EP 357- Adult Improver Denis Markov on How a Calm and Consistent Approach has Elevated his Chess Game

The Perpetual Chess Adult Improver Series returns with another guest with a great story. Denis Markov is a 39 year-old working dad with a passion for chess. Denis has deep chess roots which date back to a childhood in Russia where he took classes at the fabled “Palace of Pioneers.” According to Denis, he did not show exceptional talent in those days and eventually set chess aside for some years. Now based in Pennsylvania, Denis returned to competitive chess in mid-2021 and since then, through hard work and consistency has elevated his USCF rating from 1742 to over 2050! While this type of improvement is quite unusual, Denis is adamant that he isn’t doing anything to “reinvent the wheel.” In our conversation Denis details an approach focused on frequent competitive play, game review and lots of hard work. I found our conversation grounding and inspiring at the same time. Timestamps of topics discussed are below. 

Adult Improver Series Spotify Playlist here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75Uoqz2BoRt2IiTCeOfuky?si=680ff07480434ec9

0:00- 

Thanks to those who help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon! If you would like to join the community, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

0:01- Thanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com! 

New Chessable courses including Silman’s Endgame Course, and new ones by GM Erwin L’ami, GM Johan Hellsten. 

You can check out their latest offerings here:

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

2:00- Denis joins the show! What is his “ why”?

What does he do when his motivation to study chess is low?

Denis’ Reddit post detailing his success:

https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/16sw628/1740_to_2040_uscf_in_2_years_adult_improver/

11:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How will Denis approach teaching chess to his kids?’ 

14:00- Patreon mailbag question: ‘Does Denis think that his Russian background helped his chess development?’ 

21:00- What got Denis back into chess in his college years?

Mentioned: Aron Nimzowhitsch’s My System

25:00- Denis’ study routine

Denis’ coach: 

https://lichess.org/coach/Davjan

34:00- Denis discusses his approach to openings, especially as it relates to playing the same opponents repeatedly. 

42:00- How did Denis settle on studying via ChessTempo and the Chess Steps workbooks? 

Mentioned: Arthur Yusupov’s series, Chess Steps Method

48:00- What is the nature of Denis’ work with his coach? 

54:00- Does Denis have any theories on why he is seeing gains while others might be struggling? 

1:03:00- More book recommendations!

Mentioned: Sam Shankland’s books, Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky, GM Johan Hellsten’s books, Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios, GM Ivan Sokolov’s Winning Middle Game Strategies, Sokolov’s interview with Chessbase India, His How to Chess Interview is Now Out! 

1:08:00- Thanks to Denis for joining me! You can email him at dvmarkov at gmail dot com 

Or follow him on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/dvm0101/

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