Shows
Blindfold Chess PodcastS3 E25 Xie Jun v J. Eslon (1997)This week, we are looking at the president of the Chinese Chess Federation, someone who played Chinese Chess before pivoting to Western Chess at the age of 10, a Women’s World Champion, the first Asian Woman to earn the Grandmaster title, and someone who has influenced millions of people to start playing the game - Xie Jun. --1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Ne4 8. Qe2 Bf5 9. Be3 Qc8 10. Nd4 Bc5 11. f3 Bxd4 12. Bxd4 Ng5 13. Nc3 Ne6 14. g4 Bg6 15. f4 f5 16. exf6 O-O 17. f5 Re8 18. fxg6 gxf6 19. gxh7+ Kg7 2...
2025-11-2923 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E24 Emanuel Lasker v J. Wahltuch (1898)This week, we are looking at the longest reigning world champion in the history of the game. The 2nd World Champion, aiding in the handoff process from former to new champion, and a prolific author in not only chess, but also mathematics and philosophy - Emanuel Lasker. ----1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qe6 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Ba4 Ne7 8. O-O Nd7 9. Bb3 Nd5 10. d4 f6 11. dxe5 fxe5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Bxd5 Bc5+ 14. Kh1 Qa6 15. fxe5 Nb6 16. Bb3 Bg4 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bf7+ Kxf7 19. Nh4+ Ke8 20. Qxg4 hxg5 21. Qe6+ Be7 22. Nf5 Nc8 23. Rad1 1-0
2025-11-1524 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E23 Anna Muzychuk v M. Zhorzholiani (2009)One of the strongest playing women players in the history of the game, a gold medal Olympiad winner, a World Rapid Champion, a World Blitz Champion, a World Champion runner-up, and being willing to sacrifice her titles to make a point to make a change in the World - Anna Muzychuk has made and continue to make a lasting impact on the chess world that many aspire to today.So that is all that we have for this week, tune in next time where we will continue to work on our blindfold skills and look at another...
2025-11-0123 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E22 Vidit Gujrathi v V. Keymer (2023)This week, we are looking at another Indian superstar, an individual and team Olympiad medalist (and winner), a Candidates participant, a Fischer Random World Championship Quarterfinalist, a Biel Chess Festival winner, and a Grand Swiss winner - - Vidit Gujrathi. ---1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 c5 8.O-O cxd4 9. exd4 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Qe2 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Ne5 Ne7 14.Rad1 Rc8 15. Rd3 Ne4 16. Bh4 Qc7 17. Rh3 Nf5 18. Bd3 Nxc3 19. Qh5 h6 20.Bf6 Be4 21. Bxg7 Bxd3 22. Bxh6 Be2 23. Qg5+ 1-0—https://www.chessgames.com/per...
2025-10-1823 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E21 L. Liem v Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2020)This week, we are looking at one of the youngest Grandmasters Masters in history, a European Rapid and Blitz champion, a World Blitz Champion, and a 3 time French Champion - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. --Sicilian Defense: Najdorf (B91)1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5 Be6 9. f4 exf4 10. Bxf4 Nc6 11. Qd2 O-O 12. O-O-O Ne5 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. Kb1 Rc8 15. h3 b5 16. a3 Qb6 17. g4 b4 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. g5 Rxc3 20. gxf6 Rb8 21. Nb3 Rxb3 22. cxb3 Qxe4+ 23. Ka1 Bxf6 24. Bg2 Nf3 25. Qe3 Qc2 0-1–https://en.wik...
2025-10-0419 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E20 PuzzlesHi everyone! Welcome back to another episode! It is puzzle time! These are some of my favorite episodes to record. I will be giving you the location of each piece that is on the board, and I will give you a little time to consider the solution and solve the puzzle before I present the solution. I highly recommend attempting the puzzles on your own before listening to the solution. This week, we will be looking at 3 different puzzles. I will give an easy one, a medium one, and a...
2025-09-2013 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E19 Carissa Yip v C. Shen (2017)This week we are looking at a rising star. A 3-time US Women’s Chess Champion, the youngest female player to defeat a Grandmaster, the youngest American woman in history to earn the International Master title - all before the age of 22 - Carissa Yip.—1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd7 7.O-O Nc6 8.Nb3 a6 9.Re1 Nf6 10.Nbxd4 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Qc7 12.Qe2 Bd7 13.Bg5 O-O-O 14.Rad1 Bd6 15.Bxa6 Bb4 16.c3 Bd6 17.h3 bxa6 18.Qxa6+ Kb8 19.c4 Bc5 20.Rd3 Ba4 21.Qxa4 Rxd4 22.Rb3+ Bb6 23.Be3 Rd6 24.c5 Rc6 25.Bf4 1-0
2025-09-0623 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E18 L. McShane v Alexander Grischuk (2012)This week, we are looking at the history of a 3 time World Blitz Champion, a 5 time World Champion Candidate, and who some have nicknamed as the ‘funniest’ or the ‘thug life’ Grandmaster - Alexander Grischuk. He never quite reached the pinnacle of the classical chess world. He qualified for multiple Candidates tournaments and World Championship tournaments, landing just short of the title on a couple occasions. But! He did win the World Blitz Champion on 3 different occasions, maintained a 2700+ rating for over 22 years, was the number 3 player in the world and spent a quarter of a century...
2025-08-2319 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E17 Alexandra Kosteniuk v. D. Anadon (2020)Adorned with 10 different gold medals from team events, being the 10th woman to earn the Grandmaster title, being the Russian Women’s Champion, Europe’s Rapid and Blitz Champion, a 2 time Chess960 World Champion, and a Women’s World Champion - Alexandra Kosteniuk has made a splash in the world of women’s chess. —-1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O c5 5. c4 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd5 exd5 8.Nxd4 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Nb3 Be6 11. Be3 b6 12. Rc1 Qd7 13. Nd4 Ne5 14. Bf4 Ng6 15. Bg5 h6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. Bxd5+ Kh7 20. Bg8+ 1-0—-...
2025-08-0919 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E16 Vladimir Kramnik v. S. Sjugirov (2014)Nowadays, we may hear about Vladimir Kramnik as someone highly suspicious of chess cheating including accusing high level players of misconduct, but that has not always been the case. He was the youngest person to ever reach world number 1 in ratings, he was a World Champion for 7 years, and was a 2 time Chess Oscar winner. So let’s dive into this chess legend’s career. A career that included - being world number 1 several times, a 7-year world champion, a lasting impact on chess opening theory, helping be a voice for those that have cheating accusations against them, and now...
2025-07-2626 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E15 Chess in Pop CultureChess is everywhere around us. Its been a game that has resonated with billions of people for almost 1500 years. A game about strategy, hierarchies, players that don’t know it rising to the top of the game, humans that break barriers while playing it - everyone who plays this game has their own stories to tell - be that the games that got away, the games that will go down in their memories forever, or just a funny moment between friends - and that is why we continue to play. There are always more stories to discover, learn, and sh...
