The story of chess through history, fiction and the games of the masters. Capture more training time by studying chess through audio. How it works: Subscribe to the newsletter to have each episode's study resources delivered to your inbox. You can subscribe here: https://audiblechess.substack.com/ When you're done studying, listen to the podcast and see how well you can visualize the moves "blindfold". I hope the show helps improve your chess.
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This episode we hear about how the medieval world invested chess with its own social, cultural and spiritual meaning. Sign up for the free newsletter to receive the resources for this episode: https://audiblechess.substack.com/
E18: Capa (00:16:17)
This episode is about an eight-year-old boy who was so good at chess that everyone thought he was possessed by the devil. It’s the story of Jose Raul Capablanca. Sign up for the free newsletter to receive all the resources for this episode: https://audiblechess.substack.com/
E17: Chess with the Cheka (00:21:14)
This episode we hear about fortunes lost and won, and a man playing a game of chess with the threat of execution if he loses. It’s the story of Ossip Berstein.
As I announce in this episode, all of the resources contained in these show notes will now be located in the newsletter. You can subscribe to it here: https://audiblechess.substack.com/welcome
This episode we’re studying the first 24 moves of Bernstein vs. Miguel Najdorf, Montevideo, Uruguay (1954). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1101326
Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHA8GPEC7T0
Opening study (Old Indian Defense): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9gfA9GTE9g
E16: The Return of the King? (00:16:20)
This episode we hear about a mysterious match that took place on the Internet Chess Club.
We’re studying the game between Nigel Short (username: Ural; white pieces) and (possibly?) Bobby Fischer. Before you listen, study the first 24 moves of the following game: (30) Guest2563 - Ural (2439) [A03] ICC, 04.03.2001. The annotation can be found here: https://en.chessbase.com/portals/4/files/games/iccf1.htm
Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B9p2PrsKWY
Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/mv0vz5/solving_the_fischer_chess_games_in_2001_gm_nigel/
E15: François-André Danican Philidor (00:10:58)
This episode we hear about the man who said that pawns were “the soul of chess.” It’s an episode on Philidor. We’re studying Philidor vs. an unknown player (France, 1790). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here:
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1075428
Resources:
Game analysis (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QVGEqB6kcI&t=78s
Opening study (King’s Gambit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmiBGuSwUrw&t=61s
E14: The Squares of the City (00:22:12)
This episode is about a chess game transformed into fiction. We’re studying Steinitz vs. Chigorin, Havana (1892). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1036356
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Resources:
Video analysis (not great, but best I could find!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-xVHGQxXhg&list=PL7mW9aR2QDf-Wbhud-dwYRp6CSYpdRD9V&index=16
Opening study (Spanish Opening, Morphy Defense): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1tFgq8el-E
E13: Akiba’s Fervour (00:18:40)
This episode we hear about a young man who in just six months’ time went from losing regularly at his local club to being, some say, the best chess player in his country. It’s the story of Akiba Rubinstein. We’re studying Rubinstein vs. Gersh Rotlewi, Lodz (1907). You can check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1119679
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Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtItayItxb8
Opening study (Tarrasch Defense): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esjT83wWr78
Article on Rubinstein’s later years: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/rubinstein1.html
E12: Contest of Nerves (00:14:54)
This episode we hear about a man with a distinctly psychological approach to the game. It’s the story of Emanuel Lasker.
We’re studying Lasker vs Vasja Pirc, Moscow (1935). Before you listen, you can check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1272440
Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnzBQ0K8RE
Opening study (Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp5N_d3JS6Y
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E11: Le Palamede (00:22:37)
This episode we hear about the life of Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais and his famous match in London, 1834. Before you listen, you can check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1001165
Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJnCgTC5VDc
Opening study (Sicilian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM4e7g2RukI
Le Palamede: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Palam%C3%A8de
George Walker: https://www.chess.com/blog/batgirl/walker-on-mdonnell-and-labourdonnais
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E10: The Boa Constrictor (00:26:28)
This episode we’re in Moscow for the 1984 World Chess Championship. The game we’re studying is Anatoly Karpov vs Viktor Korchnoi, Moscow (1974). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067858
Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu4pZfhH7Fk
Opening study (Sicilian Dragon): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxWOwXVd8iM
Review of “Chess is My Life”: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/karpov.html
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E9: Madjesoomalops (00:20:33)
This episode we hear about an amazing display of blindfold chess.
The game we’re studying is Pillsbury vs Winawer, Budapest (1896). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1002579
Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwPqVrJq6Gw
Opening study (Semi-Slav Defense): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXffjL9fLAw
Pillsbury #1: https://en.chessbase.com/post/henry-nelson-pillsbury-enormous-talent-and-an-early-death
Pillsbury #2: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/pillsbury.html
The Ajeeb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajeeb
The 30-word list: https://userpages.monmouth.com/~colonel/chess/pillsbury.html
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E8: An Execution (00:13:54)
This episode we're in 16th-century Spain, where a nobleman is imprisoned and awaiting execution.
