EP 292- Adult Improver Karen Boyd on What She Learned from a Busy Summer of Tournament Chess, and Why she Always "Plays Up" Against Tougher Competition

Karen Boyd is a 56 year old mother, wife and chess lover with a background in computer programming. She often appears in the videos and streams of her husband, GM Ben Finegold, but she also does a ton of the work behind the scenes, producing Ben’s content. Despite Karen’s busy life, she has been making lots of time for chess study and joined me after a busy summer with plenty of chess tournaments in the United States. Karen assiduously documents her chess study, and has been averaging about 3 hours per day of study when not on the road. She showed some good results in the World Open, and is on the verge of eclipsing her personal high rating of 1421. In our interview, she discussed her background, her study regimen, her goals, her relationship with Ben, and why she thinks she currently finds tournaments more enjoyable than her husband does. I really admire the dedication that Karen is showing to chess and look forward to seeing her continued chess progress. More details, timestamps and relevant links can be found below.  

0:00- If you or someone you know is interested in appearing as an adult improver, you can submit their info via the online form here:

Interested in Appearing on the Pod as an Adult Improver? — The Perpetual Chess Podcast

1:00- Karen has been studying chess for 3 hours per day and traveling far and wide to play in many tournaments. Why? 

Mentioned: Check out Karen’s study log here:

https://atlchessclub.com/ChessLog/ChessStudyLog.pdf

5:00- How does Karen feel about her recent progress, after a busy summer. 

10:00- Why does Karen prefer classical chess? 

Mentioned: Justin Morrison of Kids Chess Zone 

16:00- Karen’s husband, GM Ben Finegold, has said he is retiring from OTB chess. Does Karen think he will change his mind someday? 

19:00- What are Karen’s current chess goals? 

Mentioned: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess, Chessable’s Checkmate Patterns Manual 

22:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess’ algorithm reviews your games and gives you actionable advice on how to improve your game. Check it out for free, and if you choose to subscribe you can use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.

Or use this link for the same discount:

https://aimchess.com/try?ref=benjohnson12

Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Their new courses include a new one by GM Levon Aronian, and GM Magnus Carlsen and GM David Howell recently released a free lesson, Grind like a GM! 

Check out what's new here: 

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

24:30- Karen discusses her chess beginnings. 

31:00- Patreon mailbag question: How did Karen and GM Ben Finegold meet? 

Mentioned: GM Var Akobian 

35:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Karen think she is treated differently a) because she is a woman? b) because she is married to a GM?

39:00- Welcome to the Chess dot bomb! Karen discusses her favorite Chess.com premium features, which include the tactics trainer. 

If you decide to upgrade to a premium membership at Chess.com, you can help support the pod by signing up using this link (https://go.chess.com/Perpetual).

42:00- What was Karen’s inspiration for her study log?

43:00- How do Karen's two coaches, FM Aviv Friedman and NM Spencer Finegold, work with her to improve her chess?

45:00- What is Karen’s approach to openings? 

48:00-How would Karen characterize (or describe) her strengths and weaknesses as a ches player?

51:00- Why does Karen “play up” in higher sections?

53:03- Are there days where Karen doesn’t feel like doing chess?

56:00- Karen’s closing advice 

58:00- Thanks so much to Karen for joining the show. Here are some of the ways you can follow her chess progress:

Twitter-

https://twitter.com/Karen_Chess1

Twitch- 

https://www.twitch.tv/karen_chess

GM Ben Finegold’s Twitch-

https://www.twitch.tv/gmbenjaminfinegold

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