Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Nate Solon. We had a lengthy chat about our chess experiences in 2022. I reflected on my progress, tournaments, ratings gains, and why I was successful after a year of plateauing. Nate reflected on his many chess projects and life changes that had him re-evaluating what chess success was in 2022. We also talked about our goals for 2023. Be sure to check ou...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Matthew. He’s a dedicated chess improver who picked up the game at 48. He initially struggled greatly, but with dedication and focused study, he has lifted his rating as high as 1900 USCF. Matthew spent a lot of time talking about the adult brain, its limitations, and how he has sought to overcome them. It was a wonderful interview for us older adult impro...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with James. He’s a busy lawyer and family man that makes time for chess nearly every day. We talked about having bare minimum goals such as the Chesscom daily puzzle. We discussed his emphasis on tactics training and move by move game collections. We spent the majority of our time discussing the North American Open. We talked about preparation, hotels, and our...

In part 2 of my conversation with Omar, we focused on preparing for your first chess tournament. We covered 3 categories, pre-tournament, during the tournament, and tournament etiquette. This spanned a wide range of topics such as taking notation, eating food, when to resign, and playing 3D games before a tournament. I posted a video covering this topic in more depth for anyone interested: Tips fo...

This week I spoke with Omar. We had an amazing almost 2 hour conversation. It seems best to split it over two episodes. In part 1, we focused on the last year of Omar’s journey. We spoke in detail about his approach to chess improvement diving into his obsession / addiction. We discussed his current approach of playing games rather than studying. We also talked about whether or not his chess obses...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke to Jesse. He’s a dedicated improver who joined during the Queen’s Gambit craze. We talked about his journey from strictly online blitz player to his current status as only playing OTB. Jesse carves out about an hour per day for study including mostly tactics and endgame work. He talked extensively about first OTB experiences and the importance of working with a...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Kamryn. She’s a recent college grad, who dedicates several hours a day to chess. She’s had a remarkable journey so far, climbing from about 700 - 1900 Rapid on Chesscom. We discussed her journey, plateaus, and goals. Kamryn referenced many resources (Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, 100 Endgames You Must Know) that assisted her journey. She also highlighted...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Joel about his chess experiences. Joel has been a chess book aficionado for much of his life. Joel talked about some unique approaches to chess learning. He uses history and stories to cement knowledge. Joel uses deep prep for online tournament opponents to solidify openings. Joel also has strong opinions on the importance of long games. Finally, Joel ende...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Noah. Noah and I discussed his chess journey, which includes a lot of OTB chess lately with the Texas Tech team. We discussed his method of improvement, which has been mostly tactics and videos. Noah also talked about the importance of coaching for his chess development. Be sure the check out the Chess Journeys Merch Store! You can support the show and loo...

This week on Chess Journeys, Zach from episode 22 makes his return. He talks extensively about his quick climb to 1800 and then devastating fall back to 1480! We talked about how he dealt with adversity and worked his way back to a new high of 1850. Zach recommended a number of resources such as Susan Polgar’s defensive book Learn Chess the Right Way, Book 3 and Survive and Thrive. It was a fascin...

This week on Chess Journeys, I'm joined by Jay. He's a returning improver. Both Jay and I have seen rating gain in the last few months. We took the opportunity to celebrate our gains together and share our thoughts on what helped us break through. We both provided a bunch of thoughts on playing high stakes games, the value of coaching, and fixing our holes (raising floors). We also talked about wh...

