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This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri. Anish barely needs an introduction. He is one of the world’s strongest and most popular chess grandmasters, he’s the top board of the national team of the Netherlands and he is a contributing editor to New In Chess Magazine (and, of course, he is much more, such as a great chess influencer and instructor with his own YouTube channel and his own instructional platform ChessMonitor.com).  Anish has just returned from the Olympiad, where 206 teams competed in the Open Section, and an amazing 189 teams in the Women’s section.  As you may have seen or heard the Women’s section was won by China and the Open section ended in a triumph for Uzbekistan.  Besides the chess on the board, there was also a huge chess political contest, as FIDE, the international chess federation, elected a new President. Timur Turlov, a billionaire businessman from Kazakhstan will be FIDE’s president for the coming four years. Speaking to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam from his home in The Hague, Anish answered my questions about the impressive winners from Uzbekistan, the special character of the Olympiad, the performances of the most prominent stars (What was Gukesh doing on Board 4 of the Indian team? What should we think of yet another exceptional result of Yagiz Erdogmus?), and much more. Such as his meetings with all three candidates in the presidential elections and his take on the new president Timur Turlov. If you know Anish, you know that you should not miss this episode! 0:00 – Intro 2:35 – Anish explains what makes the Chess Olympiad a unique event  6:10 – The varying degrees to which different chess federations support their players 10:44 – The Global Chess League 15:35 – The Dutch team’s performance at the Olympiad 20:25 – Jorden losing out on winning a board gold medal 22:14 – AD BREAK 23:12 – The winners of the Olympiad: Uzbekistan 28:52 – Gukesh playing fourth board for India 32:45 – Ding’s performance for China 34:40 – The US team’s performance 37:20 – Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus’s performance 43:40 – AD BREAK 44:12 – The FIDE presidential elections 1:03:02 - Outro

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

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen. Today’s interview reaches you once again from Oslo, where the 14th edition of Norway Chess ended in a stunning victory for Indian grandmaster Praggnanandhaa.  ‘Pragg’ sensationally won his last four games and on the final day he leapfrogged Wesley So to pip the American at the post. In the Norway Chess Women’s tournament, first place had already been secured in the penultimate round by the new star of women’s chess, Bibisara Assaubayeva from Kazakhstan.    This year Norway Chess moved from Stavanger, its home for thirteen years, to the Norwegian capital Oslo. There, in the heart of the city, the spectacular Deichman library was the venue.   In this second episode from Oslo, New In Chess editor-in-chief Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to an old friend of the podcast, international grandmaster and five-time Danish champion Peter Heine Nielsen. Of course, these days we know Peter best as the trainer of the world’s number one player, Magnus Carlsen. As Dirk Jan interviews Peter, he looks back on a wonderfully successful Norway Chess that for two weeks got enormous international exposure and created tremendous interest in Oslo. The entire tournament was once again broadcast live on Norwegian television and also had two separate live broadcasts from the venue by Norway Chess and Chess.com.   Of course, a good part of the conversation focuses on Magnus Carlsen, who lost an unusual number of games – he had to resign both his games against Pragg after compelling fights -and only finished in fourth place, having one of the worst results in his career.  Peter also talks about the special format of Norway Chess, the unforgiving time control, and try to come up with an explanation for Magnus’s poor performance. And, not unimportantly, about golf, a passion of both Magnus and Peter. During the tournament they played a lot of golf to clear their minds amid the tension of the chess. Peter loves to talk and philosophize about chess and you will not get bored listening to his lively stories and insights. Enjoy! 0:00 – Intro 2:10 – How did Peter experience the tournament in Oslo? 10:05 – The unique format and time control of Norway Chess 15:20 – Pragg’s performance 20:42 – AD BREAK 21:22 – Pragg beating Magnus twice 26:20 – Magnus’s Armageddon games 27:58 – Wesley So’s performance 29:40 – Firouzja’s injury 35:18 – Magnus’s win against Gukesh in the last round 37:01 – What is Peter’s explanation for Magnus’s disappointing performance? 