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.
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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 281- Dr. Stuart Margulies tells the story behind the classic, best-selling book, Bobby Fischer Teacher Chess
Book Recap #26- Discussing Alexei Shirov's Fire on Board with Mitchell Fabian
EP 280- GM Ben Finegold on The FIDE Candidates, Recent Declines in Chess Twitch Viewership, and Why He Thinks he Doesn't Play as Well as he Used to.
EP 279- Derek Wilder (Adult Improver Series)- The key lessons that helped an 1800 break through to a USCF 2000 rating.
Ep 278- GM Jan Gustafsson- The Popular Chess24 Commentator discusses the World Championships, Chess Openings, The State of his Chess Game, and his new Chess Podcast
EP 277-GM Kirill Shevchenko and WFM Maria Emelianova, a Ukrainian GM and a Russian Chess Streamer, on How the Russian-Ukrainian War Impacts their lives, their Careers and the Chess World
EP 276- GM Michael Adams- Stories and Lessons from Mickey's decades Among the Chess Elite
EP 275- IM Ali Mortazavi- A CEO and Successful Stock Investor on how the Challenges of Chess Help Everything Else Seem Easier
EP 274- Paul Hedrick (Adult Improver Series) with guest co-host Han Schut
EP 273- GM Johan Hellsten on Chess Improvement, the Inspirations for his "Mastering Chess" Book Series, and his favorite OTB Memories
EP 272- "Positional Puzzle Book Championship" with Neal Bruce
Book Recap #25- Review and Discussion of The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games with NM Chrisopher Chabris and FM Graham Burgess
EP 271- GM Hans Niemann on his Rapid Climb up the Chess Rankings and What's Next for Him in 2022
EP 270- Cody Smith (Adult Improver Series)
EP 269- Jen Shahade on her New Book and Chess in the Queen's Gambit age
EP 268- GM Joel Benjamin and Harold Scott on How to Win the World Open
Book Recap #24- Discussing GM Jan Markos' Under the Surface with NM Gopal Menon and Matt Fletcher
EP 267- NM Nelson Lopez (of the ChessVibes YouTube Channel)
EP 266- NM Jeremy Kane (Adult Improver Series)
EP 265- GM Simon Williams- (aka The Ginger GM) returns
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