Perpetual Chess Podcast

Philemon Thomas is an Albany, NY native who has been playing competitive chess for 14 years. During this period, Philemon has endured ups and downs, but his evident passion for the game has always kept him coming back to the board. In March of 2020, all of his hard work culminated with Philemon earning the title of USCF Master! This places him in the 98.8 percentile of US Chess’ tournament players, and he also is the first African-American chess master who is based in the Albany area. To hear the study tips and advice that Philemon has picked along this journey, please tune in to the interview. More details and timestamps can be found below.  2:30- We begin by learning a bit more about how Philemon got hooked on chess and what he has done to improve over the years.  Mentioned: Townsend Park in Albany NY, Franklin-Mercantile Chess Club in Philadelphia, Washington Square Park in New York City, Union Square in NYC 7:50- What books helped Philemon along the way?  Mentioned: My System by Nimzowitch, The Art of