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- Three Amateurs on Chess Lessons Learned and Adventures Had at the National Open in Las Vegas
Bonus pod- Law Professor David Franklin returns to Discuss the Dismissal of the Hans NIemann/Chess.com Lawsuit
EP 336- GM Jan Timman: The Legendary Author and Dutch Champion discusses his new book on Max Euwe, How his Generation Compares to the Current One, and Magnus and the Modern Chess Landscape
EP 335- Adult Improvers and Chessable co-Authors, WIM Natasha Regan and Matthew Ball on Improving at Chess in Your 50s, Tips for Playing against Kids and The Similarities between Shogi and Chess
EP 334- GM Ben Finegold on the Possible Decline of Magnus, his New 1. d4 Chessable Course, and more Stories from his Years of Chess Travels
EP 333: IM James Sherwin- A US Chess Hall of Famer Looks Back on his Chess Career and Shares Stories about Fischer, Reshevsky, Seirawan and Many More!
EP 332- GM Vinay Bhat: A Former Child Prodigy Turned Data Scientist Shares Lessons Learned and Memorable Stories from his Chess Career
EP 331- Adult Improver John Neely (aka Benedictine) on lessons learned and recommendations from a long journey to 1800.
EP 330- Chess Improvement Q and A with Top Trainer and Author, GM Wojciech Moranda Topics Include: Annotating Games, Improving Positional Chess, and Learning from Playing vs. Learning from Studying
EP 329- GM Sam Shankland: One of the the top Players in the U.S. on How he Improved His Rapid Game and his Endgame Play, His 2023 Tournament Plans and his Advice for Overcoming Setbacks in Chess
EP 328- Ding delivers in dramatic fashion! World Championship wrapup with Dutch National Champion and Top Trainer, GM Erwin L’Ami.
Bonus Pod- Tied with just one classical game to go! GM Alex Lenderman helps break down the Blunders and the Bouncebacks of this Fascinating FIDE World Championship
EP 327- Geert van der Velde, CEO of Chessable, on the Chess.com Merger, “Chessable 3.0,” Including the Courses and Improvements Chessable Users Can Expect this Year
Bonus Pod - World Championship Round 9 Update- Dramatic Games, Leaked Prep and Chess Improvement Takeaways for Amateur Players with IM Andras Toth
EP 326- Popular YouTuber and Streamer WGM Dina Belenkaya on Lessons Learned from Recent Tournaments, Twitch Streaming OTB Games and her Content and Chess Goals for 2023
Bonus Pod- Ding Deadlocks the World Championship Match after 4 games, with FM Mike Klein of Chess.com
EP 325- Adult Improver Chris Duncan on the Popularity of Chess in the Military and the Connective Power of the Game to bring Cultures Together
EP 324- IM Levy Rozman/Gotham Chess on Surpassing 3 Million YouTube Subs, Retiring from OTB, his DMs with Magnus, and his Future Plans
EP 323- Ding-Nepo World Championship Match Preview Double Episode- GM Daniel King on the Players and Historical Context, NM Matt Jensen on the Match Analytics. Also Discussed: Rating Deflation, The S
EP 322- IM Willy Hendriks- The Groundbreaking Author and Trainer on Chess Improvement, Chess History, and The Books that Most Influenced Him
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