Photo by Sophie Triay
Photo courtesy of GM Sethuraman by St. Louis Chess Club
S.P. Sethuraman is a Grandmaster and Author based in Chennai, India. GM Sethuraman is known as a dynamic and well-prepared player, and he has earned lofty titles such as the 2016 Asian Chess Champion and the 2014 National Champion of India among many others. He has now put his formidable opening knowledge to use by publishing a new book with Thinker’s Publishing. Beat the Najdorf and Taimanov Sicilians. It offers sharp lines against two of the more popular Sicilian variations. We discuss this book, as well as topics ranging from the life of a traveling chess pro during quarantine, to the highs and lows of his career, to why chess players should practice yoga and meditation. I also enjoyed our usual discussion of chess books, chess engines, chess improvement and more. As always, please read on for more details and timestamps.
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0:00- We begin by discussing how coronavirus is impacting India and GM Sethuraman, and he discusses his new book, Beat the Najdorf and Taimanov Siclians
Mentioned: GM Viswanathan Anand, GM R.B. Ramesh, Geert van der Velde of Chessable, Archangel Variation of the Ruy Lopez, Sicilian Najdorf, Siclian Taimanov, Daniel Vanheirzeele of Thinker’s Publishing, Sethuraman-Giri FIDE World Cup 2017, Anand-Ding Liren 2020
11:30- Chennai is one of the strongest chess cities in the world with both established and up and coming GMs among its residents. GM Sethuraman discusses how chess has grown there and in India generally, and answers a Patreon mailbag question about whether he has picked up any new hobbies during the time he’s been stuck at home.
Mentioned: GM Baskaran Adhiban, GM Pragganandha, GM Aravindh Chatrambaram, GM Sasrikan, GM R.B. Ramesh , GM Surya Ganguly’s YouTube Channel, GM Wesley So, GM Vidit Gujrathi’s Twitch Channel, Chessbase India YouTube Channel
21:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. There are great courses for purchase as well as free of charge. One of the latest is GM Pascal Charbonneau’s free, Short and Sweet: Legendary Chess course. Check it out here:
https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-legendary-tactics/course/47106/
22:30- What did GM Sethuraman learn from training with GM R.B. Ramesh
Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Sam Shankland, IM Stuart Rachels
29:00- What were GM Sethuraman’s toughest losses and most memorable victories?
Mentioned: Le Quang Liem vs. Sethurman 2019, Wei Yi vs. Sethuraman 2016, Le Quang Liem vs. Ganguly 2016
32:00- GM Sethuraman tells a story about how seeing an interesting game, Karjakin-Anand 2006, ignited a fierce interest for him in opening theory and made an impression on his trainer, GM R.B. Ramesh.
Mentioned: GM R.B. Ramesh, https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1385670
36:00- What are GM Sethuraman’s recent preferred books and training methods?
Mentioned: Python Strategy by Tigran Petrosian, Alekhine’s Greatest Games, Positional Decision Making in Chess by GM Boris Gelfand, Gata Kamsky: Chess Gamer, David Navara: My Chess World
40:45- How widely available and affordable are chess books in India? What is the “chess business” landscape like there?
Mentioned: Chess.com India, Chessbase India, Chess24.com,
44:00- How would GM Sethuraman recommend that club players utilize engines?
GM Lawrence Kaufman, GM Erwin L’Ami, Stockfish, LeelaChessZero
49:00 GM Sethuraman takes a couple of questions from the chess Twitter community
Mentioned: IM Venkat Saravanan, Tal Chess Club in Chennai, Chessable
53:45- Thanks so much to GM Sethuraman for joining us. Keep up with him here:
Twitter- https://twitter.com/sethuramanchess?lang=en
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/sethuramanchess/?hl=en
Book via Thinker’s Publishing (with a link to a downloadable free preview)- https://thinkerspublishing.com/product/s-p-sethuraman-beat-the-najdorf-taimanov-sicilians/
Book via Forward Chess- https://forwardchess.com/product/beat-the-najdorf-and-taimanov-sicilians
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https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate