Perpetual Chess Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Bonus Pod- The World Championship is Deadlocked through 6 Games. IM Michael Rahal joins from Singapore & GM Jon Ludvig Hammer on the Match’s Surprising Trajectory Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

The 2024 FIDE World Championship has been somewhat surprisingly tense and entertaining, and is tied after 6 games. I was privileged to be joined by two return guests to discuss the following:

Trainer, author and FIDE Press Officer, IM Michael Rahal (0:00) describes the venue in Singapore and provides behind the scenes details and perspective on the match.
GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (35:00) has been Commentating the Event for The TakeTakeTake YouTube Channel and therefore has analyzed every move as it occurs. He discusses the Openings, as well as whether he thinks Ding can continue to keep Gukesh on his heels.

We hope to have more bonus coverage to come, and will definitely be following and covering the World Championship once it has concluded.

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

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EP 410- Chess improvement, Chess Business, and AI coaching with GM Avetik Grigoryan of Chessmood.com Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

GM Avetik Grigoryan is the founder and lead trainer of the education chess website Chessmood.com. I last interviewed Avetik in 2020, and his company has seen explosive growth since then. We discussed what Avetik has learned about growing a chess start-up, but also what he has learned about the challenges adults face in trying to improve at chess. Whereas previously Avetik thought the biggest obstacle was that people set unrealistic goals, now he sees a few bigger issues. We also talked about how artificial intelligence will impact chess improvement in the future and some of the tools Chessmood is working on to make improvement easier. As always, timestamps of topics discussed are below.

Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.Their new courses include Chessable- Gukesh’s Masterful Moves.If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

To sign up for a free month of Chessmood, use the following link:

http://Chessmood.com/Ben

2:00- Avetik’s World Championship Thoughts

Mentioned: GM Kevin Goh Wei Ming

5:30- Chess Improvement: Why did Avetik write that “Chess improvement has never been so easy, but never been so hard?”

Mentioned: NM Robert Ramirez

Avetik’s post regarding “Study, Practice, Fix” is here:

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-get-better-at-chess

24:00- Avetik discusses the AI-enabled chess study tools that Chessmood is launching soon

41:00- What is it like to run a chess startup like Chessmood?

45:00- Avetik’s (non-chess) book recommendations:

Mentioned: Beyond Positive Thinking

The Third Door

A New Earth

51:30- What did Avetik observe about my play from reviewing my games?

Mentioned: Chess for Life

Thanks to Avetik, for joining me!

To sign up for a free month of Chessmood, use the following link:

http://Chessmood.com/Ben

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

patreon.com/perpetualchess

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EP 409- GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez: A Tireless Tournament Circuit Grinder on Overcoming Setbacks, Managing Energy, the Risks of OTB Cheating & His Love for the Scotch Opening Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

This week’s guest, GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez is an accomplished trainer, player, Chessable author and one of the busiest players on the US tournament circuit. As such a frequent competitor, Fidel has had more than his share of successes (including winning the 2023 World Open!), but I have nonetheless often wondered how he finds the time and energy to play at a high level so frequently and consistently. Hearing Fidel’s fascinating life story helped me untangle the mystery. Fidel and I covered a ton of topics, including:

Why he quit his job as a computer programmer in 2023 to work full time in chess
His long and winding path from Cuba to the United States
Attending Webster University with GM Wesley So, IM Eric Rosen and others
The most common mistakes he sees by his amateur students
How much he worries about OTB cheating as a frequent competitor for the top prizes
His deep love for the Scotch Opening

This nearly 90-minute conversation flew by, and I am confident that you will enjoy it, as I did. Timestamps for topics discussed are below.

Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.

If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

Thanksgiving Chessmood giveaway! To access a free one-month membership (starting November 20) to Chessmood.com and check out their 500+ hours of GM lessons- just click this link:

https://chessmood.com/ben

0:02- Fidel has a family and a busy work schedule but manages to play OTB quite frequently, how does he manage?

Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen

10:00- Fidel tells the story of how he first got a Visa in the US.

Mentioned: GM Susan Polgar

16:00- Why did Fidel quit his programming job to focus on chess in 2023?

27:00- Advice for getting over a tough loss.

30:00- As someone competing for top prizes, how worried is Fidel about OTB cheating? What about online cheating?

37:00- What are the biggest challenges Fidel sees in his under 1800 students?

40:00- Recommended chess books

Mentioned: Can You Be a Positional Chess Genius? , Magnus Carlsen: Endgame Virtuoso, Improve Your Chess Calculation by GM Ramesh

50:00- Has Fidel ever played with the Cuban legend, GM Leiner Dominguez?

