EP.209 - Martin Justesen (Adult Improver Series)

Welcome to another Adult Improver Edition of Perpetual Chess. My guest is Martin Justesen, who is a 34 year, Denmark-based father of 3. He works as an archivist in the Library of the Danish Parliament, but devotes a lot of his free time to chess improvement and chess-related projects. His efforts have paid off, as Martin has gained a few hundred points in the past years. Prior to the pandemic, Martin had ended a long plateau, as his Danish rating went from 1600 to 1820. During the covid shutdown, he has seen continued improvement, his Lichess classical rating is now up to 2200! In our interview, Martin reveals what he thinks to be the key contributors to his improvement success. Martin is also a blogger,  and has recently released a great new book called, Blindfold Endgame Visualization: 50 Chess Positions. We also discuss how Martin decided to take on this project and why we think that it’s an important study tool. Please read on for lots more details, timestamps, and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We begin by discussing Martin’s background and his entree into the chess world.  Mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, Playchess.com , Winning Chess Series by GM Yasser Seirawan, Logical Chess Move by Move    12:00- Check out our new sponsorAimchess.com, which gathers your games from the major chess sites and generates reports to let you know which aspects of your game need work. If you decide to subscribe, be sure to use the promo code Chess30 to save 30%.   13:00- How has Martin’s approach to chess improvement evolved in recent years?  Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 117 with Stjepan Tomic   17:30- A Patreon supporter writes in to ask Martin how his approach to openings has changed as he has improved.  Mentioned: Chessable Short and Sweet Free Courses are Here: https://www.chessable.com/courses/s/short%20and%20sweet Opening Tree.com   27:00- Another Patreon question: How does Martin find games and construct his opening repertoire? Did he adjust his repertoire choices due to time constraints?   Mentioned: