113 Rarely do grandmasters focus on helping club players and beginners. But when they do it’s rare and exciting. Their extra skill and understanding of the game deliver insights that even other titled players may not possess. That’s what GM Josh Friedel offers as a course creator and coach. And it can be heard throughout this interview.

Of course, Josh has had an impressive chess career. Competitively, he tied for 6th place at the US Chess Championship in 2009 and competed at the World Cup.

He has passed along this hard-earned chess knowledge for decades by coaching club players.

And for nearly as long, he’s been creating courses, most recently for Chessable on common mistakes in the opening and middlegame.

In this episode, we chat:

• Common middle-game mistakes and how to avoid them.
• Josh’s unique qualities as a coach that separate him from the pack.
• Why is it so difficult to convert a won position - and how to get better at it.

GIVEAWAY: To win Josh’s Chessable course on avoiding middlegame mistakes, follow Daniel Lona on Twitter for details and updates (for the week of 1/21/25 only.)

More From Josh:

• Chessable courses
• Twitter
• YouTube

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>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)