The FIDE Candidates Tournament begins on April 4 in Toronto, Canada, and I could not be more excited to see who gets to challenge for the FIDE World Championship. As is tradition on Perpetual Chess, we have a few great guests joining to help discuss the action. First up is 7-time Brazilian champion & Correspondence GM, Rafael Leitão. In addition to a vast resume as a player, Rafael regularly annotates top-level games for Chess.com news coverage. Reviewing these games in detail on a daily basis gives Rafael unique insights into the tendencies of the world’s top players. Rafael and I discuss what to watch for in each player’s performance, fun facts, and what opening choices we might see from each player.
Following Rafael, I am joined by Tai Pruce Zimmerman, a/k/a Chess by the Numbers. Tai shares and discusses the win probability of both the open and the women’s candidates, and we also compare the output of Tai’s probabilistic model to the betting markets. Last but not least, I am joined by “On the Queenside,” who has built a large following on Twitter and Lichess for covering Women’s Chess in detail. We discuss whether it is a good idea to run the Women’s Candidates concurrently with the open, and which players we are excited to watch. As always, the timestamps of the guests, as well as the topics and players discussed can be found below.
0:00- Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com. New courses include Introduction to Chess Calculation, and GM Ganguly’s Lifetime Repertoires: Sidelines and Flank Openings for Black
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0:01- Format notes on the FIDE Candidates, including tournament schedule, tiebreak rules, and the Perpetual Chess’ plan for covering the event.
Mentioned: More info on the Candidates here, including tiebreak info:
More from Chess.com here
09:30- GM Rafael Rafael Leitão joins me for a detailed Candidates discussion!
Mentioned: Rafael’s prior interview was episode 147.
15:00- Can Ian Nepomniatchtchi “threepeat” at the Candidate?
21:50- GM Nijat Abasov.
25:30- GM Fabiano Caruana
Mentioned: Leitao-Caruana 2010
30:00- GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshababu
32:30- Hikaru Nakamura
Mentioned: GM Daniel King’s YT Candidates Previews:
Gelfand-Nakamura 2010
37:45- Alireza Firouzja
44:00- GM Vidit Gujirathi
47:00- GM Gukesh Dommaraju
51:30- Who does Rafael predict will win?
Mentioned: Bwin’s betting market on the Candidates:
54:00- Rafael shares his thoughts on the Women’s Candidates. More info here:
59:00- Rafael discusses his own chess career, and what is new from our prior interview. This includes a compelling argument for Chess960.
Mentioned:GM Luis Paolo Supi, Supi-Carlsen 2020
1:09:00- Thanks to Rafael for joining me! Here is how to keep up with him:
Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@rafaelleitaogm
X/Twitter- https://twitter.com/rafpig?lang=en
Website- https://rafaelleitao.com/articles/
1:10:00- Tai Pruce Zimmerman aka Chess by the Numbers rejoins me to talk Candidates statistiics!
Mentioned: Betting market here
1:31:00- What does Tai’s model say on who is most likely to win the Woman’s Candidates?
1:41:00- Thanks to Tai for joining me! Follow him on X here:
1:42;00- On the Queenside joins. Is it a good idea to have the Women’s Candidates run concurrently with the Open Candidates for the first time?
Mentioned: On the Queenside’s preview of the Reykjavik Open
1:50:00- Be sure to follow On the Queenside on Twitter/X and on Lichess!
Twitter/X
LiChess
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EP 370- GM Paul van der Sterren- Breakthroughs, Declines, Mindfulness and the Odyssey of a 20+ Year Professional Career
EP 369- NM Robert Ramirez on the difference between Adult and Youth Chess Students, Chess in Cuba, and Why He Loves the Pirc Defense
EP 368- Erik Allebest (Chess.com CEO)- Online Cheating, The Magnus-Hikaru match that fell through, the Chess24 closure & more
Book Recap #35- Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning- What should chess players know about how to learn and retain information? (with Dr. Nick Vasquez)
EP 367- Adult Improver Julio Calcina: A Chess and MMA Enthusiast on the Life Lessons that Each Can Provide.
EP 366- GM Raven Sturt: Chess Improvement Deep Dive with a Self-Taught Grandmaster. Board Visualization Tips, Book Recs & Lots more.
EP 365- GM Abihimanyu Mishra: The Young Phenom on his Chess Improvement Regimen, His Next Goals, and his 2024 Plans
EP 364- GM Patrick Wolff: Recent Chess News Breakdown: Prearranged Draws, Bizarre Dress Codes, the Candidates Cycle- Is it time to Replace FIDE? Plus, a Chess and AI update
EP-363 Jennifer Shahade on Playing Like a Champion, Building Confidence, and what "Zapping" is in Chess.
EP 362- IM Jeremy Silman tribute: IM John Donaldson and IM Cyrus Lakdawala look back on their friend's life and legacy
Book Recap #34- IM Jeremy Silman's The Amateurs Mind (with David Hamm)
EP 361- Professor/ GM David Smerdon: Renewed Chess Cheating Allegations and the new “Gender Equality in Chess Index.”
EP 360- Adult Improver Ben Hodgkiss just quit his job to pursue chess full-time. Here is his story.
EP 359- Davaun Williams (aka Chess Knowledge with H1) on Chess TikTok Stardom, Opening Traps, and Improvement Recs
EP 358- GM Robert Hungaski on Teaching Chess Teachers, Nakamura, Shirov, Niemann The Indian Chess Boom & more
EP 357- Adult Improver Denis Markov on How a Calm and Consistent Approach has Elevated his Chess Game
EP 356- FIDE Grand Swiss Recap/FIDE Candidates Lookahead plus LiChess Catchup with Community Manager Chris Callahan
EP 355- Cecilia Albertini and Chandler Toffa- Two filmmakers discuss their touching new chess documentary, The City of Human Chess
EP 354- Perpetual Chess Improvement Book Discussion with Dr. Christopher Chabris
EP 353- GM Davorin Kuljasevic: Chess Improvement Q & A (plus discussion of his great new book on GM Ding Liren)
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