For this week’s (non-Candidates) podcast I am honored to be joined by Lou Hays. Lou Hays is a businessman, accomplished chess author, and the founder of Hays Publishing, which published many popular books beginning in the 1990s. Lou also is an accomplished amateur player, who began tournament chess in his 20s and made it up to near master level. Lou has had the opportunity to meet some of the true legends of the game, and shares some amazing stories about his time spent with Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and David Bronstein. We also discuss how chess improvement has, and has not changed over the decades, as well as Hays Publishing’s most successful books, and how the chess publishing industry has changed. I greatly enjoyed hearing Lou’s stories, and I am confident that you will as well. 

For this week’s (non-Candidates) podcast I am honored to be joined by Lou Hays. Lou Hays is a businessman, a noted chess author, and the founder of Hays Publishing, which published many popular books beginning in the 1990s. Lou also is an accomplished amateur player, who began tournament chess in his 20’s and made it up to near-master level. Lou has had the opportunity to meet some of the true legends of the game, and shares some amazing stories about his time  with Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and David Bronstein. We also discuss how chess improvement has, and has not changed, over the decades, as well as Hays Publishing’s most successful books, and how the chess publishing industry has evolved. I greatly enjoyed hearing Lou’s stories, and I am confident that you will as well. 

0:00-   Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com. New courses include GM Romain Eduoard’s Lifetime Repertoires: King’s Indian Attack. 

 If you use the link below to sign up for a Chessable pro membership, it helps to support the pod! 

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

Mentioned:

Winning Chess for Juniors 

 https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Juniors-Hays/dp/1880673932

0:03- In 1992, Lou got to spend the weekend with Bobby Fischer. How did that come about, and what was the experience like?

Mentioned: Bobby Fischer, Complete Games of the World Champion, Zita Rajcsanyi, Ken Smith (founder of Chess Digest and the Smith-Morra Gambit), Fischer voicemail is on YouTube here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/CCa15k61MLY?si=igrs2WYVuyYHbltj

25:00- Lou shares his own chess story, including how chess improvement has, and has not changed 

Mentioned: Hastings 1895 (Out of print), NM John Jacobs, Hal Bogner, IM Anatoly Lein 

37:00- What was it like to spend a weekend with Boris Spassky?

46:00- Lou tells the story of playing legendary blitz player Israel Zelber. 

49:00- How did Lou get into the chess publishing business? 

Mentioned: My System: 21st Century Edition, Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Stuart Margulies, Yasser Seirawan 

55:30- Patreon mailbag question: Would Lou consider putting Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors on Chessable? 

Mentioned: James Stallings 

1:00:00- Lou is also an accomplished improver at golf! Are there any parallels to chess improvement?

Mentioned:Lou’s book Make Your Golf Dream a Reality , 

1:01:00- What was it like to spend time with legendary GM David Bronstein?

Mentioned: The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein by Genna Sosonko, Mikanes Bronstein 1965 

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