GM Ben Finegold with Karen Boyd, his wife, and co-founder of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta. Photo via the CCSCATL Facebook Page
This week we are rejoined by the always entertaining Twitch streamer,YouTube creator and accomplished Grandmaster, Ben Finegold! Ben was an early guest of Perpetual Chess, back in 2017. In the subsequent years, Ben has seen his online following grow rapidly, and The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta (which he co-founded with his wife Karen Boyd) continues to find its footing despite the pandemic. In this interview, Ben discusses the latest in “Twitch Chess” including why he thinks he has found an audience, and why successful Twitch streamers will inevitably occasionally find themselves amidst controversies. Ben also shares some great stories from his own journey to the GM title, his early encounters with the Polgar sisters, and some chess history wisdom regarding Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Tal and many others. It is always illuminating and amusing to get to chat with Ben, please read on for all of the details, relevant links and timestamps.
Click here to download the episode
0:00- We begin by hearing the story of how Ben earned the GM title at the relatively late age of 40.
Mentioned: Episode 9 with GM Ben Finegold, Episode 52 with GM Ben Finegold, Episode 271 “IM to GM special episode” with IMs Lawrence Trent, Sean Nagle and Attila Turzo, Bill Goichberg, Susan Polgar, Sevan Muradian, FM Peter Giannatos, GM Vishy Anand, GM Garry Kasparov, Albert Pujols, Robert Parish, GM Viktor Korchnoi, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson
18:00- Since Ben wasn’t a big book reader, to what does he attribute his chess accomplishments?
Mentioned: GM Bobby Fischer, WGM Jenn Shahade, Episode 223 with Adult Improver Dr. Luka Popov
24:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%.
25:30- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks: As someone with a popular chess center, what advice would Ben give for opening a venue in a major city?
Mentioned: Episode 185 with IM Stuart Rachels, Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos
Mentioned: The Queen’s Gambit, Silver Knights Enrichment
41:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here:
New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com
42:00- Ben answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to the differences in playing style between GMs Magnus Carlsen and GM Garry Kasparov
Mentioned: HBO’s Real Sports featuring GM Fabiano Caruana:
https://www.youtube.om/watch?v=nbvrDspsGNU&feature=emb_imp_woyt
Also mentioned: Paul Morphy, GM Anatoly Karpov
50:00- Ben had a few memorable games against the Polgar sisters. What were those experiences like?
Mentioned: FM Emory Tate , GM Roman Dzindichashvilli, J. Polgar-Finegold 1989, Finegold, Gelfand 1989, J. Polgar-Finegold 1990, Finegold-Susan Polgar 1990
56:00- Why does Ben think he has found an audience on Chess Twitch? How does he think about some recent controversies involving chess Twitch personalities?
Mentioned: GM Jon Speelman, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Eric Hansen, The Botez Sisters, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Aman Hambleton, IM John Bartholomew, IM Eric Rosen, IM Anna Rudolf, WFM Anna Cramling, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
1:10:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Ben have plans to improve his Twitch clips?
Mentioned: The Family Guy
1:16:00- Patreon mailbag question: Which players of the past would have been good Twitch streamers?
Mentioned: GM Ljubomir Ljubojević FM Emory Tate, GM Mikhail Tal, GM Alonso Zapata
1:21:00- GM Ben Finegold was featured in Sasha Chapin’s entertaining book All the Wrong Moves. What were Ben’s experiences with Sasha like?
Mentioned: Episode 152 with Sasha Chapin, Howard Stern, George Stephonopoulos,
1:26:00- Thanks, as always to Ben for joining the show. Here is how to keep up with him:
Twitch-
https://www.twitch.tv/gmbenjaminfinegold
Twitter- https://twitter.com/ben_finegold?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Ben’s Personal Youtube Channel-
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6EnFbK-P5q0zeaqI5yobKg
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta Youtube Channel-
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqLLqbclDQ6IQg39Wsgy-4w