blog- https://saychessblog.com/ Book- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QRB3H7M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_zzk3Fb7A3ZTE9 Twitch- https://t.co/hZvPmFCBdL?amp=1 If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back with another bonus podcast edition of Chess Books Recaptured. This month I am joined by Jonathan of The Abysmal Depths of Chess Blog to discuss a classic book, Simple Chess, by GM Michael Stean. Simple Chess is an excellent positional primer which features succinct and helpful annotations for the club player. Over the past couple of months, Jonathan has been blogging about each of the 30 games in the book, so he knows the material inside and out, and I was very glad to have him share some highlights of what he has learned from studying Simple Chess so thoroughly. As always, we discussed improvement takeaways, favorite quotes and lessons distilled from this excellent book. You can get all of the details, timestamps and hyperlinks below.    0:00- Why did Jonathan volunteer to discuss Simple Chess?  Mentioned: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Perpetual Chess Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos, Perpetual Chess Episode 195 With GM Keith Arkell,  The Chess Dojo ranks: Classic Chess Books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRETstfHyDE, Fred Wilson books    6:30- What is the format of the book?  GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Wolfgang Uhlmann, GM Lajos Portisch, GM Samuel Reshevsky, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Bobby Fischer   12:30- What should we know about the author, GM Michael Stean  Mentioned: Sicilian Najdorf by GM Michael Stean, GM Viktor Korchnoi , End Game: Kasparov vs. Short by Dominic Lawson, GM Ray Keene, William Hartston    17:30- For what rating is this book most helpful? (Probably around 1300-1900) Mentioned: Recap of Winning Chess Strategies with Neal Bruce,  Mastering Chess Strategy by GM Johan Hellsten, Link to Jonathan’s blog post about  Karpov-Westerinen 1974   24:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%.   25:00- Why is Karpov Westerinen from the book Jonathan’s favorite game ever? Jonathan’s blog post about the game is here: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/12/sc-week-73-karpov-westerinen-nice.html   28:00- I read the opening paragraphs and we discuss the major themes and chapters of the book.    32:00- We discuss some listeners questions relating to how this book compares to My System, Positional Decision Making in Chess, Mastering Chess Strategy, Chess Fundamentals    37:00- Is it worth uploading the games from Simple Chess into Chessbase? What is the best way to study it?  Mentioned: Chessgames.com list of games from Simple Chess: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1038489  The Passion Paradox,  Peak Performance, Chess Improvement: Its All in the Mindset    46:30- What positional concepts are not covered in Simple Chess?  Hanging Pawns, Isolated Queen Pawn, Karpov Spassky 1975   50:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable! Resources to work on your positional chess there include Winning Chess Strategies, and Chess Strategy for Club Players: https://www.chessable.com/chess-strategy-for-club-players/course/27755/   51:30- We discuss a few of our favorite games from the book. Mentioned: Fischer - Gadia, Unzicker - Fischer, Spassky-Fischer Game 5 1972, Andersson-Knaak, Vogt-Andersson, Recapping Reassess Your Chess with Todd Kennedy   55:00- We read a few favorite quotes from the book.    56:30- What are the chess improvement takeaways?    1:02:00- Do we have any quibbles with the book?  Mentioned: Everyman Chess e-books, Fred Wilson, Martin Justesen   1:15:00- Thanks to Jonathan for joining the show and sharing his incredibly detailed knowledge of Simple Chess. Follow him on twitter here: https://twitter.com/Berlin_Endgame Read/Subscribe to his blog here: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/ 1:16:00- Blindfold puzzles are back! This month’s puzzles are courtesy of Martin Justesen’s book, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Compositions #1-  White to move and draw White: Kc6, Ba4  Black: Kb1, Pb2 Link To Position, Turn Engine On for Solution #2- White to move and win White: Kc4, Pc6 Black: Kh2, Nd8 Link to Position, Turn