EP 298- Adult Improver Hans Henning on Why he Loves Studying Openings, and How Chess Helps Give Him Purpose

The Perpetual Chess Adult Improver Series returns for another detailed conversation with a very dedicated amateur. 35 year old Hans Henning is a Dublin based chess enthusiast, who has a demanding job in tech sales, but is also spending multiple hours per day studying chess. Hans first gained interest in chess through Ludwig Ahgren and Pogchamps and since then has made steady progress up to a LiChess blitz rating of around 1900. In our conversation, Hans shares some personal details about why he finds chess so motivating, and why he has a particular love for studying openings. Hans also shares some great recommendations for books, courses, and study methods. As always, more info to topics referenced and timestamps can be found below. 

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0:00- What motivates Hans to spend tons of time studying chess? 

Mentioned: Checkmate Pattern Manual, Common Chess Patterns 

7:30- How in Hans’ opinion, should one train chess? 

11:00- How did Hans pull himself out of a depressive period?

14:00- Does Hans worry that he could be fighting an uphill battle by trying to improve at chess in his 30s and beyond? 

16:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out all of their latest offerings here: 

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

17:00- Why does Hans love openings and choose to emphasize opening study? 

Mentioned: CT-Art, ChessDojo

30:00- What did Hans learn about managing opening files from GM Sam Shankland and Killer Chess Training? 

34:00- Does Hans worry about spending so much money on chess improvement? 

38:30- 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

39:00- Welcome to the Chess dot bomb! Karen discusses her favorite Chess.com premium features, which includes GM Johan Hellsten’s “Lessons feature”, I also discussed the “Play Like …” feature. 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).

41:00- What was it like to get lessons with renowned trainer, GM Johan Hellsten? After working with Johan and other trainers why did he ultimately decide to work on his own?

48:00- Hans describes his OTB chess experiences 

53:00- Hans shares some book and resource recommendations! 

Move First Think Later, How To Study Chess on Your Own, Think Like a Super GM, Understanding Chess Move by Move, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement, Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics, Endgame Strategy

1:00:00- Thanks to Hans for joining us! You can follow him on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/IamHansHenning

If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: 

Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon

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