2025-07-1225 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E14 Vaishali Rameshbabu v. K. Bhakti (2022)This week, we are looking at the rising star Vaishali Rameshbabu, the 3rd woman in India to achieve the Grandmaster title. She and her brother are the first 2 siblings in history to be Grandmasters, to play in the Candidates, and to play in the Candidates in the same year. For today though, we are going back just a couple of years to the 2022 Tata Steel Blitz tournament - Vaishali Rameshbabu versus Kulkarni Bhakti. —--------------------------------1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bg3 c5 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. c3 b6 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. Ne5 Nc6 10. f4 Ne7...
2025-06-2817 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E13 Alexander Alekhine v. M. Euwe (1921)This week, we are looking at the tumultuous and impressive life of the 4th World Champion - Alexander Alekhine. Alekhine’s fingerprints are all over the game we know today - he had many openings named over him including the: Alekhine Defense (e4 Nf6), Alekhine Variations found in the Budapest Gambit, Vienna Game, Ruy Lopez, Winawer Variation, Sicilian Dragon, QGA, Slav, Queens Pawn, Catalan, and Dutch, he had composed several endgame studies, he wrote over 20 chess books, and he had a cat named ‘Chess’ that he took with him to tournaments. Though not offi...
2025-06-1423 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E12 Anna Zatonskih v. E. Nguyen (2017)Welcome back! This week, we are taking a closer look at someone that Garry Kasparov has praised for her calculation skills, a 20 time US Women’s Chess Championship participant, 4-time US Women’s Champion, and someone who helped the United States win their first Olympic medal(s) - Anna Zatonskih. For today’s game, we are traveling back to the 2nd round of the US Women’s Championship of 2017. Anna Zatonskih versus Emily Nguyen. Now, if we’re ready - lets begin. —------------------1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5...
2025-05-3119 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1710 Music by Renee D'Angelo, You and Your Sister, Cassidy Waring, Emily Anderson, Ava Della Pietra, Shoreward, BANDANNA, Hanna Mia, Kari Lyn, Hannah Gold, Amelie Lucille, Helen Blondel, Jenny Palacios, Mina Warren, Annie StokesTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:Renee D'Angelo - Crazy For You FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYYou and Your Sister - Steady and Slow FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCassidy Waring - Hold Me Tight FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYEmily Anderson - What If It's Not Enough FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYAva Della Pietra - Marionette FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYShoreward - I think that girl is me FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYBANDANNA - Sink...
2025-05-2156 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E11 Wenjun Ju v. N. Dzagnidze (2017)This week, we are looking at not only the current Women’s World Champion, but the 5 consecutive time Women’s World Champion - Wenjun Ju. Her journey to the top of the Women’s World of Chess started at the age of 7 when it was something interesting to do after school. In an interview with Chessbase from November 2020, she said: “My parents didn’t know too much about the game because chess doesn’t have a long history in China. Most people got to know about chess from the 1991 Women’s World...
2025-05-1718 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E10 Puzzles**There is an error in the first puzzle of the episode: the bishop should be on c4 (NOT c5)** Thank you @brianmartin5571 on Youtube for letting me know! Hello, and welcome back to another episode - as per tradition, we will be looking at some puzzles this week. I will give you the location of each of the pieces on the board then I will give you some time to solve it before we walk through the solution. We have 3 puzzles this week - easy, medium and hard. Try your best to solve the puzzle before the...
2025-05-0311 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E9 J. Schulten v Johannes Zukertort (1869)Today, we are looking at a sometimes overlooked player in chess history. An individual is rumored to have learned 14 languages, he founded a chess magazine, has an opening named after him, and someone who played in the first World Championship - Johannes Zukertort.In London, members of the St George’s Chess Club heard of Zukertort’s victory and offered money for him to come play against the unofficial world champion Steinitz. Steinitz had been living in London for 10 years by this point dominating everyone. By accepting this invitation, Zukertort had sparked a rivalry with Steinitz that woul...
2025-04-1918 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E8 Maurice Ashley v M. Berman (1991)Nowadays, we may see this gentleman as a commentator on large scale events such as the US Championship and the World Championship, but he has had a groundbreaking career including participating in the US Chess Championship and becoming the first Black chess Grandmaster. We are of course talking about -the Tiger Woods of Chess - Maurice Ashley. He joined the Black Bear School of Chess - a chess group of African American chess enthusiasts popular in the 1970s and 80s. This group produced some of the strongest Black Masters in history. In that same interview, Ashley said “Thi...
2025-04-0520 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E7 Tatev Abrahamyan v N. Christiansen (2006)This week, we are looking at a 5-time US Women’s Olympiad participant, a 2-time Women’s World Chess Championship participant, a 21-time US Women’s Championship participant, and a lover of all things penguins - Women’s Grandmaster Tatev Abrahamyan. Born in Armenia, Tatev learned to play chess at the age of 8 when her father took her to the Chess Olympiad of 1996 which took place in her home country. While there, she met Grandmaster Judit Polgar - who at the age of 18 was competing in the Open division of the Olympiad and was the only woman in the To...
2025-03-2218 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E6 Eric Hansen v. A. Kim (2019)Hello everyone, this week we are looking at the youngest Alberta champion, at one point the highest rated bullet player on Chess.com, the highest rated active Canadian player, and a founder of the Youtube and Twitch channel the “Chessbrahs” - Eric Hansen.A couple of years after he started playing chess, in 2003, he participated in the Alberta Provincial Under 12 Championship where he scored 1st with a score of 5 out of 6 and established his provisional Canadian rating at 1316. Quickly, his Canadian rating started to skyrocket. By the end of that...
2025-03-0819 minWomen of Substance Music Podcast#1670 Music by Prettier Than Matt, Alyssa Paige, Mara Sol, Cassidy Ladden, Michelle Rose, Sara Diana, T&M Ascend, AiramFM, Silja Topaz, CR SrikanthTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:Prettier Than Matt - Small Town Famous FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYAlyssa Paige - Flip the Script FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYMara Sol - To Be Whole FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCassidy Ladden - Shiny FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYMichelle Rose - When We're Rich FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYSara Diana - Can't Be Fazed FOLLOW ON YTT&M Ascend - Bright & Unbroken FOLLOW ON SPO...
2025-02-2444 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E5 C. Incutto v. Boris Spassky (1960)This week, we are looking at the long career of the 10th World Champion, the youngest person to become Grandmaster in history (at the time), the youngest Candidate to the World Championship (at the time), and the famed opponent of the 1972 World Championship against Bobby Fischer - Boris Spassky. Spassky learned to play chess at the age of 5 on a train evacuating Leningrad during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII.At the age of 10, he earned widespread attention by defeating the Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simul. During t...
2025-02-2224 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E4 Maia Chiburdanidze v. O. Andreieva (1973)This week, we are looking (at the time) the youngest Women’s World Champion, a 13-time Olympiad Gold Medal Winner, the second Woman in history to be awarded the Grandmaster title, and a Women’s World Champion for 13 years - Maia Chiburdanidze. She was born in Kutaisi of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR in 1961 where she learned to play chess at the age of 8. She played (and won) the 1974 at the Brasov women’s international tournament, when she was 13 years old.At the a...
