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Daniel Lona

Chess improvement as an adult is harder than it should be. Plus, the journey can sometimes feel too stressful and serious. This show aims to fix that by 1) interviewing experts who can offer clarity on the best ways to improve; and 2) giving you a heap of fun with “chess entertainment” shows that discuss chess culture, events, movies, etc. Most episodes feature a guest, but sometimes I'll do a solo show on a topic. This is all brought to you by me, Daniel Lona. I’m a dedicated chess amateur and the owner of Adult Chess Academy. After listening to this podcast, I want you to have a clearer idea of how to improve, and have a more fun, dynamic chess experience. Please follow the show so you don’t miss an episode!

The Chess Experience

110 Today’s guest is the inspiring and talented WGM Maria Gevorgyan. Few have managed to become a national chess champion, let alone do it five times. But Maria has! In addition to becoming the women’s chess champion of Armenia multiple times…

Maria is now taking all that she’s learned from her competitive career and helping her students as a chess coach.

These days, she is the head coach at the Abu Dhabi Chess Academy for women and girls.

In this interview, we discuss:

 • Is blitz a helpful tool for improvement or just a fun way to play the game?
 • How an accidental illegal move by Maria was missed at the tournament where she earned her the WGM title!
 • The #1 book recommendation that Maria believes every club player should read. 

More From Maria:

TwitterInstagramCoaching with Maria (DM her about lessons)Book recommendation: My System by Aaron Nimzowitch • 

How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

WGM Maria Gevorgyan - 5x-Armenian National Champion & Chess Coach

111 She does it all. WIM Svitlana Demchenko is a course creator, coach, streamer, and high-level chess competitor. Born in Ukraine and a long-time Canadian citizen, Svitlana proved herself early in chess, becoming a five-time Canadian girls champion. In more recent years, she’s competed in the Chess Olympiad three times as part of the Canadian women’s team.

She’s also published several fantastic opening and strategy courses for ChessBase. And, each week, she streams chess on Twitch.

Finally, rounding out her chess activities, is a regular video show called Smart Moves, where Svitlana coaches an amateur player. In the process, she focuses on key topics that’ll help any club player improve their chess.

In this episode, we discuss: 

 • The undervalued topic of imbalances in chess and why club players should probably spend more time on this concept.
 • How Svitlana juggles her pursuit of a medical career and a robust chess life.
 • Her chase for the WGM title. 
 • Her thoughts on the World Championship event and Gukesh as the new champ.

More From Svitlana:

Courses on ChessbaseSmartMoves YouTube PlaylistTwitchTwitterInstagram
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How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

WIM Svitlana Demchenko - Insights on Imbalances and Her Dynamic Chess Life

112 Would you move to a new city for chess? Few have that level of commitment to the game. But our guest this week did exactly that. Adult improver Sydney Strauss moved to New York City this past year to pursue her relatively new passion for chess.

After learning the game just two years ago, she fell in love with it and began studying and playing every day. The following year, Sydney knew she wanted to take her pursuit to the next level and be fully immersed in chess through clubs, tournaments, and friends.

New York City, with its venerated Marshall Chess Club and thriving chess scene, provided her with that experience.

In a brief time, Sydney has now reached an inspiring FIDE rating of 1581.

This episode explores her story, why chess has impacted her life so greatly, and what her future ambitions may be within the game.

Plus: will she get a chess tattoo? 

Connect with Sydney Strauss:

TwitterInstagramTwitchBushwick Chess Club IG
How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

Adult Improver Pod: Sydney Strauss - Moving to NYC to Chase Her Chess Dreams

113 Rarely do grandmasters focus on helping club players and beginners. But when they do it’s rare and exciting. Their extra skill and understanding of the game deliver insights that even other titled players may not possess. That’s what GM Josh Friedel offers as a course creator and coach. And it can be heard throughout this interview.

Of course, Josh has had an impressive chess career. Competitively, he tied for 6th place at the US Chess Championship in 2009 and competed at the World Cup.

He has passed along this hard-earned chess knowledge for decades by coaching club players.

And for nearly as long, he’s been creating courses, most recently for Chessable on common mistakes in the opening and middlegame.

In this episode, we chat:

 • Common middle-game mistakes and how to avoid them.
 • Josh’s unique qualities as a coach that separate him from the pack.
 • Why is it so difficult to convert a won position - and how to get better at it.

GIVEAWAY: To win Josh’s Chessable course on avoiding middlegame mistakes, follow Daniel Lona on Twitter for details and updates (for the week of 1/21/25 only.)

More From Josh:

Chessable coursesTwitterYouTube
How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

GM Josh Friedel - Common Middlegame Mistakes & Coaching Insights

114 Leaping 400 rating points in classical, rated chess as an adult in just two years? That requires a huge effort and rare dedication. Two qualities that describe well this week’s guest, fellow adult club player, Nicholas Sloan. Specifically, in a relatively brief period, Nick went from 1400 USCF to 1849 USCF.

And it’s all part of his plan to earn the National Master title - something that he wants to prove is possible for us adults.

But exciting progress doesn’t come easy. Nick advocates consistency, discipline, and a willingness to face your chess weakness.

In this episode, we discuss:

 • The top 3 reasons Nick was able to make such massive and fast progress in his USCF rating.
 • Why he doesn’t believe “one size fits all” training programs are that effective.
 • Why he has preferred self-guided learning to studying under a coach.

