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090 With natural charisma and exceptional chess skills, Dina Belenkaya is perfect for this new era of chess. A serious student of the game all her life, she competed professionally and earned the WGM title in 2016. In 2020, Dina began her new career as a streamer and content creator...

Just two years later, her popularity soared. Dina delivered bold and funny interviews with the world’s top players at the FIDE Grand Prix, and the videos went viral.

Dina has a sharp wit and a sense of joy in her videos that are rarely seen even amongst other chess celebrities.

These days, she focuses on her chess YouTube channel, where she often plays super GMs in trash-talking blitz games. And, this year, she released her first course and online chess community: Russian Chess School.

We chat:

• Will she continue to beat Levy (Gotham Chess) in Titled Tuesday?
• Why her course is unique and groundbreaking in the chess world.
• Her goal of earning the IM title and what she needs to achieve it.

More From Dina:

• Course: Russian Chess School
• YouTube Channel
• Instagram
• Twitch
• Twitter

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089 It’s rare to see an adult club player make a career in chess. This week’s guest, Ono, has done just that. He started like many of us: inspired to dive into the game after watching the Queen’s Gambit. Which progressed into working studiously on his chess.

Then, he embarked upon a chess blog, called The Ono Zono. Not long after the blog gained traction, Ono started coaching beginners.

Since then, he’s developed a roster of students, appeared on several chess podcasts, and continues to create content for the adult improver community.

In this episode, we discuss:

• 3 strategies for managing limited study time as an adult so you can still make progress.
• Why tackling difficult puzzles too early in your chess journey can be a mistake.
• The top trait Ono observed in his most successful chess students.

More From Ono:

• Ono’s Website
• Ono’s Free Coaching Lesson
• Ono’s Blog
• Ono’s Twitter

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088 Like many chess subjects, knowing what to study for strategy is a bit murky. Especially if you’re a semi-confused club player like myself. So, who better to chat with about this topic than an author who has written three books on the subject? Welcome today’s guest: IM Thomas Willemze.

Over the past six years, Thomas has published three popular books and several courses on the subject of strategy, all specifically aimed at the club player.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why it’s helpful to study both master and amateur games to improve your strategy knowledge.
• Why Thomas chose less common strategy ideas for his foundational book on the subject (like exchanging pieces and utilizing your rooks.)
• The benefits of studying the games of the most recent world champions.

More From Thomas:

• Thomas’ Chessable Courses
• Thomas’ Books (Amazon Link)

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