GM Melik Khachiyan is a top player and former chess Olympian. He is also a trainer who has taught many future GMs and has coached the US Women’s national team for many years. Despite his many successes, Melik had never won a US Championship of his own…until this year. In 2023, Melik beat out many higher-rated U.S. legends to comfortably win the U.S. Senior Championship! In our conversation, Melik takes us behind the scenes of the games and opening preparation, and his training regimen during the weeks leading up to the tournament. Melik thinks that he was propelled to victory by a couple of decisions in particular: 1) a focus on physical fitness and 2) his staying active in competitive chess. Melik always has lots of chess knowledge to impart, but his recent successes highlight the importance of perseverance, both at and away from the board. And of course, as GM Levon Aronian’s childhood coach, and a former student of World Champion Tigran Petrosian, Melik always has a few stories to share. You can find timestamps of topics discussed below.
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My prior interview with Melik:
Episode 64 with GM Melik Khachiyan
0:00- Melik explains the story behind his last-minute invitation to the U.S. Senior Championship.
5:00- What did Melik do to change his chess training and fitness routine leading up the tournament?
Mentioned: Khachiyan-Root 2023
12:00- Patreon mailbag question- “How has Melik’s tournament approach changed over the years?”
20:00- Did Melik gain an edge over his competitors by continuing to compete?
Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein
25:00- Patreon mailbag question: Has Melik changed his opening repertoire in recent years?
30:00- What was the story behind Melik’s game with Dlugy which began with the unusual sequence 1. Nf3 c5 2. C3 ? Melik also discusses his unusual preparation for GM Patrick Wolff
Mentioned: Khachiyan-Dlugy 2023, Khachiyan-Wolff 2023
39:00- What does Melik do to deal with sleep problems that occur during tournaments?
42:00- What are Melik’s memories of competing in the 1996 Olimpiad in Yerevan, with his then student FM Levon Aronian, also on the Armenian team?
44:00- In my recent interview with GM Aronian he discussed traveling to tournaments in the cargo department of a plane. What were Melik’s recollections of those rides? What does Melik think Levon learned from growing up so poor?
Mentioned: Episode 341 with GM Levon Aronian
50:00- How was World Champion GM Tigran Petrosian’s table tennis game? What did Tigran think of speed chess?
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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!
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