This week we are joined by a legend of Norwegian Chess, GM Simen Agdestein. GM was the first Norwegian Grandmaster, a childhood trainer of Magnus Carlsen, and is a nine-time champion of Norway, who holds the record of being both the country’s youngest and oldest national champion, after winning the title again this year at age 56. As if these feats weren’t impressive enough, at the time Simen was around his chess peak (#16 in the world) he was also a star football/soccer player, who played striker on Norway’s national team! With such an accomplished resume, one might think things have been easy for Simen, but that has been far from the case. As he discusses in our interview, injuries derailed his chess and football careers simultaneously, and SImen was forced to reassess everything. In our conversation, Simen shares what his vast life experience has taught him about life and chess improvement. Simen also discusses the current chess scene in Norway, and of course, tells plenty of stories about what it was like to coach a young Magnus Carlsen.
Thanks to our Presenting Chess Education Sponsors, Chessable.com Here are a few of their Magnus related courses:
Fight Like Magnus
Grind Like a GM
Magnus Carlsen: Endgame Virtuoso
You can check out my favorite courses here:
You can check out some of my recommended courses here: https://go.chessable.com/perpetual-chess-podcast/
0:02- GM Agdestein reflects on his recent, record-setting National Championship. How does the feeling of this one compare to prior championship wins? How did he prepare for this one?
Mentioned: GM Judit Polgar’s Interview with GM Judit Polgar, IM Elham Abdrlauf, GM Jonathan Speelman’s Chessbase column about Simen’s recent win, SImen’s book
15:00- How does Simen structure the chess study time at his famed chess institute for talented chess players?
Mentioned: GM Aryan Tari, GM Magnus Carlsen, Magnus Carlsen on The Lex Fridman Podcast
22:00- What stood out about Magnus in his early years?
Mentioned: GM Torbjorn Ringdal Hansen
27:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Are the live TV broadcasts attracting new tournament players?”
31:30- How did Simen become a GM with so little chess infrastructure in Norway at the time?
35:00- Does Simen think he was more talented in chess or in football?
37:00- Simen tells how injuries derailed his football and chess careers simultaneously.
Mentioned: Chess.com’s Tarjei Svensen
44:00- Why did Simen turn down a lucrative professional football offer from the Turkish club Besiktas?
45:30- How did Simen recover from the physical and mental setbacks in his mid 20s?
49:00- When Simen reflects on his 20s does he think of chess or soccer first?
52:00- Why did Simen turn down a lucrative football contract with a Turkish pro club in his 20s?
55:00- What does SImen remember about a young Alexei Shirov coming to visit his house?
57:00- What was it like facing Kasparov?
1:00:00- What are Simen’s memories of Kasparov’s visit to Norway to work with Magnus at age 14?
1:04:00- More Magnus stories!
1:07:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is the proper way to determine a world champion in chess?”
1:12:00- Why does Simen advise to “always take pieces?”
1:16:00- Thanks so much to Simen for joining the pod! You can learn more about his experience coaching Magnus in his book:
https://www.amazon.com/Magnus-Carlsen-Became-Youngest-Grandmaster/dp/9056914375
And keep an eye out for the forthcoming book, The Chess That Was
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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
Bonus pod- Law Professor David Franklin returns to Discuss the Dismissal of the Hans NIemann/Chess.com Lawsuit
EP 336- GM Jan Timman: The Legendary Author and Dutch Champion discusses his new book on Max Euwe, How his Generation Compares to the Current One, and Magnus and the Modern Chess Landscape
EP 335- Adult Improvers and Chessable co-Authors, WIM Natasha Regan and Matthew Ball on Improving at Chess in Your 50s, Tips for Playing against Kids and The Similarities between Shogi and Chess
EP 334- GM Ben Finegold on the Possible Decline of Magnus, his New 1. d4 Chessable Course, and more Stories from his Years of Chess Travels
EP 333: IM James Sherwin- A US Chess Hall of Famer Looks Back on his Chess Career and Shares Stories about Fischer, Reshevsky, Seirawan and Many More!
EP 332- GM Vinay Bhat: A Former Child Prodigy Turned Data Scientist Shares Lessons Learned and Memorable Stories from his Chess Career
EP 331- Adult Improver John Neely (aka Benedictine) on lessons learned and recommendations from a long journey to 1800.
EP 330- Chess Improvement Q and A with Top Trainer and Author, GM Wojciech Moranda Topics Include: Annotating Games, Improving Positional Chess, and Learning from Playing vs. Learning from Studying
EP 329- GM Sam Shankland: One of the the top Players in the U.S. on How he Improved His Rapid Game and his Endgame Play, His 2023 Tournament Plans and his Advice for Overcoming Setbacks in Chess
EP 328- Ding delivers in dramatic fashion! World Championship wrapup with Dutch National Champion and Top Trainer, GM Erwin L’Ami.
Bonus Pod- Tied with just one classical game to go! GM Alex Lenderman helps break down the Blunders and the Bouncebacks of this Fascinating FIDE World Championship
EP 327- Geert van der Velde, CEO of Chessable, on the Chess.com Merger, “Chessable 3.0,” Including the Courses and Improvements Chessable Users Can Expect this Year
Bonus Pod - World Championship Round 9 Update- Dramatic Games, Leaked Prep and Chess Improvement Takeaways for Amateur Players with IM Andras Toth
EP 326- Popular YouTuber and Streamer WGM Dina Belenkaya on Lessons Learned from Recent Tournaments, Twitch Streaming OTB Games and her Content and Chess Goals for 2023
Bonus Pod- Ding Deadlocks the World Championship Match after 4 games, with FM Mike Klein of Chess.com
EP 325- Adult Improver Chris Duncan on the Popularity of Chess in the Military and the Connective Power of the Game to bring Cultures Together
EP 324- IM Levy Rozman/Gotham Chess on Surpassing 3 Million YouTube Subs, Retiring from OTB, his DMs with Magnus, and his Future Plans
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