EP.161 - Geert van der Velde (Chief Content Officer of Chessable.com)

This week’s guest, Geert van der Velde, is a semi-retired rock star who has recently managed to  turn his passion for all things chess into the role of Chief Content Officer for Chessable.com.  

Geert is quite knowledgeable about chess books, chess history, and chess teaching, and we hit all of these topics in our conversation. Geert was also able to share lots of information about some exciting projects in the works at Chessable, as well as trends of which we should be aware in the chess education space generally. More details and timestamps can be found below. 

0:00- Geert delves into his chess background and talks about how his passion for chess was born and how it was revived in the past decade. 

Mentioned:  BIll Wall’s Chess Website, My Great Predecessors, My Best Games of Chess by Alexander Alekhine, Alekhine BBC Interview YouTube clip, GM Neil McDonald, Chess Books Recaptured: Bobby Fischer goes to War

9:00- Geert shares how he ended up in his current role as Chief Content Officer at Chessable.com. 

12:30- We take a detour into Geert’s background as a successful touring rock musician, most prominently for a band called The Black Atlantic. Check out their music here:

https://blackatlantic.bandcamp.com/

14:45- We return to Geert’s chess background. 

Mentioned: How to Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman , Grenke Chess Open, Chessable’s 100 Endgames You Must Know, IM John Bartholomew, GM Jorden Van Foreest, GM Jan Gustafsson, 

22:00- What does Geert’s work for Chessable entail? 

Mentioned: GM Sam Shankland’s Small Steps 2 Success on Chessable, GM Wesley So, Chessable’s “Lifetime Pro” Membership deal will only be available for a few more weeks, Chessable CEO David Kramaley on Perpetual Chess, GM Alex Colovic, GM Pentala Harikrishna, Memory Champ Simon Reinhard, Memory Games on Netflix, Moonwalking with Einstein 

35:50- This show is brought to you in part by Chessable- As we discussed, one of the many great books you can learn online is 100 Endgames You Must Know: https://www.chessable.com/100-endgames-you-must-know/course/5193/

36:50- A supporter of the podcast sent in some great Chessable-related questions pertaining to when Chessable’s IOS app will be coming and other Chessable business-related questions. 

Mentioned: NM Mike Zaloznyy, IM Dmitri Schneider 

44:00- What books would Geert most love to bring to Chessable? As a chess dad and part time chess teacher, what are Geert’s favorite apps for kids who are learning chess? 

ERROR ALERT- Contra what I said, Magnus Trainer is available on Ipad. I apologize for the mistake! 

Mentioned: How to Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman , The Chess Steps Method, Magnus Trainer, Chesskid.com, Chess Steps: Chess Tutor Program , Cor van Wijgerden

53:00- We discuss Geert’s plans for attending the ongoing Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Can spaced repetition be used to learn music? 

Mentioned: Black Atlantic’s Most Popular Song, I Shall Cross this River, has been streamed 31,000,000.  

Thanks to Geert for being on the show, you can keep up with him via Chessable and Twitter.