Let's talk about chess

In this episode Eric talks to the Russian grandmaster Andrey Deviatkin. Andrey decided to quit his chess career a couple of years ago, because he wanted to try something else: Chess960. But why did Andrey stop playing "traditional chess"? He said: "I understood that chess has become an absolutely different game from the one I have played in my childhood and youth. The computer has changed it dramatically. I have been working hard to become a chess grandmaster, but now my interest is over". Enough to talk about in this episode! 

Jesús Medina Molina launched “Urban Chess” in 2018, a social initiative in the Netherlands to place public chess tables in city parks. In March that year, the first three public tables were inaugurated in Máxima Park in Utrecht. Two and a half years later, 17 Dutch municipalities have followed already, and his initiative has already received words of endorsement from chess personalities like Anish Giri, as well as Judit and Susan Polgar.

Eric talks to Jesús about his project in The Netherlands, which has also caused attention in other countries who are interested in "Urban Chess". Jesús explains what a chess court is, how to approach municipalities and what is needed to place a chess court in your city. How much does a chess tabe cost and where to get them? Can we play chess during the Covid-19 pandemic? And what is his ultimate goal? 

In this episode your host Eric van Reem does not only talk about chess, but also about music with the Icelandic musician Hjörtur Ingvi Jóhannsson. He is the keyboard player of the band Hjaltalín, and he is active in the country's music scene as an independent songwriter and arranger. Hjörtur wrote songs for the movie Autumn Lights, and one of those songs, "Seconds", was shortlisted for nomination to the Oscars 2017. Eric also talks to his father, legendary Grandmaster Jóhan Hjartarson about chess, music and Bobby Fischer. 

In this episode, Eric talks to his compratiot IM Merijn van Delft, born in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands on 13.03.1979 about his new book "Mastering Positional Sacrifices: A Practical Guide to a Vital Skill in Chess", published by New in Chess in the summer of 2020. Since Merijn is incredibly active in the chess world as a trainer, organizer, tournament director, commentator and promoter of chess, there is a lot to talk about. Merijn also reveals something about a completely new chess project called ChessFellow. And: we finally learn what the "Bronstein Suite" is! Enjoy.   

In this fifth episode of the podcast, Eric continues his conversation with three time Norwegian champion GM Jonathan Tisdall. In the previous episode, Jon told us some great insider stories from the eighties and in this episode, Eric and Jon talk about the current state of affairs in the world of chess, the popularity of online chess, Chess960 and other variants. Jon also reveals who will be his favourite to win the Candidate Tournament in 2020 and his plans to write a new book. 

I this fourth episode Eric talks to Jonathan D. Tisdall. Jon (born August 26, 1958 in Buffalo, New York) is a chess grandmaster (title awarded 1993) and works as a freelance journalist. An American citizen by origin, he became Irish and later Norwegian. He was Norwegian Chess Champion in 1987, 1991 and 1995. Combining chess with his job as a journalist, he often attends major chess events. In the eighties, he was one of the few Western journalists during the never-ending Kasparov vs. Karpov matches, later he worked as a second for GM Jonathan Speelman during the Candidate Matches. He also acted as a team captain for the Norwegian team and witnessed the rise and development of his compratiot, chess world champion Magnus Carlsen. His book "Improve your chess now" from 1997 is a modern classic. 

In this third episode, Eric talks to another interesting guest about computer chess, Alpha Zero and chess variants. Deep Mind, the artificial intelligence company that shocked the world of chess  with Alpha Zero in December 2017, released a new scientific paper in September 2020, called: „Assessing game balance with Alpha Zero: exploring alternative rules sets in chess". Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen, who is the coach of chess world champion Magnus Carlsen, knows a lot about chess engines and chess variants, and gives us his opinion about the paper. But there is more to talk about: the Bongcloud opening, online chess, Chess960 and more. Enjoy! 

In this second episode, Eric talks with Tony Rich, the executive director of the Saint Louis Chess Club about the Chess9LX and the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2020 tournaments. He also talks about the Covid-19 measures the Saint Louis Chess Club and the World Chess Hall of Fame had to take and how the pandemic influences the after-school chess program. 

An interview with the Indian Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly, in which he talks about his career, his new You Tube Channel and his work as a second for former chess world champion Vishy Anand.