This week on Chess Journeys, I had the pleasure of talking to Martin Justesen of the Say Chess enterprise. We covered a wide range of topics such as how he has time for so many amazing projects! We discussed his chess journey, including a lengthy plateau at 1600. We discussed his books and his newest enterprise, the Chess Training Accountability Group. Overall, a great chat with a founder of the C...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Maurits. He talked about his improvement journey. We talked about his favorite resources such as Reassess Your Chess. We talked about how much time one should spend on openings. We also discussed his experiences with coaching and OTB play. Be sure to check out the Chess Journeys Merch Store! You can support the show and look amazing in the process. https:/...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Tai, or as he is better known, Chess By the Numbers. We had a great conversation about his journey and improvement. The three primary topics were starting a chess club, finding training partners, and turning chess knowledge into skill. Tai’s journey is like many of us, struggling to find time and people to play with. But Tai did the unusual, he started his...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with the legend himself Ben Johnson. Ben is the proprietor of the Perpetual Chess Podcast, How to Chess, and his new substack blog the Perpetual Chess Link-Fest https://benjohnson.substack.com/. The episode starts with a checkin on Ben’s improvement progress. It’s been an up and down journey for him during the last year. This week, we focused mostly on books. W...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Marcus. He’s a dedicated adult improver that made the leap from 1200-1900 Lichess in a short time. We talked about what worked and did not work for him. We talked about his success with Puzzle Storm and how it helped him cement chess knowledge into skill. Marcus talked about his experiences with Chessable and how he uses it for openings prep. He also desig...

This week on Chess Journeys, I was joined by Sam (@celestial_sam_). She has had a rapid rise from 800 to 1800 USCF. She credits much of her journey to regular OTB tournament play and working with coaches. She detailed her moments of triumph and disappointment in these tournaments. Sam has won events and had heartbreaking losses. I’m sure you will enjoy hearing about her journey. Be sure the check...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with William. Since 2019, he has gone from 1200 USCF to 2000! What a journey indeed. We talked about what worked for William on his journey. We delved deeply into topics such as videos, introspection, tournament play, calculation, and coaching. William has thought deeply about his own chess and does a great job clearly explaining his ideas about chess improveme...

This week on Chess Journeys, I’m joined by Rafael. We had a wonderful conversation delving into each of Rafael’s ratings gains. He shared the secrets of his improvement at each level. He started with Youtube, worked on Chessable, and found a coach. I hope you enjoy the episode! Be sure the check out the Chess Journeys Merch Store! You can support the show and look amazing in the process. https://c...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Raptor. We talked extensively about his attempts at programming himself to be an effective chess learner. We spent quite a bit of time discussing Chessable and the Chess Dojo program. Raptor is quite interested in endgames, and we discussed why he spends so much time with them, as well as recommendations for methods of studying endgames. Be sure the check...

This week on Chess Journeys, I talked to NM Craig Clawitter. He’s a full time chess teacher still trying to improve at chess. We discussed his journey from 1200 to 2000 in 3 years and the struggles it took to crack master. Craig provided many resources and tips from his own journey and from his role as a teacher. This was an especially fun episode for me because Craig and I were in the same chess...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Lindsey. We focused on her return to chess through OTB tournaments. She has a unique relationship with the Las Vegas events. We discussed her love of playing OTB, and why it’s so much more meaningful than online for her. We also talked about her goal of becoming a tournament director so that her area can have chess tournaments. We also discussed a wide ran...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Daniel. He’s an adult improver that started in 2020 at 100 blitz and is now 1400 rapid on Chess dot com. He was initially intrigued by Pog Champs and hooked by Daniel Naroditsky’s videos, which make chess look easy. We talked about a wide range of topics such as ratings anxiety, strategy books, and doing as much chess as you enjoy. Daniel attributes much o...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Matt. He’s a teacher and parent who makes time for chess improvement. We talked about how transitioning from a card game (Magic), and the variance that comes with it, made it easier to tolerate losing at chess. We discussed his improvement methods from 500 Chess dot com to 1700 Lichess. This included videos, playing, puzzles, and not many books. Matt is fi...

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke to Oddvar. We talked about his fascinating journey through chess which includes time as a chess boxer and facing Magnus Carlsen in many bullet games. The bulk of our conversation focused on how Oddvar is able to find balance in his life with chess, improvement, and real life. He has been able to find joy in the balance that he has established. Be sure the check...