Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement

81:09

Ep. 295 Kyle (1900 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/10/01

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Kyle. We talked about his improvement journey and love for chess. Kyle started pre pandemic with videos and joy. He continued playing looking at openings, endings, and not many puzzles. We talked about chess coaching and how it influences his chess. We talked about chess marriage and what having a chess partner brings to his chess. Finally, we talked about his positive attitude when winning or losing.https://chessalyz.ai/?ref=DrScull - 50% off for 3

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35:19

Ep. 294 Charlie (1700 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/09/24

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Charlie. He gained 1000 rating points over the last 7 years!! We talked about the secret of his success. It primarily lies in playing chess. He’s also watched many Youtube videos both passively and actively. Now he’s wrestling with how to become more disciplined as he makes the next climb to 1800 and beyond.https://chessalyz.ai/?ref=DrScull - 50% off for 3 months Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin chess-journeys.com - The podcast has a

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70:12

Ep. 293 Varun (1500 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/09/17

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Varun. We talked about his massive decision to retire and go chess full time. He talked about his progress since retiring and his motivation for the decision. We discussed coaching and his favorite resources. We talked about the joy of great tournaments and the pain of bad ones. We also discussed his chess website Chessalyz.https://chessalyz.ai/?ref=DrScull - 50% off for 3 months Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin chess-journeys.com - The podcast has a

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30:27

Ep. 292 Bonus Episode: Southern California Open

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/09/14

This week on Chess Journeys, I recap my recent Southern California Open. It wasn't quite the crowning cap on the summer that I hoped it would be. But lessons were learned and chess was played. So it wasn't all bad. Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin chess-journeys.com - The podcast has a website! Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My Chessable

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63:41

Ep. 291 Don (1350 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/09/10

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Don. He’s been having fun with chess since his first experiences in the 1970’s. We talked about the challenges of finding playing partners and improving at chess before the internet. We discussed the many clubs Don has attended over the years, including his favorite the St. Louis Chess Club. Don collects autographs and he told some stories about this process. We talked a bit about improvement, but this isn’t an obsession for Don in the last few years. This

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72:00

Ep. 290 CM Dr. Can (Chessable, Youtube, Podcaster)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/09/03

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with CM Dr. Can Kabadayi. Dr. Can does it all in chess. He applies his work as a cognitive scientist to his chess teaching. We discussed lessons learned from his cognitive work. Dr. Can talked about his favorite Chessable courses and his approach to making them. We talked about the best resources for adult improvement, if adults can improve, and differences between children and adult learners. In short, we covered a lot of ground regarding adult chess

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68:51

Ep. 289 Mike (2000 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/08/27

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Mike. Mike loves to play chess, compete, and travel. Retirement has allowed him to do all of these things in chess. He talked about his early chess days, which culminated in the NM title. But we focused more on his return to chess. We discussed international events and his desire to play (196 games in a year!) We talked about the challenges of improvement, senior tournaments, and kids in chess. This was a great interview for anyone wanting to hear from

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39:47

Ep. 288 Q’wayne (1780 Lichess)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/08/20

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Q’wayne. He talked about resources that have helped me along his journey. We discussed the Jamaican chess scene and the goal of creating another grandmaster. Q’wayne talked about his improvement plans including tactics and rapid games. We had a fun chat about online titles, especially the fide arena titles.Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin chess-journeys.com - The podcast has a website! Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack:

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28:55

Ep. 287 Bonus Episode: Pacific Coast Open Recap

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/08/17

This week, I'm recapping the Pacific Coast Open. It took place in early August 2026. It was one of my few great tournament successes. Hopefully, you enjoy the positivity of this one.Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin chess-journeys.com - The podcast has a website! Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My Chessable Course! https://www.chessable.com/chess-journeys-tactics-workbook-turning-knowledge-into-skill/course/268850/ Chessnut Link/Code:

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55:26

Ep. 286 Jess (1771 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/08/13

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Jess about her journey from 1500 to nearly 1800 in just this summer alone. We discussed her training, which includes mostly studying and OTB chess. Jess talked about the challenges and benefits of improving at chess with autism. She detailed her new thought process and corralling her brain. We also discussed why she enjoys chess coaching so much. Jess is an especially impressive adult improver who picked up the game as an adult.chess-journeys.com - The

