New In Chess Podcast New In Chess

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. One of the few bona fide chess superstars of the current era, Hikaru is the world’s 3rd ranked player with a June 2024 FIDE rating of 2794, and was one of the frontrunners to win this year’s Candidates Tournament. Other over-the-board successes include five US titles and a victory in the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship.

In addition to his achievements as a player, Hikaru has built up a highly lucrative career as an online chess content creator, streaming live games and providing real-time analyses of top-level games, including his own. With his exciting style of play, extraverted personality and legitimate world-class playing strength, Hikaru has emerged from the 2020’s chess boom as perhaps the biggest voice in online chess, all the while maintaining (and some would say improving) his over-the-board performance.

While participating in the recent Norway Chess tournament, Hikaru sat down with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam for an impromptu podcast. Armed with only a mobile phone and a quiet room, Dirk Jan and Hikaru nonetheless managed to create an engaging piece of chess content that we’re sure the listener will enjoy!

0:00 – Intro
1:34 – How does Hikaru feel about the increasing prevalence of non-classical tournament play, like blitz, rapid and Fischerandom?

3:57 – The importance of sponsors and online viewership to further the growth of chess

6:14 – The start of Hikaru’s streaming career

8:25 – How does Hikaru stay motivated and energetic for his online content?

11:03 – Streaming during big tournaments

13:53 – How does Hikaru cope with losses?

15:15 – How does Hikaru’s newfound wealth affect his play?

19:56 – Why some players get “stuck” in chess

23:23 – Hikaru gives Dirk Jan a proper, YouTube-style introduction

23:35 – Is it hard for Hikaru to recap his own losses?

27:23 – The origins of “Gucci Piano” and “Fiancheeto”

29:27 – AD BREAK

30:05 – How long will the current chess boom last?

32:49 – Does Hikaru ever get too caught up in social media numbers?

34:18 – The relative lack of “big stars” in chess

36:23 – Hikaru’s personal and professional relationship with Magnus

38:22 – Hikaru’s criticism of the classical + Armageddon format used at Norway Chess

40:25 – Why does Hikaru like classical so much?

41:35 – Hikaru’s expectations for up-and-comers like Pragg, Erigaisi and Abdusattorov

46:03 – Fischerandom

47:00 – Indian chess

49:39 – Will Hikaru actually retire at 40?

53:18 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast delves into the life and career of one of the greatest chess-players of all time: Garry Kasparov. The "Beast of Baku", whose matches with Anatoly Karpov meant a redefining of the format of the World Championship match, was feared by many for his deep preparation and knowledge in the opening.



After announcing his retirement from chess in 2005, Kasparov pursued his political ideals. His fierce opposition of the practices of the Russian political elite has forced him to leave Russia. But his energy and fierceness are nonetheless as strong as they have always been.



With "His Unlimited Struggle" Genna presents a rather belated 55th birthday present to the thirteenth World Chess Champion: Kasparov turned 60 mere months before The Essential Sosonko was released.



Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! Remember, you can find us on popular platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, making it convenient for you to browse the chapters and listen to your favourite parts.


00:00 - Introduction

01:23 - "The worst of the vices is to be over 55 years old"

05:26 - How Garry became as good as he was

07:39 - Garry set the standard with his dedication to the study and preparation of the opening

09:51 - Sosonko's impressions of "Garik"

11:27 - Garry dominates the world of chess for 15 years

12:45 - Garry retires from chess

13:09 - Going into politics: Garry is forced to leave Russia

14:15 - AD BREAK

14:47 - Chess is only one of Garry's outstanding talents

17:33 - "I won't spare myself": Garry's unlimited struggle

19:45 - Smear campaign in Russia: the chess speaks for itself, and time will tell

25:37 - 10 years of having left Russia

28:01 - Garry's move to the United States

29:17 - "One has to live long..."

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein. Simen made history by becoming the first Norwegian chess grandmaster in 1985. A nine-time Norwegian chess champion, Simen also had a notable career in professional football, representing the Norwegian national team nine times. Additionally, he has been credited with discovering and fostering the talent of Magnus Carlsen, becoming the latter’s first chess coach.

Two weeks ago, Atle Grønn appeared on the New In Chess Podcast to discuss “Games and Goals: the Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein”, a reflection on Simen’s dual professional careers and influence on the game of chess. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, this week Simen is here himself to talk about the book, his own career achievements and regrets, as well as the past and future of Norwegian chess.

"Games and Goals" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website:
https://www.newinchess.com/games-and-goals 
0:00 – Intro

3:25 – How did “Games and Goals” come about?

7:09 – Becoming the first Norwegian grandmaster

11:55 – Simen’s professional football career and the pressures of combining two high-level sports

19:03 – Simen’s career regrets

22:59 – His knee injury and retirement from football

27:55 – AD BREAK

28:37 – How it feels to play football against all-time greats like Baresi and Maldini

31:03 – Simen’s image in the media and reflections on his football career

37:32 – Being the “clown” of the Norwegian football team

40:18 – Discovering Magnus

43:47 – The Norwegian school of chess

47:37 – Comparing Magnus to the greatest players before him

49:37 – Elham Amar: the next Magnus?

53:15 – Winning the Norwegian championship for the 9th time in 2023

58:01 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with British grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Often called “the strongest amateur in the world”, Matthew, a two-time British chess champion, has retired from playing full-time with a more-than-respectable FIDE rating of 2694.

Despite his inactivity as a player, Matthew is far from done with chess. In addition to his own writings (the most notable of which is Game Changer, a game analysis of Google’s AI-powered AlphaZero engine), Matthew also actively reviews the work of other chess authors, from highly technical endgame books to biographies and more personal chess stories. His review column in the New In Chess Magazine is amongst the publication’s most popular rubrics. Interviewed by Dirk-Jan ten Geuzendam, Matthew talks about chess literature, his own personal favorites, and his process for reviewing the work of other authors, among other things.

0:00 – Intro

2:05 – Matthew’s work in IT

5:08 – Why Matthew hasn’t played since COVID

6:47 – The role of (chess and non-chess) literature in Matthew’s upbringing

12:20 – Matthew’s music taste, his brother’s career in music

15:55 – The chess books that molded a young Matthew

21:13 – Why the quality of chess literature has drastically improved

26:20 – How should a chess author explain playing styles of less accessible players?

28:06 – How much time does Matthew spend reading chess books?

32:02 – Top players creating their own material, the effects of the computer age

34:54 – Does reading chess biographies help a player become stronger?

40:13 – AD BREAK

40:45 – Why young players should be wary of old literature

46:01 – Should we replace the “one-to-five-star” system with a rating system?

48:15 – Matthew’s favorite chess book of all time

56:19 – Matthew’s other favorites

59:19 – Where does Matthew think chess literature is headed?

1:00:01 – Writing Game Changer

1:05:03 – Which book still urgently needs to be written?

1:07:32 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Atle Grønn, the author of Games and Goals, The Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein.

Atle Grønn is Professor of Slavic linguistics at the University of Oslo, but he is also a strong chess player - an International Master - and has written several books on chess. In Norway, he is a familiar face on television as chess expert in the live broadcasts of big chess events by NRK.

Games and Goals is the biography of Simen Agdestein, who not only was the greatest Norwegian chess player before Magnus Carlsen appeared on the scene, but who also - and this can safely be called spectacular - had a successful football career. Agdestein won the Norwegian Chess Championship nine times, while as a footballer he played for the Norwegian national team eight times.

Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Atle Grønn talks about his new book, the most remarkable double career of Simen Agdestein, the unique approach of ‘the Norwegian school of chess’, Magnus Carlsen, chess biographies in general and much more.
Games and Goals is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/games-and-goals 
0:00 – Intro

2:18 – Why did Atle decide to write the book?

3:51 – How involved was Simen in the writing process?

5:42 – Finding out new things about Simen’s life and childhood

12:50 – How would Atle characterise Simen’s influence on Norwegian chess?

15:46 – Simen’s father

17:11 – Simen’s insistence on privacy as a young player

20:20 – The pressures of combining professional chess and football

26:35 – Could Simen have gone further in chess?

27:56 – Simen’s influence on Magnus

32:26 – AD BREAK

32:58 – What is Simen’s legacy in Norwegian football?

37:02 – How did Simen deal with his career-ending football injury?

38:32 – Discovering Magnus and the “Norwegian school of chess”

43:02 – Simen’s competitive nature

45:24 – Which other chess biographies inspired Atle to write this one?

51:21 – Which other biographies would Atle recommend?

57:12 – Will Atle write Magnus’s biography?

1:00:42 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Georgian-Dutch grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili. Born in 2001, Robby has represented the varsity chess team of St. Louis University since 2019, winning numerous national prizes with his teammates.

Interviewed by Alex Polak, Robby talks about his life as a chess player on the American collegiate circuit, his strong performances in blitz play, and his impression of St. Louis, deemed by many to be the chess capital of the world.

0:00 – Intro

1:01 – What it means to be a student athlete in the world of chess

1:54 – How Robby ended up in St. Louis

3:30 – Chess and academics

7:00 – The collegiate tournament schedule

9:43 – Robby’s strong coaches at SLU

11:03 – St. Louis, the city of chess

13:11 – Robby’s incredibly strong online play

17:53 – Other strong chess universities

23:13 – Robby’s training schedule

24:49 – Experiencing the chess boom while a part of SLU

28:48 – Outro