Audible Chess – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode we hear about how the medieval world invested chess with its own social, cultural and spiritual meaning. Sign up for the free newsletter to receive the resources for this episode: https://audiblechess.substack.com/

This episode is about an eight-year-old boy who was so good at chess that everyone thought he was possessed by the devil.  It’s the story of Jose Raul Capablanca.  Sign up for the free newsletter to receive all the resources for this episode: https://audiblechess.substack.com/

This episode we hear about an amazing display of blindfold chess.

The game we’re studying is Pillsbury vs Winawer, Budapest (1896).   Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1002579

Resources:

• Game analysis:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwPqVrJq6Gw
  
  
• Opening study (Semi-Slav Defense): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXffjL9fLAw
  
  
• Pillsbury #1: https://en.chessbase.com/post/henry-nelson-pillsbury-enormous-talent-and-an-early-death
  
  
• Pillsbury #2: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/pillsbury.html
  
  
• The Ajeeb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajeeb
  
  
• The 30-word list: https://userpages.monmouth.com/~colonel/chess/pillsbury.html
  
  

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This episode we're in 16th-century Spain, where a nobleman is imprisoned and awaiting execution.

The game is Ruy Lopez vs Giovanni Leonardo (1560).  It's one that Lopez played during his Italian travels.  Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1251893

Training Resources:

• Game analysis (video):   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MD-z26Rpag
  
  
• King's Gambit (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmiBGuSwUrw&t=59s
  
  
• Article on George Walker: http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/Walker.html
  

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It was October 1935 and Alexander Alekhine was on his way to Amsterdam to defend his World Champion title.  To avoid a serious challenge he’d chosen a relatively easy opponent for the match, a man named Max Euwe.  Euwe was actually an amateur player, so to Alekhine, he seemed like a safe choice.  But as it turned out, he wasn’t.

The game we're studying this time is actually Max Euwe vs. Bobby Fischer, New York (1957).  I think it's a better game for visualization training than any of the Euwe vs. Alekhine games.   Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044436

Training Resources:

• Game analysis (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wno-k1IrZDY&t=176s
  
  
• Queen's Gambit Declined (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2F8inwFmk0
  
  
• Article on Euwe: https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-gentleman-boxer-world-che-champion
  
  
• Book: Chess Words of Wisdom by Mike Henebry

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By the 1920s, the modern and more scientific approach to chess that began with Wilhelm Steinitz had been around for over half a century.  It seemed that the core principles of the game had been discovered.  Then one man arrived and challenged everything.  This is the story of Aron Nimzowitsch.

The game this time is Nimzowitsch vs. Sämisch, Copenhagen (1923).   Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1102400

Training Resources:

• Game analysis (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH0vNsVdEsM
  
  
• Opening study (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jt3AypZ59c&t=523s
  
  
• Article on zugzwang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang
  
  
• Book:  My System by Aron Nimzowitsch
  
  
• Book: Dynamic Chess by RN Coles
  
  

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He was a rising star in Russian chess, but after the First World War he fled the country to settle in France.  Not long after, he found himself at the top of the chess world as the fourth World Chess Champion.  But then, during the Occupation of France in 1940, the Nazis made him an offer that, most of the evidence suggests, he accepted.  This is the story of Alexander Alekhine.

The game is Alekhine vs. Lasker, Zurich (1934).   Before you listen, check out the full annotation here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007985

Episode Resources:

• Game analysis:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMq53rdrY8M
  
  
• Opening study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMy65JeSShw
  
  
• Article on Alekhine’s death: https://en.chessbase.com/post/alekhine-s-death-an-unresolved-mystery-
  
  
• Book: Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack by Maxim Chetverik and Alexander Der Raetsky
  
  
• Book: Chess Words of Wisdom: The Principles, Methods and Essential Knowledge of Chess by Mike Henebry

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A nine-year-old boy shows his father and uncle where they went wrong in their recent game.   The remarkable thing?  Nobody had ever taught him how to play chess.

The game this time is Morphy vs. Duke Karl and Count Isouard (1858).   You can find the annotation here:  https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1233404

Episode Resources:

• Book: Paul Morphy: Pride and Sorrow of Chess by David Lawson
  
  
• Book: The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld
  
  

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An Italian boy, raised in poverty, leaves home with little education but the one he gave himself over the chessboard.  Just a few years later, he’s playing chess in the palaces of kings and queens.  The game this time is Greco (with the black pieces) against an unknown player (1620).   Study the game here before you listen:  https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1271130

Episode Resources:

• Article: Smothered Mate
  
  
• Training: Smothered Mate
  
  
• Book: On the Origin of Good Moves: A Skeptic's Guide to Getting Better at Chess by Willy Hendriks
  
  
• Book: A Short History of Chess by HJR Murray
  

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“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.”  - Mikhail Tal, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal.  This episode it's Tal vs. Botvinnik, Moscow (1960).  Study the game here before you listen: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1032537

Resources:

• Article: Tal’s Career
  
  
• Book: The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal
  
  
• Book: Attack with Tal
  
  
• Training: King’s Indian Defence: https://www.chess.com/openings/Kings-Indian-Defense
  
  

Tips for New Listeners:

Study the game first, then listen to the audio and see how well you can visualize the moves.  If you find the exercise too difficult, try looking at the board every two moves, and as your confidence grows, every three moves, then every four, and so on.  Over time, your board vision will grow.

https://www.chess.com/openings/Kings-Indian-Defense