Category: Blog

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Bert. He’s an adult improver trying to juggle parenthood and a career with chess. We spoke extensively about how he uses data analysis to improve his study plans and opening choices. We talked about his choice of the King’s Gambit as a means of maximizing fun and…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Evan. He’s a software engineer, adult improver, and van lifer. We discussed his long journey in chess starting with his weekly chess tournaments as a child culminating in a high school chess championship. It turns out most of his progress was made by playing slower time control…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Jay. He stated with no hesitation his goal of reaching GM as a 40+ adult improver. Jay has a relatable journey full of starting and stopping through the years as life demands have called him away from chess. However, in 2018, Jay returned for good. In our…

This week on Chess Journeys, the first ever guest, Jim, returns for a followup interview. We discussed what he has done during the last year, his rating gains, and his OTB experiences. We spent the bulk of the episode talking about Jim’s experiences preparing for the Chicago Open, including his first over the board tournament.…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Julia from the Chessfeels podcast. We talked about a variety of topics such as the challenge of wanting to invest more of yourself into chess and being limited by time. We talked about Julia’s journey, process, and non-rating focused approach. Of course, we talked about psychology, and…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Braden Laughlin. He recently won a tournament and continues to gain rating points despite being a full time student with a career. We talked a lot about his use of videos early in his progression and his continued use of videos. We also discussed his burnout and…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Nick. He’s a chesspunk, Chessable legend, and avid adult improver. We started with Nick’s early journey which saw him improve quickly from about 500-1200 by playing a ton of blitz. We spent a lot of time talking about Nick’s use of Chessable. He recommended his favorite courses…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with David from 64: Chess Podcast. He is a return guest so we didn’t delve as much into his background. We focused mostly on the topics of how to use Chessable, coaching, and chess psychology. David talked about his decision to switch from e4 to d4 upon hitting…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with WGM Tatev Abrahamyan. The bulk of our conversation focused on chess psychology. We talked about the challenges of feeling confident with only limited time for improvement. Tatev also talked extensively about the role of coaches in her own life and suggestions for others as they choose a…

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Rene. She’s a music conductor who fills her time with chess study and play. We talked about a wide variety of topics such as time control, structuring (or not structuring one’s times), and her love of end games. We spent the most time talking about her relationship…