This week's guest is Australian Grandmaster Max Illingworth. Max is a coach, author, and blogger who has lots of experience working with adult chess improvers and a sincere interest in helping them get better. His chess.com blog is instruction rich and formed the basis of our conversation. Max shared his thoughts on why many adult players have trouble improving, including the erroneous thought processes and approaches that hinder progress. As a reminder, you can become a Patreon member of...

Welcome to Season 7! As a reminder, you can become a Patreon member of The Chess Angle. For just $2 a month, you can support the show while receiving a few perks including access to a members-only blog, Neal's personal episode notes/outlines, priority consideration for questions/topic suggestions, and early access to select episodes.  If you're interested in a single donation, we also have a Buy Me a Coffee page, where you can buy us a "virtual" coffee as a one-off contribution. We...

This episode is our Season 6 finale. We'll be taking a short break and will return with Season 7 on April 14, 2024. This week, we discuss ten common reasons why players at the club level lose games: 1 - Non-processing 2 - Rushing against odd opening moves 3 - Neglecting development/premature attacks 4 - Misplaying castling 5 - Rook posing 6 - Too much French pastry 7 - Trading down to a losing King and pawn ending 8 - Trying too hard to win 9 - Being cavalier against lower-rated...

This week's guest, Tim Just, is a major figure in tournament directing and chess administration. He is a National TD, editor of the 5th-7th editions of the US Chess Rulebook, author, and columnist. When it comes to directing amateur chess tournaments, he's done it all and seen it all. In this episode, Tim shares a number of wild and entertaining anecdotes from the amateur chess scene. You can't make this stuff up! Links for Tim Just: My Opponent is Eating a Doughnut Just Law Rules | US...

Nick Visel is a dedicated club player with a long term goal of achieving the title of National Master. He is well known in the adult improver community and is very popular on Twitter/X. You may be interested in subscribing to Nick's Substack where he shares book reviews, analysis of his OTB tournament games, and more. This week, Nick joined Neal for a candid conversation about chess improvement, the ups and downs of playing at the club level, and how the amateur chess scene has changed over...

In this jam-packed episode, return guest Grandmaster Daniel Gormally discusses the upcoming 2024 Candidates Chess Tournament: the players, controversies, history, and more. The winner of this event will challenge Ding Liren for the title of World Chess Champion. The Candidates begins on 4/3/24 in Toronto, Canada. Links for the Candidates Tournament: Chess.com Article  FIDE Article Links for GM Daniel Gormally: Ep. 96: GM Daniel Gormally on Adult Chess Improvement, the Cheating Epidemic,...

Welcome to our 100th episode! Be sure to check out our new and improved website. Same address, updated look. This week, we explore five universal responses for Black. These can be played against any first move by White.  In this episode: Listener Mailbag 1…g6 (Modern Defense) Hippopotamus Defense 1…e6  1…b6  1…Nc6  Referenced: 10 Black "Opening Systems" (ThePawnSlayer chess.com blog) The Amateur’s Mind Winning Chess Strategies Simple Chess 🎯 Support the Show:  Patreon  Buy Me a...

Chess improvement can be overwhelming and daunting for beginners looking to reach the intermediate level and beyond. This is especially true for busy adults with limited study time. In the episode, we provide a general overview of what we believe beginners and advanced beginners should focus on and provide a number of suggested resources to get you started. Suggested Books: Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess How to Win at Chess: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners and Beyond (Levy Rozman) The...

The week, Neal dives into the listener mailbag to discuss the parallels between music and chess, handling losses, and dealing with frustration at the chessboard. This is followed by an open and candid discussion about mindset and attitude at the chessboard during OTB tournaments. There's definitely an emphasis on chess psychology for this episode. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (00:48) - Chess and Music (07:38) - Dealing with Losses (17:00) - Frustration at the Chessboard (22:49) - The Chess...

This week's guest is National Master Daniel Lowinger, a high school Chinese teacher who cut his teeth playing chess on the New York scene. Dan offers some thoughtful and philosophical ideas about amateur chess improvement, titles, being honest with oneself, and much more. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (03:48) - Dan's Beginnings (06:24) - Thoughts on Chess Titles (23:44) - Honesty with Oneself (29:43) - Adult Improvement (44:18) - 3...Qd8 Scandinavian Defense (55:29) - Opening Originals:...

Our guest this week is English Grandmaster Daniel Gormally. Daniel is a professional chess player and coach who has written several books on the game. He is also the author of a 3-part Chessable series entitled Sharp Middlegames. In addition, Daniel has represented England in the European Team Championship and is a two-time winner of the English Rapid Play Championship. He earned his final GM norm in 2005 in a tournament where he scored a 2693 performance rating.  Chapters: (00:00) -...

This week we discuss how to analyze your chess games with an engine to increase learning, avoid mistakes, and explore your thought process. Neal addresses some listener mail and then reviews one of his OTB games where he was having an off night. There were miscues from both players throughout which is typical at the club level. Referenced: Ep. 45: The Truth About Chess Engines for Club Players Bellon vs. 1630:  1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d6 3. e3 Nbd7 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Be7 6. h3 b6 7. c4 Bb7 8....

Happy New Year! For our first episode of 2024, Neal answers some questions from our listener mailbag and shares his chess study plan for 2024.  Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (01:20) - Neal's 2024 Study Plan (09:57) - Are YouTube Videos Helpful? (14:43) - Chess Club Attendance (34:37) - Sicilian vs. Caro-Kann (41:33) - Aggressive vs. Timid Opponents (48:02) - Outro Referenced: Practical Chess Exercises (Amazon) 🎯 Support the Show:  Patreon  Buy Me a Coffee 📧 If you have a...

Happy Holidays! This week, Neal shares a brief holiday message. Thank you to everyone for supporting the show. We saw a major uptick in downloads in 2023. We'll be taking an extended holiday/end-of-year break and will resume on Sunday, January 14, 2024.  If you're a new listener, now is a great time to binge and catch up. We hope you win your next game! 🎯 Support the Show:  Patreon Buy Me a Coffee📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at...

Many club-level players consistently have trouble facing 1. d4. This week, we explore why that is, and offer some practical and philosophical advice. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (01:40) - 1. d4 General Thoughts (07:00) - Social Media and 1. d4 (12:12) - 1. d4 vs. 1. e4 (15:10) - Nimzo & Q. Indian Defenses (22:30) - Fighting the London System (26:54) - Fighting the Catalan Opening (34:05) - Outro Referenced: Ep. 48: The Nimzo & Queen's Indian Defenses: A Complete System Against 1....

The Botvinnik System is a solid opening choice for White that is easy to learn. We also discuss system openings generally and how they can benefit club players with limited study time. **Errata: In the episode at (23:31), it should be 8. d3, not e3. Please refer to the .pgn below. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (00:37) - System Opening Benefits (15:54) - Botvinnik System (24:26) - Outro Referenced: Silman ArticleChess Openings: How to Play the English Opening! (YouTube)Win with The Botvinnik...

This week we take a deep dive into some of the most common thematic mistakes that club players make on a regular basis. Most of them have to do with misguided tournament strategies and mishandling your opponent, rather than a lack of chess theory. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (04:08) - The 3 Most Missed Moves (08:19) - Misreading Defensive Moves (11:20) - Brain Fog (13:40) - Matching (16:45) - "Temper Tantrum" Chess (20:34) - Punishing (25:29) - Chess Theater (30:27) - "Active" Moves (33:33) -...

FM Alex King returns to the podcast to share his journey from NM to FM. In addition, we discuss some practical improvement topics that club players of all levels should find useful. Check out Episode #23 if you missed Alex's first appearance on the pod. Alex resides in Memphis, TN and is an active player, coach, and writer.  Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 26:54 - Rating Deflation 35:42 - Backsplaining 42:55 - Null Move Strategy/Hypothesis 59:36 - Outro 📚 Referenced: WinningGrind Like a...

Andy Ansel is a devoted chess enthusiast who is well known for his impressive book collection which features over 15,000 items. He also has an extensive tournament background with a peak rating of USCF 2100. His playing experience includes games against three World Champions (Symslov, Tal, and Kasparov). Currently, Andy is active in correspondence chess and recently earned the CM title.  In this episode, Andy discusses his book collection in detail and gives his opinion on classic vs. modern...

David MacEnulty is a legendary chess coach best known for his work with disadvantaged children at Community Elementary School #70 in the South Bronx in New York City. He took them from beginning players to national scholastic champions, an astonishing feat. David was portrayed by famed actor Ted Danson in the 2005 TV-film Knights of the South Bronx which details his experience at CES #70. In this episode, David shares his remarkable story, including some wild cheating incidents his students...

For this season's first interview episode, Neal spoke with Xilin Chen, a 24-year old student at Stonybrook University and a Long Island Chess Club regular. Xilin described his chess improvement activities: lots of 3-0 and 1-0 online games, analyzing his own games, chess.com study resources, and virtually no chess books. He also shared his thought process when playing OTB tournament games. 🎯 Support the Show:  Patreon Buy Me a Coffee📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode,...

There's a lot of chess advice out there, but is all of it sound? Will these suggestions really help you, especially if you're an emerging player looking to get to the intermediate level?  While this episode is primarily aimed at players rated about 1000 USCF, we believe improvers of all levels will enjoy it. Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 07:22 - Classic Games 10:05 - Chess Engines 13:39 - Daily Study Plans 25:28 - Openings 31:07 - Outro 📚 Books Referenced: Willpower (Amazon)How to Study Chess on...

This week we continue our discussion of IM Jeremy Silman. Some are critical of his method, and while Neal considers Silman's system to be essential for improvement, he shares a few nitpicks of his own in the spirit of thoroughness. Referenced: Silman's response to his critics.  Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 02:45 - Nitpicks 24:46 - Other Criticism of Silman 35:48 - Outro 🎯 Support the Show:  Patreon Buy Me a Coffee📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at...

Welcome to Season 6! Sadly, renowned chess educator IM Jeremy Silman passed away recently. Many consider his content to be essential for amateur improvement. He is probably best known for his system of imbalances and its application to the middlegame. This week, we'll give an overview of his approach and discuss some of his books and online content.  Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 07:58 - The Imbalances 11:38 - The Amateur's Mind 15:05 - Complete Book of Chess Strategy 17:11 - Reassess Your...