As a fascinating and upset-laden FIDE World Cup comes to an end, 2022 Austrian National Champion <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Blohberger">GM Felix Blohberger</a> joins me to break down the key moments, share stories from his own World Cup experience, and reflect on his chess career.  GM Blohberger has been offering insightful commentary on his<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@febloh"> YouTube channel </a>where he has been sharing his thoughts on the FIDE World Cup, and was able to elaborate on many themes from his channel in our interview.  In our conversation we discuss: 
<ul>
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The new Candidates qualifiers:  GM Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Andrey Esipenko plus who Felix now sees as the favorite to  win the Candidates.
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 <li>
The pressure of tiebreaks including Felix’s take on GM Esipenko’s heartbreaking blunder against Wei Yi, plus what it’s actually like inside the venue between games.
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Felix’s chess career:  including his favorite books, his rating goals, and reflections<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DW6XShofQ"> on the viral video that helped grow his channel</a>. . 
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This was another entertaining and surprising World Cup, and I am already excited for the FIDE Candidates next year. Timestamps  are below. 
0:00- Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! If you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link:
<a href="https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro">https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro</a>
And you can check out their new offerings here:
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00:00 Introduction 
03:00- GM Felix Blohberger joins me
Sub to his YouTube here:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@febloh">https://www.youtube.com/@febloh</a>
Felix’s video about the challenges of life as a chess pro:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DW6XShofQ&t=0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DW6XShofQ&t=0</a>
Esipenko’s blunder-
<a href="https://x.com/GMJuditPolgar/status/1992651679108616301?s=20">https://x.com/GMJuditPolgar/status/1992651679108616301?s=20</a>
05:03 The FIDE World Cup Experience- 
08:00 Tiebreaker Tensions and Player Dynamics
12:00 Youth vs. Experience in Chess
13:30-<a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess"> Patreon mailbag question</a>:
Why does Felix think so many players were content to go to tiebreaks? 
16:00- Felix’s thought on GM Sindarov 
Sindarov’s <a href="http://2700chess.com">2700chess.com</a> rating graph-
https://2700chess.com/players/sindarov_javokhir
20:00 Wei Yi's Comeback Story
21:00  Felix’s big picture conclusions from the World Cup 
26:07 Tournament Conditions and Player Experiences
27:56 The Pros and Cons of Making Predictions 
29:39 Experiences in the Croatian Chess League
31:25 Confidence Boost from Recent Performances
33:19 Balancing Chess and Content Creation
Felix Rook Endgame Videos:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEESoSw164w">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEESoSw164w</a>
35:45 Resources and Training Techniques
Mentioned: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Build-Up-Your-Chess-Fundamentals/dp/1906552010">Yusopov’s Build Up Your Chess Series </a>
38:28 Working as a Second for GM Harikrishna 
Mentioned<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anand-Files-Michiel-Abeln/dp/1784830917/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18CQP6QPDXFCP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6gK1p6qrPJC4yFZsSgoq9IH3Km80stgDkeEl3GO1oNo5Nrvc3puqTJXV9WyD6y9K.fwI-cH1lKGulb5jU0Y0imwayV2y-vP5CxhIVkOc4xEQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+anand+files&qid=1764186789&s=books&sprefix=the+anand+file%2Cstripbooks%2C104&sr=1-1">: The Anand Files by FM Michael Abeln</a>
41:57 Reflections on Competitive Chess
44:23 Career Highlights and Favorite Games
Mentioned:
Blohberger-Svane 2023
<a href="https://www.chess.com/events/2023-2024-austrian-chess-bundesliga/04/Blohberger_Felix-Svane_Frederik">https://www.chess.com/events/2023-2024-austrian-chess-bundesliga/04/Blohberger_Felix-Svane_Frederik</a>
47:40 Future Plans and Interests Outside Chess
50:00- An update on the life of a chess professional 
51:00- Thanks to GM Blohberger for joining me! Here is how to keep up with him:
YouTube:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@febloh">https://www.youtube.com/@febloh</a>
Instagram:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/felixblohberger/?hl=en">https://www.instagram.com/felixblohberger/?hl=en</a>
Website:
<a href="https://www.felixblohberger.com/">https://www.felixblohberger.com/</a>
If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:
<a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess">https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess</a>
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EP 462- FIDE World Cup Reflections with GM Felix Blohberger: Blunders, Bouncebacks, Tiebreaks and The New Candidates Field

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