0:05

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to perpetual

0:07

chess. I'm just recording a quick

0:09

but important addendum to my forthcoming

0:12

interview with Grandmaster Christian We

0:14

talk about a lot of topics in our interview

0:16

wide ranging chest conversation. But one of the

0:18

topics we discuss about an hour in

0:21

is the allegations of sexual

0:23

assault against Grand master Alejandro Ramirez.

0:26

Obviously, it's an extremely disturbing story.

0:28

I just wanted to clarify that my interview

0:30

with Grand master Carillo was recorded on

0:32

February twenty eighth two thousand twenty

0:34

three. I'm recording this addendum on

0:36

March ninth two thousand twenty three.

0:39

So We knew some details about

0:41

the extent of the allegations at the time

0:43

that we recorded, but not nearly as

0:45

many has have come forth due

0:47

to the March seventh article

0:50

in The Wall Street Journal by

0:52

Andrew Beaton and Joshua Robinson

0:55

that reports that ten

0:57

women have come forward with allegations

0:59

against grand master Ramirez, including three

1:01

underage girls, There's allegations

1:04

of assault. It's an immensely

1:06

disturbing story with lots

1:09

of horrifying details grand

1:11

master Ramirez has stepped down as

1:14

the coach of the Saint

1:16

Louis chess team and from his role

1:18

at the Saint Louis chess

1:20

club but it's

1:22

it's just extremely troubling the

1:25

the extent of the allegations and

1:28

the fact that people have been trying to get this

1:30

addressed for years. They've been

1:32

notifying the Saint Louis Chest Club at

1:34

the US Chest Federation for years

1:36

And not only was the investigation,

1:39

to the extent it was being investigated proceeding

1:42

at a snail's pace, but to

1:44

make things much worse, In two thousand

1:46

twenty two, Grandmaster Ramirez was

1:49

still sent to coach the US women's

1:51

team at the Olympiac just

1:54

unconcionable, inexplicable. And

1:58

yeah, it's it's just it's

2:01

just really aggravating. I don't know what else to

2:03

say. But I did just wanna

2:05

clarify that we did not have all that information

2:07

at the time we recorded it.

2:10

I'm sure that that

2:12

I will be covering this story more

2:14

and covering the general issue

2:17

of misogyny and

2:19

and making sure that the chess world

2:21

is a much safer space for all

2:23

people, but especially for

2:25

women and girls. I'm sure it'll be covering it on

2:27

future episodes. And I'm

2:30

sure that Christian on the c squared

2:32

podcast at some point will be saying more,

2:34

but did just want to clarify that when we recorded

2:36

on February twenty eight, all

2:39

this information had not yet

2:41

been reported. So that's

2:45

kind of all I had to say right now

2:47

about that, but my heart goes

2:49

out to the victims. And yeah,

2:53

the chess world just has to do much, much

2:55

better. So I

2:57

would leave it at that and get you to

2:59

my interview with Grandmaster Cristian

3:02

Gorilla. Hello, everyone, and welcome

3:04

back to perpetual chest. Before we introduce

3:06

our illustrious guest, just wanted to give a quick

3:08

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3:11

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3:51

And let's get to our return

3:54

guest. He was a Romanian youth

3:56

champion and the two thousand seven World

3:58

Youth champion under eight sixteen. Winter

4:00

of the two thousand eighteen National

4:02

Open. Popular St. Louis Chest

4:05

Club commentator, he's coach of the Missouri University

4:07

Chest Team. And of course, he worked on his

4:09

friend, Grandmaster Fabiano, Carolina's

4:12

World Championship Team in two thousand eighteen

4:14

and perhaps most importantly these

4:16

days. He's the co host of the Sea Square podcast

4:19

with Fabiano, Caruana, He's a return

4:21

guest. We talked about his background way

4:23

back in two thousand seventeen when

4:25

the c squared podcast was just a twinkle

4:28

in his

4:28

eye. But now, we are glad to welcome

4:30

back to the show Grand Master Christian Carilla.

4:32

Welcome Christian. Wow. That's a

4:35

very annual introduction. Thank you very

4:37

much, Ben. It's a great pleasure

4:39

to be back once again on

4:41

the best chess podcast out

4:42

there, perpetual chess. Don't be silly.

4:44

Now we're gonna have to have to have a flatter

4:47

off. But but thank you. I mean, I've

4:49

I've got a lot of reps in on the backhouse, but I

4:51

absolutely love c squared. It's just

4:53

such a welcome addition. And you guys you're

4:56

raising the bars and bar in a lot of respect.

4:58

So much much respect. So

5:00

let's dive into the pod. I mean, we got a lot of

5:02

topics to discuss because

5:04

you your hand is in so many

5:06

sort of stews in the the

5:09

chess world. But

5:11

so you guys started this podcast, and I

5:13

know you've talked a bit about the genesis behind

5:15

it. It's something you wanted to do for a while.

5:18

What has surprised you about actually doing

5:20

it as opposed to when you guys were brainstorming

5:23

it? So

5:25

we we started, I think, talking

5:27

about it sometimes in May.

5:30

I had ideas. Favy, for example, was never

5:33

super active on social media, neither

5:35

was I. But I feel like

5:37

he has such a big

5:39

voice in the world of chess. I felt

5:41

that he should probably do

5:43

something, and I've I've

5:46

talked about this type of topics

5:48

with him in the past as well during the world

5:50

championship match preparation even after

5:52

that, we continued working through

5:55

twenty nineteen as well. So we were always

5:58

discussing these type of ideas, but

6:01

then the pandemic came in twenty

6:03

twenty, twenty twenty two is sort of

6:05

a blur, and I tried my

6:07

hand at streaming but

6:09

streaming is such a tough

6:12

business mostly because you have to be always

6:16

in front of your PC. And I'm

6:18

traveling a lot with, as you mentioned, the commentary

6:20

that that was the big one. And as that

6:22

returned, the franchise to return, the

6:25

tournaments at the St. Louisches club, return

6:27

and I didn't have to stay as

6:30

much in the house. Streaming became

6:32

kind of very very difficult thing

6:34

to do. Podcasting Obviously, I've

6:36

been listening to your podcast for a very

6:38

long time. You've been doing

6:40

it for so many years. You you were

6:42

one of the trailed blazers

6:45

if you wanna put it that way in the world of just

6:47

podcasting. And I feel even

6:50

to this day, I feel like we

6:52

still haven't tapped into

6:54

the market yet, the market of just podcasting.

6:57

I still were very, very early.

6:59

And I felt that as I was discussing

7:02

it with Fabiano as well in May twenty

7:04

twenty two. That's when we kind of seriously

7:07

started talking about it. I think

7:09

it was one of work that's in Romania,

7:11

the branches were in Romania were were just

7:13

having some breakfast then started

7:16

discussing about this idea and I

7:18

was mentioning the idea of starting a

7:20

podcast, and and

7:23

I I invited him my own him

7:25

that, look, I I feel you have a

7:27

voice. You've showed it during the world championship

7:29

match between Napo

7:32

and, I think, what, I guess,

7:34

the NetPoint Magna's match. He

7:37

did great. He got a lot

7:39

of positive feedback. And

7:42

I feel that was kind of a driving force

7:44

for him as well to to to start thinking

7:46

in this direction. And,

7:49

yeah, that's kind of how it started. As

7:53

to what the most difficult thing

7:56

in the first few months because we're

7:58

only, like, five or six months old

8:00

at this point. It

8:02

was just the logistics. The logistics

8:05

are so difficult, especially we

8:08

want to do we had this vision

8:10

of doing a very visual

8:13

heavy, vodka. Yeah. With

8:16

a bunch of cameras, very

8:19

well suited for YouTube. That was

8:21

kind of our our initial vision.

8:24

And so we had to get

8:26

the materials. First of all, get the cameras,

8:28

get the microphones, get everything

8:32

that goes the lights as well, everything

8:34

that kind of goes into into a podcast,

8:36

into the creation and direction of a

8:38

podcast. And then with

8:42

a very limited team, it's me,

8:44

OTB. And occasionally, my

8:47

fiance who acts as a producer as

8:50

well. Now we have some editors as

8:52

well. But putting that team together,

8:55

and moving through the initial phase

8:57

and the logistics of it, carrying all

8:59

the materials and equipment from place

9:02

to place setting up

9:05

in between rounds, sometimes a

9:08

a podcast. And, you know, this is also

9:11

not very easy for Favy who is

9:14

still very much one of the best chess

9:16

players out there, and he has to balance all

9:18

these things. And and I

9:20

I try to keep

9:22

that in mind, you know, and and and not

9:25

put too much weight, too

9:27

much production and logistic weight on

9:29

him as much as possible. But, yeah, those

9:31

were the big problems

9:33

at the beginning, just kind of understanding

9:36

how everything works, the equipment work,

9:38

transporting things from one place to the other,

9:41

setting them up because that takes a

9:43

while as well. We got very proficient at it.