52:00- How did Fidel and his sister, WIM Zenia Corrales Jimenez get into chess?

Mentioned: IM Joaquin Carlos Diaz

1:05:00- Fidel discusses his time at Webster University with stars like GM Wesley So, Ray Robson and Le Quang Liem.

1:10:00- What was it like to play GM Judit Polgar in the World Cup?

1:13:00- We discuss Fidel’s experience with the Scotch Opening

Mentioned:Mayhem in the Scotch: https://www.chessable.com/mayhem-in-the-scotch/course/259795/

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

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EP 408- FIDE World Championship Mega Preview- Talking Ding Liren with GM Davorin Kuljasevic, Gukesh with IM Cyrus Lakdawala and Match Statistics with NM Matt Jensen Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

It is World Championship season again! The FIDE World championship takes place from November 25 to December 13, in Singapore. As you probably know, GM Ding Liren will be defending his title against 18 year old wunderkind, GM Gukesh D. This is a unique matchup which features a fast-rising top 5 challenger, and a slumping World Champion who has fallen out of the top 20. Joining me to discuss it are three separate guests in the following order:

Top trainer, author, and Ding Liren biographer, GM Davorin Kuljasevic shares his match thoughts. How does Ding’s recent play differ from that of “peak Ding?”
Author of From Boy to Man to Challenger: The Fiercest Battles of Gukesh D , IM Cyrus Lakdawala on why he thinks Gukesh has a chance to be an all-time great.
Statistician, and co-founder of Chessgoals.com, NM Matt Jensen on the betting markets, the likelihood of a tiebreak, and one key statistical factor that favors Gukesh.

Chatting about the World Championship always gets me excited for the match, and this year is no exception. Timestamps for guests and topics discussed is below.

Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.

If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

0:00- Intro- Intro and Match facts

0:06- GM Davorin Kuljasevic joins to discuss GM Ding Liren, as well as his general thoughts on the match.

0:12- What openings might we expect? Which seconds might he be working with?

Mentioned: GM Eugene Perelshteyn’s Tweet:

https://x.com/EugenePerel/status/1850321592678555941

World Championship bettings odds here:

https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/fide-world-championship-2024-15724987

23:00- Thanks to GM Kuljasevic for joining me, you can get his book on GM Ding Liren here

25:00- IM Cyrus Lakdawala joins to discuss GM D Gukesh

Mentioned: From Boy to Man to Challenger: The Fiercest Battles of Gukesh D

35:00- Cyrus’ match predictions

39:00- Gukesh opening predictions

49:00- Cyrus’ upcoming projects

51:00- Statistician and NM Matt Jensen of Chessgoals.com joins to give a statistical preview to the match.

58:00- What is the expected draw rate for this match? What are the odds of a tiebreak?

1:08:00- What is new with Matt’s website Chessgoals?

Check out the Chcessgoals ourses here, Use the code Ben2024 to save 30%:

https://courses.chessgoals.com/collections/

Check out their podcast “No Pawn Intended” on the Chessgoals YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@ChessGoals

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

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EP 407- News and the Nimzo with GM Ben Finegold- Recent cheating Controversies, The US Championships, Favorite Openings, & Chess Gambling Stories Nov 05, 2024

Show notes

GM Ben Finegold is back to share his thoughts on all of the recent crazy chess news. The popular commentator, YouTuber, and Chessable author and I discuss the controversies and highlights of the US Championships, as well as the most recent cheating accusations leveled by GM Vladimir Kramnik. Do these accusations have more merit than other recent ones? We also discuss OTB cheating, as Ben draws some comparisions to cheating episodes in the game of Bridge. Lastly, we discuss why the Nimzo-Indian is a favorite opening of Ben’s and Ben shares a few of his favorite stories related to chess and gambling. As always, timestamps of topics discussed are below.

Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.

Check out Ben’s course, Starting Out: Nimzo-Indian. If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

Mentioned:

GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Vladimir Kramnik on the Levitov channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFwfC6Y1SAQ

Danya on C-Squared

https://youtu.be/RGiDosCed48?si=94GZd6Dx2TiD3wal

19:00- The Shevchenko story and OTB cheating.

23:00- How does cheating in bridge compare to chess? Is it easier to improve at bridge than chess?

27:00- Patreon mailbag question- What is worse, OTB cheating or the fear of OTB cheating?

30:45- We discuss the GM Christopher Yoo story and the stress of OTB chess.

