Ep. 56 (S3 Finale): Active Pieces feat. NY Chess Legend IM Jay Bonin, the "Iron Man of Chess"

The Chess Angle

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! This week's episode is our Season 3 Finale and features International Master Jay Bonin, a legend of the New York chess scene. He is one of the most active tournament players ever, having amassed an estimated 30K - 40K rated OTB games, sometimes playing over 700 games in one year. As such, he is known as the "Iron Man of Chess." Neal spoke with Jay recently via phone where he shared his experiences and knowledge. The basis of this conversation is his 2016 book, Active Pieces (Amazon) which discusses Jay's approach to chess with explanatory prose and annotated games. Some of the talking points in this episode include the following:

• Why Jay feels draw offers are best made when capturing a piece
• The influence of Bobby Fischer
• Winning with the "rope-a-dope" method
• Jay's strong friendship with fellow NY chess legend Asa Hoffmann
• The "Bonin-Kann" opening (1...c6, 2...a6!?, holding back ...d5, which often throws the opponent off balance)
• Thoughts on mate with the bishop and knight
• Playing Queenless middlegames
• His win against chess giant GM Samuel Reshevsky
• How Jay adapts his style and openings for specific opponents

Links for IM Jay Bonin:

• Active Pieces (Amazon)
• Facebook
• Chess.com: Boninknights

Mentioned:

• Bellon - Bonin (2008) 1/2-1/2

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