Photo courtesy of GM Andy Soltis
Despite having retired from his day job at the NY Post, noted chess author and historian GM Andy Soltis remains quite busy writing chess books. This week he returns to Perpetual Chess to tell some great stories and discuss the books that he has been working on since our last conversation, in September of 2018. In particular, we discussed GM Soltis’ new book, How to Swindle in Chess, and his recently updated classic, Bobby Fischer Rediscovered. Andy was able to also provide some great historical perspective on topics ranging from chess in New York City in past decades, to the 2020 FIDE Candidates, to the coronavirus. Please read on for further details and timestamps.
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0:00- We begin by catching up a bit on the impact that the coronavirus had on GM Soltis’ travel plans, and Andy shares some great historical perspective on some New York City chess characters.
Mentioned: Marshall Chess Club, GM Robert Byrne and IM Donald Byrne, GM Arthur Bisguier, IM James Sherwin, GM William Lombardy, Caroline Marshall, Manhattan Chess Club, Bobby Fischer, IM Ray Weinstein, Bruce Pandolfini, GM Nicolas Rossolimo
13:15- When I spoke with Andy, the 2020 FIDE Candidates Tournament was ongoing despite the corona virus, and he was able to provide some historical perspective on other historical tournaments that took place under unusual circumstances.
Mentioned: Mannheim 1914 Chess Tournament, Alexander Alekhine, Frank Marshall, Efim Bogoljubov, Ian Nepomniatchi, Alexander Grischuk, Ding Liren-Caruana 2020, Capablanca-Marshall 1918, GM Mikhail Tal, Carlsen-So 2020, Fischer-Taimanov 1971 match, game 4, Bobby Fischer: The Greatest? By Max Euwe, Frank Brady, FM Asa Hoffman, My Great Predecessors: Volume 4
29:00- Andy expounds on an interesting column he recently wrote for Chess Life magazine, called The Half Life of Truth: How long is it relevant what the result would have been in a famous chess game with best play?
Mentioned: Bobby Fischer Rediscovered, Fischer-Celle 1964, Fischer-Blackstone 1964, Fischer-Spassky 1972 Game 1, The Complete Chess Swindler by GM David Smerdon
37:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out Garry Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors, using Chessable’s MoveTrainer here:
https://www.chessable.com/my-great-predecessors-part-1/course/22994/
38:00- What did GM Soltis discover in researching his new book, How to Swindle in Chess
Mentioned: GM Viswanathan Anand, Keres-Geller 1962, Carlsen-Van Wely, Viktor Korchnoi, GM Emanuel Lasker
48:00- How should chess improvers stuck at home with extra study time spend that time?
Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Mikhail Tal, Ruth Haring, GM Peter Biyiasis, Eliot Hearst
55:00- In closing, Andy tells a story in which he compares his experiences after September 11 in NYC to the current tense moments we are now living through.
Thanks, as always, to GM Soltis for sharing his chess knowledge with us. You can buy all of his books here:
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