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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. This week features the second part of Genna’s story about Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe (1901-1981).
Machgielis “Max” Euwe was the fifth World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. After retiring as a player, he would later serve as FIDE president starting in 1970. In this capacity, he presided over the famous Fischer-Spassky of 1972 and had to navigate many other chess “situations” of the time, such as the defection of Viktor Korchnoi from the USSR and attempts by Soviet officials to remove him from power.
Genna, a fellow native of The Netherlands, met Max Euwe around the time of the 1972 World Championship match, and the two remained in touch until Euwe’s death in 1981. Genna’s story paints a picture of Max Euwe as a player, friend and historical chess figure all at once. Three weeks ago, Part 1 of Euwe’s story focused on his later career as a chess administrator, including the 1972 World Championship match. This week, Genna delves into Max Euwe, the chess player.
A hardcopy of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with French grandmaster Joel Lautier.
Joel has had a rich chess career: he became the youngest Junior World Champion in history in 1988, holds a lifetime positive score against Garry Kasparov and is, along with Vasily Ivanchuk, the only grandmaster of his generation to have defeated all world champions of his time: Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Khalifman, Anand, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov. He was also one of Kramnik’s seconds when the Russion sensationally defeated Kasparov for the world title in 2000. Despite his successful chess career, Joel came to the conclusion that he was hungry for new challenges and opted for a career change, going into investment banking.
In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Lautier speaks about his chess career as well as his career as an investment banker, including the shocking moment in 2022 when the US State Department unjustly put him on the sanctions list after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a dramatic and painful error that was corrected about a year later.
0:00 – Intro
2:10 – Welcome Joel!
3:05 – Becoming the youngest Junior World Champion in history in 1988
4:24 – Meeting his great influence, Bobby Fischer, in 1992
8:52 – Realising upon meeting Fischer that he did not want to remain in chess forever
10:42 – Dropping out of school at 16 to pursue chess, Joel’s father’s influence
13:05 – Joel’s experience being coached by Lev Polugaevsky
16:25 – Joel’s positive score against Kasparov
20:41 – Joel’s spectacular three-queen game against Kasparov
23:49 – The legendary Linnares 1994 tournament
26:23 – AD BREAK
27:02 – Joel’s victory over Kasparov in Amsterdam 1995
33:16 – Joel’s experience as a second for Kramnik in 2000
40:18 – The evening of Kramnik’s victory
42:17 – Joel’s visit to Fischer with Spasski in 1992
47:01 – The start of Joel’s business career and move to Russia
52:48 – AD BREAK
53:47 – Continued business career and eventual move to Barcelona
59:53 – Being incorrectly put on (and later taken off) an American sanctions list after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022
1:06:49 – AD BREAK
1:07:42 – Will Joel be compensated by the American government for their mistake?
1:08:09 – Joel’s talented 13-year old daughter Naomi, whose paintings are displayed at various exhibitions in Europe
1:14:26 – Outro
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Fehlende Folgen?
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek was the captain of the winning team, the Triveni Continental Kings, at the recent Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London.
Loek van Wely can look back on a rich career as a player. He won the Dutch championship 8 times and had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his achievements on the chess board, Loek is a renowned coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. In more recent years he’s been coaching the Italian national team and Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam.
If you are new to the Global Chess League, Loek will fill you in as he speaks about the strategies, the players that made the difference and the pros and cons of the remarkable time control (20 minutes per player per game, no increment) that almost inevitably led to wild time scrambles. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Loek talks about the innovative format of the Global Chess League and the impact it may have on the chess world. In passing he reveals his ambitions as a coach and gives his take on Vladimir Kramnik’s anti-cheating crusade that continues to fuel heated and widespread discussions online.
0:00 – Intro
2:59 – Loek explains how the Global Chess League works
6:00 – Is there a limit to every team’s financial means?
7:18 – Magnus and Ding’s participation
8:58 – Wei Yi’s participation in Loek’s team and the “point system”
13:43 – How does Loek deal with situations where teammates have strained
relationships, such as between Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina?
17:29 – AD BREAK
18:27 – The format and length of the event
20:27 – The controversial 20+0 time control and Alireza Firouzja’s performance
24:10 – Does the Global Chess League change the chess world?
26:38 – Are the organisers happy with the way the Global Chess League has taken off?
28:27 – What considerations go into Loek’s selection of his players?
30:04 – The bidding process on players like Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura
33:25 – AD BREAK
34:04 – Magnus’s participation?
36:35 – Does the Global Chess League, operated by India, foreshadow Indian dominance on the chess organisation circuit?
40:46 – What does Loek bring to the table as a coach?
43:26 – Does Loek’s own playing strength and activity as a player help him as a coach?
45:35 – What were the crucial moments that contributed to Loek’s team’s victory this year?
47:24 – What did Loek do to make Wei Yi feel comfortable as part of the team?
49:36 – AD BREAK
50:25 – How does Loek see his future in coaching and beyond?
53:56 – Is it always a coach’s dream to work with young talent?
56:30 – Vladimir Kramnik’s controversial cheating allegations
1:05:40 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. Subject of this week’s episode is Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe (1901-1981).
Machgielis “Max” Euwe was the fifth World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. After retiring as a player, he would later serve as FIDE president starting in 1970. In this capacity, he presided over the famous Fischer-Spassky of 1972 and had to navigate many other chess “situations” of the time, such as the defection of Viktor Korchnoi from the USSR and attempts by Soviet officials to remove him from power.
Genna, a fellow native of The Netherlands, met Max Euwe around the time of the 1972 World Championship match, and the two remained in touch until Euwe’s death in 1981. Over four decades later, Genna’s story paints a picture of Max Euwe as both a friend and a historical chess figure.
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Alex Colovic. Alex is a grandmaster from North Macedonia, who lives in Skopje, and is active in the chess world in many ways. He’s not only a player, but also a trainer, a blogger, a YouTuber, a former president of the Association of Chess Professionals, and a FIDE Fair Play Officer.
We invited Alex this week to talk about his new book "Capablanca's Endgame Technique: The Astonishing Chess Logic of the Third World Champion". In his new book, he pays tribute to one of his chess heroes, the Cuban genius who became the third World Champion and is admired by many as one of the greatest natural talents our game has ever seen. Capablanca was famous for his impeccable endgame technique and Alex is convinced that studying his endgames is beneficial for players of all levels. In his book, Alex looks at 15 endgames of Capablanca in great depth. Not with ultradeep variations, but with a lot of verbal explanations, general observations and with lots of exercises in between for the reader.
In our conversation, Alex explains the underlying ideas and his fascination with the Cuban and much more. An eager talker with a broad knowledge of chess and its history, Alex also speaks about sleeping problems for chess players and his work as a FIDE Fair Play Officer. In this capacity he will be at the World Championship match in Singapore in November between Ding Liren and Gukesh, and he provides great insights in the precautions that will be taken there.
Lots of insights, great suggestions to improve and wonderful stories. Don’t miss this talk with Alex Colovic!
The New In Chess podcast is published every Friday and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the New In Chess website.
Alex's book on Capablanca is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/capablanca-s-endgame-technique
0:00 – Intro
2:32 – What inspired Alex to write about Capablanca?
5:42 – Does Alex notice Capablanca’s influence in his own games?
8:08 – Why Alex thinks it’s valuable to study the old masters
9:51 – What lessons can modern players learn from Capablanca’s play?
18:22 – Does Capablanca deserve to be counted among the greatest of all time?
21:01 – Capablanca’s personality and superstar status
27:38 – Alex’s biggest revelations when studying Capablanca’s legendary endgame play
32:22 – Should done always study with a board and pieces or is this an outdated concept?
37:20 – What other sources on Capablanca does Alex recommend?
41:19 – AD BREAK
42:17 – Emmanuel Lasker’s appraisal of Capablanca’s play
45:32 – Capablanca’s incredibly deep understanding of the game and ranking among the all-time greats
49:20 – AD BREAK
50:53 – Alex’s career in content creation, the importance of sleep
58:44 – Alex’s upcoming projects and work as a FIDE Fair Play Officer
1:04:18 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.
As the title of his autobiography, Chess Is My Life, hints at, Korchnoi’s drive, passion and obsession for the game of chess were as strong as they had always been. He simply lived for chess: his energetic spirit never aged, he was often one of the last to leave the playing hall, and during his analysis sessions he worked tirelessly to get to the bottom of things, after one goal and one goal only: the truth.