Engine on For Solution   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, You can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is FM Andrey Terekhov, who has recently released the book, The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov. (With Foreword by Peter Svidler!) This biography about the 7th World Champion is an excellent book that has critics raving. The book features both game analysis and biographical details, and our conversation also covers both life details, as well as takeaways for adult improvers from Smyslow’s games. Andrey had access to Smylov’s private archive and has been laboring during nights and weekends on this book for years. Away from the board, Andrey  has a Ph.D. in computer science, and works for Microsoft in its Singapore office. Andrey is also a devoted dad, and of course, an active chess player when time permits. Thanks to Andrey for sharing so many details from this great, multi-volume project! Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks.    0:00- To join or find out more about the North American Corporate Chess League, go here: https://www.nacorporatechess.com/   0:02- FM Andrey Terekhov discusses his background and chess in Singapore, where he lives. He talks about the beginnings of his giant Smylov project. .  Mentioned: John Hartmann, FM Carsten Hansen, Perpetual Chess Episode 184 with GM Kevin Goh, Andrey’s interview with Olimpiu Urcan is here: New Smyslov research project | ChessBase, Junior Tay, Find Andrey’s free course on The Two Knights Defense on Chessable here: https://www.chessable.com/two-knights-defense/course/18646/   11:30- Andrey reads the opening paragraphs of his book, The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov, and discusses Smyslov’s amazing feat of making the Candidates semi-finals at the age of 63!    16:00- What can club players learn from Smyslov’s approach to chess?  Study the classics!  Focus on endgames    21:30- Is it true that Smyslov didn’t calculate that much during his game?  Mentioned: Hans Kmoch, Max Euwe, GM Vladimir Kramnik    26:15- What are some lesser known facets of Smylov’s playing style from which we can learn?    29:00- What did Smyslov do better than other great players? How complex/understandable is Smylov’s style of play?  Mentioned: Smyslov-Golombek 1947, Smyslow-Euwe 1946, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Peter Svidler    34:30- How did the project of annotating the games compare to that of researching Smyslov’s life?    37:00- How does this book compare to GM Genna Sosonko’s Smyslov on the Couch?    41:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Chessable has a new course on the Najdorf by GM Anish Giri, and you should also check out Andrey’s free course on The Two Knights Defense here: https://www.chessable.com/two-knights-defense/course/18646/   42:30- What was it like to go to Moscow to visit Smyslov’s estate?  Masterpieces and Dramas of the 20th Century by Sergei Voronkov   49:30- Was he hindered by the Soviet government?  Did Smyslov ever consider defecting?  Mentioned: GM Mikhail Botvinnik    54:00- What was Andrey’s experience like growing up in the Soviet Union? Mentioned: Everything was Forever Until it was No More    58- How much was Smyslov’s music career affected by his chess aspirations?    1:03:00- How were Smyslov’s career, and chess generally, affected by World War 2?  Mentioned: Bazya Dzagurov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Isaac Boleslavsky   1:08:00- How did it Andrey persuade GM Peter Svidler to write the foreword for his book? Mentioned: GM Peter Svidler, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Vasily Yemelin, GM Aleksei Lugovoi, GM Sergey Klimov, FC Bayern Munich, and Baden-Baden Bundesliga teams, GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM Viswanthan Anand    1:13:00- What has Andrey learned about chess from studying hundreds of Smyslov’s games?    1:17:00- Andrey book giveaway! If you write a 5 star review on the Perpetual Chess Apple Podcasts page- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perpetual-chess-podcast/id1185023674 email a screenshot to Ben at Perpetualchesspod.com by January 8, 2020 to win a copy of the book    1:18:00- Thanks so much to Andrey for writing this book and joining the show! You can keep up with Andrey the following ways: Chess.com- https://www.chess.com/member/ddtru Facebook-Andrey Terekhov | Facebook Twitter- https://twitter.com/ddtru If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam is a Dutch  chess journalist, organizer and commentator who is best known as the Editor-in-Chief of New In Chess magazine.  