This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an emergency interview with Wijk aan Zee veteran Loek van Wely! This podcast was recorded in the early afternoon of Thursday, January 29, 2026, on the third and final rest day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Loek has spent the past two weeks in Wijk aan Zee, coaching Dutch GM Max Warmerdam in the Challengers group while keeping an eye on the Masters. With three rounds to go, Uzbekistan’s top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the ...
Jan 29, 2026•1 hr 7 min•0Ep. 86
In this year’s first episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Peter Svidler. It’s a special moment, as two years ago, Peter was the first guest in the inaugural episode of the podcast. We are delighted that he’s returning. Peter Svidler can look back on an incredible career as a player and he is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile experts in the world of chess. He is a three-time Candidate for the World Championship, an eight-time champion of Russia, and a W...
Jan 16, 2026•1 hr 11 min•0Ep. 85
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to English grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Matthew returns to the New In Chess Podcast to look back on the year that’s almost behind us and cautiously look ahead to the year we’re about to enter. Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, a YouTuber, an expert in chess engines, and a prolific writer. The best-selling Game Changer, co-authored with Natasha Regan, on AlphaZero’s groundbreaking chess strate...
Dec 19, 2025•1 hr 13 min•0Ep. 84
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from the Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Ghenna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Russian grandmaster Anatoly Lutikov (1933-1989). "Luka" is another lesser-known name in the Essential catalogue, but his story is no less interesting. Coming from a working-class background, Genna describes how "with his independent character, recklessness, and his en...
Dec 12, 2025•31 min•0Ep. 83
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman. Jan returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Timman’s Studies, an impressive volume of 455 pages in which he presents his collected endgame studies and explains how they originated. Of course, Jan Timman is primarily known as the most successful Dutch chess player of the past fifty years; a world-class player who won countless elite tournaments and rose to second place i...
Nov 28, 2025•55 min•0Ep. 82
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek is a good friend of the NIC podcast and he returns to talk about the chess event that is keeping us glued to our screens these days, the World Cup in Goa, India. The World Cup started almost two weeks ago and will end on 27 November. There’s a lot at stake in Goa, as the top three finishers will qualify for the Candidates tournament in Cyprus next year (28 March-15 April). Th...
Nov 14, 2025•1 hr 5 min•0Ep. 81
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from the Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Latvian international master Alvis Vitolins. Alvis was born in Riga, like his compatriot Misha Tal. And this was not all they shared in common. Like Tal, Vitolins was known for his brilliant sacrificial play. Before executing a speculative sacrifice, Tal would even say...
Oct 31, 2025•23 min•0Ep. 80
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Ukrainian grandmaster Ruslan Ponomariov. Born in 1983, Ruslan embarked on his chess career as one of the most astonishing prodigies in history. When he was 12, he won the U18 European Championship, when he was 14, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world, the youngest ever at that time. When he was 18, he won the FIDE World Championship by defeating his countryman Vasyl Ivanchuk in the final of the 2002 ...
Oct 17, 2025•1 hr 13 min•0Ep. 79
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from the Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Latvian international master Alvis Vitolins. Alvis was born in Riga, like his compatriot Misha Tal. And this was not all they shared in common. Like Tal, Vitolins was known for his brilliant sacrificial play. Before executing a speculative sacrifice, Tal would even say...
Oct 10, 2025•20 min•0Ep. 78
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Erwin l'Ami. Erwin has been a chess professional for some twenty years now. Among his most notable successes are victories in the Reykjavik Open in 2015 and in the Dutch Championship in 2022. Erwin loves to play in tournaments – that remains his biggest passion - but his chess activities expand into other areas as well. He’s a prolific writer, has made popular courses for Chessable, and is a highly respe...
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 9 min•0Ep. 77
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with British grandmaster Jonathan Speelman. Jon, as he's commonly known, is a three-time British Champion and a two-time Candidate for the World Championship. In the Candidates, he has won matches against Nigel Short and Yasser Seirawan. He was also successful with the English national team, as they twice finished second in the Olympiad, in Dubai in 1986 and in Thessaloniki in 1988, while finishing third in Novi Sad in 1990. A...
Sep 19, 2025•1 hr 13 min•0Ep. 76
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second part of a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's episode is Latvian chess master and trainer Alexander Koblenz. Picking up where the last episode left off, the second half of the story focuses on Koblenz's contributions to chess beyond his mentorship of Mikhail Tal. He co-founded a chess magazine in ...
Sep 12, 2025•25 min•0Ep. 75
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's episode is Latvian chess master and trainer Alexander Koblenz. A four-time Latvian national champion, Alexander Koblenz (1916-1993) is best known as the coach of another, more famous Latvian: the eighth World Chess Champion, Mikhail Tal. Born into a prosperous Jewish fam...
Aug 29, 2025•31 min•0Ep. 74
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. This episode is the second in a two-part story about late Soviet grandmaster Semyon Abramovich Furman (1920-1978). As the formative influence in the career of future World Champion Anatoly Karpov, Furman's own skills as a grandmaster have not always received the attention they deserve. At the age ...
Aug 15, 2025•26 min•0Ep. 73
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch IM Willy Hendriks, one of today’s most entertaining and interesting chess authors. Willy Hendriks’s debut Move First, Think Later was an instant success. In a highly original and witty manner, the book looks at the sense and nonsense of methods to improve in chess. The book won the 2012 ECF Book of the Year Award and was runner-up in the 2012 ChessCafe.com Book of the Year competition. In the meantime, Hendriks has ...
