Ep. 132 (S8 Finale): Chess Teaching, Part 2: Materials, Resources, & Essential Concepts
Release Date: 11/03/2024
Ep. 157 (S10 Premiere): 1...e6 vs. EVERYTHING, Does Blitz Mess Up Your Thought Process?, & More
The Chess Angle
Welcome to Season 10! This week we discuss 1...e6, blitz chess, using the King in the endgame, and more. Referenced: 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 156 (S9 Finale): The THREE Things You Need to Know to Beat 1. d4, Common Beginner Mistakes, Spite Checks, and Stalemate Fantasies
The Chess Angle
This is the S9 Finale. S10 Premiere coming soon. In the meantime, check out the which has instructional videos for busy adult players. We're looking to get the channel fully off the ground and add more content on a consistent basis. Game Referenced: 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c3 Be7 6. h3 O-O 7. Bd3 Ne4 8. Bxe4 dxe4 9. Ne5 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Bd6 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. O-O Rd8 13. Nd2 e5 14. Nxe4 Qe6 15. Qf3 b6 16. Ng5 Qg6 17. Qxa8 Qxg5 18. Qf3 Re8 19. dxe5 Rxe5 20. Rad1 h6 21. Rd2 Bf5 22. Qa8+ Kh7 23. f4 Qg3 24. fxe5 Qxe3+ 25. Rdf2 Bxh3 26. gxh3 Qg3+ 27. Qg2 Qxg2+ 28. Kxg2 c5 29....
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Ep. 155: Why Many Adults Give Up on Chess, and How You Can Be the Exception
The Chess Angle
In this episode, we dive into the hidden challenges adult players face when returning to chess after a long break, and the powerful mindset shifts that separate those who thrive from those who quit. Whether you’re battling self-doubt, time constraints, or rating plateaus, this episode offers real talk and practical strategies to help you stay motivated, set realistic goals, and rediscover the joy of the game. We also share the "driveway method" to help shake off a tough loss. This was referenced in this episode. 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode,...
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Ep. 154: Wasted Prep? Why Your Opponent-Specific Prep Might Be Useless Below 2000
The Chess Angle
In this Listener Mailbag exclusive, we discuss whether prepping for specific opponents is worth it at the amateur level, and a bunch of other stuff too... 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 153: There is NO Advantage to Having the White Pieces at the Amateur Level
The Chess Angle
This week is all about chess opening philosophy. We discuss a number of ideas about opening prep and argue that having the White pieces does not provide any meaningful advantage at the club level since most amateur games are littered with mistakes, thus negating any possible benefit of moving first. The basis of this episode is a response to the excellent article by NM Jeremy Kane. 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 152: Grinding Out Endgame Wins at the Club Level (Game Analysis #14)
The Chess Angle
This week we discuss endgame strategy for club players and some other stuff as well. Grinding out a win in an "even" endgame is a mixture of patience, stubbornness, and luck. A .pgn for the game we analyze is below. We reference the highly recommended book (Amazon) by GM John Emms, . 1. Nf3 b6 2. g3 Bb7 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. c4 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. d3 c5 8. e4 d6 9. Nd2 Nc6 10. f4 Qd7 11. g4 Nd4 12. g5 Ne8 13. Nf3 Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 Nc7 15. Be3 d5 16. Bf2 dxc4 17. dxc4 Qxd1 18. Raxd1 Rad8 19. Kg2 f6 20. h4 fxg5 21. hxg5 Bc6 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Rd1 Rxd1 24. Bxd1 Kf7 25. Be3 Bd6 26. Bf3 g6 27. e5...
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Ep. 151: You Have 8 Years to Improve, Then It’s Game Over: A Discussion & Debate About Adult Chess Improvement feat. NM Tim Mirabile
The Chess Angle
A number of years ago, GM Andy Soltis claimed that once a chess player becomes serious about the game, there is an 8-year window during which he achieves 90% of his maximum chess potential. Anything beyond that time frame is just squeezing out the remaining 10%. NM Tim Mirabile returns to the podcast to discuss this theory and a bunch of other chess improvement topics. In this episode we reference this and a . 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 150: The Jobava London System: A Chess Opening for Busy Adults
The Chess Angle
The Jobava London (1. d4, 2. Nc3, 3. Bf4) is an opening system that is easy to learn, yet still has a lot of sting, especially against ...g6 set-ups by Black. It can easily throw off an opponent who's expecting to face a standard London formation. The theory and ideas are fairly simple, making it a great choice for those with limited study time. Much of the info in this episode is referenced from the book (Amazon) by GM Simon Williams. You may also wish to check out our previous episode on the standard London System: . 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a...
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Ep. 149: Build Your Technique, Build Your Rating: The Game-Changer You Need
The Chess Angle
This episode is a review of the chess.com course . This is a highly recommended training module for adult players looking to improve. We also share some chess club stories, dive into the Listener Mailbag, and react to a . 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
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Ep. 148: Can An Adult Beginner Reach 1600?
The Chess Angle
This week we discuss ratings and improvement for busy adults. You may wish to check out the referenced in this episode. 📧 If you have a question, comment, or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at . 🎯 Our Links:
info_outlineThis episode is our Season 8 Finale! Neal will be taking an extended end-of-year break and will return with Season 9 in January 2025. This week, we continue our discussion on chess teaching with a focus on materials, resources, and essential concepts for developing players.
Referenced Resources and Materials:
- Chess.com
- Chessable
- Practical Chess Exercises
- The Amateur's Mind
- Winning Chess Tactics
- Winning Chess Strategies
- Jeff Coakley books (red and green)
- Pandolfini's Endgame Course
- Openings: Starting Out series by Everyman Chess
Referenced Chess Concepts for Developing Players:
- General board vision and not hanging pieces
- Address gross blunders
- Basic mates with the heavy pieces (but arguably, don’t worry about mate with the Bishop and Knight)
- Basic mating patterns: back rank mate, Anastasia’s mate, Epaulette’s mate, Smothered mate, etc.
- Lots of mate-in-1 and mate-in-2 exercises
- Stalemate
- Basic tactical themes (pins, forks, skewers, overloaded piece, etc.)
- 3-move combinations
- Basic opening principles
- Basic middlegame & positional ideas (minor pieces, pawn structure, space, initiative, King safety, files and squares). Things like “rooks belong on open files,” “Knights prefer closed positions,” “Queen and Knight is a lethal attacking combination”
- Basic endgame ideas (King and pawn vs. King, the opposition, square of the pawn, triangulation, outflanking, rooks behind passed pawns, passed pawn tactics, rook and pawn endings, opposite colored bishop endings, Queen vs. pawn on the 7th, etc.
📧 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected].
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