39:00- Ben discusses the Nimzo-Indian and other favorite openings from childhood

Mentioned: Starting out: The Nimzo Indian

https://www.chessable.com/starting-out-nimzo-indian-defense/course/258506/

Tal-Botvinnik 1960

47:00- Patreon mailbag question: How you can acquire skills rather than knowledge from watching videos?

49:00- Ben shares a few stories about gambling on blitz and bullet chess.

Mentioned: GM Kirill Georgiev

58:00- Ben’s World Championship thoughts

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

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EP 406- Peter Doggers on The Chess Revolution: A big picture look at Cheating, Engines and the Explosion of Online Chess Oct 29, 2024

Show notes

Peter Doggers is an award-winning chess journalist who is currently the director of News and Events at Chess.com. His role has given him a ringside seat to modern chess history, as he has attended many of the world’s top events, and interviewed the likes of GM Garry Kasparov, Hikaru Nakamura, and countless others. Peter’s new book, The Chess Revolution: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age covers everything from the beginnings of chess, to its many representations in pop culture, to the explosion in popularity the game has experienced in the internet age. Peter’s excellent book covers chess from all angles, so we zeroed in on a few of my favorite topics from the book including: the history of chess and computers, recent stories around chess cheating, and their implications for the future of chess, the rise of Chess.com, and the story behind the making of Peter’s book. Every chess fan will learn something from Peter’s book, and I greatly enjoyed discussing it with him. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.

Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.

Check out their new offerings including GM Garry Kasparov’s much anticipated Chessable debut! If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

0:03- We begin by discussing allegations of GM Kirill Shevchenko cheating at an OTB tournament

11:00- We discuss OTB and online cheating more generally

16:00- Peter tells a story from his book, of the famous Mechanical Turk, which was an 18th-century chess-playing machine with a human hidden behind it.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=the+turk+chess

21:00- We discuss the famous Kasparov-Deep Blue match as well as another watershed “man vs. machine” match featuring GM Michael Adams.

Mentioned: The TV series Rematch- more info here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rematch_(miniseries)

25:00- Patreon mailbag question: Where does Peter see chess heading in the next 10 years?

Mentioned: IM Daniel Rensch’s interview with Ilya Levitov

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JeMsV9aNec

32:00- Peter tells the story of what he believes to be the first online encounter between Magnus and Hikaru in 2004 on the Internet Chess Club. We also discuss a “Secret” Magnus-Hikaru blitz match.

Mentioned: YouTube excerpt from Macauley Peterson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXvcQP6VPo

37:00- The history of Chess.com and LiChess

Mentioned: Lichess founder Thibault Duplessis

39:00- We discuss the chess GOATS- Magnus, Fischer and Kasparov. As discussed in last week’s episode with FM Charles Hertan, did he consider Morphy for the GOAT list?

44:00- What was the biggest challenge in writing the book and compiling the material?

52:00- How did Peter find a publisher, that ultimately wound up in a bidding war?

58:00- Did Peter write in English or Dutch?

1:00:00- Peter’s favorite chapters?

1:02:00- Peter’s plans for an OTB comeback.

1:04:00- Thanks to Peter for joining! Here is how to reach him:

You email Peter at Peter at chess dot com

peterdoggers.com

Chess.com profile-

https://www.chess.com/players/peter-doggers

Get the book here-

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+chess+revolution+peter+doggers&crid=2PYSZWX9BPES&sprefix=the+chess+rev%2Caps%2C164&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_13

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EP 405- Author, FM Charles Hertan on How Paul Morphy went from Unrated to Unbeatable, plus Reflections on his Classic Book, Forcing Chess Moves Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

This week’s guest is renowned author and 2-time Massachusetts state champion, FM Charles Hertan. Charles’ new book, The Real Paul Morphy takes an all-encompassing look at the complex legacy of Paul Morphy. Morphy is widely regarded as the best player of the 19th century, yet still might be underappreciated. What made Morphy’s play so special? Why isn’t he mentioned more often in the chess G.O.A.T. conversations? What led to his mental health struggles and early chess retirement? In addition to discussing Paul Morphy, we talk about why Charles’ playing career. He reviews why he retired from OTB chess near a peak rating of 2500 USCF, and Charles shares chess improvement advice from his classic tactics manual, Forcing Chess Moves. As always, approximate timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.

Chessable Pro-

Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.

Check out their new offerings including GM Garry Kasparov’s much anticipated Chessable debut! If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

0:00- We dive right into Charles’ new book, The Real Paul Morphy. How did Morphy get so good so fast? What differentiated his skills?

