Photo via Greg Shahade’s Instagram Page
In an annual tradition, IM Greg Shahade returns to the show. Greg is the founder of the Pro Chess League as well as the US Chess School, and is a former scholastic champion turned adult-improving, dangerous speed chess specialist. His Chess.com blitz rating hovers in the 2600-2700 range, and he has beaten the likes of GM Alexey Shirov and GM Praggnanandhaa in recent Chess.com TItled Tuesday tournaments. Greg breaks down the secrets to his success- it turns out it has involved a lot of hard work on his openings! He also impart lessons from his success in order to help improving players lower on the rating ladder. Additional topics include: the growth and evolution of chess, why Greg isn’t as vocal about his chess promotion ideas anymore, plus he answers a few fun Patreon mailbag questions. Whether you agree with Greg’s views of chess or not, its always fun to hear his perspective. Please read on for lots more details and timestamps.
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Prior Interviews with IM Greg Shahade
0:00-
Greg’s blitz rating has been consistently improving even as he hits his early 40s. What are his study tricks? What approach should he take to study openings?
Mentioned: Chessable.com, GM Alexei Shirov, GM Kiril Alekseenko, GM Jan Gustafsson’s Lifetime Repertoires Course, GM Elshan Moriadibadi, The London System, IM Andras Toth, GM Magnus Carlsen
10:00- A question from the Patreon mailbag. What is the best way for a beginner to study an opening repertoire?
Mentioned: Fight like Magnus: The Sveshnikov Sicilian, Lifetime Repertories: Nimzo-Ragozin Defense, Sam Shankland’s 1. D4 Chessable course
18:00- What is the status of Greg’s blitz game?
Mentioned: GM Kirill Alekseenko, GM Conrad Holt
22:00- What is the status of Greg’s Twitch streaming career?
23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Get Chessable’s IOS app if you haven’t already, and you can check out their latest offerings here:
https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/
23:45- Patreon question: “Dude, when is Greg going to start blogging again?” We also discuss the ongoing Chess.com I am Not a GM Tournament
Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew, I am not a GM Tournament, IM Levy Rozman, IM Tania Sachdev, IM Kostya Kavutskiiy, Alexandra Botez, IM Lawrence Trent
30:00- Another Patreon question relates to the status and format of the 2021 Pro Chess League, which of course also leads to a discussion of the explosion of popularity in online chess.
Mentioned: Klay Thompson, Lennox Lewis, Gordon Hayward, Leveon Bell
37:00- Another Patreon question: are there improvements to the Pro Chess League website in the works?
39:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by AImchess.com which collates data from your online games and gives you actionable advice and lessons. Check out the site, and if you subscribe use the Promo code “Chess30” to get a 30% discount.
39:00- Patreon question- has Greg read any good books lately? This segues into a general discussion of how to study chess.
Mentioned: Playing 1. E4 by GM John Shaw, GM Peter Svidler, 100 Endgames You Must Know
Endgame Strategy by Mikhail Sherevsky, Vancura Defense, Frontal Defense, Jeremy Silman’s Endgame Course, GM Jacob Aagaard
49:00- In his chess development, did Greg do any targeted blindfold chess training?
Mentioned: Chessboard Magic by Irving Chernev, GM Jeffrey Xiong, GM Ray Robson, IM Christopher Yoo
56:00- 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
57:00- Greg answers a Patreon question pushing back against the importance of the idea that Classical Chess wouldn’t exist if chess were invented in modern times. (As Greg has previously said)
Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Alexander Grishchuk, IM Andras Toth
1:03:00- Greg makes his brief, shining singing debut on The Perpetual Chess! And then gives some shout outs.
Mentioned: Episode 204 with FM Nathan Resika, Episode 12 with Christopher Yoo
Agadmator, Chessbrahs, IM Levy Rozman, Jennifer Shahade, The Botez Sisters, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM David Howell, GM Jovanka Houska, Kaja Snare, Mark Crowther, ChessDoJo YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFJol3ToXA&list=PLH4lD9b6ZgbeAzMlaYoWSHL_lEF5BWZA0
Thanks as always to Greg for joining the show! You can follow him on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/gregshahade?lang=en