47:29 – Golf  55:56 – AD BREAK 56:28 – The Total Chess World Championship Tour 1:01:12 – Will Magnus continue playing classical chess? 1:04:25 – How long will Magnus stay world #1 for? 1:09:35 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features in interview with Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein. Today’s podcast reaches you from Oslo, where the 14th edition of Norway Chess started earlier this week and is in full swing now. Yesterday, while walking around at the venue, the spectacular Deichman library in the heart of the city, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam ran into Simen Agdestein, Norway’s strongest grandmaster before Magnus Carlsen and Magnus’s first trainer. Simen is famous for his remarkable double career. He was not only the country's best chess player for many years, he was also a gifted footballer who played on the national team of Norway on eight occasions. Simen first appeared on the New In Chess podcast almost exactly two years ago, and talked about the book that Atle Grønn had written about his remarkable double career, Games and Goals. And chess and football, as of late these two have been more connected it seems than ever. Many famous footballers claim that there passion for chess helps them on the pitch, and Norway’s biggest star, Erling Haaland, is one of the main investors in Norway Chess’s new venture, Total Chess, a new cycle of tournaments that will start with a pilot edition coming November and then see a first Total Chess World Championship consisting of four tournaments worldwide next year. Simen is a natural storyteller, who always speaks his mind. About chess and about football. And much more. Don’t miss it! 0:00 – Intro 2:33 – How the growth of chess in Norway has affected Simen 4:10 – Discovering Magnus Carlsen 9:33 – Why do strong players prefer not to play important matches in their own country? 13:40 – Simen’s school 24:34 – AD BREAK 25:33 – This year’s edition of Norway Chess 31:03 – Magnus’s performance 35:20 – Time controls at the tournament 40:20 – Erling Haaland 47:23 – AD BREAK 47:56 – Simen’s personal ambitions at the moment 52:57 – Who’s going to win Norway Chess? 56:28 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Erwin l'Ami. Erwin is an old friend of the New In Chess Podcast. The Dutch Champion in 2022, among his other notable results are his victories in the 2015 Reykjavik Open and in the Rabat Blitz that same year, where he was even too quick for specialists like Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexey Shirov. While Erwin continues to love playing competitive chess in tournaments and club leagues, he has expanded his chess activities in various chess directions over the past years. He’s been working as a trainer for stars such as Veselin Topalov and Anish Giri, and he’s been producing training courses and writing books. It was in his capacity as a writer that Erwin was invited this time, as together with Dutch GM Paul van der Sterren, he has just authored a new book on Max Euwe, who sensationally robbed Alexander Alekhine of his world title back in 1935. The title of the book is Max Euwe World Champion!, with an exclam, and it looks in detail at the brief reign of Euwe, who lost the chess crown again to the same Alekhine in 1937. The book is a heartfelt reappraisal of Euwe, who has often been described as a lesser champion. A champion who won the title by some sort of luck. In their fine book, the authors demonstrate convincingly that in spite of such reservations, Euwe truly was the best chess player in the world, or among the very best, in those years. Erwin talks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam about his special interest in Max Euwe, how the book came about, and the remarkable qualities of the fifth World Champion; about the sensation he caused when, as the underdog, he defeated the great Alexander Alekhine in 1935; about his achievements in his years as champion, and why he lost the title again in 1937. In the second half of the podcast, we talk about Max Euwe’s celebrated successor in the Netherlands, Jan Timman, who died three months ago, on February 18. Link to the Antwerp interview with Timman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0WTfRRzVsU  0:00 – Intro 2:35 – Has Erwin’s appreciation of Max Euwe as a player changed throughout the years? 9:21 – Why is Euwe so underappreciated by chess history? 15:45 – How strong was Euwe actually? 19:55 – The Lasker feud 23:05 – Euwe’s “modern” emphasis on opening preparation and physical preparation 27:06 – AD BREAK 28:05 – The historic 1936 Nottingham tournament 32:33 – Euwe as FIDE president 34:49 – While doing his analyses for this book, did Erwin discover any new things about Euwe? 42:50 – Euwe’s loss in the Alekhine rematch 49:21 – Dirk Jan tells his own personal Euwe story 50:32 – AD BREAK 51:08 – Erwin’s friendship with Jan Timman 56:30 – Jan Timman’s incredible memory 1:00:08 – Timman’s incredible career 1:03:49 – Erwin recalls an old interview with Jan (Link in description!) 1:11:23 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American international master John Donaldson. The first time John appeared on the podcast, he was invited as the captain of the American team, on the eve of the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. This time, he talks about his latest book on what may safely be called his hero, Bobby Fischer. John has written a lot about Fischer and in 2022 he published his magnum opus "Bobby Fischer And His World", a thick book of 644 pages bringing together an enormous amount of material about the 11th World Champion. His latest work is called "Inside The Mind of Bobby Fischer". In a voluminous book of 400 pages, John revisits everything he could find that Fischer has written as a chess analyst. Which means that he not only presents annotated games from Fischer’s very first book, Bobby Fischer’s Games of Chess, but also all the columns he wrote for Boys’ Life, a magazine for the boy scouts of American, and his columns in Chess Life. And there is much more that anyone interested in Fischer would like to see or revisit. So, if you are looking for a sneak peek or a few teasers of John Donaldson’s fascinating new book, then this podcast is a good place to start! 0:00 – Intro 2:20 – What inspired John to write a new Fischer book? 14:26 – Fischer’s incredible dedication and discipline as a teenager 18:02 – Fischer’s mother Regina 26:25 – Fischer’s lost games 40:50 – AD BREAK 41:23 – The value of Fischer memorabilia 1:01:03 – AD BREAK 1:02:05 – How did John go about analysing Bobby’s old annotations? 1:08:10 - Dimitrije Bjelica 1:11:05 – Is John contemplating a next book about Fischer? 1:17:38 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Anish Giri. Today’s podcast once again reaches you from Paphos, in Cyprus, where at the luxurious Cap Saint Georges hotel the Candidates tournament has come to an end after two weeks of excitement and captivating chess. Anish was one of the pretournament favourites and one of the absolute stars of the 2026 Candidates, but in the end he, too, had to bow to the exceptional performance of the winner, twenty-year-old Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Anish talks about his mixed feelings and looks back on the Candidates tournament from his perspective.  0:00 – Intro 1:32 – Does Anish have mixed feelings at the end of this tournament? 5:35 – Not beating Wei Yi in the twelfth round 8:40 – Is Anish “not dangerous enough”? 14:35 – Fabiano Caruana’s performance 20:11 – AD BREAK 20:44 – The switch from increment to non-increment play 29:18 – Javokhir Sindarov 33:27 – Erdogmus 37:00 – The hidden coach: Roman Vidonyak 39:25 – Anish’s theory about Javokhir’s rise 45:33 – Modern chess training and coaching 58:30 – AD BREAK 59:50 – Untold: Chess Mates 1:02:20 – Anish’s venture with ChessMonitor 1:08:08 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with grandmaster Boris Gelfand. Today’s interview reaches you from Paphos, in Cyprus, on a rest day of the Candidates tournament, after ten of the fourteen rounds have been played. With four rounds to go it looks like Uzbek star Javokhir Sindarov is heading for first place and a World Championship match against World Champion Gukesh from India at the end of this year. Boris has himself successfully played in the Candidates, won Interzonals and a World Cup and was the Challenger of Vishy Anand in the World Championship match in Moscow in 2012. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Boris reflects on his own participation in the Candidates tournament and the unique pressures of playing at such high stakes. 0:10 - Intro  2:47 - Boris reflects on his own experiences at the Candidates Tournament 14:48 – AD BREAK 15:19 – Qualifying for the World Championship in 2012 23:50 – The difficulty of dedicating one’s self completely to one chess tournament 27:51 – Jakovhir Sindarov’s performance 34:56 – How did Boris psychologically deal with losing his lead over Anand in 2012? 35:43 – AD BREAK 36:42 – Boris thinks Fabiano has taken too many risks in this tournament 38:34 – Boris’s current chess life 40:38 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Danish-Scottish grandmaster Jacob Aagaard. Jacob is arguably the most versatile chess professional in the world. At the risk of turning this episode description into an essay, we'll summarise his activities. Jacob is a grandmaster who occasionally still feels the lure of competitive chess; a prolific and successful writer, who has authored more than twenty books; a chess publisher; a coach for world-class players such as Boris Gelfand, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Sam Shankland and many names that are supposed to remain a secret; the proprietor of the Killer Chess Training brand; and, last not but least, the owner of the New In Chess Group, which comprises New In Chess, Quality Chess, Everyman Chess, Popular Chess and Elevation Chess. In short, he is the boss of everyone involved in the production of this podcast.  Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jacob talks about his ambitions and plans for the near future, and anything else that pops up. These include his predictions for the upcoming Candidates Tournament in Cyprus and his thoughts about the new Netflix documentary Untold: Chess Mates, about the controversy between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann that made headlines all over the world. Will Carlsen and Niemann finally speak freely and clarify what really happened? 0:00 – Intro 2:11 – How does Jacob coordinate his many top-level roles in the chess world? 14:42 – Jacob compares the different publishers under his umbrella 24:22 – Daniel Naroditsky’s brilliance as a chess author and educator 29:36 – AD BREAK 30:09 – Jacob previews some other chess books in the pipeline 31:19 – How chess literature has developed throughout the computer age 36:53 – The genius of Mikhail Tal 38:26 – Jacob’s Killer Chess Training platform 48:48 – AD BREAK 49:47 – The Carlsen – Niemann saga 1:00:17 – The upcoming Candidates Tournament 1:10:02 – Some football talk 1:12:35 – Pragg

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgár. Judit is universally considered the greatest female chess player of all time. After breaking Bobby Fischer's record to become the youngest grandmaster of all time at age 15, she topped the women's rankings for 25 years, from 1989 until her retirement in 2014. She is the only female player to have every broken into the world top 10. Over the course of her career, she amassed victories over no fewer than eleven current or former World Champions in classical or rapid chess.  With a life so filled with records, firsts and extraordinary achievements, it should come as no surprise that a Netflix documentary about her unique career has come out. "Queen of Chess" was directed by Rory Kennedy, daughter of late US attorney general Bobby Kennedy, and focuses on her strict upbringing and her intense matches with then-World Champion Garry Kasparov. A second topic of conversation is Judit's relationship with the late Jan Timman, who passed away a few weeks ago and with whom Judit had a strong relationship, having had many training sessions together, as well as a shared love for endgame studies.  0:00 – Intro 2:26 – How did “The Queen of Chess” come about? 11:48 – Did Judit have any doubts about Kasparov’s participation in the film? 20:11 – How does Judit look back on being the “guinea pig” of her father’s experiment? 24:40 – AD BREAK 25:12 – Mr. Polgar has no regrets! 27:02 – The influence of Judit’s husband Gustav 30:40 – How does Judit remember the late and great Jan Timman? 37:53 – Judit’s words of encouragement for talented young women 41:02 – AD BREAK 42:00 – Was Judit intimidated by Kasparov? 46:17 – Judit and Timman’s shared passion for the artistry of chess 53:43 – Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with chess grandmaster Jonathan Tisdall. Jon is a grandmaster and a prolific journalist, who has worked for Reuters as a chess correspondent, and has written many stories for New In Chess. He has been active in the chess world for decades, wearing a multitude of hats; n fact, if you want to know who is who in a chess press room, then the gentleman with the hat is usually Jon Tisdall. Jon is also the author of the widely acclaimed book Improve Your Chess Now, and he is working on a new book in collaboration with stand-up comedian (and chess fanatic) Nick Doody. Jon was present in Wijk aan Zee to witne respective players' performances. ss Uzbeki Nodirbek Abdusattorov win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Together with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he recaps the event and its Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast! 0:00 – Intro 3:02 – Nodirbek and Sindarov 6:15 – Jonathan reviews some strange moves and decisions from Wijk aan Zee 9:35 – Hans’s mentality 11:15 – Abdusattorov’s strong performance 12:40 – Jonathan’s personal relationship with Arjun Erigaisi 16:25 – Why does Erigaisi perform so poorly in Wijk aan Zee? 19:56 – Jorden van Foreest’s performance 23:45 – Controversy around the time control in Wijk aan Zee 27:42 – Matthias Bluebaum’s strong development 29:20 – AD BREAK 29:52 – How strong is Gukesh right now? 35:28 – The role of psychology in chess 40:10 – Dirk Jan tells a story about the Spassky-Korchnoi match 44:51 – AD BREAK 45:43 – The Uzbeki revolution: why hasn’t Norway followed suit? 58:00 – Jon’s previous and upcoming books 1:07:41 - Outro

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an emergency interview with Wijk aan Zee veteran Loek van Wely! This podcast was recorded in the early afternoon of Thursday, January 29, 2026, on the third and final rest day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Loek has spent the past two weeks in Wijk aan Zee, coaching Dutch GM Max Warmerdam in the Challengers group while keeping an eye on the Masters. With three rounds to go, Uzbekistan’s top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the Tata Steel Masters, half a point ahead of three pursuers: his countryman Javokhir Sindarov, Jorden van Foreest (winner in 2021) and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum. The New In Chess Podcast is coming at you with unprecedented urgency this week! Enjoy. 0:00 – Intro 1:40 – Welcome back once again, Loek! 4:47 – Loek criticises the tournament’s time control 11:58 – Is the FIDE tournament calendar too busy these days? 22:44 – Do players really care about Freestyle? 25:08 – AD BREAK 26:01 – Anish’s bad tournament 28:40 – Bluebaum’s strong performance thus far 31:23 – Jorden’s strong play so far 33:40 – The Uzbeki stars: Abdusattorov and Sindarov 36:35 – Erdogmus, the young superstar: how serious should we take him? 46:40 – Vasyl Ivanchuk’s performance in the Challengers 50:33 – AD BREAK 51:34 – The rest of the Challengers group 54:25 – Abdusattorov: a safe bet with three rounds to go? 56:30 – Hans 59:43 – Loek’s master plan to overtake Erwin l’Ami in the Dutch rating list 1:04:50 – Fedoseev’s beautiful Rc3 against Erigaisi! 1:06:30 – Outro

In this year’s first episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Peter Svidler. It’s a special moment, as two years ago, Peter was the first guest in the inaugural episode of the podcast. We are delighted that he’s returning. Peter Svidler can look back on an incredible career as a player and he is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile experts in the world of chess. He is a three-time Candidate for the World Championship, an eight-time champion of Russia, and a World Cup winner. Among his many further successes are five gold team medals at the Olympiad. Over the past years, as he began to play less, Peter has become one of the most popular chess commentators in the world. In fact, it’s fair to say that he was one of the commentators that took chess broadcasts to a new level. For all these reasons, Peter is a perfect guest at the start of 2026, as we look ahead to a well-filled chess year that no doubt will bring us many highlights. First, Peter looks back on the Rapid & Blitz World Championships in Doha, where Magnus Carlsen won the title in both time controls for the fifth time in his career. Next, he talks about the Tata Steel tournament that starts tomorrow in Wijk aan Zee, the world-famous village on the Dutch coast. And, of course, he also touches on the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus in the first half of April. Peter is an easy talker, who happily shares his stories and insights about many leading and upcoming great chess players. How does he see Magnus’s new victory? What is his take on rising stars Yazig Erdogmus and Faustino Oro? Or on Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov, Leinier Dominguez, World Champion Gukesh and the other Indian stars? You’ll hear about all of them and many more. If you’d like to warm up for the Tata Steel Masters and Challengers and get into the mood for more highlights in 2026, this episode of the New In Chess Podcast is a good place to begin. Don’t miss it! The New In Chess Podcast is brought to you by DGT, the chess innovators. DGT is the only brand that provides everything you need to broadcast the games of a chess event - from chess clocks to sensory chess boards. 2:05 – Peter’s recap of the World Rapid and Blitz 3:50 – Which “new kids on the block” did Peter follow with particular interest? 10:36 – Peter’s match against Erdogmus 20:49 – Magnus’s outrageous Messi comparison 23:16 – AD BREAK 23:55 – Is it unwise for Oro to play in the Masters group in Wijk aan Zee? 27:20 – Keymer’s great form going into Wijk aan Zee 28:17 – Anish Giri 30:53 – Gukesh 33:36 – Why Peter thinks this World Championship cycle will be more exciting than before 40:15 – Jakovhir Sindarov’s dark horse status 42:56 – Fabiano Caruana’s chances 47:35 – Pragg 47:57 – AD BREAK 51:34 – What can we expect from Ivanchuk in Wijk aan Zee? 54:30 – Does Peter miss playing competitive chess? 59:03 – How has Uzbekistan become such a strong chess country? 1:02:53 – Will the “India conveyor belt” ever stop? 1:04:14 – What is the current state of chess overall according to Peter?