New in Chess Magazine has been the industry leading chess magazine for decades and is known for its on-the-scenes reporting of major events, its high-level Grandmaster analysis of games, and insightful interviews and book reviews. In conjunction with his work for New in Chess, Dirk Jan has travelled the world and shared conversations and meals with many of the games most revered figures. In our conversation, Dirk shared several of the amazing stories he has collected over the years, and also discussed how New in Chess is being affected by the pandemic and the chess boom.  Please read on for more details and the timestamps.  0:00- How have the pandemic and the online chess boom affected New in Chess, which as the preeminent chess print magazine often devotes lots of pages to elite OTB chess tournaments? GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Wesley So, Magnus Carlsen interview with GM Jonathan Tisdall here: https://new.uschess.org/news/were-trying-grow-chess-interview-magnus-carlsen 14:00- What did Dirk Jan learn from interviewing the young phenom, GM Alireza Firouzja?  16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their holiday sale here:  https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/offer/ 17:00- What was it like for Dirk Jan to spend a day with legendary GM Miguel Najdorf?  Mentioned: The Day that Kasparov Quit, Finding Bobby Fischer, GM Viswanathan Anand 23:00- Dirk Jan shares his experiences spending time with the author of Zurich 1953  GM David Bronstein Mentioned: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein by GM Genna Sosonko, Zurich 1953  29:00- Dirk shares a few Korchnoi and Botvinnik stories!  Mentioned: GM Ljubomir Ljubojević, GM Vassily Smyslov, GM Mikhail Botvinnik, GM Hein Donner, GM Max Euwe, GM Tony Miles, GM Alexei Shirov  38:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast requested that Dirk share some stories about GM Vasyl Ivanchuk.  Mentioned: GM Garry Kasparov, Haruki Murakami  46:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%. 47:00- On the day that GM Vladimir Kramnik defeated GM Garry Kasparov for the World Championship in 2000, Dirk spoke to both the winner and the loser of the match. What is the story behind that?  Mentioned: GM Jan Timman  57:00- What was it like to spend time with Danish great, GM Bent Larsen?  Mentioned: GM Nigel Short  1:02:00- Thanks so much to Dirk Jan for sharing some amazing stories.  You can learn more about or subscribe to New In Chess Magazine here: https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/new-in-chess-2020-8 If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Returning guest, FM Carsten Hansen, is one of the busiest chess authors in the business, as he writes a tactics column for Chess Life Magazine, a book review column for American Chess Magazine, and is a prolific chess author in his own right. Carsten has recently released a new book,  Marvellous Modern Miniatures, and has also collaborated with popular co-author, IM Christof Sielecki for the Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires 1.c4 1.Nf3 Part 1. As 2020 nears a conclusion, I thought it would be a great time to catch up with Carsten on his new projects, the year in chess books, and on his own dreams of attaining the IM title as he nears the age of 50. Please read on for more details and timestamps of all that we discussed.  0:00- What is Carsten doing to work on his own chess game? Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 84 with FM Carsten Hansen- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-84-fide-master-carsten-hansen/id1185023674?i=1000416496522 , GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Loek Van Wely, GM Alexander Stripunsky, Chess Life Magazine, Episode 81 with FM Peter Giannatos , GM Jens Kristiansen   12:00- Carsten answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Facebook Group- How does the chess scene in the US compare with that in Carsten’s native Denmark?  Mentioned: Info on the online US Amateur team tournaments can be found here    16:30- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%.   