2025-02-0818 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E3 Levon Aronian v P. Bortoli (1994)This week, we are taking a look at who CNN has called the “David Beckham of Chess” - the former World Rapid Champion, World Blitz Champion, World Chess960 Champion, former 2nd highest rating in the world, and 5-time Candidate for the World Championship - Levon Aronian.In 2004, he played in his first FIDE World Chess Championship - a 128 player knockout tournament. The winner of the tournament became the FIDE World Champion. Levon - age 22 (the 34th seed), met Magnus Carlsen - age 13 (the 95th seed) in the first round where Aronian won 2 ½ to 1 ½ . He advanced to the 3rd rou...
2025-01-2520 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E2 Judit Polgar v. S. Mamedyarov (2002)In Season 1, we looked at one of the Polgar sisters - Susan. Today, we are looking at the youngest sister - Judit Polgar. Prepare yourself for a large list of records and milestones.Judit was born in 1976 in Hungary as the youngest of her two other siblings - Susan and Sofia. They grew up as part of an educational experiment carried out by their dad - Laszlo Polgar - with the hypothesis of - “Geniuses are made, not born”. The philosophy was to have the children focus on a specialized skill - chess - a game historically domi...
2025-01-1124 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS3 E1 Howard Staunton v. D. Harrwitz (1846)Hello everyone, welcome back to the third season of the Blindfold Chess Podcast. This week, we will be looking at a name synonymous with the chess community - Howard Staunton. If you have been around the game for any length of time, you may have heard of him as an unofficial World Champion in the mid-1800s, or you’ve heard of his opening - the Staunton Gambit of 1. d4 f5 2. e4, or you’ve heard of the House of Staunton chess sets/ company that has been recognized as the recommended chess set of use by FIDE since...
2025-01-0120 min
EOD Gear IMPROVISEDFighting Child Trafficking: Angel Noble's Journey from Haiti to the USWhat drives someone to dedicate their life to fighting child trafficking? For Angel Noble, it's her Creole heritage and a profound commitment to change. In our latest episode, we sit down with Angel as she recounts her journey from Louisiana to Haiti, inspired by the devastating 2010 earthquake and her mission to provide a safer future for vulnerable children. Her experiences with child sponsorship programs and the complexities of orphanage systems offer insightful perspectives on how existing organizations can be effectively supported. Angel's passion is palpable, reminding us of the power of collaboration in tackling child trafficking.The...
2024-11-2532 minWomen of Substance Music Podcast#1625 Music by writer David Kessner, The Saraphines, Cassidy Dickens, Katie Cloyd, Rocker C, Talia Rose, Suzy Haworth, Crush Psychosis, Natalie Clark, Laura LedererTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:writer David Kessner - Let's See What A Woman Can Do FOLLOW ON BROADJAMThe Saraphines - Tell Me Why FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCassidy Dickens - Church Basement FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYKatie Cloyd - I'll Carry You Home FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYRocker C - Believing FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYTalia Rose - House Painted Green FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYSuzy Haworth - Myster...
2024-11-0443 minWomen of Substance Music Podcast#1617 Music by Mzee, Klare KuOlga, Jen Hawley, Alisha Liston, Cassidy Ladden (writer Marvin Conan), Collaborations feat. Sylvia Jones, Rebecca Drimmel, Doreen Pinkerton, Linda Cullum, Shifter XTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:Mzee - Dreamin' Klare KuOlga - Hope FOLLOW ON SOUNDCLOUDJen Hawley - Just Last Fall FOLLOW ON SPOTIFY Alisha Liston - Dearest Sunshine (Lux's Version) FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCassidy Ladden (writer Marvin Conan) - Ode To Ali FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCollaborations feat. Sylvia Jones - Don't You See Rebecca Drimmel - Finally FOLLOW ON SOUNDCLOUDDoreen Pinkerton - Tides...
2024-10-0945 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E28 Cassidy Noble (show host) v J. Fuller (2019)Hi there, its me Cassidy, I’ve been the writer and voice of this podcast for a couple of years now. I have enjoyed doing the podcast, but life is starting to creep up so this will be my last episode before taking a hiatus. I appreciate each and every one of you who download and listen to me. The listenership has been so far beyond what I could imagine for. I was hoping to hold off on making an episode until I hit Master level myself, but that isn’t happening any time soon - in f...
2024-07-1313 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E27 Deep BlueThis week, I wanted to look at a relatively new branch of chess - chess computers. The first ‘chess machine’ built in 1770 was called the Mechanical Turk. The supposed machine would play challengers with various indications that it was a functional machine. In reality, a human operated the machine using ‘The Turk’ as a sophisticated marionette. You have to jump almost 150 years in the future for the first verified chess computer. El Ajedrecista (ah-he-dre-sis-ta) in 1912 was capable of playing Rook and King versus King endgames - winning every time as well as identifying illegal moves.The 1...
2024-06-2922 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E26 Francois Philidor v. Cotter (1789)This week, we are looking at the opera writer and musician who documented chess books and endgames so well we are still using them today. Francois-Andre Danican (Dan-ee-con) Philidor came from a well known musical family. His grandfather was given nickname of Philidor by King Louis XIII of France because his oboe playing reminded him of the Italian oboist Filidor. When he was 6, Philidor joined the royal choir of King Louis XV of France in 1732. The story goes that Louis XV wanted to listen to the choir every day, so while waiting for the king, th...
2024-06-1513 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E25 Yasser Seirawan v. B. Spassky (1990)This week, we are looking at one of the most influential names in chess - Yasser Sierawan. Yasser was born in Damascus, Syria to his Syrian father and English mother. At the age of 7, his family immigrated to Seattle, Washington.He didn’t start playing chess until the age of 12 - this was in 1972, right in the thick of the Fischer Boom that was happening in the United States. The next year, at the age of 13, he became the Washington Junior Champion.In 1975, he participated in his first US Open where he defeated his...
2024-06-0113 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E24 Dommaraju Gukesh v. M. Vachier-Lagrave (2023)This week, we are looking at the Indian prodigy - Dommaraju Gukesh commonly known as Gukesh D.Born in 2006, Gukesh D learned how to play chess at the age of 7. Two years after he started to play chess, he won the Under 9 Asian School Championships in 2015 with a 1770 rating. He did not stop there, with his rating rapidly climbing - his father gave up his career as an ear, nose, throat surgeon to support his son while his mum continued to be a microbiologist. In March of 2018, Gukesh fulfilled the requirements for...
2024-05-1813 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E23 Anna Cramling v. T. Simon Lindgaard (2019)With a birthday less than a week ago, this week, we are looking at Spanish-Swedish star Anna Cramling. Anna has a very strong chess background - her father is Grandmaster Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez - the 5 time Spanish Chess Champion and 11 time Spanish Olympiad player. Her mother is - Pia Cramling - the 5th woman to ever to have earned her Grandmaster title, the number 1 woman player in the world in 1984, and she has 9 gold medals between the European Club Cup and Women’s Chess Olympiad. Anna started playing chess at the age of 3 and regu...
2024-05-0412 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E22 Jeremy Silman v J. MacFarland (1991)Passing away in late 2023, International Master Jeremy Silman made a lasting impact on our game through his playing, his consulting, his writing, and his coaching. Born in 1954, Silman didn’t start playing chess until he was 12 where he went to his first tournament, ending with a rating of 1068. In high school, Silman expressed to his guidance counselor that he wanted to go to “Moscow University” to study chess from the best players of the Soviet Union. Considering this was in the middle of the Cold War, this was not really an option. Instead, he joined...