Purchase the book and access a free preview from New in Chess here:

https://www.newinchess.com/the-real-paul-morphy

10:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What was Morphy’s approach to chess improvement?”

17:00- Does Charles have a favorite story that is illustrative of Morphy’s genius?

22:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Why is Morphy often overlooked in GOAT conversations?”

28:00- Why didn’t Morphy’s brilliant chess skills translate to other domains?

31:00- Did Charles discover any new details about the famed “Opera game”?

Mentioned: Edward Winter article on this game..

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/morphy.html

35:00- Patreon mailbag question: ‘How does Charles’ book differ from the famous 1976 biography Paul Morphy: The Pride and Sorrow of Chess?”

43:00- We discuss some of the chess improvement lessons from Charles’ classic book, Forcing Chess Moves.

54:00- Patreon mailbag question: “When solving tactics puzzles, should one look at their opponents forcing moves before considering their own?”

1:00:00- Charles peaked with a USCF Rating over 2500. What led to his retiring from OTB chess at age 39?

1:08:00- We return to the topic of Morphy- What led to his unfortunate mental health issues in his later years? As a mental health professional, what does Charles think afflicted Morphy?

1:18:00- Given Morphy and Fischer’s mental health issues, does he think there is a correlation between genius and mental illness?

1:19:00- What was Morphy’s social life like?

1:22:00- Does Charles have a favorite game of Morphy’s?

Morphy vs. Lowenthal match-

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=79504

1:22:00- Thanks so much to Charles for joining me, you can reach him via Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562693384236

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EP 404- IM Kostya Kavutskiy- A renewed Quest for the GM Title, An Olympiad Trip Report, plus Chess Improvement Questions Answered Oct 15, 2024

Show notes

This week’s returning guest is ChessDojo co-founder, IM Kostya Kavutskiy. Kostya joined me after returning from a busy summer of chess travel in Europe. Kostya has recently redoubled his efforts to earn the Grandmaster title, and has been competing OTB frequently. He also attended the Olympiad and gave a fascinating first-hand perspective of what it was like to be in Budapest. Kostya has been writing about both his GM quest and the Olympiad on his recently launched blog, Kostya goes for GM. As an experienced trainer, and Chessable Author, Kostya is always insightful on the challenges of chess improvement, both his own, and that of the Chess Dojo members across the rating spectrum. With that in mind, we began the conversation by discussing the challenges Kostya is facing, as well as those from some podcast listeners.

After 30+ minutes of chess improvement talk we discussed the Olympiad, what is new with the ChessDojo, and even a forthcoming book. As always, timestamps of topics discussed are below.

0:00- Thanks to our sponsors, Chessable.com.

Check out their new offerings including GM Garry Kasparov’s much anticipated Chessable debut! If you sign up for Chessable Pro, please use the following link to help support Perpetual Chess:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

02:00- Why did Kostya decide to redouble his efforts to earn the GM title and start a blog about it?

Mentioned:

Kostya goes for GM

Kostya’s interview with Chessbase India:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihXw3q8UMdM

06:00- Are the changes in the FIDE rating system noticeable yet?

11:00- Kostya recently played a few tournaments in Europe. What did he learn from them?

18:00- Patreon mailbag question: Is there a correlation between solving easy puzzles quickly and solving more challenging ones?

21:00- What is new with the Chessdojo?

26:00- Patreon mailbag question: Is there still room for classic chess books like The Art of Attack in Chess.

Chessable-

https://www.chessable.com/the-art-of-attack-in-chess/course/24575/

Amazon-

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Attack-Chess-Ladimir-Vukovic/dp/1857444000

29:00- Is Kostya taking inspiration from Levy’s GM quest?

36:00- Kostya shares some reflections from visiting the Olympiad.

Mentioned:

Kostya’s blog post about the Olympiad:

https://hellokostya.substack.com/p/12-things-i-learned-from-the-budapest

52:00- Kostya discusses a forthcoming Chess Dojo book.

54:00- Thanks as always to Kostya for joining, you can find him via Chessdojo as well as his own social media accounts.

https://www.chessdojo.club/

Twitter/X-

https://x.com/hellokostya?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Instagram-

https://www.instagram.com/hellokostya/

ChessDojo YouTube-

https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessDojo

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

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EP 403- IM-Elect Selim Citak on How a Spontaneous Decision to Return to OTB Chess Led to Him Earning the IM Title at Age 39 Oct 08, 2024

Show notes

“Coming back to classical chess was the best decision of my life,” Selim said. IM-elect Selim Citak came out of semi-retirement on a whim a few years ago, needing one more norm and some more FIDE rating points, in order to earn the IM title. Selim quickly discovered that adjustments were necessary, as his rating plummeted from over 2300 to 2150 while he grappled with the stronger new generation of chess players. Through hard work, sacrifice, and psychological adjustments, Selim turned things around and gained the 250 FIDE points and final norm necessary to earn the IM title at age 39! In our conversation, Selim shares his remarkable story, along with plenty of chess improvement advice. Selim is very active in the Turkish chess scene as an author, Chessable author and commentator. He joined me just after attending the Olympiad as a second to young star GM Yagiz Erdogmus. Selim also shared what makes GM Ediz Gurel and him such special talents, and why Turkey is a potential rising chess power. This was an inspiring conversation of personal chess revival, so be sure to tune in.

1:30- IM-elect Selim Citak joins me: He discusses his chess origins and why did he returned to tournament chess in 2022.

Mentioned: GM Suat Atalik, GM Mikhail Gurevich

Selim’s FIDE graph:

https://ratings.fide.com/profile/6301819/chart

22:00- Selim describes his study routine

Mentioned: GM Evgeny Romanov

28:00- Selim’s approach to openings

35:00- Selim’s study routine, and how he pays for the expenses

Mentioned: Sorcerer’s Apprentice by GM David Bronstein

43:00- Does Selim play a lot online chess?

49:00- Selim’s next goals

53:00- Selim’s helped GM Erdogmus at the Olympiad. He reflects on the experience and Turkey’s status as a potential future chess powerhouse.

Mentioned: GM Ediz Gurel, GM Yağız Erdoğmuş

1:10:00- Selim’s advice for getting unstuck.

If you would like the help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

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EP 402- GM Axel Smith on Draw Offers, Managing the Clock, and the Return of the Woodpecker Method. Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

This week’s returning guest is the renowned author, Chessable author and trainer, GM Axel Smith. Axel, of course is best known for the groundbreaking tactics manual, The Woodpecker Method, and is finally releasing its much-anticipated sequel, The Woodpecker Method 2: Positional Play. While the first Woodpecker volume focused on tactics, this one helps readers learn critical positional patterns. In our conversation, we discuss the challenges of and logistics behind selecting over 1000 positional puzzles. We also have a wide-ranging discussion about Axel’s latest thoughts about chess improvement, a topic he has covered in excellent books like Pump Up Your Ratingand Street Smart Chess. We touch on how Axel’s chess goals have evolved now that he has a family, his advice regarding offering draws, and even the parallels between trying to improve at distance running and at chess. As always links of topics referenced are below.

Book available from Quality Chess and Forward Chess, coming soon to Chessable

https://forwardchess.com/product/the-woodpecker-method2

PDF Sample of the book:

https://forwardchess.com/sample/the-woodpecker-method2

Forward Chess:

https://forwardchess.com/product/the-woodpecker-method2

02:00- GM Axel Smith joins the show. Was it challenging to make a compilation of “positional puzzles”?

Mentioned: GMs Christopher Yoo, Renier Castellanos, Sam Shankland, Nordirbek Abdusattorov

Simple Chess, Winning Chess Strategies, The Power of Pawns

14:00- Patreon mailbag question: When will Woodpecker 2 be available on Chessable?

Mentioned: FM Nate Solon’s post, Woodpecker Revisited

https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/the-woodpecker-method-revisited?utm_source=publication-search

21:00- Check out the app of our new sponsors Chess Universe in your app store.

https://chess-universe.sng.link/Dqw52/kbhh

22:00- We revisit some of the most memorable chess improvement advice from Axel’s classic book Pump Up Your Rating. What advice would he change?

Mentioned: My Chessable course, Identifying Critical Moments in Chess

https://www.chessable.com/identifying-critical-moments-in-chess/course/248353/

31:00- Axel quit his job to focus on distance running training, and runs 20 Kilometers a day. We discuss his training regimen

38:00- Returning to chess, we discuss Axel’s philosophy regarding draw offers.

40:00- Has the success of The Woodpecker Method changed Axel’s life?

43:00- Why does Axel think adults often struggle to improve?

47:00- Has Axel’s overall improvement philosophy changed since Pump Up Your Rating?

48:00- Thanks to Axel for rejoining us, you can keep up with his work via Chessable and Quality Chess.

https://www.chessable.com/author/axelsmith/

https://qualitychess.co.uk/products/improvement/446/_the_woodpecker_method_2_by_axel_smith/

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