This player, the king of Chess.com´s flagship Titled Tuesday and the winner of two deathmatches, has beaten Vladimir Kramnik with the black pieces. We are talking about the one and only Georg Meier, a chessplayer that should be well known to the members of Chess.com. Meier is a German grandmaster studying economics in Stockholm, where he lives with his girlfriend.

Name: Georg Meier

Title: Grandmaster

Date of birth: 26 August 1987

Fide rating:  2659 

Country: Germany

Chess.com username: GeorgMeier

Is there any chess book that has had a deep and lasting influence on you?

“Endgame Virtouso” by Smyslov. I haven´t read the whole book, but the fragments I have analyzed has made me a better endgame player. Kramnik says that when Smyslov was at his best, he played flawless chess.

What would your last meal be?

Some sort of freshly made fish soup. I just like it! The swedish fish is of so much better quality than the german, so I eat more fish now than before.

What is your favourite movie?

Probably the movie “7”, but I haven´t seen it seven times yet… I like movies with social critique. My favorite actors are Anthony Hopkins and Robert DeNiro. When it comes to tv I really can´t say, because I stopped watching german tv many years ago.

If you haven´t seen the modern classic "7" yet, you are in for a treat... 

If you could choose to live one day of any time in the history of mankind, which time would that be and why?

That´s a tough question! It´s hard to say, maybe to be on Colombus´ ship when he discovered America? Atleast back then they were discovering a new world.

What is the best chessgame you ever played?

That´s easy – two years ago I beat Vladimir Kramnik with the black pieces in a tournament in Germany.

Who is your favorite chessplayer?

That is easy – Vladimir Smyslov!

What music are you currently grooving to?

I like classical music, but I´m not a fan. For the record, I have only been to one concert in my life, and that was when I saw Taylor Swift with my girlfriend J.

How do you train chess?

Sadly nowadays my training is about opening theory. Before I used to have small training camps with other strong players, but that happens maybe once a year now. When I started out my first GM trainer Lev Gutman tried to teach me how to study chess on my own. I had to go through famous games to find my own style, and I studied Alekhine, Tal and Smyslov. That was enough for me, I just found Smyslov so great. My trainer asked me how long I had spendt on the games – 30 minutes, 45 minutes? He told me to spend two hours on a game to understand it. He told me the questions you asked is what is important, and the answers you find will be your own. These famous players will give you the essence of what goes on in a game with few words, without using an engine. Playing a lot online has also helped me develop as a chess player.

What do you do when you relax?

Actually, what works best for me is to spend a few hours in nature if I´m really stressed.

What five words do you think best describe you?

I don´t like to portray myself, so I won´t find any words. I´ll leave that to others.

Is there any lesson you’ve learned in chess that resonates in your real life?

Chess taught me that it is really important to be receptive to feedback. If I have made a mistake, or if somebody has a better idea than me, then I´m quite ready to accept that.

Do you have any thoughts on how Chess.com can get even better?

I have to say that when I got to know the site, I learned how diverse it was. The server is quite good for a browser-based site, and now Chess.com has become my main chess site. Whatever Chess.com is doing in building a brand and then expanding it, they are doing it really well.