Ono (⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠) talks to Fionn O'Donovan who was his first chess coach and inspired Ono to start coaching Adult Improvers as well. Fionn is the founder of the #chesspunks tactics group, has a PhD in Philosophy and works as a professional tutor. On this episode: (01:53) What does Fionn love most about chess? (05:07) How Ono met Fionn (07:32) The #chesspunks tactics group (11:53) Fionn's chess in 2023 (19:37)  Fionn’s experience switching to e4 (31:09) Improvement separate to...

Ono (⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠) talks to NM Ben Johnson about the Adult Improver endeavour of perpetual chess improvement against the backdrop of a busy adult life. Ben is the host of the legendary Perpetual Chess Podcast, creator of the weekly Perpetual Chess Linkfest + the author of the recently published book Perpetual Chess Improvement, among other things. On this episode: (01:56) The chess communities Ben belongs to (05:00) The state of Ben’s chess in 2023 (05:58) The importance of playing...

Ono (⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠) talks to Yara about being married to an Adult Improver as a non-chess player. Yara is Ono's wife and they share life, parenthood and a chess business (TheOnoZone) together. Yara + Ono talk about their experiences with chess in their family, as well as general emotion regulation, shame and community in chess. On this episode: (01:54) What Yara loves most about chess (02:33) Why Yara doesn't play chess (03:30) What it's like being married to a chess player (05:15)...

Ono (⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠) talks to Sara Herman (@ZefCatt) about Chess Content Creation, Chess Tournaments + Rating Anxiety, and more. Sara is a chess streamer + YouTuber as well as a chess tournament veteran. On this episode: (01:42) What Sara loves most about chess (03:06) Struggles of being a content creator (06:16) Is chess Sara’s job? (07:31) Sara’s 500 tournament chess history (08:56) Sara’s battle with rating + ego (11:00) Why chess brings out strong emotions (12:45) How Sara...

Ono (⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠) talks to Julia Rios of the chessfeels podcast about Chess Psychology, Chess Culture + Why Losing Hurts (so much), and more. On this episode: (01:18) What Julia loves most about chess (03:50) What Ono loves most about chess (04:32) How your psyche influences your chess (07:36) Julia’s chess style + personality (10:26) Chessfeels on Ono’s openings + sex life (11:16) Why honesty is key in chess improvement (13:06) Julia’s update since chessfeels season 2 (16:05) Why...

Ono (⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠) talks to his friend + student Ché Martin about playing chess when you're blind, blindfold chess, visualisation exercises + overcoming your ego for chess improvement. Ché is an Emmy award winning Visual Effects artist who went blind in adulthood and has a unique perspective on chess improvement. In this episode: (01:23) Why Ché thinks chess is similar to music + sex (02:19) Ché's story of going blind + coming into chess (+ how The Queen's Gambit book ruined audio books...

Ono (⁠@TheOnoZone⁠) talks to himself about his first experiences with OTB after only playing chess online + encourages other Adult Improvers to join their local chess club. In this episode: [2:10] My first experience of OTB with GM Anish Giri + GM Jorden van Foreest [7:32] How dealing with the 3D pieces affected my play + what I'm doing to improve my OTB board vision [13:31] My introduction to human emotion at the chessboard [18:10] Overthinking my opponent's reactions [20:19] How I...

In this first-ever episode of Ono Another Chess Podcast, Ono (@TheOnoZone) interviews Lichess community manager: Chris Callahan. In this episode: [1:21] What Chris loves about the game of chess + what drew him to chess [5:48] How to speak up about women being abused in chess if you're not a woman [12:33] Why it's bad for the chess world if women leave chess [16:19] The issue of women feeling unwelcome at chess clubs [18:48] Why Women's Chess Events are important [20:35] Where Chris...