This week’s return guest on Perpetual Chess is the renowned trainer and player GM Gregory Kaidanov. Gregory joined me in between travels, as he had returned home from competing in the FIDE World Cup, and he was soon heading to Macedonia for the World Senior Team Championship. Gregory shared his perspective on the FIDE World Cup both as a player, and as a fan. As we discuss, Gregory was not surprised by the continued success of GM Pragganandhaa and the younger generation, but the performance of the top finishers was nonetheless impressive. Gregory also shared his thoughts on the news that GM Hans Niemann is now able to return to Chess.com events, and he discussed his thoughts on the overall story. Lastly, Gregory answered a few listener questions related to chess improvement, and his thoughts on a few of his former students, including GMs Ben Finegold and Daniel Naroditsky. Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below.
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Gregory’s Prior Appearance: Episode 295
0:02:- Gregory joins and shares his reflections on the FIDE World Cup, both as a competitor and an observer
Mentioned: GM Nijat Abasov, GM Wesley So, GM Dieter Nisipeanu
10:00- Was Gregory worried about cheating at the World Cup?
18:00- What does Gregory think of the “2003” generation of chess stars that Magnus highlighted, including Pragganandhaa?
25:00- How did the tournament go for Gregory from a personal perspective?
Mentioned- Karthik-Kaidanov 2023, Kaidanov-Karthik 2023, Heine-Nielsen-Kaidanov 2002
32:00- Why is the US Senior Invitational of special importance to Gregory? How did he fare in his other recent tournaments?
Mentioned: Episode 344 with GM Melik Khachiyan
45:00- In the wake of GM Hans Niemann’s reinstatement on Chess.com, Gregory shares his thoughts on the whole saga.
Mentioned: Chess.com Statement on Hans Niemann
52:00- Are chess books still necessary?
Mentioned: Colin Stapcynski’s article on Coach of the Month
57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Gregory have any advice for how one can improve his approach to chess away from the board?”
Mentioned: Book Recap #32- Chess for Zebras
1:00:00- What has Gregory learned from working with adult chess players?
1:07:00- Gregory discusses his work GM Daniel Naroditsky, GM Ben Finegold and GM Sam Shankland and others.
1:12:00- What has Gregory learned from studying GM Ulf Andersson? What has he learned from playing Mikhail Tal.
Mentioned: Episode 300 with GM Ulf Andersson, Kaidanov-Andersson 2002
Thanks, as always to GM Kaidanov for joining me. You can reach him via his website:
https://kaidanov.org/