Photo courtesy of GM Srinath Narayanan
This week’s guest on Perpetual Chess is GM Srinath Narayanan. Srinath is a 3 time Asian junior Champion, a popular Chessable Author and a high-level trainer. GM Srinath has worked with many of India’s brightest young talents including, GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Nihail Sarin. I caught Arjun at an interesting time, as both Arjun and Nihail had just won events in the Tata Steel India tournaments. What does it feel like when your longtime students are suddenly outperforming world elites like Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So? How does Srinath adjust the training plans of his students as they go from 2500 to 2700? We also talked about openings, as Srinath has co-authored (with GM Sahaj Grover) standout Chessable courses on The London System and the Catalan. We also discussed chess improvement, engine use, and we got Srinath’s take on the Carlsen/Niemann saga. You can find timestamps for topics discussed below.
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0:00- What has surprised Srinath about the rise of his students, GMs Arjun Erigaisi and GM Nihail Sarin?
Mentioned: Srinath’s Recent interview with IM Sagar Shah of Chessbase India’
15:00- GM Erigaisi unleashed some epic opening preparation in a game against Sarin in their recent Tata Steel India Tournament. Did Srinath have a hand in the prep?
Mentioned: CORRECTION- The article mentioned is by IM V Saravanan, my apologies
V Saravanan article highlighting Erigaisi’s amazing prep
20:00- What training methods did Srinath use with GMs Sarin and Erigaisi?
29:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest courses here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/
31:00- Since he has co-written Chessable courses on both the London System and the Catalan, how would Srinath compare the two?
39:00- Srinath is an advocate of playing training games in an opening to learn it. Can improvers do this against a computer or is it better to find a training partner?
45:00- When discussing engine evaluations, Srinath says “not all zeroes are equal”. What does he mean by this?
49:00- Does Srinath have any tournaments coming up?
Mentioned: FIDE World Rapid and Blitz
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55:00- Srinath shares his thoughts on the Niemann/Carlsen story and cheating in chess generally.
Mentioned: His Tweets About it, Niemann-Erigaisi 2022
1:11:00- What is Srinath’s chess-improvement advice for ambitious amateurs?
Mentioned: Move First and Think Later, On the Origin of Good Chess Moves
1:17:00- Thanks to GM Srinath for joining. Here are links to keep up with him: