This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an emergency interview with Wijk aan Zee veteran Loek van Wely!

This podcast was recorded in the early afternoon of Thursday, January 29, 2026, on the third and final rest day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Loek has spent the past two weeks in Wijk aan Zee, coaching Dutch GM Max Warmerdam in the Challengers group while keeping an eye on the Masters. With three rounds to go, Uzbekistan’s top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the Tata Steel Masters, half a point ahead of three pursuers: his countryman Javokhir Sindarov, Jorden van Foreest (winner in 2021) and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum.

The New In Chess Podcast is coming at you with unprecedented urgency this week! Enjoy.

0:00 – Intro

1:40 – Welcome back once again, Loek!

4:47 – Loek criticises the tournament’s time control

11:58 – Is the FIDE tournament calendar too busy these days?

22:44 – Do players really care about Freestyle?

25:08 – AD BREAK

26:01 – Anish’s bad tournament

28:40 – Bluebaum’s strong performance thus far

31:23 – Jorden’s strong play so far

33:40 – The Uzbeki stars: Abdusattorov and Sindarov

36:35 – Erdogmus, the young superstar: how serious should we take him?

46:40 – Vasyl Ivanchuk’s performance in the Challengers

50:33 – AD BREAK

51:34 – The rest of the Challengers group

54:25 – Abdusattorov: a safe bet with three rounds to go?

56:30 – Hans

59:43 – Loek’s master plan to overtake Erwin l’Ami in the Dutch rating list

1:04:50 – Fedoseev’s beautiful Rc3 against Erigaisi!

1:06:30 – Outro

In this year’s first episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Peter Svidler. It’s a special moment, as two years ago, Peter was the first guest in the inaugural episode of the podcast. We are delighted that he’s returning.

Peter Svidler can look back on an incredible career as a player and he is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile experts in the world of chess. He is a three-time Candidate for the World Championship, an eight-time champion of Russia, and a World Cup winner. Among his many further successes are five gold team medals at the Olympiad.

Over the past years, as he began to play less, Peter has become one of the most popular chess commentators in the world. In fact, it’s fair to say that he was one of the commentators that took chess broadcasts to a new level.

For all these reasons, Peter is a perfect guest at the start of 2026, as we look ahead to a well-filled chess year that no doubt will bring us many highlights.

First, Peter looks back on the Rapid & Blitz World Championships in Doha, where Magnus Carlsen won the title in both time controls for the fifth time in his career.

Next, he talks about the Tata Steel tournament that starts tomorrow in Wijk aan Zee, the world-famous village on the Dutch coast. And, of course, he also touches on the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus in the first half of April.

Peter is an easy talker, who happily shares his stories and insights about many leading and upcoming great chess players.

How does he see Magnus’s new victory? What is his take on rising stars Yazig Erdogmus and Faustino Oro? Or on Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov, Leinier Dominguez, World Champion Gukesh and the other Indian stars?

You’ll hear about all of them and many more. If you’d like to warm up for the Tata Steel Masters and Challengers and get into the mood for more highlights in 2026, this episode of the New In Chess Podcast is a good place to begin. Don’t miss it!

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2:05 – Peter’s recap of the World Rapid and Blitz

3:50 – Which “new kids on the block” did Peter follow with particular interest?

10:36 – Peter’s match against Erdogmus

20:49 – Magnus’s outrageous Messi comparison

23:16 – AD BREAK

23:55 – Is it unwise for Oro to play in the Masters group in Wijk aan Zee?

27:20 – Keymer’s great form going into Wijk aan Zee

28:17 – Anish Giri

30:53 – Gukesh

33:36 – Why Peter thinks this World Championship cycle will be more exciting than before

40:15 – Jakovhir Sindarov’s dark horse status

42:56 – Fabiano Caruana’s chances

47:35 – Pragg

47:57 – AD BREAK

51:34 – What can we expect from Ivanchuk in Wijk aan Zee?

54:30 – Does Peter miss playing competitive chess?

59:03 – How has Uzbekistan become such a strong chess country?

1:02:53 – Will the “India conveyor belt” ever stop?

1:04:14 – What is the current state of chess overall according to Peter?

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to English grandmaster Matthew Sadler.

Matthew returns to the New In Chess Podcast to look back on the year that’s almost behind us and cautiously look ahead to the year we’re about to enter.

Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, a YouTuber, an expert in chess engines, and a prolific writer. The best-selling Game Changer, co-authored with Natasha Regan, on AlphaZero’s groundbreaking chess strategies and the promise of AI, was one of the most successful and talked about books of the past years.

These days Matthew is an IT Consultant, but he makes no secret of the fact that he fills his spare time with as much chess as possible. And although the FIDE rating list no longer has him as an active player, his FIDE rating still hovers eerily close to 2700.

In fact, Matthew might very well be the strongest amateur chess player in the world.

Last but not least, Matthew is the highly popular book reviewer of New In Chess Magazine.

For all these reasons, Matthew was invited to return to the New In Chess Podcast - to talk about the best books that came out and to discuss general tendencies and developments in the chess world.

Matthew is a great conversationalist and storyteller. You’ll enjoy his stories about 19th century Scottish-American Master Captain Mackenzie, Yugoslav legends Albin Planinc and Dragoljub Velimirovic, the benefits and dangers of AI, and much more.

Don’t miss it!

0:00 – Intro

2:55 – Matthew’s tells the story of Captain Mackenzie

12:14 – AD BREAK

12:52 – Matthew’s favourite books of 2025

15:30 – The forgotten genius of Albin Planinc

17:50 – Velimirovic

21:40 – Chess history’s tendency to forget non-world champion players

23:50 – David Bronstein

26:40 – Sergio Mariotti

33:42 – AD BREAK

34:45 – Matthew previews the Candidates Tournament

37:55 - Vincent Keymer

38:58 - Javokhir Sindarov

40:38 - Who are Matthew's favourites to win the Candidates?

43:50 – Why 2026 will look very different in terms of top level chess

49:21 – Has Freestyle been a success in 2025?

53:05 – AD BREAK

53:47 – Matthew’s field of expertise: computer chess!

55:48 – Why humans are moving towards a more engine-like style of play

1:03:45 – Is the Benoni still alive?

1:05:10 – Is English chess entering a new Golden age?

1:09:00 – Outro