Photo Courtesy of IM Andras Toth
IM Andras Toth is a Canberra, Australia-based chess trainer who has built a loyal online following due to his no-nonsense YouTube chess videos and popular Chessable courses. Andras originally hails from Hungary, where he trained under the same trainer as the Polgar sisters and was the two-time Hungarian Junior Champ. Andras’ background as a school teacher is evident in his engaging and energetic teaching style. As is clear from our conversation, Andras is not shy about expressing his hard-earned chess opinions. Andrey answers questions such as, should you play the London System?--do you need to hire a coach?--can one improve by focusing only on chess calculation?-- plus many more pertinent queries. This was a fun conversation that revealed many insights about chess improvement. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks.
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0:00- Andras begins by discussing his chess and chess-training background a bit.
Mentioned: IM Laszlo Hazai, The Polgar Sisters
0:8:15- Does Andras agree that club players should not learn much opening theory?
Mentioned: The Road to Chess Improvement
16:30- Andras answers the first of many questions from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: Neal Bruce asks, “ How important is it to have a chess coach?”
23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by Chessable.com! Be sure to download the much-anticipated Chessable app for IOS, and you can check out Andras Toth’s courses here:
https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/
24:00- Another Patreon listener question: “What is the proper way to analyze one’s own games and to study strategic concepts?”
Mentioned: Alexander Alekhine: My Best Games of Chess, Paul Keres: The Road to the Top
The book and game to which Andras refers can be found here:
Mark Dvoretsky’s School of Chess Excellence, Tactical Play, Borkowski-Nunn 1974
34:00- Why is Andras so blunt in his communication as a teacher and presenter?
Mentioned: IM Jop Delemarre
41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com!
Check out their blog here:
and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood
42:00- How much can a 1500 player improve by working on calculation alone? How should we divide our study time?
Mentioned: GM Jacob Aagaard
55:30- Another Patreon question: “How can one transition from slower games, like Correspondence chess, to rapid games?”
Mentioned: Episode 191 with GM Daniel Naroditsky
1:05:00- What are the pros and cons of correspondence or “daily” games?
IM John Bartholomew. Tata Steel Masters
1:14:00- What Chessable courses would we recommend for a player rated below 1000?
Mentioned: Jan Gustafsson’s Lifetime Repertoires 1. E4 e5, Endgame Bootcamp with IM John Bartholomew, Learn Chess the Right Way Series, with GM Susan Polgar, 100 Endgames You Must Know, The Checkmate Patterns Manual, Mastering Mates, 1001 Deadly Checkmates ,
Andras’s book recommendations, via YouTube videos, are here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCwQyNLblm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg-u_HlZKco&t=1334s
1:18:00- What books have informed Andras’ teaching style? What is his background? How did he end up in Canberra, Australia?
Best Lessons of a Chess Coach.
1:30:00- Why has making Chess YouTube videos been frustrating for Andras?
Check out his channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYZTGsTO5TbCaA1O0wcBzw
Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 180 with IM Levy Rozman
1:34:00- Another listener question: “ What is the chess culture like in Australia and New Zealand?”
Mentioned: GM Murray Chandler, FM Nicholas Croad
1:43:00- One last Patreon question… “Why did Andras stop playing OTB chess?”
Thanks to IM Toth for joining the show! Here are all the links you need in order to keep up with him:
Twitter- https://twitter.com/chesscoachandra?lang=en
YouTube-https://t.co/RgSPMwU9Is?amp=1
Chessable- https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/
Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/im_andras