New In Chess Podcast

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to English grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Matthew returns to the New In Chess Podcast to look back on the year that’s almost behind us and cautiously look ahead to the year we’re about to enter.Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, a YouTuber, an expert in chess engines, and a prolific writer. The best-selling Game Changer, co-authored with Natasha Regan, on AlphaZero’s groundbreaking chess strategies and the promise of AI, was one of the most successful and talked about books of the past years.These days Matthew is an IT Consultant, but he makes no secret of the fact that he fills his spare time with as much chess as possible. And although the FIDE rating list no longer has him as an active player, his FIDE rating still hovers eerily close to 2700. In fact, Matthew might very well be the strongest amateur chess player in the world. Last but not least, Matthew is the highly popular book reviewer of New In Chess Magazine. For all these reasons, Matthew was invited to return to the New In Chess Podcast - to talk about the best books that came out and to discuss general tendencies and developments in the chess world.Matthew is a great conversationalist and storyteller. You’ll enjoy his stories about 19th century Scottish-American Master Captain Mackenzie, Yugoslav legends Albin Planinc and Dragoljub Velimirovic, the benefits and dangers of AI, and much more. Don’t miss it! 0:00 – Intro 2:55 – Matthew’s tells the story of Captain Mackenzie12:14 – AD BREAK 12:52 – Matthew’s favourite books of 2025 15:30 – The forgotten genius of Albin Planinc17:50 – Velimirovic21:40 – Chess history’s tendency to forget non-world champion players23:50 – David Bronstein26:40 – Sergio Mariotti33:42 – AD BREAK 34:45 – Matthew previews the Candidates Tournament 37:55 - Vincent Keymer   38:58 - Javokhir Sindarov40:38 - Who are Matthew's favourites to win the Candidates?43:50 – Why 2026 will look very different in terms of top level chess 49:21 – Has Freestyle been a success in 2025?53:05 – AD BREAK53:47 – Matthew’s field of expertise: computer chess!55:48 – Why humans are moving towards a more engine-like style of play1:03:45 – Is the Benoni still alive? 1:05:10 – Is English chess entering a new Golden age? 1:09:00 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from the Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Ghenna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Russian grandmaster Anatoly Lutikov (1933-1989).  "Luka" is another lesser-known name in the Essential catalogue, but his story is no less interesting. Coming from a working-class background, Genna describes how "with his independent character, recklessness, and his entire manner of behaviour, he somehow did not fit in with the academic regime of tournaments on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and theoretical lessons on Fridays. His sole trainer became play itself."  Lutikov's recklessness translated to the chessboard, where he was an attacking player feared by everyone in the Soviet chess elite, and beyond. When a fifteen-year old American boy named Bobby Fischer visited Moscow for a series of blitz matches, he crushed several masters in a row before the "big guns" were called in. Luka showed up and beat the youngster 20/30.Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman. Jan returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Timman’s Studies, an impressive volume of 455 pages in which he presents his collected endgame studies and explains how they originated.Of course, Jan Timman is primarily known as the most successful Dutch chess player of the past fifty years; a world-class player who won countless elite tournaments and rose to second place in the world rankings in 1982. However, in recent years, after Covid, Jan’s appearances as a player had become less frequent, and a few weeks ago he announced in an interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, that he has ended his active career as a player. As Honorary Editor, Jan continues to write for New In Chess Magazine, but he will no longer seek the tension and excitement of the chess arena. And one thing Jan will definitely not forego is the pleasure of endgame studies! As he puts it in our talk, during the last 10 years endgame studies have actually been the most important part of his chess life.In 2011, Jan wrote his first book on endgame studies: The Art of the Endgame, My Journeys in the Magical World of Endgame Studies. And last year he paid tribute to all the great composers who have inspired him, and wrote 100 Endgame Studies You Must Know. And now Jan has written Timman’s Studies, My Collected Endgame Studies and their Origins. As said, it’s a thick book of more than 450 pages and it contains 186 of his endgame studies composed in a period of more than half a century, between 1971 and 2025. What’s more, the final chapter, with 31 studies in total, consists entirely of new work.If you’re interested in studies and what they mean to Jan Timman, this is certainly a podcast for you. Don’t miss this talk with one of the modern legends of our game.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.The New In Chess podcast can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the New In Chess website. To leave a comment go to our socials or e-mail us directly at [email protected]:00 – Intro 4:10 – Jan’s lifelong passion for endgame studies 5:57 – Jan tells stories about his father, Max Euwe and Paul Keres 12:40 – Jan’s great admiration for fellow endgame composers like Troitsky, Kubbel and Kasparyan 17:40 – How Jan started composing endgame studies himself 23:09 – AD BREAK 23:41 – How much do we know about famous chess composers? 30:39 – Chess composers who were also strong players 35:12 – Composing chess studies without a board 37:27 – Why grandmasters are often appreciative of chess studies 42:49 – AD BREAK 44:50 – What can composers do to increase general interest in chess studies? 46:15 – Why studies are the most important part of Jan’s chess life these days 49:00 – Will endgame studies inevitably become more complicated? 51:40 – Will solving studies make you a better player? 53:41 – Outro

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek is a good friend of the NIC podcast and he returns to talk about the chess event that is keeping us glued to our screens these days, the World Cup in Goa, India. The World Cup started almost two weeks ago and will end on 27 November. There’s a lot at stake in Goa, as the top three finishers will qualify for the Candidates tournament in Cyprus next year (28 March-15 April). There’s also an attractive prize-fund, with the winner taking home $120,000. Loek had just returned from Goa, where he was the coach of Dutch GM Max Warmerdam and there was a lot to talk about. For instance, about the brutality of the knock-out system. After 4 rounds no fewer than 8(!) of the top 10 seeds have been eliminated, including the top-seed, World Champion Gukesh. Was it wise for Gukesh to take part? And how regrettable is the elimination of Vincent Keymer, who has been playing such great chess this year? And what about Ian Nepomniachtchi, seeded 12th? Did he have a point when he complained that the conditions in Goa were not as they should have been? If you want to hear Loek’s thoughts, you should not miss this episode of the New In Chess Podcast. Or if you’d like to hear his views on a couple of other issues. Such as FIDE’s belated action against Vladimir Kramnik because of the pain and damage his obsessive ‘anti-cheating’ crusade has caused. Or Loek’s role in the upcoming Global Chess League in Mumbai, where he will once again captain the defending champions’ team, the Triveni Continental Kings.0:00 - Intro2:05 - Coaching max Warmerdam at the World Cup 7:36 - Nepo’s early knockout from the tournament and subsequent complaints about the accommodations12:55 - Why have so many top seeds been knocked out of the World Cup already?19:00 - Gukesh partaking in the World Cup despite not playing for a Candidates’ spot24:54 - AD BREAK 25:26 - Anish Giri's performance 28:10 - Bluebaum, Donchenko and other German players 32:00 - Nodirbek’s performance 34:29 - Hans Niemann’s defeat against Lorenzo Lodici40:06 - Jose Martinez 43:05 - AD BREAK44:08 - At this point, who does Loek think is the favourite to win the tournament?47:55 - FIDE’s much belated action against Vladimir Kramnik 50:46 - Working for Kramnik 54:48 - AD BREAK55:28 - Loek’s involvement in the Global Chess League 

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from the Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Latvian international master Alvis Vitolins. Alvis was born in Riga, like his compatriot Misha Tal. And this was not all they shared in common. Like Tal, Vitolins was known for his brilliant sacrificial play. Before executing a speculative sacrifice, Tal would even say: "Let's play like Vitolins!" However, due to some personal hardships, Alvis never reached the title of grandmaster. He also did not play many international tournaments; however, in Latvia, he shone, winning several championships. He was also known for his contributions to the poisoned pawn variation of the Sicilian, which was extremely popular during that time. Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast! A hardcopy version of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko