Photo by IM Eric Rosen
18 year old GM Hans Niemann is a rising star in the chess world. He has rapidly risen from U.S. scholastic champion to one of the top 100 players in the world! His ascent has been particularly steep since January 2021, as he has gained over 150 rating points in 15 months! Hans joined me shortly after a tournament in St. Louis to assess his recent progress and to talk about his upcoming plans. Hans has a loyal Twitch following, and is at an age when many start university, but he has chosen to devote all of his energy to chess, and is spending 10-12 hours per day studying, with a goal of playing 150 tournament games per year. Hans has also recently completed a Chessable course on the Jobava London, and as this podcast is being released, he is competing in a Champions Chess Tour event. We covered a lot of ground in our interview, and it was fascinating to hear about the training regimen and lifestyle of one of America’s top young chess players. Please read on for more details and relevant links. .
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0:00- Who has Hans run into while staying in St. Louis?
Mentioned: GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Leinier Dominguez, GM Levon Aronian
04:30-How on earth did Hans go from 2480 FIDE to 2640 FIDE in 14 months?
Mentioned: Cover Stories with Chess Life Episode 35
09:00- What is a typical day like for Hans?
Mentioned : 2022 Airthings Masters, 2022 Spring Chess Classic
15:30- Patreon mailbag question : “What might Hans need to do differently to get to 2700 FIDE?”
21:00- Hans set aside a successful Twitch stream and the possibility of attending a good university to pursue chess. Does he ever think about the risks involved with this choice?
24:00-What Hans learned from his coaches.
Mentioned: IM John Grefe, GM Walter Browne, GM Maxim Dlugy
29:00- Does Hans consciously work on his blitz game?
Mentioned: Episode 191 with GM Daniel Naroditsky
30:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Hans think one should hire a coach?”
32:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Their new and upcoming courses include GM Simon Williams updating The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, and GM Hans Niemann course on Jobava London.
33:00- Hans discusses his busy upcoming tournament schedule
36:00- Does Hans do any traveling or socializing in between tournaments?
39:00- Hans on Bobby Fischer
45:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your games and gives you actionable tips based on the data it gathers. Check the site out, and if you choose to subscribe, please use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.
46:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Better Help. You can see some online reviews here, and if you sign up, use this link to save 10%: https://www.betterhelp.com/chess
47:00- Dubai World Championship Trip Report
Mentioned: Antipov-Niemann 2022
58:00- Has Hans considered a less intense approach to chess study?
Mentioned: Jeen-yuhs on Netflix
1:02:00- Hans discusses his upcoming Chessable course on The Jobava London and how he thinks about the tradeoffs involved in devoting time to making a course.
1:04:00- What books or chess resources does Hans recommend? What are his other chess improvement recommendations?
Mentioned: Capablanca’s Hundred Best Games of Chess, Grandmaster Preparation- Positional Play
1:06:00- Hans discusses his interactions with some top players.
Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Richard Rapport, GM Anish Giri
1:10:00- Hans shares his thoughts on young phenom, GM Alireza Firouzja. Info on the Firouzja/Tata Steel Controversy Hans references is here.
1:16:00- Did being a top youth cyclist help Hans’ chess?
1:18:00- Hans shares some more details on his Chessable course on The Jobava London.
1:20:00- Thanks to Hans for joining the show! Here are the best ways to keep up with him:
Twitter- https://twitter.com/hansmokeniemann?lang=en
Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/gmhansn
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