"The Essential Sosonko" is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Max Dlugy. Max Dlugy has had a rich and varied chess career: he was Junior World Champion, became president of the United States Chess Federation at the young age of 24, worked for IBM on the groundbreaking Deep Blue chess computer project, and today runs his own successful chess school, the Chess Max Academy in New York. Two years ago he got into the news for a different reason, when he was dragged into the cheating story involving Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen, when the world’s number one insinuated his involvement as Niemann’s ‘mentor’. The allegation had serious consequences, when in addition to being publicly named a cheater, his chess.com account was temporarily suspended by chess.com, a decision Dlugy considered ‘immoral and illegal’.
Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in Budapest during the Chess Olympiad, Max Dlugy talks about his Chess Max Academy, but the lion’s share of the conversation focuses on his role in Hans Niemann’s career and his view of the cheating story, a story that brought (and continues to bring) near-unprecedented levels of mainstream attention to the chess scene.
Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!
0:00 – Intro
3:38 – Max’s background and the beginning of the Chess Max Academy
19:31 – Max’s first meeting with Hans Niemann
25:21 – Max’s past coaching of Hans
29:18 – AD BREAK
34:51 – The infamous Magnus vs Hans game
36:36 – The “set-up” to implicate Max in the drama involving lawyer Richard Conn
42:55 – Max’s conflict with chess.com, online cheating allegations
46:27 – The Borislav Ivanov story
48:24 – Chess.com leaking Max’s communications “for the sake of public interest”
49:04 – AD BREAK
50:13 – How does the “cheating situation” affect Max these days?
51:30 – Why chess.com is doing a bad job at detecting cheaters
53:39 – Hikaru Nakamura calling out cheaters without good evidence
55:07 – The problem with online accuracy scores and chess.com’s immoral way of obtaining cheating “confessions”
58:15 – Max considering legal action against chess.com
59:51 – Max’s solution to the cheating problem
1:03:04 – How does Max assess the damage done to Hans Niemann as a result of this scandal?
1:06:39 – Vladimir Kramnik’s strange antics and unlikely “partnership” with Hans
1:09:00 – Does Max think Magnus regrets making the cheating allegations?
1:10:16 – Max’s future plans for the Chess Max Academy
1:12:30 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.
Continuing where we left off in Episode #33, Sosonko invites us to sit beside him as Olga Clark continues her talk about Capablanca and the time that they spent together both in Europe and in America, punctuated by the actuality of being in the restaurant that she and Capa favoured and used to frequent.
Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, in “‘I knew Capablanca…’” Sosonko shows us the human sides of Capablanca, effectively portraying the life of a man in whose life, as it appears, chess just happens to have found its place.
"The Essential Sosonko" is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Swedish grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson. Tiger is a three-time Swedish champion and has been described as one of the most creative and original players of our game. His creativity is on display in his latest book, “Tiger’s Chaos Theory”, in which, perhaps unsurprisingly, the topic of creativity in chess plays an important role.
Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Tiger talks about creativity, the development of his chess philosophy throughout the years, and how this is reflected in his latest work.
"Tiger's Chaos Theory" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website:
https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=tigers+chaos+theorhy&cvid=c748d3ce43f94efcaa1629a62b82fa03&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABhAMgYIAhAAGEAyBggDEAAYQDIGCAQQABhAMgYIBRAAGEAyBggGEAAYQDIGCAcQABhAMgYICBAAGEAyCAgJEOkHGPxV0gEIMzQ3MmowajGoAgCwAgA&FORM=ANNAB1&PC=U531
0:00 – Intro
1:33 – How did Tiger feel when finally holding the book he’d spent so much time working on?
3:04 - Tiger clarifies at what age he started playing chess and recalls playing with his father
5:02 – Why did his parents pick the name Tiger?
9:11 – How did Tiger’s “Tiger’s Chaos Theory” come about?
11:18 – Tiger’s database of his own games that impacted the way he played in the future
14:56 – Why Tiger’s book does not propose a “grand theory” of chess
17:21 – The chapter on queen sacrifices
20:30 - Why a good chess player should strive for objectivity
23:10 – Tiger’s use of metaphors and stories in his writing
26:31 – Why Tiger talks to his pieces, and his students should too
29:43 – Tiger’s scepticism towards material
30:41 – Tiger clarifies certain quotes from the book
31:12 – AD BREAK
33:37 – How does this book relate to Tiger’s other passions, like go and music?
