Perpetual Chess returns for the second edition of what will be an occasional series, Perpetual Tournament Reports. (First edition here). For this episode, two guests join me to share their experiences at ALTO (“At Least Twenty One”), which was a tournament that took place in early September and was hosted by the Charlotte Chess Center. ALTO is a semi-annual tournament that has quickly gained a loyal roster of attendees due to the unique opportunity it presents to compete against and socialize with other adult chess players. My guests are 1) Returning guest, data scientist, blogger and Chessable Author, FM Nate Solon. Nate hasn’t been competing OTB much lately, in part due to having his first baby at home, but somehow won the open section of the tournament! Despite this incredible success, Nate feels he has plenty of chess to work on, and he shares his reflections from his games and away-from-the-board experiences in Charlotte. 2) James Braindmair got into chess via the Queen’s Gambit and is already quite active in his chess community in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition to a busy work and family life, James is President of the Columbia Chess Club. With so many responsibilities, James doesn’t get a ton of time to study, but he and some local chess friends all made the trip to play and compete. James reflects on the chess and non-chess lessons he has recently learned. Timestamps of guests and topics discussed can be found below.
Prior tournament report podcast-
https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2023/6/30/f82nnc8zc3crw6pxaprlkd5rgil5a7
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Hmf19bVCz3WiwqFTmuHAE?si=8eedbfe0a6154989
If are rated below 1300 Chess.com or lower (Approximately) and would like to send me games for my forthcoming Chessable course please email Ben at perpetualchesspod.com
4:45- FM Nate Solon joins the pod! Was he surprised that he won the tournament? What were the key moments?
Mentioned:
https://www.chessable.com/100-repertoires-reti-1nf3/course/170854/
Episode 346 with NM Todd Bryant
LiChess study with most of Nate’s games
Episode 307 with IM Dean Ippolito
Nate’s post on Time Management-
https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/time-management
16:00- Nate describes his mindset going in to his final round game against IM Dina Belenkaya.
Mentioned: GM Eugene Perelshteyn
21:00- Nate just hit a new rating high at age 38- how is he able to defy chess gravity?
23:00- What was ALTO like away from the board?
26:00- How is the 1. Nf3 repertoire from Nate’s Chessable course working out?
30:00- How did Nate’s new openings as Black work out?
Mentioned: King’s Kalashnikov Sicilian, Shankland’s Semi-Slav
38:00- What are Nate’s chess takeaways from the tournament?
Mentioned: Check Nate’s video recap of his White games here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd6niI6KllI
45:00- James Brandmair joins the pod! He begins by discussing how he recently got into tournament chess.
Mentioned: Paul Copeland, NM Sam Copeland’s YouTube Channel
48:00- What were James’ goals going into the tournament?
Mentioned: Hanlon-Brandmair 2023, IM Dina Belenkaya, JJ Lang, IM David Vigorito
54:00- What has James learned from reviewing the games?
Mentioned: GM John Shaw’s King’s Gambit, Godly Gambit
1:00:00- What are the goals for the Columbia Chess Club?
Mentioned: Is James’ wife supportive of chess weekends?
1:05:00- Did the tournament feel differently without kids competing?
Thanks to James for joining! You can email him at Jamesbrandmair at gmail dot com
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EP.350- CM Can Kabadayi: A self-taught Candidate Master and Cognitive Scientist on Calculation, The Chess Aging Curve and his Favorite Chess Books
EP 349- Dr. Anique de Bruin: Deliberate Practice and the Science of Chess Learning
Book Recap #33- Think Like a Super GM and Strategic Chess Exercises: 2 Great Books for Intermediate Level and Up (with Dr. Michael Franco)
EP 347- GM Gregory Kaidanov on The Return of Hans Niemann, FIDE World Cup Reflections & The Differences Between Adult and Youth Chess Students
EP 346- NM Todd Bryant Shares his Data on the Most Accomplished Adult Improvers in recent US Chess History, plus Discusses his Own Approach to Chess Enjoyment & Improvement
EP 345- WFM Maaike Keetman on The Best Open Tournaments in Europe, The Chess Steps Method & Chessable's Create Your Own Course Contest
EP 344- GM Melik Khachiyan on How Staying Active OTB and Emphasizing Physical Fitness helped him Finally win his First National Title!
Bonus Pod- FIDE World Cup Update- Magnus and Fabiano on a Collision Course? Featuring CM Vjekoslav Nemec and IM Michael Rahal reporting from the tournament in Baku.
EP 343- Rating Deflation Roundtable- Statistician Jeff Sonas and Data Scientist FM Nate Solon discuss FIDE’s Proposed Changes to their Rating System, Plus Historical Chess Nuggets from Jeff’s Grea
EP 342- GM Simen Agdestein: The Norwegian Chess Legend on Coaching Young Magnus, Life as a Pro Footballer, and What he Learned from Career-Altering Injuries
Book Recap #32- GM Rowson's Chess for Zebras a classic book that tackles the challenges of adult improvement, and the differences between playing White and Black (with guest co-host, Professor David
EP 341-Double Episode! GM Levon Aronian on The Global Chess League, How to Better Promote Chess, and Reflections on his Bumpy Ride to the Chess Elite + Global Chess League Chairperson Jagdish Mitra on
Bonus Pod- Jen Shahade joins for a FIDE Women's World Championship Wrap Up
EP 340- FIDE World Cup Preview with Mr. Dodgy- The Best Tournament of the Chess Year starts Sunday! Magnus looks for his first World Cup Win, and Hikaru, Fabiano, and a host of Challengers hope to Ear
EP 339- WGM Anna Zatonskih: The Four-Time US Women’s Champion Shares the Story Behind Earning Her First GM Norm at age 44!
Bonus Pod- The FIDE Women's World Championship is at the Halfway Point: American Chess Olympian WGM Begim Tokhirjonova joins to discuss it
EP 338- Dr. Daniel Simons and Dr. Christopher Chabris- Two Award Winning co-authors and Professors on Growth Mindset, Cheating in Chess, Chess Improvement & Much more!
EP 337- NM Nate Shuman- A Scholastic Champion on How Mindfulness Practices Helped Him & Can Help All Competitive Chess Players
Bonus Pod- Three Amateurs on Chess Lessons Learned and Adventures Had at the National Open in Las Vegas
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