Perpetual Chess Podcast

This week on Perpetual Chess, Pro Chess League and US Chess School founder IM Greg Shahade makes his annual return to the podcast. Instead of giving a detailed description of all that we discussed, my New Years Resolution for the podcast is to endeavor to provide timestamps of the major topics that each guest addresses. Below, you can find this week's timestamps, including any relevant links. As always, you can keep up with Greg on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  For relevant hyperlinks, please go to the show webpage here:www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2019/1/4/episode-107-im-greg-shahade-returns-againIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week the popular, chess improvement-focused, "adult improver" edition of Perpetual Chess returns, but with a twist. This week's improver, USCF Master Vinesh Ravuri of California, is just 17 years old. Nonetheless, I felt that motivated chess players of all ages could learn from the meteoric rating gain that Vinesh has shown in the past few years (over 1000 USCF points since 2014). Check out his US rating graph here. Here is a bit more detail about what Vinesh and I discussed: Vinesh told the story of how he got into chess, and shared why he thinks it took multiple exposures to the game, in both the U.S. and India, for a passion for it to take hold. Vinesh and I discussed the many ways to try to improve at chess, and discussed which methods have been most effective for him. Spoiler: he has done a ton of tactics puzzles. Vinesh shared a few book recommendations for different levels, and talked about the challenges he has faced as his rating has climbed and his free time has become more scarce. Thanks to Vinesh for joining me, you can root on his San Jose Hackers in the upcoming Pro Chess League, and track his games or contact him about chess lessons here. This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, has won countless chess titles but is probably best known as The 12th Women’s World Champion and a perennial threat to retake that crown. GM Kosteniuk stays extremely busy, as in addition to being playing frequent top-level chess, she streams chess on twitch for chess.com, has been announcing high-level events and also somehow finds the time to work on her chess, spend time with her family, and even run marathons. In our conversation, Alexandra and touched on all of these facets of her life, and she tackled the following questions: What does she think of the format of the Men's World Championship? What about the announced changes in the Women's World Championship Candidates Cycle? What does she advise to study when one feels like they have hit a plateau? How can one maintain perspective when struggling at the chessboard? What advice would she give to young female chess players who may feel daunted by the preponderance of men playing chess?For someone who has had so much success, Alexandra clearly has a grounded perspective on chess and on life. When she is not battling at the board, you can follow her on twitter. If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A giant of US Chess, GM Joel Benjamin, joins me this week. In addition to being a 3 time US champion, and hosting a weekly chess show on the Internet Chess Club, Joel has just published his fourth book, Better Thinking, Better Chess.  Naturally, Joel and I began our conversation by discussing some topics covered in the book such as: What are the causes of and potential solutions to typical mistakes that Joel sees in his students, such as a failure to generate candidate moves, and a hesitance about sacrificing the exchange? Joel and I also discussed the following: What was GM Benjamin's impression of the World Championship? Should the match format be changed? What are Joel's favorite chess games, stories and books? Joel has some great stories! Joel Benjamin has had a long and storied career, so needless to say, this was an entertaining conversation. Thanks to Joel for joining me. In addition to his excellent new book, Liquidation on the Chessboard, and American Grandmaster, also come highly recommended. The chess games Joel mentions are:Seirawan-Benjamin 1979Portisch-Benjamin 1987Abramovich-Benjamin 1984 game not online, but an excerpt can be found in his new book :) This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable.com If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Jóhann Hjartarson is a legend of Icelandic Chess and has a firm place in the chess history books. He is best known for defeating GM Viktor Korchnoi in a match during the 1988 Candidates Cycle (before succumbing to Anatoly Karpov), but he is also the 6 time champion of Iceland, and the 2 time Nordic Champion. Jóhann took some time out from his duties at the World Championship in London, and we discussed the following: His impressions of the World Championship, and what his responsibilities were as a member of the Appeals Committee for the match. Perspective and stories from the height of his chess career, when he was among the top players in the world and crossed swords with all time greats like Kasparov, Karpov and Korchnoi.  What led him to decide, at a time when he was near the peak of his chess powers, to transition from playing chess full time to working as a lawyer? Does he regret this decision? Has he kept up with the changes in study habits among world elites? What are his favorite chess books? This interview was quite a treat for me as a fan of chess history, and I think that you will enjoy it too. Thanks so much to Johann for sharing his experiences!  This episode is brought to you in part by Chessable.comGM Hjartarson's favorite game of his own, Game 1 of his match vs. Korchnoi is here. His favorite game by any player, Spassky vs. Fischer, Game 13, is here. For relevant hyperlinks, please go to the show webpage here:www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2018/12/4/episode-103-gm-jhann-hjartarsonIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am off this week, but I have some awesome bonus content for you. Have a listen to the January 7, 2004 interview that Fred Wilson conducted with the now-deceased, legendary chess trainer, author, and player IM Mark Dvoretsky. This is one of the many great historical chess interviews that I am posting on the Perpetual Chess Patreon page for those who donate $3.50 per month or more. Fred WIlson's archive will also feature old interviews with GMs Andy Soltis, Arthur Bisguier, Maurice Ashley, Lubomir Kavalek and many more.  