9:46

I think nowadays we can set up, like, a podcasting

9:49

seen, let's say, in more or less

9:51

thirty minutes or so, which is

9:54

in the first couple of times, it took us, like, one

9:56

hours. And that with

9:58

having professionals with us,

10:00

like, my fiance used to work in production.

10:03

So she knows her stuff, but

10:05

still all all

10:07

of these things were were were new. To

10:10

myself, to Favy, and to some

10:12

extent, to to the other

10:14

part of our team as well.

10:16

Well, it's super impressive and the chess

10:18

world certainly appreciate it's your dedication, Cristian.

10:21

But so let's take us behind the scenes

10:23

little bit because that already surprised

10:26

me about I mean, obviously, I I it's clear

10:28

that you're putting a lot into the visual production

10:30

of the podcast, but I wasn't sure if

10:32

you had, like, a permanent studio. And

10:34

I'm also curious, like, where, like,

10:37

Obviously, sometimes you guys are on the road, so

10:39

sometimes circumstances change. But

10:41

when you're in that nice big room with the chest

10:43

set set

10:44

up, where where are you guys doing

10:46

that? Which one? Which

10:48

big room? I

10:51

guess. I think Give me give me

10:53

the guess. That Like, Marie, something like, Maurice

10:57

was done at the Chase Hotel.

11:00

Okay. So that that that was

11:02

in my hotel room during the,

11:04

I think, that was after the

11:06

US championship or perhaps

11:09

in the middle of the US championship. I

11:11

think it was actually in the middle of the US championship.

11:14

Morris came in town and

11:16

we decided to have him on. Hekaru,

11:18

maybe that's one of the ones that

11:21

you were thinking about. That was actually

11:23

done at Eric Rosen's house. You

11:27

you can see that Eric Rosen is also

11:29

having the same background and the same

11:31

scene. In in in that

11:33

one. So we've been finding places

11:35

to to shoot. It's

11:38

it's a traveling podcast. We don't

11:40

have currently studio

11:42

setup. But maybe in the future,

11:44

and and that's kind of the plan. We're gonna

11:46

try to do something. So

11:50

that we're a bit more centered when

11:52

we have guests in Saint Louis. And

11:54

probably, it's going to be Saint Louis as the base

11:56

because that's where Fadi. Far

11:58

we leaves, a lot of potential guests

12:01

also come around very often

12:04

for the tournaments. So that's

12:06

probably the best place. But for the moment, it's

12:09

kind of a traveling podcast.

12:11

Makes sense. Okay. We I I

12:13

mean, I've watched nearly every owed. And

12:15

there's so many standouts. I mean, Maurice and Ricardo,

12:18

obviously, being two of them really enjoyed a

12:20

Levi Lavan?

12:24

LA. He was in LA.

12:27

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Don't worry.

12:29

All over the place.

12:30

During the fight. Now let me ask you, I mean,

12:33

what you allude to with all these equipment, all this

12:35

camera? Like, that stuff is expensive.

12:37

I mean, as as someone who this is

12:39

this is my profession. So I certainly know

12:41

that, you know, the production

12:43

can be expensive and also, like, it's not necessarily

12:46

like, you you don't necessarily get rich from

12:48

a podcast So

12:50

how did you guys approach? Like,

12:52

you're putting all this into it. Has

12:54

that been daunting for you guys?

12:58

III wouldn't say it's daunting.

13:00

We understood early on that we're

13:02

probably going to have some expenses. Those

13:05

expenses especially after the

13:08

equipment is done

13:11

have been leveled out right now. We don't

13:13

have as many things that we need to

13:15

spend money on. Obviously,

13:18

we need an editor. I sometimes

13:20

do the edit, but we

13:23

we usually hire some people as well.

13:25

But those expenses are usually taken care

13:27

of right now

13:29

the business. So yeah.

13:32

We understood there's going to be some expenses

13:35

in the beginning, but we also want to do this

13:37

long term. We don't

13:39

know what the possibilities are

13:42

in terms of this being a

13:44

business venture, but

13:46

this is the way we

13:48

look at it. We also want to produce

13:50

content for chess world. We want to put

13:52

forward the stories of

13:54

of of of chess players. As

13:57

you do as well and as you've been

13:59

doing a great job with that as well.

14:01

So you are an inspiration at the beginning

14:03

for sure. So yeah,

14:05

that's that's that's kind of the vision

14:07

behind it. But yeah. Financially,

14:10

we understood this going to be a strain

14:13

at the

14:13

beginning, but we we

14:16

we took the leap. Nice. Appreciate

14:18

it once again. And, yeah, if I've learned anything

14:20

in the six years I've been doing it is that the

14:22

the chess world has infinite stories. There's

14:25

there's always more stories. There's always

14:27

more compelling guests. I mean, I certainly

14:29

feel like I can I

14:32

can never get to everyone that I would like to

14:34

speak with? And, obviously, you guys with the

14:36

reach that you

14:37

have, like, must feel that even

14:39

more. Yep.

14:41

So so, Christian, we got a question from

14:43

a supporter of perpetual chess who

14:45

you've probably met in St. Louis at some point.

14:47

It is from chess reporter, Chris Wayne

14:49

OTB. Who -- I don't care. -- says,

14:52

what is your ultimate vision for the c squared

14:54

podcast? Do you have any sort of plan? Are you guys just

14:56

taking it day by

14:57

day? And he says so far the content has

14:59

been gold? Yeah.

15:01

I mean, again, so far, III

15:04

would say we're taking it day

15:07

by day, but at the same time,

15:09

we are committed to it.

15:12

We're also just very fresh.

15:15

We we were learning. Uh-huh.

15:17

We we don't know exactly what

15:19

we have to focus on what we improve.

15:22

We're still kind of learning

15:24

the ins and outs of of of

15:27

of podcasting. Work to upload,

15:29

when to upload, what channels

15:32

to distribute your content through.

15:34

So these are all the same question mark.

15:37

Marks for us for

15:39

the moment. But obviously,

15:41

we're getting also better at it. So

15:44

that's actually part of, I think, why

15:46

we both enjoy it so much

15:49

because there's new things that we're learning

15:51

and that keep us engaged. It's

15:54

always fun to learn new things. It's always

15:56

fun to do things that you're not that good at

15:59

and and get better at. So I think this

16:01

is this process has been something

16:03

that we were focusing on and

16:05

we've both enjoyed. As to the

16:10

vinyl vision I

16:13

mean, we want we want to grow it as much

16:15

as possible. We we we want to reach

16:17

an audience and introduce

16:20

new people through the stories

16:22

that we present to the world of

16:24

chess. And I feel

16:26

that's that's a market that's

16:28

been expanding, especially in the last

16:30

few years. And

16:33

there is always new new people

16:35

coming into the world of chess and and new

16:37

fans that maybe

16:40

don't know all the things that we

16:42

know since we've been in the last in

16:44

the chest for for, like, twenty, thirty years.

16:48

Maybe they don't know who I'm

16:51

sure they don't know yes or siro on

16:53

his, but maybe they don't know his stories

16:55

that will. Maybe they

16:57

they they don't know Livon or Roni and as

17:00

as as personally. So maybe they

17:02

don't know Judy Pogar because, you

17:04

know, she retired and they

17:06

don't know her as personally. As

17:10

as maybe we can introduce them

17:12

to her or to other guests. So

17:15

that's the vision. Just introduce

17:18

new people to to

17:20

to to the people of Chaz. Excellent.

17:23

Well, again, quite impressed with it. And

17:25

you say you guys are new in learning, but you guys

17:27

are both quite good. You do a great job facilitating

17:30

the conversation. And obviously, you've had

17:32

a fascinating career in in

17:34

your own right as we've discussed in

17:36

our prior interview and you

17:39

touch on C squared. But Fabiano,

17:42

I mean, as you mentioned, his commentary on

17:44

the Last World Championship was excellent.

17:47

As I told him, when I interviewed him, it

17:49

took me by surprise a little bit. I

17:51

mean, everyone knows he's a brilliant guy.

