The Chess Experience

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....

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 b...

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 C...

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:  How she uses he...

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...

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 Ma...

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 podcas...

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: Why pro chess players (outside the Top 50) can't make a living competing anymore? Can you create a certainty of wi...

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 p...

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 list...

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 foll...

091 This week’s guest, Emilia Castelao, approaches chess in rare but special ways. First, she’s making chess her career. Though not as a player, coach, or content creator. Instead, she’s pursuing a Ph. D in chess history. For most folks, that would take up a majority of their waking hours. Emila, however, has another major chess ambition. To improve the chess world for women. To that end, she rece...

 090 With natural charisma and exceptional chess skills, Dina Belenkaya is perfect for this new era of chess. A serious student of the game all her life, she competed professionally and earned the WGM title in 2016. In 2020, Dina began her new career as a streamer and content creator...  Just two years later, her popularity soared. Dina delivered bold and funny interviews with the world’s top play...

089  It’s rare to see an adult club player make a career in chess. This week’s guest, Ono, has done just that. He started like many of us: inspired to dive into the game after watching the Queen’s Gambit.  Which progressed into working studiously on his chess. Then, he embarked upon a chess blog, called The Ono Zono. Not long after the blog gained traction, Ono started coaching beginners. Since th...

088 Like many chess subjects, knowing what to study for strategy is a bit murky. Especially if you’re a semi-confused club player like myself. So, who better to chat with about this topic than an author who has written three books on the subject? Welcome today’s guest: IM Thomas Willemze. Over the past six years, Thomas has published three popular books and several courses on the subject of strate...

087 Rarely have I publicly reflected on my experiences from running this podcast. Or what I’ve learned from talking to so many titled players, coaches, and commentators. But it’s been a little over two years since the show’s launch. And it has recently crossed 250K downloads (woohoo!) To top it off, we’ve delivered eighty guest interviews and counting. So, I figured a little reflection was due. In...

086 She’s a rock star of chess accomlishments. WIM Natasha Regan has represented England in two chess Olympiads.  She’s co-authored two award-winning chess books with GM Matthew Sadler. And, in recent years, Natasha has co-created three Chessable courses on strategy. Even outside of chess, Natasha impresses. She earned a degree in mathematics from Cambridge University, has had a career as a profes...

085 GM Noël Studer is a fountain of superb chess advice. Many folks loved his first appearance on the show (Ep. 67.) And that’s why he’s here a second time! It’s rare and special to have a Grandmaster working hard to help club players improve their game. And, now, he even helps beginners. A former Swiss chess champion and the youngest GM ever from Switzerland... Noël has just released a comprehens...

084 Hungary has a rich history of producing chess stars. Even at the adult improver level, you have the impressive accomplishments of our guest, Kincső Toth. She’s already reached 1900 FIDE and is gunning for the Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title - which requires a 2100 rating plus norms. And she does this all while earning her computer engineering degree in Budapest. Kincső infuses even more chess in...

The life of a chess player is often emotional. There can be huge wins and the joy of learning, but also painful losses and sluggish improvement. Helping me gain new insights into how to address these challenges is clinical psychologist and co-host of the ChessFeels podcast, Julia Rios. Julia combines her professional knowledge with her chess experience to offer some brilliant insights into “chess...

082 Many adult improvers ask this question at least once: Should I get a chess coach? This episode is designed to help you figure out what to look for in a coach and how to maximize the experience. Helping me discuss this topic is IM Yuriy Krykun. Yuriy is a well-known course creator with Chessable, and a superb coach who’s helped countless students. In this episode, we cover:  What are some of th...

Renowned chess coach and co-founder of the Chess Dojo, IM Kostya Kavutskiy, returns to the podcast! Previously, we talked mostly about how to read annotated game books (Episode 17). This time, we cover a wide variety of topics. Including: What new insights the Chess Dojo has learned on helping adult improvers from running their online membership, called “Training Program.” Kostya’s recent OTB tour...

080 What can you learn from a year of coaching from one of the world’s best chess coaches More than can ever be packed into a single podcast episode! BUT we cover the top five lessons I learned from IM Andras Toth - with Andras doing a deep dive into each one. Andras is an extraordinary chess coach. He has a YouTube channel full of entertaining videos on powerful chess improvement help. Plus, he h...

079 Sometimes a passion for chess runs so deep you want to make it your life. That’s the story of South Africa’s WIM Charlize van Zyl. While she earned the WIM at just age 13, she didn’t fully realize her passion for the game until she left it for five years and then returned to it as an adult. From there, she earned her way to multiple Chess Olympiads and is now gunning for the WGM title. Plus, s...