17:30- Another listener question: What should I do to a make a new high on the chess.com tactics trainer?  IM Cyrus Lakdawala, Chess Tactics for Improvers Volume 1    23:30- What were Carsten’s favorite chess books of 2020?  Mentioned: Carsten’s Chess.com Article- My Favorite Books of 2020,  Match of the Century, Rewire Your Chess Brain, My Chess World, Petrosian Year by Year,  The Complete Chess Swindler, Chess for Tigers, Technical Decision Making in Chess, Timman’s Triumphs, Emanuel Lasker Volume 2- Choices and Chances, Bobby Fischer and His World, A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns, Logical Chess Move by Move   36:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com Check out IM Christof Sielecki and FM Carsten Hansen’s new Lifetime Repertoires course on 1. C4 and 1. Nf3 here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-1-c4-1-nf3-part-1/course/53985/   36:45- Carsten discusses self publishing and the chess book industry more broadly, including which of his books have resonated with readers the most.   Mentioned: Catastrophes and Tactics in the Chess Opening, Chess Book Collectors Group   52:00- What draws Carsten to the English opening? Why would he recommend it?  Mentioned: IM Christof Sielecki    1:00:00- Another listener question:  Is it challenging to work on a course/book with a co-author, as Carsten has on different projects with IM Christof Sielecki and GM Peter Heine Nielsen?  Mentioned: Stockfish 12   1:08:00- Another listener question: What led to the decline in popularity of the once popular chess site, ChessCafe.com?  Mentioned: Hanon Russell, GM Karsten Muller, GM Lev Alburt, GM Tony Miles, GM  Hans Ree, GM Susan Polgar, FM Chris Despasquale   1:10:00- Thanks as always to Carsten for joining the show! Here is how you can keep up with his many projects: Website- https://www.winningquicklyatchess.com/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/CazHansen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Facebook- Carsten Hansen | Facebook   If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WGM Katerina Nemcova is the 2 time  Women’s Champion of the Czech Republic and the winner of the 2008 European Youth Chess Championship. She now resides in the U.S. and is a frequent competitor in the US Women’s Championships, and has played for the Olympiad teams of both the U.S. and the Czech Republic. Katerina is also quite busy away from the chessboard, as she  has a BA and a Masters, and  is currently getting a Ph. D. in Communications at the University of Arizona. Katerina also finds time to teach chess classes, and is a regular and beloved lecturer for US Chess Women’s "Girl's Club" Zoom series of classes. We discussed all aspects of Katerina’s career, and of course we were eager to get the perspective of this top female player on the hit Netflix miniseries Queen’s Gambit. Please read on for more details and timestamps!    0:00-  You can subscribe to the new feeds of Cover Stories with Chess Life here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cover-stories-with-chess-life-32-ben-johnson/id1438797301?i=1000501070440 Or on Spotify  here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mNUGWcVB3GADGoy2k5kJ0 2:45- We begin by getting Katerina’s perspective on the Netflix breakout hit, The Queen’s Gambit.  Mentioned: Jen Shahade in Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-chess/2020/11/20/529fb63a-2a79-11eb-9b14-ad872157ebc9_story.html Also Mentioned: WGM Marsel Efroimski, GM Susan Polgar,  Sign up for Jen Shahade and Adia Oyango’s Mad Woman’s Book Club here: https://new.uschess.org/news/madwomans-book-club-announced-kick-book-queens-gambit And girls can join the mailing list for girls’ classes here (classes are free to US Chess members): https://forms.gle/zZw4sNCjGGCLkws57 For other US Chess Women related inquiries, email Jen Shahade at: jshahade@uschess.org 17:00- What was Katerina’s most difficult loss? What was it like to play GM Anatoly Karpov?  