17:54

It's it's not that, but not

17:56

everyone has the facility for sort of

17:59

cutting through the fat, really explaining

18:02

complicated chest positions. He did an amazing

18:04

job at that. And now I'm equally impressed

18:06

with how forthcoming he's being on

18:08

the the podcast. I mean, stuff

18:10

like when you guys in your episode

18:12

with Jordan Bon Cristian Anish

18:15

Giri, I mean, first of all, the the perspective

18:17

that Fabiana provided on how

18:19

his partnership with the grand

18:21

master, cousin Johnov, ended. I mean, that's something

18:24

you're not gonna get anywhere else. And then

18:26

to hear, like, Anish Chirila, and

18:28

Jordon discussed their own

18:31

personal history and the ups and

18:33

downs of it. Like, it it's just

18:35

incredible perspective. So that's

18:37

basically just me guys me praising you

18:39

guys. But my my question for you, Cristian, is

18:42

do you feel like for Fabbiano to be as forthcoming

18:44

as he is. Is that something that that's taken

18:46

prodding? Or is that just come

18:49

naturally to him once you actually do get

18:51

him in front of the

18:51

mic? I think once you get him in front

18:54

of the mic, it it it comes naturally

18:56

to him, I think. Perhaps

18:58

he wasn't aware of of

19:01

of where he stands. In in

19:03

that regard, previous to

19:05

the world championship match that he

19:07

communicated. But

19:10

after that, after exposing his

19:13

views, his his knowledge of chess

19:16

to a wider audience and receiving such,

19:19

a positive feedback. I think that was definitely

19:21

a trigger for him and and a

19:24

catalyst for him to kind of

19:27

make him open up. And I

19:29

mean, in general, he is a very open guy.

19:31

III knew that before

19:34

because I've been hanging around with him for

19:36

a very long time. But

19:38

those attributes, let's

19:41

say, shine through nowadays through

19:43

the podcast, I want to say. And

19:45

I'm happy to see that the world

19:48

is enjoying it as

19:49

well. Howard Bauchner: Yeah. And

19:51

and we had another good question from a

19:53

Patrion of this one is from Andre

19:55

Develd, and it's on, it's related to

19:57

this topic. He says he's wondering

19:59

if you guys, you, Christian and Fabiano,

20:02

are afraid to combine friendship and

20:04

work would have been part of the team

20:06

part of team Caruana somehow ended

20:09

up as it did with his former second, again

20:11

referring to Cazimano. Are you

20:13

guys afraid that the chances are

20:15

high that at the end of you being part of the small

20:17

team, it could affect your friendship in a regular

20:20

write sorry, in a negative way.

20:22

Yeah. I mean, those are always

20:24

questions that you

20:27

don't know the answer to until until

20:30

it happens, if it happens. Right? Right.

20:33

So yeah. Sure. I mean,

20:35

our working relationship after

20:37

twenty nineteen didn't continue for a few

20:39

years. We just recently started

20:41

once again working a little bit in

20:44

in porements as

20:45

well. I've been helping

20:47

him with with during the

20:49

same field count, for example, and

20:51

then during the recent Tata Steel

20:53

as well. So we've

20:55

resumed that, but yes,

20:58

there was a gap in our

21:00

collaboration as as

21:03

second myself as a second. Now when

21:05

it comes to the podcast, obviously, this

21:07

is a business that we

21:09

are both working

21:13

on. We are

21:15

both kind of collaborators with

21:18

with equal. Right? So at any point,

21:20

it can happen that there's going to be quaroes

21:22

and things of that nature. I hope there's that's

21:24

not going to be the case. But you

21:27

can never not

21:30

have that in the back let's say, not have that in the

21:32

back of your mind or

21:34

or be surprised by it. But, I mean,

21:37

we're good friends. We've known each other for a very

21:39

long time. I

21:41

don't foresee that happening. And

21:45

I hope it certainly doesn't. And I don't

21:47

think that thinking about it should

21:50

stop you from. You know,

21:52

entering in this type of partnerships.

21:56

Yeah. And you OTB was always an

21:58

option. Right. That didn't always happen. Nobody

22:00

knows.

22:01

Right? Yeah. But you you you guys both seem

22:03

at least from the outside looking and fairly easy

22:05

going. But but, Chris, John, you're taking, like,

22:07

double the risk because there's the old

22:09

sort of received advice about,

22:11

like,

22:13

the the potential challenges of having, like,

22:15

a working collaboration with your romantic

22:17

partner and you've got your fiance in there as

22:19

well. So Yeah. That that

22:22

that one is she she just wanted

22:24

to help at the beginning take

22:26

it off the ground. Now I kind

22:28

of shadowed

22:31

her as well as she was

22:33

getting all these things ready. So now I kind

22:35

of know how to do it as well.

22:37

She doesn't have travel with us all the time.

22:40

She usually just comes whenever we are.

22:42

In in in St. Louis. But yes, I mean,

22:45

this type of I

22:47

I feel like we should

22:50

use our resources as much as possible.

22:53

If if they are available to us, and

22:57

she was very, very happy to help.

23:00

And and life yeah. We

23:03

we appreciate her and and everybody

23:05

on the team for

23:05

sure.

23:06

Nice. And congrats on getting engaged, by the

23:08

way. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah.

23:10

Do you have a wedding date or

23:12

soon to be married? Yes. Yes. Yes.

23:15

It is going to happen this year. Okay.

23:17

Well, congrats. Good luck with all the planning. That's

23:19

-- Yeah. -- so it's even more fun

23:22

than podcast coordinating. Yeah.

23:24

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Speaking

23:26

speaking from experience. But let's let's bring it

23:28

back to the chest, Christian. So we

23:31

mentioned Fabiano's current commentary

23:33

on the world championship team we've

23:36

got the next world championship coming up. I can't

23:38

believe it's like a month out. I know

23:40

last vital time this comes

23:41

out. Are you guys planning some coverage

23:43

on that? Have you got that you plan that far

23:46

ahead? No.

23:48

No. Yeah. Neither. We we haven't

23:50

planned that far ahead. And I

23:53

cannot tell you for sure whether we're going

23:56

to do anything or OTB,

23:58

whether Fabbie Arnaud is going to do anything

24:01

or not by himself. We own

24:03

no right now. I

24:06

have to say it's quite unlikely just

24:09

for the simple fact that it's

24:12

Kazakhstan, it's going

24:14

to be three AM for for

24:17

me. I'm not sure what we can we

24:19

don't have that much experience. At

24:23

least our channel is, let's say,

24:25

not advertised

24:29

or built as a streaming

24:31

channel, but -- Right. -- just the

24:34

podcasting channel. So branching

24:37

out, maybe that's an opportunity,

24:39

but we haven't really given it

24:42

much

24:42

thought.

24:43

But I'm sure you'll be discussing the match

24:45

on the pad. Oh, for sure. For sure.

24:47

No. No. No. Absolutely. Now the question

24:49

is whether we're going to do life

24:52

coverage or something like that or, like,

24:54

a recap after the game.

24:57

But certainly, yeah, the world championship

24:59

match is is is going to be interesting.

25:01

Who do you who do you think is gonna win?

25:05

It's it's it's such a fifty fifty

25:07

match in my opinion. Napa

25:10

has the experience, definitely.

25:13

I also think he has a drive. He

25:16

he

25:18

his sense and and he

25:20

felt the way the fit feels and

25:22

and and that can take a lot out of you,

25:24

but it also changes you as a competitor.

25:26

III feel. And when you give

25:29

on a second chance, III

25:32

think he's going to have an upper hand because of

25:34

that. Yeah. Because he felt

25:36

how they feel feels and and he knows how

25:39

close he is right now potentially

25:41

becoming the world chess champion.

25:44

So I think

25:47

Nippo goes into this one

25:49

as the favorite, but only a

25:51

very very slight. Favorite.

25:53

I would want to say fifty

25:54

five, forty five. Okay. Yeah.

25:57

I I more or less agree. definitely

26:00

definitely favor I mean, not on a personal

26:02

sense, but just from a handicapping

26:05

perspective, I do think experience

26:07

matters and and It's huge.

26:09

It's it's huge award championship

26:11

matches such a grueling grueling

26:14

experience. And

26:16

and I know this from from a seconds

26:19

perspective.

26:21

And I and I'm sure it's twice

26:24

three times as drooling from

26:26

a participant's perspective, the

26:28

amount of pressure that you're feeling, the

26:30

amount of I mean, and anything can go

26:32

wrong. Yeah. And and and you know you

26:34

don't know how to prepare for those things if

26:36

you don't have experience. Yeah.

