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Perpetual Chess Podcast

EP 425- IM Willy Hendriks: The Award-Winning Author on Nimzowitsch’s Ego, Tarrasch’s Tenets and What Their Rivalry Means for Modern Chess.

Perpetual Chess Podcast

Perpetual Chess LLC

Sports, Leisure, Hobbies

4.8678 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

IM Willy Hendriks is an award-winning chess author, historian and chess trainer. He has just released his fourth book, The Philosopher and the Housewife:Tarrasch, Nimzowitsch and the Evolution of Chess. This book is the completion of a trilogy which casts a new light on chess history and looks at the evolution of chess ideas. Willy’s newest book focuses on the early 20th century, with a particular emphasis on Aron Nimzowitsch and Siegbert Tarrasch. We tackle questions such as: Was Aron Nimzowitsch the most pretentious chess player of them all?  What does Willy think of My System?  Have the stylistic differences between Tarrasch and Nimzowitsch been exaggerated? What can we learn about engines and modern chess through reading about these players?  Our conversation is filled with fun stories and reflections about these players, along with the contributions of the third “main character,” Semion Alapin.   We also discuss Willy’s own competitive career and his potential next projects. It is always a pleasure to read Willy's work and to speak with him.   Timestamps of topics discussed are below.  Perpetual Chess Improvement Audiobook information- The links for where to order the Perpetual Chess Improvement audiobook are on this page. It is now available on all platform except for Audible/Amazon (hopefully coming soon): https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/book Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! Be sure to check out their new offerings here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/ And if you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link: https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro 0:02- Where did the title The Philosopher and the Housewife come from? 0:06- Willy tells a few stories to illustrate why he considers Aron Nimzowitsch to be “the most self-aggrandizing chess player of all-time.” 10:00- What were the chess stylistic differences of Nimzowitsch and Tarrasch? Mentioned: Modern Ideas in Chess by Richard Reti  18:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What does Willy think of the book My System?”  Mentioned:  Book Recap #18- My System with IM Christof Sielecki  Book Recap #37- My System (fast track edition) with GM Alex Fishbein  Aron Nimzowitch: A Reappraisal by GM Raymond Keene https://www.amazon.com/Aron-Nimzowitsch-Reappraisal-Raymond-Keene/dp/0713484381 23:00- Where does the third character in the book, Semyon Alapin fit in? 31:00- How are engines connected to the themes of Willy’s writing? 34:00- What is the “Trainer’s fallacy?”  42:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What ideas does Willy have for upcoming books?”  Mentioned: Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors, Mihail Marin’s Learn from the Legends 1 and 2 45:00- Does Willy follow modern chess and chess drama? Does he like freestyle chess? 48:00- What has Willy been reading? Mentioned: Daniel Dennett Tarrasch’s 300 Chess Games, the Works of Edward Lasker and Milan Vidmar, The Essential Sosonko, In Black and White  52:00- Has Willy been competing OTB lately?  54:00- Thanks as always to Willy for visiting the pod and for advancing our knowledge of chess history!  You can get his books here: https://www.newinchess.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Willy+Hendriks You can also get a physical copy in the US from Chess4Less: https://chess4less.com/products/the-philosopher-and-the-housewife-willy-hendriks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

At Pure Gym, whatever you're here for, we're here for it.

0:04.0

So whether you're here to meet your goals or meet your gals,

0:08.0

take a bit of me time, or a weight off,

0:12.0

getting back on the bike,

0:16.0

or filling the tea while you spin, they said what?

0:19.0

We're here for it. With 50% off your first months and no

0:23.2

joining fee for a limited time. Whatever you're here for, we're here for it. Pure Jim, terms and

0:29.0

conditions apply.

0:33.5

Hello everyone and welcome back to perpetual chess. We have a return author joining who I am thrilled to speak with again, and we'll introduce

0:40.8

in a minute.

0:41.3

I did have one announcement, first of all.

0:43.1

So I've been getting emails.

0:45.1

You know, my book came out about a year and a half ago at this point, and I know that

0:49.6

the audio book still hasn't been out.

0:50.9

It's been frustrating for me.

0:52.3

I've been getting emails about it to this

0:54.2

day. I really appreciate that some of you have been waiting for the book in audio format. And I have

0:59.4

semi-good news. So the good news is the audio book of perpetual chess improvement is now available

1:04.3

everywhere but Amazon slash audible. So that means you can get it on Spotify, Apple, Overdrive. I'll put a link to all the

1:11.9

places you can get it as well as in this show note. But I apologize that there's still an issue

1:16.4

with the distributor and getting it to Audible. Hopefully that will be resolved soon. But in the

1:20.8

meantime, if you're desperate to get the audiobook, you at least can get it some places.

...

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