What do you think of GM Baadur Jobava? Do you think he can crack the top ten with his strange/unorthodox play?
A very talented and strong player but similarly to Rapport I don't think he can get top ten with his current style.
honestly I didn't read any books until I was a GM so I can't give you great recommendations. to work on general strategy and middlegames I like to study games deeply.
How did you become a GM if you didn't read any books? Just by analyzing the games of strong grandmasters? Or you learned from video lessons instead of books? Just curious, GM level seems impossible to me without books, maybe 2100 is possible, but not GM level.
No books and no video series and no coaching mainly. I played tens of thousands of games online, played real tournaments when I could, analyzed my games, and followed all the top tournaments+ commentary. It seemed to me that I was able to absorb patterns in chess quite rapidly.
and...go! i'll try my best
Nice that you're doing this. Let's try interview style approach here :
When did you start playing chess. What age, and how did chess enter your life ? What are your future goals. e.g. Reaching 2600 ELO rating, or winning a bullet chess match against Nakamura, or become world champion chess960 etc. This week I read the profile of some (2000 rated) chess player, which showed that his favourite game is Matulovic-Fischer,1968. I didn't recall that game, so I looked at it. It is not very spectacular except for 1 super GM move. After that I asked an old age chess friend (otb) whether he knows the game and said no. A few days later I asked another chess friend, and he said he does know the game. Do you know that game ? Or, in other words, do you know famous chess games more or less by heart, or just for the ideas in those games ? What do you think about the approaches from GM Ziatdinov about GM-RAM, and 300 important positions by GM Alburt ? Can one really improve a lot with chess by understanding a few hundred positions ? How did you become friends with Robin van Kampen ? Was it in the post mortem of your chess games ? Which chess software do you ? Like : chess engine, chess database, tablebases, tactics software, chess DVDs. How would you describe your chess style ? Do you see yourself as a positional player, or tactical and attacking or all-round ? What's the top 5 of your favourite chess games from well know chess players ? Do you have a chess coach ? If so : How far (rating, game results) did you get without a chess coach ? What did you think about the recent Kasparov-Short match ?Best of luck, thanks. High five !
Way too many serious questions to start off with :P
Hi Eric. How do you get ideas in the opening? This is the most difficult part for me. I know about general principals but struggling with opening repertoire.
Do you have any quirky habits or rituals during your games?
To clarify this question, in order to avoid playing too fast in standard games I give myself a couple of minutes just to not think about the board before analysing, I find im more relaxed and ready to engage in deep thought afterwards. I'm also thinking of the famous ''dragging the hippo from the swamp'' story by Tal, where he wasnt thinking of the game at all.
Hi Eric. How do you get ideas in the opening? This is the most difficult part for me. I know about general principals but struggling with opening repertoire.
I studied the games of the top guys in each opening to look for patterns and eventually understand the goals in each opening. Then I check recent games to make sure I am also up to date on the specific move order.
Are you single and looking?
Single and probably no more space for anymore girls
Do you have any quirky habits or rituals during your games?
To clarify this question, in order to avoid playing too fast in standard games I give myself a couple of minutes just to not think about the board before analysing, I find im more relaxed and ready to engage in deep thought afterwards. I'm also thinking of the famous ''dragging the hippo from the swamp'' story by Tal, where he wasnt thinking of the game at all.
Nothing particularly superstitous. I do enjoy working out before my games so that I am not too hyper
When you look back on your "sub-2200" times, what mistakes did you make the most often and what mistakes were hardest to correct?
Hi Eric. How do you get ideas in the opening? This is the most difficult part for me. I know about general principals but struggling with opening repertoire.
I studied the games of the top guys in each opening to look for patterns and eventually understand the goals in each opening. Then I check recent games to make sure I am also up to date on the specific move order.
"Eventually understand" doesn't sound clear for me. I usually see just bunch of moves without ideas. How can you be sure that you understand idea 100%? Can you create your own idea in the opening?
If you're playing through a game played by your next opponent, in preparation for playing him yourself, what should you be looking for? Is it just a case of sussing out his strengths and weaknesses or what?
And remember to answer my other question about Mark's Opening won't you?
What do u do before U play chess?
GM Hansen,
What is the best way to use an engine to improve my game? Also, is Stockfish or Komodo 8 better for this?
Thanks in advance.
do you think 10 grandmasters would be able to beat a lion in a physical confrontation
GM Hansen I have been playing a while but I consider myself a strong beginner because of lack of education. What on line resources would you reccommend for chess training. A few of your favorite books (for beginner to intemediate players) would be appreciated as well. Thanking you in advance for your time Bill
Thanks for your answer, GM Hansen.
do you think 10 grandmasters would be able to beat a lion in a physical confrontation
They wouldn't be able to to beat the lion in a chess confrontation 
.
GM Hansen,
What do you think of playing online rapid (G/10) games for improving otb chess?
What is your most favorite game you've played so far and will you share it here with us?
honestly I didn't read any books until I was a GM so I can't give you great recommendations. to work on general strategy and middlegames I like to study games deeply.
How did you become a GM if you didn't read any books? Just by analyzing the games of strong grandmasters? Or you learned from video lessons instead of books? Just curious, GM level seems impossible to me without books, maybe 2100 is possible, but not GM level.
No books and no video series and no coaching mainly. I played tens of thousands of games online, played real tournaments when I could, analyzed my games, and followed all the top tournaments+ commentary. It seemed to me that I was able to absorb patterns in chess quite rapidly.
Fair enough.
A sample of your analysis please when you we're still a noob :D or really young lol.
I want to see how did your analysis progress
Where did you get your commentary? What sites and what annotators?
The only ones i can find easily was World Championship commentaries by Peter Svidler ( one of my favorites :D , Kramnik was awesome too when he was partnering Svidler on Carlsen - Anand game 6 2014)
Opinion on blitz chess/ fast time controls, how do you balance between blitz and standard time controls?
You managed to learn all the necessary endgames without books?
First chess book that you read seriously :D ?
Importance of chessbase to your training?
I hope you try to answer some of the questions you skipped earlier, they may be long but answers from those questions might help some of us improve our game. :D
You opened your heart thus...
Special diet during a tournament?
Is your tournament preparation towards opponents or generally refreshing your openings?
Your major income as a professional player? (only tournament prizes, + coaching)
A girlfriend?
Do you really believe to enter top-10, 25, 50, 100?
Your chess idol? Or a player who mostly influenced you
1. No special diet but I tend to be safe and eat Western food.
2. Refreshing openings unless it is a round-robin.
3.Answered shortly above.
4. Currently single.
5. Top 50 eventual goal (2700+) Yes, I think I will.
6. Don't have a clear favorite- studied most of them with an open mind. But my biggest chess influence is definitely Michael Adams.