Show notes
The FIDE Grand Swiss always seems to deliver drama, and this year’s edition was no exception. To help break it all down, I am joined by popular commentator, Chessable author, and host of the Power Play Chess YouTube channel, GM Daniel King.In our conversation, Daniel shares his takeaways on: • The common thread that fueled the successes of GMs Anish Giri and Matthias Blübaum • Standout performances from young stars like GMs Erdogmus, Mishra, and Woodward • Why the Women’s Grand Swiss produced fewer surprise qualifiers • A look ahead to the FIDE World Cup and the fight for the remaining Candidates spotsWe also touch on tournament formats, opening preparation, and Daniel’s current projects. This was a fascinating event to follow and an equally fun one to recap with GM King.Thanks to our sponsors, Silver Knights Chess Academy. If you know a scholastic player who could use high quality online group lessons, be sure to check them out. chessacademy.com/online Use coupon code- "pod" to save 50% on the first month. Mentioned:Pragganandhaa-Mishra 2025https://www.chess.com/events/2025-fide-grand-swiss-open/04/Praggnanandhaa_R-Mishra_AbhimanyuKeymer-Bluebahm 2025https://www.chess.com/events/2025-fide-grand-swiss-open/10/Keymer_Vincent-Bluebaum_MatthiasIM Greg Shahade’s tweet-https://x.com/GregShahade/status/1967742931122724924 Mentioned: Colin McGourty’s great tournament recap is here:https://www.chess.com/news/view/2025-fide-grand-swiss-13-conclusions#giri-1Mentioned: Peter Heine Nielsen’s Tweethttps://x.com/PHChess/status/1967494651566588023Leonard Barden’s column for The Guardian:https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/sep/12/chess-erdogmus-14-wins-immortal-game-on-silk-road-as-grand-swiss-nears-climaxMentioned: Chess Reddit post on players not yet in the Candidates:https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1nig9bx/10_strong_players_but_only_3_available_slots/Giri-Niemann 2025https://www.chess.com/events/2025-fide-grand-swiss-open/11/Giri_Anish-Niemann_Hans_MokeBrowne-Petrosian 1982https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=103551229:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Should FIDE use a different pairing algorithm in order to limit color imbalances?”The two papers (via Dr. Benjamin Portheault) that describe the pairing system are here:https://arxiv.org/pdf/2112.10522 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.1933332:00- Patreon mailbag question: “At what stage are players leaving their opening prep at the professional level?”37:00- Patreon mailbag question: “Where can a player find good model games in the Kalashnikov Sicilian?” Mentioned: Cuenca, Moisenko, SL Narayanyan, Maghsoodloo, Bulmaga Mentioned: Mittai-Erdogmus 2025https://www.chess.com/events/2025-fide-grand-swiss-open/04/Aditya_Mittal-Erdogmus_Yagiz_KaanJoin his Patreon here:https://www.patreon.com/c/powerplaychess/postshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhyM8toCZs_oHwQr_PTveXDkbnbq2Z4HOYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBATpFb--uLNAODOVWvCTAHis Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/powerplaychess/His Chessable Courses:https://www.chessable.com/author/DanielKing/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
