Perpetual chess - the book

The Perpetual Chess podcast has been the chess podcast for several years. Since its launch in 2016, Ben Johnson has made almost 500 episodes in which he has interviewed many of the most notable people in chess. After all of these conversations, he has collected a massive amount of material on the topic of chess improvement. So when he announced that he had gathered the most important lessons from the podcast and put them in writing, I was very excited. Unfortunately, I have had many other things in life that have required my attention, so my review was delayed. But now, it's finally here! Hope you find it useful.

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What can you expect from this book?
Perpetual Chess Improvement is essentially a distillation of hundreds of conversations from Perpetual Chess Podcast into a single, highly digestible volume. Rather than presenting a rigid training system, Ben Johnson curates and synthesizes advice from grandmasters, coaches, and dedicated amateurs, searching for common patterns in how players actually improve.

The structure reflects this ambition. The book moves from broad principles – like the “four pillars” of improvement – into more concrete areas such as openings, tactics, and endgames, before shifting again toward meta-questions: plateaus, training habits, and how to organize your study time.

What stands out is how readable it is. This is not a calculation-heavy manual or a dense theoretical work. The number of diagrams is limited, and the emphasis is instead on thought processes, training methods, and practical decision-making. The result feels closer to a well-structured FAQ on chess improvement than a traditional chess book.

That approach is both the book’s greatest strength and its main limitation. On the one hand, you get exposure to a wide range of perspectives—sometimes even contradictory ones—which mirrors the reality that there is no single path to improvement. On the other hand, if you are looking for a tightly argued system or a step-by-step training plan, you may find it a bit scattered.

Still, there is something valuable in the accumulation of advice. Reading it feels like being given access to a large mental library of ideas: how strong players think about study, how they deal with stagnation, and how they structure their chess lives. It is less about giving you answers, and more about helping you ask better questions.

The book has received positive reviews from Nick plays chess, Forward Chess and Andras Toth. Jesse Kraai reviews the book and also gives a short history of the podcast.

Who should read this book?

This book is written for adult improvers – players who are already serious about getting better and are trying to figure out how to do it efficiently. If you are roughly in the intermediate range and above, you will likely recognize many of the problems discussed, e.g. inconsistent study habits, unclear priorities, and the feeling of being stuck despite effort.

Beginners might struggle to extract value, not because the content is overly complex, but because it assumes you already have some experience with studying chess and reflecting on your own progress. More advanced players may not find much that is entirely new, but they may still appreciate the synthesis and occasional fresh perspective.

If you enjoy podcasts, especially long-form discussions about improvement, this book will feel familiar – in a good way. If, however, you prefer concrete exercises, structured repertoires, or deeply analytical material, this is probably not what you are looking for.

About this book

Author:	Ben Johnson
Title:	Perpetual Chess Improvement
Type of book:	Chess improvement, Miscellaneous
Level:	Any

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