UNFILTERED: GM Ben Finegold on FIDE, GothamChess, Marriages, and Why You’ll Never Be a GM

JOIN MY 3-DAY Endgame Marathon ➡️ https://www.skool.com/chessschool 📍June 20-22! 🎙️GM Ben Finegold Unfiltered: Marriages, GothamChess, Freestyle & Why He Never Plays 1.f3 In this raw and hilarious episode, together with my wonderful co-host @emilyplayschess we sit down with the one and only Grandmaster Ben Finegold @GMBenjaminFinegold to talk about everything — from his path to becoming a GM (spoiler: it took a while) to his thoughts on Levy, Hans Niemann, veganism, and why he’ll never forgive 1.f3. 💥 Whether you're a chess fan, aspiring GM, or just here for the chaos — this is a must-watch. 👇 Timestamps so you don’t miss your favorite moments: 00:01 — How Ben became vegan 03:39 — His early life and chess journey 06:38 — Why it took him so long to get the GM title 10:44 — Can anyone become a GM? 11:31 — Kids in chess 13:08 — Ben on marriage(s) 15:40 — Why he thinks GothamChess won't make GM 18:57 — Challenging Levy 20:07 — Hans Niemann stories and drama 23:51 — Why Ben came out of retirement 26:12 — Meeting his current wife 30:33 — Can adult beginners become GMs? 32:21 — Kramnik, cheating & the chess "mafia" 38:33 — Freestyle Chess and its future 41:27 — Thoughts on Chess.com, FIDE & quitting USCF 54:23 — Does age limit improvement? 54:31 — Never play f3! 57:07 — Best first move? 1.d4. 🔥 Plus: his brutally honest take on the state of modern chess. 💬 Drop your favorite Finegold quote in the comments — and don’t forget to like & subscribe for more epic guests! Thank you for watching!! Drop a like and let us know your thoughts in the comments! 👇TRY MY COURSE FOR FREE FOR 7 DAYS! ►https://www.skool.com/russianchessschool/about Haven’t made up your mind yet about joining my Russian Chess School? Subscribe for my FREE weekly NEWSLETTER with chess tips and tricks and stay in touch with our latest features 👉 https://www.russianchessschool.com ➡️ Upgrade your chess.com membership via my affiliate link: https://go.chess.com/DinaBelenkaya Support the channel ► https://streamelements.com/dinabelenkaya ✉️ For all business inquiries, please contact: [email protected] #BenFinegold #GothamChess #Chess