This week’s guest is author, commentator, and Slavic Linguistics professor at the University of Oslo, IM Atle Gronn. Atle’s most recent book, Games and Goals: The Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein books, has recently been released in the English language and is one I have been greatly looking forward to reading. It did not disappoint, as it provides a revealing biography of one of the most compelling figures in modern chess history. GM Simen Agdestein, in addition to being a Norwegian chess legend, and the childhood trainer of Magnus Carlsen, Simen was a supremely talented athlete who played for the Norwegian national soccer team. As a strong player from the same generation as Simen, Atle bore witness to Simen’s rise, fall, and resurgence, and also witnessed and contextualizes GM Magnus Carlsen’s relentless ascent to the top of the chess world.  There are many lessons we all can learn from the stories that Atle shares and I greatly enjoyed chatting with him about his book. 

Games and Goals is available from Amazon and other book sellers, 

Games and Goals: The Fascinating Chess and Football Careers of Simen Agdestein books 

And you can view a Free excerpt here:

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9186.pdf

0:01- Thanks to our sponsor Chessable.com- If you sign up for Chessable pro, please use the link below to help support Perpetual Chess:

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

0:02- What made Simen Agdestein a “mythic figure” in the 1980’s? How did he go from beginner to national Norway champion in 4 years? 

Mentioned: Tarjei Svensen’s Article on the most recent Norwegian Championship:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/15-year-old-copies-magnus-carlsen-norwegian-champion

0:07- How did Simen become an elite athlete without training extensively? What was his style like as a footballer?

15:00- How did Atle’s collaboration with Simen come about? 

22:00- How would Atle describe Simen’s chess style? What traits of Simen can be seen in Magnus Carlsen (his student)? 

29:00- Atle describes his 2005 game against Magnus Carlsen, which became a famous win for Magnus.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1348050

32- Why was Atle initial skeptical of Magnus’ talents? 

37:00- How did injuries change Simen’s careers?

46:00- What did Simen do for income during his years when both careers suddenly ended?

52:00- We discuss chess books and the topics of Otle’s prior books, which were written in Norwegian. 

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