New In Chess Podcast
The New In Chess Podcast features interviews with top chess players, authors, and personalities. It is produced by New In Chess, a renowned publisher of chess books and the New In Chess magazine. The content covers training, opening theory, chess history, and entertainment. Each episode offers insights into the world of professional chess.
Afleveringen
#97. Margeir Petursson Talks About His Careers In Chess And Banking!
This week's episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Icelandic grandmaster Margeir Petursson.Margeir first became a national celebrity in Iceland as a chess player. He won the Icelandic championship twice, in 1986 and 1987, and had further successes at home and abroad, winning classics such as the Hastings Premier in 1986 and dozens of strong Opens ar
#96. Loek van Wely Talks About The Late Jan Timman, Dutch Championships, Chess Politics And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an inverview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely.A friend of the podcast, for this edition Loek invited Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam to his home in the south of the Netherlands. Loek is currently in preparations for the Dutch Chess Champiopnship, which starts on Saturday, July 4, in Aalsmeer (for more information check ou
#95. Peter Heine Nielsen Looks Back On Norway Chess!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen.Today’s interview reaches you once again from Oslo, where the 14th edition of Norway Chess ended in a stunning victory for Indian grandmaster Praggnanandhaa. ‘Pragg’ sensationally won his last four games and on the final day he leapfrogged Wesley So to pip the
#94. Simen Agdestein, Live From Norway Chess!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features in interview with Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein.
Today’s podcast reaches you from Oslo, where the 14th edition of Norway Chess started earlier this week and is in full swing now. Yesterday, while walking around at the venue, the spectacular Deichman library in the heart of the city, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam ran
#93. Erwin l'Ami Talks About His New Max Euwe Book And Remembers Jan Timman
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Erwin l'Ami.Erwin is an old friend of the New In Chess Podcast. The Dutch Champion in 2022, among his other notable results are his victories in the 2015 Reykjavik Open and in the Rabat Blitz that same year, where he was even too quick for specialists like Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and
#92. John Donaldson About His Latest Bobby Fischer Book!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American international master John Donaldson.The first time John appeared on the podcast, he was invited as the captain of the American team, on the eve of the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. This time, he talks about his latest book on what may safely be called his hero, Bobby Fischer. John has written a l
#91. Anish Giri Looks Back On The Candidates Tournament!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Anish Giri.Today’s podcast once again reaches you from Paphos, in Cyprus, where at the luxurious Cap Saint Georges hotel the Candidates tournament has come to an end after two weeks of excitement and captivating chess. Anish was one of the pretournament favourites and one of the absolute
#90. Boris Gelfand, Live From Cyprus!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Boris Gelfand.Today’s interview reaches you from Paphos, in Cyprus, on a rest day of the Candidates tournament, after ten of the fourteen rounds have been played. With four rounds to go it looks like Uzbek star Javokhir Sindarov is heading for first place and a World Championship match a
#89. A Talk With Jacob Aagaard: GM, Author, Trainer, Publisher (Did We Forget Anything?)
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Danish-Scottish grandmaster Jacob Aagaard.Jacob is arguably the most versatile chess professional in the world. At the risk of turning this episode description into an essay, we'll summarise his activities. Jacob is a grandmaster who occasionally still feels the lure of competitive chess; a prolific
#88. Judit Polgár Talks About Her Netflix Documentary And Remembers The Late Jan Timman.
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgár.Judit is universally considered the greatest female chess player of all time. After breaking Bobby Fischer's record to become the youngest grandmaster of all time at age 15, she topped the women's rankings for 25 years, from 1989 until her retirement in 2014. She i
#87. Jonathan Tisdall Recaps Wijk Aan Zee!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with chess grandmaster Jonathan Tisdall.Jon is a grandmaster and a prolific journalist, who has worked for Reuters as a chess correspondent, and has written many stories for New In Chess. He has been active in the chess world for decades, wearing a multitude of hats; n fact, if you want to know who is wh
#86. Emergency Wijk Aan Zee Podcast With Loek!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an emergency interview with Wijk aan Zee veteran Loek van Wely!
This podcast was recorded in the early afternoon of Thursday, January 29, 2026, on the third and final rest day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Loek has spent the past two weeks in Wijk aan Zee, coaching Dutch GM Max Warmerdam in the Challengers grou
#85. Peter Svidler Previews Wijk Aan Zee, Candidates And More!
In this year’s first episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Peter Svidler. It’s a special moment, as two years ago, Peter was the first guest in the inaugural episode of the podcast. We are delighted that he’s returning.
