IM Dean Ippolito- Trainer/Author/Tournament Vet on How to Adapt your OTB Approach for Modern Chess

This week we are joined by trainer, author and 6 time New Jersey state chess champion, IM Dean Ippolito. Dean has been an accomplished active player for decades, and a major theme of our conversation is the increasingly unforgiving nature of modern competitive chess. As Dean explains, players at all ages and levels are better prepared and more skilled than ever before. Competing with them is a challenge, but Dean relishes the opportunity to put his best foot forward and shares helpful advice for players of all levels who are looking to do the same. Dean was a lifelong New Jersey resident who recently relocated to Charlotte, in part to compete in events at the Charlotte Chess Center. Most recently, Dean played in the star-studded US Masters tournament. We also discuss Dean’s new book, Tricks, Tactics, and Tips in the Chess Opening: Practical Lessons for Ambitious Improvers. The book draws on Dean’s decades of teaching experience and is a good choice for scholastic players and amateurs rated below 1500 or so. Lastly, Dean shares some fun stories from his years of high-level chess. As an accomplished veteran of the US Chess scene, Dean has seen the rise of Nakamura and Caruana and many others, and in his extensive chess travels, he has had memorable games against some world class competitors . You can find timestamps of topics discussed below. 

0:00- You can subscribe to my free weekly chess news round up, the Perpetual Chess linkfest here:

1:00- Dean reflects on the ups and downs of his chess career as it relates to his ratings up and downs, which translates to good universal advice for OTB players. 

10:00- What would it take for Dean to become a Grandmaster? 

Mentioned: Episode 249 with Dr. Mark Glickman (Ratings Discussion)

15:00- What has Dean observed about adults sometimes losing interest in competitive chess? 

20:00- What adjustments has Dean made for modern tournament chess? 

Mentioned: The Woodpecker Method 

36:00- What was the US Masters and North Carolina Open like in Charlotte? 

Mentioned: FM James Canty, IM Kostya Kavutskiy, GM Aman Hambleton, GM Daniel Naroditsky 

45:00- What training will Dean do to try to earn the GM title? 

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56:00- Why write a chess book?

Mentioned: The Art of Attack in Chess, Get the E-Book here

1:04:00 - Dean has decades of experience running chess clubs/academies. What advice does he give to those thinking of opening one? 

1:11:00- What are Dean’s favorite chess memories? 

Mentioned: Ippolito-Sasrikan 2017, Morozevich-Ippolito 1997, GM Awonder Liang, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Parimarjan Negi 

1:29:00- Thanks to Dean for joining me! Here is how to reach him:

Email- Dean at deanofchess dot com

Book- Tricks, Tactics, and Tips in the Chess Opening: Practical Lessons for Ambitious Improvers. 

[noahz]

Excellent interview. Being a lone adult in a sea of underrated scholastic players has definitely been my experience and it's gratifying to hear I'm not alone and might be on the right track (daily tactics training, for example)

[chrisestiverne]

Adult only tournaments like what the Charlotte Chess Center has offered is becoming more and more common

[bhopfan]

1:25:29 Highlight of this episode is Ben calling Parimarjan Negi "Parmesan Negi"

[TCS]

We don't have any adult only tournaments in my area (Dallas), but I wish we did. Nothing is worse than getting beat by a 10 year old rated 1200, but actually is 2000 strength because his OTB rating hasn't caught up with his true strength yet. Demoraling!