The Perpetual Chess Adult Improver Series returns with another guest with a great story. Denis Markov is a 39 year old working dad with a passion for chess. Denis has deep chess roots which date back to a childhood in Russia where he took classes at the fabled “Palace of Pioneers.” According to Denis, he did not show exceptional talent in those days and eventually set chess aside for some years. Now based in Pennsylvania, Denis returned to competitive chess in 2022 and since then, through hard work and consistency has elevated his USCF rating from 1742 to over 2050! While this type of improvement is quite unusual, Denis is adamant that he isn’t doing anything to “reinvent the wheel.” In our conversation Denis details an approach focused on frequent competitive play, game review and lots of hard work. I found our conversation grounding and inspiring at the same time. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.
Adult Improver Series Spotify Playlist here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75Uoqz2BoRt2IiTCeOfuky?si=680ff07480434ec9
0:00-
Thanks to those who help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon! If you would like to join the community, you can do so here:
https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess
0:01- Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com!
New Chessable courses including Silman’s Endgame Course, and new ones by GM Erwin L’ami, GM Johan Hellsten.
You can check out their latest offerings here:
https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/
2:00- Denis joins the show! What is his “ why?” What does he do when his motivation to study chess is low?
Denniis Reddit post detailing his success:
https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/16sw628/1740_to_2040_uscf_in_2_years_adult_improver/
11:00- Patreon mailbag question: How will Denis approach teaching chess to his kids?
14:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Denis think that his Russian background helped his chess development?
21:00- What got Denis back into chess in his college years?
Mentioned: Aron Nimzowhitsch’s My System
25:00- Denis’ study routine
Denis’ coach:
https://lichess.org/coach/Davjan
34:00- Denis discusses his approach to openings, especially as it relates to playing the same opponents repeatedly.
42:00- How did Denis settle on studying via ChessTempo and the Chess Steps workbooks?
Mentioned: Arthur Yusopov’s series, Chess Steps Method
48:00- What is the nature of Denis’ work with his coach?
54:00- Does Denis have any theories on why he is seeing gains while others might struggle?
1:03:00- More book recommendations!
Mentioned: Sam Shankland’s books, Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky, GM Johan Hellsten’s books, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios, GM Ivan Sololov’s Winning Middle Game Strategies, Sokolov’s interview with Chessbase India, His How to Chess Interview is Now Out!
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EP 296- Award Winning Author/Trainer, GM Jacob Aagaard on Endgame "Rules of Thumb", the Wave of Young Phenoms, and the World Championship Format
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
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