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 281- Dr. Stuart Margulies tells the story behind the classic, best-selling book, Bobby Fischer Teacher Chess
Book Recap #26- Discussing Alexei Shirov's Fire on Board with Mitchell Fabian
EP 280- GM Ben Finegold on The FIDE Candidates, Recent Declines in Chess Twitch Viewership, and Why He Thinks he Doesn't Play as Well as he Used to.
EP 279- Derek Wilder (Adult Improver Series)- The key lessons that helped an 1800 break through to a USCF 2000 rating.
Ep 278- GM Jan Gustafsson- The Popular Chess24 Commentator discusses the World Championships, Chess Openings, The State of his Chess Game, and his new Chess Podcast
EP 277-GM Kirill Shevchenko and WFM Maria Emelianova, a Ukrainian GM and a Russian Chess Streamer, on How the Russian-Ukrainian War Impacts their lives, their Careers and the Chess World
EP 276- GM Michael Adams- Stories and Lessons from Mickey's decades Among the Chess Elite
EP 275- IM Ali Mortazavi- A CEO and Successful Stock Investor on how the Challenges of Chess Help Everything Else Seem Easier
EP 274- Paul Hedrick (Adult Improver Series) with guest co-host Han Schut
EP 273- GM Johan Hellsten on Chess Improvement, the Inspirations for his "Mastering Chess" Book Series, and his favorite OTB Memories
EP 272- "Positional Puzzle Book Championship" with Neal Bruce
Book Recap #25- Review and Discussion of The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games with NM Chrisopher Chabris and FM Graham Burgess
EP 271- GM Hans Niemann on his Rapid Climb up the Chess Rankings and What's Next for Him in 2022
EP 270- Cody Smith (Adult Improver Series)
EP 269- Jen Shahade on her New Book and Chess in the Queen's Gambit age
EP 268- GM Joel Benjamin and Harold Scott on How to Win the World Open
Book Recap #24- Discussing GM Jan Markos' Under the Surface with NM Gopal Menon and Matt Fletcher
EP 267- NM Nelson Lopez (of the ChessVibes YouTube Channel)
EP 266- NM Jeremy Kane (Adult Improver Series)
EP 265- GM Simon Williams- (aka The Ginger GM) returns
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