Author: Misha Tenenbaum

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Martin. He played OTB chess as a child and young adult. Then as life got busy, he moved to correspondence chess, where he achieved the IM title. He came back to OTB chess in 2016. He’s also a programmer and his current project is Chesspuzzle.net. The site…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Steve. He’s trying to juggle a demanding career with chess improvement. We talked about his improvement journey, tournament success, and move to correspondence chess. Steve shared how correspondence chess works and helps his in live chess. He gave a lot of useful suggestions for how he improved,…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Sangeeta. She was the Washington State Champion as a girl, returned to chess as an adult, and has begun directing scholastic tournaments. We talked about the pain of losing and her improvement journey. Sangeeta talked about reaching her goal of 2000. We discussed her time as a…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Ev. He’s gained over 700 points in the last few years. We talked about book recommendations, Youtube channels, and coaching. Ev extolled the benefits of taking breaks from tournament chess, despite his love for it. Some of Ev’s favorite books are Simple Chess and Learn Chess Tactics.…

This week on Chess Journeys, I bring you the recap of my recent trip to Virginia to play in the DMV Adult Only tournament. I had a great time and met a bunch of wonderful people. Let’s support adult tournament, they are a great time! Chessiverse Code: DrSCULL20 Check out my new Substack: https://substack.com/@drscull My…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Glenn. He’s done it all in chess as a player, parent, coach, and tournament director. We spent a lot of time talking about tournament directing and his stories. We also discussed his improvement journey and his strategies for maintaining his rating in a world of rating deflation.…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Ono. Since I last spoke with him on episode 12, he’s become a chess professional. We spoke about what he’s learned from chess coaching, and he provided many useful resources for learning. We talked about adults and the challenges they face learning chess. One extolled the virtues…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with GM Mauricio Flores. We had a great conversation about his journey and adult improvement. We discussed the difference between prodigies and adults, useful resources, and many tips for improvement. GM Flores talked about his new tool ChessmindAI. Of course, we covered his amazing book Chess Structures, which…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Lloyd. He runs the Balanced Rook Chess Club in Colorado Springs. We talked extensively about developing a healthier interaction with chess that goes beyond ratings. The Balanced Rook is a social chess club that sees players many ages and ratings having fun in a less anxious environment.…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Owen, otherwise known as Blunder Man on Youtube. He’s made remarkable improvement both online and OTB in the last few years. We talked about books he’s used and the importance of openings. We discussed the adjustment to OTB play. Blunder Man talked about his strategies for content…