103 Our guest is an inspiring adult improver, Dr. Ryan Thomas. Ryan is a surgeon, a cancer researcher, and a father of two. With all that, he’s still highly dedicated to chess improvement and his love of the game. Ryan regularly attends OTB classical tournaments, and his current USCF rating is 958 with a goal of 1200.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Ryan’s journey from casual high school player to avid tournament competitor later in life. 
• How all chess players share common bonds regardless of their skill level.
• What Ryan did to solve the problems of information overload & inconsistent practice.  
• The courses Ryan revisited to ensure he practiced chess fundamentals. 
• The parallels between chess and medical training, and how each has informed the other in Ryan’s life.

Find Ryan on Twitter

Resources Referenced:

• FM Paul Giannotos: Everyone’s First Chess Workbook (Chessable)
• IM Andras Toth: Chess Principles Reloaded: Development (Chessable)
• GM Artur Yusopov: The Fundamentals 1: Build Up Your Chess (Chessable)

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