This week I am joined by the esteemed Grandmaster Evgeny Bareev. GM Bareev has been ranked as high as #4 in the world, and has been the trainer of the Russian National Team, and was a vital member of the team that assisted former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in the early 2000s.
Evgeny is also an acclaimed chess author. His prior book, From London to Elista, (co-authored with Ilya Levitov), won the 2007 Book of the Year, from the British Chess Federation. This year, Thinker’s Publishing has recently released his new work, Say No to Chess Principles . This book tells some great stories and explores the topic of when one should “break the rules” in chess, as shown in Evgeny’s and some other top level games. In our interview, Evgeny discussed both of his books, shared some stories, and offered some chess improvement advice. Read on for details, links and timestamps.
0:00- Intro and discussion of Say No to Chess Principles . GM Bareev tells the story of how the project came to fruition, the idea behind the book, and tells some memorable stories from growing up in the Soviet Chess School, which are touched on in his book. People and books mentioned include Boris Postovsky, who headed the Vasily Smyslov School of chess, and the book Devoted to Chess: The Creative Heritage of Yuri Razuvaev . This includes a discussion of whether its important to have a good memory (14:00) to be a top chess player, according to GM Bareev, former World Champion Anatoly Karpov had a notoriously faulty memory in his prime. Evgeny gives some helpful tips for how to approach chess if you have a bad memory.
23:00- How do we know when to “say no to chess principles” anyway?
28:00- As a former member of his “team Kramnik” did the retirement of former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik surprise GM Bareev? Evgeny also reflects on some of the stories and perspective from the classic book From London to Elista. His current take on the some of the stories shared in this book might surprise you. We also touch on Carsten Hensel’s recent book about his time as the manager of GM Kramnik, you can hear my interview with Carsten Hensel here.
37:00- GM Bareev shares some stories dealing with getting sick at a chess tournament, and about how to deal with tough losses. This includes some discussion of Peter Leko, who lost to GM Kramnik for the 2004 World Championship in a very close match.
45:00- Who were GM Bareev’s toughest opponents? Players mentioned include Garry Kasparov, Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexey Dreev and Alexei Shirov.
49:00- Chess books! Since GMs Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri have been trading barbs about Vladimir Tukmakov’s new book, I asked Evgeny if he had read it. Evgeny does not read all of the chess literature, but has enjoyed the books of Boris Gelfand, Matthew Sadler and Yasser Seirawan.
54:00- A Patreon supporter of Perpetual Chess asks if GM Bareev has a particular method as a trainer.
58:00- We talk a bit how GM Bareev ended up emigrating to Toronto, Canada, and he answers a question from a Patreon supporter comparing chess and literature.1:05- Goodbye Evgeny! If you want to reach him or follow him you can do via Facebook.
EP 379- IM Renier Castellanos on How he Earned the GM Title at Age 41.
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates Round 12 Breakdown (Part 2)- FM Mike Klein on the Player’s Mindsets, Historical Context, and the Alireza Shoe Controversy
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates Round 12 Breakdown (Part 1)- An Epic Finish Awaits, as Naka, Nepo and Gukesh are Tied!
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates Round 10 Breakdown (Part 2)- GM Jan Timman on the tournament so far.
EP 378- Lou Hays- Spending weekends with Fischer and Spassky, Getting to 2100 from Scratch as an Adult, Chess Publishing Then and Now
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates Round 10 Breakdown (Part 1)- Nepo and Gukesh lead Narrowly as Naka and Fabi are in Pursuit
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates Round 7 Breakdown (Part 2)- GM Daniel King on the Tournament So Far
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates Round 7 Breakdown (Part 1)- Nepo and Tan Zhongyi Lead after a Dramatic First Half of the Tournament
EP 377- NM Dan Heisman and NM Laura Smith. Two Accomplished Trainers on Capturing, Counting, and other Chess Concepts To Know
Bonus Pod- FIDE Candidates First 4 Round Breakdown. Nepo leads (As usual). Plus a Fan's Toronto Trip Report
EP 376- Adult Improver Jordan Groff on What it Takes to Make Master in 2024
EP 375- FIDE Candidates Mega Preview with GM Rafael Leitão, Chess by the Numbers, and On the Queenside
EP 374- GM Noel Studer- Chess Improvement Q & A- Avoiding Burnout, Addressing Weaknesses, Avoiding Blunders, & Lots More!
EP 373- Carol Ann Caronia: Advice for Chess Parents & Scholastic Teachers from an Author and Longtime Teacher
EP 372- GM Jan Gustafsson: Learning 1. E4, Life after Team Magnus, Chess Cheating, the FIDE Candidates & more
EP 371- GM Josh Friedel- Common Beginner & Intermediate Mistakes, Freestyle Chess, and Advice for Goal-Setting
EP 370- GM Paul van der Sterren- Breakthroughs, Declines, Mindfulness and the Odyssey of a 20+ Year Professional Career
EP 369- NM Robert Ramirez on the difference between Adult and Youth Chess Students, Chess in Cuba, and Why He Loves the Pirc Defense
EP 368- Erik Allebest (Chess.com CEO)- Online Cheating, The Magnus-Hikaru match that fell through, the Chess24 closure & more
Book Recap #35- Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning- What should chess players know about how to learn and retain information? (with Dr. Nick Vasquez)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
That Don‘t Sound Right
Adeptus Ridiculous
Gun Talk
来都来了 | 听了再走
Love to Sew Podcast