In the chess world, the holiday season means its almost time for one of the most entertaining tournaments of the year- The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship. This year’s championship events are star-studded affairs featuring GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and a litany of big-name challengers. For the first time, these events will be taking place in New York CIty, and I will be attending the event and subsequently covering them here on Perpetual Chess. Joining me to discuss the tournament are two wildcard participants. First up (9:00)  is the ever-popular Youtuber and Twitch streamer, IM Eric Rosen. Among other topics, IM Eric Rosen shares how he got the opportunity to play in the tournament, discusses whether he feels any apprehension about potentially tangling with so many world-class players, and discusses how he prepares for such an event. Eric joined me just after returning from the World Championship in Singapire, so he also reflects on that experience as well. Following Eric, I am joined by FM Alisa Melekhina (35:00) . Alisa was one of the top players her age as a scholastic player, and is now a litigation partner at an NYC-based law firm. Alisa explains why she couldn’t resist the opportunity to participate in the Women’s Rapid Championship despite a busy professional life. Alisa co-founded the New York City Corporate Chess League and she also shares the background on that thriving endeavor.  As always, I enjoyed chatting with Eric and Alisa, and look forward to watching them compete in this marquee event.  If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices