How To Chess

Ben Johnson

A Weekly, Rapid-Fire Chess Podcast Devoted to Helping You Improve Your Game. Hosted by Ben Johnson, brought to you by Chessable.com

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41 episodes
Updated Jan 19, 2024

Episodes41

Newest first

Oct 28, 2021 · 17 min
HowToChess 20- IM Kostya Kavutskiy on How to Learn from Endgame Compositions
Popular Author, Trainer, and Founding Member of the ChessDojo, Kostya Kavutskiy stops by to discuss his excellent new Chessable course, Endgame Studies 101. Check out ChessDojo's YouTube here Follow IM Kostya Kavutskiy's Twitter here
Oct 28, 2021 · 3 min
Bonus Vignette- GM Vladimir Kramnik on his first win against a GM
In his own words, GM Vladimir Kramnik answers the trivia question from How to Chess Episode 19 about the first time he beat a GM in a simul.
Oct 21, 2021 · 23 min
HowToChess 19 - GM Vladimir Kramnik on Questions to Ask Yourself When Its Your Move
Legendary former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik stops by to discuss 3 things to think about when its your move in a chess game. As GM Kramnik details in his Chessable course, Thinking in Chess, A How to Guide, it can be useful to use the following framework when its your move... Look for tactics (can i win material?) Is there a threat? (are pieces hanging?) What is the plan of your opponent? (What is she hoping to do next?) ONLY then, you can ask yourself questions like, "what is my plan?" and "How can I improve my position?, etc. Both of Vladmir Kramnik's courses are on sale through October 27. And both offer free chapters! Links below: Thinking in Chess, A How to Guide Thinking in Chess: Free Excerpt Understanding 1. e4 Vladimir Kramnik: Free Opening Lesson #1 THE TRIVIA CONTEST ALREADY HAS A WINNER! Thanks for listening, and please subscribe for bonus content coming soon featuring Vladimir telling the story of the answer to the trivia question.
Oct 14, 2021 · 23 min
How to Chess 18- FM Peter Giannatos on How to Adapt Your Game when Playing Against Kids
FM Peter Giannatos is the Founder and Executive Director of the Charlotte Chess Center and Scholastic Academy (CCCSA), and an accomplished chess teacher and improver. Follow the CCCSA on Twitter here Twitch here Info on the Corporate Chess League here. Perpetual Chess Podcast Episode 241 with FM Peter Giannatos here Follow Ben Johnson on Twitter here https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 If you want to build your repertoire visit: www.chessable.com/free for hundreds of free starter repertoires
Oct 7, 2021 · 27 min
How To Chess 17- IM Lawrence Trent Shares the Best Chess Advice He Has Gotten
IM Lawrence Trent shares some memorable advice that has been imparted to him from his GM friends, plus gives an update on his GM title chase and his rivalry with IM Greg Shahade. Ben Johnson https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 Lawrence Trent https://twitter.com/LawrenceTrentIM Greg Shahade https://twitter.com/GregShahade/status/1430546789065658377 If you want to build your repertoire visit: www.chessable.com/free for hundreds of free starter repertoires
Oct 1, 2021 · 14 min
How To Chess 16- How to Prep During a Tournament with WIM Jesse February
WIM Jesse February shares some great advice on how to analyze games, prepare and manage your energy during a tournament. Make sure to drop Jesse a follow on Twitch and keep in touch via her socials: Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/jesse_feb Twitter - https://twitter.com/jesse_feb?lang=en Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jesse_feb/?hl=en
Sep 24, 2021 · 16 min
How To Chess 15- How to Choose a Chess Coach with IM Yuriy Krykun
IM Yuriy Krykun shares some tips for choosing and working with a chess coach. Check out Yuriy's Chessable courses here: https://www.chessable.com/author/YuriyKrykun/
Sep 17, 2021 · 16 min
How To Chess 14- GM Peter Svidler on How to be a Good "Practical Player"
The 8 time Russian Champion, commentator and Chessable Author, GM Peter Svidler joins the show! Check out Peter's Chessable Course here- https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-peter-svidlers-grunfeld-part-1/course/63116/ Follow Peter on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/polborta?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Follow Ben on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 Peter's US Chess School Lecture is Here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QumdJShD1QI
Sep 10, 2021 · 17 min
How To Chess 13- How to Make an Award Winning Chessable Course
This week's guest, Alex Belsky (chessforlife on Chessable) is a Quantum Physics Ph.D. student, 2100 FIDE player, and prize winning Chessable course creator! Check out Alex Belsky's course of the year, The Best Chess Moves of All Time here: https://www.chessable.com/the-best-chess-moves-of-all-time/course/80952/ Free preview of the course here: https://www.chessable.com/some-of-the-best-chess-moves-of-all-time/course/86225/ UPDATE- SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11- NOTE THAT THE FREE COURSE TRIVIA CONTEST ALREADY HAS A WINNER.
