EP 359- Davaun Williams (aka Chess Knowledge with H1) on Chess TikTok Stardom, Opening Traps, and Improvement Recs
This week I am joined by a rising star in chess media, Davaun Williams. To his 200,000+ Tiktok followers and nearly 80,000 Instagram followers, Davaun is better known as “Chess Knowledge with H1.” In our conversation, we discuss H1’s chess origins, the origins of the nickname “H1,” and how he gained fame for using a demo board and throwing the captured chess pieces during his entertaining videos. Davaun’s videos feature a lot of opening traps, and he has just released his first Chessable course, “Opening Traps You Must Learn.” In addition to discussing chess openings, Davaun shares other chess improvement advice, and even advises me on whether or not I should continue to post videos on TikTok. All in all, this was a fun conversation, and it was great to learn more about Davaun’s background. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.
Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com. You can see their latest courses here:
https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/
0:02- Davaun has been making chess content for years, but during the past year he has seen his TikTok channel explode. What changed?
0:05- Does Davaun have plans to dedicate himself full time to chess content?
0:06- Davaun discusses his unusual USCF rating history:
12:00- Davaun’s favorite chess content creators
Mentioned: Gotham Chess, IM John Bartholomew, KingsCrusher, The Chessbrahs
13:00- Davaun’s chess origin story
Mentioned: Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition
17:00- How did Davaun develop the habit of throwing the Demo board pieces after they are captured in his videos?
20:00- How did Davaun decide to write a Chessable course on Opening Traps?
Mentioned: Davaun’s video about the Polish/Orangutan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQQW_ZHbut4
23:00- What is Davaun’s theory as to why his shorter videos get more traction than the longer ones? How is his podcast, Chess Knowledge with H1 doing?
https://open.spotify.com/show/6AefOx7Atzw3bgyfHG2bjR?si=3ed28f8e7d794837
27:00-Is Davaun interested in, and does he cover, top-level chess?
Mentioned: Agadmator, Gotham Chess
30:00- Will Davaun’s kids play chess?
33:00- What is Davaun’s favorite aspect of chess? What is his favorite opening to play?
39:00- Davaun gives both chess improvement and chess content advice.
44:00- I ask Davaun’s advice: Should I continue to post videos to TikTok if noone is watching them?
Thanks to Davaun for joining me on the pod, here is his linktree:
https://linktr.ee/H1chess
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
EP 321- GM Cristian Chirila on Past and Upcoming World Championship Matches, his OTB game, and the Growth of the C Squared Podcast
EP 320- Adult Improver Ben Hunt of “Chess Boot Camp" YouTube Channel on going from 0-1500, “The Goldfish Method” and Transitioning to OTB Chess
EP 319- Dr. Howard Burton- An Award Winning Documentary Filmmaker and Author on the Growth Opportunity for Chess, the Genius of Morphy, Fixing FIDE, and Whether Chess Skills Transfer to Other Domains
EP 318 - Trainer and Chessable Author IM Yaacov Norowitz on How he Became a Blitz Specialist, His Early Encounters with Hikaru and Gothamchess & His Unique Approach to Chess Learning
Book Recap #31- San Luis 2005- Dr. Christopher Chabris on a A Tournament Book featuring Sparkling Games and Annotations, A Mini Cheating Scandal, at a Crossroad Moment in World Championship Chess Hist
EP 317- GM Jorden van Foreest- The Dutch Chess Champ on Working with Magnus and Anish, How he Became Known as a “Creative Player” and What he is Doing to Work on His Own Game
EP 316- GM Mihail Marin: The Renowned Author and Trainer on Learning from Larsen, Tal, Polgar and other Legends
EP 315- Dr. Jon Edwards- The Correspondence Chess World Champion on what Top Engines think of Different Openings and his Road to the World Title
Bonus pod- Tata Steel in the Home Stretch- FM Michiel Abeln assesses the Tournament so Far
EP 314- Adult Improver Kamryn Hellman on How Discovering Chess via Queen's Gambit turned her into a Fast Improving Chess Obsessive
Bonus pod- Dispatch from the Tata Steel Chess tournament with Renowned Author, FM Michiel Abeln
EP 313- FM James Canty on Staying Motivated and His Grind Toward the IM Title and Beyond.
EP 312- GM Noel Studer- The Swiss National Champ Turned Trainer Shares Advice on Overcoming Plateaus, Calculating, Analyzing Games & More
EP 311- GM Jonathan Speelman- A British Chess Legend on His Time as a Top 10 Player and His Encounters with Anand, Korchnoi, Tal and many more!
EP 310- John Hartmann joins to Review the Year in Chess: A Carlsen/Niemann Update, A New Cheating Scandal, The Chess.Com/PM Merger, & lots more
EP 309- Dr. Joel Sneed- An Author and Psychology Professor on How to Regain One's Chess Motivation, Curbing "Blitz Tilt" and How he Made Unusual Rating Gains as an Adult
Book Recap #30- 10 Underrated Chess Books for Different Ratings Levels, with FM Carsten Hansen
EP 308- GM Srinath Narayanan- Lessons Learned from Training Some of the Chess World's Brightest Young Talents
EP 307- IM Dean Ippolito- A Longtime Trainer, Author and Champion Competitor on the Adjustments one Should Make for the Modern Tournament Landscape
EP 306- Adult Improver Vishnu Warrier. Can a 31 year old USCF 2100 become a GM? Vishnu wants to find out!
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
That Don‘t Sound Right
Adeptus Ridiculous
Toy Geeks!
Gun Talk
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast