EP.211 - IM Andras Toth

IM Andras Toth is a Canberra, Australia-based chess trainer who has built a loyal online following due to his no-nonsense YouTube chess videos and popular Chessable courses. Andras originally hails from Hungary, where he trained under the same trainer as the Polgar sisters and  was the two-time Hungarian Junior Champ. Andras’ background as a school teacher is evident in his engaging and energetic teaching style. As is clear from our conversation, Andras is not shy about expressing his hard-earned chess opinions. Andrey answers questions such as, should you play the London System?--do you need to hire a coach?--can one improve by focusing only on chess calculation?-- plus many more pertinent queries. This was a fun conversation that revealed many insights about chess improvement. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks.     0:00- Andras begins by discussing his chess and chess-training background a bit.  Mentioned: IM Laszlo Hazai, The Polgar Sisters 0:8:15- Does Andras agree that club players should not learn much opening theory?  Mentioned: The Road to Chess Improvement    16:30- Andras answers the first of many questions from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: Neal Bruce asks, “ How important is it to have a chess coach?”  23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought in part by Chessable.com! Be sure to download the much-anticipated Chessable app for IOS, and  you can check out Andras Toth’s courses here: https://www.chessable.com/profile/ChesscoachAndras/   24:00- Another Patreon listener question: “What is the proper way to analyze one’s own games and to study strategic concepts?”  Mentioned: Alexander Alekhine: My Best Games of Chess, Paul Keres: The Road to the Top  The book and game to which Andras refers can be found here:  Mark Dvoretsky’s School of Chess Excellence, Tactical Play, Borkowski-Nunn 1974   34:00- Why is Andras so blunt in his communication as a teacher and presenter?   Mentioned: IM Jop Delemarre    41:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessm