The Chess Experience

112 Would you move to a new city for chess? Few have that level of commitment to the game. But our guest this week did exactly that. Adult improver Sydney Strauss moved to New York City this past year to pursue her relatively new passion for chess.After learning the game just two years ago, she fell in love with it and began studying and playing every day.  The following year, Sydney knew she wanted to take her pursuit to the next level and be fully immersed in chess through clubs, tournaments, and friends.New York City, with its venerated Marshall Chess Club and thriving chess scene, provided her with that experience.In a brief time, Sydney has now reached an inspiring FIDE rating of 1581.This episode explores her story, why chess has impacted her life so greatly, and what her future ambitions may be within the game.Plus: will she get a chess tattoo? Connect with Sydney Strauss:TwitterInstagramTwitchBushwick Chess Club IG----NEW! I've launched a Patreon for the show called, "Podcast Perks." Get the following:A monthly DM with me about anything chess-related or the podcastA shout-out of your name thanking you on a future episodeExclusive voting on future guests, topics, and direction of the showMore!Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience!---->>Support this pod, improve your chess, & defeat your enemies by getting a chess.com membership. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Check out Daniel's chess.com profile. Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests.

111 She does it all. WIM Svitlana Demchenko is a course creator, coach, streamer, and high-level chess competitor. Born in Ukraine and a long-time Canadian citizen, Svitlana proved herself early in chess, becoming a five-time Canadian girls champion. In more recent years, she’s competed in the Chess Olympiad three times as part of the Canadian women’s team.She’s also published several fantastic opening and strategy courses for ChessBase. And, each week, she streams chess on Twitch.Finally, rounding out her chess activities, is a regular video show called Smart Moves, where Svitlana coaches an amateur player. In the process, she focuses on key topics that’ll help any club player improve their chess.In this episode, we discuss: The undervalued topic of imbalances in chess and why club players should probably spend more time on this concept.How Svitlana juggles her pursuit of a medical career and a robust chess life.Her chase for the WGM title. Her thoughts on the World Championship event and Gukesh as the new champ.More From Svitlana:Courses on ChessbaseSmartMoves YouTube PlaylistTwitchTwitterInstagram------NEW! I've just launched a Patreon membership for the show called, "Podcast Perks." Get the following:A monthly DM with me about anything chess-related or the podcastExclusive voting on future guests, topics, and direction of the showA shout-out of your name thanking you on a future episodeExclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the showMore!Click here to join the Podcast Perks Patreon for The Chess Experience!----->>Support this pod, improve your chess, & defeat your enemies by getting a chess.com membership. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link. >> Check out Daniel's chess.com profile. Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests.

110 Today’s guest is the inspiring and talented WGM Maria Gevorgyan. Few have managed to become a national chess champion, let alone do it five times. But Maria has! In addition to becoming the women’s chess champion of Armenia multiple times…Maria is now taking all that she’s learned from her competitive career and helping her students as a chess coach.These days, she is the head coach at the Abu Dhabi Chess Academy for women and girls.In this interview, we discuss:Is blitz a helpful tool for improvement or just a fun way to play the game?How an accidental illegal move by Maria was missed at the tournament where she earned her the WGM title!The #1 book recommendation that Maria believes every club player should read. More From Maria:TwitterInstagramCoaching with Maria (DM her about lessons)Book recommendation: My System by Aaron Nimzowitch ------>>Support this pod, improve your chess, & defeat your enemies by getting a chess.com membership. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.>> Check out Daniel's chess.com profile. Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests.

A quick update on this month's (12/24) release schedule. The holidays make it a little more difficult to schedule guests, so I'll be only releasing two episodes this month. The next will be on Tuesday, December 17th. The other will be on the 31st. But if you'd like to hear me share a little more detail (and a fun teaser at the end) play the 90-second update :)  We'll be back to the normal, weekly episodes starting the first week of January. Thank you SO much for your support of the podcast!