Photo courtesy of GM Hambleton
26 year old Grandmaster Aman Hambleton is one of Canada’s top 10 players and, among other distinctions, he has represented his country in the Chess Olympiad multiple times. Of course, he is best known as one of the founding members (along with GM Eric Hansen) of the extremely popular chess streaming team known as the Chessbrahs. In our lengthy and entertaining conversation we discuss topics ranging from Chessbrah origins, to the business of being a chess streamer to the struggles Aman endured to earn the Grandmaster title. This was a fun one! Please read on for timestamps and relevant links.
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0:00- Intro! We kick things off by discussing all that goes into creating a vlog, like this awesome Reykjavik Open Tournament Recap Vlog that Aman and the Chessbrahs recently released.
8:00- We transition to discussing the business of Chessbrah. How many employees does Chessbrah have? What project are they working on outside of chess? This includes a discussion of the origins of GM Eric Hansen and Aman forming Chessbrahs.
Mentioned: Aman Hambleton’s old blog
14:00- Aman tackles the first of many questions (thanks guys!) from a Patreon Supporter of Perpetual Chess. This question relates to how much income Twitch streamers can expect to make. Other questions relate to advice for getting into chess streaming.
29:30- GM Hambleton fields some listener questions about how GM Yasser Seirawan joined team Chessbrah, what his favorite Yasser story is, and Aman even does an impromptu Yasser impersonation!
Mentioned: Trailer Park Boys. Chess World Cup 2019 (which the Chessbrahs will be covering), Second City Improv , GM Vidit Gujrathi
45:00- Another listener asks about how many mice the Chessbrah’s have broken due to chess rage, and whether people complain that the Chessbrah’s sometimes suggest moves to each other.
Mentioned: GM Robin van Kampen, FM Lefong Hua
51:45- Chess improvement! How much has Aman trained his blndfold chess abilities?
Mentioned: Jeff Coakley
58:00- Aman talks about the immense challenge it was for him to get the GM title, and about what motivated him and enabled him to get it.
Mentioned: The Taimanov Bible: A Complete Manual for the Sicilain Player, Aman explain his win vs GM Shirov to Fiona Steil-Antoni, or play through Hambleton-Shirov 2017 here
1:08- Another listener asks about the history of the opening containing a queen sacrifice that Aman has dubbed “the undefeated opening”.
Mentioned: Check out one of Aman’s blitz games with the Undefeated Opening with it here. Englund Gambit game from Reykjavik Open vs. Lars Laustsen here
1:12- A listener asks, has blitz helped Aman’s chess, can it help ours? Does Aman play better or worse chess while streaming?
1:24- Who have been Aman’s toughest online blitz opponent?
Mentioned: GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Sergei Karjakin, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen-Hambleton 2017
1:28- Spurred by another listener question, Aman assesses the current health of the Canadian Chess Scene
Mentioned: GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Sam Shankland, GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, GM Wang Hao, GM Wesley So, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Leinier Dominguez
1:38- How can one become a Chessbrah?
Mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, John Urschel, Chessbrah Norway Chess 2019 Coverage
1:44- One last listener question- How does being a chess professional/well known personality help or hurts Aman’s dating life?
1:48- Goodbye! Here is how you can keep up with Aman and the Chessbrahs: Aman’sTwitter, Aman’s Instagram, Chessbrah Twitch, Chessbrah Youtube Channel, Chessbrah TV Twitter
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