Podcast Episodes

EP 450 – Hikaru in Louisiana: Stories from His Surprise Appearance in the Louisiana State Championship

As you may have heard, GM Hikaru Nakamura made a surprise appearance at the Louisiana State Championship, as part of fulfilling FIDE’s World Championship qualification criteria. In return, the player…

Published on 11 hours ago

EP 449- GM Jesse Kraai on Confronting Tournament Fears, Mental and Physical Fitness, and What’s Next for Him and ChessDojo

ChessDojo’s GM Jesse Kraai is always one of my favorite people to talk chess with, yet somehow it had been five years since his last visit to the pod. Jesse returned at a great time, having been both…

Published on 1 week ago

EP 448- NM Max Farberov on Beating Plateaus, Springing Opening Surprises, and Why Speed Chess Matters

NM Max Farberov is a 27-year-old chess instructor, Chessable author, and online speed-chess specialist with a Chess.com blitz rating north of 2600. He joined me after a busy chess summer that include…

Published on 2 weeks ago

EP 447: Going Pro at 57- GM Alex Fishbein on How New and Challenging Training Methods Fueled an Upset win at the US Senior Invitational

Going Pro at 57: `GM Alex Fishbein on How New and Challenging Training Methods Fueled an Upset win at the US Senior Invitational 

At 57 years old, Tennessee-based Grandmaster and Author, Alex Fishbe…

Published on 3 weeks ago

EP 446- IM Greg Shahade on The State of Professional Chess, Why He Loves the Daily and Classical Formats & Adult Improving at Trivia

IM Greg Shahade was the very first guest of Perpetual Chess and has remained a frequent and insightful contributor  ever since. A former youth national champion, Greg has subsequently  been involved …

Published on 4 weeks ago

EP 445- “It Worked So Well That I Stopped Doing It”: Adult Improver Nicholas Sloan on Dealing with Burnout After a Rapid Rating Rise

Nicholas Sloan is a Wisconsin-based Network Engineer, a dad of 4, and an extremely motivated chess improver. Usually. But after an incredible run of gaining 500+ rating points in two years, fueled by…

Published on 1 month ago

EP 444 – Dr. Benjamin Balas on Chess Streaks, Blunders, and Brain Science

Dr. Benjamin (Ben) Balas is an MIT-educated professor of psychology at North Dakota State University, where his research focuses on visual recognition. He’s also a passionate chess player who blogs …

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

EP 443- GM Jan Gustafsson on Building Opening Repertoires, Freestyle Chess, Father Time, and the Usual Array of Nonsense

Opening expert, Twitch streamer, former Team Magnus member, and longtime friend of the pod, GM Jan Gustafsson is back for another fun and far-reaching interview! We talk about the origins of his new …

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

EP 442- GM Johan Hellsten: Why Defending Is So Difficult — And How to Improve At It

EP 442- GM Johan Hellsten: Why Defending Is So Difficult — And How to Improve At It 

GM Johan Hellsten returns to Perpetual Chess for a deep dive into one of the most overlooked yet essential chess …

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

EP 441- WCM Hannah Sayce: The 24-year old Twitch Streamer on the Key Factors Behind Her Rapid Rise to the WCM Title

In just a few years, 24-year-old Australian Twitch streamer Hannah Sayce went from playing casual online games during lockdown to earning the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title and competing in inter…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago