This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Paul van der Sterren.

Paul is a two-time Dutch Champion and between 1982 and 2000, he represented the Netherlands at eight Olympiads. Arguably his most memorable feat on the chess board was his second place in the impressively strong 1993 Biel Interzonal that earned him a spot in the Candidates matches of the World Championship cycle. The match he lost to Gata Kamsky could hardly be called a failure, as Kamsky was at the peak of his powers at the time and defeated none other than Vishy Anand in the next stage of the Candidates.

When Paul ended his professional career in 2001, he became even more active as a writer than he had already been. Besides books on chess openings, he wrote a stunning autobiography that was first published in Dutch in 2011 and was translated into English in 2023.

That book, entitled In Black and White, won the ECF Book of the Year Award, and is in my opinion easily the most deep-digging autobiography in chess literature. For its frankness and deep soul-searching the book might also have been entitled Open, if that title had not already been taken by Andre Agassi.

Paul also wrote, together with fellow Dutch grandmaster Erwin l’Ami, "Max Euwe, World Champion!", a reappraisal of the fifth World Champion. It’s a marvellous book that argues convincingly, both in Paul’s compelling story and in Erwin’s annotated games, that the Dutchman fully deserves his place in the gallery of World Champions.

Another reason is, that rumour has it that the same authors are preparing a book on another Dutch great, Hein Donner. A book in which they hope to give an honest answer to the question how strong the legendary Donner, who we mainly know from his brilliant writings, really was.

So, if you want to hear great stories about these two giants of Dutch chess, don’t miss this episode of the New In Chess Podcast. You could not hope for a better expert to guide you than Paul van der Sterren.

0:00 – Intro

2:25 – Paul’s life as retired chess professional

8:50 – Dealing with the highs and lows of being a full-time chess player

12:30 – Paul’s autobiography, “In Black and White”

16:22 – Paul’s Max Euwe biography, co-authored with GM Erwin l’Ami

20:05 – Why Paul considers himself too old to analyse games

21:23 – Paul’s interest in the “human behind the player”

23:10 – What did Paul find out about Max Euwe, the human being?

25:10 – Why Alekhine was a dishonest man

27:25 – AD BREAK

28:00 – Has Euwe’s legacy been impacted by his own modesty and humility?

31:25 – Max Euwe’s double life as a teacher and chess player

35:55 – When Paul personally met Max Euwe as a young player

41:45 – Hein Donner

51:11 – AD BREAK

52:10 – Paul’s personal experience with Donner

59:20 – Being asked by Euwe to revise his earlier works

1:05:03 - Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Icelandic grandmaster Margeir Petursson.

Margeir first became a national celebrity in Iceland as a chess player. He won the Icelandic championship twice, in 1986 and 1987, and had further successes at home and abroad, winning classics such as the Hastings Premier in 1986 and dozens of strong Opens around the world. He was also a member of the legendary Icelandic national team that finished 5th at the Dubai Olympiad in 1986 and 6th at the Manila Olympiad in 1992. The ‘Golden Team’ that he played on together with Johann Hjartarson, Helgi Olafsson and Jon Arnason.

While many still saw him first and foremost as a chess player, Margeir also embarked on a banking career and founded his own bank, MP Bank (indeed, Margeir Petursson bank!). He became internationally known as the owner of the only Icelandic bank that did not collapse in the big Icelandic banking crisis in 2008.

Those turbulent days were far from the last time that he had to operate in chaos and crisis. In the following years, Margeir switched his activities to Ukraine where he acquired Bank Lviv, and faced entirely new challenges, particularly when the country was invaded by Russia and became a nation at war.

Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

0:00 – Intro

2:14 – Margeir’s memory of Reykjavik 1972

9:06 – How Margeir developed his passion for chess

21:46 – AD BREAK

23:27 – Margeir’s decision to pursue chess while working as a banker

28:30 – How did Margeir work on his chess?

35:04 – Why Fischer “pushed” Margeir out of chess

38:50 – Margeir’s banking career

42:40 – How Margeir ended up in Ukraine

49:55 – AD BREAK

50:54 – Did Margeir’s skill in chess translate to his banking career?

1:05:37 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an inverview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely.

A friend of the podcast, for this edition Loek invited Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam to his home in the south of the Netherlands. Loek is currently in preparations for the Dutch Chess Champiopnship, which starts on Saturday, July 4, in Aalsmeer (for more information check out the website of the Dutch Chess Federation).

Over the years, Loek has won the Dutch Chess Championship 8 times. His first win, in 2000, was the beginning of a unique series of six consecutive victories. Now, 26 years after that first title, he is going to try to win it a 9th time. If he succeeds, that would mean that in the list of all-time greats, he’d catch up with 9-time winner Jan Timman, while moving a little closer to the father of Dutch chess, Max Euwe, who won the title twelve times in a time span of 34 years.

Besides the Dutch Championship, Loek also wanted to talk about Jan Timman, a dear colleague of his and an inspiration for many years, who passed away earlier this year, on February 18, at the age of 74. Jan meant a lot to Loek and he wanted to pay homage to a great player whose books he devoured as a kid and with whom he fought many fierce battles after he had become a grandmaster himself. Loek also reflects on his ambitions as a chess pro, speaks about the stellar career and lasting legacy of Jan Timman, and explains why he has political ambitions in the upcoming presidential elections of the European Chess Union.

2:23 – The Global Chess League

10:30 – Loeks “worldwide” chess activities in the past month

14:05 – Loek’s preparations for the upcoming Dutch national championship

22:57 – The late Jan Timman’s role in Loek’s chess life

25:08 – Loek’s first games against Timman in the 90’s

32:00 – People’s tendency to overlook Timman’s greatness

33:36 – AD BREAK

34:28 – Timman’s never-ending passion for chess

37:48 – Loek’s favourite Timman memories

39:16 – Loek’s brutal 1998 match against Timman

45:28 – Chess politics and Wadim Rosenstein’s bid for FIDE president

55:40 – AD BREAK

56:14 – Loek’s view for the future of the chess world

1:03:03 – Loek’s love of winning