Ben Hodgkiss is a 32-year-old chess enthusiast who has worked in a few different fields, but feels like he has not yet found his professional calling. Ben knows that he loves chess though, and for at least the next year, he has decided to live the life of a chess professional and to chronicle this pursuit on his YouTube channel. Many chess players have fantasized about taking such a leap, so I was fascinated to hear that Ben is actually doing it! In our conversation, we cover the nuts of bolts, of how Ben will pay the bills, and what Ben will study, but we also discuss his goals for the project and his chess-related goals. Ben has already collaborated with well-known presenters like IM Eric Rosen and IM Andras Toth and recently played his first of what will likely be many OTB chess tournaments. I really admire Ben’s dedication to his chess passion and am excited to share his story with you! Timestamps of topics discussed are below.
Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsor, Chessable.com! Find out more about becoming a Chessable pro member, and receiving a wide range of features here:
https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro
0:02- How did the idea of doing a year of full chess come about?
Ben’s Reddit post is here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/17anc4k/quit_your_job_chess_full_time_for_a_year_how_do
0:08- What are Ben’s goals for this project? What is his chess history?
13:30- Patreon mailbag questions: Does he think it will be more challenging to maintain motivation? Would taking a week or a month off be beneficial for one’s chess?
22:00- Patreon mailbag questions Is it possible that working full time subtracts 200 points from your chess strength?
Mentioned: Check out Tactics Time author Tim Brennan’s rating graph here:
https://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=12718954
30:00- What was Ben’s first OTB tournament like?
37:00- Ben discusses his study regimen more, and why he decided to join the Chess Dojo.
41:30- We discuss the best potential ways for Ben to chronicle his chess pursuit on YouTube.
50:00- Ben read my book and wanted to discuss some topics on it! We start with discussing visualization. What does one see when visualizing a chess board?
Mentioned: Chess Steps 2, Thinking Ahead, Visualize Courses on Chessable
1:03:00- Ben asks me: which chess weakness of mine am I working on?
1:07:00- Thanks so much to Ben for sharing his inspiring story, be sure to check out his YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/@pifflesticks
If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:
patreon.com/perpetualchess
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Bonus Pod- Chess World in Turmoil as Magnus Carlsen Suddenly withdraws from Sinquefield Cup Amid Speculation that GM Hans Niemann used Engine Assistance
Episode 295- GM Gregory Kaidanov- One of the US’ top players and trainers on Maintaining Motivation, Imparting Lessons to Students, and his Long Journey from the USSR to the US.
Bonus Pod- How to Chess Podcast- GM Johan Hellsten on How to Analyze Your Own Chess Games
EP 294- GM Fabiano Caruana on Engines, The Evolution of Chess, the Candidates Tournament, and the World Championship Cycle.
EP 293- Olympiad Trip reports with Lula Roberts aka "LulaRobs" and Team USA captain, IM John Donaldson
EP 292- Adult Improver Karen Boyd on What She Learned from a Busy Summer of Tournament Chess, and Why she Always "Plays Up" Against Tougher Competition
Bonus Pod- How to Chess Podcast- How to Approach Studying the Endgame with GM Sahaj Grover
EP 291- GM Alex Fishbein on Maintaining a Passion for Chess into One's 50s, (Plus great Korchnoi and Tal stories.)
Bonus Pod - Dispatches from the Chennai Olympiad with GM Axel Bachmann and Mr. Dodgy of Chessable
EP 290- Dutch Trainer and Author IM Jeroen Bosch on How to Build an Opening Repertoire
Book Recap #28- Chess Tactics from Scratch by FM Martin Weteschnik- A Great Intermediate Level Tactics Guide
EP 289- Tony Ballard- A Convicted Felon on How Chess has Changed His Life
Bonus Pod- GM Andrii Baryshpolets on Why He is Running For FIDE President
Breaking News Bonus Pod- Chess24 Reporter Tarjei Svensen on Magnus' Decision not to Defend his Title
EP 288- GM Peter Heine Nielsen Takes us Behind the Scenes of the 2012 World Championship Match between Anand and Gelfand
EP 287- GM David Howell joins for a FIDE Candidates Wrap Up plus World Championship Match Scuttlebutt, and his 2022 OTB and Commentating Plans
Book Recap #27 - GM Yasser Seirawan's Play Winning Chess
EP 286- Adult Improver Dr. Nicholas Vasquez on How and Why he Finally Got Serious about Chess Improvement
FIDE Candidates Round 12 Update- IM Christof Sielecki on Nepo's Dominance, Alireza's Struggles and the Tight Battle For 2nd Place
EP 285- IM Irina Bulmaga on her New Chess Training Regimen, the best Open Tournaments in Europe, and her Current Chess Goals
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