EP.208 - FM Andrey Terekhov Perpetual Chess Podcast

This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is FM Andrey Terekhov, who has recently released the book, The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov. (With Foreword by Peter Svidler!) This biography about the 7th World Champion is an excellent book that has critics raving. The book features both game analysis and biographical details, and our conversation also covers both life details, as well as takeaways for adult improvers from Smyslow’s games. Andrey had access to Smylov’s private archive and has been laboring during nights and weekends on this book for years. Away from the board, Andrey  has a Ph.D. in computer science, and works for Microsoft in its Singapore office. Andrey is also a devoted dad, and of course, an active chess player when time permits. Thanks to Andrey for sharing so many details from this great, multi-volume project! Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks. 

 

0:00- To join or find out more about the North American Corporate Chess League, go here:

https://www.nacorporatechess.com/

 

0:02- FM Andrey Terekhov discusses his background and chess in Singapore, where he lives. He talks about the beginnings of his giant Smylov project. . 

Mentioned: John Hartmann, FM Carsten Hansen, Perpetual Chess Episode 184 with GM Kevin Goh, Andrey’s interview with Olimpiu Urcan is here: New Smyslov research project | ChessBase, Junior Tay, Find Andrey’s free course on The Two Knights Defense on Chessable here: https://www.chessable.com/two-knights-defense/course/18646/

 

11:30- Andrey reads the opening paragraphs of his book, The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov, and discusses Smyslov’s amazing feat of making the Candidates semi-finals at the age of 63! 

 

16:00- What can club players learn from Smyslov’s approach to chess? 
Study the classics! 
Focus on endgames 

 

21:30- Is it true that Smyslov didn’t calculate that much during his game? 

Mentioned: Hans Kmoch, Max Euwe, GM Vladimir Kramnik 

 

26:15- What are some lesser known facets of Smylov’s playing style from which we can learn? 

 

29:00- What did Smyslov do better than other great players? How complex/understandable is Smylov’s style of play? 

Mentioned: Smyslov-Golombek 1947, Smyslow-Euwe 1946, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Peter Svidler 

 

34:30- How did the project of annotating the games compare to that of researching Smyslov’s life? 

 

37:00- How does this book compare to GM Genna Sosonko’s Smyslov on the Couch? 

 

41:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Chessable has a new course on the Najdorf by GM Anish Giri, and you should also check out Andrey’s free course on The Two Knights Defense here: https://www.chessable.com/two-knights-defense/course/18646/

 

42:30- What was it like to go to Moscow to visit Smyslov’s estate? 

Masterpieces and Dramas of the 20th Century by Sergei Voronkov

 

49:30- Was he hindered by the Soviet government?  Did Smyslov ever consider defecting? 

Mentioned: GM Mikhail Botvinnik 

 

54:00- What was Andrey’s experience like growing up in the Soviet Union?

Mentioned: Everything was Forever Until it was No More 

 

58- How much was Smyslov’s music career affected by his chess aspirations? 

 

1:03:00- How were Smyslov’s career, and chess generally, affected by World War 2? 

Mentioned: Bazya Dzagurov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Isaac Boleslavsky

 

1:08:00- How did it Andrey persuade GM Peter Svidler to write the foreword for his book?

Mentioned: GM Peter Svidler, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Vasily Yemelin, GM Aleksei Lugovoi, GM Sergey Klimov, FC Bayern Munich, and Baden-Baden Bundesliga teams, GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM Viswanthan Anand 

 

1:13:00- What has Andrey learned about chess from studying hundreds of Smyslov’s games? 

 

1:17:00- Andrey book giveaway! If you write a 5 star review on the Perpetual Chess Apple Podcasts page-

https://podcasts.appl