38:40 – Tiger’s humble beginnings and relative disregard for money
42:01 – Tiger’s favourite classical music
46:21 – AD BREAK
47:21 – Why Tiger considers chess more of a science than an art, the role of the engine
58:01 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American IM John Donaldson. At this year’s Olympiad, John will be captaining team USA, the top seeds in Budapest.
John has a long history of captaining the American Olympiad team, making his debut in Dubai in 1986 and leading the team to gold in Baku in 2016. This year will be his fifteenth time accompanying the American team to the event, which he describes as arguably the most exciting chess event in the world.
Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, John looks ahead to this year’s event, analyses each teams’ chances, and shares some Olympiad stories from the past.
0:00 – Intro
1:49 – John explains the significance of the San Francisco Mechanics Institute
5:06 – Why John thinks the Olympiad is the most exciting chess event
7:59 – How did John get his job as the first captain of the US Olympiad team?
13:28 – Was John always the “player-coach”?
15:20 – How does John see his role as captain, and how does this compare to the captain’s role back in the day?
27:05 – AD BREAK
28:03 - This year’s American Olympiad team, the strength of the current playing field and the other frontrunners
32:39 – Netherlands being a remarkable 4th seed in this year’s Olympiad
33:25 – Uzbekistan and Kramnik’s captaincy
36:35 – Norway and Magnus
39:20 – The Olympiad often being a tournament for young stars to break out
40:20 – AD BREAK
40:53 – Last year’s Olympiad in Chennai
41:55 – The many format changes the Olympiad has undergone throughout the years
46:50 – John’s nail-biting experience winning Olympiad gold in 2016
52:18 – What was it like to manage a team of “stars” as John did in 2016?
56:48 – AD BREAK
59:38 – John carrying his passion for reading over to his players
1:02:32 – John’s upcoming book for Bobby Fischer
1:06:59 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a riveting interview with the First Lady of Chess, Judit Polgar. With the Olympiad in Judit’s home city Budapest around the corner, it’s hard to think of a better guest!
Judit Polgar is the strongest female chess player of all time. At the age of 15 years and four months she broke Bobby Fischer’s record to become the youngest grandmaster in history. For more than two decades she competed successfully with the very best and became the first and only woman ever to enter the world top-10. In her career she defeated eleven(!) current or former World Champions in classical or rapid chess.
Judit retired from professional chess in 2014 but continues to be one of the most beloved ambassadors of the game. Judit also organises the Global Chess Festival, which will be held for the tenth time during this year’s Budapest Olympiad.
Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Judit shares Olympiad memories, speaks about the philosophy of her festival and sketches the outlines of a new title system to erase the difference between Open and Women’s competitions.
0:00 – Intro
2:10 - How are Judits days filled in Budapest with the Olympiad coming up?
5:18 - What makes the Global Chess Festival in Budapest so special?
9:20 - What is Judits motivation for organising the festival?
13:25 - How did Judit react to the news of the Olympiad being held in Budapest?
15:15 - Why the Olympiad is a great place to meet old friends
17:04 - The Olympiad's unique atmosphere and the Bermuda party
19:06 - How does Judit remember her first Olympiad as a young girl?
22:02 - Did Judits success improve the family's relationship with Hungarian authorities?
23:47 - AD BREAK
24:20 - Judits as a pioneer for women players
26:18 - "Polgaria"
30:46 - The adjustment of playing the Olympiad with men
33:27 - What does Judit think of women's events?
37:45 - Judit suggests abolishing women's titles
41:41 - How does Judit reflect on her Olympiad achievements?
45:30 - Bled
46:36 - AD BREAK
47:35 - Judits experiences as Hungarian team captain
55:12 - Who are Judits favorites and dark horses?
1:00:20 - Magnus's participation
1:03:32 - The Chinese team
1:05:38 - Do Judits female mentees have the same passion and discipline for the game as the young men?
1:07:30 - Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, better known as Coach Vishnu. Vishnu is best known as the first trainer of Gukesh D, who will challenge reigning champion Ding Liren for the world title later this year. Vishnu has deep ties to the Indian city of Chennai, where he and his wife operate the Vishnu Chess Academy.
Interviewed by our brand new host Jacob Aagaard, Vishnu talks about his school, the city of Chennai, and the meteoric rise of Gukesh.
0:00 – Intro
4:10 – Chennai as a chess city
5:42 – The importance of Vishy Anand for the city of Chennai
7:18 – Gukesh’s formative years
10:40 – Vishnu’s coaching methods with Gukesh
13:15 – What was the role of the engine in their training sessions?
16:13 – AD BREAK
17:06 – What caused the split between Vishnu and Gukesh?
25:10 – Vishnu’s family life and other business ventures
29:30 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.
This week’s episode features the first half of the story of legendary World Champion Capablanca. José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942) was a Cuban chess prodigy who became the third World Chess Champion, reigning from 1921 to 1927. Often referred to as the "Human Chess Machine" due to his exceptional endgame skills and nearly flawless technique, Capablanca is celebrated for his natural talent and intuitive grasp of the game. His crowning achievement was his victory over Emanuel Lasker in 1921, which made him the World Chess Champion. Known for his clarity of play and the ability to exploit the smallest of advantages, Capablanca was unbeaten in tournament play from 1916 to 1924, an unprecedented record. Though he lost the title to Alexander Alekhine in 1927, Capablanca's contributions to chess theory, especially in the endgame, remain highly influential. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest natural talents in the history of chess.
"The Essential Sosonko" is available in its entirety on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko
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This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from Genna Sosonko's “The Essential Sosonko” on Lev Polugaevsky.
An expert on the Sicilian Defence, Polugaevsky wrote two books on the opening and has one variation named after him. He was one of the strongest chess players of the late 1960s and early 1970s, but had to bow to his nemesis Viktor Korchnoi twice in the Candidates Tournament.
Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, in “‘I must work, I must work…’” Sosonko shows us the struggles of a world-class player plagued with human features: from excessive awe for his opponents to the bad timing of occasional absent-mindedness.
"The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website:
https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American FIDE master and chess author Charles Hertan. Charles’s latest work “The Real Paul Morphy” focuses on the life and career of one of the most enigmatic figures in chess history.
Paul Morphy (1837-1884) learned chess at a young age and quickly made a name for himself as a prodigious talent. Known for his brilliant, aggressive style and deep understanding of the game, Morphy quickly vanquished all opposition in the United States. At one point, he travelled from his native New Orleans to Europe to seek stronger opposition, but to no avail. When a match with Howard Staunton did not materialise, Morphy, age 22, returned to the United States and promptly retired from chess to start a legal career. He would repeatedly decline invitations to return to competitive chess, even as his law practice failed to pick up steam. In his later years, Morphy developed severe mental illness and died at the young age of 47. His short but brilliant career would earn him the nickname “The Pride and Sorrow of Chess”, which has stuck to this day.
Charles Hertan is not only good at chess and writing, he has also worked as a psychotherapist, which informs much of his understanding of Morphy’s eccentric mind. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Charles takes us deeper into his writing process and gives his assessment of Paul Morphy as a chess player and human.
“The Real Paul Morphy” is now available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-real-paul-morphy
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
1:43 – How did the concept for “The Real Paul Morphy” come about?
2:55 – How good was Morphy in Charles’s estimation?
5:00 – Morphy’s incredible natural talent
10:25 – Morphy’s dominance in the US and first European tournaments
13:01 – AD BREAK
13:53 – Morphy’s gentle personality
17:19 – Why did the match with Howard Staunton fall through, according to Charles?
19:20 – The difficult character of Howard Staunton
24:11 – Frederick Milnes Edge
29:03 – AD BREAK
30:26 – Morphy’s mental illness, comparison with Fischer
35:40 – Morphy’s later years as a psychotic
38:15 – The women’s shoes myth
40:41 – Can we draw a connection between Morphy’s brilliance and madness?
44:00 – Morphy’s disdain for chess as a hobby worthy of pursuing as an occupation
49:40 – AD BREAK
50:12 – Charles’s desire to keep Morphy’s legacy alive
55:20 – The “romantic” label, Charles’s assessment of Morphy, Staunton and Anderssen
58:10 – Morphy’s influence on the game, Wilhelm Steinitz
1:00:10 – Will Charles write about Pillsbury next?
1:02:20 – Outro
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This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second half of the narration from Genna Sosonko's “The Essential Sosonko” on Mikhail Botvinnik.
Continuing where we ended two weeks ago, we find Botvinnik giving his perception on several his chess colleagues. He then proceeds to talk about other matters that are close to his heart, such as the future of computer chess and his own painful losses.
Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, in “His Journey to Immortality” Sosonko does recites a long monologue given by the former World Champion himself, in a way making this chapter a double autobiography.
00:00 Introduction01:18 Botvinnik's position to the divide between Karpov and Kasparov04:34 Botvinnik's regards on Kramnik, Shirov and Beliavsky07:27 Botvinnik defused Bronstein, Smyslov and Tal09:35 How Botvinnik took care of himself12:13 Botvinnik on the future of computer chess13:03 AD BREAK13:56 Botvinnik's relation with and views on politics17:31 What old age meant to Botvinnik23:08 Botvinnik remembered his painful losses24:28 Botvinnik's principles and convictions27:17 AD BREAK27:50 To understand Botvinnik is to understand him in the context of his time30:44 The last time Sosonko met Botvinnik34:30 Botvinnik’s death and the journey to immortality -
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with FIDE Master Jimmy Adams. Jimmy has had a rich career in chess publishing, both as an editor (CHESS magazine, Batsford and others) and as a writer and compiler of countless books. Among his best-known books published by New In Chess are impressive tomes on Breyer, Chigorin and Zukertort. His latest chess-historical gem is an impressive four-volume set dedicated to the career of late Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres.
Paul Keres is regarded by many as the strongest chess player to never win a world championship. His impressive play and charming personality made him a popular figure both in and outside the chess world. When he died at the relatively young age of 59, a crowd of 100,000 Estonians turned out for his funeral procession in Tallinn. However, his life was also marred by stress and health issues, brought on in a large part by the suffocating grip of the Soviet regime on chess.
Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jimmy reflects on the life and career of “Paul the Second”, which includes various personal encounters with Keres as well as many stories involving other legendary players, including Fischer, Korchnoi and even Capablanca.
Jimmy's full Paul Keres series will be published in november and can be pre-ordered at a 20% discount on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/keres
0:00 – Intro2:40 – Jimmy’s initial obsession with Paul Keres5:15 – What attracted Jimmy to Keres specifically?8:45 – Meeting Keres personally15:20 – Keres’s hilarious Capablanca anecdote17:02 – AD BREAK18:10 – Keres’s love of tennis, attending the Wimbledon final20:45 – More funny anecdotes about Reti, Flohr24:05 – Was Keres politically pressured by the Soviet regime to not defeat Botvinnik?28:55 – Keres’s constant harassment by the KGB31:53 – AD BREAK33:58 – Keres’s best results36:20 – Keres’s personal issues40:30 – The things that surprised Jimmy the most about Keres43:15 – Jimmy’s discussion with Korchnoi about Keres44:00 – Why was Keres always the “eternal second”?45:49 – Keres’s friendship with Spassky48:25 – Keres’s fluency in several languages50:33 – Jimmy tells a hilarious story about Fischer and Najdorf53:26 – AD BREAK54:06 – Keres’s relationship with Fischer1:00:10 – Keres’s great annotations1:03:16 – Keres’s legacy, large state funeral in Estonia1:07:57 – Outro -
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.
This episode is the first of a two-part story about Mikhail Botvinnik. He won the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament and thus became the sixth World Chess Champion, thereby succeeding Alekhine who had died two years prior. He lost and regained the title twice – to Smyslov and Tal respectively – before he was ultimately dethroned by Petrosian in 1963.
In that same year, Botvinnik founded his own chess school, which ensured that the Soviet Union dominated the world of chess for many years to come. The “Soviet School of Chess” has world champions such as Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik among its graduates, as well as many other Grandmasters.
Next to his chess career, Botvinnik was very interested in engineering. He sought to combine the two and became one of the pioneers in the world of computer chess. Thanks to his endeavours on computer chess, Botvinnik was awared an honorary degree in mathematics in 1991, at the age of 80.
In this episode, Sosonko talks of his personal contacts with Botvinnik. He then takes a step back and gives the stage to Botvinnik himself. “The Engineer” talks of his youth in St. Petersburg, his becoming acquainted with the game of chess, and the often difficult relationships with his rivals.
Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! Remember, you can find us on popular platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts, making it convenient for you to browse the chapters and listen to your favourite parts.
The hardcopy version of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase in its entirety on the New In Chess website:
https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:23 - Genna plays a game with Botvinnik for the Dutch national television
04:43 - “Misha” Botvinnik's visit to Amsterdam in 1989
07:28 - Genna meets with Botvinnik in Moscow in 1988
09:48 - Botvinnik talks about his family
15:25 - Botvinnik learns chess; having to deal with anti-Semitism
17:17 - AD BREAK
17:49 - A 9-year-old Misha becomes interested in Russian literature
20:23 - How Botvinnik met his wife thanks to music
23:13 - Botvinnik remarks on his connections with the Russian composers
26:36 - Botvinnik begins his chess journey
29:04 - Botvinnik's strained relationships with Bronstein, Levenfish, Romanovsky, Petrosian, Smyslov, and Euwe
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Robert Hess. A former US #5 with a peak FIDE rating of 2639, Robert is renowned as one of Chess.com’s star commentators, covering its largest events such as the World Chess Championship and the Candidates Tournament. Growing up in New York City, Robert showed promise in chess at an early age, but he credits his success to one man in particular: the late Soviet-born American grandmaster and coach Miron Sher (1952-2020).
Miron Sher, together with his wife and son, emigrated from Ukraine to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York in 1997. There, he would foster the talent of Robert and, among others, Fabiano Caruana. The book “Dream Moves: Eye-Opening Chess Lessons For Improvers” is a collection of instructive chess materials that Miron gave to his students. Thanks to the tireless work of his wife Alla and son Mikhail, New In Chess is now able to posthumously publish Miron’s work. With hundreds of exercises ranging from easy to very difficult, Dream Moves is both an instructive work for improving players and a sentimental window into the life and teachings of one of chess’s most beloved coaches.
Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Robert reflects warmly on his personal experiences with Miron as both a coach and a human. He also talks about his career as a commentator and how Miron’s lessons continue to inform his approach to the game.
“Dream Moves: Eye-Opening Chess Lessons for Improvers” is available at a 20% discounted rate in the New In Chess web shop. Click the link below and enter the code “DREAM20” to claim your discount!
https://www.newinchess.com/dream-moves
0:00 - Intro
1:52 - What Miron Sher meant to Robert and his other students
5:20 - How Miron would teach different students differently
8:56 - Robert's fondest memory of Miron
11:00 - Miron's love of his family
14:33 - "It's very Miron to not speak about his difficulties", the respect Miron earned in the chess community
19:28 - Miron taking early notice of Robert's fighting mentality
21:35 - Robert's part in having the book published after Miron's passing
25:45 - The structure of the book, Miron "tricking" his students and how his teachings continue to inspire Roberts play and commentary
29:00 - The "20% rule" and the "Dream Move"
32:30 - How Miron would incorporate "themes" into his material and the lasting impact on Robert's play
37:13 - AD BREAK
37:45 - How Robert incorporates Miron's teachings into his commentary
42:06 - Does Robert have a favourite event to commentate on?
44:50 - How difficult is it to analyse bullet games in real-time and, conversely, how does Robert keep his commentary interesting during slower-paced classical games?
45:48 - Robert's ideal commentary setup
48:05 - How does Robert see the game of chess develop in the forthcoming years?
52:00 – The lack of statistics as a preparatory tool in chess
53:53 – What does Robert like about chess’s recent development in the mainstream?
58:10 – Outro
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This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. In this episode Sosonko draws up a portrait of the ninth World Champion Tigran Petrosian. Lauded by the Armenian populus as a national hero, Tigran often found himself accompanied by fans wherever he went.
Petrosian turned prophylaxis into a trademark of his playing style, which gained him the nickname “Iron Tigran” as well as several tribute books. Refining many defensive and prophylactic ideas, he raised the positional Exchange sacrifice into an art form.
"The Main Thing Is Happiness" focuses on Petrosian's personal background. Born in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, to parents from Armenia, he lived in Moscow for most of his life. This begs the question as to Petrosian's nationality, especially now that the Soviet Union as an entity no longer exists.
Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! Remember, you can find us on popular platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, making it convenient for you to browse the chapters and listen to your favourite parts.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:17 Petrosian was celebrated
as an Armenian hero
06:33 The reception by the people when Petrosian became World Chess Champion
10:35 "Our Tigran": Petrosian did not belong to just one country
12:31 Petrosian the Polyglot
13:56 AD BREAK
14:29 Petrosian's friendship with composer Arno B
abajanian
15:46 The Armenian-Jewish combination
17:02 Khrushchev's joke and Mikoyan's warning
19:31 How Petrosian's life might have been if he had still been alive today
22:35 Petrosian in anticipation of his demise
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