New In Chess Podcast

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek is a good friend of the NIC podcast and he returns to talk about the chess event that is keeping us glued to our screens these days, the World Cup in Goa, India. The World Cup started almost two weeks ago and will end on 27 November. There’s a lot at stake in Goa, as the top three finishers will qualify for the Candidates tournament in Cyprus next year (28 March-15 April). There’s also an attractive prize-fund, with the winner taking home $120,000. Loek had just returned from Goa, where he was the coach of Dutch GM Max Warmerdam and there was a lot to talk about. For instance, about the brutality of the knock-out system. After 4 rounds no fewer than 8(!) of the top 10 seeds have been eliminated, including the top-seed, World Champion Gukesh. Was it wise for Gukesh to take part? And how regrettable is the elimination of Vincent Keymer, who has been playing such great chess this year? And what about Ian Nepomniachtchi, seeded 12th? Did he have a point when he complained that the conditions in Goa were not as they should have been? If you want to hear Loek’s thoughts, you should not miss this episode of the New In Chess Podcast. Or if you’d like to hear his views on a couple of other issues. Such as FIDE’s belated action against Vladimir Kramnik because of the pain and damage his obsessive ‘anti-cheating’ crusade has caused. Or Loek’s role in the upcoming Global Chess League in Mumbai, where he will once again captain the defending champions’ team, the Triveni Continental Kings.0:00 - Intro2:05 - Coaching max Warmerdam at the World Cup 7:36 - Nepo’s early knockout from the tournament and subsequent complaints about the accommodations12:55 - Why have so many top seeds been knocked out of the World Cup already?19:00 - Gukesh partaking in the World Cup despite not playing for a Candidates’ spot24:54 - AD BREAK 25:26 - Anish Giri's performance 28:10 - Bluebaum, Donchenko and other German players 32:00 - Nodirbek’s performance 34:29 - Hans Niemann’s defeat against Lorenzo Lodici40:06 - Jose Martinez 43:05 - AD BREAK44:08 - At this point, who does Loek think is the favourite to win the tournament?47:55 - FIDE’s much belated action against Vladimir Kramnik 50:46 - Working for Kramnik 54:48 - AD BREAK55:28 - Loek’s involvement in the Global Chess League

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Ukrainian grandmaster Ruslan Ponomariov.Born in 1983, Ruslan embarked on his chess career as one of the most astonishing prodigies in history. When he was 12, he won the U18 European Championship, when he was 14, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world, the youngest ever at that time. When he was 18, he won the FIDE World Championship by defeating his countryman Vasyl Ivanchuk in the final of the 2002 knock-out championship.There are many reasons to have Ruslan on the New In Chess podcast, but the main reason this time is the victory earlier this week of the Ukrainian national team, with Ruslan on first board, at the European Team Championships in Batumi. A victory that made his country proud in incredibly difficult times, as Ukraine continues to suffer day in day out after Russia’s brutal invasion three years ago.Ruslan spoke from his home in the vicinity of Bilbao, the Basque city in the north of Spain where he settled some thirteen years ago and where he lives with his wife Ines and their two kids. The conversation focused not only on the European Championship, but also about the situation in Ukraine, for those who remained and for those who are scattered around Europe. And you’ll get to know more about the stars of the winning team, 16-year-old former prodigy Ihor Samunenkov from Kyiv, who excelled at the bottom board with a 2714 performance, and the amazing 36-year-old Igor Kovalenko, who interrupted a stay of more than two years at the war front to divert his mind at the chess board. Igor Kovalenko contributed heavily to the team’s success with a 2827 performance and impressed and inspired his team mates with his optimism and fighting spirit before he returned to the front again to defend his country. And there’s more, such as Pono’s view on FIDE’s half-hearted attitude towards his world title and his advice to chess prodigies. Don’t miss it!0:00 - Intro 2:36 – Ukraine’s emotional victory at the European Team Championships 5:05 – What were Ruslan’s expectations of the tournament, being that Ukraine was the 9th seed?7:44 – How difficult was it to get the Ukrainian team together? 9:20 – Igor Kovalenko’s fantastic performance while also fighting in the war with Russia18:13 – What role does the war play in Ruslan’s life?21:26 – AD BREAK 22:00 – How complicated is it for Ruslan to have a Russian FIDE president? 24:30 – The composition of the Ukrainian team 30:25 – Ihor Samunenkov35:25 – Ruslan celebrating his 42nd birthday on the rest day of the tournament 42:20 – Where was Vasyl Ivanchuk?46:07 – AD BREAK 46:40 – How does this European victory compare to Ruslan’s two Olympiad wins? 50:50 – Becoming “best friends” with Garry Kasparov after finishing second behind him in Linnares53:30 – The match with Kasparov that never took place55:22 – FIDE’s weird attitude towards Ruslan’s world title reign 59:28 – What are Ruslan’s current chess ambitions?1:04:00 – Does the life of a chess prodigy look much different than in Ruslan’s time?1:05:34 – AD BREAK 1:06:35 – What does Ruslan do in his free time now? 1:11:08 – Ruslan calls upon the people of the world to support Ukraine

