Let's talk about chess

In this episode, the last one about the Candidates Tournament 202X, Eric talks (again) to GM Jon Tisdall. They discuss the Candidates Tournament 202X, the winner with the unspeakable name, the right format to qualify, wildcards, the retirement of GM Wang Hao, GM Peter Leko being the decisive factor in the Candidates and the upcoming World Championship in Dubai. And yes, they managed to pronounce the name of the winner, GM Yan Nepomniachtchi! Enjoy this new episode. Jonathan D. Tisdall (born August 26, 1958 in Buffalo, New York) is a chess grandmaster (title awarded 1993) and works as a freelance journalist. An American citizen by origin, he became Irish and later Norwegian. He was Norwegian Chess Champion in 1987, 1991 and 1995. Jon also acted as a team captain for the Norwegian team and witnessed the rise and development of his compratiot, chess world champion Magnus Carlsen. His book "Improve your chess now" from 1997 is a modern classic.

In episode 28, Eric talks to chess historian Douglas Griffin, who is a chess author/blogger, translator, and an indispensable source of historical chess perspective on “chess twitter”. He is particularly interested and knowledgeable about chess in the Soviet Union and has a very interesting blog. Over the course of the past 15 years he has translated the annotations to a great many games from classic Soviet-era books and periodicals such as 'Chess in the U.S.S.R' and '64', many of which have never been published in the West. In October 2019, Quality Chess published his translation of Grigory Levenfish's memoir and in the podcast Douglas reveals that some more interesting work and translations will be published later this year! Douglas played with Vishy Anand and Vasik Ivanchuk in the World Youth Championship in Sharjah, in 1985. In the podcast, Eric and Doug, both born in 1967, talk about chess history in general, chess books, the history of the Candidates Tournament, and much more! Another very enjoyable and relaxed talk about...chess!

In episode 27 of the podcast, which is another special "Candidates Storytellers" episode, Eric talks to one of the best and most famous chess journalists in the world: Leontxo Garcia Olasagasti (1956), who is a Spanish lecturer, presenter, commentator and journalist specialized in chess. Tireless chess propagandist, Leontxo promotes the teaching of this game to both children (in Spanish schools and abroad and adults. "Regular chess exercise improves brain aging and may even be useful in preventing Alzheimer's and other senile dementias", he says. Leontxo Garcia was awarded a medal for sporting achievements in Spain, he is included in FIDE's Golden Book for his services to chess, he was given an award by the University of Oviedo for exceptional efforts in promoting culture and he was recognised with a national chess award. Today, Leontxo Garcia remains one of the leading chess journalists in Europe, who attends all the major contemporary competitions. “Chess is a golden mine practically unexplored by the press!” the famous observer likes to remark. And: he is one of the nicest persons in the chess business.

In episode 26, Eric talks to his compatriot Lennart Ootes. He is well known for the marvellous pictures he makes during chess tournaments. However, Lennart is an allrounder and he calls himself an creative chess professional. Lennart has a passion for chess coverage. Since 2012 he has provided services for chess events, including many of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. By attending over 25 tournaments a year, Lennart is the most experienced chess broadcaster on the circuit.  Nowadays, Lennart works freelance for chess tournaments, chess websites and other publishers of digital media. For many tournaments, he combines his work as a DGT board operator with photography.  In 2018 Lennart was awarded as Chess Photographer of the Year by the Russian Chess Federation.  In 2020 he was also present at the Candidates Tournament 2020 in Yekaterinburg and he has many stories to tell from that event. He will also be in Russia for the second part of the event to take pictures.    