2024-04-2014 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E21 Fabiano Caruana vs B. Gelfand (2010)Fabiano Luigi Caruana, the chess phenom who was the youngest American to earn his Grandmaster title, the youngest to win the Italian Champion, the current top US player, and the number 2 player in the world… - his accomplishments go on for a while, but currently - he is playing in his 5th Candidates tournament aiming for the World Championship. Born in Florida in 1992 to his Italian parents, he moved to Brooklyn when he was 4. He played in an after school chess program when he was 5 when his chess talents were discovered. Later that year he played in his...
2024-04-0614 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E20 PuzzlesWelcome back to another episode! In today’s episode, I will be providing you with the locations of the different pieces on the board. It is your job to figure out the solution by pausing the podcast before moving on. Today, we will be looking at 3 puzzles each around a different endgame theme starting from Easy and working our way to Hard. Here is your first puzzle - White has a king on e5 and a pawn on c5. Black has a King on d8 with white to move. Again, that is White has a...
2024-03-2310 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E19 Tigran Petrosian v. L. Pachman (1961)The Iron Tigran was Tigran Petrosian’s nickname for his solid defensive style. Born in 1929, he started learning chess when he was 8. During WWII - Petrosian was orphaned and needed to sweep streets to earn a living. During this time, he got sick and developed a hearing problem that would affect him for the remainder of his life. Using his ration money, Petrosian bought Chess Praxis by Nimzowitsch and by age 12, he began training at the Tiflis Palace of Pioneers - a place where students could focus on creative work and sports training. His first coach...
2024-03-0913 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E18 Sam Shankland v. V. Romanenko (2010)I have been a fan of Sam Shankland for several years. I love that he plays the Caro Kann, his books are good, but mostly - I appreciate his blunt and brutal honesty when talking to people. Born in 1991, Sam started playing chess at 6, but only really started playing in tournaments at the age of 11.When he was 17, he started making a splash nationally and internationally by winning the Pacific Coast Open, the California State Championship, and tying for first at the World Youth Under 18 Chess Championships which earned him his International Master title. In...
2024-02-2413 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E17 Nona Gaprindashvili v E. Guseva (1963) Born in 1941, Nona Gaprindashvili was the youngest of 6 kids and the only girl. She began playing chess at 5 from watching her brother play. Her first major break came when her brother had to back out of a local Team Championship. Nona stepped in to fill his place and performed very well scoring 5th overall. There is a really nice interview she gave to Chessbase in 2018 walking through her chess life and accomplishments, I have left those in the show notes. Vakhtang Karseladze - one of Georgia’s top chess trainers of the time - noticed her p...
2024-02-1013 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E16 L. Aronian v Viswanathan Anand (2013)This episode was a struggle to cram all of Viswanathan Anand’s accomplishments into a highlight script! The Indian Grandmaster has been one of the most dominant and successful players in the game for over almost 4 decades. He was born on December 11, 1969, and moved to Chennai, India, and began playing chess at the age of six from his mother who was a chess aficionado.Anand’s rise in the chess world was very quick. He won the sub-junior championship with a perfect 9/9 score in 1983 at the age of 14. The next year, he won the Asian Junio...
2024-01-2714 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E15 Anna Rudolf v M. Nestorow (2001)This week, we are looking at the Hungarian chess player, commentator, and streamer - Anna Rudolf. She began playing chess at the age of 4 with her sister, Kata. The two of them had Laszlo Rudolf as a father who played competitive chess as well, reaching a peak rating of 2185 FIDE. Laszlo was also a world champion of Hexagonal Chess. At the age of 9, Anna drew media attention by beating Grandmaster Lajos Portisch in a simul. In 1999, Anna won the girls Under 12 division of the International youth tournament and the un...
2024-01-1311 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E14 Andrey Esipenko v D. Saduakassova (2019)This week we are looking at the young and rising Russian star - Andrey Esipenko. Born on March 22, 2002, Esipenko started playing chess at the age of five, and he quickly showed great promise.Esipenko's early chess accomplishments include winning the European U10 Championship in 2012 the next year, he earned his FIDE title. 2017 was a busy year for the 15 year old star. He won both the European Under 16 Championship and the World Under 16 Chess Championship and he didn’t stop there. At the end of 2017, he competed in the 2017 World Rapid Championship scoring a perf...
2023-12-3013 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E13 Miguel Najdorf v R. Shocron (1955)Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-Argentine chess grandmaster who was one of the strongest players who never won a world championship. He was born on April 15, 1910, in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland. He was introduced to chess by a friend at the age of 14. His chess career began to take off around 1929 when he was almost 20 with the game now called ‘The Polish Immortal’ where he sacrificed 5 pieces in a 22 move victory against Glucksberg. He won the Warsaw Championship in 1934 and placed 2nd in the 1935 Polish championship. During the 8th Chess Olympiad taking place in Buenos Aires, A...
2023-12-1612 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E12 Natalia Pares Vives v S. Dedijer (2009)Chess has historically been commented on as black and white, that extends beyond the board too. There are female and ‘open’ tournaments (which are traditionally male), ‘open’ and female titles, and if they are integrated in the same tournament, there are sometimes ‘open’ and female prizes. This freedom of expression has been challenged by FIDE in August 2023. FIDE announced a policy that is… difficult for the transgender community to say the least. Examining the FIDE Regulations on Transgender Chess Player’s Registration on FIDE Directory. I go over some of the “highlights” in the episode. These rules in particular harm al...
2023-12-0218 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E11 Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa v M. Cornette (2022)Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, sometimes nicknamed as Pragg, is a young Indian chess player who has made waves in the international chess scene with his impressive performances. Born on August 10, 2005, in Chennai (Chin-eye), India, he began playing chess at the age of three. Praggnanandhaa's talent was immediately apparent, and he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the top chess players in his age group. He has won numerous national and international titles, and his accomplishments include:In 2013 at the age of 7, he won the World Youth Championship in t...
2023-11-1812 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E10 PuzzlesHello and welcome back for another episode! This month, we will be looking at King and Pawn puzzles! In today’s episode, I will be providing you with the locations of the different pieces on the board. It is your job to figure out the solution by pausing the podcast before moving on. Today, we will be looking at 3 puzzles each around a different endgame theme starting from Easy and working our way to Hard. Here is your first puzzle - White has a king on b2 and a pawn...
2023-11-0411 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E9 R. Byrne v Bobby Fischer (1963)Robert James Fischer, also known as Bobby Fischer, was an American chess player who is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Born in Chicago on March 9, 1943, he learned how to play chess at the age of six, and quickly demonstrated exceptional talent for the game. Fischer began playing in competitive chess tournaments at the age of eight, and by the age of 13, he had become the youngest player to win the United States Junior Chess Championship. In 1958, at the age of 15, Fischer won his first United States Championship, and he went on t...
2023-10-2116 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E8 Beth Harmon (Queen's Gambit)During the 2020 Pandemic, chess caught fire due to the access of streaming and the Netflix show - Queen’s Gambit. In the show, we saw the main character, Beth Harmon, go from discovering the game to taking down the World Champion in one game. While the show takes a couple liberties to dramatize the chess scene - it is still one of the best chess pieces of media that are out there… and there are some bad ones out there. *ahem* Looking at you Geico chess commercial - don’t think you can sneak 2 light square bishops past me...
2023-10-0714 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E7 Alexandra Botez v M. Paula De May (2012)With a birthday tomorrow, this week we will be focusing on Alexandra Botez, the Canadian- American chess player and content creator who has made a significant impact on the online chess community. She was born on September 24, 1995, in Dallas, Texas to Romanian immigrant parents, then grew up in Vancouver, Canada.Botez started playing chess at the age of six and quickly became one of Canada's top junior players. At the age of 8, she won her first Canadian Children’s National Championship. At the age of 12, she played for the National Canadian Team, and she la...
2023-09-2311 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E6 Richard Rapport v S. Shankland (2019)Born to a family of economists in 1996, Hungarian native Richard Rapport got into chess when his father was concerned about his lack of concentration in primary school. Shortly after an introduction to the game, Richard was hooked so much that his father became concerned that he was concentrating too much on chess. Rather than pulling him away, his parents embraced the enthusiasm by coordinating extended leaves from school to travel and play in tournaments. Quite quickly, Richard’s success snowballed. At age 11, he became a FIDE Master. He earned his International Master title the nex...
2023-09-0912 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E5 Jose Raul Capablanca v J. Baca Arus (1912)José Raúl Capablanca was a Cuban chess player widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Capablanca is best known for his exceptional endgame skills and his ability to simplify complex positions into winning endgames. Capablanca’s chess career began at a young age. He learned to play chess at the age of four by watching his father. The story goes that Jose pointed out an illegal move his father played, then beat his father. At the age of 14, he finished 4th out of 6 in the Cuban Championship. He traveled to the United State...
2023-08-2613 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E4 GingerGM v P. Sowray (2017)Simon Kim Williams, also known as GingerGM, is a British Grandmaster who has made significant contributions to the chess world as a player, commentator, and author. He is known for his innovative and aggressive playing style, and his books and videos often focus on unorthodox opening ideas and attacking strategies. Born in 1979, Williams started playing chess around the age of 6, his father, a strong chess player himself, taught him many of the openings Simon still uses, like the Dutch Defense. He received his first FIDE rating of 2255 when he was 14. He finished 7th in the 1997 European Under 20 C...
2023-08-1213 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E3 O. Dolzhikova v Nazi Paikidze (2016)Nazi Paikidze is a Georgian-American chess player who was born on January 27, 1994, in Tbilisi, Georgia. Paikidze's career as a chess player began at 4 and started working with her first coach at 6, quickly establishing herself as one of the most promising young players in Georgia. Chess was a part of the curriculum and she has said it was her favorite class. At the age of 9 she won her first international tournament - the European Youth Chess Championship. She won the Under 14 Girls Championship in 2007, Under 16 in 2008, she took home 12 medals in the European Youth Chess Championship, Wor...
2023-07-2911 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E2 Anatoly Karpov v M. Tseitlin (1971)Anatoly Karpov is a Russian grandmaster and former world champion who dominated the game in the 1970s and 1980s. He was born on May 23, 1951, in Zlatoust, Russia, and began playing chess at 4, earning his Candidate Master title at 11. At 12, he was admitted into Mikhail Botvinnik’s chess school. Botvinnik remarked - “The boy does not have a clue about chess, and there’s no future at all for him in this profession.” Karpov first gained international attention in the late 1960s. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1969 and earned the title of International Grandmaster in 1970 at the ag...
2023-07-1511 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS2 E1 Garry Kasparov v. V. Ivanchuk (1988)Garry Kasparov is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1963, Kasparov began playing chess at a young age and quickly rose as a prodigy. In 1978, he participated in the Sokolsky Memorial and took home first place to become a master (at the age of 16). Later that year, he qualified for and won the 64 person Swiss system USSR Chess Championship - the youngest to do so. At the age of 19, he was the 2nd highest rated player in the world and the youngest Candidate to the Wo...
2023-07-0113 minBlindfold Chess PodcastSeason 2 AnnouncementHi everyone! I wanted to make a couple quick notes regarding the podcast. First, I wanted to say Thank you - over the past year, this podcast has surpassed my wildest expectations. Every episode we reach new heights and I didn’t think were possible. Even looking at the start of the year, we have had a 400% increase in downloads. So, thank you for sharing with your friends and family - it really means a lot. I’m excited to continue to provide you with more games and puzzles. Second, I have started a Patre...
2023-06-2401 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E26 The Blindfold King Timur Gareyev (2016)The Blindfold King, Grandmaster Timur Gareyev is the current Guiness World Record holder for the most simultaneous blindfolded chess games played at the same time.Originally from Uzbekistan, he won the U14 Asian Championship at the age of 12. He became a Grandmaster at the age of 15. His major claim to fame is becoming the Blindfold King. In December of 2016 in Las Vegas, Timur played 48 games with a blindfold on at the same time. The previous record was 46 games set by Marc Lang in 2011. The exhibition started at 830am on Saturday until 3:39am on Su...
2023-06-1715 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E25 Wilhelm Steinitz vs S. Tinsley (1899)Recognized as the first official World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, owned the title from 1886-1894. Born in 1836 as the last of 13 sons, he began playing chess at 12 and started studying it in his 20'sAt the end of the 1850's he became very dominant being nicknamed 'The Austrian Morphy' (after the American, Paul Morphy).After a successful match against Italian Master Serafino Dubois in 1862, Steinitz took up chess professionally. In 1866, Steinitz faced Adolf Anderssen who was then regarded as the strongest active player. Steinitz won 8-6, winning the last two games. Aft...
2023-06-0311 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E24 Mikhail Botvinnik v A. Koblents (1945)A pioneer in Computer Chess and Chess Coach, Mikhail Botvinnik had an incredibly strong impact on Russian and global chess. He was the first world class player to develop in the USSR and he was the driving organizational force for chess after WWII creating the 'Russian School of Chess' teaching students like Karpov, Kasparov, and Kramnik.Not only was he a great coach, but an unbelievable player, holding the world championship title for 13 years during a period of 1948-1963. Growing up was... complicated for Botvinnik. His parents were Russian Jews, they and other Jew...
2023-05-2012 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E23 Mikhail Tal v A. Suetin (1969)It is my birthday today! As a present to myself I wanted to look at my favorite chess player - Mikhail Tal. Known for his creativity and attacking play - The Magician of Riga was the 8th World Champion from 1960-1961.He is also known for his improvisation and unpredictability, sometimes that would backfire, but other times it led to brilliancies still talked about today.He grew up in Soviet-Latvia and began playing chess at the age of 6 At the age of 13, he started working with Latvian Master Alexander Koblents.Two years la...
