In this week’s New In Chess Podcast episode, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to IM John Donaldson, the captain of Team USA. The Americans are the top seeds at the Olympiad in Budapest, which starts on September 10th. They boast an impressive line-up: Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Leinier Dominguez, Levon Aronian, and Ray Robson.

John Donaldson is one of the most experienced and successful captains in Olympiad history. He made his debut way back in 1986 in Dubai, and this is the 15th time that he accompanies the American team to the Olympiad. His biggest success he celebrated in 2016, in Batumi, when Team USA won the gold medals. On two occasions John saw his team finish second and four times they finished third.

John joins us from San Francisco, where he is the former Chess Director of the Mechanic’s Institute, a cultural and intellectual centre founded in 1854, that also houses the oldest continuously operating chess club in the United States.

Sharing stories from many Olympiads, John delves into the history of this great event and looks at its future. Of course, he speaks about the teams that will challenge his squad in Budapest, such as the star-studded Indian team led by youngsters Erigaisi, Gukesh, and Pragg, or the highly experienced Chinese with Wei Yi on top board and World Champion Ding Liren on second.

To many John Donaldson is first and foremost known as a prolific and highly erudite chess author. In 2020 Siles Press published his monumental Bobby Fischer and His World. This talk is mainly about the Olympiad, but of course it’s hard to totally ignore books when talking to John Donaldson. Dirk Jan and John do so at the end of their talk and there is some good news… They agree to have that conversation in full some months from now, when John’s new book will be published, a sequel to his big Fischer book!

The 45th Chess Olympiad will start in a few days from now. If you haven’t warmed up yet, this episode of the New In Chess Podcast with John Donaldson will get you in the right mood!

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
01:49 – John explains the significance of the San Francisco Mechanics Institute
05:06 – Why John thinks the Olympiad is the most exciting chess event
07:59 – How did John get his job as the first captain of the US Olympiad team?
13:28 – Was John always the “player-coach”?
15:20 – How does John see his role as captain, and how does this compare to the captain’s role back in the day?
27:05 – AD BREAK
28:03 -  This year’s American Olympiad team, the strength of the current playing field and the other frontrunners
32:39 – Netherlands being a remarkable 4th seed in this year’s Olympiad
33:25 – Uzbekistan and Kramnik’s captaincy
36:35 – Norway and Magnus
39:20 – The Olympiad often being a tournament for young stars to break out
40:20 – AD BREAK
40:53 – Last year’s Olympiad in Chennai
41:55 – The many format changes the Olympiad has undergone throughout the years
46:50 – John’s nail-biting experience winning Olympiad gold in 2016
52:18 – What was it like to manage a team of “stars” as John did in 2016?
56:48 – AD BREAK
59:38 – John carrying his passion for reading over to his players
1:02:32 – John’s upcoming book for Bobby Fischer
1:06:59 – Outro