This week’s guest on the Adult Improver Series is Matt Biancuzzo. Matt is a 31-year-old New York City consultant who is very active in both the local chess scene and on social media. He has taken full advantage of New York’s many chess opportunities, regularly attending chess gatherings and pub nights while also competing in tournaments locally. Over the past few years he has improved from below 1400 USCF to a peak of over 1800! Matt has worked with multiple coaches, grinded tactics, and consumed countless chess videos, but he credits the majority of his improvement to building a social network that made chess fun for him.Speaking of fun, Matt has also built a large online following thanks to his hilarious short-form videos. Posting as “byredofantome” on Instagram and “fantomechess” on TikTok, Matt creates impressions and humorous shorts that lightly satirize chess culture. In the second half of our interview, we shift our focus from chess improvement to the story behind Matt’s videos. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check out the bonus video breaking down some of Matt’s best clips here. Join the Perpetual Chess Patreon community here:Ben Johnson | creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon Join the Perpetual Chess Discord here: https://discord.gg/gUPSsHMK Check out Chessable’s Women’s Day sale here:https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/offer/f/ Check out Chessiverse.com, use code “Perpetual30” to save 30% on premium offerings. Mentioned: GM Robert Hungaski, IM Denys Shmelov, Alex Pickett,  IM Jan van der Mortaal, Jonathan Williams, Pobo EfikoroMentioned: MaddiePlaysChess, GambitManMentioned: IM Sam Khanin, IM VIktor MatviishenMentioned: Matt’s article about Where to Play Chess in NYChttps://www.chess.com/blog/byredofantome/where-to-play-chess-in-nyc-and-how-to-gauge-a-good-clubPOV When you are Prepping for the 2002 World Under 12 Championship:https://www.instagram.com/byredofantome/reel/DT6A_OHDqTi/What I learned Playing 130 Chess Tournaments in 2 Yearshttps://www.instagram.com/p/DQ-fgbeDmHY/POV You are Spassky in 1971https://www.instagram.com/p/DTOntmlDlEM/Matt’s Yasser/magnus video is here:https://www.tiktok.com/@byredofantome/video/7240979768525573418?_r=1&_t=ZP-94OfoAItpk7Mentioned: POV Chess Players Training at the Gymhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DRqJ2x_jvKs/Matt’s linktree is here:https://linktr.ee/byredofantome?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnKZHTvXc3y6vDxPUApYvPDxbUFpbNtVLXr58nVATFdTyrdu7mR6xgzob8An4_aem_SjGs6svkY3aTt1lbEPnWOg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices