EP 498- IM David Vigorito on How to Improve as an Adult & Build a Better Opening Repertoire
Perpetual Chess PodcastShow Notes
IM David Vigorito is a three-time state champion, renowned opening theoretician and trainer, and the author of many highly regarded books and Chessable courses. His latest course, 1. e4: The Gold Standard, offers an ambitious, principled repertoire against all of Black’s major responses.
In our conversation, we discuss:
How David’s process for researching openings has changed as engines have grown increasingly powerful.
What adult improvers can learn from David’s own unusual chess journey and the huge rating gains he made in his late teens, 20s, and 30s.
Why players should sometimes deliberately play openings and positions that make them uncomfortable.
The challenges of finding opportunities to compete while balancing chess with work and family obligations.
David also shares a funny story about the unexpected chain of events that followed our first interview in 2019, explains some of the ambitious choices in his new 1. e4 repertoire, and shares his strong opinions on Chess960 and some recent trends in professional chess.
It’s always fun to catch up with David, and there is lots of practical chess advice in this one.
0:00 Intro
Thanks to our sponsor Claude.ai
Check them out at Claude.ai/chess
2:30 David’s new 1. e4 course and how engine-era opening research has changed
6:55 Why David recommends ambitious, principled opening lines
15:15 How much opening theory do amateur players actually need?
20:40 Adult improvement: what helped David make huge rating gains
26:00 The New England chess scene and David’s tournament schedule
31:55 A funny story stemming from David’s first Perpetual Chess interview
38:20 Improving by working on your weaknesses
44:00 Following professional chess and David’s dislike of alternative scoring formats
45:40 Why David has no interest in Chess960
Vigorito-Aagaard 2025
50:30 What’s next for David
https://www.chessable.com/author/dvigorito/
52:00- Thanks to David for joining me! Be sure to check out his courses on Chessable:
https://www.chessable.com/author/dvigorito/
If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:
https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from Perpetual Chess Podcast
John Hartmann is the award-winning editor of Chess Life magazine, a longtime book reviewer, and an expert on ChessBase, engines, and chess technology. He joined me shortly after a visit to St. Louis to discuss the ongoing U.S. Chess Championships, the renovations to the St. Louis Chess Club, the latest in chess technology, and his new AI-assisted chess newsletter, First Look Chess. We touched on:
GM Nikita Vitiugov is a former Russian champion who reached a peak ranking of #15 in the world. He has represented both his native Russia and England at the Chess Olympiad and worked on the World Championship team of his boyhood rival, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. In his excellent new book, Chess Metamorphosis, he candidly reflects on his varied chess experiences.
As a three-time Chess Olympian representing Chile, GM Mauricio Flores Rios, renowned author of Chess Structures, has fond memories of this timeless, biennial tournament. But these days, he is more interested in the instructive quality of the games than in the races for medals.
The Adult Improver series returns to spotlight another guest who has benefited from chess and improved significantly at the game. Chess was recommended to Leah Brown as a healthier outlet for a mind that, in Leah’s words, tends to “torture itself.” Leah began playing tournaments less than two years ago and already has a peak rating of over 1600 USCF. In our conversation, Leah shares the training approach that has helped propel these gains, including:
Jan Henric Buettner is a German entrepreneur, co-founder of Freestyle Chess alongside Magnus Carlsen, and a candidate for FIDE President. In his business career he has worked in technology, venture capital and hospitality.