#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 of whom passed away recently: the former World Champion, Boris Spassky, and the father of Icelandic chess, Fridrik Olafsson. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in his own chess library, old chess books and paraphernilia scattered around the area, Jan fondly rememers the lives and careers of his two late friends. 0:00 – Intro1:20 – Jan’s first meeting with Boris Spassky
4:05 – Jan’s assessment of Spassky as a person5:55 – Spassky’s interest in Russian politics and history8:30 – Spassky’s relationship with Fischer14:40 – When Spassky was the best player in the world19:28 – When Spassky fell ill during a match
22:50 – AD BREAK
23:47 – The rivalry with Korchnoi27:33 – Spassky’s life in the aftermath of the Fischer match30:52 – Spassky’s game against Kasparov at Linnares 1988
34:05 – The chaotic last years of Spassky’s life
37:38 – Jan’s first meeting with Fridrik Olafsson
43:45 – How strong was Olafsson?
45:46 – Olafsson’s relationship with Fischer
48:30 – Jan tells a drinking story with Fridrik Olafsson
51:24 – AD BREAK
52:03 – Olafsson’s attitude and position within Icelandic society
--------
1:02:52
#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", which has included the recent Reykjavik and Grenke tournaments. His next destination is Spain, where he will be attending the Killer Chess training camp organised by Jacob Aagaard.Joining us from Hamurg, Germany, Kostya talks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam about the origins of the ChessDojo program, his GM ambitions, meeting Vasyl Ivanchuk and much more. Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!Timestamps:0:00 – Intro
2:08 – Why Kostya prefers playing in Europe4:00 – The philosophy behind the Chess Dojo9:58 – How did Kostya transition from playing to teaching?
11:25 – Drawing inspiration from Mark Dvorestky
12:55 – The Dojo’s online training plan16:20 – If a player outgrows his teacher, can the teacher still be of use?18:00 – Running into Dojo fans around the world
21:35 – How Kostya finds his training material23:00 – Why Kostya does not necessarily think new books are better than the older ones
28:10 – Meeting Vasil Ivanchuk in Reykjavik37:08 – AD BREAK
38:05 – The value of post-mortem analysis
41:00 – What eleven hours of analysis with Vasil Ivanchuk feels like49:00 – Grenke50:50 – The future of freestyle chess54:40 – Did Kostya analyse the freestyle games from Grenke?
57:00 – Kostya’s trip to Spain to train with Jacob Aagaard58:20 – AD BREAK
59:00 – Kostya’s quest to become a grandmaster1:01:50 – Has teaching made Kostya a better player?
1:05:10 – Kostya’s bet with Dirk Jan
--------
1:07:26
#63. Efim Geller: The Chess King Of Odessa | 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 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 Championship. During the twenty-year period in which he was recognized as being a world top ten player, he faced ten different world champions, scoring victories against eight of them and even coming out with a positive overall score (+39-36=131). A natural attacking player who became more well-rounded as his career progressed, Geller was also known as an opening expert, contributing significantly to the emergence of the King's Indian Defence in top-level play. He was active as a coach, aiding future world champions Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov in their respective world championship match preparations. Genna, who ran into Geller several times over the years, paints a compelling portrait of the somewhat "underappreciated-by-history" grandmaster.Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!
--------
47:22
#62. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 6) | 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.This week's narration, which is the final part of a six-part series, examines the final phase of Tal's life. As his physical ailments mounted, Tal never "slowed down" his hedonistic lifestyle. Money was tight in his final years, but he never stopped relying on chess for his income, ultimately living off simuls and exhibitions. However, this did not diminish the legendary, near-mythical status that he achieved during his heyday.
--------
30:18
#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 chess tournaments, which significantly raised the standards for chess professionalism. He befriended several of the world's strongest players, including Garry Kasparov. Together with them, he would go on to found the Grandmaster Association (GMA), an organisation aimed at creating "a high-quality environment for chess and to promote professional chess by grandmasters". Although the GMA would eventually disappear, Bessel kept his interest in chess while remaining active in other fields, such as film production and pro cycling. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam during the Prague Chess Festival, Bessel retells the story of the origins of the GMA, his relationship with Kasparov, and numerous anecdotes involving the greatest chess players of all time. 0:00 – Intro2:44 – Welcome Bessel!
4:26 – How Bessel became involved in chess
8:42 – The first SWIFT tournament
13:45 – The origins of the Grandmaster Association (GMA)
19:50 – Lubomir Kavalek, dawn of a “golden era”
24:50 – Start of the conflict between GMA and FIDE
30:30 – Kasparov’s vision for the GMA
32:12 – AD BREAK
32:52 – Kasparov breaks away from the GMA
41:16 – Bessel’s appreciation for chess players
44:44 – Bessel’s favourite: Misha Tal
46:50 – Bessel tells a Bobby Fischer story
54:21 – AD BREAK
55:19 – The Magnus vs FIDE conflict
58:10 – Chess vs cycling
1:01:30 – Bessel’s candidacy for FIDE president
1:04:10 – Bessel doesn’t see a leader in the chess world
1:05:35 – Outro
The New In Chess Podcast features interviews with the world's leading chess players, authors and personalities. New In Chess is a prize-winning publisher of chess books and the New In Chess magazine. The book publishing program focuses on training manuals, opening theory, chess history and chess entertainment.
South Africa