American grandmaster Robert Hess is this week’s guest on the New In Chess Podcast. In the second half, he speaks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam about his work as a highly popular star commentator for Chess.com, but before they get there, Robert talks passionately about a book that just appeared, and that is very close to his heart.
The book Dream Moves, published by New In Chess, was written by Miron Sher, the only trainer Robert Hess ever worked with. Miron Sher was a legendary coach who was born in the Soviet Union and moved to the United States in 1997. Other prominent players that he worked with include Fabiano Caruana and Peter Heine Nielsen.
Robert Hess wrote an introduction to the book, and the first sentence reads: ‘I would not be where – or who – I am without Miron Sher.’
In fact, Dream Moves, Eye-Opening Chess Lessons for Improvers, was primarily inspired by Robert.
When he was working with Sher, Robert at some point asked him from which book he took all the fabulous games that they studied and all the wonderful exercises that he had to solve. Sher replied, ‘I will write that book when you become a grandmaster.’
Miron Sher sadly died four years ago. Thanks to the tireless work of his beloved wife, Alla Grinfeld, and their son, Mikhail, the manuscript has now been published. It has five thematic chapters (one about Dream Moves, of course) and more than 300 exercises, ranging from easy to difficult.
Don’t miss Robert Hess's warm and often touching stories about Miron Sher in this podcast, a glowing tribute to an inspiring coach and a dear friend.
For listeners who would like to work with the same material that the young and ambitious Robert Hess worked with, we have a special offer: a 20% discount on both the paper and digital edition of Dream Moves.
Go to https://www.newinchess.com/dream-moves and use the code DREAM20.
The New In Chess podcast is published every Friday and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the New In Chess website.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:52 - What Miron Sher meant to Robert and his other students
05:20 - How Miron would teach different students differently
08:56 - Robert's fondest memory of Miron
11:00 - Miron's love of his family
14:33 - "It's very Miron to not speak about his difficulties", the respect Miron earned in the chess community
19:28 - Miron taking early notice of Robert's fighting mentality
21:35 - Robert's part in having the book published after Miron's passing
25:45 - The structure of the book, Miron "tricking" his students and how his teachings continue to inspire Roberts play and commentary
29:00 - The "20% rule" and the "Dream Move"
32:30 - How Miron would incorporate "themes" into his material and the lasting impact on Robert's play
37:13 - AD BREAK
37:45 - How Robert incorporates Miron's teachings into his commentary
42:06 - Does Robert have a favourite event to commentate on?
44:50 - How difficult is it to analyse bullet games in real-time and, conversely, how does Robert keep his commentary interesting during slower-paced classical games?
45:48 - Robert's ideal commentary setup
48:05 - How does Robert see the game of chess develop in the forthcoming years?
52:00 – The lack of statistics as a preparatory tool in chess
53:53 – What does Robert like about chess’s recent development in the mainstream?
58:10 – Outro
