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This week it was my great honor to get to chat with the acclaimed author, trainer and co-founder of\xa0Quality Chess, GM Jacob Aagaard. GM Aagaard is chairing the FIDE trainer\u2019s commission and has worked with elite chess players like GM Sam Shankland and GM Boris Gelfand. Jacob was very generous with his time and wisdom in our conversation.\xa0You can keep up with Quality Chess on their\xa0blog, and you can email GM Aagaard\xa0here. You can find out more about the Quality Chess Academy\xa0here. For timestamps and details about all that we discussed, read on.\xa00:00- Intro and discussion of the vision behind Quality Chess Publishing, co-founded by GM Aagaard in 2004 (along with GM John Shaw and IM Ari Ziegler). 12:40- A brief digression into some Science Fiction shows Jacob has been watching in his scant free-time. He recommends\xa0Altered Carbon on Netflix\xa0and a German series called\xa0Dark.\xa015:30- We segue into a detailed discussion of Jacob\u2019s most recent highly acclaimed book,\xa0Thinking Inside the Box.\xa0As GM Aagaard discusses in the book, each move in chess can roughly be categorized into one of 4 decision types: Automatic Decisions\xa0(This includes a discussion of\xa0this game\xa0between GM Sam Shankland and GM Richard Rapport. ) SImple Decisions\xa0(This is where Aagaard\u2019s famed 3 questions come into play- 1. Where are the weaknesses?\xa02. What is the opponent\u2019s idea? 3. Which is my worst placed piece?) Critical Moments\xa0(positions where there is a large difference between the best move and the next best move) Strategic Decisions\xa0(complicated positions with no clear-cut way to approach them) 34:00- Jacob answers a question from a supporter of the podcast relating to how to use diagrams in chess books.\xa0While answering, Jacob rattles off a few of his favorite chess books. They include\xa0GM Romain Edouard\u2019s calculation books,\xa0Imagination in Chess\xa0(out of print),\xa0Perfect Your Chess, and the\xa0Arthur Yusopov series. As a scholastic player, Jacob was a big fan of legendary Danish player\xa0Bent Larsen\u2019s books. 42:30- GM Aagaard tells the story of how he became a trainer of other high level players. For any listener looking for a coach, GM Aagaard recommends his former student,\xa0Italian GM Sabino Brunello. Jacob also tells the story of how he became one of the trainers of former World Championship Challenger, GM Boris Gelfand and of US Champion Sam Shankland. 52:00- What feat did GM Sam Shankland accomplish that has gone a but under the radar? What does he think of GM Shankland\u2019s prospects for a continued ascent in the world rankings? 1:02- GM Aagaard answers another question from a\xa0Patreon supporter\xa0about how to work on your chess when you do not have a coach. Jacob stressed the importance of analyzing one\u2019s own games. 1:08- Jacob discusses his upcoming chess camp,\xa0The Quality Chess Academy,\xa0which will be co-taught along with renowned trainer\xa0R.B. Ramesh.\xa0You guys should sign up for the camp, then after attending you should\xa0email me\xa0to tell me about the camp. :) 1:15- Jacob discusses another new project of his, chairing the\xa0FIDE trainer\u2019s commission. 1:26- Jacob gives his opinion on how big a role rapid chess should play in the World Championship Cycle. 1:35- What will be the next phase of chess, following what Jacob calls, \u201cthe digital period"?\xa0Jacob mentions a couple of alternatives to Chess960 that he finds interesting. 1:42- Jacob\u2019s contact info and goodbyes\nIf you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, please go here:\nBen Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon \nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices