5/30/2020 – The famous French musician, pianist and composer Jason Kouchak is an avid chess fan. During the time of the Corona lockdown he spends his time playing chess or watching online tournaments. But actually he wanted to be at the Holland Park Chess event, to give a live chess performance with his friend, actress Helena Bonham Carter, as white queen.
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This is a full repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 focussing on the Evans Gambit as the main weapon.
€59.90
What does Corona mean for you?
Corona offers us the chance to think about ourselves and our surroundings, a chance to rethink our expectations and reassess our place in the world together. Basically it is a chance to be kinder to each other and to reconnect by finding harmony in humanity.
Where are you at the moment?
Currently I am living in Paris to be with my mother in these uncertain times.
What is your life like at the moment?
Life is the way you use your time, energy and space. There are times when it is a challenge, as it is almost impossible to make long-term plans, but I try to manage expectations and focus on the positive aspects of this "New Normality", because I believe that all of us together will become stronger and take less for granted in the future.
Jason kibitzing at the match Juraj vs Patrice
How many of your shows did you cancel because of the corona pandemic?
Unfortunately I had to cancel some concerts in London and one in Paris, which was planned for Beethoven's 250th anniversary this spring.
I also had to postpone the 10th anniversary of the launch of Holland Park Chess until autumn. This was to be a ballet and chess performance with a guest appearance by my friend Helena Bonham Carter as White Queen on the 'Queen's Journey'.
How do you spend your time instead?
I find much more time to read the Russian classics and I have rediscovered my favourite French childhood books like The Little Prince and the wonderful fables of Fontaine. I also have a training session every morning including running, yoga and karate. In the afternoon I practice piano and write new music.
Chess training with Daisy
Do you follow chess tournaments online?
Yes, I follow these tournaments daily and recently I had a lot of fun watching the top players at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. I have some favourite commentators like Judit Polgar and Lawrence Trent, who have wonderful chess anecdotes to tell. I think it's great that more people inspired by the play of the grandmasters are taking part in online tournaments during the lockdown.
Questions: André Schulz, Translation from German: Johannes Fischer
Fantastic idea to combine chess with classical music - I love Beethoven!
louisetrazese 5/31/2020 07:43
Jason Kouchak you do a great job
cusacka742 5/30/2020 08:53
Following your song "Chess Life into... 64" - This Is My Life! What a brilliant song that is.
JohannSebastian160 5/30/2020 08:30
Good luck with the concerts! I look forward to attending the Holland Park Chess anniversary event!
HilaryLovett 5/30/2020 08:15
Keep calm and play chess! Finally something positive to read in this situation.
CA1989 5/30/2020 08:06
This is wonderful and encouraging.
TheBeast_100 5/30/2020 06:13
I'm tired of corona. wanna go to concerts, see friends, do things... thanx Tim Berners-Lee and the rest for giving us internet and tools to play online. nice to c some having energy to plan for the time after corona
Patricia-92 5/30/2020 05:56
Coronavirus affects everybody's life. So nice you guys play together. Especially children and the elderly can easily feel left isolated without having something meaningful to do.
JeanM 5/30/2020 05:40
Thanks to chess I have stayed sane during this lockdown - and actually have finally had a chance to improve my game ;-)
Rationalité 5/30/2020 12:14
Thank you Jason for bringing some normality during these uncertain times through chess and music. Merci infiniment!
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
Italian Game Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains 8571 top class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 479 are annotated.
Videos: Nico Zwirs discusses the Sicilian with 2…e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3. Mihail Marin examines Sindarov’s 6.Ne5 in the Queen’s Pawn Defence. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 41 analyses by Berg, Ftacnik, Gupta and many others.
If you're looking for a dynamic alternative to the Slav, Queen's Gambit Declined, or other mainstream systems, the Chigorin Defence offers exactly what modern tournament players need.
Michael Kotyk presents a complete repertoire after 1.e4 e5, built around creative ideas, surprising move orders, and practical weapons designed to catch your opponents off guard.
€69.80
€59.90
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