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PODCAST

Perpetual Chess Podcast

Perpetual Chess features weekly conversations with the chess world"s best players, trainers and accomplished amateurs about their careers, current projects, best practices and the latest in chess news. Learn more at PerpetualChessPod.com

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All Episodes

59:39

EP 452: GM Daniel King — The Grand Swiss, Candidates...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/09/23

The FIDE Grand Swiss always seems to deliver drama, and this year’s edition was no exception. To help break it all down, I am joined by popular commentator, Chessable author, and host of the Power Play Chess YouTube channel, GM Daniel King.In our conversation, Daniel shares his takeaways on: • The common thread that fueled the successes of GMs Anish Giri and Matthias Blübaum • Standout performances from young stars like GMs Erdogmus, Mishra, and Woodward • Why the Women’s Grand Swiss produced

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59:45

EP 451: GM Elshan Moradiabadi on Intuition, Coaching,...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/09/16

North Carolina–based trainer and author Elshan Moradiabadi has won over 25 tournaments and was the 2001 National Champion of his native Iran. Despite his many accomplishments, Elshan is deeply reflective about the proper role chess should play in one’s life. While he has no regrets about the sacrifices he made, his experiences have given him valuable lessons to share, including:Why you should keep chess enjoyment as your North Star The importance of intuition, and the nine cues for

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112:11

EP 450 – Hikaru in Louisiana: Stories from His...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/09/09

As you may have heard, ⁠GM Hikaru Nakamura made a surprise appearance ⁠at the Louisiana State Championship, as part of fulfilling FIDE’s World Championship qualification criteria. In return, the players he encountered gained memories and stories they’ll never forget. In this multi-guest special episode, I speak with several of Hikaru’s opponents, as well as the tournament’s organizer, to hear their firsthand accounts:Senior Tournament Director Richard Campbell (13:00) – on why he and his team

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61:49

EP 449- GM Jesse Kraai on Confronting Tournament...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/09/02

ChessDojo’s GM Jesse Kraai is always one of my favorite people to talk chess with, yet somehow it had been five years since his last visit to the pod. Jesse returned at a great time, having been both studying and competing actively, and recently achieving his goal of qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Senior Closed Championship. His recent over-the-board activity provided a springboard for us to discuss a wide range of topics, including: How he has learned to confront his fears in tough,

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61:43

EP 448- NM Max Farberov on Beating Plateaus,...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/08/26

NM Max Farberov is a 27-year-old chess instructor, Chessable author, and online speed-chess specialist with a Chess.com blitz rating north of 2600. He joined me after a busy chess summer that included his first European open and one of his best OTB results to date: winning clear first in the Under-2300 section of the Washington International. As Max explains, this breakthrough came only after months of frustration and feeling that he had reached a plateau, making the success all the sweeter.In our

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64:45

EP 447: Going Pro at 57- GM Alex Fishbein on How New...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/08/19

Going Pro at 57: `GM Alex Fishbein on How New and Challenging Training Methods Fueled an Upset win at the US Senior Invitational At 57 years old, Tennessee-based Grandmaster and Author, Alex Fishbein, has built an impressive chess résumé, with 12 state-championship titles across four states and multiple appearances in U.S. Championship events. But until recently, his chess had always been balanced with a demanding finance career. Last year, for the first time since age 24, Alex stepped away from

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69:11

EP 446- IM Greg Shahade on The State of Professional...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/08/12

IM Greg Shahade was the very first guest of Perpetual Chess and has remained a frequent and insightful contributor ever since. A former youth national champion, Greg has subsequently been involved in the chess world in an array of capacities —founder of the US Chess School (which provides free training to top American juniors), creator of the now-defunct Pro Chess League, and a near-2800-rated blitz player on Chess.com who has maintained his level well into his 40s. A former poker pro, Greg has

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58:48

EP 445- “It Worked So Well That I Stopped Doing It”:...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/08/05

Nicholas Sloan is a Wisconsin-based Network Engineer, a dad of 4, and an extremely motivated chess improver. Usually. But after an incredible run of gaining 500+ rating points in two years, fueled by consistent hard work and a unique study approach, Nick hit a wall. He gave back 150 rating points, and lost his motivation to work hard on chess. That can happen when you are a family man who is working full-time, studying for multiple hours a day, and creating chess content on top of that. Nick took

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53:11

EP 444 – Dr. Benjamin Balas on Chess Streaks,...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/07/29

Dr. Benjamin (Ben) Balas is an MIT-educated professor of psychology at North Dakota State University, where his research focuses on visual recognition. He’s also a passionate chess player who blogs frequently about the intersection of science and chess. On his popular LiChess blog, Ben (aka NDPatzer) has explored topics like whether streakiness exists in chess, the science of blunders, and how confirmation bias influences decision-making over the board. In our conversation, we touch on all of these

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80:36

EP 443- GM Jan Gustafsson on Building Opening...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/07/22

Opening expert, Twitch streamer, former Team Magnus member, and longtime friend of the pod, GM Jan Gustafsson is back for another fun and far-reaching interview! We talk about the origins of his new Chessable course on the Austrian Defense, how his approach to repertoire building has evolved, and get his take on the recent Freestyle Chess drama in Vegas. Jan also reflects on the legacy of GM Boris Spassky, laments his struggles with memory and motivation, and mourns the end (for now) of FM Donny