Sep 2, 2021 · 14 min
How To Chess 12- How to Improve Your Chess Away from the Board with Dr. Benjamin Portheault
This week's guest is Dr. Benjamin Portheault . Benji is a data scientist and performance coach who has worked with Super GMs to help them improve their performances. Benji shares some tips for ways we can improve our own games through better lifestyle and preparation habits. Follow Benji on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/benjiportheault?lang=en
Aug 26, 2021 · 14 min
How to Chess 11- Lessons from a 2000 Day(!) Chessable Streak. Featuring Chessable Legend Christophe Thiéry
Christophe Thiéry is a programmer by day, and a chess loving Chessable Legend by night! Tune in to find out what he has learned from achieving a 2000 day Chessable streak! You can see Christoph's stalemate trick on move 53 of this game. Here is the link to the variation where he learned the pattern: https://www.chessable.com/variation/353838/ it is from a famous Smyslov-Bernstein game.
Aug 20, 2021 · 13 min
How to Chess 10- How to use Data to Help Your Chess Game with FM Nate Solon
Episode 10 - FM Nate Solon on How analytics and analysis can help your chess How to use analytics in your chess? What’s the difference between analytics and analysis? How can club players benefit from them? What chess tools help to collect data and analyze it? FIDE Master Nate Solon joins Ben to share some ideas on the subject. Nate is the Massachusetts State Champion, a data scientist, and a consultant for Chessable.com who’s always looking for ways to improve his own game. He is also the author of the excellent Zwischenzug newsletter. https://zwischenzug.substack.com/ Three ideas on how to use analytics in chess: 1. Filter by level (study what you’re likely to face and study your peers) 2. Look at your own data (find trends and weaknesses in your play to fix them) 3. Consider going off the beaten path (sound but unpopular openings have surprise value) Visit aimchess.com for a free report on your latest games. Check out hundreds of free Chessable opening courses at https://www.chessable.com/free/ Or, create an account for free at https://www.chessable.com/register/ ➡️ Check out Ben on Twitter ➡️ Check out Nate on Twitter Subscribe for more educational chess content. Visit https://www.howtochess.com/ and follow https://twitter.com/HowtoChessPod to stay in touch with the show.
Aug 12, 2021 · 13 min
How to Chess 09- How To Review Grandmaster Games with GM Davorin Kuljasevic
Visit howtochess.com and stay in touch with the show. Episodes every Thursday. Ben Johnson https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 Davorin https://www.chessable.com/beyond-material/course/71438/ If you want to build your repertoire visit: www.chessable.com/free for hundreds of free starter repertoires
Aug 5, 2021 · 13 min
How to Chess 08- How to Return From a Chess Hiatus
Chess Twitch Streamer and Former British Girls Youth Champion, Cleomina, has returned to chess after a 14 year hiatus. She shares tips for how to retrain your chess brain and re-acclimate oneself to the chess world. Ben Johnson https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 Cleomina https://twitter.com/cleominattv?lang=en Cleomina's Twitch Channel- https://t.co/BQQiRbqHtm?amp=1 If you want to build your repertoire visit: www.chessable.com/free for hundreds of free starter repertoires
Jul 29, 2021 · 13 min
How to Chess 07- How to Choose Your Opening Repertoire with IM Christof Sielecki
Episode 7 - IM Christof Sielecki on How to Choose your repertoire How to choose your opening repertoire? International Master and opening specialist Christof Sielecki races the clock to answer as many of Ben’s questions as possible in under 15 minutes. Christof is the mastermind behind the popular Chessexplained Twitch and YouTube channels, and a Chessable bestselling author, with rave reviews in all of his titles. Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/chessxplained YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Chessexplained Courses: https://www.chessable.com/author/Chessexplained/ A lot of facts weigh in choosing the right repertoire for you: time available for preparation, the format you play on, the kind of positions you feel comfortable with... But most of all, know yourself and be clear about your expectations of the opening. Here you’ve got Christof’s three pearls of wisdom: 1. Know your goals (what do you want to achieve? Use openings that maximize your chances) 2. Don’t fear preparation (it doesn’t happen that much; just know your stuff and follow chess principles) 3. Adapt your repertoire to the situation (switching openings is a good idea from time to time) Check out hundreds of free Chessable opening courses at https://www.chessable.com/free/ Or, create an account for free at https://www.chessable.com/register/ ➡️ Check out Ben on Twitter https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 ➡️ Check out Christof on Twitter https://twitter.com/ChessExplained Subscribe for more educative chess content. Visit https://www.howtochess.com/ and follow https://twitter.com/HowtoChessPod to stay in touch with the show.