In this episode, Eric talks to GM Elshan Moradiabadi. He is a chess grandmaster who was born in Tehran, Iran, and is a naturalized citizen of the US. Elshan was one of the top two players in Iran between 2003-2016. He moved to the US in 2012, where he participated in several US collegiate chess events, having won the Final Four in 2012 and 2015 Pan Americans with Texas Tech University’s chess team. He won the prestigious Rilton Cup in Stockholm, Sweden in 2020.  Moradiabadi co-authored two chess books: “Chess and the Art of War: Ancient Wisdom to Make You a Better Player” with Al Lawrence and "Sherlock's Method - the working tool for the club player", with his partner WGM Sabina Foisor. Eric interviewed her in episode 10.  Elshan has coached the US Junior national team, US Open national team, Iran’s Junior national team, and over 350 individuals in the past 10 years. Eric and Elshan talk about chess in Iran, his work as a coach and author and the upcoming Candidates Tournament. And why does Elshan like to wear hats? 

In this episode, Eric talks to WGM Dr. Jana Krivec (1980). She is a Slovene chess player, Woman Grandmaster and Slovenian woman champion in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and in 2009. She played in 11 Chess Olympiads for her country Slovenia.  In this episode Eric and Jana talk about her career and her book "Improve your life by playing a game", published by Thinkers Publishing in 2021.  Jana Krivec graduated from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Ljubljana in 2004, where she successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled "Cognitive Information Processing: the Case of Chess" in 2011. In 2004 she worked with the Faculty of Computer and Information Science on a project in which researchers developed a program for automatic annotation of a chess game. She was a researcher at the Department of Intelligent Systems at Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana in the field of artificial intelligence. Her work was presented at several international conferences and published in scientific publications.

In this episode, Eric continues his conversation with the Indian number two of Indian chess: Super Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna (1986) from India. In this episode Eric and Hari talk about the first book Harikrishna wrote, "Beat the French with 3. Nc3". Hari explains that it is not only a book about the French Defence, but also a book about general opening principles, strategies and he explains that is is not always useful to pick the best computer move and to trust your instincts. There is a lot of text in the book, which makes it interesting for a wide range of players. The book was published by Thinkers Publishing. LTAC recommended! However, there is another amazing story Hari has in store for us: he tells about his meeting with the legend of all legends, Bobby Fischer. He met him in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2006. Don't miss it! Pentala Harikrishna became the youngest grandmaster from India on 12 September 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior Champion in 2004 and Asian Individual Champion in 2011. Pentala won the Tata Steel Group B in 2012 and the Biel MTO Masters Tournament Open event in 2013. He represented India at seven Chess Olympiads from 2000 to 2012 and won team Bronze at the World Team Chess Championships in 2010. At the Asian Team Championships, Pentala won team gold once, team silver twice and individual bronze once. In July 2020, he won with 5.5 points out of 7 games the Chess960 event, that was part of the chess tournament in Biel. He also represented India in the Online Olympiad 2020 where India won the gold medal along with Russia. In February 2013, Pentala's FIDE rating passed 2700 for the first time. He broke into the top ten players in the world in November 2016 with a FIDE rating of 2768. His current rating (February 2021) is 2730.  Do you like LTAC? Consider to support the podcast:  https://steadyhq.com/de/letstalkaboutchess/about ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this episode Eric talks to the Indian number two of Indian chess: Super Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna (1986) from India about the TATA Steel Chess Tournament 2021. Hari, as he is often called, played for the 8th time in Wijk aan Zee. He tells us how it was to play the first super tournament of 2021 in COVID conditions. He tells us a bit how it was to be tested before every rest day, to be in quarantaine before the event and of course about his games. He scored 50% in the event, after a good start. Harikrishna also has something to say about the Firouzja case and the tie-breaks. Eric and Hari also talk about the first event he played in, back in 2001, in which he shared the stage with players like Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Ivanchuk. In the 2021 edition, Hari was the oldest player!  Pentala Harikrishna became the youngest grandmaster from India on 12 September 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior Champion in 2004 and Asian Individual Champion in 2011. Pentala won the Tata Steel Group B in 2012 and the Biel MTO Masters Tournament Open event in 2013. He represented India at seven Chess Olympiads from 2000 to 2012 and won team Bronze at the World Team Chess Championships in 2010. At the Asian Team Championships, Pentala won team gold once, team silver twice and individual bronze once. In July 2020, he won with 5.5 points out of 7 games the Chess960 event, that was part of the chess tournament in Biel. He also represented India in the Online Olympiad 2020 where India won the gold medal along with Russia. In February 2013, Pentala's FIDE rating passed 2700 for the first time. He broke into the top ten players in the world in November 2016 with a FIDE rating of 2768. His current rating (February 2021) is 2730.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this last episode of the "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers", Eric talks to his compratiot GM Loek van Wely, who played 25 times in the highest group in Wijk aan Zee. He played the most games on the highest level in the history of the event and shares the record with the legendary GM Jan-Hein Donner: 297 games! Loek debuted in 1990 though , in the B group and in that tournament he lost to all the three Polgar sisters!  In this episode "KingLoek" , as he is often called, talks about his best games, the rivalry between Dutch players like Van der Wiel, Piket and Timman, the famous football matches on the restdays and other Wijk aan Zee stories. He also has a fun story to tell about the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit". When watching an episode, he suddenly recognized a game that he played in the 2000 edition of the tournament in Wijk aan Zee against GM and former world champion Garry Kasparov.  Loek van Wely (1972) is a Dutch chess player and politician. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1993, and was rated among the world's top ten in 2001 with a rating of 2714. In March 2019, he was elected to the Dutch Senate. He has won the Dutch Chess Championship on eight occasions: six consecutive times from 2000 through 2005, in 2014 and in 2017. Van Wely participated in the elite tournament held in Wijk aan Zee (originally named Hoogovens, then Corus, now Tata Steel) 25 times, consecutively from 1992 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2017. His best result occurred in 2003, when he shared fourth place with Alexei Shirov, Alexander Grischuk, Vassily Ivanchuk and Vladimir Kramnik scoring 7 out of 13 points. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

