Perpetual Chess Podcast

IM Thomas Willemze is a popular author, Chessable creator, and trainer who has worked with the Dutch National Youth Team, among countless other students. A data analyst by day, Thomas brings an analytical approach to thinking about the core components of chess improvement. In our conversation, we draw on Thomas's experiences as both a player and coach to tease out practical lessons for improving players. We discuss everything from game review and opening preparation to how to improve your focus while studying and playing. Thomas also shares some book recommendations, reflects on learning chess from the creators of the Steps Method while they were still developing it, and recounts what happened when, at age 40, he gave himself a year to seriously pursue his GM ambitions. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below. Free perpetual Chess Discord: https://discord.gg/UpRTQfjQB Free Newsletter: https://benjohnson.substack.com/ 00:00 Introduction to the Interview with Thomas Willems Thanks to our sponsors, Claude AI, check them out at: Claude.AI/chess 02:01 Introduction to IM Thomas Willemze 04:07 The Intersection of Data Science and Chess 07:09 Thomas’ Training and Coaching Philosophy 09:55 The Chess Steps Method and Early Chess Education mentioned : Rob Brunia and IM Cor van Wijgerden 15:36 Addressing Weaknesses and Improving Skills Mentioned: Fundamental Chess Endings, Dvoretsky’s books, GM Yury Averbakh’s books 18:08 Common Pitfalls for Adult Players 20:51 Patreon mailbag question: How can we improve our focus when playing games and studying?  23:55 Defensive Awareness and Identifying Threats 27:00 Patreon mailbag question: Does Thomas see parallels between chess and football/soccer strategy? 28:48 The Balance of Attack and Defense in Chess 30:28 Effective Study Strategies for Ambitious Players 32:07 Reviewing Games: Learning from Mistakes 33:34 The Competitive Landscape of Modern Chess 38:26 Preparing for Upcoming Tournaments 40:05 Choosing an Opening Repertoire 42:01 Current Projects and Future Endeavors 44:08 Chess Content Recommendations and Personal Interests Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know  50:00- Thanks to IM Willemze for joining me. You can reach him via his Chessable author’s page: https://www.chessable.com/author/Willemze/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IM David Vigorito is a three-time state champion, renowned opening theoretician and trainer, and the author of many highly regarded books and Chessable courses. His latest course, 1. e4: The Gold Standard, offers an ambitious, principled repertoire against all of Black’s major responses. In our conversation, we discuss: How David’s process for researching openings has changed as engines have grown increasingly powerful. What adult improvers can learn from David’s own unusual chess journey and the huge rating gains he made in his late teens, 20s, and 30s. Why players should sometimes deliberately play openings and positions that make them uncomfortable. The challenges of finding opportunities to compete while balancing chess with work and family obligations. David also shares a funny story about the unexpected chain of events that followed our first interview in 2019, explains some of the ambitious choices in his new 1. e4 repertoire, and shares his strong opinions on Chess960 and some recent trends in professional chess. It’s always fun to catch up with David, and there is lots of practical chess advice in this one. 0:00 Intro Thanks to our sponsor Claude.ai Check them out at Claude.ai/chess 2:30 David’s new 1. e4 course and how engine-era opening research has changed 6:55 Why David recommends ambitious, principled opening lines 15:15 How much opening theory do amateur players actually need? 20:40 Adult improvement: what helped David make huge rating gains 26:00 The New England chess scene and David’s tournament schedule 31:55 A funny story stemming from David’s first Perpetual Chess interview 38:20 Improving by working on your weaknesses 44:00 Following professional chess and David’s dislike of alternative scoring formats 45:40 Why David has no interest in Chess960 Vigorito-Aagaard 2025 https://www.chesshere.com/master-games/1822045?fen=r1bqk2r%2Fpppp1ppp%2F2n2n2%2F1B2p3%2F1b2P3%2F2N2N2%2FPPPP1PPP%2FR1BQK2R+w+KQkq+-+6+5 50:30 What’s next for David https://www.chessable.com/author/dvigorito/  52:00- Thanks to David for joining me! Be sure to check out his courses on Chessable: https://www.chessable.com/author/dvigorito/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Valentin Dragnev is a two-time Austrian national champion and former chess Olympian who has had memorable OTB encounters with GM Magnus Carlsen, Vasyl Ivanchuk, and many other top players. After achieving so much over the board, he has increasingly focused his attention on chess training and a community-focused website he co-founded, Chessivity.com. We discuss: The story behind Valentin’s fast rise up the ranks after a relatively late start to tournament chess. The struggles he has observed that adult students have in developing consistent thought processes. The vision behind Chessivity, a website that aims to connect chess players and help them track and share their chess training. Stories from Valentin’s chess career, including nearly beating Magnus Carlsen and cycling from Austria to Budapest to compete in the Chess Olympiad. This was a very insightful conversation with lots of good stories and practical chess advice. 0:00- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/CHESS.  