EP 273- GM Johan Hellsten on Chess Improvement, the Inspirations for his "Mastering Chess" Book Series, and his favorite OTB Memories

I am joined this week by renowned trainer, author, and 2006 Swedish National Champion, GM Johan Hellsten. Johan is best known for his excellent book/Chessable course Mastering Chess Strategy, and its successors Mastering Opening Strategy, and Mastering Endgame Strategy. These courses are highly regarded by chess trainers and students alike, and are packed with educational puzzles. In our conversation, we got into the origins of these voluminous projects, plus Johan answered a ton of chess improvement related questions from listeners to the podcast. Lastly, Johan told some fun stories from his time playing on the Swedish Olympiad Team, and shared the names of some authors that were formative in his own chess development. Please read on for timestamps and relevant links.  

0:00- How was Johan influenced by the work of legendary trainer, IM Mark Dvoretsky? 

Mentioned:Sergey Dolmatov, GM Artur Yusupov, 64 Chess Magazine

08:25- What was the vision behind Mastering Chess Strategy and Johan’s Mastering series? 

15:00- What are some books one could do that aren’t as challenging as Johan’s fantastic books? 

Mentioned: Simple Chess by Michael Stean, Winning Chess Strategies by Yasser Seirawan (also on Chessable) , Silman’s Reassess Your Chess Workbook

Episode 272- “Positional Puzzle Book Championship” with Neal Bruce 

Shane Taulbut, chess books, GM Arthur Yusupov, IM Mark Dvoretsky, GM Yasser Seirawan, John Nunn’s Understanding Chess Move by Move 

18:45- How does Johan find so many instructive positions? 

Mentioned: Follow Chess App, Chessbomb, Chess24.com, Mark Crowther’s The Week in Chess

29:00- Patreon mailbag question from Neal Bruce! Should players at different rating levels approach Johan’s books differently? 

39:00- Patreon mailbag question: In what order should one read Johan’s courses/books?

Mentioned: Chess for Educators by Karel van Delft 

45:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. In addition to GM Johan Hellsten’s series, one can find tons of courses on all phases of the chess game, check out what is new here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com

46:00- If you don’t have a coach what is the best way to identify your weaknesses that are holding you back? 

Mentioned: GM Stellan Brynell 

1:00:00- Johan discusses how club players can choose openings based on their styles. 

1:06:00- What are Johan’s favorite game collection books? Do we need to study their books or just play through a great players games on a computer?

Mentioned: GM Mickey Adams, GM Viswanthan Anand, GM Mark Taimanov, GM Svetozar Gligoric, GM Bent Larsen, GM Mikhail Botvinnik, GM Bobby Fischer 

1:14:00- Patreon mailbag question: What are the chess cultures like in Sweden and Ecaudor? (Where Johan lives) 

Mentioned: GM Stellan Brynell, GM Johnny Hector, GM Jan Timman, GM Julio Granda Zuniga, IM Greg Shahade, GM Johan Hellsten’s YouTube Lectures, GM Wesley So

1:22:00- Patreon mailbag question: How was Johan influenced by legendary Swedish player Ulf Andersson? 

Mentioned: GM Viktor Korchnoi, GM David Anton, Hellsten-GM Viktor Kupreichik (1996), GM Andrey Kovalev, Hellsten-Kovalev 1996

1:35:00- Thanks so much to GM Hellsten for sharing his wisdom and stories!

You can reach him and check out his Chess.com Series here

https://www.chess.com/member/jhellsten

And be sure to get his Chessable courses here:

https://www.chessable.com/author/jhellsten2/

You can find the same material in book form, here. 

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