The game is Ruy Lopez vs Giovanni Leonardo (1560). It's one that Lopez played during his Italian travels. Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1251893
Training Resources:
Game analysis (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MD-z26Rpag
King's Gambit (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmiBGuSwUrw&t=59s
Article on George Walker: http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/Walker.html
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E7: A Safe Choice (00:17:35)
It was October 1935 and Alexander Alekhine was on his way to Amsterdam to defend his World Champion title. To avoid a serious challenge he’d chosen a relatively easy opponent for the match, a man named Max Euwe. Euwe was actually an amateur player, so to Alekhine, he seemed like a safe choice. But as it turned out, he wasn’t.
The game we're studying this time is actually Max Euwe vs. Bobby Fischer, New York (1957). I think it's a better game for visualization training than any of the Euwe vs. Alekhine games. Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044436
Training Resources:
Game analysis (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wno-k1IrZDY&t=176s
Queen's Gambit Declined (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2F8inwFmk0
Article on Euwe: https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-gentleman-boxer-world-che-champion
Book: Chess Words of Wisdom by Mike Henebry
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E6: From a Distance (00:21:19)
By the 1920s, the modern and more scientific approach to chess that began with Wilhelm Steinitz had been around for over half a century. It seemed that the core principles of the game had been discovered. Then one man arrived and challenged everything. This is the story of Aron Nimzowitsch.
The game this time is Nimzowitsch vs. Sämisch, Copenhagen (1923). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1102400
Training Resources:
Game analysis (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH0vNsVdEsM
Opening study (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jt3AypZ59c&t=523s
Article on zugzwang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang
Book: My System by Aron Nimzowitsch
Book: Dynamic Chess by RN Coles
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E5: A Champion Scorned (00:21:57)
He was a rising star in Russian chess, but after the First World War he fled the country to settle in France. Not long after, he found himself at the top of the chess world as the fourth World Chess Champion. But then, during the Occupation of France in 1940, the Nazis made him an offer that, most of the evidence suggests, he accepted. This is the story of Alexander Alekhine.
The game is Alekhine vs. Lasker, Zurich (1934). Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007985
Episode Resources:
Game analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMq53rdrY8M
Opening study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMy65JeSShw
Article on Alekhine’s death: https://en.chessbase.com/post/alekhine-s-death-an-unresolved-mystery-
Book: Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack by Maxim Chetverik and Alexander Der Raetsky
Book: Chess Words of Wisdom: The Principles, Methods and Essential Knowledge of Chess by Mike Henebry
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E4: The Pride and Sorrow (00:15:54)
A nine-year-old boy shows his father and uncle where they went wrong in their recent game. The remarkable thing? Nobody had ever taught him how to play chess.
The game this time is Morphy vs. Duke Karl and Count Isouard (1858). You can find the annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1233404
Episode Resources:
Book: Paul Morphy: Pride and Sorrow of Chess by David Lawson
Book: The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E3: Footnotes to Greco (00:14:57)
An Italian boy, raised in poverty, leaves home with little education but the one he gave himself over the chessboard. Just a few years later, he’s playing chess in the palaces of kings and queens. The game this time is Greco (with the black pieces) against an unknown player (1620). Study the game here before you listen: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1271130
Episode Resources:
Article: Smothered Mate
Training: Smothered Mate
Book: On the Origin of Good Moves: A Skeptic's Guide to Getting Better at Chess by Willy Hendriks
Book: A Short History of Chess by HJR Murray
Sign up for the newsletter: https://audiblechess.substack.com
E2: The Magician (00:33:40)
“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” - Mikhail Tal, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal. This episode it's Tal vs. Botvinnik, Moscow (1960). Study the game here before you listen: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1032537
Resources:
Article: Tal’s Career
Book: The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal
Book: Attack with Tal
Training: King’s Indian Defence: https://www.chess.com/openings/Kings-Indian-Defense
Tips for New Listeners:
Study the game first, then listen to the audio and see how well you can visualize the moves. If you find the exercise too difficult, try looking at the board every two moves, and as your confidence grows, every three moves, then every four, and so on. Over time, your board vision will grow.
https://www.chess.com/openings/Kings-Indian-Defense
E1: Introduction (00:01:20)
Welcome to the podcast! I hope you enjoy the show and that it helps improve your chess. Listen to this introductory episode to find out how it works. Thanks for listening!
Updated Note: Since this episode was published, a few things have changed with the podcast. The most important thing is that all the show notes are now available through the Substack website. If you subscribe to the newsletter, you'll receive a copy of all the links and resources in your email inbox every time an episode is published. You can sign up here: https://audiblechess.substack.com