Jul 22, 2021 · 15 min
How to Chess 06-How to Know When to Attack with the Ginger GM, Simon Williams
How to attack in chess? GM Simon Williams joins NM Ben Johnson to share his expert advice for a 15-minute masterclass. Simon is well-known in the chess world for his attacking style, and he’s the author of the hit Chessable course The art of attack in chess. https://www.chessable.com/the-art-of-attack-in-chess/course/24575/ When to attack and when not to? How to develop an attacking instinct? Simon looks at great attackers like Paul Morphy, Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal, and Garry Kasparov to provide the best answers for beginners, intermediate and advanced players. Simon’s top 3 advice to improve your attacking chess: 1. Position yourself before the attack (develop actively, target a weakness) 2. Bring your pieces into the attack against the king (outnumber the defenders) 3. Learn from great attacking players (study their games) Reply to Ben’s question at the end of the episode for a chance to win a copy of Simon’s The art of attack in chess for free. Check out hundreds of free Chessable courses at https://www.chessable.com/free/ Or, create an account for free at https://www.chessable.com/register/ ➡️ Check out Ben on Twitter https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 ➡️ Check out Simon on Twitter https://twitter.com/ginger_gm Subscribe for more educative chess content. Visit https://www.howtochess.com/ and follow https://twitter.com/HowtoChessPod to stay in touch with the show.
Jul 15, 2021 · 16 min
How to Chess 05- The Right Way to Read Chess Books with IM Andras Toth
For this week's How to Chess we bring in a popular Chessable author to answer a crowdsourced question- IM Andras Toth shares tips for the proper way to read a chess book (or course!). He touches on what types of books are best for chess improvement, whether one should review the material, and even offers a few specific book recommendations. For more from Andras, be sure to check out his awesome Chessable courses! Ben Johnson https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 Andras Toth https://twitter.com/chesscoachandra If you want to build your repertoire visit: www.chessable.com/free for hundreds of free starter repertoires
Jul 8, 2021 · 13 min
How to Chess 04- What to Expect when Attending a Chess Tournament- with Adult Improver Neal Bruce
This week on How to Chess, we are joined by software startup executive and Adult Improver Extraordinaire, Neal Bruce. With so many chess enthusiasts trying out or returning to competitive tournament chess, it is great to get some advice from about things to keep in mind when competing in a chess tournament. Chess tournaments are a unique world, with their own set of written and unwritten rules, so it was great to get the insights of someone who played his first chess tournament at age 40! Visit howtochess.com and stay in touch with the show. Episodes every Thursday. Ben Johnson https://twitter.com/Bennyficial1 Neal Bruce https://twitter.com/NealBruceBC If you want to build your repertoire visit: www.chessable.com/free for hundreds of free starter repertoires
Jul 1, 2021 · 13 min
How to Chess 03- How To Get Past a Rating Plateau- with Adult Improver Braden Laughlin
Braden Laughlin brought his rating from 0 to 2200 in online blitz in less than 2 years - how did he do it? Ben sits down with Braden in this week’s episode of How To Chess to find out, and impart some advice on any player looking to increase their rating. Particular topics include breaking through plateaus, finding weak spots in your game to fix, and maintaining good mental health. Of course, one of the keys is to study your chess! Chessable offers hundreds of courses, covering all aspects of the game - many of them free! Be sure to check it out after the episode. https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/free/ Check in every Thursday for more great chess advice in the How To Chess podcast, and connect with us at howtochess.com.
Jun 24, 2021 · 12 min
How to Chess 02- How To Choose An Opening with YouTuber Hanging Pawns
There are so many good chess openings out there, but how do you know which one is right for you? Ben asks opening expert and host of the HangingPawns channel Stjepan Tomic how to choose the right opening. Stjepan explains how to find an opening you like, how to go about studying openings, what openings you should avoid, and plenty of other useful advice. Hanging Pawns on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkJdvwRC-oGPhRHW_XPNokg After the episode, check out the multitude of opening courses on Chessable to pick up your opening studies. There are tons of free courses where you can learn a new opening in a matter of hours. https://www.chessable.com/chess-openings/ Stay tuned for more episodes of How To Chess every Thursday and keep in touch at howtochess.com

