All Episodes

Displaying episodes 1 - 30 of 37 in total

36: chess therapy (no, not like that)

Julia and JJ switch hats now that JJ is cured. They discuss how to find and keep motivation for chess studying when time and energy are in short supply. Buy our really...

35: Isaac Haxton, the chess/poker boygenius who lived

Julia and JJ interview their old family friend, Isaac "Ike" Haxton. They catch up on Haxton's illustrious poker career, his less illustrious chess career, and everythi...

34: problems with you people (chess gripes)

A true festivus! (We have a lot of problems with you people!) We also miss you terribly. Today Julia and JJ explore the very depths of h3ll (US chess tournaments). 

33: better never than late

We're back! Very proud. We respond to a number of questions from our dedicated fans, solving both chess and mental health in the process. Also, re audio quality, Julia...

32: convince me! never goes away (part two)

You already know.Check out our recommended courses on chessableBuy our really good merchTell us you love us by following us on twitterShow us you love us by giving us ...

31: convince me! returns, part one

Happy one year anniversary of Julia and JJ starting a podcast! To celebrate, we dig deep into the archives and share the prodigal return of the "convince me" series. L...

30: chessfeels bookclub pops off (Under the Surface by Jan Markos)

Julia and JJ talk about one of their favorite chess books, as well as what makes a good chess book and how to read a chess book.Check out our recommended courses on ch...

29: married to the game (with IM John Bartholomew)

Julia and JJ are joined by the most wholesome man in chess content creation. Try to keep up as the trio talks about everything from the evolution of John's career as a...

28: the stouffer's masters' chess'feels classic tournament minisode

Julia and JJ are pleased to invite you to the first ever Stouffers' Masters' tournament, modeled off of the...idiosyncratic...Airthings Masters' double elimination for...

27: new year, new benoni

Julia and JJ revisit an earlier conversation about the dangers of setting results-oriented goals, such as the 'annual rating goal' that plagues chess improvement circl...

26: a very chessfeels christmas gift guide

See our full gift guide on JJs substackCheck out our recommended courses on chessableBuy our really good merchTell us you love us by following us on twitterShow us you...

25: men would rather hire a chess coach than go to therapy

What do chess teaching and practicing therapy have in common? It sounds like a joke, and probably is, but you'll have to listen if you want to find out the actual answ...

24: men only want one thing and it's disgusting (with WGM Jennifer Shahade)

Julia and JJ are joined by WGM and multi-hyphenate chess champion, poker pro, and author Jennifer Shahade to talk about the future (and past) of social media, the ment...

23: you're studying openings wrong (with FM Nate Solon)

In the first podcast to ever feature two of the four highest rated chess players in the state of Nebraska, Omaha-based FM Nate Solon joins Julia and JJ to talk about h...

22: do you know where your tooth is? (halloween special)

Julia and JJ solicited scary and "scary" stories from listeners and compiled them for a very spooky episode.

21: do you ever get nervous? (the anxiety episode, pt 2)

Julia and JJ continue their conversation about how anxiety can impact your chess. They talk about how to notice when your thoughts turn from 'observational' to more 'r...

20: do you love this shit? (the anxiety episode, pt 1)

Julia explains what anxiety really is, and JJ talks about how they see this manifest in several of their students' annotations of their own slow games. You can learn h...

19: the gang fixes lichess (with @NoJokeChris)

Julia and JJ are joined by Chris Callahan, the community organizer for LiChess.org. They discuss what LiChess does, and could do, about the addictiveness of blitz, how...

18: it was only a blitz, how did it end up like this?

Julia and JJ talk about The Cheating Scandal, against their better judgment.

17: you can't quit us, we're fired

Julia and JJ tackle the question of why competitive and amateur chess players alike make such a big deal out of quitting. What does it mean to 'quit chess' if it's sti...

16: the unsolicited advice episode (with Omar Mills of Chess Von Doom)

Julia and JJ talk about how you're probably using twitter wrong but why it's not your fault. Ft. Omar aka @chessvondoom, who is definitely using twitter right.

15: the adhd episode

Julia and JJ talk about their experiences in chess and life as two individuals with adhd, talk a bit about what neurodivergency is and why it matters from a psychologi...

14: oops! all julia rios!

JJ and Julia are joined by Julia's "name twin" @omgjulia, a podcaster, poet, narrator, writer, and, most importantly, non-chess player who has been mistakenly tagged i...

13: the prestigious mr dodgy interview

Julia and JJ interview the Alireza of twitter trolls: Mr Dodgy. They discuss different types of trolling, and how to be a clown on the internet without getting sucked ...

12: it's about time

Julia and JJ solve the problem of time trouble during OTB play.

11: convince me!

Julia and JJ solicit controversial opinions from their listeners on twitter, and proceed to debate the merits of these ideas.

10: #chessgoals (or: the ceiling is the roof)

Julia and JJ meet up in person to talk about goal-setting, the assumptions that go into goal-setting, and what all of you are doing wrong.

9: the future of chess is trans (with Sam Sharf of New College)

Floridian Sam Sharf joins JJ and Julia to discuss getting back into chess after coming out as trans, gaining 1400 uscf rating points in under a year, her experiences a...

8: what your chess opening says about your sex life (with NM Gopal Menon)

NSFW. NM Gopal Menon joins JJ and Julia to address the most important question for anybody building an opening repertoire: which openings fuck?

7: tilt, fizzle, and pop

JJ and Julia are not feeling it this week. And by 'it,' we mean playing chess. They take this opportunity to ask what the best way to overcome this fizzle is, and how ...

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