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71:18

EP 442- GM Johan Hellsten: Why Defending Is So...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/07/15

EP 442- GM Johan Hellsten: Why Defending Is So Difficult — And How to Improve At It GM Johan Hellsten returns to Perpetual Chess for a deep dive into one of the most overlooked yet essential chess skills: defense. Johan is the 2006 Swedish National Champion, and a renowned author and coach, best known for his Mastering Chess series. In this interview, he shares insights from his latest book and Chessable course, Mastering Chess Defense (also available in print,) reflecting on why defending is

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45:12

EP 441- WCM Hannah Sayce: The 24-year old Twitch...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/07/01

In just a few years, 24-year-old Australian Twitch streamer Hannah Sayce went from playing casual online games during lockdown to earning the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title and competing in international tournaments. Her post-lockdown rise has taken her from below 1000 to a 2300 Chess.com blitz rating. In this conversation, Hannah shares the highs and lows of her chess journey and the strategies behind her rapid improvement. Key turning points included learning to slow down at the board and

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71:24

EP 440- GM Alexandr Fier: “I Blunder a Lot” – One of...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/06/24

GM Alexandr Fier is a 5 time champion of Brazil and 9 time chess Olympian. He also recently qualified for the FIDE World Cup for the 8th time by finishing tied for first at the American Continental tournament. But aside from all of his impressive accomplishments, what interests me most about GM Fier is how frequently he competes. Last year alone, he played nearly 200 classical games,, and he has now travelled to over 50 countries. In our conversation we discussed: How he maintains his energy

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54:32

EP 439 — Samuel Sonning (Founder of NoctieAI): The...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/06/17

This week’s guest is Samuel Sonning, a Swedish computer scientist, former Google engineer, and founder of NoctieAI—a user-friendly chess platform featuring rating tests and bots designed to play like humans. In our conversation, Samuel discusses his unique improvement philosophy as an adult learner, including how memorizing famous games helped him build intuition and visualization skills. A passionate player himself, many of Sam’s ideas have directly shaped NoctieAI, which offers immediate move

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70:02

EP 438- Tony Ballard: Chess, Freedom, and Lessons...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/06/10

In this memorable episode of Perpetual Chess, we welcome back Tony Ballard, who spent 26 years incarcerated and credits chess with helping him change the course of his life. When we last spoke in Episode 289 (2022), Tony was still in a minimum-security facility. Now fully free, he’s making the most of his second chance. He’s working full-time at the Paul Mitchell Barber School, has founded a nonprofit—Masters and Mentors—to teach chess to at-risk youth, and has released a powerful memoir, Time

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91:42

EP 437- Coach Jay Stallings and NM Adam Weissbarth...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/06/03

This two-part episode of Perpetual Chess features two of the most impactful figures in American chess education: Coach Jay Stallings and Adam Weissbarth. First up, Coach Jay shares insights from his decades of experience teaching over 30,000 students,and also discusses his recent work consulting on the chess scenes in the new Hollywood blockbuster The Accountant 2. Additionally, Jay reviews some of the teaching tools he currently relies on—including a fun new one that he recently created

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73:31

EP 436- Adult Improver Torkil Jara Bårdsgjerde on How...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/05/27

EP 436- Adult Improver Torkil Jara Bårdsgjerde on How Workplace Trash Talk Sparked a Lifelong Passion for Chess In this inspiring and relatable installment of the Adult Improver Series, we meet Torkil Jara Bårdsgjerde, a 39-year-old father of two, from Norway who discovered competitive chess after a bit of playful banter with a workplace rival. That exchange sparked a fascination with the game—and when the pandemic hit shortly after, Torkil suddenly had the time to dive in. Five years later, he's

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67:23

EP 435- IM Alex Ostrovskiy on Opening Prep, Norm...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/05/20

IM Alex Ostrovskiy is a former Scholastic National Champion, New York State Champion, and accomplished coach who has earned one GM norm, and reached a peak USCF rating of 2560. In addition to his coaching work, Alex is a regular commentator on GM Hikaru Nakamura's Twitch channel, and a tournament organizer who runs frequent invitational tournaments in New York City (where he has lived since the age of 5.) Alex and I discussed the following: Alex’s three main tenets of chess improvement-

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60:44

EP 434- GM Mauricio Flores Rios: The Acclaimed Chess...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/05/13

GM Mauricio Flores Rios' first book, Chess Structures, is a modern classic which is seemingly recommended on a weekly basis on Perpetual Chess. After nine years of work, Mauricio has recently released its follow-up, Chess Imbalances: A GM Guide. Like Chess Structures, it is a highly instructive book with a beautiful selection of games and useful guidelines to aid one's chess decision-making. We discussed the following: His opinion on the value of the bishop pair, as well as bishop vs

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73:02

EP 433- GM Kenneth Rogoff: From the World Juniors to...

Perpetual Chess Podcast ·

2025/05/06

Dr. Kenneth Rogoff has undoubtedly had one of the highest-profile and most interesting careers of any Grandmaster working outside of chess. He is an author and Harvard professor who was once singled-out by none other than Bobby Fischer, as a player who had shown remarkable chess improvement. As a young chess star, Dr. Rogoff actually dropped out of high school to move to Europe and pursue chess professionally, but by age 18 he had returned to the U.S. and enrolled at Yale. He would remain active in

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537 results

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