Peter Svidler can look back on an incredible career as a player and he is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile exp
#84. Matthew Sadler About AI Chess, The Upcoming Candidates Tournament, And More!
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to English grandmaster Matthew Sadler.
Matthew returns to the New In Chess Podcast to look back on the year that’s almost behind us and cautiously look ahead to the year we’re about to enter.Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, a YouTuber, an expert in chess engines, and
#83. Anatoly Lutikov: Luka | 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 and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Ghenna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Russian grandmaster Anatoly Lutikov (1933-1989). "Luka" is another lesser-known name in the Essential catalogue, but his story is no less inte
#82. Jan Timman Talks About Composing Endgame Studies!
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman. Jan returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Timman’s Studies, an impressive volume of 455 pages in which he presents his collected endgame studies and explains how they originated.Of course, Jan Timman is primarily known as the most successful Dut
#81. Loek Van Wely Talks About The Ongoing Chess World Cup, Kramnik And More!
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
#80. Alvis Vitolins: The Jump (2/2) | 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 and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Latvian international master Alvis Vitolins.
Alvis was born in Riga, like his compatriot Misha Tal. And this was not all they shared in commo
#79. Ruslan Ponomariov On His Recent European Team Victory With Ukraine, FIDE World Title Reign, And More!
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 t
#78. Alvis Vitolins: The Jump (1/2) | 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 and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Latvian international master Alvis Vitolins. Alvis was born in Riga, like his compatriot Misha Tal. And this was not all they shared in common.
#77. Erwin l'Ami Talks About Giri's Top Form, Working With Topalov, And More!
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 activi
#76. Jon Speelman Recaps The FIDE Grand Swiss Chess Tournament!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with British grandmaster Jonathan Speelman.Jon, as he's commonly known, is a three-time British Champion and a two-time Candidate for the World Championship. In the Candidates, he has won matches against Nigel Short and Yasser Seirawan.
He was also successful with the English national team, as they twice
#75. Alexander Koblenz: The Maestro (2/2) | The Essential Sosonko
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 t
#74. Alexander Koblenz: The Maestro (1/2) | 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. The subject of this week's episode is Latvian chess master and trainer Alexander Koblenz.
A four-time Latvian national champion, Alexander Koblenz (1916-1993) is best know
#73. Semyon Furman: You Ask The Questions (2/2) | 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 Ch
#72. Willy Hendriks Explains Why He Is Sceptical About Chess History!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch IM Willy Hendriks, one of today’s most entertaining and interesting chess authors.Willy Hendriks’s debut Move First, Think Later was an instant success. In a highly original and witty manner, the book looks at the sense and nonsense of methods to improve in chess. The book won the 2012 ECF Boo
#71. Semyon Furman: You Ask The Questions (1/2) | 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 o
#70. Vishy Anand Takes A Walk Down Memory Lane!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features in interview with Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.
Commonly known as Vishy, Anand is one of the greatest and most popular world champions in the history of chess, as well as one of its most admired and respected ambassadors. Although no one could blame him if he decided to rest on his laurels, Vishy remains acti
#69. Tania Sachdev Talks About Her Journey From Indian Women's Champion To World-Class Commentator!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian chess star Tania Sachdev.
Tania Sachdev is a two-time Indian Women’s Champion and she was a member of the Indian Women’s team that wrote history at the Budapest Olympiad last year, where they won the gold medals.
Probably most chess fans will know her as one of the most popular online chess
#68. Entrepeneur And Bestselling Author James Wants To Be The Chess Player He Was Twenty Years Ago!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American chess player and businessman James Altucher. James Altucher is an investor, a venture capitalist and a firm believer in AI and cryptocurrency. He’s also a bestselling author – you may know his book Choose Yourself – and he has a popular podcast with 50 thousand subscribers, The James Altuc
#67. Vladimir Zak: A Great Teacher Inspires | 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 and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Soviet chess player and coach Vladimir Zak.Vladimir Gregorievich Zak (1913-1994) was the head coach of the Leningrad Pioneers' Palace, a premier ches
#66. David Navara Addresses Kramnik Cheating Insinuations, His Life In Chess And More
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Czech grandmaster David Navara. For more than 20 years, David Navara has been the leading chess player of the Czech Republic. Thirteen times he won the national championship. In 2015, he was ranked number 14 in the world, with a peak rating of 2751.I (Dirk Jan) spoke to David last week, in Prague, t
#65. Jan Timman Remembers The Late Boris Spassky And Fridrik Olafsson
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman.A living chess legend, "The Best of the West" needs no introduction. As one of the world's leading players during the late Soviet era, Jan played and befriended a number of legendary players. Today's conversation centres specifically on two of his late colleagues, both o
#64. Kostya Kavutskiy Talks About The ChessDojo, His GM Ambitions, Meeting Ivanchuk And More!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American International Master Kostya Kavutskiy.Kostya is one of the three "senseis" (teachers) at the ChessDojo, an international chess training program that Kostya runs together with fellow Americans GM Jesse Kraai and IM David Pruess. As a player, he is currently embarking on a "European tour", wh
#63. Efim Geller: The Chess King Of Odessa | 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 and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Ukrainian grandmaster Efim Geller.Efim Petrovich Geller (1925-1998) was a two-time Soviet chess champion and a six-time Candidate for the World Chess
#62. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 6) | 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 and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.This week's narration, which is the final part of a six-part series, examines the final phase of Tal's life. As his p
#61. Bessel Kok Talks About The Grandmaster Association, Relationship With Kasparov, And More!
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch businessman and chess benefactor Bessel Kok.Bessel is one of the founders of SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which provides the main messaging network through which international payments are initiated. In the 1980's, Bessel organised the first SWIFT che
#60. Peter Leko Talks About Chess Commentary, Vincent Keymer, Kramnik Match And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko. A world-class grandmaster and former prodigy, Peter now works as a coach and has achieved acclaim as one of the most popular online chess commentators.Peter Leko was extremely successful as a player. As a young kid of only 14 years, four months and 22 days, he becam
#59. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 5) | 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 and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.This week's narration, which is the fifth in a six-part series, chronicles the "second surge" of Tal's career, where
#58. Matthew Sadler Talks About Classic Books And Previews The Chess Year 2025!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Matthew Sadler, one of the most versatile chess lovers in the universe. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, the English grandmaster touches on a variety of subjects, spicing up his stories with fascinating observations, sound advice and not-to-be-missed reading tips.Matthew Sadler
#57. Loek Van Wely Recaps The Tata Steel Chess Tournament!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely.
One of our return guests, Loek needs no introduction for our regular listeners. An eight-time Dutch national champion, Loek had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his own achievements on the chess board, Loek i
#56. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 4) | The Essential Sosonko
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the fourth part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.With his fierce attacking style, “The Magician from Riga” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvin
#55. Jorden Van Foreest Previews Tata Steel!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Jorden van Foreest.On the eve of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Jorden talks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam about his preparation for ‘the Wimbledon of chess’ and his adventures in earlier editions of this world-class event. Most notably, the 2021 edition that Jorden s
#54. Jacob Aagaard Talks About Jeans And Previews Tata Steel!
This week’s guest on the New In Chess Podcast is Jacob Aagaard.Jacob returns to the podcast after his last interview last year, in which he was interviewed about legendary Russian trainer Mark Dvoretsky, in his words ‘the biggest authority in my adult life’.This time host Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam invited him to talk about what 2025 will bring us (yes, Wijk aan Zee coming soo
#53. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 3) | The Essential Sosonko
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the third part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.
With his fierce attacking style, “The Magician from Riga” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvi
#52. Peter Doggers Talks About The Chess Revolution!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Peter Doggers.
Peter is a chess journalist from The Netherlands and the director of News & Events for Chess.com. In his book, The Chess Revolution, Understanding the Power of an Ancient Game in the Digital Age, Peter writes about the historical and sociological importance of chess through the ages
#51. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 2) | The Essential Sosonko
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 and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.With his fierce attacking style, “The Magician from Riga” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvin
#50. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 1) | 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 and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.
With his fierce attacking style, “The Magician from Riga” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvinnik to claim the W
#49. Daniil Dubov Recaps The World Chess Championship Thus Far!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Russian grandmaster Daniil Dubov.
Daniil, currently rated 2693, earned the grandmaster title in 2011, a few weeks before he turned 15. His biggest success to date was his win in the Rapid World Championship of 2018, ahead of Carlsen, Mamedyarov and Nakamura. Daniil is not only a perfect guest becau
#48. Max Euwe: The Professor, Part 3 | 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. Subject of this week’s episode is Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe (1901-1981). This is the third part of Sosonko’s series on Euwe; Part 1 was covered in our October 19 episode, P
#47. Swayams Mishra and Jacob Aagaard Talk About Coaching, Women Chess In India And The Next Generation Of Great Players!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian grandmaster Swayams Mishra.
At the young age of 32, Swayams is already a decorated chess coach, having worked with the Indian national team for several years and coaching their women’s team to gold at this year’s Olympiad. His private coaching practice has also been successful: this year, hi
#46. Peter Heine Nielsen Returns To Give His World Championship Predictions!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen.Peter is a five-time Danish chess champion, but is primarily known for his highly successful coaching career. From 2007 till 2023, he was continuously coaching the reigning World Champion, working first for Vishy Anand and later for Magnus Carlsen. In this capa
#45. Max Euwe: The Professor, Part 2 | 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 week features the second part of Genna’s story about Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe (1901-1981).
Machgielis “Max” Euwe was the fifth World Chess Champion, a title he held f
#44. Joel Lautier About His Dual Careers In Chess And Business!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with French grandmaster Joel Lautier.Joel has had a rich chess career: he became the youngest Junior World Champion in history in 1988, holds a lifetime positive score against Garry Kasparov and is, along with Vasily Ivanchuk, the only grandmaster of his generation to have defeated all world champions of
#43. Loek Van Wely Talks About (Winning) The Global Chess League!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek was the captain of the winning team, the Triveni Continental Kings, at the recent Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London.Loek van Wely can look back on a rich career as a player. He won the Dutch championship 8 times and had his career peak in 2001, when he
#42. Max Euwe: The Professor | 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. Subject of this week’s episode is Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe (1901-1981).
Machgielis “Max” Euwe was the fifth World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. Aft
#41. Alex Colovic And His Book On Capablanca's Endgames!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Alex Colovic. Alex is a grandmaster from North Macedonia, who lives in Skopje, and is active in the chess world in many ways. He’s not only a player, but also a trainer, a blogger, a YouTuber, a former president of the Association of Chess Professionals, and a FIDE Fair Play Officer.We i
#40. Korchnoi: Obsession | 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.As the title of his autobiography, Chess Is My Life, hints at, Korchnoi’s drive, passion and obsession for the game of chess were as strong as they had always been. He simply
#39. Max Dlugy Tells His Side Of The Carlsen-Niemann Cheating Story!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Max Dlugy. Max Dlugy has had a rich and varied chess career: he was Junior World Champion, became president of the United States Chess Federation at the young age of 24, worked for IBM on the groundbreaking Deep Blue chess computer project, and today runs his own successful ches
#38: "I knew Capablanca...", Part 2 | 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.
Continuing where we left off in Episode #33, Sosonko invites us to sit beside him as Olga Clark continues her talk about Capablanca and the time that they spent together bot
#37. Tiger Hillarp Persson About His New Book, Disregard For Material, And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Swedish grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson. Tiger is a three-time Swedish champion and has been described as one of the most creative and original players of our game. His creativity is on display in his latest book, “Tiger’s Chaos Theory”, in which, perhaps unsurprisingly, the topic of creativity in
#36. US Captain John Donaldson Previews The 2024 Chess Olympiad!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American IM John Donaldson. At this year’s Olympiad, John will be captaining team USA, the top seeds in Budapest. John has a long history of captaining the American Olympiad team, making his debut in Dubai in 1986 and leading the team to gold in Baku in 2016. This year will be his fifteenth time acc
#35. Judit Polgar Previews The 2024 Chess Olympiad, Gives Her Views On Women's Titles, And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a riveting interview with the First Lady of Chess, Judit Polgar. With the Olympiad in Judit’s home city Budapest around the corner, it’s hard to think of a better guest!Judit Polgar is the strongest female chess player of all time. At the age of 15 years and four months she broke Bobby Fischer’s record to become the
#34. Coach Vishnu Talks About Training Gukesh And The Booming Chess City Of Chennai!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, better known as Coach Vishnu. Vishnu is best known as the first trainer of Gukesh D, who will challenge reigning champion Ding Liren for the world title later this year. Vishnu has deep ties to the Indian city of Chennai, where he and his wife operate the Vishnu C
#33. Capablanca: The Human Chess Machine, Part 1 | 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 week’s episode features the first half of the story of legendary World Champion Capablanca. José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942) was a Cuban chess prodigy who became the t
#32. Polugaevsky: I Must Work, I Must Work | The Essential Sosonko
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from Genna Sosonko's “The Essential Sosonko” on Lev Polugaevsky.An expert on the Sicilian Defence, Polugaevsky wrote two books on the opening and has one variation named after him. He was one of the strongest chess players of the late 1960s and early 1970s, but had to bow to his nemesis Viktor Korchnoi tw
#31. Charles Hertan About The Legendary Paul Morphy!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American FIDE master and chess author Charles Hertan. Charles’s latest work “The Real Paul Morphy” focuses on the life and career of one of the most enigmatic figures in chess history.
