GM Rafael Leitão is the highest rated Brazilian chess player and its 7 time National Champion. As a Scholastic Player, he won World Junior titles at two different ages, and he is also a Correspondence Chess GM! In addition, GM Leitão runs a successful online chess academy. As you may gather, we had much to talk about.😀 Our topics of conversation ranged across continents and generations of chess, with many great stories and recommendations for chess improvement. Please read on for more details, hyperlinks and timestamps. Enjoy! 

0:00- We begin by discussing Rafael’s background a bit, how he got into chess and what the chess culture in Brazil is like. Mentioned: Fischer-Spassky 1972 , GM Peter Leko

10:30- We dive in to the first question from a Patreon supporter of the podcast. John Hartmann writes in to ask GM  Rafael Leitão to share some memories of his interactions with the legendary trainer, IM Mark Dvoretsky. Mentioned: The Legacy of Mark Dvoretsky,  GM Gilberto Milos, GM Jaime Sunye Neto, GM Peter Heine Neilsen 

23:00- GM Leitão discusses the impact that legendary Brazilian GM Henrique Mecking has had in Brazil. Mentioned: GM Lev Polugaevsky, GM Viktor Korchnoi 

28:30- Several supporters of the podcast write to ask GM Leitão about his popular article in which he discusses his choices for the Top 10 Chess Players of all time, and particularly about his choice of Bobby Fischer as the best ever. Mentioned: Magnus Carlsen’s comment on Kasparov vs. Fischer as the best ever, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Anish Giri, Paul Morphy, Russians vs. Fischer, GM Kasparov, GM Petrosian, GM Karpov, GM Mikail Tal, GM Vladimir Kramnik 

44:30- We talk a bit of openings! A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks GM Leitão to compare the relative merits of the Sicilian Najdorf and the Sicilian Taimanov defenses. Mentioned: Ziska- Leitão 2018, Kulaots-Leitão 2018GM Evgeny Bareev on Perpetual Chess, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Samuel Reshevsky 

52:00- What have been some of Rafael’s most memorable encounters with chess greats? Mentioned: Karpov, Anand, Kasparov, GM Gionvanni Vescovi

57:30- GM Leitão answers another listener question about his experiences with playing Correspondence Chess, and what he thinks about the future prospects for this version of the game. Mentioned: World Champion at the Third Attempt 

1:02- GM Leitão discusses his chess academy, at https://rafaelleitao.com/ ,and shares some chess improvement advice. Mentioned: The Best Chess Books Ever Written, The 20 Chess Books That Helped Me Become a Grandmaster, Think Like a Grandmaster,Secrets of Grandmaster Chess, Lessons from a Grandmaster by Boris Gulko and Joel Sneed, Positional Decision Making in Chess , Capablaca-Yates, Capablanca-Janowski

1:15- Thanks to Rafael for joining the show! You can keep up with him and reach him via https://rafaelleitao.com/ 

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