In this fourth episode of the "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers" series, Eric talks to GM Ivan Sokolov, who played twelve times in the highest group of the tournament in Wijk aan Zee, in which he played 134 games. He played his most famous game in 1999 in Wijk aan Zee against GM Garry Kasparov, who was in the lead with 7,5/8 and had just played one of the most spectacular games ever against Veselin Topalov. However, Sokolov crushed Kasparov in round 9 and shocked Kasparov and the chess world. He talks a bit about that game, but there are other, sometimes hilarious stories to tell. Sokolov also talks about the 2021 edition of the event and tells us why he is not surprised that the youngsters play such a great tournament this year. Ivan Sokolov (1968) is a Bosnian-born Dutch chess player, coach and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM) by FIDE in 1987. Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship and in 1995 and 1998 the Dutch Championship. The former world top player defeated no less than 6 world champions.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this new episode of the Wijk aan Zee Storytellers, Eric talks to GM Ian Rogers (1960), mainly about his debut in WIjk aan Zee in 1977, where he met the best players of the era for the very first time. He has a story to tell about the great Dutch chess world champion GM Max Euwe. Ian also remembers the greatest game he ever saw in Wijk, and it is not the game Kasparov-Topalov! We talk about the crazy game Bellon vs. Jamieson from the B-group in 1977. "Two cavemen going at each other. That's the sort of chess I'm happy to see".   Rogers is the first Australian-raised chess grandmaster and he attained the Grandmaster title in 1985 after becoming an International Master in 1980. He was Australia's highest-rated player for over twenty years, and represented Australia at fourteen Chess Olympiads (twelve of them on first board).  Throughout his competitive career and more so since his retirement from competitive chess in July 2007, Rogers has reported on many tournaments for various media outlets, with photographic assistance from his wife Cathy Rogers.  Rogers was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 1996 Australia Day Honours for his service to chess. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Does this man still need an introduction? Eric talks to five-time world champion GM Viswanathan Anand (1969) from India about the tournament he won five times: in 1989, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2006. Anand played 20 times in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands in which he played 247 games (the most number of games by a non-Dutchman) and won 75 games, making him the number two on the all-time Wijk aan Zee list. Only the legendary Dutch GM Jan-Hein Donner won more games (85).  Vishy talks about his first visit to The Netherlands in 1989 in which he debuted in Wijk aan Zee. He tells us what it was like to walk through the streets of the small village, being perplexed by the open curtains of the villagers. Since the five-time winner played so many games in Wijk aan Zee, he tells to the listeners which are his personal favourites. And he has some good news: he would love to be back in WIjk aan Zee in 2022, when the pandemic allows it.  Enjoy this relaxed talk about a great tournament with one of the legends of the game: GM Vishy Anand.  

