Perpetual Chess features weekly conversations with the chess world's best players, trainers and accomplished amateurs about their careers, current projects, bes...
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
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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1:24:46
EP 407- News and the Nimzo with GM Ben Finegold- Recent cheating Controversies, The US Championships, Favorite Openings, & Chess Gambling Stories
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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1:09:06
EP 406- Peter Doggers on The Chess Revolution: A big picture look at Cheating, Engines and the Explosion of Online Chess
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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1:19:50
EP 405- Author, FM Charles Hertan on How Paul Morphy went from Unrated to Unbeatable, plus Reflections on his Classic Book, Forcing Chess Moves
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
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1:32:29
EP 404- IM Kostya Kavutskiy- A renewed Quest for the GM Title, An Olympiad Trip Report, plus Chess Improvement Questions Answered
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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Perpetual Chess features weekly conversations with the chess world's best players, trainers and accomplished amateurs about their careers, current projects, best practices and the latest in chess news. Learn more at PerpetualChessPod.com