GM Ivan Sokolov is a former top-15 player who won major tournaments across multiple decades and became national champion of both Yugoslavia and the Netherlands. In classical chess, he scored memorable wins against Kasparov, Kramnik and Anand.

In recent years, Ivan has become equally respected as a trainer and author. Most notably, he worked with the gold medal-winning Uzbek team at the 2022 Chess Olympiad, including GMs Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Given Sindarov’s recent success, Ivan reflects on how his game has evolved and why it was clear to him that Sindarov was both supremely talented and, at the time, somewhat unprofessional in his approach.

Ivan recently released a new Chessable course, Self-Improvement for Advanced Players. We discuss chess improvement for professionals and amateurs alike, the proper role of a trainer in a player’s development, preparation in the Kasparov era versus today, and memories from his legendary career. This  includes reflections on his close friendship with the late GM Jan Timman.

It is always an honor to hear GM Sokolov’s stories and perspectives.

00:00 Introduction to Ivan Sokolov

Prior interview with GM Ivan Sokolov:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2slrqqW7s&t=209s

02:21 Insights on the Uzbek National Team

Interview with Chessbase India

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnN00uNrBEQ&t=588s

09:10 Assessing Grandmaster Sinderov's Potential

12:57 The Importance of Chess History

15:56 The Role of a Trainer

19:28 Experiences Against Chess Legends

22:09 Preparing for Kasparov vs. Modern Players

28:18 The Future of Chess: Classical vs. Chess 960

32:10 Insights from Ivan’s course. 

36:22 Memories of the 2012 World Open and other tournaments in the US

Mentioned: Sokolov vs. Shirov 1999

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1010044

40:05 Talent vs. Hard Work in Chess

42:06 Remembering Grandmaster Yantum

46:40 Current Projects and Future Plans

50:00- Thanks to GM Sokolov for joining me! Here is how to keep up with him:

X:

https://x.com/GMSokolovIvan

Chessable Courses: 

https://www.chessable.com/author/IvanSokolov/

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