EP 240- "Pawn Book Championship" Special Episode with Neal Bruce

This week’s Perpetual Chess is the much anticipated “Pawn Book Championship” with popular adult improver Neal Bruce. Neal learned chess from scratch after the age of 40, and has been consistently studying and using flashcards to improve his skills in the last handful of years. In the past year, Neal has turned his attention to better understanding pawn play and positional chess, and he has read 6 (!) different books in order to facilitate better chess understanding. We Perpetual Chess listeners are very fortunate that Neal has offered to do a podcast crowning the “champion” of the pawn books, and has also agreed to give his honest assessment of the other books. When not working on his chess game, Neal is the Chief Product Officer of a software startup and a father of 3, so we greatly appreciate his taking the time for this large project. Please read on for more details and relevant links.  0:00-  The transcript of episode 237 with GM Vladimir Kramnik is here If you would like to subscribe to the Perpetual Chess Patreon page, you can do so here.  4:00- Other podcasts to hear Neal Bruce: Book Recap 6- Woodpecker Method and Rapid Chess Improvement   Book Recap 11- Winning Chess Strategies  How to Chess with Neal Bruce  Dojo Talks #24 with Neal Bruce  5:00-  Which books are entrants in Neal’s “Pawn Book Championship,” and how and why did he choose them?  Small Steps to Giant Improvement by GM Sam Shankland (Most appropriate for those 1700-2400 FIDE) Small Steps 2 Success by GM Sam Shankland (Most appropriate for those 1800-2400 FIDE) Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andy Soltis (Most appropriate for those 1500-2200 FIDE) Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios (Most appropriate for those 1500-2200 FIDE) The Power of Pawns by GM Jorg Hickl’s (Most appropriate for those 1200-2000) Pawn Power by IM Hans Kmoch (Not recommended for any rating range) 22:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest offerings here.  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable