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 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)
EP 367- Adult Improver Julio Calcina: A Chess and MMA Enthusiast on the Life Lessons that Each Can Provide.
EP 366- GM Raven Sturt: Chess Improvement Deep Dive with a Self-Taught Grandmaster. Board Visualization Tips, Book Recs & Lots more.
EP 365- GM Abihimanyu Mishra: The Young Phenom on his Chess Improvement Regimen, His Next Goals, and his 2024 Plans
EP 364- GM Patrick Wolff: Recent Chess News Breakdown: Prearranged Draws, Bizarre Dress Codes, the Candidates Cycle- Is it time to Replace FIDE? Plus, a Chess and AI update
EP-363 Jennifer Shahade on Playing Like a Champion, Building Confidence, and what "Zapping" is in Chess.
EP 362- IM Jeremy Silman tribute: IM John Donaldson and IM Cyrus Lakdawala look back on their friend's life and legacy
Book Recap #34- IM Jeremy Silman's The Amateurs Mind (with David Hamm)
EP 361- Professor/ GM David Smerdon: Renewed Chess Cheating Allegations and the new “Gender Equality in Chess Index.”
EP 360- Adult Improver Ben Hodgkiss just quit his job to pursue chess full-time. Here is his story.
EP 359- Davaun Williams (aka Chess Knowledge with H1) on Chess TikTok Stardom, Opening Traps, and Improvement Recs
EP 358- GM Robert Hungaski on Teaching Chess Teachers, Nakamura, Shirov, Niemann The Indian Chess Boom & more
EP 356- FIDE Grand Swiss Recap/FIDE Candidates Lookahead plus LiChess Catchup with Community Manager Chris Callahan
EP 355- Cecilia Albertini and Chandler Toffa- Two filmmakers discuss their touching new chess documentary, The City of Human Chess
EP 354- Perpetual Chess Improvement Book Discussion with Dr. Christopher Chabris
EP 353- GM Davorin Kuljasevic: Chess Improvement Q & A (plus discussion of his great new book on GM Ding Liren)
EP 352- Emilia Castelao and Craig Dubose: Two Chess Enthusiasts on their Chess Passion Projects
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