64: A Chess Podcast

64: A Chess Podcast is back, after a brief hiatus! On this episode I was joined by British National Master Dan Gallagher. Dan experienced a lot of success in their youth as a tournament chess player. Dan recently claimed their National Master title and is currently grinding for the FM title, looking to play in the British League and in Hastings this year. Outside of chess, Dan is finishing a philo...

IM Kostya Kavutskiy has basically done it all in the chess world. He is an active tournament player, has written for chess magazines, authored a book on the Open Sicilian, and has coached many, many students across all skill levels. He is also an accomplished streamer who has been at it on Twitch for a few years! Last year, IM Kavutskiy created the "Chess Dojo" as a means of gathering chess improv...

WGM Jennifer Shahade is a two-time US Women's Champion, an all-star commentator for top-flight chess events, an avid podcaster for both chess and poker, a published author, and an icon for gender equality in our game. In fact, had I not watched Jennifer (along with GMs Maurice Ashley, Yasser Seirawan, and Cristian Chirila) commentate the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017 with such enthusiasm and insi...

WGM Dina Belenkaya is an active tournament player, chess commentator, and streamer. As a player, she has won the St. Petersburg Chess Championship four times, and has played in several European Championships and World Cups (including in 2021!). As a commentator, she has provided commentary for the Online Olympiad, Corporate Chess Championship, and even official commentary for the FIDE broadcast of...

Geert van der Velde is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of Chessable and Vice President of Content at the Play Magnus Group (NOTE: Play Magnus Group owns Aimchess which sponsors this podcast). Before working full-time as a chess company executive, Geert experienced some notable success in the music world as the vocalist of the metalcore band Shai Hulud in the late 90s and early 00s. Over the last f...

NM Jeremy Kane is the Curriculum Director on Chess.com, the largest chess website in the world. He has worked with top grandmasters and chess personalities on curating and developing lessons which millions of users have utilized to improve their chess. Jeremy is also a chess coach, an alumnus of the University of Chicago, and a one-time alternate player for the Chicago Blaze, which played in the s...

Aaron Thompson is the Director of Outreach for Chess in Slums, a volunteer-driven non-profit started by Tunde Onakoya to enrich the lives of children in Nigeria who face economic adversity. He spent several years as a tournament director in the United States, but is working with Chess in Slums to promote their initiatives and to attract their sponsors. I was introduced to their work a few months a...

In May 2021, WIM Jesse February won the Women's African Individual Championship, just the second South African player to win the tournament ever. Taking first place in this tournament means that Jesse will be awarded the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title if she reaches 2100 rating. In just a few days, Jesse will compete for the World Cup in Sochi, Russia. She also streams with WCM Rebecca Selkirk on t...

Based in Boston, MA, GM Eugene Perelshteyn has done it all in the American chess world. He has competed in virtually every major tournament in the United States (World Open, U.S. Open, etc.), even finishing in 4th place at the 2008 US Championship. He has coached many students, from relatively new players to titled players. He is a published chess author, writing a complete repertoire for White an...

Max Farberov is an USCF expert-level chess player from New Jersey. He has been coaching chess for several years and is trying to grind towards the National Master title. On this episode of 64, I spoke to Max about his recent tournament success at the Cherry Blossom Classic. We talked broadly about chess improvement and about OTB chess, including things that any player can do to start making gains...

John Hartmann is the CIO and Editor of Chess Life Magazine, and has spent nearly a decade reviewing chess books and writing articles for the magazine. He even does a podcast for the US Chess Federation with the subject of Chess Life's cover each month! John was gracious enough to share an hour of his time with me in what has been my favorite interview to date on this week's episode of "64". We tal...

David Llada is one of the most prolific chess photographers in history, who has documented the highest levels of chess across the planet over the last two decades. As a former journalist and deeply devoted chess fan, he has poured his soul into forging friendships with chess players and into promoting the sport. On this week's episode of 64, I spoke to David about a wide range of topics, such as t...

We start off the month of May by interviewing Chicago's very own NM Gopal Menon. Gopal is a jack-of-all-trades in the chess world, serving as a second for a grandmaster, coaching students, and will soon be a published chess author! Gopal is currently writing a chess book, and we discuss the process of compiling chess positions and composing chess literature. We talk about the differences between s...

JJ Lang is the resident philosopher of Chess Twitter. He splits his time finishing his PhD dissertation in philosophy at Stanford University, and teaching chess to students online. On this episode of 64, JJ and I preview the Candidates Tournament in Russia, and make predictions on who will win. JJ talks about his love for philosophy, and its roots in chess. JJ explains how studying in New York imp...

Derek Wilder has used his chess knowledge and his inspirational spirit to guide Walter Chrysler Elementary School's chess team to several state and national championships. Three years ago, Derek worked on a chess documentary, "Why We Play", which highlighted the careers of Detroit's best chess players; after watching that documentary, I knew I had to learn more about Detroit's chess world. On this...

As a Super-Admin for the US Chess team in the Live Chess World League (LCWL), NM Derek Zhang is currently trying to lead America out of the 2nd division and into the top division of the LCWL. Today, David interviews NM Zhang about fair play in online chess, the Florida chess scene, the future of chess in America, and on drawing inspiration from Daniil Dubov. NM Zhang's improvement from a beginner...

GM Ori Kobo wears many hats. He is one of the strongest players in Israel, and recently delivered a strong performance in the Israeli Chess Championship. Beyond the chessboard, he is a student of psychology, and he is also a prolific chess coach, who has not only coached strong players in Israel, but is also MY chess coach! On this episode of 64, I discuss GM Kobo's chess career in brief; from the...

Detroit native James Canty III has been grinding chess for his entire life. His ultimate goal is to become the first black grandmaster born in America, and has been working meticulously on his game to get there. Canty used success at the Millionaire Chess Open tournament to revive his chess career and now works full-time as a chess content creator. He is also an up-and-coming Twitch streamer, rece...