Paul Morphy (1837-1884) learned chess at a young age and quickly made a name for himself as a prodigious talent. Kn
#30. Botvinnik: His Journey To Immortality, Part 2 | The Essential Sosonko
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second half of the narration from Genna Sosonko's “The Essential Sosonko” on Mikhail Botvinnik.
Continuing where we ended two weeks ago, we find Botvinnik giving his perception on several his chess colleagues. He then proceeds to talk about other matters that are close to his heart, such as the future of compute
#29. Jimmy Adams Remembers The Legendary Paul Keres!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with FIDE Master Jimmy Adams. Jimmy has had a rich career in chess publishing, both as an editor (CHESS magazine, Batsford and others) and as a writer and compiler of countless books. Among his best-known books published by New In Chess are impressive tomes on Breyer, Chigorin and Zukertort. His latest c
#28. Botvinnik: His Journey To Immortality, Part 1 | 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 of a two-part story about Mikhail Botvinnik. He won the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament and thus became the sixth World Chess Champion, th
#27. Robert Hess Fondly Remembers Miron Sher, Talks About Commentating And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Robert Hess. A former US #5 with a peak FIDE rating of 2639, Robert is renowned as one of Chess.com’s star commentators, covering its largest events such as the World Chess Championship and the Candidates Tournament. Growing up in New York City, Robert showed promise in chess at
#26. Petrosian: The Main Thing Is Happiness | 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. In this episode Sosonko draws up a portrait of the ninth World Champion Tigran Petrosian. Lauded by the Armenian populus as a national hero, Tigran often found himself accom
#25. Jan Timman (72) Returns To The Dutch Chess Championship!
Dear Chess Friend,
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Jan Timman. One of the world’s leading players during the 80’s and 90’s, Jan was at some point considered the best non-Soviet chess player in the world, acquiring the nickname “The Best of the West”. Jan is also an active chess author and composer, and still spends muc
#24. Hikaru Nakamura Talks About Streaming, His Relationship With Magnus, And The Future Of Chess!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. One of the few bona fide chess superstars of the current era, Hikaru is the world’s 3rd ranked player with a June 2024 FIDE rating of 2794, and was one of the frontrunners to win this year’s Candidates Tournament. Other over-the-board successes include five US t
#23. Garry Kasparov: His Unlimited Struggle | The Essential Sosonko
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast delves into the life and career of one of the greatest chess-players of all time: Garry Kasparov. The "Beast of Baku", whose matches with Anatoly Karpov meant a redefining of the format of the World Championship match, was feared by many for his deep preparation and knowledge in the opening.
After announcing his retirement f
#22. Simen Agdestein Talks About Chess And Football!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein. Simen made history by becoming the first Norwegian chess grandmaster in 1985. A nine-time Norwegian chess champion, Simen also had a notable career in professional football, representing the Norwegian national team nine times. Additionally, he has been credited
#21. Matthew Sadler Talks About Reviewing Chess Books, Reveals His Own Favorites, And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with British grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Often called “the strongest amateur in the world”, Matthew, a two-time British chess champion, has retired from playing full-time with a more-than-respectable FIDE rating of 2694.
Despite his inactivity as a player, Matthew is far from done with chess. In additio
#20. Atle Grønn Talks About His Biography of Simen Agdestein!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Atle Grønn, the author of Games and Goals, The Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein.
Atle Grønn is Professor of Slavic linguistics at the University of Oslo, but he is also a strong chess player - an International Master - and has written several books on chess. In Norway, he i
#19. GM Kevlishvili Talks About Chess at St. Louis University!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Georgian-Dutch grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili. Born in 2001, Robby has represented the varsity chess team of St. Louis University since 2019, winning numerous national prizes with his teammates.
Interviewed by Alex Polak, Robby talks about his life as a chess player on the American collegiate circui
#18. Mikhail Tal: My Misha | The Essential Sosonko
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from Genna Sosonko’s “The Essential Sosonko”. The subject of this week’s audiobook is one of the most beloved and inspiring chess players of all time: Mikhail Tal. With his fierce attacking style, “Misha” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvinnik to claim the World Chess Championship in 1960. Widely acc