This is the first episode of the "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers". Eric talks to GM John van der Wiel (1959) from The Netherlands, who participated no less than 28 (!) times in the tournament in Wijk aan Zee. The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in January in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. It was called the Hoogovens tournament from its creation in 1938 until the sponsor Koninklijke Hoogovens merged with British Steel to form the Corus Group in 1999, after which the tournament was called the Corus chess tournament. Corus Group became Tata Steel Europe in 2007. Despite the name changes, the series is numbered sequentially from its Hoogovens beginnings. In 2021, the 83. edition was played.  Since there are a lot of stories to tell about the tournament, Eric decided to invite a few former players and winners to the podcast to ask about their memories of this remote little village on the Dutch coast, that became "The Wimbledon of Chess". 

In this episode, Eric talks to his compratiot, the tournament director of the TATA Steel Chess Tournament, 58-year old Dutchman Jeroen van den Berg. Jeroen has not missed a single day in Wijk aan Zee since 1984, which was the first time Jeroen played a role in the tournament as a board boy and member of the press team. In 1999, the Dutchman became the tournament director of the tournament in WIjk aan Zee, and followed in the steps of the legendary Piet Zwart, who had been the TD for 45 years. 1999 was the year in which one of the most legendary games ever was played, the game Kasparov-Topalov, which is called "The Pearl of Wijk aan Zee".  Jeroen tells us about this legendary game and Kasparov and has many more stories to tell.  My guest also tells us something about the COVID - safe edition of 2021, which is challenging for him and his team. Jeroen tells us about the authorities that are involved in the process. The  tournament director also reveals some information about the online activities that are planned for the amateur players, who cannot come to Wijk aan Zee to play one of the famous "vierkampen" or "tienkampen". It is an lovely interview with the organizer of the "Wimbledon of Chess", Jeroen van den Berg. 

This is the second part of the interview with IM Venkat Saravanan from Chennai. In this spisode, Eric and Saravanan chat about the best chess books of the year 2020. Saravanan loves chess books and there are two very popular videos on You Tube, made by IM Sagar Shah of ChessBase India, in which Saravanan shows his personal chess books collection and gives advice which chess books should be read by ambitious chess players. In this episode Eric and Saravanan discuss about two great books about and by Vishy Anand (The Anand Files and Mind Master). Saravanan also tells us how difficult it is to buy affordable chess books in India.  Books that are mentioned in this episode: Hendriks - On the origin of good moves, Gelfand - Technical Decision Making and Decision making in major pieces endgames, Daniel King - Sultan Khan, Stuart Rachels - The best I saw in chess, Alexander Münninghoff - Hein Donner, Dvoretzky & Müller - DEM - 5th edition, Bezgodov - Defend like Petrosian, Karolyi - Petrosian year by year 1942-1962, Soltis - Magnus Carlsen 60 memorable games, Navara - My chess world, Keith Arkell - Arkell's endings, Timman - Timman's Triumphs, Nikitin- Vasiukov and Coaching Kasparov 1982-1990, Donaldson- Fischer and his world, Terekhov- Life and games of Vassily Smyslov, Smirin - Sicilian Warfare, Negi - 1.e4 vs. the minor defences.   

