The New In Chess Podcast features interviews with the world's leading chess players, authors and personalities. New In Chess is a prize-winning publisher of che...
#60. Peter Leko Talks About Chess Commentary, Vincent Keymer, Kramnik Match And More!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko. A world-class grandmaster and former prodigy, Peter now works as a coach and has achieved acclaim as one of the most popular online chess commentators.Peter Leko was extremely successful as a player. As a young kid of only 14 years, four months and 22 days, he became a grandmaster in 1994. This achievement made him the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time, breaking the old record of Judit Polgar. Peter rapidly grew into a world-class player and ultimately challenged for the world title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2004. This proved to be both a high in Leko’s career and a traumatic moment, as he was leading by one point going into the last game and dramatically lost that game, allowing Kramnik to retain the title. In 2025, Peter is no longer an active player and devotes himself to commentary and coaching, with Vincent Keymer as his most notable pupil.In a lively and engaging conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Peter speaks about his years as a chess prodigy, his greatest successes, the Kramnik match, freestyle and much more. Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!0:00 – Intro
2:45 – Welcome Peter!
4:04 – Difference between top level chess now versus in Peter’s prime
6:36 – Becoming the then-youngest grandmaster of all time at age 14, first encounters with Kasparov and Korchnoi
12:58 – Peter’s first Wijk aan Zee tournament in 1992, first games with Vishy Anand
16:48 – First big victories
20:51 – The “Adorjan years”
26:02 – Peter’s flawless memory
28:50 – Music
32:40 – How the Hungarian government persuaded Peter to play in the Olympiad
38:02 – Preparing for the Olympiad
47:19 – AD BREAK
47:50 – Peter’s World Championship match against Kramnik
57:15 – Aftermath of the Kramnik match
1:00:47 – Retirement
1:04:30 – Peter’s relationship with Vincent Keymer
1:09:00 – Commentary
1:14:21 – AD BREAK
1:15:14 – How does Peter prepare himself for commentary?
1:17:40 – Freestyle and Peter’s problem with FIDE time controls
1:24:30 – Peter’s relationship with Bobby Fischer
1:27:50 – Vincent Keymer’s fantastic Freestyle performance
1:30:00 – Why top players are gravitating towards Freestyle
1:39:27 – Outro
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1:40:12
#59. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 5) | The Essential Sosonko
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.
This week's narration, which is the fifth in a six-part series, chronicles the "second surge" of Tal's career, where he achieved over-the-board success despite having lost some of his trademark aggression. It also delves deeper into Tal's personality off-the-board. A mild-mannered freethinker, Tal was wary of the totalitarian Soviet regime of which he was a part, and always sought to maintain his independence without ruffling too many feathers "at home".
Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, this week’s episode about Mikhail Tal is different from the two-part “My Misha” series from May of last year. Instead of an active participant, Genna is more of a background figure this time. However, this does not make his retelling of Tal’s stories any less vivid.
Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!
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#58. Matthew Sadler Talks About Classic Books And Previews The Chess Year 2025!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Matthew Sadler, one of the most versatile chess lovers in the universe. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, the English grandmaster touches on a variety of subjects, spicing up his stories with fascinating observations, sound advice and not-to-be-missed reading tips.Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, an expert in chess engines, a successful author and, as he is no longer a professional player – after all, he has a fulltime job in IT - he is often called the world’s strongest amateur. One of Matthew’s latest interests is humans taking on engines that give their opponents odds. Would you like to play an engine with an extra knight? Or rather with an extra queen? You’d be surprised how much you’d learn from those games, as Matthew explains with his contagious enthusiasm.He also looks at the recent Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee, won by an impressive Praggnanandhaa, and the first leg of the new Freestyle Grand Slam that took place in Weissenhaus. While Vincent Keymer stunned Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana to claim the $200,000 first prize, the event also led to heated chess-political discussions around the globe.
0:00 – Intro
2:16 – Matthew’s fascination with recent odds games played by chess engine Leela9:02 – Has Matthew been following Freestyle chess?17:08 – Tata Steel22:37 – Which recent books have especially impressed Matthew?
29:36 – The erosion of strategic principles in favor of pure calculation in the computer era
36:14 – AD BREAK
36:45 – Matthew’s love for historical chess books
39:25 – The legacy of lesser-known players like Efim Bogoljubow, David Janowski and Frank Marshall
45:00 – Matthew’s love for Zukertort and dislike for Steinitz
46:55 – The GOAT debate and why Matthew thinks the “Big Three” debate is unfair53:24 – AD BREAK
54:21 – How modern chess does not require “classic chess education”
55:53 – The influence of Kasparov’s “modern” opening preparation57:48 – Matthew previews the year 2025 and his expectations for Gukesh, Pragg, Keymer and Nodirbek
1:05:00 – The Gideon Ståhlberg biography
1:07:06 - Outro
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#57. Loek Van Wely Recaps The Tata Steel Chess Tournament!
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely.
One of our return guests, Loek needs no introduction for our regular listeners. An eight-time Dutch national champion, Loek had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his own achievements on the chess board, Loek is a successful coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik (2007), Veselin Topalov, and more recently with the Italian national team and Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam.
With an incredible 25 appearances in the Masters group, Loek is the most experienced Tata Steel Chess Tournament player alive. Interviewed by Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam, he looks back on the performances of several top players at this year’s event, while also recalling several legendary Wijk aan Zee moments and traditions.
0:00 – Intro
2:23 – Why Loek is the ultimate Wijk aan Zee expert8:38 – Differences between Wijk aan Zee now versus in the past10:50 – Loek guesses Wijk aan Zee record holders
12:20 – Loek reflects on his own best and worst Wijk aan Zee experiences15:42 – “Handshake-gate”19:23 – AD BREAK
19:55 – Loek’s favourite Wijk aan Zee tournament28:02 – Why players often go on losing streaks in Wijk aan Zee
29:35 – Gukesh’s performance35:16 – Caruana’s performance
38:10 – Erigaisi’s performance42:47 – Pragg’s performance44:54 – Are tiebreaks a satisfactory way to decide the winner of the tournament?
49:07 – The tiebreaks between Gukesh and Pragg
50:43 – The crazy last round of this year’s event
55:03 – AD BREAK
56:04 – Should Pragg consider this win a milestone in his career?
57:14 – The Challengers group
1:00:27 – The famous Wijk aan Zee football match1:07:37 – Outro
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1:08:26
#56. Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 4) | The Essential Sosonko
This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the fourth part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.With his fierce attacking style, “The Magician from Riga” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvinnik to claim the World Chess Championship in 1960. Widely acclaimed as a genius, Mischa’s tactical play would produce numerous brilliancies, as well as a 95-game unbeaten streak, a record that would stand for over forty years.
Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, this week’s episode about Mikhail Tal is different from the two-part “My Misha” series from May of this year. Instead of an active participant, Genna is more of a background figure this time. However, this does not make his retelling of Tal’s stories any less vivid.
A physical copy of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko-hardcover
The New In Chess Podcast features interviews with the world's leading chess players, authors and personalities. New In Chess is a prize-winning publisher of chess books and the New In Chess magazine. The book publishing program focuses on training manuals, opening theory, chess history and chess entertainment.
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