2023-05-0612 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E22 E. Eikeland v Magnus Carlsen (2000)The Mozart of Chess, the highest rated human player in history (2882), the 5-time World Champion, and the second longest reign of holding the FIDE number 1 title which has been uninterupted since July 2011.Magnus Carlsen is in a league of his own in the chess world. At the time of recording this, he is currently 50 rating points ahead of World Number 2. To put that into comparison, there is a 50 point difference from 2nd place and 8th in the world standings.Growing up - Taught chess by his father at the age of 5, Magnus originally sh...
2023-04-2213 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E21 World Championship Challenger - Ding LirenWith the World Chess Championship currently underway, today we are looking at the second Challenger - Ding Liren.The highest rated Chinese player in history, the #2 player in the world for over a year and having the longest undefeated streak in top-level classical chess history from August 2017-November 2018, ... until Magnus beat that streak in 2019, Ding Liren's chess career is just as decorated as Nepo's.Growing up in the Zhejiang (je-jang) province of China, his mother took him to a chess club when he was 4 years old. Shortly thereafter, he started using the sam...
2023-04-0810 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E20 World Championship Challenger - Ian NepomniachtchiLooking for a second chance at the World Championship after faltering in 2021, the current World Number 3, Ian Nepomniachtchi, will be taking on a different opponent, hopefully with a better outcome for him.How did he get to the near pinnacle of the chess world? He started at the age of 4 in Russia.At the age of 5, he moved with his coach FM Valentin Evdokimenko until Ian was 13.When Evdokimenko realized Ian needed a better coach, he handed him to IM Valery Zilberstein.Side note: After Zilberstein passed in 2005, Ian created the Zi...
2023-03-2512 minWomen of Substance Music Podcast#1451 Music by Midnight Rose, Cassidy Ladden, writer Marvin Conan, Talking Book feat. Jared, Karen Harding, Carissa Summer Rose, Believe Over Hope, mPHATic, Julie Burton, writer Bobby Caputo, The Ipsan Project, MayelaTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:Midnight Rose - Shine FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCassidy Ladden, writer Marvin Conan - Ode To Ali FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYTalking Book feat. Jared - Free The Feeling FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYKaren Harding - Strong For You FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCarissa Summer Rose - Blacktop FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYBelieve Over Hope - Champion of Me FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYmPHATic - Freedom Callin...
2023-03-1543 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E19 M. Carlsen v Anish Giri (2020)Outside of his snarky and sarcastic Twitter page, GM Anish Giri is a phenomenal chess player. Born in Russia in 1994, he began playing at the age of 6. In 2002, his family moved to Japan, then in 2008 they moved to the Netherlands.A chess prodigy - he became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 7 months, and 2 days in 2009, but he did not stop there. From 2006 to 2010 his rating jumped from 2114 to 2672 - an incredible increase for that period of time.He has been the Dutch champion 4 times, participated in 5 Olympiads, won the Tata St...
2023-03-1111 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E18 PuzzlesTen episodes ago, we looked at puzzles. This week, we will be trying a couple more. These puzzles are not necessarily ordered in terms of difficulty, but each provide key endgame elements that occur in games. With enough practice, you will be able to visualize the solution without needing to think to solve them, you can simply look at the board and say 'This is winning', 'This is a draw', or 'This is losing'. Our first puzzle examines pawn promotion against kings. The goal - is to visualize the solution before the moves are c...
2023-02-2510 minBlindfold Chess PodcastBonus - Paul Morphy v C. Maurian (1854) - OddsBonus I realized I had too much content for Morphy to cram into one episode. Today, we are going to look at another odds game against his long time sparing partner - Charles Maurian. Morphy and Maurian played well over 75 recorded games that we know of. The previous game, we looked at Morphy starting down just a rook. But - a rook is just not enough for Morphy. In this game, he is giving Rook AND Knight odds to his friend. So from the starting position, the a1 rook and the b...
2023-02-1807 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E17 B. Jacobson v GothamChess (2017)IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess) is a chess content creator on Youtube and Twitch.His name, 'GothamChess' comes from where he grew up in New York City.He has earned over 1 million subscribers on Youtube and his videos have received almost 500 million total views since he started in 2018.Starting chess when he was 6, he played his first tournament at the age of 7 with an initial rating of 948. In 2011, he obtained his National Master title. In 2016, FIDE Master, and in 2018, International Master. He has since retired from competative chess due to the mental physical and men...
2023-02-1111 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E16 Paul Morphy v NN (1855) - Rook OddsConsidered to be an Unofficial World Champion of his time, Paul Morphy was one of America's greatest flash-in-the-pan chess players. Nicknamed "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess", Morphy learned chess by watching his father. By age 9, he was one of the best players in New Orleans. At the age of 12, he beat the Hungarian Master Johann Lowenthal (one of the top players of the 1850's) in a 3 game match. Morphy graduated with his law degree at the age of 20 he was too young to legally practice, so he took to chess in his free time...
2023-01-2810 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E15 Benjamin Finegold vs D. Geisleman (2000)The current icon of Ben Finegold is one of snark and sarcasm -- ... which he has always had. He learned about the game when he was 5, getting his first rating at 6. By the time he was 12, he was offering/ hustling in New York at 8:1 odds in bullet games. Ben graduated high school at the age of 16 and in 1993 he earned the US Chess Trust Samford Fellowship - a prize given to chess trainers to help them purchase coaches, books, equipment, and other study material to help support development of US players.Finegold also has...
2023-01-1410 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E14 Irina Krush v D. Macleod (2009)15. Irina Krush v Damon Macleod (2009)Excuse me for the easy joke - but Irina Krush - does crush. The 8 time US Women's Champion and (currently) the only woman to earn a Grandmaster Title while playing for the United States,Irina is in a league of her own. Born in Odessa, USSR (Ukraine today), she learned to play chess and migrated to Brooklyn when she was 5. She became the youngest female to win the US Women's Championship at the age of 14 in 1998. The following year, she was one of the play...
2022-12-3109 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E13 The Oldest 'Modern' Game (1475)Chess has been around for centuries, varaitions date back to the 6th century from India with a game called chaturanga. From there, it moved to Persia, then through the Muslim world, into Spain, then taking over Europe. Throughout its history there have been several iterations - Elephants morphed into Bishops, Chariots into Rooks, Foot soldiers into Pawns. the Advisor which could move diagonally 1 square was replaced with the Queen. If the Queen was captured the game used to end in the same way that if the King was captured. The Queen...
2022-12-1709 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E12 Hou YifanThe 4 time Women's World Chess Champion and the 2nd highest rated female player of all time, Hou Yifan started playing at the age of 5 with the help of her chess mentor IM Tong Yuanming.At 13 became the Chinese Women's Champion. She earned the Grandmaster title at 14yrs 6mo 2 days (one of 39 women in the world to ever do so). At 16 she became the Women's World Champion.She has been regarded as being 'leaps and bounds' ahead of her competition - winning her 4 Women's World Championships with a score of 10 win - 0 losses - 14 draws.She has...
2022-12-0312 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E11 Vasily Smyslov vs C. Kottnauer (1946)"The Silent Assassin", Vasily Smyslov was a Soviet chess legend. Born in 1921, he first learned about chess when he was 6 and remained very active in the elite levels of chess well into his 60's winning the first World Senior Championship in 1991. During such a long chess career, Smyslov was always at the highest levels of chess. He was excused from WWII service due to his severe short sightedness, but was still able to play in the USSR. After the war, he was a candidate for the World Championship 8 times in 1948 (finishing 2nd), 1950 (finishing 3rd), 1953 (1st, but...
2022-11-1910 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E10 Eric Rosen v A. Cap (2017)This week we are looking at IM Eric Rosen, the popular Youtuber and Twitch streamer famous for his "Oh no my Queen" traps. Growing up, he started playing when he was 7 and won the 3rd grade state championship at the age of 9. When he was in high school he won the 2011 US K-12 Championship with a perfect 7-0.That clear of a victory was so unprecedented that the Skokie Village Board (his hometown) called May 16th, 2011 "Eric Rosen Day". In 2015, he collected his final International Master norm and peaked his rating at 2423.
2022-11-0509 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E9 PuzzlesThis week, we are looking at a couple of puzzles!EasyWhite King on b7Black King on e3White Rook on a4White Rook on h8MediumWhite king on a2Black king on c1White pawns on f5, g5, h5Black pawns on f7, g7, h7HardReti's PositionWhite king on h8White pawn on c6Black king on a6Black pawn on h5GM Wesley So solving Blindfolded studies - https://youtu.be/o...
2022-10-2207 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E8 Susan Polgar v Cirakov (1981)This week, we are looking at GM Susan Polgar, the oldest of the Polgar sisters. Outside of her controversial upbringing, she achieved a plethora of achievements - Perfect score in the U11.Winning the U16 at the age of 12.Highest rated female in the world at age 15. World Champion in 1996.And now working on the SPICE training camp at Webster University. In today's game, we are looking at her game against Cirkov in 1981 - Polgar v Cirakov1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 O-O 6...
2022-10-0811 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E7 Hikaru Nakamura v A. Firoujza (2020)This week, we are looking at a game from GM Hikaru Nakamura. The internet's most popular chess streamer. I could not list all of his accolades due to a character limit, but some of his highlights - 5x - US Champion2x - Candidate for the World ChampionshipWorld's Wealthiest Chess Player1.5 million Twitch followers1.3 million Youtube subscribersCountless winner of Titled Tuesday (Chess.com)Youngest American to beat an IM (age 10) Youngest American to be a GM (age 15)This week, we are looking at a game he...
2022-09-2410 minWomen of Substance Music Podcast#1388 Music by Shannon Penn, Catherine M Thompson, Alex Krawczyk, Cassidy Ladden writer Marv Conan, Thea Kearney, Jill Detroit, Jackie Morris, Fiona Quinn, Lisa Mathews, Joanie Calem, Tina Ashby & Penny AdamsTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:Shannon Penn - Thoughts & Prayers FOLLOW ON YOUTUBECatherine M Thompson - Put Down The Guns FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYAlex Krawczyk - Remember feat. Dione Taylor FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCassidy Ladden writer Marv Conan - When Will It End FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYThea Kearney - The New Normal FOLLOW ON BANDCAMPJill Detroit - Keep A Watchful Heart FOLLOW ON BROADJAMJack...
2022-09-1252 minBlindfold Chess PodcastS1 E6 Max Lange v Heinemann (1854)This week we are looking at Max Lange - the founder of the West German Chess Federation and the 2nd president of the German Chess Federation. Estimated to be one of the top players of the 1860's, Lange was the a 4 time winner of the West German Championship and has an opening named after him (The Max Lange Attack - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O–O Bc5 6.e5).Max Lange vs Heinemann 18541.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.b4 Bxb4 6.c3 Bc5 7.fxe5 Nxe4 8.Qa4+ Nd7 9.Bx...
2022-09-1008 minBlindfold Chess PodcastBonus - Harry Pillsbury v Zangger (1902)This week, we are looking at another short game from Pillsbury - this time a blindfold game of his. This game is quite the example of quickly a blindfold game can unravel if you lose the position. Not much is known about Zangger as this is the only game in the database for him. I like this game because it also demonstrates that you can be a legendary player and still screw up games...badly. That is how we get better. We are able to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward. 1.e4...
2022-09-0305 min
Blindfold Chess PodcastS1 E5 D. Gukesh v Alireza Firouzja (2021)Alireza Firouzja is a chess prodigy. At age 19, he is the youngest competitor in the 2022 Candidates tournament to play against the World Champion. He was the youngest player to break the 2800 rating barrier, is currently ranked number 3 in the world, was as high as number 2 in the world, and Magnus Carlsen has stated that he only wants to play the World Championship if Alireza is in it. Iranian-born, but now playing under the French flag, Firouzja is starting to make monumental waves in the highest level of chess. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6...
2022-08-2709 min
Blindfold Chess PodcastS1 E4 G. Rotlewi v Akiba Rubinstein (1907)Today, we are looking at Rubinstein's Immortal - a beautiful game involving sacrifices that left his opponent spellbound. A top of the world player who was scheduled to take on Lasker for the World Championship in 1914, but was put on hold due to WWI. Later in his life, he developed a fear of humans and schizophrenia. 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. a3 a6 8. b4 Bd6 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Qd2 Qe7 11. Bd3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. O-O Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. f4 Bc7 18. e4 Rac8 19. e5 Bb6+ 20. Kh1 Ng4 21. Be4 Q...
2022-08-1308 min
Blindfold Chess PodcastS1 E3 Harry Pillsbury v F. Young (1894)Today, we are looking at a game involving Harry Pillsbury. Pillsbury was a very strong American player, a strong blindfold player and the winner of the Hastings Tournament of 1895. Unfortunately, illness then death at the age of 33 prevented him from competing for the World Championship. 1.f4 e6 2.Nf3 b6 3.e3 Be7 4.Be2 Nf6 5.b3 O-O 6.O-O Bb7 7.Bb2 d5 8.c4 c5 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.a3 Qd7 11.Qc2 Rac8 12.Rad1 Rfd8 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.fxe5 Ne8 15.Rxf7 Kxf7 16.Qxh7 Nf6 17.Rf1 Rg8 18.Bh5+ Kf8 19.exf6 Bxf6 20.Rxf6+1-0https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1743396https://e...
2022-07-3007 min
Blindfold Chess PodcastS1 E2 Viktor Korchnoi v A. Karpov (1974)Today, we are looking at a game between Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov from 1974 in their Candidates Final (game 21). This was won by Korchnoi in 19 moves. Korchnoi is argued to be one of the strongest players in the world that never won the World Championship title. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.c4 Be7 6.Nc3 O-O 7.Qc2 c5 8.d5 exd5 9.Ng5 Nc6 10.Nxd5 g6 11.Qd2 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Rb8 13.Nxh7 Re8 14.Qh6 Ne5 15.Ng5 Bxg5 16.Bxg5 Qxg5 17.Qxg5 Bxd5 18.O-O Bxc4 19.f4 1-0https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067831https://en.w...
2022-07-1611 min
Blindfold Chess PodcastS1 E1 Vera Menchik v G. Thomas (1932)This week, we are looking at the longest reigning women's world number 1 player - Vera Menchik. Vera Menchik v George Thomas (1932)1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 e5 7.Nge2 b6 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.d5 Ne7 10.g4 Nd7 11.Rg1 a5 12.O-O-O Nc5 13.Ng3 Bd7 14.h4 a4 15.h5 Qb8 16.Bh6 Qa7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Nf5+ Nxf5 19.gxf5 a3 20.f6+ Kh8 21.Qh6 axb2+ 22.Kb1 Rg8 23.hxg6 fxg6 24.Qxh7+ 1-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Menchikhttps://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1224235http://cassidynoble.com/
2022-07-0210 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1335 Music by Emily Nashy, Layla Frankel, Rebecca Hurn, Nancy Gonseth feat. Ana Gracey, Elly Wininger, Priscilla Cooper, Lynn Patrick, Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan, Cassidy Ladden, Lee Kweller), Sheila K Cameron, Elaine KristalTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Emily Nashy - There's A Spot Layla Frankel - TLC Rebecca Hurn - Panic Nancy Gonseth feat. Ana Gracey - Drift Away, My Darling One Elly Wininger - The Right Kind of Trouble Priscilla Cooper - Have I Ever Told You Lynn Patrick - Mysteriously Drawn Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan, Cassidy Ladden, Lee Kweller) - An Echo (Asking a Shadow to Dance) Sheila K Cameron - A Fall By The Wayside Elaine Kristal - Tested For Music Biz Resources Visit and...
2022-01-2648 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1333 Music by Kiah, Alison Reynolds, Nocturnal Red, Catherine Porter, October Brigade, Trisha & Thara, Debbie Myers (writer Jeff Ashbaker), Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan & Lee Kweller), Maini Sorri, JuiceThaBlackBeethovenTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Kiah - Around The World Alison Reynolds - Rocking Chair Nocturnal Red - My Love Will Come To You Catherine Porter - Wildflower October Brigade - Gun for Hire Trisha & Thara - You Used to Be Debbie Myers (writer Jeff Ashbaker) - My Garden Of Life Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan & Lee Kweller) - My World My Time Maini Sorri - Tomorrow JuiceThaBlackBeethoven - Make Me Shake (radio version) For Music Biz Resources Visit and Visit our Sponsor Juice The Black Beet...
2022-01-2146 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1328 Music by Gail Taylor, Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan & Brian Muni), Alison Reynolds, HuDost, Neu Sierra, Lori Citro, Kelly Rae, The Epsan Project, Storied Windows, Shifter XTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Gail Taylor - Crossroads Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan & Brian Muni) - When You Ride A Dream Alison Reynolds - Closer To Home HuDost - Home Is Bigger Than Us Neu Sierra - Boy Of A 1000 Tears Lori Citro - Perpetually 25 Kelly Rae - One Light The Epsan Project - Where Our Love Is Storied Windows - Waves (Stripped Down) Shifter X - Break The Chains For Music Biz Resources Visit and Visit our Sponsor Juice The Black Beethoven at Visit our...
2022-01-1248 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1308 Music by Jean Wilson, Betsy Walter & Jeff Clayborn, Laurie Jones, Dawn Rix, Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan, Cassidy Ladden, Lee Kwelle), The Bellwethers, Mackenzie Lee, JoJo Hammond, Lyn_Sey, Imitation, Sahana NareshTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Jean Wilson, Betsy Walter & Jeff Clayborn - Corner of Sin & Be Saved Laurie Jones - That Summer Dawn Rix - I Wanna Be Holdin' You Cassidy Ladden (writers Marv Conan, Cassidy Ladden, Lee Kwelle) - A Million Nights The Bellwethers - Alice On Fire Mackenzie Lee - Sometimes I Wonder JoJo Hammond - Truce Lyn_Sey - What Will Your Story Be Imitation - Intermezzo Sahana Naresh - Only Constant Is Change For Music Biz Resources Visit and Visit our Sponsor LAKOT...
2021-11-2246 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1306 Music by Cassidy Ladden (songwriters Marv Conan & Lee Kweller), Adventures With Alice, Kew Mason, Audra Raulyns (writer Steven McDonald), LAKOTAH, Swift Timmy, New Middle Class, Mary McGuinness, Giana, Livia & the RosebudsTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Cassidy Ladden (songwriters Marv Conan & Lee Kweller) - Tears at a Movie Adventures With Alice - Driving Route 288 feat. Catherine Porter Kew Mason - Neverland Audra Raulyns (writer Steven McDonald) - Do You Hear The Call LAKOTAH - Silver Eyes Swift Timmy - If You Wait Too Long New Middle Class - Ten Rooms in the House of Love Mary McGuinness - Til I Can Make It On My Own Giana - Waves Livia & the Rosebuds - Homesick For Music Biz Resources...
2021-11-1745 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1117 Music by Angelica Cassidy, Maudlin, Roos Meijer, Claire Donzelli, Elsie Binx, Spoon and the Forkestra, Soft Talon, writer Michael L Parks, Unheard Sirens, INGERTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Angelica Cassidy - Ladylike Maudlin - The Best Thing Roos Meijer - Made For Loving You Claire Donzelli - Together Apart Elsie Binx - Everything About It Spoon and the Forkestra - Mosquitoes Soft Talon - Take It Slow writer Michael L Parks - If It's True Unheard Sirens - Beat Of The Heart INGER - Playing Games For Music Biz Resources Visit Visit our Sponsor Bandzoogle at: Visit our Sponsor Francyl Gawryn at: Visit our Sponsor John Jordan/The Storm at...
2020-06-2941 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1113 Music by Suzanne's Band, Angelica Cassidy, Francyl Gawryn, Laura-May Azpiazu, Glycerin, Candice Liselle, 2 Story Cabin, Gaby Castro, rincs, Priya PandaTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Suzanne's Band - On a Good Day Angelica Cassidy - Ask My Daddy Francyl Gawryn - In the Stillness Laura-May Azpiazu - Slow Ride To Nowhere Glycerin - Dive Candice Liselle - Ask Me 2 Story Cabin - Always Better Gaby Castro - Blow Me Away rincs - Luck or Carelessness Priya Panda - Shook U Off For Music Biz Resources Visit Visit our Sponsor Bandzoogle at: Visit our Sponsor Ayumi Anime at: Visit our Sponsor Charles Berkhouse at: Visit our Sponsor Lay...
2020-06-1938 min
Women of Substance Music Podcast#1109 Music by DeDe Wedekind, Gaby Castro, Stephanie Phillips, Laura-May Azpiazu, Shelby Sanborn, Angelica Cassidy, Charles Berkhouse feat. Elle, Kari Tieger, Kameelah Waheed, The Bitter EleganceTo get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: DeDe Wedekind - Sell Me Out Gaby Castro - Goddess Stephanie Phillips - Another Full Moon Laura-May Azpiazu - I Wonder Why I Didn't Think Of That Shelby Sanborn - Independent Mind Angelica Cassidy - Choose Joy Charles Berkhouse feat. Elle - Out Of Two (Coffeehouse Acoustic Mix) Kari Tieger - Green Eyes 2019 Kameelah Waheed - Holding On (North Street West Vocal Remix) The Bitter Elegance - I Rise Up For Music Biz Resources Visit Visit our Sponsor Bandzoogle at: Visit our...
2020-06-1045 min