With the Pro Chess League (of which he is the commissioner) set to resume on Monday, January 6,  it was a great time for my old friend, IM Greg Shahade to make another visit to Perpetual Chess. Greg broke down all of the changes that have taken place with the league’s format, and previewed some some of the interesting matches and players that we will see this season.

We also had a lot of chess news to talk about, ranging from the World Championship Candidates selection process to some recent speed chess controversies involving prominent chess professionals. Greg also dispensed some great advice on chess improvement in our wide ranging conversation. Please read on for more details and timestamps! 

If you are not seeing embedded hyperlinks in your podcast feed, you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/1/5/episode-159-im-greg-shahade-is-back-again

0:00- We start off by getting Greg’s perspective on some recent chess controversies, both “online” and offline. These include a controversial blitz game between Magnus Carlsen, and strong young GM Alireza Firouzja, and a not safe for work, viral clip of a blitz game by super GM Gata Kamsky.

Mentioned: IM Lawrence Trent, Video of IM Shahade vs. IM Trent Grudge Match, FIDE World Rapid and Blitz, Zhigalko-Nakamura controversy, Chess24 “Famous Effing Legend”, 

16:00- We follow up on another controversy, GM Kirill Alekseenko’s selection for the wildcard spot in the upcoming Candidates’ Tournament. 

CORRECTION- I mentioned the wrong tournament in which Alekseenko excelled, he came in 3rd place in the FIDE Grande Swiss, not the FIDE World Cup. 

Mentioned: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s Open Letter regarding qualification process, MVL interview with Chess.com’s Peter Doggers, GM Anish Giri 

26:00- 

The Pro Chess League is coming back, with major changes to the format! Greg tells us  the reasons for the changes and discusses some of the teams to watch out for. The first match takes place on Monday, January 6 at 2pm EST. 

Mentioned: St. Louis Arch Bishops, Fabiano Caruana, GM Leinier Dominguez, GM Wesley So,GM Le Quang Liem, GM Alexander Grischuk, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Ivan Saric, GM Anish Giri, New York Marshalls, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Sam Sevian, Turkey Knights, Armenia Eagles,GM Gabriel Sargissian, Poland Hussars 

36:30- We discuss the exciting changes that are taking place with faster time controls and Chess960 becoming more popular at the Elite level.  

Mentioned: Puzzle Rush World Championship, Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, New in Chess Magazine 

44:00- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks, “How would Greg change tournament formats for the casual chess players?” 

Mentioned: Bill Goichberg of the Continental Chess Association 

53:30- Chess improvement talk! A couple of Patreon supporters submitted questions to Greg regarding improvement. Questions include: 1) Is there is a chess book that hasn’t been written, but should be?  

Mentioned: GM Jan Gustafsson, A Grandmaster, actually tried the novelty Greg mentioned.

1:04- Greg submits his resume to join #TeamScandi!

Mentioned: IM Lawrence Trent, GM Bryan Smith 

1:08- A couple more Patreon mailbag questions- Who was the youngest IM Greg lost to in a serious game? And a listener asks for practical advice about how to think about the imbalances from Jeremy Silman’s Reassess Your Chess. 

Mentioned: GM Alex Lenderman, Perpetual Chess Recaptured: Reassess Your Chess 

1:17- Is chess a sport? Does it really burn one zillion calories? 🤔

Mentioned: The Grandmaster Diet: How to Lose Weight While Barely Moving

1:19- A Patreon supporter asks: “What does Greg do for a living anyway?”

Mentioned: The 5 Best Chess Books I Read in 2019, IM Lawrence Trent, GM Simon Williams

1:26- Greg tells the story of a long-ago blitz match he played with a young GM Hikaru Nakamura 

1:29- We discuss some nonsense relating to Greg’s television viewing habits. 

Mentioned: Humans, Brooklyn Nine Nine 

1:31- Has Greg read any chess books lately? 

Mentioned: Tal-Botvinnik 1960, FM Mike Shahade,  Inside Chess Magazine, IM John Donaldson, GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Vivek Rao

1:36- Thanks to Greg for coming back on. Be sure to tune in to the Pro Chess League starting Monday, January 6 at 2pm EST.  

If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

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