More From Nick:

YouTube ChannelSubstack NewsletterBlueskyTwitterInstagram
How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

Adult Improver Pod: Nicholas Sloan - A 400+ Rating Rise in 2 Years (& Chasing the NM Title)

115 She learned the game at 19. The next year she became a titled player with an 1800+ FIDE rating. Then, several years later, WFM Perpetual Ogbiyoyo founded an organization to spread chess to girls and women throughout Nigeria. Now, she’s expanded her connection to the chess world by moving to New York City. In this episode, we talk about her incredible journey, including: 

 • How she rose from complete beginner to Woman FIDE Master in one year.
 • A window into the culture and community of chess in Nigeria.
 • Why she created the organization Promoting Queens and its mission to empower girls everywhere through chess.
 • Her aspiration to become the first Nigerian woman Grandmaster.

How You Can Support the Pod:

You can greatly help this pod with a donation. Much time and expense goes into creating this show. And, I’d be very grateful if you could support this endeavor which aims to give you the best in chess interviews. Leave a brief note with your donation and I’ll respond personally to you. Donate here.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

More From WFM Perpetual Ogbiyoyo

Promoting Queens websiteTwitter

Nigerian Star Uses Chess to Improve Others’ Lives & Her Own w/ WFM Perpetual Ogbiyoyo

116 What a chess career! GM Boris Avrukh cracked the World Top 50 in 2005 and achieved a peak rating of 2668. He has coached the world’s best players like Fabiano Caruana, Vladimir Kramnik, and Wesley So. And he even got to be the last person to ever play the legendary Mikhail Tal.

Of course, Boris has had an exemplary competitive career representing Israel in six chess Olympiads and winning the World U12 Championship in 1990.

In addition to years of coaching the world’s best and club players alike, Boris has also written countless opening books and published five Chessable courses.

Boris and I talk at length about his course called “Resourceful Chess: Defense & Counterplay,” which will give you some excellent advice on how to play better defense.

We also discuss:

 • Why it’s important to recognize key defensive patterns.
 • His experience coaching Fabiano Caruana.
 • Why Boris choose to highlight Hans Niemann for defensive play in his course (and whether he did so knowing he’d be controversial.)

More From GM Boris Avrukh

Chessable CoursesWebsiteYouTubeTwitter
Daniel's Twitter account to follow for the giveaway.

How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

GM Boris Avrukh: How to Play Better Defense, Coaching Fabi, & Playing Against Tal

117 Hailing from Cuba, and now one of the top American women players, WGM Thalia Cervantes is a chess powerhouse. For the past four years, she’s been invited to and played at the elite US Women’s Chess Championship.

And her competitive pursuits are nowhere near finished. Thalia is working diligently with a coach to earn her IM title, with one norm already achieved.

She’s also just released her first Chessable course, called, “Building an Attacking Intuition in Chess,” a subject we explore at length in the second half of the episode.

We also discuss:

 • How a club player can develop an attacking intuition through pattern recognition.
 • Thalia’s thoughts on her performance at the 2024 US Women’s Chess Championship (and how she prepares for these events.)
 • The highlights of her early years in the thriving Cuban chess culture and the importance of Capablanca.
 • Her plans post-college and what goes into earning the IM title.

More From Thalia:

Chessable Course: Building an Attacking Intuition in ChessInstagram
How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

How to Build Attacking Intuition w/ WGM Thalia Cervantes Landeiro

News updates for this week: 1) GM Susan Polgar is coming to the show very soon! 2) You can submit a question for Susan by joining my Patreon membership (deadline to submit Q is 2/27 at 1pm CT.) 3) Because I’m prepping so much for that interview, there won't be a show this week. 4) Videos of my pod interviews will be coming soon on my new YouTube channel. See you all soon!

Updates: Schedule Update & Video Pod Episodes

118 GM Susan Polgar is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. She became the first-ever woman to earn the GM title by rating and norms. By age 15, she became the highest-rated female chess player on the planet.

In 1996, she became the Women’s World Champion and the first-ever player to earn the Triple Crown: holding the world title in all formats: blitz, rapid, and classical.

Not only that…But she did so against relentless obstacles from sexist chess federations who did not want a woman to succeed the way she did.

In this episode, we discuss her many competitive achievements, her unique upbringing in Hungary with her father and sisters, and why it led to their success.

We also cover Susan’s incredible influence on the game in her post-competitive chess career.

For decades, Susan has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of professional chess in America, and to grow the game for women and girls throughout the world.

We discuss all this through the topics raised in her new and thrilling autobiography, Rebel Queen.

More From Susan:

Susan's new book, Rebel Queen (hardcover) • ...
or KindleSusan’s websiteTwitterInstagramFacebook
How You Can Support the Pod:

Join this show’s Patreon called “Podcast Perks” and get benefits like: 

 • Submitting questions to guests
 • A shout-out of your name on the pod
 • Vote on future topics/guests 
 • Exclusive behind-the-scenes updates about the show
 • DM me any month for a brief chat on chess or episodes

Click here to join the Patreon for The Chess Experience.

Or you can…

>>Support this pod by grabbing a chess.com membership which will help you improve your chess & defeat your enemies. A small portion will fund this pod - and every bit helps! Just click this link.

>> Neither? How about checking out Daniel's chess.com profile? Witness his countless, embarrassing blitz losses. He even accepts some friend requests. (Ad)

GM Susan Polgar: A Chess Legend on How She Broke Barriers & Elevated the Game

The podcast is taking a short break for the month of May 2025. It will return in early to mid-June. We'll be back soon! If you want to contact me in the meantime about an episode or anything chess-related, you can do so here.

Pod Update: Brief Break

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