Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Ep. 300 - Lessons Learned from 300 Episodes

This week on Chess Journeys, I reflect upon the lessons that I’ve learned from 300 episodes of Chess Journeys. I discuss a wide range of topics and advice provided by my

Nov 5
1 h 09 min

Ep. 299 Ben (1800 Chess.com / 1500 ECF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Ben. He has a fascinating take on chess improvement: we are mostly doing it wrong. His focus is on filling the bottom holes in y

Oct 30
1 h 14 min

Ep. 298 NM John Wright

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with NM John Wright. He is the president of the San Gabriel Valley Chess Club. John talked about his 60 year history with chess. We d

Oct 22
1 h 17 min

Ep. 297 Dash (1650 Lichess)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Dash. We discussed his journey into chess. Dash has tried a lot of improvement techniques and most did not work for him. However

Oct 15
1 h 04 min

Ep. 296 Joe (1500 Chesscom)

Ascend Chess Discount: https://ascendchess.com/offer/JOURNEYS?tier=candidate Chessbook: chessbook.com/?ref=kevin chess-journeys.com - The podcast has a website! Chess

Oct 8
58 min

Ep. 295 Kyle (1900 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Kyle. We talked about his improvement journey and love for chess. Kyle started pre pandemic with videos and joy. He continued pl

Oct 1
1 h 21 min

Ep. 294 Charlie (1700 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Charlie. He gained 1000 rating points over the last 7 years!! We talked about the secret of his success. It primarily lies in pl

Sep 24
35 min

Ep. 293 Varun (1500 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Varun. We talked about his massive decision to retire and go chess full time. He talked about his progress since retiring and hi

Sep 17
1 h 10 min

Ep. 292 Bonus Episode: Southern California Open

This week on Chess Journeys, I recap my recent Southern California Open. It wasn't quite the crowning cap on the summer that I hoped it would be. But lessons were learned

Sep 14
30 min

Ep. 291 Don (1350 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Don. He’s been having fun with chess since his first experiences in the 1970’s. We talked about the challenges of finding playin

Sep 10
1 h 03 min

Ep. 290 CM Dr. Can (Chessable, Youtube, Podcaster)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with CM Dr. Can Kabadayi. Dr. Can does it all in chess. He applies his work as a cognitive scientist to his chess teaching. We discus

Sep 3
1 h 12 min

Ep. 289 Mike (2000 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Mike. Mike loves to play chess, compete, and travel. Retirement has allowed him to do all of these things in chess. He talked ab

Aug 27
1 h 08 min

Ep. 288 Q’wayne (1780 Lichess)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Q’wayne. He talked about resources that have helped me along his journey. We discussed the Jamaican chess scene and the goal of

Aug 20
39 min

Ep. 287 Bonus Episode: Pacific Coast Open Recap

This week, I'm recapping the Pacific Coast Open. It took place in early August 2026. It was one of my few great tournament successes. Hopefully, you enjoy the positivity

Aug 17
28 min

Ep. 286 Jess (1771 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Jess about her journey from 1500 to nearly 1800 in just this summer alone. We discussed her training, which includes mostly stud

Aug 13
55 min

Ep. 285 Summer of Chess with Jay Garrison (1900 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with friend of the show Jay Garrison about our chess summers. Jay’s was full of interesting activities like the Naroditsky Memorial T

Aug 6
1 h 08 min

Ep. 284 Bonus Episode: Happiness, Ratings, and Titles

In this bonus episode, I discuss ratings, their, role and how we deal with them. I suggested some proposals to adjust the current system. I also discussed titles, and my

Aug 3
29 min

Ep. 283 Joel Returns (1800 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Joel. He is a returning guest from episode 23 (4.5 years ago). We talked about where he was then, rated about 1600, and what he

Jul 30
1 h 15 min

Ep. 282 Mark (1796 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Mark. We talked about the challenge of balancing family and chess improvement. We discussed his concise training plan. Mark talk

Jul 23
54 min

Ep. 281 Diego (1700 USCF)

This week on Chess Journeys, I spoke with Diego. He had a quick rise from 1200-1700 in two years of OTB play. However, lately his career is making chess improvement and p

Jul 16
1 h 22 min

Chart trend

Position in the Hobbies chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#81#161AugSepOctNov

#15

all-time peak

285

days in the top 50 since Aug 2025

Chart positions

Where Chess Journeys: Tales of Adult Improvement ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Nov 12, 2026).

#86 ▼ 12 Hobbies US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Back from a 30-year hiatus, and this podcast was my first glimpse into a world that I no longer knew. Adult improvement? What is that? An increment of what? Tilt? Did my pinball machine become stuck? I came for chess knowledge but found something even more. The stories of why we pursue this game, the pain, and the victories. All of this and more from the perspective of an adult with limited time. Appreciate the hard work, Kevin. So yes, we, the community, still need this outlet, so don’t ever stop. -Michael

Boldness is all · Apr 2026

I discovered this podcast only a week ago and have already listened to the first 25 episodes. I spend tons of time driving for work and I crave to learn about chess in that Los Angeles traffic. This fills the niche—more about how various people approach learning than about theory itself. I’m a relatively low rated adult so this is the perfect in-road to improvement. It motivates me to practice after work, and constantly gives me ideas about how to proceed. Kevin is the perfect host—funny, relatable and thoughtful all at once.

Jeb_C · Nov 2025

Love your podcast and hearing relatable stories of folks on their chess journey like me. I bought the chessnut pro using your code tonight. I play in a lot of the unrated clubs around LA and hope playing longer time controls on the chessnut will prepare me for OTB rated games some day.

Jason1256 · Apr 2025

This is a brilliant podcast which makes the world of amateur chess - the realm that most chess players inhabit - fully to life. At the urging of my grandson, I took up online chess in the wake of the pandemic and it has become my passion, displacing golf. Disclosure: I am not an “adult improver”, as I turned 80 last month. I suppose you might call me an “elderly improver”. I had to chuckle when the host complained of slowing calculation speed after age 47. Believe me, it slows to a crawl if you live into your 80’s. The beauty of chess is that it doesn’t matter, there are always opportunities to explore the depths of this wonderful game.

easyjay39402 · Aug 2024

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.