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Erwin l'Ami.Erwin has been a chess professional for some twenty years now. Among his most notable successes are victories in the Reykjavik Open in 2015 and in the Dutch Championship in 2022.Erwin loves to play in tournaments – that remains his biggest passion - but his chess activities expand into other areas as well. He’s a prolific writer, has made popular courses for Chessable, and is a highly respected trainer. In that role, he has been on Veselin Topalov’s world championship team and has worked with Anish Giri for many years. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Erwin talks about all things chess, from the current wave of Indian players to his own experience working with champions.0:00 – Intro 1:55 – Welcome Erwin! 2:05 – Previewing the upcoming European Team Championship 4:00 – How Erwin has maintained his passion for chess 10:53 – Erwin’s strong performance in this year’s Tata Steel Tournament 17:40 – Going from commentator to participant in Malmö 19:25 – The eccentricities of Vasyl Ivanchuk 24:00 – The incredible talent of Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus 26:45 – AD BREAK 27:19 – Faustino Oro 31:40 – How computer chess continues to evolve 36:25 – Freestyle 37:42 – The indefatigable new generation of Indian players 41:20 – Working closely with Veselin Topalov 46:40 – AD BREAK 47:20 – The Topalov – Kramnik controversy 50:15 – Cheating 52:45 – Working closely with Anish Giri 58:01 – AD BREAK 59:01 – The FIDE Grand Swiss 59:25 – The impressive play of Matthias Bluebaum 1:02:29 – Hikaru’s rating strategy 1:04:35 – The World Cup 1:07:49 – Thank you Erwin! 1:08:02 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second part of a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's episode is Latvian chess master and trainer Alexander Koblenz. Picking up where the last episode left off, the second half of the story focuses on Koblenz's contributions to chess beyond his mentorship of Mikhail Tal. He co-founded a chess magazine in Latvia, directed the chess club of Riga, and authored several books. What drove his passion for chess is what he himself described as creativity. It was this creativity that sustained his passion for chess well into his seventies, radiating a "joie de vivre" that his friends described as contagious. The story also goes deeper into Koblenz's national and ethnic identity. Born to a Jewish family in Latvia (later part of the Soviet Union) and fluent in German as well as Russian and Yiddish, Koblenz was described as belonging everywhere and nowhere. The fall of the Soviet Union shook him, as did the death of his most famous pupil Tal not long after. Nevertheless, his relentless energy and passion for chess never left him. As Genna jokes: had Koblenz been stranded on a deserted island, within a few years there would be chess tournaments, schools and booklets of his combinations.Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!A hardcopy version of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.This episode is the second in a two-part story about late Soviet grandmaster Semyon Abramovich Furman (1920-1978). As the formative influence in the career of future World Champion Anatoly Karpov, Furman's own skills as a grandmaster have not always received the attention they deserve. At the age of 56, only eleven years after becoming grandmaster and a year before his death, he finished third in the Bad Leuterberg tournament of 1977, which was won by Karpov.He also had many other interests. When bridge became popular in the 1960s, "Syoma" became obsessed with it. He was also an avid radio listener, a sometimes frowned-upon activity in the totalitarian former Soviet Union. But amongst all of his hobbies, chess always remained number one. And even after some of his pupils overtook him, Furman continued to be a coaching influence to them. Despite passing away a few months before the 1978 Karpov-Korchnoi match, his extensive work with both players made him a looming presence over the match. As Karpov later said: "I owe everything in chess to Furman."Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!A hardcopy version of "The Essential Sosonko" is available on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko.This episode is the first in a two-part story about late Soviet grandmaster Semyon Abramovich Furman (1920-1978). A late bloomer in chess, who became grandmaster at the age of 45(!), Furman gradually made his way to the chess elite after the end of the Second World War. As a trainer, he is best known as a formative figure in the career of World Champion Anatoly Karpov, credited with developing the youngster's enormous talent. He also had other students, among which Genna, who refers to him as "essentially my only trainer".Furman died in 1978 of cancer, just as Karpov was solidifying his dominance on the world stage. He is remembered as a brilliant mentor and theoretician, whose influence lived on through his students, including Genna. The hardcopy version of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase in its entirety on the New In Chess website:https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!