This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Erwin l'Ami.
Erwin has been a chess professional for some twenty years now. Among his most notable successes are victories in the Reykjavik Open in 2015 and in the Dutch Championship in 2022.
Erwin loves to play in tournaments – that remains his biggest passion - but his chess activities expand into other areas as well. He’s a prolific writer, has made popular courses for Chessable, and is a highly respected trainer. In that role, he has been on Veselin Topalov’s world championship team and has worked with Anish Giri for many years.
0:00 – Intro
1:55 – Welcome Erwin!
2:05 – Previewing the upcoming European Team Championship
4:00 – How Erwin has maintained his passion for chess
10:53 – Erwin’s strong performance in this year’s Tata Steel Tournament
17:40 – Going from commentator to participant in Malmö
19:25 – The eccentricities of Vasyl Ivanchuk
24:00 – The incredible talent of Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus
26:45 – AD BREAK
27:19 – Faustino Oro
31:40 – How computer chess continues to evolve
36:25 – Freestyle
37:42 – The indefatigable new generation of Indian players
41:20 – Working closely with Veselin Topalov
46:40 – AD BREAK
47:20 – The Topalov – Kramnik controversy
50:15 – Cheating
52:45 – Working closely with Anish Giri
58:01 – AD BREAK
59:01 – The FIDE Grand Swiss
59:25 – The impressive play of Matthias Bluebaum
1:02:29 – Hikaru’s rating strategy
1:04:35 – The World Cup
1:07:49 – Thank you Erwin!
1:08:02 – Outro