In this episode, part 1 of a long interview, Eric talks to IM Venkatchalam Saravanan from Chennai, India. He is an International Master and has been an active chess player in the Indian circuit, and has been consistently writing on chess since late 1980s. He turned complete chess professional in 2012, actively playing and being a second and mentor to a handful of Indian players. Saravanan is Secretary of Chess Players Forum (India). He reports on chess tournaments, occasionally being a correspondent to national newspapers and news channels. In this episode, he talks with Eric about the Chess Year 2020, with the highlights being the Candidates Tournament, Online Chess, stand-up comedian Samay Raina, the Online Chess Olympiad, the upcoming Vishy Anand biopic and much more! In part 2 Eric and Saravanan talk about the best chess books of 2020! 

In this episode Eric talks to German Chess Grandmaster Thomas Luther (1969). He is a three times German Champion (1992, 2002, 2006) and won a silver Olympic Medal at the Chess Olympiad 2000 in Istanbul. Luther, who suffers from dysmelia, is the chairman in the FIDE Commission for the Disabled. He speaks about the first Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, which was played from 20.11.2020-03.12.2020. Poland won, ahead of Russia and the Ukraine. He also talks about his own career and his why chess was a key for him to succeed in life. "Chess is the only all-inclusive sport", explains Thomas. Luther is also a prolific writer of chess books. Some of his book are translated into English,, like "Luthers Chess Reformation", Chess Coaching for Kids-the U10 project, the Thinker's Chess Acadamy volume 1 &2 and he talks about his new project "Handbook for chess trainers (in German).   

In this episode Eric talks about computerchess with computer chess programmer Stefan Meyer-Kahlen, from Düsseldorf Germany. Eric and Stefan met for the first time in 2000 for an interview for the Dutch magazine Computerschaak. Shredder Chess is run by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen who works on Shredder since 1993. The Shredder chess programs are commercially available since 1997 and have been sold in many different versions in more than 100 countries over the years. Today Shredder is one of the most famous names in computer chess and is used by chess players from beginners to world champions all over the world. The Shredder chess programs by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen provide a game playing and analysis tool for everybody and are accepted as one of the best chess programs of the world. Since 1996 Shredder has won nineteen titles as World Computer Chess Champion which makes Shredder the most successful chess program ever. Shredder 13 was released in 2016, but Stefan will be back with version 14 of his program in 2021. He has implemented many new ideas in his engine. In this episode, he talks about the early days of his engine, working with GM Vladimir Kramnik, cheating in chess and his ideas for the future.   

In this episode, Eric talks to 79-year old Mr. Allan Scott, one of the executive producers and creators of the Netflix hit series "The Queen's Gambit, the series that made it to the Top 10 in 90 countries and was ranked #1 in 63 countries. The filmmaker and writer Allan Scott had been attempting to sell his script for The Queen’s Gambit to studios for 30 years before it finally got made. Eric talks with Mr. Scott about this long process and the many directors that wanted to make the movie, like Bernardo Bertolucci, Tom Tykwer and Heath Ledger. The two also talk about former chess world champion Garry Kasparov, who was one of the chess consultants, the splendid locations in Berlin and about the book by Walter Tevis.  And: is there going to be a second season? What will happen next to Beth Harmon? It's a fascinating exclusive interview with Mr. Allan Scott providing a lot of new background information about The Queen's Gambit. 

In this episode Eric talks to WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor, a Romanian-American chess player who competed in the Women's World Chess Championship in 2008 and 2017. Sabina won the women's US Championship in 2017. She works as a chess coach and in October 2020 her first book  "Sherlock's Method - the working tool for the Club Player" was published by Thinkers Publishing. She wrote the book together with her fiancee GM Elshan Moradiabadi. Sabina and Eric chat about the Netflix Series "The Queen's Gambit", the emotional year 2017, online chess, her idol world champion GM Magnus Carlsen and of course about the book "Sherlock's Method".

In this episode Eric talks to the Russian grandmaster Andrey Deviatkin. Andrey decided to quit his chess career a couple of years ago, because he wanted to try something else: Chess960. But why did Andrey stop playing "traditional chess"? He said: "I understood that chess has become an absolutely different game from the one I have played in my childhood and youth. The computer has changed it dramatically. I have been working hard to become a chess grandmaster, but now my interest is over". Enough to talk about in this episode! 