26:40

A lot of things can go wrong. I think NAPO

26:42

probably has a more established team.

26:45

I'm very curious to see what things team

26:47

is going to be looking like. I

26:49

know he's very much a lone

26:52

wolf. In general, he he he he doesn't

26:54

really work with a lot of other

26:56

people. Maybe a

26:59

few of his compatriots here

27:02

and there, but I have never seen

27:04

him travel with anybody. In fact,

27:07

Only recently at Tata Steel, I think he was

27:09

alone. I I haven't seen anybody with

27:11

him. So And

27:14

with all the travel restrictions as

27:17

well, which have eased up little bit

27:19

since since

27:21

last year, but still it's

27:24

OTB clear how his team is

27:26

going to look like and how think

27:28

himself is going to look like and how his preparation

27:30

is going look like going into this one.

27:33

Yeah. It's all kind of shrouded in

27:35

mystery. Yeah. I feel like it's often

27:37

that way surrounding Deng

27:38

and, yeah, that doesn't

27:40

instill as as well

27:43

right now. We don't know much

27:45

about his team going into this work championship

27:47

either. We don't know much about his preparation

27:49

even. Going into this. Yeah.

27:51

I I feel there

27:54

hasn't been much coverage. Right? Right. But

27:56

I'm saying there's a history of of

27:58

institutional support for Napo. There's

28:00

history of big teams and supercomputers.

28:03

I mean, obviously, the geopolitical situation

28:05

unfortunately has gotten worse than Russia.

28:08

So we don't know for sure that he will have that

28:11

kind of support again, but

28:13

considering comparing that to sort

28:16

of the general lack of support that seems

28:18

to be coming from China. I

28:21

think it's a it

28:23

seems more probable to me than the Napo

28:26

has a big team and substantial

28:28

resources behind him than the ding

28:30

does. But you're right. We don't know. Yep.

28:32

Yeah. No. III tend at

28:34

at least instinctually, I

28:36

tend to agree with with that and that's

28:38

why favorite I'm I'm favorite

28:41

never. But

28:44

again, it's it's a world championship

28:46

match. A game can can sway

28:48

the result and can sway the dynamics

28:51

of a match.

28:53

So, yeah, it's it's definitely going

28:55

to be interesting as any more championship

28:57

matches. Yeah. And

28:59

you mentioned, of course, working on as

29:02

a second. Was that more stressful

29:04

than playing in a tournament

29:05

yourself, equal -- Yeah. -- less?

29:07

Oh, yeah. No. No. No. Way more stressful than

29:09

playing in in the random

29:11

twenty twenty five part with the

29:13

headset. I'm I'm playing. What

29:15

about, like, what's the youth championship, though? Like,

29:17

something that that really matter to you.

29:19

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I didn't have

29:21

too many worries when when I was that age.

29:24

When I was sixteen, eighteen, whatever,

29:27

though the the those were the times I

29:29

didn't have too many problems on not

29:31

not that I have any problems right now, but, you know,

29:33

I life as

29:36

as an

29:36

adults, let's say, gets more complicated. But,

29:40

yeah, it's not even comparable. The

29:43

world championship match immediately

29:46

after I realized that I'm starting to

29:48

have gray hair. So immediately

29:50

after I I was, like, completely shocked

29:53

by by

29:55

OTB But yes, it's

29:58

definitely grueling. You dedicate

30:01

so many months of

30:04

your time, think I spent maybe at home

30:07

two to three months. And I

30:11

guess, through this medium, I have to say thank you

30:13

to to to my fiance

30:16

that she Yeah.

30:20

She was able to deal with that because

30:23

it's not an easy thing to do. I was gone.

30:26

I think my longest in

30:28

preparation for that

30:29

much. Match was three months.

30:34

Consecutively. We we

30:36

went at the camp,

30:38

then maybe we stayed like couple of days at

30:40

home, then we traveled to Europe for. For

30:42

I I believe it was the old Indian.

30:46

And then immediately a camp,

30:49

which was the longest camp. And Yeah.

30:52

It was three months from

30:54

that particular moment to the end of the mesh that

30:57

I didn't see. I

30:59

don't see her. So yeah. It's it's

31:01

it's it's grueling especially if you have family

31:04

behind you.

31:04

Yeah. That's tough. And then when

31:06

the games are going on, I've interviewed some

31:08

seconds where they say, like, their biggest

31:10

fear is, like, something from their own

31:13

prep showing up and and

31:15

going

31:15

wrong. Is is that how it was for you?

31:18

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. It's

31:22

it's it's a painful

31:24

experience for sure because especially

31:27

when one

31:29

of the games or one of the positions

31:31

that you've analyzed arises

31:35

on the board. Then you start

31:37

having these conflicting thoughts. Maybe

31:40

it's going to work out. But

31:42

also, maybe I missed something. Right.

31:45

Especially when the

31:47

opponent blitzes out or,

31:49

like, go straight into it with confidence

31:52

and then you start questioning, wait. Did

31:54

we be something in the preparation? So

31:57

those definitely are are

32:01

interesting feelings for sure,

32:04

very conflicting feelings for

32:07

sure. And, you know, sometimes if

32:09

if the player wins, it it goes great

32:11

that everybody's happy. If

32:14

if if the player loses, then

32:18

yeah, the boat can be very

32:20

daunting. And did you have any

32:23

any stories you can tell about your own particular

32:25

prep? In twenty eighteen? I

32:29

mean, we we all did

32:33

III would say the most prep

32:35

that was played and and

32:39

the type of positions that we

32:41

entered were in the rapid

32:43

match,

32:44

especially --

32:45

No, man. -- and -- Definitely stressful. It

32:48

was obviously stressful and

32:50

it wasn't very pleasant because even if the

32:53

opening phase went well, the

32:55

middle game phase did not go.

32:57

Very, very well. And unfortunately, we

32:59

know what happened

33:01

in in in in the rapid portion.

33:05

But, yeah, those III

33:07

would say the Shrashnikov was was a big

33:09

one that that I was working on without

33:11

giving the wash detail. I

33:14

worked on some some some petroff

33:16

as well. And the petroff,

33:18

when well, funny

33:21

enough. I think it was

33:23

a few months after the world championship match

33:25

that Fabiano found a hole. one

33:28

of the lines that I was looking

33:30

at and but

33:33

that was just only months later with stronger

33:35

engines. But yes, Luckily,

33:40

they didn't find that whole view in the batch.

33:42

Okay. And we've got another listener

33:44

question, Cristian, your popular guy.

33:46

So we got some good submitted.

33:48

This one is from Rory

33:51

Lopez who asks, he says, reflecting

33:53

on the two thousand eighteen WCC, Fabiano

33:56

came tantalizingly close to

33:58

the title. According to your recollection,

34:00

were there moments during the match in which

34:02

you thought Fabiano was gonna break the deadlock?

34:05

If so, could you elaborate on those games?

34:08

Oh, yeah. I

34:10

mean, it was I'm

34:13

I'm I'm I'm trying to remember what the

34:15

the number of the game. I think it was maybe

34:17

game game

34:19

four and six or game

34:21

six and eight I remember it was,

34:26

I believe, two difference. One of them

34:28

is it was with white. In

34:30

the treasury cover, I think the first one when

34:32

we uncorked a nice

34:34

novelty, and

34:37

he got a crushing position, and

34:39

then he lost a very

34:41

important tempo with with the move

34:43

h three, Fabiano. So

34:45

it was why he played this move h three

34:47

at at that kind of blue away

34:51

the advantage. That was a difficult

34:53

one because when you we got him

34:57

in that variation. We knew, we surprised him,

34:59

we we it it was a very

35:01

powerful opening opening

35:04

idea. It was a domigas,

35:06

in fact, that

35:08

found that. Domigas was

35:11

in Saint Louis. So he sent that

35:14

idea overnight. We continued

35:16

analyzing it during the day. I was

35:18

with RoostUp in Atlanta and

35:20

with Avianca. And we

35:22

decided to play it, and it was a very, very good

35:24

idea. It is ninety

35:26

five Freshnikov. Which

35:29

worked, gave him a great position. Unfortunately,

35:33

that very I'm

35:37

trying to find let's

35:39

say, it was a shy move.

35:42

This this move h three that basically just

35:45

slightly improved but lost

35:47

a critical tempo that allowed black to

35:49

regroup his species. So that was painful.

35:52

And then It

35:55

was in the game, I believe it

35:57

was game six where

35:59

he was black in the petroff. And

36:03

he got a great end game

36:05

outplayed Magnus, and this was

36:07

actually one of the key findings and key

36:10

takeaways. From this

36:12

benchmark. We are on a healthy zone in

36:14

the end gate phase. And in

36:17

those last couple of hours, face,

36:20

which were always like, yeah, Magnus, that's

36:22

when he outplaced his opponents because

36:25

he he has great stamina.

36:28

Great energy in the in those last

36:30

couple of hours of gameplay. And

36:34

he's very resilient. Well, Babbiano

36:37

matched those attributes during the match

36:39

very, very well. So we

36:41

were happy with with that. And he

36:43

was able to almost win

36:45

with the black pieces. If you remember, it was some

36:48

sort of a computer win

36:50

in, like, sixty four moves or something

36:53

like that. That.

36:55

Was that a study like one? It it was a

36:57

study like -- Yes. Yeah. -- yes. Yes.

36:59

I mean, it was a study like defense to get

37:01

to that point for Macs. So

37:03

just an incredible defense by Magnus

37:06

once he understood his his his

37:08

worse. And then, unfortunately, he

37:10

did not find the pattern necessary

37:13

to to to convert that

37:14

one, Fabiano, that is, and the

37:16

game ended in a draw.

37:20

So those were the good moments for us.

37:22

At the same time,

37:24

the reverse of the coin is is is

37:26

the first game. In

37:29

which Favy with the white

37:31

pieces got surprised, a

37:33

magnum seat credible preparation came

37:35

with his showed

37:38

the the Sureshnikov his his

37:41

his his preparation for the match, and

37:44

he got a winning advantage. And

37:46

right before the time travel actually,

37:48

right of authority, I think he he blew it.

37:51

Luckily for me, The

37:53

first day was the only day

37:55

that I was able to to

37:59

to take a nap during the route. So

38:01

I missed the part where he was completely

38:04

over the face. Mhmm. Right? And then I

38:06

woke up immediately after the time trouble that

38:08

he was doing just fine. Right.

38:11

He finally equalized. So I

38:15

didn't go through this whole roller

38:17

coaster of emotions in that one. And,

38:20

of course, the last game was

38:24

very intriguing as well because Obviously,

38:27

we were trying as much as

38:29

possible to finish the

38:32

finish the match before. The

38:34

rapid portion. We

38:37

didn't want to go that much into the rapid.

38:39

We knew that we're going I mean, we

38:41

knew that that's a possibility going

38:45

all the way to, like, the middle

38:47

of the match. We understood that this is going to

38:49

be a very tightly contested match. There's

38:51

a very high likelihood that we're going to

38:53

go into the rapid tie breaks. But

38:56

we were definitely trying to put as much pressure

38:58

and not go there,

39:00

especially when we have the white pieces. So

39:04

you have the white pieces in the last

39:05

one. Magnus

39:07

just decided to

39:10

to make a draw from

39:13

what some said was a winning

39:15

position. Obviously, they didn't have

39:17

engines in front of them. I think the engine

39:19

was showing something along the lines of

39:22

minus one point five, something

39:24

along those lines. You know? Gary

39:27

came out and said that Magnus

39:30

maybe doesn't have it anymore. Right. You have

39:33

the the

39:35

mental resilience

39:37

that he once had. But we

39:39

understood it was a calculated decision

39:43

by Magnus if you want. Just have

39:45

four games to decide to match rather than want

39:47

games to decide to match. But

39:51

we were also elated because we knew that he

39:53

was he was worse. I did not

39:55

expect the game to finish as as soon

39:58

as as it finished. And

40:00

when I saw that they they

40:02

shook hands and and decided to call it to draw,

40:04

I had to run from my hotel because I was

40:07

the one usually tasked with

40:09

waiting for Bobby to come out of the match and

40:11

go to the press conference and then go

40:13

together back to the hotel. So

40:15

I had to run from our hotel like,

40:18

catch him just

40:21

in time to to to go back to

40:23

the hotel. But yeah. We

40:26

were related. We were happy that

40:30

no accidents happened in

40:32

in the last

40:32

one. But yeah, fortunately after

40:35

that the the rapid came about.

40:38

Amazing behind the scenes perspective. And

40:40

Cristian hearing you talk about being in London.

40:43

That's another thing where I've been lucky to hear

40:45

stories from like Peter Heinn Nielsen being, you

40:47

know, famously telling the story, and I think

40:49

the covered in the Anan files of, like,

40:51

being in Moscow and, like, not even realizing

40:53

they're right across the street from Red Square because, like,

40:55

they never opened the curtain of their

40:58

their their hotel window. Yeah.

41:00

What was life like for you in

41:02

London? Like, how much I'm sure you're trying

41:04

to sort of protect Fabiano

41:07

from, like, any media, maelstrom, any

41:09

sort of, you know, Monday

41:12

morning quarterbacking that you might hear if

41:14

you get online. But what was it like for the second?

41:16

Are you watching game recaps? Are you reading

41:19

news stories about the

41:20

match? Or do you try to sort of sequester

41:22

yourself as well. Oh, for sure.

41:24

I mean, it's impossible to to to stay completely

41:26

away from it. But at the same time,

41:28

the focus was on one thing

41:30

and one goal only, and we

41:34

had to to to maintain

41:36

that. So I

41:38

would say the most difficult

41:41

was actually the physical aspect of it.

41:44

Just going through three weeks,

41:46

and we came into this very

41:49

well prepared, I want to say, from from

41:51

that perspective. We

41:53

were eating well. We had the camp in

41:55

in Spain. Leading

41:58

up to the war championship match. We

42:00

were getting a lot of sun, getting

42:02

a lot of workouts in.

42:04

So physically, we we

42:06

came very well prepared into

42:08

the match. But, you know, you you get

42:10

to London. The weather is

42:12

not amazing. One

42:14

thing we didn't have was was

42:16

a chef with us that Magnus

42:19

always brings, and I think it's something

42:21

that's extremely, extremely important. And I'm

42:23

sure you've there's ever

42:26

an opportunity to do this again. That's

42:28

one thing that we will not

42:31

sleep under the rug. The the the necessity

42:34

for having somebody that can cook

42:36

you healthy meals. I think that's quite important.

42:39

So you

42:41

know, we were going, we found a few restaurants,

42:44

not a lot of diversity because you have to optimize

42:47

your timing as well. You don't have

42:49

a lot of time to eat. Three

42:51

meals a day when you

42:53

have so much preparation to do and then

42:55

when you have to play a match. So

43:00

Yeah. Those were, I would say,

43:02

the hard parts. Were we

43:04

seeing sun? Yeah. I mean, we were seeing

43:06

quite quite a lot of sun. I mean,

43:09

the workflow was good. The workflow was

43:11

definitely good. It was not something that we

43:14

struggled very much with. Sure.

43:16

Maybe we're sleeping five, six

43:19

hours a night, which

43:24

it proved to be enough. By

43:26

the end of it, I had some

43:28

problems with with my back. So,

43:33

you know, from sitting so much in front of

43:35

the computer. Not

43:37

moving as much, but yeah.

43:39

I mean, those are the

43:41

drawbacks of of of of of of of of of of playing

43:44

such such a ruling match.

43:47

Sounds

43:47

like a terrible experience, and I'm guessing you do it

43:49

again if you had the opportunity? Absolutely. Absolutely.

43:52

No. It's it's it's conflicting

43:56

emotions. Let's just put it that way. It's always

43:58

conflicting emotions. As you are into

44:01

it, it's very easy to

44:03

run on adrenaline. I

44:05

think this is what we we ran on

44:07

for whatever the match

44:10

the ratio was like three weeks or something

44:13

along those lines. You you do

44:15

run on adrenaline. By

44:18

the end of it, after the last day,

44:20

my body actually collapsed. I

44:24

had I had a drink after

44:28

that night after loss, I

44:31

had, like, half a glass of whiskey

44:33

or something like

44:34

that. That

44:34

was your first drink? The whole That was my first drink

44:36

in, like, a long, long time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We

44:39

we we didn't drink anything in in preparation

44:42

or anything of that, not not even like

44:44

beer. So

44:47

we were pretty serious about it. But

44:49

after the match ended, the

44:51

adrenaline just rushed through the

44:55

the the body, you know, and

44:57

and and that was it. That was total collapse

44:59

that night. I had I

45:01

had cold cold sweats during

45:04

the night. I barely made it to my

45:06

flight. And and OTB

45:08

was actually in the same condition as I as

45:10

I was. So and

45:13

I'm sure he can elaborate more on

45:15

that if he wants to. But,

45:17

yeah, there there were some physical

45:21

physical problems, especially towards the

45:23

end of it. Sounds

45:25

intense. And hearing you describe it, of course,

45:28

it makes a bit of sense to me why

45:30

Magna stepped

45:31

down. I mean, it's it's quite the meat grinder.

45:33

It is. It is. Yeah. Yeah. No.

45:36

I I understand his decision.

45:42

Yeah. And yeah. It's it's

45:44

it's really tough. Yeah. And we have

45:46

another related listener question. This one's

45:48

from Chris Burke. And He

45:51

says as a player, but mostly a fan, the

45:53

shorter time controls are much, all

45:55

capital, much more accessible and

45:57

enjoyable. But he'd like to know where

45:59

you see the future of chess in ten years. Do

46:01

you think the trend will continue to more rapid

46:03

blitz in nine sixty? And then he says,

46:06

by the way, the c squared podcast is really

46:08

a every time it drops. Yeah.

46:12

III don't see how it doesn't

46:14

become. More part

46:16

of the equation of

46:19

chess. The

46:22

spectators enjoy it more. It

46:24

feels like even though the

46:26

tension that builds

46:28

up during a long long game,

46:31

especially when the stakes are high, that

46:35

also doesn't feel at

46:37

least by the numbers to be

46:40

is quite unmatched. Like, if you look at

46:42

the numbers of a world championship match,

46:44

they're pretty much the highest. At

46:47

the same time, when you see the numbers

46:49

of ash between Magnus and Hikaru also

46:52

its jaw dropping. Right?

46:54

So it's

46:56

driven by the spectators. It's

46:58

also driven by the the players.

47:00

The players enjoy it more. The players enjoy

47:03

rapidly more. They

47:05

they they seem to want compete more

47:09

in in that format as well as

47:12

online just because they can do it from the comfort

47:14

of their homes. They don't have to travel.

47:18

If they have a family, they don't have to miss

47:20

days at at home. So I

47:24

see a lot of factors that

47:26

are driving chess into

47:31

that shape. At the same time, I

47:34

hope that classical justice

47:36

is not going to be completely phased out because

47:39

it does have its

47:42

particular appeal. You

47:44

know, it's it's very tense. There

47:49

is a build up that you don't have

47:51

when when you watch rapid and blitz

47:53

games. And,

47:57

yeah, you can work with that. As

48:00

sponsors, as broadcasters, as

48:03

as platforms that want to and

48:06

as players as well, you can work with that. But

48:09

yes, III think

48:12

at best for classical chess, we're going to see

48:14

something along the lines of eighty percent.

48:17

From -- in ten years from now, eighty percent

48:20

revenue blades and maybe twenty percent classical

48:23

just. And one thing about classical

48:25

chess, it cannot be played online.

48:28

Right. So so so so that's a big

48:30

drawback. For classical chess. You you cannot

48:33

play classical chess online. It's

48:35

just impossible. I mean, you're going to have to go to

48:37

the bathroom every now and then there's going

48:39

to always be What is he doing in the bathroom?

48:41

Nobody can you know, you're in the comfort of

48:44

your home. If somebody

48:46

starts playing too well, then

48:48

then there's always going to be the lingering Cristian,

48:51

what was happening during those bathroom breaks.

48:53

We cannot see the whole room with with with

48:56

the cameras, these type of questions. So,

48:59

yeah, that classical chess only

49:01

face to face, which has a particular

49:04

appeal as well. But as

49:06

we move on into

49:08

this digital

49:09

edge, I would say, it

49:12

will take a seat back for sure. Yeah.

49:14

I mean, Procter classical

49:17

chess is, of course, possible where

49:19

you have representatives say from chess

49:21

dot com at the facility of

49:23

each competitor. But when you're

49:25

playing a slow game, I sort of feel like like

49:28

kinda defeats the

49:29

purpose.

49:29

It defeats the purpose. Yep. Yeah. And

49:33

and broadly, I agree with you. But

49:36

I always do feel I always see them in

49:38

the comments and get emails, so I always do feel

49:40

compelled to say, I know the classical

49:42

chess fans are out there, you know. And I'm I'm not

49:45

I'm not necessarily saying I disagree

49:47

with you. I mean, something like the

49:49

the tenses of the game six between

49:52

Magnus and Nepo. Like, it's tough

49:54

to match that -- Mhmm. -- in in an online.

49:57

Game. But, you know, we

50:00

we all have to make trade offs in life and

50:02

think the benefits of online

50:05

overall outweigh the

50:09

the detriments, but hopefully hopefully the classical

50:12

world championship can can continue and I

50:14

I want. You you know that that's that's

50:16

key. I think the the classical world

50:18

share championship. And and it's a period

50:20

from that perspective, it's a period that Magnus

50:23

doesn't. Doesn't fit anymore. Because

50:27

it's not going to be the same. Yeah. Let

50:29

let's be honest about it. It's not going to be the

50:31

same. You don't have Magnus in world championship match

50:34

with everybody knowing that right now,

50:37

objectively, he is the best player

50:39

on the planet. The

50:41

world championship match is going to have an asterisk

50:44

next it. And

50:47

we're going to have to wait and see what

50:52

what the impact of that will be on the audience,

50:54

on the spectators, on

50:58

global audience. That we'll be

51:00

tuning in. So we will compare those numbers

51:02

and see exactly where we stand and see

51:05

whether classical chess without

51:10

such a player like Magnus

51:14

has the future in the

51:16

near term.

51:19

Yeah, we will see. But speaking of

51:21

classical chess, Christian, you, yourself,

51:23

made a somewhat rare return

51:25

to the chessboard in November of

51:28

last

51:28

year. How was that

51:29

a pretty different return, I want to

51:31

say? You you did a God, Jerome. Yeah.

51:33

You did pretty well. No.

51:35

No. No. Oh, man. That was

51:38

yeah. Yeah. It was tough,

51:40

but it it was definitely necessary. I

51:42

really wanted to play. I mean, being

51:44

on the sidelines for three years, I would

51:46

have never expected it. If you would have

51:48

asked me like twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen,

51:51

twenty eighteen, whether I will

51:53

ever have like break in the next twenty

51:55

years of more than a few months of

51:57

not playing chess, I would say, no,

51:59

absolutely not. And

52:02

then you know, the pandemic gave. The

52:05

job got in the way. The jobs got in the

52:07

way on on

52:09

some degree. It became more

52:12

and more difficult to

52:14

find time to to play myself.

52:16

And once

52:19

I got the opportunity to play in this

52:21

spring classic. I I and

52:24

and, you know, the same leisure club is one

52:26

place that I really enjoy playing. They

52:28

they they make chest

52:31

professionals and chest flares. Even

52:33

if they're, like, twenty five hundreds and not, like, twenty

52:35

eight hundreds, they they made them feel like celebrities

52:38

and and professionals. They

52:41

they respect the the

52:43

craft. So it's always a pleasure

52:45

to play there, and that's why I wanted

52:47

to return. There at the San

52:50

Francisco. Also, in the US,

52:53

for the most part, the open events are

52:56

two rounds a day, which is something that I really

52:58

despise, but -- Yeah. -- that's just

53:00

that's just because I got too comfortable. That's

53:03

not my my mistake. I got too comfortable,

53:05

you know, III really don't enjoy it. And

53:07

I know that just playing is OTB,

53:12

like, my main career, let's say. Right?

53:15

That's now not how I make a living. So

53:17

you know, whenever

53:19

I do it, I I try to enjoy it.

53:23

I I wonder, I started off horrendously,

53:26

I think -- Mhmm. -- I I lost

53:28

the first one. I barely

53:30

scape the second one. I

53:33

had I was two points

53:35

down in the end game against

53:38

against Hungarian

53:40

player that just to the US to attend

53:43

college at Webster trying to remain Kantor.

53:45

Get Get rid Kantor. Twenty

53:47

five seventy something. Very

53:50

decent player. With the white pieces

53:52

tried to scotch didn't go

53:54

well, and I got the losing

53:56

position. Manage

53:58

to save it, and that kind of turned the event.

54:01

Because after that, I I

54:04

maybe I lost another one

54:07

Yeah. I lost it around three, I guess, you,

54:11

with the black and a massive And

54:15

But after that, I, you know, I started

54:17

writing the ship. And I felt that

54:19

my game is sort of coming back.

