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Perpetual Chess Podcast

Perpetual Chess Podcast

By: Ben Johnson
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Summary
 Perpetual Chess features weekly conversations with the chess world's best players, trainers and accomplished amateurs about their careers, current projects, best practices and the latest in chess news. Learn more at PerpetualChessPod.com2023 Perpetual Chess LLC
Episodes
  • Ep 507- GM Jan Gustafsson Previews Gukesh vs. Sindarov: Is the World Champion Being Underrated?

    Ep 507- GM Jan Gustafsson Previews Gukesh vs. Sindarov: Is the World Champion Being Underrated?
    Nov 10 2026
    The 2026 FIDE World Championship is just weeks away, so we rounded up a favorite guest to help preview it. GM Jan Gustafsson is a renowned opening theoretician, trainer, and Chessable author who served on Magnus Carlsen's World Championship preparation teams. Jan joined me to give his somewhat surprising assessment of the upcoming title match between GM Javokhir Sindarov and GM D Gukesh. We discuss how opening preparation has evolved, why World Championship matches tend to produce more draws than expected, and how Jan's match assessment compares with betting markets and Elo-based models. Jan has been busy, so we also discussed his role as captain of the 2026 German Olympiad team, which earned an outstanding third-place finish. Jan also previews his newest Chessable course, which draws on the opening repertoire of Germany's biggest chess star. Lastly, we touched on the Esports World Cup and caught up on books, TV shows, and Jan's plans for the rest of 2026. Thanks to our sponsor Claude ai. Check it out at Claude.ai/chess Mentioned in the podcast: Ben’s FIDE World Championship Forecasting Model (Built with Claude) https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/2026wcmodel Donchenko-Gukesh game https://www.chess.com/events/2026-fide-chess-olympiad-open/09/Donchenko_Alexander-Gukesh_D Vokhidov-Svane https://www.chess.com/events/2026-fide-chess-olympiad-open/08/Vokhidov_Shamsiddin-Svane_Rasmus FM Donny Ariel’s YOUTUBE Channel https://www.youtube.com/@DonnyArielChess Pop Culture Recs: Jan- The Invite (Film), The Knick (Show), Mobland (show) , Industry (Show), Norm McDonald YouTube Clips Ben- How to Get Rich in American History (book), The Lowdown (Show), Lupin (show) Jan’s Chessable courses- https://www.chessable.com/author/JanGustafsson/ Ben’s Chessable course- https://www.chessable.com/author/Ben.Johnson/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • EP 506: FM Andrey Terekhov on Smyslov's Legacy and the Mysteries of Zurich 1953

    EP 506: FM Andrey Terekhov on Smyslov's Legacy and the Mysteries of Zurich 1953
    Nov 3 2026
    FM Andrey Terekhov is an award-winning author, dad, and software engineer. For the last decade or so, Andrey has been consumed with writing a detailed biography of the underappreciated World Champion, GM Vasily Smyslov. This week he joins me to discuss The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov, Volume 2: The Challenger. The book goes beyond Smyslov's life and games, offering a fascinating look at Soviet chess history, including what may be the most famous chess tournament of all time. We discuss: The enduring legacy of Zurich 1953. What makes this tournament so famous? What did Andrey discover about allegations of Soviet collusion and political interference? How close did Smyslov get to giving up chess to pursue a career as an opera singer? What characterized his style as a chess player? Andrey's incredibly detailed research process, including primary sources in multiple languages and a visit to Smyslov's former home in Moscow. Lastly, we discuss Andrey's own chess adventures and the chess scene in Paris and France, where Andrey now resides. I am so grateful to people like Andrey for devoting so much time to preserving chess history, and I greatly enjoyed his latest book and our conversation. Kotov's famous queen sacrifice against Averbakh Zurich 1953 by GM David Bronstein Center Stage and Behind the Scenes by GM Yuri Averbakh Achieving the Aim by GM Mikhail Botvinnik Andrey's blog post about the 2026 French Championship Paris Blitz Society Andrey's Chess.com profile The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov on Forward Chess Russell Enterprises — Smyslov biography Thanks to this week's sponsor: Check out Claude AI at claude.ai/chess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • EP 505- GM Melik Khachiyan on Building a Winning Team and Developing Chess Talent

    EP 505- GM Melik Khachiyan on Building a Winning Team and Developing Chess Talent
    Oct 27 2026
    GM Melik Khachiyan is a California-based, award-winning chess trainer and the 2023 U.S. Senior Champion. Melik is also the captain of the U.S. Women's Olympiad team, so it was the perfect time to catch up with him following the team's fourth-place finish at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. We discussed: Melik's reflections on the Olympiad, including the difficult decisions and psychological challenges of captaining a national team. Why he is optimistic about the future of U.S. women's chess. Stories from OTB encounters with GMs Nakamura, Kamsky and Mickey Adams Plus, for video viewers, Melik gives a quick tour of hsi new chess academy in Glendale, California. And, of course, Melik shares chess improvement advice for players of different ages and levels. 🎙️ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro and sponsor: Claude AI Check them out at Claude.ai/chess 01:53 GM Melik Khachiyan joins the show 02:38 Reflections on the U.S. Women's Olympiad performance 05:32 Helping players bounce back from tough losses 08:32 Why the U.S. women are now serious medal contenders 11:39 Patreon mailbag question: How does Melik decide who plays and who sits? 17:48 Catching up with chess legends at the Olympiad 19:08 Illness at the Olympiad and the challenges of tournament scheduling 23:49 Alice Lee and Carissa Yip's GM ambitions 25:04 Playing in the Olympiad vs. captaining a team 29:16 Melik's new chess academy in Glendale 35:42 Fitness, competitive chess, and hopes of returning to the U.S. Senior Championship 39:50 Memories of playing Hikaru Nakamura, Michael Adams, and Gata Kamsky Check out Melik’s games vs. Nakamura, Adams and Kamsky here: https://lichess.org/study/DbVY7xXk/ZbZ9GiTw 45:28 Learning from the world's best players 48:05 Chess improvement advice for kids and adults 50:00- Thanks to Melik for joining me again! You can reach him via his website: https://www.gmmelik.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 mins
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