Lars' Chessable Courses: https://www.chessable.com/author/LarsSchandorff/
00:00 Intro01:00 How Lars Creates His Opening Courses07:31 The First Key Decision When Creating an Opening Course15:03 The Importance of Openings in Chess18:46 A Story About Rook Endgames21:43 Where to Stop in an Opening Course25:47 Chess as a Lifestyle: Freedom and Identity27:52 Can Beginners Benefit from His Courses?34:33 The Role of Engines in Modern Chess Preparation40:13 His Weekly Radio Show 'Nimzowitsch'45:19 The Cultural Significance of Chess in Literature50:46 Nimzowitsch's Influence55:32 Chess Improvement in Modern Times58:40 How GM Schandorff Coaches People1:03:29 Future Plans and CoursesIn this engaging interview, Danish chess author GM Lars Schandorff shares insights into his successful courses, the art of opening preparation, and the cultural significance of chess. Lars has recently become the Chessable Author of the Year 2025, and that is very inspiring.We discussed the following topics:Lars Schandorff's approach to creating accessible and deep chess coursesThe importance of opening repertoire and strategic choicesThe influence of Nimzowitsch on modern chess ideasThe role of technology and engines in chess preparationThe cultural and historical significance of chesskeywordsChess, Chess Courses, Opening Repertoire, Chess Strategy, Chess Culture, Chess History, Chessable, Nimzowitsch, Chess Improvement, Chess Tools, Lars Schandorff

00:00 Intro01:31 The Chessbrah Journey09:40 The Impact of the Chess Boom12:57 The Educational Value of the Channel18:33 Building Habits Series30:11 The Role of Blitz in Improvement36:08 Creating the London System Course40:48 Unique Aspects of his London Course45:59 Connecting Openings to Middlegame54:33 Conceptual Approach and Knowing Crucial Ideas58:09 Balancing Engine Lines and Practical Play01:03:36 Speed Chess Championship Live Commentary01:12:20 The Future of Chess Content CreationGrandmaster Aman Hambleton joins the podcast to unpack the real origin story of Chessbrah, from two Canadian juniors casually “streaming” to each other with one viewer, to building a long-running, community-first brand that’s now approaching 400K subscribers. He reflects on the 2020 chess boom (lockdown + Queen’s Gambit) as an accelerator, but emphasizes that Chessbrah’s durability comes from stickiness: entertainment that keeps people watching, and instruction embedded naturally in real games, blunders, and commentary.The conversation then shifts to Aman’s first Chessable opening course, the London System repertoire, covering why system openings are realistic for most improvers, how his London is differentiated, and why practical, human-centered choices sometimes beat “engine purity.” Finally, he discusses commentating elite speed chess events, the role of the evaluation bar for spectators, and the direction of chess content into the future.

Contact FM Tarik Selbes here: https://lichess.org/@/nuagesgrisTarik's chess history blog 'Cafe Chigorin': https://tinyurl.com/yp9hhmyz

00:00 Intro

02:23 Enters Tarik Selbes

05:42 The Puzzle Grind That Built Monster Calculation Skills

12:23 The Importance of Calculation in Chess

15:36 His Work with GM Evgeny Romanov

22:15 Positional Play and Dorfman's Influence

27:09 Showing Games: Static vs. Dynamic Play

30:49 Yagiz's Early Positional Mistakes

35:09 Erdogmus - Nitish

39:47 Shaik - Erdogmus

43:59 Excellent Calculation: Erdogmus - Sapenov, 2023

49:40 His Resiliency: Santiago - Erdogmus

51:42 Present Time: Erdogmus - Svidler, 2025

55:44 Strategic Maturity: Erdogmus - Vachier-Lagrave, 2025

59:51 Erigaisi - Erdogmus, 2026: The Exchange Sacrifice That Shocked the Chess World

01:06:05 Does Yagiz Know Chess Classics and Old Masters?

01:09:35 Zurich 1953: Why You Should Read Old Books Skeptically

01:14: 36 Is Blitz Good For Your Chess?

01:21:25 Tarik Selbes’ IM Journey at 40 — Adult Improvement Tips

01:31:26 The Psychological Pressure of Being a “Future World Champion”

01:44:14 How to Define 'Talent' in Chess

01:53:54 Kids vs Adults

01:58:02 Opening Work

02:02:02 Tarik's Book Project on Max Euwe

02:04:23 The Rise of Turkish Chess

In this special podcast episode, I’m joined by FIDE Master and longtime friend Tarik Selbes to break down the incredible rise of Turkish chess prodigy Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş — a player many believe has future World Champion potential. Even Magnus Carlsen has called him the strongest 14-year-old chess player ever, while Hikaru Nakamura has highlighted his extraordinary calculation skills.Tarik shares rare behind-the-scenes insights from training camps where he worked as translator for Russian coach Evgeny Romanov, revealing: • How Yağız built monster-level calculation through massive puzzle training • Why modern prodigies train differently from past generations • The key positional weaknesses he had, and how they were fixed • The balance between dynamic and static factors (Dorfman-style thinking)We also analyze instructive games against legends like Peter Svidler and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, showing how Yağız’s play has matured from pure tactical brilliance into world-class positional mastery.Beyond prodigy development, we dive into:Talent vs hard work Chess psychology and pressure at the highest levelWhy kids today train differently than adults who grew up on chess booksHow adult improvers can still make huge progress (Tarik’s IM norm journey at 40!)The rise of Turkish chess culture Tarik recently completed his final IM norm at age 40 and now needs to reach 2400 ELO to become an International Master. He is an inspiration for adult improvers.keywordschess, Yagiz Kaan, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Tarık Selbes, chess training, calculation, positional play, chess prodigy, chess improvement, strategic training, chess analysis, chess, chess strategy, chess psychology, chess talent, chess education, chess culture, chess improvement, chess prodigies, chess classics, chess learning, adult chess improvement,