Jesús Medina Molina launched “Urban Chess” in 2018, a social initiative in the Netherlands to place public chess tables in city parks. In March that year, the first three public tables were inaugurated in Máxima Park in Utrecht. Two and a half years later, 17 Dutch municipalities have followed already, and his initiative has already received words of endorsement from chess personalities like Anish Giri, as well as Judit and Susan Polgar. Eric talks to Jesús about his project in The Netherlands, which has also caused attention in other countries who are interested in "Urban Chess". Jesús explains what a chess court is, how to approach municipalities and what is needed to place a chess court in your city. How much does a chess tabe cost and where to get them? Can we play chess during the Covid-19 pandemic? And what is his ultimate goal? 

In this episode your host Eric van Reem does not only talk about chess, but also about music with the Icelandic musician Hjörtur Ingvi Jóhannsson. He is the keyboard player of the band Hjaltalín, and he is active in the country's music scene as an independent songwriter and arranger. Hjörtur wrote songs for the movie Autumn Lights, and one of those songs, "Seconds", was shortlisted for nomination to the Oscars 2017. Eric also talks to his father, legendary Grandmaster Jóhan Hjartarson about chess, music and Bobby Fischer. 

In this episode, Eric talks to his compratiot IM Merijn van Delft, born in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands on 13.03.1979 about his new book "Mastering Positional Sacrifices: A Practical Guide to a Vital Skill in Chess", published by New in Chess in the summer of 2020. Since Merijn is incredibly active in the chess world as a trainer, organizer, tournament director, commentator and promoter of chess, there is a lot to talk about. Merijn also reveals something about a completely new chess project called ChessFellow. And: we finally learn what the "Bronstein Suite" is! Enjoy.   

In this fifth episode of the podcast, Eric continues his conversation with three time Norwegian champion GM Jonathan Tisdall. In the previous episode, Jon told us some great insider stories from the eighties and in this episode, Eric and Jon talk about the current state of affairs in the world of chess, the popularity of online chess, Chess960 and other variants. Jon also reveals who will be his favourite to win the Candidate Tournament in 2020 and his plans to write a new book. 

I this fourth episode Eric talks to Jonathan D. Tisdall. Jon (born August 26, 1958 in Buffalo, New York) is a chess grandmaster (title awarded 1993) and works as a freelance journalist. An American citizen by origin, he became Irish and later Norwegian. He was Norwegian Chess Champion in 1987, 1991 and 1995. Combining chess with his job as a journalist, he often attends major chess events. In the eighties, he was one of the few Western journalists during the never-ending Kasparov vs. Karpov matches, later he worked as a second for GM Jonathan Speelman during the Candidate Matches. He also acted as a team captain for the Norwegian team and witnessed the rise and development of his compratiot, chess world champion Magnus Carlsen. His book "Improve your chess now" from 1997 is a modern classic. 

In this third episode, Eric talks to another interesting guest about computer chess, Alpha Zero and chess variants. Deep Mind, the artificial intelligence company that shocked the world of chess  with Alpha Zero in December 2017, released a new scientific paper in September 2020, called: „Assessing game balance with Alpha Zero: exploring alternative rules sets in chess". Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen, who is the coach of chess world champion Magnus Carlsen, knows a lot about chess engines and chess variants, and gives us his opinion about the paper. But there is more to talk about: the Bongcloud opening, online chess, Chess960 and more. Enjoy! 

In this second episode, Eric talks with Tony Rich, the executive director of the Saint Louis Chess Club about the Chess9LX and the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2020 tournaments. He also talks about the Covid-19 measures the Saint Louis Chess Club and the World Chess Hall of Fame had to take and how the pandemic influences the after-school chess program. 

An interview with the Indian Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly, in which he talks about his career, his new You Tube Channel and his work as a second for former chess world champion Vishy Anand.