03:05 GM Dragnev’s rise up the ranks Mentioned: The Art of Planning in Chess by GM Neal McDonald https://www.amazon.com/Art-Planning-Chess-Move/dp/071349025X 12:14 Transitioning to Chess as a Career 15:31 Advice for Parents and Young Players 18:29 Coaching Adults vs. Kids 21:52 The Importance of Thought Process in Chess 26:53 The Birth of Chessivity 30:32 Integrating Chessivity with User Accounts Follow Ben here: https://chessivity.com/profile/bennyficial1 31:05 Future Features and User Feedback 33:11 Valentin's Chess Career Highlights 35:05 Playing Against Magnus Carlsen Check out the Sicilian game here: https://lichess.org/broadcast/european-team-championship-open/round-2/kLFgyBxS/QCqXtaGu 38:39 Training and Preparation Strategies 42:10 Working with Top Players 44:46 Balancing Coaching and Competitive Play 47:07 Misconceptions in Chess Improvement 52:22 Valentin tells the story of cycling from Austria to Budapest before competing in the Olympiad 56:03 Thanks to Valentin for joining! Find him on Chessivity: https://chessivity.com/profile/valentin Lichess coaches: https://lichess.org/coach/DrAgnevstein Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Adult Improver Series returns to welcome back an accomplished guest. Kyle Boddy is the founder of Driveline Baseball, an influential company that provides training and performance guidance for professional and aspiring baseball players. Despite the demands of running a company and raising a family, Kyle values chess as a hobby and makes plenty of time for it. When I first interviewed Kyle in 2022, he was rated below 1000 USCF, but was working diligently and had a long-term hope of reaching USCF 2000. Four years later, he has stuck with it and made considerable progress, recently reaching a new peak of nearly 1550 USCF. In this follow-up, we discuss: Why he still loves openings, and how studying them deeply has given him a competitive advantage against many higher-rated opponents. How he combines old-school, analog training methods with sophisticated uses of AI and chess technology. The parallels he sees between improving at physical pursuits like baseball and improving at chess. The immense value he gains from being part of a vibrant chess community in the Pacific Northwest. It is inspiring to see Kyle’s continued dedication to chess, and I look forward to following his continued progress in the coming years. 0:00- Intro Join the Perpetual Chess Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess Join the free discord:  https://discord.gg/hN3CJsbGn More on the Adult Improver Series: Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75Uoqz2BoRt2IiTCeOfuky?si=8fda103624514126 Website: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/adultimprover Check out our sponsor,  Claude Co-work at Claude.ai/chess 04:22 Kyle Boddy joins 06:05 What keeps Kyle playing and improving? 07:36 Switching to 1.e4 and open games Mentioned: Anand-Nunn 1990 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1018185 08:43 Why Kyle still loves studying openings 10:45 How Kyle actually studies openings 12:12 Studying games blindfolded 16:00 How Kyle uses AI for chess 18:19 Engines, Maia Chess and practical preparation 20:34 Kyle’s tournament routine 24:19 How he trains tactics 26:48 Building a new opening repertoire 29:42 Daily chess habits 30:49 The importance of a chess community 34:17 Tournament chess in Seattle and beyond 35:20 Aging and adult chess improvement 37:45 Kyle’s path toward 1800-2000 40:11 Improving at endgames 42:50 Understanding vs. memorizing openings 44:35 The Joey Votto chess bet 45:33 Chess’s popularity among pro athletes 47:05 How much Kyle studies chess Can Adults Improve at Chess by NM Todd Bryant https://www.chess.com/article/view/can-adults-improve-at-chess 50:22 Blogging, AI and hiding your prep 52:53 Baseball vs. chess improvement 55:46 Will Kyle still be playing at 50?  56:00- Thanks to Kyle for joining and sharing his inspiring progress- follow his blog here: https://www.kyleboddy.com/blog/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the recent news of his passing, this week we look at the remarkable and wide-ranging chess legacy of FM Bill Goichberg. Among many other distinctions, Bill was the founder of the Continental Chess Association and the creator of the U.S. National Scholastic Championships, and he left an indelible mark on the U.S. chess scene. My guest is chess journalist FM Jon Jacobs, who is working on an independent biography of Bill. Jon grew up in New York and got to know Bill personally as a top young scholastic player, with a young Bill Goichberg directing some of his formative tournaments in Brooklyn. Decades later, Bill sat down for 15 hours’ worth of interviews with Jon, which Jon has been crafting into a book. In our interview, we discuss Bill’s business legacy, chess accomplishments, family life, and much more. Bill changed the course of American chess, and I am grateful to Jon for joining me and fleshing out his life story. 00:00 - Intro and remembering FM Bill Goichberg 0:02- Maurice Ashley tweet regarding Goichberg- https://x.com/MauriceAshley?lang=en06:13 - Jon’s first memories of Bill08:14 - How Bill got started organizing tournaments14:16 - Growing chess in the pre-Fischer era18:21 - Bill’s proudest contributions to US chess22:54 - Continental Chess and its competitors24:39 - How big a business did CCA become?29:50 - Bill’s wife Brenda and their life together35:35 - Bill’s beginnings as a chess player39:48 - How strong was Bill as a player?44:07 - Did Bill ever work outside of chess? Mentioned: CCA and Domainvision.com https://www.chesstour.com/aboutcca.htm47:38 - The Continental Chess business model51:54 - Why Jon is writing Bill’s biography57:01 - Where to follow Jon’s work 1:00:00- Thanks to Jon for coming on, you can follow his Facebook page here-  https://www.facebook.com/p/A-Pawn-Made-Flesh-61568668591626/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices