New In Chess Podcast

#89. A Talk With Jacob Aagaard: GM, Author, Trainer, Publisher (Did We Forget Anything?)

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Danish-Scottish grandmaster Jacob Aagaard.Jacob is arguably the most versatile chess professional in the world. At the risk of turning this episode description into an essay, we'll summarise his activities. Jacob is a grandmaster who occasionally still feels the lure of competitive chess; a prolific and successful writer, who has authored more than twenty books; a chess publisher; a coach for world-class players such as Boris Gelfand, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Sam Shankland and many names that are supposed to remain a secret; the proprietor of the Killer Chess Training brand; and, last not but least, the owner of the New In Chess Group, which comprises New In Chess, Quality Chess, Everyman Chess, Popular Chess and Elevation Chess. In short, he is the boss of everyone involved in the production of this podcast. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jacob talks about his ambitions and plans for the near future, and anything else that pops up. These include his predictions for the upcoming Candidates Tournament in Cyprus and his thoughts about the new Netflix documentary Untold: Chess Mates, about the controversy between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann that made headlines all over the world. Will Carlsen and Niemann finally speak freely and clarify what really happened?0:00 – Intro 2:11 – How does Jacob coordinate his many top-level roles in the chess world? 14:42 – Jacob compares the different publishers under his umbrella 24:22 – Daniel Naroditsky’s brilliance as a chess author and educator 29:36 – AD BREAK 30:09 – Jacob previews some other chess books in the pipeline 31:19 – How chess literature has developed throughout the computer age 36:53 – The genius of Mikhail Tal 38:26 – Jacob’s Killer Chess Training platform 48:48 – AD BREAK 49:47 – The Carlsen – Niemann saga 1:00:17 – The upcoming Candidates Tournament 1:10:02 – Some football talk 1:12:35 – Pragg

#88. Judit Polgár Talks About Her Netflix Documentary And Remembers The Late Jan Timman.

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgár.Judit is universally considered the greatest female chess player of all time. After breaking Bobby Fischer's record to become the youngest grandmaster of all time at age 15, she topped the women's rankings for 25 years, from 1989 until her retirement in 2014. She is the only female player to have every broken into the world top 10. Over the course of her career, she amassed victories over no fewer than eleven current or former World Champions in classical or rapid chess. With a life so filled with records, firsts and extraordinary achievements, it should come as no surprise that a Netflix documentary about her unique career has come out. "Queen of Chess" was directed by Rory Kennedy, daughter of late US attorney general Bobby Kennedy, and focuses on her strict upbringing and her intense matches with then-World Champion Garry Kasparov.A second topic of conversation is Judit's relationship with the late Jan Timman, who passed away a few weeks ago and with whom Judit had a strong relationship, having had many training sessions together, as well as a shared love for endgame studies. 0:00 – Intro 2:26 – How did “The Queen of Chess” come about?11:48 – Did Judit have any doubts about Kasparov’s participation in the film?20:11 – How does Judit look back on being the “guinea pig” of her father’s experiment?24:40 – AD BREAK 25:12 – Mr. Polgar has no regrets! 27:02 – The influence of Judit’s husband Gustav 30:40 – How does Judit remember the late and great Jan Timman?37:53 – Judit’s words of encouragement for talented young women41:02 – AD BREAK 42:00 – Was Judit intimidated by Kasparov?46:17 – Judit and Timman’s shared passion for the artistry of chess 53:43 – Outro

#87. Jonathan Tisdall Recaps Wijk Aan Zee!

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with chess grandmaster Jonathan Tisdall.Jon is a grandmaster and a prolific journalist, who has worked for Reuters as a chess correspondent, and has written many stories for New In Chess. He has been active in the chess world for decades, wearing a multitude of hats; n fact, if you want to know who is who in a chess press room, then the gentleman with the hat is usually Jon Tisdall. Jon is also the author of the widely acclaimed book Improve Your Chess Now, and he is working on a new book in collaboration with stand-up comedian (and chess fanatic) Nick Doody.Jon was present in Wijk aan Zee to witne respective players' performances. ss Uzbeki Nodirbek Abdusattorov win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he recaps the event and itsEnjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast!0:00 – Intro 3:02 – Nodirbek and Sindarov 6:15 – Jonathan reviews some strange moves and decisions from Wijk aan Zee 9:35 – Hans’s mentality 11:15 – Abdusattorov’s strong performance 12:40 – Jonathan’s personal relationship with Arjun Erigaisi 16:25 – Why does Erigaisi perform so poorly in Wijk aan Zee? 19:56 – Jorden van Foreest’s performance 23:45 – Controversy around the time control in Wijk aan Zee 27:42 – Matthias Bluebaum’s strong development 29:20 – AD BREAK 29:52 – How strong is Gukesh right now? 35:28 – The role of psychology in chess 40:10 – Dirk Jan tells a story about the Spassky-Korchnoi match 44:51 – AD BREAK 45:43 – The Uzbeki revolution: why hasn’t Norway followed suit? 58:00 – Jon’s previous and upcoming books 1:07:41 - Outro 

#86. Emergency Wijk Aan Zee Podcast With Loek!

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an emergency interview with Wijk aan Zee veteran Loek van Wely! This podcast was recorded in the early afternoon of Thursday, January 29, 2026, on the third and final rest day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Loek has spent the past two weeks in Wijk aan Zee, coaching Dutch GM Max Warmerdam in the Challengers group while keeping an eye on the Masters. With three rounds to go, Uzbekistan’s top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the Tata Steel Masters, half a point ahead of three pursuers: his countryman Javokhir Sindarov, Jorden van Foreest (winner in 2021) and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum. The New In Chess Podcast is coming at you with unprecedented urgency this week! Enjoy. 0:00 – Intro 1:40 – Welcome back once again, Loek! 4:47 – Loek criticises the tournament’s time control 11:58 – Is the FIDE tournament calendar too busy these days? 22:44 – Do players really care about Freestyle? 25:08 – AD BREAK 26:01 – Anish’s bad tournament 28:40 – Bluebaum’s strong performance thus far 31:23 – Jorden’s strong play so far 33:40 – The Uzbeki stars: Abdusattorov and Sindarov 36:35 – Erdogmus, the young superstar: how serious should we take him? 46:40 – Vasyl Ivanchuk’s performance in the Challengers 50:33 – AD BREAK 51:34 – The rest of the Challengers group 54:25 – Abdusattorov: a safe bet with three rounds to go? 56:30 – Hans 59:43 – Loek’s master plan to overtake Erwin l’Ami in the Dutch rating list 1:04:50 – Fedoseev’s beautiful Rc3 against Erigaisi! 1:06:30 – Outro

#85. Peter Svidler Previews Wijk Aan Zee, Candidates And More!

In this year’s first episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Peter Svidler. It’s a special moment, as two years ago, Peter was the first guest in the inaugural episode of the podcast. We are delighted that he’s returning. Peter Svidler can look back on an incredible career as a player and he is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile experts in the world of chess. He is a three-time Candidate for the World Championship, an eight-time champion of Russia, and a World Cup winner. Among his many further successes are five gold team medals at the Olympiad.Over the past years, as he began to play less, Peter has become one of the most popular chess commentators in the world. In fact, it’s fair to say that he was one of the commentators that took chess broadcasts to a new level. For all these reasons, Peter is a perfect guest at the start of 2026, as we look ahead to a well-filled chess year that no doubt will bring us many highlights.First, Peter looks back on the Rapid & Blitz World Championships in Doha, where Magnus Carlsen won the title in both time controls for the fifth time in his career. Next, he talks about the Tata Steel tournament that starts tomorrow in Wijk aan Zee, the world-famous village on the Dutch coast. And, of course, he also touches on the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus in the first half of April. Peter is an easy talker, who happily shares his stories and insights about many leading and upcoming great chess players.How does he see Magnus’s new victory? What is his take on rising stars Yazig Erdogmus and Faustino Oro? Or on Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov, Leinier Dominguez, World Champion Gukesh and the other Indian stars? You’ll hear about all of them and many more. If you’d like to warm up for the Tata Steel Masters and Challengers and get into the mood for more highlights in 2026, this episode of the New In Chess Podcast is a good place to begin. Don’t miss it!The New In Chess Podcast is brought to you by DGT, the chess innovators. DGT is the only brand that provides everything you need to broadcast the games of a chess event - from chess clocks to sensory chess boards.2:05 – Peter’s recap of the World Rapid and Blitz3:50 – Which “new kids on the block” did Peter follow with particular interest? 10:36 – Peter’s match against Erdogmus 20:49 – Magnus’s outrageous Messi comparison 23:16 – AD BREAK 23:55 – Is it unwise for Oro to play in the Masters group in Wijk aan Zee?27:20 – Keymer’s great form going into Wijk aan Zee 28:17 – Anish Giri 30:53 – Gukesh 33:36 – Why Peter thinks this World Championship cycle will be more exciting than before40:15 – Jakovhir Sindarov’s dark horse status42:56 – Fabiano Caruana’s chances 47:35 – Pragg 47:57 – AD BREAK 51:34 – What can we expect from Ivanchuk in Wijk aan Zee? 54:30 – Does Peter miss playing competitive chess? 59:03 – How has Uzbekistan become such a strong chess country? 1:02:53 – Will the “India conveyor belt” ever stop? 1:04:14 – What is the current state of chess overall according to Peter?