Geert van der Velde is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of Chessable and Vice President of Content at the Play Magnus Group (NOTE: Play Magnus Group owns Aimchess which sponsors this podcast). Before working full-time as a chess company executive, Geert experienced some notable success in the music world as the vocalist of the metalcore band Shai Hulud in the late 90s and early 00s. Over the last few years, Geert has turned his passion for chess, along with his love for Chessable as a fan of the company, into a full-time career working on content creation for some of the largest groups in the industry. Today, when Geert isn't destroying people online with 1.b3, he's working with super-grandmasters to produce courses for Chessable and designing the future of chess education online.
Episode highlights:
Typical day in the life at the Chessable offices
Making the switch four years ago from metal vocalist to eventual chess CCO (by contacting the CEO of Chessable!!)
Supporting anyone, from super GMs to chess enthusiasts, via the publishing platform on Chessable
The "Chessable Classroom", a video-integrated toolkit for larger chess classes online (very exciting stuff for the future of scholastic chess educations!)
Play Magnus Group developing an arsenal of chess media, from commentary with chess24 to education and analytics with other apps (i.e. Chessable and Aimchess)
Magnus Carlsen's involvement with Play Magnus and its goal to become "the most comprehensive chess company in the world"
Growing a chess empire in the "golden age" of chess online, and whether Geert + other execs expected the success they've reached so far
Why should someone buy a Chessable course over a physical chess book?
What Geert would like to see in terms of innovation in the chess world
Ultimate goal of making chess knowledge easier to share, and chess culture more accessible
Geert's favorite Chessable course, the "Checkmate Patterns Manual", by a club player who turned it into one of the platform's most popular courses for chess improvement
"1.b3 cowboy!"
64: A Chess Podcast is sponsored by Aimchess. Use code "DAVID30" to get 30% off your first month with Aimchess.
Thanks to Geert van der Velde for coming on the podcast. You can follow him on Twitter: @blackatlantic.
BONUS: Listen to Shai Hulud's 2003 metalcore classic, "That Within Blood Ill-Tempered", which features Geert on vocals :)
I'm a big fan of Chessable -- create an account here!
Follow the podcast on Twitter: @64Podcast
Follow David Vizgan (the host) on Twitter: @davidvizgan