54:22

I I was confident despite the

54:25

result I was preparing well.

54:28

I was, you know, giving

54:30

enough time to preparation choosing

54:33

the right openings. I

54:35

was having ideas as to work

54:37

to look and what to choose in terms of openings.

54:39

So that's very important as well because when

54:42

you don't have ideas, you kind of struggle with that

54:44

and it can become tedious.

54:46

But I had that energy

54:48

that you have whenever you don't do some thing

54:50

for a very long time that you enjoy it

54:52

and,

54:52

you know, if you do it too much, then it becomes

54:55

too much like a job. If you if

54:57

you don't do it for a very long time, you have that

55:00

app type for it

55:02

as well. So I had that appetite and that helped

55:05

start the ship back, finished on plus one.

55:08

Very good final game against Lenderman with

55:11

a black pieces and

55:14

and yeah. Very happy

55:16

with the result. Yeah. London was strong.

55:19

So He

55:20

won

55:20

tournament with, I

55:23

think, one or two rounds

55:25

there. So by the time I played him, he

55:28

already won the tournament. So

55:30

Yeah.

55:32

And when you're ramping back up, I mean, that

55:34

was your first turn in three years. In our

55:36

as you mentioned, if you you said if you had asked me in

55:38

two thousand sixteen, two thousand seventeen and two thousand did

55:40

ask you in two thousand seventeen, and you

55:42

talked about wanting to reach two thousand six

55:44

hundred. Obviously, no one foresaw the

55:46

pandemic. I mean, life gets

55:48

in the way. But when you're ramping

55:51

up for a tournament

55:51

Cristian, do you did you have time to study

55:54

much? Like, how did you approach it going in?

55:56

No. No. I didn't study much

55:59

at all, but I

56:02

do study on a continuous basis

56:04

because of my students. At

56:06

the university, they're they're most

56:09

of them are better than I am in

56:12

in, you know, in terms of adjustability. So

56:14

I have to get

56:17

quite creative when I'm preparing materials

56:19

for them.

56:21

I very often compete with them. During

56:24

trainings as well. Sometimes

56:28

I get to to to play games, practice

56:31

games with them. We play

56:33

positions together. So despite

56:35

the fact that I haven't played, I was still

56:37

training on a continuous basis.

56:40

And I think that's actually quite important. For

56:43

just very general. You you

56:45

want to continuously practice

56:47

it. Even if you practice it for, like, one,

56:49

two hours a day, maybe not, you know,

56:52

the touted, the six to eight hours a day.

56:55

But if you do it continuously, I think

56:57

your game definitely improves.

56:59

I felt that was the case with me despite

57:02

the fact that I didn't have that competitive

57:05

aspect to back it up. And

57:08

sure, the first couple of games were

57:10

rough. But as soon as that

57:12

competitive speed it kind of

57:15

came

57:15

back. I I found that my

57:17

play was was good

57:19

enough. And, Christian, that's a perfect segue

57:21

into our last question from David

57:23

Lasers, which is, again,

57:26

I think you just answered it, but what

57:28

is your primary role as the coach of

57:31

Missouri University of Missouri.

57:33

Yeah. So we

57:35

started the program in twenty nineteen. It

57:39

was an initiative backed by the St.

57:41

Louischez Club. So

57:43

it's kind of like an equal

57:45

effort. Of the St. Richard's Club and the University

57:47

of Missouri. My

57:51

primary goal is as

57:54

a head coach and manager of

57:58

of of the team. So initially, In

58:00

the first year, it was

58:02

recruiting because we were a new

58:04

program and all the established

58:06

programs recruited on on

58:09

a year by year basis, they never stopped.

58:11

So it's – the

58:14

chess world is very small and especially

58:16

the chess world. And the chess pool

58:18

of players that are ready

58:20

for university and are good enough to

58:23

receive a full right scholarship at one

58:25

of these competitive universities. So The

58:27

first year I want to say was the most difficult

58:29

one as as a manager

58:31

because I had to find very quickly four

58:35

players. That's what we need for a

58:37

full Pan American team to

58:39

compete at the Pan American, which is one of

58:41

the most important tournaments. Of

58:43

the collegiate year. So first

58:47

year was difficult recruiting luckily.

58:51

We managed to get a very

58:53

decent bunch of players. One

58:55

of them right now is the highest rated player in

58:57

college just so I cannot complain too much.

59:00

Talking about Gregory O'Paret, who's

59:02

one of the founding members,

59:05

let's say, of of our

59:07

team. But,

59:10

yeah, outside of that, my

59:12

role is to just coach

59:14

them. Coach and manage

59:17

them and and manage this

59:20

very crucial transition for just

59:24

player, but also for a young young

59:28

player. Right? Because most of the players that

59:30

we have at the university are between the

59:32

age of eighteen and twenty

59:35

something, twenty one, twenty two.

59:38

And that's a very crucial

59:40

transition. Most of them are also

59:43

international, so they have to

59:46

change cultures, change location,

59:49

sometimes leave their families behind

59:51

for a prolonged period of time, which

59:53

is not an easy task to do. I've

59:57

done that myself, so I feel that this

59:59

kind of plays into my role as well the

1:00:01

fact that I have the experience necessary

1:00:03

to tell them, hey, look,

1:00:05

this is, you know, this is a difficult

1:00:08

time, but here is how you deal with it.

1:00:12

So those

1:00:14

are my main tasks, coaching them.

1:00:18

On a weekly basis,

1:00:21

continuous basis and

1:00:23

help them with the transition from a

1:00:25

managerial point of view. Makes

1:00:28

sense. And for someone like a parent who's so

1:00:30

strong, like, what do you do in terms of helping

1:00:32

his chest? Yeah.

1:00:35

I mean, all all

1:00:37

all all the coaching

1:00:39

that we do, I feel,

1:00:41

help No matter if you're, like, twenty three,

1:00:43

twenty four hundred or twenty six, twenty seven

1:00:45

hundred. The

1:00:48

materials that I prepare are for

1:00:53

for for very high ratings, very

1:00:56

high capabilities. So I

1:00:59

I'm they're not having an easy

1:01:01

time. During training for sure.

1:01:03

I think that's quite important. We

1:01:06

also have individual trainings

1:01:08

outside of the

1:01:11

group trainings that we often do.

1:01:13

We also have individual trainings, which

1:01:16

I think are quite important.

1:01:18

That gives me a time and

1:01:20

an opportunity to assess how

1:01:23

they're doing from an individual point

1:01:25

of view whether they're

1:01:28

having to time in terms of their chest,

1:01:31

chest training, and just

1:01:34

form whether they're doing well

1:01:36

in school because a lot of things can impact

1:01:39

the quality of their play school.

1:01:43

Problems at home, problems

1:01:45

with other colleagues,

1:01:47

who knows, anything that's

1:01:49

going on in their lives, and those things are

1:01:51

things that I have to assess whenever we have

1:01:53

this individual trainings as well. So

1:01:56

but what I can do for him and what

1:01:58

I've been doing for the last four years

1:02:00

are Yeah. Just keeping

1:02:03

a close eye on on his training,

1:02:05

directing his training. He

1:02:08

does a lot of things on his own as well. He's

1:02:10

a very diligent player, and this is something that

1:02:13

I try to to to teach

1:02:15

them how to do. I

1:02:18

try to teach them to be good on their own.

1:02:20

As well because I

1:02:22

don't have the time necessary

1:02:26

to spend with each individually

1:02:29

all the time. I sometimes am gone

1:02:31

for a commentary gig, like, three

1:02:33

weeks at a time, and then they have to deal with it.

1:02:36

Deal with, let's say, competition that

1:02:39

is coming up for them on their own. Sometimes,

1:02:43

for example, during the grand Swiss with a foreign

1:02:46

I worked as more or less a second. Even

1:02:48

though he wasn't representing the Misu

1:02:51

team, I worked

1:02:53

with him as as as a second.

1:02:56

So the

1:02:58

competition being in Europe, I was generally

1:03:01

speaking with him during the day here and

1:03:04

when it was night at him and then doing

1:03:07

doing work for him while he was sleeping and

1:03:09

then he was basically checking whatever

1:03:11

work we did when he was waking

1:03:13

up. So, yeah,

1:03:16

those are some of the things that

1:03:19

that we do on a continuous basis to

1:03:22

to try to get the blurs better. Sounds

1:03:24

like a lot of work, but it's good that they're

1:03:27

understanding of your own schedule that they're

1:03:29

building a way at

1:03:29

times. Oh, yeah.

1:03:30

It's good that they understand and it's good that the you

1:03:32

are and and and the sale issues club understands

1:03:34

that as well. Yeah. Yeah. Perhaps just

1:03:37

as important. And

1:03:39

speaking of St. Louis, Christian,

1:03:41

the the last topic I have in mind

1:03:43

is, of course, an unfortunate one,

1:03:45

both on perpetual chest. I mentioned

1:03:48

briefly in a prior episode,

1:03:50

and I know you guys covered on squared

1:03:52

the allegations around Alejandra

1:03:55

Ramirez just for

1:03:57

for listeners who are

1:03:59

not familiar. I think most will be,

1:04:01

but basically Jen Haddie put out

1:04:03

a statement saying that there

1:04:05

are allegations of she herself alleged

1:04:08

to us sexual misconduct, and she said she'd

1:04:10

independently received reports

1:04:12

of sexual misconduct. And then

1:04:15

once it came out, she

1:04:18

when she elaborated that she'd

1:04:20

heard from even more people,

1:04:23

the US chest issue to stay meant, they said as

1:04:25

an organization, we're committed to do process

1:04:27

and for dealing with sensitive matters in

1:04:29

a respectful and confidential manner. At

1:04:32

the conclusion of any process related to a

1:04:34

formal complaint, both compliance and respondents

1:04:36

are notified about the disposition of the

1:04:38

matter along with sanctions that are imposed

1:04:42

St. Louis Chest Clubs had a statement

1:04:44

that said the Chest Club is aware

1:04:46

of Mishahati's social media posts regarding

1:04:48

mister Ramirez that cannot comment further

1:04:50

at this time. And

1:04:54

grand master Ramirez is lawyer

1:04:56

said that he categorically denies

1:04:58

the allegations. So I

1:05:00

know there's not too much we can say. It's a

1:05:02

sensitive topic. You know, both parties

1:05:05

involved, but I am just curious,

1:05:07

Christian, if you're able to

1:05:08

answer, like, did did you did you know

1:05:10

this was coming at all? No.

1:05:12

No. No. No. III

1:05:15

did not know that it was coming. I see a lot

1:05:17

of things being

1:05:19

written that this was some sort of

1:05:21

a dark secret in

1:05:23

in inside the chess world that that

1:05:26

it was known about Alejandro. III

1:05:28

didn't know that about Alejandro. I have

1:05:30

not seen those

1:05:33

type of things with my own eyes. And

1:05:36

I've also had students,

1:05:39

personal students that have trained

1:05:43

with him as well. For example,

1:05:45

the board one at the Olympic US Olympic

1:05:47

team is a current student at

1:05:49

at at Mizuho. And none of

1:05:51

these concerns were brought to my attention.

1:05:54

And I hope and I'd like to think

1:05:56

that if there would have been something,

1:05:59

it would have been brought to my attention. So,

1:06:02

yes. No. I did not know that it

1:06:04

was a complete shock. It still is, to be honest.

1:06:07

I mean,

1:06:10

this is very personal to me as well

1:06:13

in some capacity. Of course, my

1:06:17

sympathies are definitely with

1:06:20

with the alleged victims,

1:06:22

and and this is very, very important to

1:06:25

understand that sexual assault is is

1:06:28

a Yeah. It's it's huge. And

1:06:31

it has to be dealt with swiftly and

1:06:34

decisively. So But

1:06:36

at the same time, I I feel

1:06:38

there has to be due process, and we

1:06:41

have to wait until we

1:06:43

have all the information available the

1:06:46

parties that are conducting investigations right

1:06:49

now to finish

1:06:51

those investigations. I think that's that

1:06:53

that that's quite important. That's why we chose them.

1:06:56

CSQ to not delve

1:06:59

deeper into into this

1:07:01

very unpleasant topic. So

1:07:03

yeah. Those

1:07:08

those are, I would say, some of

1:07:11

some of my comments. Okay.

1:07:13

Yeah. And obviously, you

1:07:16

know, there's legal

1:07:18

issues involved. So I I appreciate

1:07:20

you're you're speaking about it. And

1:07:23

Yeah. I mean,

1:07:23

obviously, the the main thing think that

1:07:25

we all want is for for the truth to come out,

1:07:27

whatever Absolutely. Absolutely.

1:07:30

This this this is the most important again,

1:07:33

it's it's a very sensitive and very important

1:07:35

topic as well. And

1:07:40

it should be dealt with it. Very,

1:07:42

very safety. Absolutely. Okay.

1:07:46

Well well, Christian, I'm sorry to end

1:07:48

on a somber. No. Any let's

1:07:51

let's find something brighter to end

1:07:53

on. Do you do you have a

1:07:55

so we were just discussing

1:07:56

OTB. Any other any other tournaments

1:07:59

on your calendar? I

1:08:02

I'm I'm I just

1:08:04

accepted an invitation to play in

1:08:07

Sharjah

1:08:07

master. Which is going to come

1:08:10

in May. I

1:08:12

think it will be one day

1:08:14

after the conclusion of the

1:08:17

GCT

1:08:18

Romania, which I would be doing commentary for

1:08:22

in Bucharas. So immediately

1:08:25

after probably I will fly

1:08:27

to to to Marsha. Still

1:08:31

unclear, but those are the plans. Right

1:08:33

now, which is very -- Yeah.

1:08:35

-- very very serious. Only eighty players --

1:08:37

Mhmm. -- in the masters section and it's

1:08:39

only over twenty five hundred. So I would

1:08:41

be facing killers left and right.

1:08:46

It's basically like a closed event

1:08:49

in in in the disguise of an open.

1:08:52

You you play only grand masters, very

1:08:55

professional players all around. Two

1:08:58

of my students most likely will

1:09:00

be playing. think Riggler O'Brien is going to

1:09:02

be playing perhaps Harshish

1:09:05

Raja is trying to get him, but his

1:09:07

twenty four ninety eight right now. He's

1:09:09

he's still there's two more rating points to make it

1:09:11

to that twenty five hundred threshold. But

1:09:14

hopefully, he makes it at perhaps he would

1:09:16

be playing. As well. So

1:09:18

that's that's the only

1:09:20

one as of right now that I have

1:09:24

on my calendar. Okay. Well, it's a

1:09:26

big one. We certainly wish you luck in that. So

1:09:28

you've got that. You've got the commentary gig

1:09:30

in

1:09:30

Romania. Anything else to get

1:09:32

married? Anything else I It's it's

1:09:34

around the calendar?

1:09:35

It's it's a busy year or

1:09:38

be between the the

1:09:40

podcast. The American

1:09:42

OTB is just about start. I will

1:09:44

be doing commentary on that one as well.

1:09:47

So I haven't done commentary in

1:09:49

a while. So getting back into the booth, I think.

1:09:52

Is going to be an interesting experience, but

1:09:55

it's always it's always a pleasure

1:09:57

to do so. So that's

1:09:59

the big one. That's the next big one, American

1:10:02

cup. Which starts in a couple of weeks

1:10:04

from now, March fourteen

1:10:08

or fifteen, something along those lines. And

1:10:11

yeah, after that, April

1:10:13

is the world championship match, to

1:10:15

which I don't think we will be doing anything

1:10:18

in particular. But definitely keep

1:10:20

an eye on on the channel, on

1:10:22

the CSQ channel

1:10:25

because we will be doing some some

1:10:27

recaps most

1:10:28

likely. So, yeah, those

1:10:31

those are the things as about. Well,

1:10:33

glad to hear it listeners, you guys probably already

1:10:35

know, but check out squared on the podcast

1:10:37

apps as well as on YouTube where they're killing

1:10:39

it. And hearing

1:10:41

how busy you are makes me all the more appreciative. Thanks

1:10:44

for taking the time. It was good to catch up after

1:10:46

several years.

1:10:48

Yeah. Always a pleasure to to

1:10:50

to come back and chat with you, Ben. And once

1:10:52

again, congratulations to to you and

1:10:54

your listeners who have been supporting you from

1:10:56

day one. I mean, it's a it's

1:10:58

a great endeavor you're doing. You're you're you're

1:11:00

putting incredible content out there and yeah.

1:11:03

I wish you all the energy to

1:11:06

to to maintain it and and keep it up.

1:11:09

Right back at you, Christian. Thank you. Thank

1:11:11

you.