The Chess Angle

This week I spoke with National Master Nick Panico. Nick is a fellow educator with a background in science and has also been active as a storm chaser. Nick shared his vast experience from the amateur chess scene and our conversation went in a lot of interesting directions. Some of our talking points include the following:

• Tips for improvers
• The amateur tournament scene
• Should you play gambit openings?
• Cheating & sandbagging
• Bishop & knight mate
• Nick's journey to NM
• Online vs. OTB chess

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses!

To kick off Season 4, Neal spoke with Grandmaster Alex Lenderman. Alex resides in Brooklyn, NY where he was a member of the famous chess team at Edward R. Murrrow HS that won multiple national high school titles. This was depicted in the 2007 book The Kings of New York (retitled Game of Kings) by Michael Weinreb (Amazon). Alex was the winner of the 2021 US Open and is active as a chess coach for both children and adults. Some of this episode's talking points include the following:

• Why many adults have difficulty improving
• Chess psychology
• The chess cheating epidemic
• Alex's experience playing at local clubs
• Teaching chess

Links for GM Alex Lenderman:

• Email
• Chess.com
• Facebook

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon link above is an affiliate link which earns us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This week's episode is our Season 3 Finale and features International Master Jay Bonin, a legend of the New York chess scene. He is one of the most active tournament players ever, having amassed an estimated 30K - 40K rated OTB games, sometimes playing over 700 games in one year. As such, he is known as the "Iron Man of Chess." Neal spoke with Jay recently via phone where he shared his experiences and knowledge. The basis of this conversation is his 2016 book, Active Pieces (Amazon) which discusses Jay's approach to chess with explanatory prose and annotated games. Some of the talking points in this episode include the following:

• Why Jay feels draw offers are best made when capturing a piece
• The influence of Bobby Fischer
• Winning with the "rope-a-dope" method
• Jay's strong friendship with fellow NY chess legend Asa Hoffmann
• The "Bonin-Kann" opening (1...c6, 2...a6!?, holding back ...d5, which often throws the opponent off balance)
• Thoughts on mate with the bishop and knight
• Playing Queenless middlegames
• His win against chess giant GM Samuel Reshevsky
• How Jay adapts his style and openings for specific opponents

Links for IM Jay Bonin:

• Active Pieces (Amazon)
• Facebook
• Chess.com: Boninknights

Mentioned:

• Bellon - Bonin (2008) 1/2-1/2

Season 4 of The Chess Angle coming soon! Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Amazon links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This week's episode features WFM Maaike Keetman. We covered a number of important topics for adult improvers and amateur players. Maaike is the VP of Content for Chessable and is active with the ChessQueens Foundation which promotes the game of chess for women and girls in the Netherlands. Her Chessable course, The Fierce Nimzo-Indian, is designed for amateur players and is highly recommended. Some of our talking points include the following:

• Inducing errors from your opponent
• Why the Catalan may be the most dangerous opening at the amateur level
• The Nimzo-Indian defense for improvers
• Why most amateur games are decided by tactics
• Maaike's success despite little endgame study
• How Tal influenced Maaike's style
• Maaike's quest for the WIM title
• Grinding out wins in even positions
• How improvers should approach openings

Links for WFM Maaike Keetman: The Fierce Nimzo-Indian (Chessable Course) Maaike on Twitter: @MaaikeKeetman Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This episode offers some practical advice and insight for improvers and emerging tournament players. Some of the talking points include:

• How many games a year do you need to play to increase your OTB rating?
• Should you get up from the board during your game?
• How tournament pairing rules often make increasing your rating difficult
• A common pawn blunder to avoid
• Book study vs. digital/online study

Mentioned: The Amateur's Mind by IM Jeremy Silman (Amazon)

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Amazon link above is an affiliate link which earns us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! Offering or accepting a draw is often a critical decision in a chess game and is the subject of much discussion and debate. Our guest this week, National Master Robert Guevara, is a tenacious player who declines virtually every draw offer thrown his way. He explains his reasoning for doing so, and it's not because of an obsession with winning. His thought process is highly instructive. We covered some other areas including:

• The dangers of perfectionism
• Achieving NM despite not entering the tournament scene until age 25
• Draw offer stories from actual OTB games
• Dealing with time pressure
• Persistence and the fighting spirit

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This episode is dedicated to all of the school teachers out there. Our guest this week, Dr. Stephen Wefer, is an adult improver (USCF 1691), HS science teacher, and Long Island Chess Club regular. He has also worked as an adjunct professor. We spoke about academia, chess improvement, tournaments, and a lot more. Some of our talking points include the following:

• Applying an academic mindset to chess improvement
• Stephen's tips for balancing work, family, and chess study/play
• Chess openings philosophy
• Rating goals
• Facing underrated opponents
• Playing speculative sacrifices
• Is there a limit to one's chess improvement past age 45?

Links for Dr. Stephen Wefer:

• YouTube channel: Cool Chess Stuff with Stephen
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Instagram: @bio_explained, @coolchessstuff

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses!In this solo episode, Neal shares some thoughts on a number of topics related to tournament chess. Talking points include:

• Non-resigning in overwhelmingly worse positions with no time-pressure issues
• Queen trade blunders
• Are online ratings legit or a sham?
• The Jobava London System (1. d4 2. Nc3 3. Bf4)

Resources for the Jobava London:

• The Jobava London System by GM Simon Williams (Amazon paperback)
• The Jobava London System by GM Simon Williams (Chessable course)
• Ginger GM Simon Williams' YouTube Page

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

Nick Figorito is a member of the Long Island Chess Club who recently earned the title of National Master (USCF 2200). In this episode, Nick shares his journey to Master, busts some common chess improvement myths, and offers some additional insight. Nick can be reached at [email protected]. Some of our talking points include:

• Is there a "formula" or systematic study plan to achieve a Master rating?
• Can anyone make Master?
• Nick's surprising viewpoint on opening theory
• Why he hates the Najdorf Sicilian
• Chess improvement while working full-time
• Nick's belief that simply "not blundering" may boost your rating more than any other strategic or tactical approach

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! Fide Master Carsten Hansen is a prolific writer who has authored an astounding 46 chess books and is a #1 best selling author on Amazon. Recently published books include The Anti-Alapin Gambit and The Chess Wizardry of Wotawa, co-authored with Cyrus Lakdawala. Carsten is also an active chess coach and trainer. In addition, he is working to achieve an IM title, and does all this while holding down a full-time day job, so his work ethic is quite impressive. In this episode, Carsten offers some outstanding insight on the opening phase of the game for amateur players. Some of our talking points include:

• Carsten's quest to achieve an IM title
• How club players should approach openings
• How to beat higher-rated opponents
• Should you play gambits?
• A full assessment of Neal's opening repertoire
• Theory vs. themes
• Dealing with nerves and avoiding time pressure
• Carsten's chess coaching philosophy
• The one glaring weakness with many opening courses

Links for FM Carsten Hansen:

• Website
• Amazon Author Page
• Twitter
• Chessable

Our links:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Support the Show
• E-mail: [email protected]