How To Chess

HowToChess 20- IM Kostya Kavutskiy on How to Learn from Endgame Compositions

Bonus Vignette- GM Vladimir Kramnik on his first win against a GM

HowToChess 19 - GM Vladimir Kramnik on Questions to Ask Yourself When Its Your Move

How to Chess 18- FM Peter Giannatos on How to Adapt Your Game when Playing Against Kids

How To Chess 17- IM Lawrence Trent Shares the Best Chess Advice He Has Gotten

How To Chess 16- How to Prep During a Tournament with WIM Jesse February

How To Chess 15- How to Choose a Chess Coach with IM Yuriy Krykun

How To Chess 14- GM Peter Svidler on How to be a Good "Practical Player"

How To Chess 13- How to Make an Award Winning Chessable Course

How To Chess 12- How to Improve Your Chess Away from the Board with Dr. Benjamin Portheault

How to Chess 11- Lessons from a 2000 Day(!) Chessable Streak. Featuring Chessable Legend Christophe Thiéry

How to Chess 10- How to use Data to Help Your Chess Game with FM Nate Solon

How to Chess 09- How To Review Grandmaster Games with GM Davorin Kuljasevic

How to Chess 08- How to Return From a Chess Hiatus

How to Chess 07- How to Choose Your Opening Repertoire with IM Christof Sielecki

How to Chess 06-How to Know When to Attack with the Ginger GM, Simon Williams

How to Chess 05- The Right Way to Read Chess Books with IM Andras Toth

How to Chess 04- What to Expect when Attending a Chess Tournament- with Adult Improver Neal Bruce

How to Chess 03- How To Get Past a Rating Plateau- with Adult Improver Braden Laughlin

How to Chess 02- How To Choose An Opening with YouTuber Hanging Pawns