EP 273- GM Johan Hellsten on Chess Improvement, the Inspirations for his "Mastering Chess" Book Series, and his favorite OTB Memories

I am joined this week by renowned trainer, author, and 2006 Swedish National Champion, GM Johan Hellsten. Johan is best known for his excellent book/Chessable course Mastering Chess Strategy, and its successors Mastering Opening Strategy, and Mastering Endgame Strategy. These courses are highly regarded by chess trainers and students alike, and are packed with educational puzzles. In our conversation, we got into the origins of these voluminous projects, plus Johan answered a ton of chess improvement related questions from listeners to the podcast. Lastly, Johan told some fun stories from his time playing on the Swedish Olympiad Team, and shared the names of some authors that were formative in his own chess development. Please read on for timestamps and relevant links.   0:00- How was Johan influenced by the work of legendary trainer, IM Mark Dvoretsky?  Mentioned:Sergey Dolmatov, GM Artur Yusupov, 64 Chess Magazine 08:25- What was the vision behind Mastering Chess Strategy and Johan’s Mastering series?  15:00- What are some books one could do that aren’t as challenging as Johan’s fantastic books?  Mentioned: Simple Chess by Michael Stean, Winning Chess Strategies by Yasser Seirawan (also on Chessable) , Silman’s Reassess Your Chess Workbook Episode 272- “Positional Puzzle Book Championship” with Neal Bruce  Shane Taulbut, chess books, GM Arthur Yusupov, IM Mark Dvoretsky, GM Yasser Seirawan, John Nunn’s Understanding Chess Move by Move  18:45- How does Johan find so many instructive positions?  Mentioned: Follow Chess App, Chessbomb, Chess24.com, Mark Crowther’s The Week in Chess 29:00- Patreon mailbag question from Neal Bruce! Should players at different rating levels approach Johan’s books differently?  39:00- Patreon mailbag question: In what order should one read Johan’s courses/books? Mentioned: Chess for Educators by Karel van Delft  45:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. In addition to GM Johan Hellsten’s series, one can find tons of courses on all phases of the chess g