Perpetual Chess Podcast

Renowned author and trainer GM R.B. Ramesh is one of the rare coaches who has worked extensively with the world's elite players while still providing practical advice for ambitious amateurs.

Long respected as one of chess's leading trainers and authors, Ramesh has helped guide the development of stars such as GMs Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, and Aravindh Chithambaram. As his students continue to reach new heights, Ramesh remains committed to sharing lessons that can benefit players at every level. For that reason, it was exciting news when he recently announced the relaunch of his YouTube channel, where he plans to regularly share free instructional content.

In our conversation, we discussed:

• What he has learned from coaching elite players• When to focus on calculation versus pattern recognition• The risks of burnout for top young players

We also discussed Ramesh's plans for future content, whether he has any new chess book recommendations, and how aspiring players can make the most of their limited study time.

There is always so much to learn from GM R.B. Ramesh.

Thanks to this week’s sponsors, Chessiverse.com. Use code “Perpetual30” to save 30% on premium offerings, and IM John Bartholomew’s Complete Scandinavian Course. 

0:00 Introduction

2:10 GM Ramesh joins. Why is he relaunching his YouTube channel?

4:50 What Ramesh has learned from coaching elite players like Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram

7:45 Why young players focus too much on openings

10:00 How strong players think: candidate moves, objectivity, and avoiding analytical bias

13:30 Visualization, calculation, and why club players struggle to analyze deeply

16:15 Common problems even elite players face: time trouble, concentration, and handling losses

Check out Ramesh’s interview with Praggnandhaa here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU0J3ftM8BQ

21:00 How coaches can help players overcome psychological obstacles

27:00 Patreon mailbag question: Might players like Praggnandhaa and Gukesh be dealing with issues like burnout, and a lack of balance in their lives?

Mentioned:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/others/right-now-it-s-a-challenge-to-enjoy-chess-gukesh-101781022470045.html

31:30 The dangers of playing too many tournaments

35:15 Long-term burnout concerns for today's generation of prodigies

37:20 Patreon mailbag question: What does Gukesh need to do to regain his best form?

44:45 Does being World Champion create unique psychological pressure?

48:45 Listener question: Pattern recognition vs. calculation

51:00 Analysis vs. calculation: an important distinction

54:10 How adults with only a few hours per week should spend their chess study time

55:30 Future books, Chessable courses, and long-term projects

57:30 What viewers can expect from Ramesh's YouTube channel

1:00:30 Training camps, teaching philosophy, and adapting to students

1:02:30 Why Ramesh stopped reading most chess books

1:04:00 The psychological side of coaching and improvement

1:06:30 Final advice for amateurs and aspiring professionals

1:07:40 Outro

Thanks to GM Ramesh for joining me again! Be sure to SUB to his YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/@RameshRB

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Can a background as a professional jazz musician help you improve at chess? Matt Rathkey says “yes.”.

Matt is this week's guest on The Adult Improver Series. Like many players, he fell back in love with chess during the COVID pandemic and soon found himself playing regularly, watching top-level broadcasts, and solving puzzles. Along the way, he drew upon lessons from years of studying music, particularly the role of pattern recognition, deliberate practice, and improvisation. After years of dedication,  Matt has raised his Chess.com blitz rating from roughly 1200 to over 1900. 

Matt also has a fascinating day job. He is a learning designer on Duolingo's chess team, helping build what has quickly become one of the largest entry points into chess in the world. Launched last year, Duolingo Chess now has more than 7 million daily active users, most of whom are new to the game.

Matt shares his improvement advice, discusses the parallels between jazz and chess, and reflects on what he has learned about the science of skill acquisition. 

This was a fun conversation, and it is encouraging to see so many new players discovering chess through Duolingo.

00:00 Introduction

 Join the free Perpetual Chess Discord here:

https://discord.gg/7KxjmaTW

Sub to my free newsletter here: 

https://benjohnson.substack.com/

Join the Perpetual Chess Patreon community here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

02:00 Matt Rathkey joins

04:10 The Return to Chess: A Pandemic Story

07:04 Rediscovering Chess: The Queen's Gambit Effect

10:08 Setting Goals: The Journey to 1500

Matt’s USCF rating page:

https://ratings.uschess.org/player/13412385

13:09 Learning Through Observation: Active Engagement

16:04 The Importance of Tactics in Chess

18:48 Understanding Openings: Beyond Memorization

21:41 Chess Culture and Personal Growth

24:42 The Future of Chess: Duolingo's Chess Course

34:56 Overcoming Chess Intimidation

36:48 Duolingo Chess: Making Chess Accessible

39:44 Engaging with Oscar: The Duolingo Chess Bot

42:53 Learning Pathways in Duolingo Chess

46:41 Designing Effective Chess Lessons

51:08 Personalized Learning in Chess

53:14 The Intersection of Music and Chess

01:02:06 Advice for Chess Improvement

01:08:24 The Journey of Continuous Improvement

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As a scholastic player, James Black Jr. was an All-American who won numerous national titles and trophies, both as an individual competitor and as part of the famed IS 318 chess program in Brooklyn, New York, as featured in the documentary Brooklyn Castle. Alongside FM Joshua Colas and IM Justus Williams, James became one of the youngest African-American National Masters in U.S. history.

After stepping away from competitive chess for several years, James has recently returned to the game, both as a player and as a coach and mentor. In a full-circle moment, he is now teaching at the same school where he first made his name while also building his own organization, KnightShift.

James joins me to discuss:

• Why he came back to competitive chess, and his goals for the future • The "four pillars" he emphasizes when teaching young players • How chess training has changed since his rise in the early 2010s, and what he needs to do to catch up

Plus, we discuss a unique chess book recommendation, his memories of Webster University, and his reaction to the news that its chess program is coming to an end.

This was a fun conversation, and I am excited to see James's comeback unfold.

00:00 Intro+ What brought James back to chess after an OTB hiatus

Mentioned: Brooklyn Castle

https://www.rescuedmedia.com/brooklyn-castle

GM Alex Lenderman, GM-elect Liam Putnam

Background info we mentioned:

https://grokipedia.com/page/james_black_jr

10:59 Teaching and Learning: Evolving Chess Education

Watch James vs. Magnus in 2012 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfbpC3dQWw

17:16 Opening Strategies: Adapting to Modern Chess

23:25 Inspiration from Legends: Shaping a Chess Career

29:28 Beyond the Board: Life Lessons Through Chess

34:36 Reflections on Growth: Embracing the Journey

36:12 Impact of Mentorship in Chess

38:48 Teaching Chess to Young Minds

43:00- Favorite chess book! 

Mentioned: WNYC video featuring James as a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiOVyiR5jUU

Knight Moves by Charles Alexander-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126711532470?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item&srsltid=AfmBOopTKnSuidd7Eg5M3-xYtoYzP97-jcvhVtZSPv1S1T25hE9dzgcXGsU

48:58 Experiences at Webster University

Webster terminates chess program:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/spice-chess-program-terminated

53:49 Advice for Aspiring Chess Players

Thanks to James for sharing his story!

You can email him at 

JamesBlackChess at gmail dot com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/knightshiftofficial_/

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GM Simon Williams returns to Perpetual Chess for the first time in several years. Simon is one of chess's most recognizable personalities, known as the Ginger GM through his work as a streamer, commentator, author and Chessable creator. He is also an accomplished tournament player, having shared first in the 2010 London Chess Classic and finished second in the 2004 British Championship.

Simon joined me for a wide-ranging conversation covering both chess and life. We discussed:

• His candid reflections on becoming involved with a pension company that later collapsed, the mistakes he made, and how he has worked to move forward

• His new role helping revitalize Chesspublishing.com, and why he believes its archive of opening analysis remains an underappreciated resource

• How modern opening preparation has changed, and why Simon increasingly relies on offbeat ideas to avoid preparation battles

• His love of creative, attacking chess and the memorable games he has played at the Reykjavik Open

We also discussed the Stonewall Dutch, rising British star Bodhana Sivanandan, the losses of IM Adam Hunt and GM Jonathan Hawkins, and even Simon's thoughts on Las Vegas.

As always, it was great catching up with Simon, and I am glad to see him creating chess content again.

 

00:00 The 2026 Reykjavik Open and Simon’s flair for the dramatic chess game 

Check out Simon’s epic queen sacrifice in this article by NM Anthony Levin:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2023-reykjavik-open-williams-sacrifices-queen#:~:text=Williams%27%20Brilliancy,he%20played%20the%20interesting%205.

04:45 How Simon has adapted his approach to openings in the engine age 

Mentioned: Simon’s game vs. Bodhana Sivanadan

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=3124933

07:35 Playing Against Younger Opponents

10:38 The State of British Chess

13:32 Exploring the Stonewall Dutch

Mentioned: Bronstein’s famous blunder- 

https://www.chess.com/blog/ThummimS/the-1951-world-chess-championship

16:32 The Impact of Computer Analysis

19:39 Experiences playing against legends at the 2025 European Club Cup

22:26 Simon’s Involvement with Chess Publishing

More background info here:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/simon-williams-ordered-to-pay-back-900-000-to-pension-scheme

26:30 Innovative Chess Solutions

28:11 Lessons learned from working for a pension firm that went bankrupt. 

35:42 Navigating Financial Mistakes

40:17 The Importance of Chess in Life

44:48 Content Creation and Future Projects

Keep an eye out for The Ginger and The Bear podcast!

48:54 Remembering IM Adam Hunt and GM Jonathan Hawkins 

50:00- How to keep up with GM Simon Williams

Suggestions for Chesspublishing.com 

https://www.chesspublishing.com/contact

X:

https://x.com/ginger_gm?lang=en

YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/gingergm

Disclosure: Some links in this description are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, Perpetual Chess may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

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Jordan Himelfarb is an award-winning editor for the Toronto Star and an avid games player who became fascinated by elite chess during the pandemic. That fascination eventually led to his excellent new book,  Interregnum : Inside the Grueling and Glamourous Battle to Become the Next King of Chess, a detailed and highly readable chronicle of the 2024 FIDE Candidates cycle.

Jordan traveled to events including the World Cup, Grand Swiss, Candidates Tournament and World Championship match, gathering revealing first-hand reflections from many of the game’s top players along the way.

We discuss:


Why the Candidates cycle makes for such compelling sports drama


The emotional and physical toll of professional chess


Which players and personal stories resonated with him most


Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh and the shifting generational landscape in chess


The controversies, chaos and unforgettable moments of the 2024 cycle

I recommend Jordan’s book to anyone looking for “bedtime chess reading”, and this was a really fun conversation.

00:00 Project Origins, Jordan’s Chess and Games Background

03:48 The Structure and Narrative of the Book

07:01 Experiences at Major Chess Events

09:54 Challenges and Insights in Reporting

12:46 The Physical and Mental Toll of Chess

15:58 Gender Dynamics in Chess

19:00- Patreon mailbag question: Which Candidates’ story resonated with Jordan the most? 

22:16 The Weight of the Crown: Mental Health in Chess

23:40 Compelling Stories of Chess Players

25:30 The Agony and Ecstasy of Chess

30:07 The Relentless Grind of Chess Tournaments

31:09 Drama and Controversy in the Chess World

36:20 Expectations and Surprises in the Candidates Cycle

38:13 The Future of Young Chess Players

39:54 Personal Reflections on Chess

40:00- Thanks to Jordan for joining me, here is where to get the book:

https://www.amazon.com/Interregnum-Inside-Grueling-Glamorous-Battle/dp/1639369910

Audiobook:

https://www.amazon.com/Interregnum-Inside-Grueling-Glamorous-Battle/dp/B0GCPR89VZ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0

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