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
132 episodes
CM Can Kabadayi: How to Prevent Blunders and Why He’s a Top Coach for Club Players
123 He went from beginner to 2150 FIDE in just four years. And that’s without receiving any coaching! Later, he became one of Chessable’s most popular course creators, recently winning Author of the Year in 2024.CM Can Kabadayi is a rare...
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Episode 123
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1:08:28
Are There Too Many Drawbacks to OTB Tournaments? A Chat w/ FM Nate Solon
122 You hear the positives of competing in OTB classical events all the time (including from me on this podcast). And their improvement benefits are undeniable. However, they have some serious downsides: money, time, and energy, just to name a ...
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Episode 122
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55:16
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GM Arturs Neiksans: From Late-Blooming GM Who Reached 2600+ to a Premier Coach & Course Creator
121 Latvian GM Arturs Neiksans earned his Grandmaster title relatively late. At age 28. But that didn’t stop him from becoming a force in the chess world.Not only did he climb to an impressive 2631 FIDE rating…But even outside of competi...
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Episode 121
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1:05:40
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Bishops, Bullet, and Bobby Fischer: Daniel Lona Interviewed By Omar Mills, Part II
120 Daniel Lona is interviewed by guest host Omar Mills, fellow club player, in the second part of a special episode celebrating The Chess Experience podcast's third anniversary.Three years ago, Daniel Lona launched The Chess Experience ...
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Episode 120
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53:51
Schedule Update: Sick Delay, Part II of Anniversary Interview, & GM Arturs Neiksans
A quick schedule update. Alas, no episode this week due to being very sick :( But we'll return on Tues, March 25th with the second part of me being interviewed by Omar Mills for the 3rd anniversary of this show. Then on ...
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0:43
Behind the Mic: Daniel Lona Interviewed By Omar Mills on 3 Years of The Chess Experience - Part I
119 Daniel Lona celebrates the third anniversary of hosting The Chess Experience by sitting in the guest chair, interviewed by previous guest and adult club player Omar Mills.Three years ago, Daniel Lona launched The Chess Experience wit...
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Episode 119
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55:05
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GM Susan Polgar: A Chess Legend on How She Broke Barriers & Elevated the Game
118 GM Susan Polgar is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. She became the first-ever woman to earn the GM title by rating and norms. By age 15, she became the highest-rated female chess player on the planet.In 1996, she became the Women’s World...
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Episode 118
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59:43
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Updates: Schedule Update & Video Pod Episodes
News updates for this week: 1) GM Susan Polgar is coming to the show very soon! 2) You can submit a question for Susan by joining my Patreon membership (deadline to submit Q is 2/27 at ...
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2:13
How to Build Attacking Intuition w/ WGM Thalia Cervantes Landeiro
117 Hailing from Cuba, and now one of the top American women players, WGM Thalia Cervantes is a chess powerhouse. For the past four years, she’s been invited to and played at the elite US Women’s Chess Championship.And her competitive pu...
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Episode 117
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1:09:57
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GM Boris Avrukh: How to Play Better Defense, Coaching Fabi, & Playing Against Tal
116 What a chess career! GM Boris Avrukh cracked the World Top 50 in 2005 and achieved a peak rating of 2668. He has coached the world’s best players like Fabiano Caruana, Vladimir Kramnik, and Wesley So. And he even got to be the last pe...
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Episode 116
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1:03:30
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Nigerian Star Uses Chess to Improve Others’ Lives & Her Own w/ WFM Perpetual Ogbiyoyo
115 She learned the game at 19. The next year she became a titled player with an 1800+ FIDE rating. Then, several years later, WFM Perpetual Ogbiyoyo founded an organization to spread chess to girls and women throughout Nigeria. Now, she’...
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Episode 115
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40:19
Adult Improver Pod: Nicholas Sloan - A 400+ Rating Rise in 2 Years (& Chasing the NM Title)
114 Leaping 400 rating points in classical, rated chess as an adult in just two years? That requires a huge effort and rare dedication. Two qualities that describe well this week’s guest, fellow adult club player, Nicholas Sloan. Specifically, ...
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Episode 114
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1:03:47
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GM Josh Friedel - Common Middlegame Mistakes & Coaching Insights
113 Rarely do grandmasters focus on helping club players and beginners. But when they do it’s rare and exciting. Their extra skill and understanding of the game deliver insights that even other titled players may not possess. That’s what GM Jos...
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Episode 113
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52:27
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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1:01:51
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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43:10
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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44:15
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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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Episode 109
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1:05:33
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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51:41
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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1:10:15
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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30:27
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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1:02:50
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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48:56
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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1:10:12
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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56:56
