NM Dana Mackenzie is a former math professor turned science writer who has maintained a passion for chess throughout his life and career changes.He is a USCF Life Master and was the 2 time state champion of North Carolina. Dana had a long running and popular chess blog which has now been turned into a book Did You Come Here to Play Chess or Have Fun? The book features plenty of chess improvement advice, with a particular emphasis on what Dana thinks is required to become a master level player.
Dana is very familiar with the ups and downs of an active player, as he achieved a peak rating of USCF 2257, eventually fell below 2100, and then had to revamp his game in his 50s in order to get back to 2200!. Dana also shares some fun stories from his chess career. These include amusing or noteworthy anecdotes about GM Jesse Kraai, a young GM Hans Niemann and a funny story involving a prominent grandmaster offering a “psychological draw offer.” . All in all, there is a lot to learn, and to enjoy from Dana’s book and from our conversation. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.
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00:00- Introduction to Dana McKenzie
Read about Dana’s history of pursuing tenure here:
https://danamackenzie.com/about/the-tenure-chase-papers/tenure-chase-part-1-prehistory/
04:00- Becoming a Chess Master: Core Beliefs and Steps
Mentioned: IM Jeremy Silman’s How to Reassess Your Chess
07:00- Developing Strengths and Eliminating Weaknesses
11:00- The Importance of Community in Chess
14:00- Navigating Age and Chess Performance
16:00- Strategic Thinking and Questions for Improvement
19:00- Are chess tactics necessary to make it to the master level?
22:00- Can going to chess parties help your chess?
24:00- After losing over 100 points in his 40s, Dana managed to gain them back and get back over 2200. What changes did he make to his game?
Mentioned:
Dana’s USCF Rating History:https://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=10277604
Episode 346 with NM Todd Bryant
Can Adults Improve at Chess? By NM Todd Bryant
https://www.chess.com/article/view/can-adults-improve-at-chess
30:00- Dana shares a few examples of his suggested “10 questions for schematic thinking.”
Mentioned: GM Robert Hess, GM Jonathan Rowson, GM Jesse Kraai
36:00- Dana’s advice for finding a chess community, and the underrated value of chess parties!
Mentioned: NM Mike Splane, FM Craig Mar
43:00- Dana tells a funny story involving Grandmasters and a “psychological draw offer.”
Mentioned: GM Walter Browne, GM Sergey Kudrin
https://danamackenzie.com/blog/?p=3209
52:00- Dana’s encounter with a young Hans Niemann
Mentioned: Read more about “The Troitsky Line” here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_knights_endgame
58:00- What Dana learned from GM Jesse Kraai
Mentioned: Read more about Nezhmetdinov’s famous queen sacrifice in this article by NM Sam Copeland:
https://www.chess.com/blog/SamCopeland/nezhmetdinovs-immortal-queen-sacrifice-best-of-the-60s-nezhmetdinov-vs-chernikov-1962
Thanks to Dana for joining me!
You can check out his blog and webiste here:
https://danamackenzie.com/
And get his book here:
https://www.newinchess.com/did-you-come-here-to-play-chess-or-to-have-fun
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