The Chess Experience
Chess improvement as an adult is harder than it should be. Plus, the journey can sometimes feel too stressful and serious. This show aims to fix that by 1) interviewing experts who can offer clarity on the best ways to improve; and 2) giving you a heap of fun with “chess entertainment” shows that discuss chess culture, events, movies, etc. Most episodes feature a guest, but sometimes I'll do a solo show on a topic. This is all brought to you by me, Daniel Lona. I’m a dedicated chess amateur and the owner of Adult Chess Academy. After listening to this podcast, I want you to have a clearer idea of how to improve, and have a more fun, dynamic chess experience. Please follow the show so you don’t miss an episode!
Episodes
119 episodes
Adult Improver Pod: Sydney Strauss - Moving to NYC to Chase Her Chess Dreams
112 Would you move to a new city for chess? Few have that level of commitment to the game. But our guest this week did exactly that. Adult improver Sydney Strauss moved to New York City this past year to pursue her relatively new passion for ch...
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Episode 112
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1:00:52
WIM Svitlana Demchenko - Insights on Imbalances and Her Dynamic Chess Life
111 She does it all. WIM Svitlana Demchenko is a course creator, coach, streamer, and high-level chess competitor. Born in Ukraine and a long-time Canadian citizen, Svitlana proved herself early in chess, becoming a five-time Canadian girls cha...
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Episode 111
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42:11
WGM Maria Gevorgyan - 5x-Armenian National Champion & Chess Coach
110 Today’s guest is the inspiring and talented WGM Maria Gevorgyan. Few have managed to become a national chess champion, let alone do it five times. But Maria has! In addition to becoming the women’s chess champion of Armenia multiple times…<...
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Episode 110
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43:16
Schedule Update for December '24
A quick update on this month's (12/24) release schedule. The holidays make it a little more difficult to schedule guests, so I'll be only releasing two episodes this month. The next will be on Tuesday, December 17th. The other will be on the 31...
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1:21
Ding vs. Gukesh - World Championship Preview w/ FM Carsten Hansen
109 The upcoming World Championship should be a fascinating one! GM Ding Liren is the reigning world champ. While he’s an extraordinary talent, his rating and performance have backslid this past year. And, sadly, Ding has been struggling with p...
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1:04:33
Aggressive Openings & Innovative Strategies for Club Players w/ FM Midas Ratmas
Our guest this week is a self-taught FIDE Master, coach, and popular course creator hailing from the Netherlands: Midas Ratmas.Midas has built his chess career around helping club players and beginners.As such, he’s developed a ...
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Episode 108
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50:42
Adult Improver Pod - Nick Visel: Pursuing Chess Improvement Without Burnout
107 Few adult club players are as committed to the game as Nick Visel. For years, he’s been racking up countless OTB classical games, poring through books and courses, and sharing his wisdom on Chess Twitter. Currently, Nick stands at 1600 USCF...
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Episode 107
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1:09:16
WCM Adriana Palao: Pursuing Chess Titles & Movie Magic
106 Adriana is a dynamic titled player, coach, and content creator from Spain. She’s already reached a 2000+ FIDE rating and is working regularly towards her WFM title. This year alone, she’s competed in ten OTB classical tournaments.Ad...
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Episode 106
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29:27
Evaluation: A Vital But Overlooked Skill For Club Players w/ GM Eugene Perelshteyn
105 Today’s guest is a huge help to countless adult improvers.GM Eugene Perelshteyn is a highly regarded coach, author, and course creator.In more recent years, he went beyond helping his private students and extended his chess wi...
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Episode 105
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1:04:43
Behind The Scenes of Chess Journalism with Vanessa Sun
104 This week’s guest is Vanessa Sun, a former chess journalist. For years, she covered events for US Chess, from major national tournaments like the US Open to local competitions.She was also a tournament director at the famous Marshal...
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Episode 104
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47:57
Adult Improver Pod: Dr. Ryan Thomas - Revamping His Approach to Chess Study
103 Our guest is an inspiring adult improver, Dr. Ryan Thomas. Ryan is a surgeon, a cancer researcher, and a father of two. With all that, he’s still highly dedicated to chess improvement and his love of the game. Ryan regularly attends OTB cla...
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Episode 103
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1:09:12
IM Boroljub Zlatanovic - How Amateurs Can Play Like GMs & Making Chess Principles a Top Priority
102 Learning from a prolific chess author and course creator is always exciting. Today we dive into various chess improvement topics from Serbian International Master, Boro Zlatanovic. Boro has published over two dozen courses and books. ...
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Episode 102
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55:57
FM Megan Lee - Achieving New Heights as an Adult in OTB Chess
101 Megan Lee is an inspiration to all of us adult improvers. Even with a busy work life running two businesses, Megan has had an incredible year: reaching her lifetime rating peak (2297 FIDE), earning the FM title, and competing in the US Wome...
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Episode 101
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43:38
Podcast Schedule Update: Sept 3rd, 2024
A quick update on why the show has been MIA for three weeks (spoiler: COVID.) And when I'll resume...
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1:24
Sicilian Advice: WIM Tea Gueci, A Top Italian Female Player & Chess Coach
0100 She’s rated one of Italy’s top female players and has coached adult improvers for years. And she is this show’s first Italian guest! WIM Tea Guecci has had an impressive chess career. She broke records by age twelve, becoming the youngest ...
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Episode 100
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54:53
Chess Coach, Streamer, & Psychologist: WFM Fruzsina Szente-Varga
099 She’s been awarded “Chess Coach of the Month” by Chess.com. Plus, she has a master’s degree in psychology. Meet WFM Fruzsina Szente-Varga! Hailing from Hungary, Fruzsina has spent the past several years coaching adult club players and begin...
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Episode 99
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51:03
Leveling Up the Chess Community for Adult Club Players w/ Kamryn Heller & Omar Mills
098 Adult club players are a fast-growing part of the chess community. But this growth is relatively new. And the community may not have fully caught up to our sizeable presence. So, in a first for this podcast, I’ve brought in two guests to he...
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Episode 98
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1:22:28
Why Club Players Struggle Against 1.d4 (And Solving This Challenge) w/ IM Mateusz Kolosowski
097 Playing against 1.d4 can be awkward. Many club players say they’re less sure of what to do positionally and have more difficulty finding tactical possibilities. Even the most popular, and arguably best, opening responses like the Slav or th...
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Episode 97
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59:01
State of the Podcast: New Plans & Goals for 2024
096 After a two-week break, we are back! For the first time, I explain what I have in store for the podcast for 2024…and beyond. (Hint: it’s all good news!) From new episode formats to a different category of guests, I share my ambitions for th...
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Episode 96
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17:46
Grandmaster Insights On Mindset & Openings with GM Alex Colovic
095 GM Alex Colovic is an exceptional course creator and an engaging writer on all things chess. He returns to the pod to discuss some intriguing subjects from his weekly newsletter. I hand-picked three topics Alex wrote about that I found fasc...
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Episode 95
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1:02:47
Growing Chess's Popularity With Better Live Coverage with Kaja Snare
094 Kaja Snare, a pro chess broadcaster, has been leading chess into a new and more accessible era of live coverage. Gone are the days of top-level chess being watchable only for the most dedicated to the game. With her co-hosts,...
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Episode 94
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1:03:43
NM Robert Ramirez: A Rising Chess Coach Star (with Tons of Improvement Tips!)
093 An exciting new chess coach has hit the scene. NM Robert Ramirez has seen a huge growth in popularity in the past several years. Already, his YouTube channel has grown to 140K subscribers at the time of this episode. He’s launched two...
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Episode 93
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1:10:28
Elaynah: All In With Chess - Chasing a Title & Rising Content Creator
092 It’s rare to see an adult chase a title and work full-time as a chess content creator. With passion and confidence, that’s exactly what this week’s guest, Elaynah, is doing with her chess life. It's an inspiring journe...
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Episode 92
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54:34
Emilia Castelao: Improving Chess Worldwide For Women & Becoming the Rare Chess Historian
091 This week’s guest, Emilia Castelao, approaches chess in rare but special ways. First, she’s making chess her career. Though not as a player, coach, or content creator. Instead, she’s pursuing a Ph.D in chess history.For most folks, ...
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Episode 91
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54:04
WGM Dina Belenkaya: A Born Chess Entertainer, Her New Course, & Chasing the IM Title
090 With natural charisma and exceptional chess skills, Dina Belenkaya is perfect for this new era of chess. A serious student of the game all her life, she competed professionally and earned the WGM title in 2016. In 2020, Dina began her...
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Episode 90
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1:10:58
