Today’s guest is GM Jacob Aagaard — one of the most influential chess coaches and authors in the world. He has worked with players such as Boris Gelfand, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, among many others, and even Magnus Carlsen has studied his books. We talk about the real path to the GM title: what you actually need to do, why so many strong players never get there, and how Jacob’s “four types of thinking” model and views on talent fit in. Jacob also shares a practical training framework and breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of Magnus, Hikaru, Nepo and Fabi — and we finish with a blitz game. Don’t miss it!

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Jacob's X: https://x.com/GMJacobAagaard

Resources and books mentioned in this episode:

https://www.newinchess.com

https://killerchesstraining.com

Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation — https://amzn.to/3XgbG4Z

Grandmaster Preparation: Positional Play — https://amzn.to/48f3Oqk

Grandmaster Preparation: Strategic Play — https://amzn.to/4oFrDxx

Grandmaster Preparation: Endgame Play — https://amzn.to/49l3urc

Grandmaster Preparation: Thinking inside the box — https://amzn.to/44chf87

Matter of Endgame Technique — https://amzn.to/4p53FLS

Mastering Chess Exchanges — https://amzn.to/4paU4mT

Many thanks to my Patreon supporter: Sarterus

00:00 — Intro

01:34 — Can ANYONE become a GM?

02:55 — Official requirements to become a GM

07:20 — Why most never reach GM

10:17 — 2700 players don’t know BASIC things

21:32 — Four types of chess thinking

28:01 — Hikaru’s strengths & weaknesses

32:33 — Magnus: strengths & weaknesses

35:02 — Why KASPAROV (not Magnus) is the GOAT

44:11 — THIS is Nepo’s biggest strength

45:08 — What makes Fabi special?

48:15 — Dubov, Fabi & real talent

51:02 — Aagaard’s 3-minute training plan

1:00:45 — Blitz against Jacob

My name is Greg Mustreader, I am a Candidate Master in chess, an entrepreneur and host of several podcasts.

On the Chess with Mustreader channel, I interview top chess players, play against chess AIs, analyze the most interesting chess games and combinations of today and of the past, as well as show you my path in chess and the way I work on my chess improvement (including recaps from the tournaments I play).

I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel the world extensively (been to 50 countries). I'm 32 years old, I have a girlfriend, three dogs and four cats. I speak English, Russian, German, and a bit of French and Chinese.

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