Aug 01, 2025•1 hr 7 min•0Ep. 72
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from "The Essential Sosonko", a collection of chess portraits based on personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. This episode is the first in a two-part story about late Soviet grandmaster Semyon Abramovich Furman (1920-1978). A late bloomer in chess, who became grandmaster at the age of 45(!), Furman gradually made his way to the chess elite after the end of the Second World War. As a trainer, he is best kn...
Jul 18, 2025•25 min•0Ep. 71
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features in interview with Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. Commonly known as Vishy, Anand is one of the greatest and most popular world champions in the history of chess, as well as one of its most admired and respected ambassadors. Although no one could blame him if he decided to rest on his laurels, Vishy remains active as a player – and he is still ranked number 13 in the world (2743), which is frankly incredible - but in the past years he...
Jul 04, 2025•1 hr 9 min•0Ep. 70
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Indian chess star Tania Sachdev. Tania Sachdev is a two-time Indian Women’s Champion and she was a member of the Indian Women’s team that wrote history at the Budapest Olympiad last year, where they won the gold medals. Probably most chess fans will know her as one of the most popular online chess commentators in the world. Armed with both the broad knowledge and deep insights of the professional, and the unbridled enthus...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr 17 min•0Ep. 69
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American chess player and businessman James Altucher. James Altucher is an investor, a venture capitalist and a firm believer in AI and cryptocurrency. He’s also a bestselling author – you may know his book Choose Yourself – and he has a popular podcast with 50 thousand subscribers, The James Altucher Show. In his podcast, he dives into the world of entrepreneurship, personal development and out-of-the-box thinking. Or, a...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr 7 min•0Ep. 68
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Soviet chess player and coach Vladimir Zak. Vladimir Gregorievich Zak (1913-1994) was the head coach of the Leningrad Pioneers' Palace, a premier chess institution in the Soviet Union, for forty years. He was known for his classical approach to chess, which emphasised self-...
Jun 06, 2025•50 min•0Ep. 67
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Czech grandmaster David Navara. For more than 20 years, David Navara has been the leading chess player of the Czech Republic. Thirteen times he won the national championship. In 2015, he was ranked number 14 in the world, with a peak rating of 2751. I (Dirk Jan) spoke to David last week, in Prague, the city where he was born 40 years ago and where he still lives. Over the years, we met on many occasions, but for some inex...
May 23, 2025•1 hr 14 min•0Ep. 66
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman. A living chess legend, "The Best of the West" needs no introduction. As one of the world's leading players during the late Soviet era, Jan played and befriended a number of legendary players. Today's conversation centres specifically on two of his late colleagues, both of whom passed away recently: the former World Champion, Boris Spassky, and the father of Icelandic chess, Fridrik Olafsson. ...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 3 min•0Ep. 65
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American International Master Kostya Kavutskiy. Kostya is one of the three "senseis" (teachers) at the ChessDojo, an international chess training program that Kostya runs together with fellow Americans GM Jesse Kraai and IM David Pruess. As a player, he is currently embarking on a "European tour", which has included the recent Reykjavik and Grenke tournaments. His next destination is Spain, where he will be attending the ...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 7 min•0Ep. 64
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Ukrainian grandmaster Efim Geller. Efim Petrovich Geller (1925-1998) was a two-time Soviet chess champion and a six-time Candidate for the World Chess Championship. During the twenty-year period in which he was recognized as being a world top ten player, he faced ten differ...
Apr 25, 2025•49 min•0Ep. 63
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal. This week's narration, which is the final part of a six-part series, examines the final phase of Tal's life. As his physical ailments mounted, Tal never "slowed down" his hedonistic lifestyle. Money was tight in his final years, but he never...
Apr 04, 2025•32 min•0Ep. 62
This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch businessman and chess benefactor Bessel Kok. Bessel is one of the founders of SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which provides the main messaging network through which international payments are initiated. In the 1980's, Bessel organised the first SWIFT chess tournaments, which significantly raised the standards for chess professionalism. He befriended several of the world's str...
Mar 28, 2025•1 hr 6 min•0Ep. 61
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko. A world-class grandmaster and former prodigy, Peter now works as a coach and has achieved acclaim as one of the most popular online chess commentators. Peter Leko was extremely successful as a player. As a young kid of only 14 years, four months and 22 days, he became a grandmaster in 1994. This achievement made him the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time, breaking the old recor...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 40 min•0Ep. 60
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal. This week's narration, which is the fifth in a six-part series, chronicles the "second surge" of Tal's career, where he achieved over-the-board success despite having lost some of his trademark aggression. It also delves deeper into Tal's pe...
Mar 07, 2025•33 min•0Ep. 59
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Matthew Sadler, one of the most versatile chess lovers in the universe. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, the English grandmaster touches on a variety of subjects, spicing up his stories with fascinating observations, sound advice and not-to-be-missed reading tips. Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, an expert in chess engines, a successful author and, as he is no longer a profes...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 8 min•0Ep. 58
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. One of our return guests, Loek needs no introduction for our regular listeners. An eight-time Dutch national champion, Loek had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his own achievements on the chess board, Loek is a successful coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik (2007), Veselin Topalov, and more recently...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 8 min•0Ep. 57
