EP 334- GM Ben Finegold on the Possible Decline of Magnus, his New 1. d4 Chessable Course, and more Stories from his Years of Chess Travels

This week’s return guest is the always entertaining and informative, GM Ben Finegold. Ben is a popular Twitch Streamer and YouTuber who has just released his first Chessable course, Starting out with 1. D4. Ben is always among my favorites to interview because he offers a unique blend of entertaining stories, hot-takes on top level chess and improvement advice. This episode is no exception, as Ben discusses the status of his OTB retirement, whether Magnus Carlsen’s best OTB days are behind him, the resurgence of Hikaru and Fabiano, and why doing a course on 1. D4 was an easy choice for him. You can find a full list of topics discussed below, as well as timestamps.

Click here to download the Episode

0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com!

Get Ben’s new Course Starting out with 1.d4 here:

https://www.chessable.com/course/156667

You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/

0:03- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ben ever regret pursuing chess, or think that adult amateurs should not devote so much energy to it?”

Mentioned: IM Stuart Rachels, GM Patrick Wolff, Stuart Leaf

0:08- Is Ben having any second thoughts about retiring from OTB chess?

Mentioned: The National Open

11:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What is Ben’s advice for amateurs who want to improve at chess?”

17:30- How does Ben think back on the four years he was covering lots of events for US Chess in Europe in the 1990s?

Mentioned: Chess Life Magazine Archive, Kasparov-Karpov 1991

22:00- Ben shares more memories from the 1988 World Chess Festival

Mentioned: Ray Stone, Fred Lindsay, GM Jonathan Speelman, GM Valery Salov, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ivanchuk-Kasparov Linares 1991, Linares, Linares

30:00- Ben’s updated thoughts on the Magnus-Niemann controversy

33:00- Why did Ben decide to do a course on 1. D4 ?

42:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ben have a refutation to Marc Esserman’s refutation of Finegold’s line in the Mayhem in the Morra book and Chessable course?”

47:00- We discuss Norway Chess and whether Ben is surprised by GM Fabiano’s Caruana’s resurgence.

48:00- Has Magnus peaked?

Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein, GM Dmitri Gurevich, GM Eric Lobron

50:00- How does Hikaru stay so strong?

52:00- Which junior has the best chance of being World Champion?

55:00- Ben’s wife Karen won a seat to the World Series of Poker Main Event! Will Ben go? Will he play poker?

57:00- Other summer plans

Mentioned: Episode 292: Adult Improver Interview with Karen Boyd

58:00- Thanks, as always, to Ben for joining the pod! Here are the links to keep up with him.

Twitch

https://www.twitch.tv/itsbenandkaren

YouTube