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68:38

Ep. 285 Summer of Chess with Jay Garrison (1900 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/08/06

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with friend of the show Jay Garrison about our chess summers. Jay’s was full of interesting activities like the Naroditsky Memorial Tournament and the Charlotte Chess Center elite camp. He played a lot of blitz, did tactics, and worked on calculation. Jay played in two classical events that weren’t the success stories that he hoped they would be. My summer was full of plugging gaps in my knowledge/skill regarding attacking and defending chess, openings, and

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29:25

Ep. 284 Bonus Episode: Happiness, Ratings, and Titles

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/08/03

In this bonus episode, I discuss ratings, their, role and how we deal with them. I suggested some proposals to adjust the current system. I also discussed titles, and my ideas for adding new titles. I'd love to hear what you all think about my ideas.Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My Chessable

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75:05

Ep. 283 Joel Returns (1800 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/30

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Joel. He is a returning guest from episode 23 (4.5 years ago). We talked about where he was then, rated about 1600, and what he was doing to improve. We spent most of the episode talking about his current training program, running a chess club, and helping his children enjoy chess. Joel has adopted a more simplistic approach to training, which has netted him 200 rating points! He talked about the joy of running a chess club and how to start one. It was fun

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54:39

Ep. 282 Mark (1796 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/23

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Mark. We talked about the challenge of balancing family and chess improvement. We discussed his concise training plan. Mark talked about confidence and momentum, how it helped him to recent success. Mark uses Chesstempo for calculation and credits it for much of his improvement. We also discussed the role of blitz in chess improvement for addressing the realities of time scarcity.Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out

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82:24

Ep. 281 Diego (1700 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/16

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Diego. He had a quick rise from 1200-1700 in two years of OTB play. However, lately his career is making chess improvement and playing OTB more challenging. We talked about resources that he used for his rise. Diego discussed solving his time trouble issues. We chatted about balancing work, chess, and improvement. Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My Chessable

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27:29

Ep. 280 Bonus Episode: Pacific Southwest Open...

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/13

This week on Chess Journeys, I recap my time at the Pacific Southwest Open. I went 2/5 against tough competition. Good times were had. Calculations errors happened. Attacks were not well defended. Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My Chessable Course! https://www.chessable.com/chess-journeys-tactics-workbook-turning-knowledge-into-skill/course/268850/ Chessnut Link/Code: Code -

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66:58

Ep. 279 Luca Returns (2000 USCF)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/09

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Luca. He is returning to the podcast after a successful year of improvement. Since we last spike, he has gained over 100 points and crossed 2000! We discussed the value of identifying your errors in games and correcting them. We talked about the importance of regular calculation work. We discussed his working with coaches. Luca had a lot to say about adult vs. open tournaments. While he loves adult tournaments, he finds a lot of value in playing accurately

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25:15

Ep. 278 Flashback: IM Tatev Abrahmamyan Ep. 41

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/06

I talked to Tatev Abrahmamyan back in April of 2022 episode 41. This conversation was fascinating as she was trying to juggle the realities of having a full time job and trying to be a chess professional. She expressed many doubts about she recent progress and trying to find time for chess improvement. In August of 2025, Tatev broke through with an amazing tournament scoring a GM norm and crossing 2400 to reach the IM title. In this snippet of our conversation Tatev talked about the value of coaches

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54:23

Ep. 277 Kirsten (1400 Chesscom)

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/07/02

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Kirsten. We spoke about her love of chess and trying to find the time for improvement. Kirsten went from 400-1400 in two years, but recently has hit a plateau. She provided several resources suggestions including books and videos. We discussed finding OTB opportunities, and we spoke a bit about the LA and Santa Monica chess scene. Kirsten discussed teaching her child chess. We discussed chess history. A big takeaway from this episode is that even when

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28:19

Ep. 276 Bonus Episode: Senior Open 2026 Tournament Recap

Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ·

2026/06/29

This week on Chess Journeys, I provide a tournament recap of my recent 2026 Senior Open in Chicago, Illinois. It was my best event in a while. This is a rare positive tournament recap. Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My Chessable Course! https://www.chessable.com/chess-journeys-tactics-workbook-turning-knowledge-into-skill/course/268850/ Chessnut Link/Code: Code -

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