Here are a few of the questions that Fred asked of IM Dvoretsky in their conversation: Did Mark agree with GM Lev Alburt's suggestion that Boris Spassky had more chess talent than Bobby Fischer as a youth? How many positions did IM Dvoretsky have in his legendary file of positions for titled students to study? What were some of his favorite chess books of all time (besides his own)? What did he think of Peter Svidler's prospects of becoming World Champion in 2004? Was there any other young talent he thought might ascend to the highest title? So much chess history is shared within this 90 minute conversation that it is difficult for me to do it justice in a summary. Just listen and enjoy! If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On a rest day (after Game 8) for the World Championship in London, friends of the podcast (and previous guests) IMs Eric Rosen and Kostya Kavutskiy were nice enough to take some time and give Perpetual listeners a taste of what its like to be attending, reporting, and photographing the dramatic, ongoing World Chess Championship between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. This episode is meant to have more of a "breaking news" feeling than your typical Perpetual Chess interview, so it's a shorter interview, but we covered a lot of ground. To wit: What was the mood like at the venue in Game 8 as Fabiano Caruana missed his best chance for a win over Magnus Carlsen? What openings might we see in the remaining games? Is there a clear rooting interest among the people attending the match? Does either player have more vocal fans? What are the conditions like for spectators? What about for photographers like Eric Rosen and his colleagues? IM Kostya Kavutskiy has done some great write-ups and game analysis for US Chess for the games that he has attended, while Eric Rosen has taken over the US Chess twitter account in addition to taking great photos like this one,. You can keep up with their great content in the following places: Kostya Kavutskiy's twitter account, Kostya's Youtube Channel Eric Rosen's twitter account and Eric's Youtube Channel To support the podcast please go here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Almost 17 months after his first visit to Perpetual Chess, GM Pontus Carlsson returns to discuss his latest projects and the recent developments in the chess world (including the World Championship). Among the topics we talked about are: Pontus' recent trip to New Orleans for a philanthropic initiative. He has helped launch Business meets Chess and Kids, an organization that pairs business leaders with underprivileged kids in tandem chess, with the goal of using chess as a form for networking and mentorship for the younger generation. Pontus told stories from his trip and talked about future plans for this inspiring effort. Pontus gave a couple of great book recommendations and gave some advice for infrequent tournament competitors who are trying to shake off some rust (for example, say, the host of this podcast). We talked about a couple of the themes emerging from the ongoing World Championship match, and Pontus shared some stories and perspectives from past experiences having met and talked with the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Veselin Topalov and Anish Giri. This guest is always entertaining, with plenty of wisdom to share, so there is lots more to enjoy from our conversation. You can reach Pontus via his website here. If you would like to buy a limited edition Perpetual Chess t-shirt or hoodie, you can do so here. (A portion of the proceeds will go to  Business meets Chess and Kids )  To support the podcast via Patreon, click here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest this week is Carsten Hensel. He is a chess organizer and author who has also spent time as the manager for two elite players- GMs Vladimir Kramnik and GM Peter Leko. Much to the benefit of chess fans, he has written a book about his experiences managing GM Kramnik, called Vladimir Kramnik - The Inside Story of a Chess Genius. The English version of this book will be published by Quality Chess later in November. The published excerpts and this interview suggest that this book will be a must read for those interested in GM Kramnik and/or modern chess history. Here are a few of the highlights of what Carsten Hensel and I discussed: How did he first encounter GM Kramnik, and how did they come to develop a working relationship? Carsten reflects on some of Kramnik's most famous matches- a disappointing Candidates loss to GM Alexei Shirov in 1998, followed by a thrilling World Championship victory over Garry Kasparov in 2000. What was it like to be the manager of both World Championship participants in the 2004 Leko-Kramnik World Championship match? As a high-level chess organizer and promoter, what are his thoughts on how to pitch corporations on sponsoring chess players and events? This was a fascinating conversation, as Carsten has had a ring side seat to much of modern chess history. Thanks to Carsten for chatting- you can email him here. If you are interested in learning more about hearing Fred WIlson's old interviews (as mentioned in the introduction)  go to the Perpetual Chess Patreon here:Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I talked to 31 year old programmer, chess player, and entrepreneur David Kramaley, who is the co-founder and CEO of Chessable, a fast growing chess-educational start up. During our conversation,David and I discuss How he caught the "chess bug" in his early 20's. and how that enthusiasm ultimately led to the launch of Chessable. With its co-founder, IM John Bartholomew David launched Chessable in February of 2016. What lessons did David learn from his prior startup, Sharkius? What is he doing to make sure he strikes the right balance between product development and marketing? What new features are forthcoming from Chessable? How does David decide which improvements to prioritize? Of course we also get chess and business book recommendations which can be found here. You can email David here. Some other events/opportunities that came up during our conversation are linked below.  To celebrate the release of Christof Sielecki's Chessable book in print form, Chessable is having a giveaway/contest. Enter here. Chessable meet-up in London on November 20, during the World Championship Geert van der Velde's free courses include Carlsen-Caruana move by move, and the Olympiad Tactics Trainer. IM Christof Sielecki's. aka ChessExplained 's repetorire against 1. e4, featuring Fabi’s Petroff, wil be released next week, and can be found here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices