Today’s episode of the New In Chess podcast features an interview with Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov. Ivan is a former Dutch and Yugoslav chess champion who holds victories over several former World Champions, including Kasparov, Kramnik and Anand. He has also been highly successful as a chess trainer, currently coaching the Romanian national team and having previously worked with the Iranian, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbek teams, the latter winning the 2022 Chennai Olympiad under his guidance. He is also a prolific author of chess books on a variety of technical topics. His most recent release, "Winning Chess Middlegames: An Essential Guide to 1.e4 Pawn Structures", is a sequel to the 2009 original, with stronger computer analysis and a heavier focus on open and half-open games.

Together with Remmelt Otten, Ivan discusses his playing and coaching career, his greatest victory, the careers of Alireza and Pragg, and much more.

Ivan's most recent release, "Winning Chess Middlegames: An Essential Guide to 1.e4 Pawn Structures", is available on the New In Chess website:

https://www.newinchess.com/winning-chess-middlegames-e4-structures