Mentioned: GM Valentina Gunina, Nemcova-Gunina 2007-https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=ACtgo9U2xWMaCrAi8ZQY7Opg/p5tXquV8kfmX9pETgFfzhm7p75HWdKc+hWQkrSB Nemcova-Karpov 2008 https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=ACtgo9U2xWMaCrAi8ZQY7ISyLL3tqDGnJQlCXM4B4CnfeuqdGFPE5vHBGaAl0dbd   23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. There is a brand new course out from GM Yasser Seirawan , Winning Chess Brilliancies: https://t.co/AllaghNiBJ?amp=1   24:00- What lessons does Katerina try to impart to the students of various ages in her classes for the US Chess School, US Chess Women, and the St. Louis Chess Club?  Mentioned: The Chess Steps Method: https://www.chess-steps.com/home.php, The Mammoth Book of Chess    36:30- Check out our new sponsor Aimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%.    37:30- What is the status of Katerina’s chess playing career?  Mentioned: 2019 World Team Championship, WGM Tatev Abrhamyan, WGM Carissa Yip, WIM Rochelle Wu, GM Darius Swiercz, GM Alexander Onishcuk, GM Robert Hess, GM Yasser Seirawan 50:30- Why didn’t Katerina play in the US Women’s chess championship this year?  Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Jesse Kraai,  The Chess Dojo YouTube Channel   55:30- What does Katerina envision for herself professionally in the coming years?  Mentioned: Anna Sharevich, IM Eric Rosen, Perpetual Chess Episode 36 with IM Eric Rosen  GM Le Quang Liem, GM Ray Robson, GM Alex Shimanov, GM Ilya Nyznhyk, IM Greg Shahade Jennifer Yu-Nemcova 2015   1:06:00-- Thanks so much to Katerina for joining the show! Here are the ways you can reach/keep up with her.  Follow her on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/Kate_Nemcova Chess.com: PragueQueen LiChess: KaterinaNemcova Chessity: PragueQueen ICC: PragueQueen If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to another edition of Perpetual Chess, Chess Books Recaptured, a monthly bonus book recap podcast. This week, I am joined by FM Alex Chua, a 32 year old Texas based dad, who works for a green chemical manufacturing startup called Solugen. Alex wanted to discuss the underrated gem, Improve Your Chess Now by GM Jonathan Tisdall, which he and I both love. We think it provides a great blend of instructive games, practical advice, philosophizing, and humor. It presents fairly challenging material, which is probably best suited to intermediate to advanced players, but anyone can pick up at least a few things from this book, as we hope they can from this podcast. Please read on for more details and timestamps.  0:00- FM Alex Chua and I begin by discussing why we love this book and wanted to talk about it.    12:45- For what rating level is this book most appropriate? Alex thinks 1400-2000, I think 1800-2300.    17:30- As always, Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Two great courses to improve your chess now are: The Checkmate Patterns Manual and the Visualize Series. Links below: https://www.chessable.com/the-checkmate-patterns-manual/course/17841/ https://www.chessable.com/visualise-1/course/25695/   18:30- We list the chapters and then discuss our favorite chapters.  Mentioned: The Complete Chess Swindler, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins  26:30- Why discuss two of the key concepts investigated in the book, GM Alexander Kotov’s “tree of analysis”, and the idea of using “stepping stone diagrams” to improve blindfold/visualization skills.  Mentioned: Book Recap Podcast of Think like a Grandmaster with NM Christopher Chabris, GM Alexander Kotov’s Think Like a Grandmaster, GM Anatoly Lein, GM Jacob Aagaard, Book Recap Podcast of Blindfold Chess with Jerry Wells, Zurich 1953 by GM David Bronstein, GM Lubosh Kavalek, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Ljubomir Ljubovic, GM Efim Geller, GM Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Boris Gelfand    48:00- We share a few of our favorite quotes and aphorisms from the book.  Mentioned: GM Sam Shankland’s Small Steps to Giant Improvement    1:00:00- What are favorite games shared in the book? What are the chess improvement takeaways?    Ljubobevic-Torre 1975 , Polugaevsky-Petrosian 1983, IM Cyrus Lakdawala’s Rewire Your Chess Brain,GM Baadur Jobava’s Twitch Channel, Chessable’s Checkmate Patterns Manual    1:14:00- In lieu of payment, I am making a donation of Alex’s behalf to Lichess.org. Keep up the great work, Team Lichess!  Mentioned: Simple Chess by Michael Stean, coming next month    You can message FM Alex Chua on lichess. Here is his account: https://lichess.org/@/highlama   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices