The Chess Experience

109 The upcoming World Championship should be a fascinating one! GM Ding Liren is the reigning world champ. While he’s an extraordinary talent, his rating and performance have backslid this past year. And, sadly, Ding has been struggling with psychological issues... Meanwhile, India’s brightest chess talent and Ding's opponent, GM Gukesh Dommaraju, will be the youngest player to ever compete in the World Championship at 18 years old. Gukesh, though he’s been stellar in his recent competitive performances, will have to face a lack of experience at the highest level. To help explore and illuminate the different issues at play, FM Carsten Hansen returns to the podcast for another World Championship preview. Carsten is one of the most prolific chess authors around we discuss the unique challenges for each player, whether their styles will be a factor, and clues to look for in the early games to help you know who may win the match. The event begins on November 25th, 2024… BUT…this episode will be worth listening to even several days later to help understand the match and gain some fascinating chess insights. More From FM Carsten Hansen: Carsten’s co-authored book: A Century of ChessCarsten’s chess booksCarsten on Twitter>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

Our guest this week is a self-taught FIDE Master, coach, and popular course creator hailing from the Netherlands: Midas Ratmas. Midas has built his chess career around helping club players and beginners. As such, he’s developed a special talent for teaching chess to players at this level. Midas has already published over a dozen Chessable courses covering areas like the opening, tactics, and strategy - with many more on the horizon. In this episode, we talk about: Midas’s Chessable course page >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

107 Few adult club players are as committed to the game as Nick Visel. For years, he’s been racking up countless OTB classical games, poring through books and courses, and sharing his wisdom on Chess Twitter. Currently, Nick stands at 1600 USCF with ambitions of becoming a Class A player and reaching National Master. Nick shares great tips from his earned wisdom, plus how he’s willing to scale back his chess when other areas of his life take priority. In this episode, we discuss: More From Nick: TwitterNick’s Substack>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

Just a quick update on why there won't be an episode this week. But we'll be back on November 12th!

106 Adriana is a dynamic titled player, coach, and content creator from Spain. She’s already reached a 2000+ FIDE rating and is working regularly towards her WFM title. This year alone, she’s competed in ten OTB classical tournaments. Adriana also coaches students ranging from beginner up to 1800. Outside of chess, she has a degree in film studies and is pursuing a career in film. Recently, she helped distribute an award-winning short film thriller. As a fun detour, this podcast takes a rare opportunity to chat with Adriana about our favorite movies for a few minutes. As always, we close with questions about her favorite player of all time, her favorite openings, and what her one “chess wish” would be. More From Adriana: YouTubeTwitchTwitterInstagram>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

105 Today’s guest is a huge help to countless adult improvers. GM Eugene Perelshteyn is a highly regarded coach, author, and course creator. In more recent years, he went beyond helping his private students and extended his chess wisdom to writing a book and publishing courses. His 2022 book, Evaluate Like A Grandmaster, is a huge help to almost every club player. And we discuss at length the benefits of improving your often-overlooked evaluation skills in chess. But this is also a wide-reaching interview… In our chat, we discuss the recent controversy with GM Christopher Woo at the US Chess Championship and why mental health is a critical topic for competitive players (even amateurs!) Plus, we cover: Follow me on Twitter to win Eugene's "Every Gambit Refuted" Chessable course (and other future giveaways!) More From Eugene: Eugene’s Chessable CoursesBook: Evaluate Like a GrandmasterTwitterWebsite>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

104 This week’s guest is Vanessa Sun, a former chess journalist. For years, she covered events for US Chess, from major national tournaments like the US Open to local competitions. She was also a tournament director at the famous Marshall Chess Club in New York City. Plus, she’s volunteered for IM Greg Shahade at the US Chess School, which is a nonprofit that offers free chess coaching to the most promising juniors in the country. Beyond her chess experiences, she’s an atmospheric chemist and is currently in a Ph.D program. In this episode, we chat about her chess journey, including: Find Vanessa on Twitter >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

103 Our guest is an inspiring adult improver, Dr. Ryan Thomas. Ryan is a surgeon, a cancer researcher, and a father of two. With all that, he’s still highly dedicated to chess improvement and his love of the game. Ryan regularly attends OTB classical tournaments, and his current USCF rating is 958 with a goal of 1200. In this episode, we discuss: Find Ryan on Twitter Resources Referenced: FM Paul Giannotos: Everyone’s First Chess Workbook (Chessable)IM Andras Toth: Chess Principles Reloaded: Development (Chessable)GM Artur Yusopov: The Fundamentals 1: Build Up Your Chess (Chessable)>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

102 Learning from a prolific chess author and course creator is always exciting. Today we dive into various chess improvement topics from Serbian International Master, Boro Zlatanovic. Boro has published over two dozen courses and books. And in just five years! And his two most recent courses have been published with Chessable, including Masterpieces of Amateur Play and Conversion in the Endgame. One thing that stands out about Boro, and that I find refreshing, is that while we’re in an era where most published works are focused on openings, Boro prefers to write and teach about strategy, endgames, and chess psychology. In our discussion, we chat about: More From Boro: Boro’s Chessable coursesBoro’s Books on Amazon >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

101 Megan Lee is an inspiration to all of us adult improvers. Even with a busy work life running two businesses, Megan has had an incredible year: reaching her lifetime rating peak (2297 FIDE), earning the FM title, and competing in the US Women’s Championship. In fact, this year will be her third invitation to that prestigious event. Yet she does this all on the side while she juggles a typical but heavy load of adult responsibilities. In this episode, we discuss: More from Megan: Snippet Studios (her lifestyle brand business) >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

A quick update on why the show has been MIA for three weeks (spoiler: COVID.) And when I'll resume...

0100 She’s rated one of Italy’s top female players and has coached adult improvers for years. And she is this show’s first Italian guest! WIM Tea Guecci has had an impressive chess career. She broke records by age twelve, becoming the youngest ever to win the Italian Women’s Chess Championship. She’s also played and represented her country in two Chess Olympiads. Recently, she launched her first Chessable course called, “My Secret Sveshnikov: The Sicilian by a Sicilian.” NOTE: To win the full video version of Tea’s course for free, follow me on Twitter for instructions on the giveaway Chessable & I will be doing between 8/14 and 8/19. In this episode, we discuss: reallyMore From Tea: Chessable Course: My Secret Sveshikov: The Sicilian by a SicilianTwitchTwitterInstagram>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

099 She’s been awarded “Chess Coach of the Month” by Chess.com. Plus, she has a master’s degree in psychology. Meet WFM Fruzsina Szente-Varga! Hailing from Hungary, Fruzsina has spent the past several years coaching adult club players and beginners. Additionally, she regularly creates excellent chess content through her Twitch & YouTube channels. In this interview, we discuss: More From Fruzsina: TwitchLichess Coaching PageChess.com BlogYouTubeTwitterInstagram>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

098 Adult club players are a fast-growing part of the chess community. But this growth is relatively new. And the community may not have fully caught up to our sizeable presence. So, in a first for this podcast, I’ve brought in two guests to help me discuss this subject and propose some ideas to make the community more engaging for us adult amateurs. Kamryn Hellman is an adult improver who rose to 2000 Chess.com Rapid in less than a year. Since then, she’s launched a YouTube channel and created a Chessable course for beginners. Omar Mills is a super-dedicated and inspiring club player who’s built a large chess Twitter following. In this episode, we discuss: Kamryn: Chessable Course: 50 Essential Chess ConceptsYouTube TwitchTwitterOmar: Twitter>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

097 Playing against 1.d4 can be awkward. Many club players say they’re less sure of what to do positionally and have more difficulty finding tactical possibilities. Even the most popular, and arguably best, opening responses like the Slav or the Queen’s Gambit Declined can leave club players unsatisfied. Why is that? And are there any openings that can at least ease this challenge? My guest, IM Mateusz Kolosowski, is here to help. He brings a decade of coaching experience to bear on this subject. And, he’s recently created a course on an opening that works well to ease these problems: the Albin Countergambit. But what we discuss is far more than the details of a single opening. In our chat, we also cover why club players inherently struggle with 1.d4 positions and openings. Which reveals some interesting insights. Hopefully, this episode is both therapeutic regarding 1.d4 woes...and helpful for you! More From Mat: Albin Countergambit CourseChessable Courses >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

096 After a two-week break, we are back! For the first time, I explain what I have in store for the podcast for 2024…and beyond. (Hint: it’s all good news!) From new episode formats to a different category of guests, I share my ambitions for this show. I also preview the upcoming launch of my community-themed membership for adult chess improvers, which will also have some connections to the podcast. The final part of this brief episode updates my struggles with regaining my former chess skills. Last, I’d love to hear from you directly! In this episode, I ask your thoughts on two different questions. Please send me your thoughts to either of those questions at either of the links below. Message me on my website contact page. DM me on Twitter. Not only will it help to get your feedback, but I’ll also respond to you within a couple of days. Thank you!

095 GM Alex Colovic is an exceptional course creator and an engaging writer on all things chess. He returns to the pod to discuss some intriguing subjects from his weekly newsletter. I hand-picked three topics Alex wrote about that I found fascinating. We dive deep into each one: Finally, we discuss his latest opening courses for White that have been released on Chessable, and why it may be worth learning to play 1.e4 and 1.d4. More From Alex: Weekly NewsletterChessable CoursesTwitterWebsite & Blog>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

094 Kaja Snare, a pro chess broadcaster, has been leading chess into a new and more accessible era of live coverage. Gone are the days of top-level chess being watchable only for the most dedicated to the game. With her co-hosts, GM David Howell and WGM Jovanaka Houska, Kaja anchored one of the most popular live chess broadcasts our sport has ever seen. And for good reason… At Chess24, Kaja was part of a team that worked hard to make chess more accessible and more exciting for the general public with its live coverage. In our chat, Kaja shares how they helped move chess into era with greater reach and relatability. We also discuss: More From Kaja: TwitterInstagram >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

093 An exciting new chess coach has hit the scene. NM Robert Ramirez has seen a huge growth in popularity in the past several years. Already, his YouTube channel has grown to 140K subscribers at the time of this episode. He’s launched two Chessable opening courses in the past year alone... And his coaching advice and videos are being shared all over Chess Twitter. As you watch his videos and listen to Robert speak, it’s no surprise. His advice is extremely helpful (he may have solved my time trouble woes in this episode alone.) And he has a calm, assuring charisma. In this episode, we discuss: More From Robert: YouTube channelChessable coursesWebsiteTwitter >> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)

092 It’s rare to see an adult chase a title and work full-time as a chess content creator. With passion and confidence, that’s exactly what this week’s guest, Elaynah, is doing with her chess life. It's an inspiring journey because, only two years ago, she was an absolute beginner who was beaten easily by her cousin at a Christmas party. Now? She’s rated 1800 Chess.com Rapid and has 22K followers for her chess Twitch channel - with both of those numbers quickly rising! In this episode, we chat: More From Elaynah: TwitchTwitterInstagramPodcast>> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)