EP.160 - Antonio Radić (aka Agadmator)

This week it is my honor to be joined by Antonio Radić, the creator of the most popular Youtube Chess Channel in the world, Agadmator’s Chess Channel!  In about 3 years, Agadmator has taken his channel from 0 to an astounding 539,000 subscribers! In our conversation, Agadmator takes us from the channel’s modest beginnings to its current status. We spent a lot of time talking about his “secret sauce,” and discussing the past and future of Antonio’s content creation. 

Antonio is also a strong chess player, with a peak ELO at over 2000, so we also discused his chess playing goals, chess improvement and chess books as well. Timestamps and links can be found below. 

If you are not seeing embedded hyperlinks on your podcast feed you can find here:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/1/14/episode-160-antonio-radi-aka-agadmator

0:00- To check out the World Championship chess mugs, go toChessmugs.com. If you decide to buy a set of mugs, use the code “perpetualchess” at checkout to save 15%.

2:00- We begin by discussing the origins of Antonio’s chess channel. What were his goals and visions? 

Mentioned:  IM Sagar Shah of Chessbase India’s Interview with Agadmator, Bobby Fischer Beats a Chess Grandmaster in 10 moves, Mikhail Tal vs. Alexei Suetin: Not Bad for a Dead Man Video, Chess Network’s Chess Channel, Here are Agadmator’s Videos sorted from oldest to newest, Ivanchuk vs. Shankland video, GM Eric Hansen

11:00- Did Antonio’s enthusiasm for video games inform the way he presents his chess videos? 

14:30- When did Antonio first think of quitting his job to focus on his Youtube channel?

17:00- What is the origin of his deep love for chess history? 

Mentioned: GM Mikhail Tal, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Judit Polgar, Paul Morphy, Blue Yeti microphone

20:00- Antonio gives some details on the podcast that he has hinted at starting. 

Mentioned: Jose Raoul Capablanca 

23:00- Antonio reflects on his trip to London for the last World Chess Championship match in London, and we discuss the 2020 World Chess Championship match a bit. 

Mentioned: GM Ivan Saric 

26:00- Antonio fields a couple of questions from Patreon supporters of the show on the subjects of how he learned English, and why he thinks his chess channel is so popular. 

33:45- When the Agadmator channel began, what were the most popular chess channels? How does he build a community via his YouTube channel?

Mato Jelic, KingsCrusher, The Chess Channel, John Bartholomew, A Song for Bobby Fischer, by GM Eugene Torre, Rashid Nezhmetdinov Chess Biography 

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https://www.chessable.com/break-down-anti-sicilians/course/31178/

39:30- Does Antonio have a rooting interest in the Candidates Tournament that will determine who will face Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship? 

Mentioned: GM Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana,

41:00- What are a few of his favorite chess books? 

Dimitrije Bjelica- My Friend Bobby Fischer (not available in English?) , Spassky Move by Move, Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca , Strategy and Tactics books by Georgy Lisitsyn, Olympiu Urcan, Video: Imagine if he Were a Najdorf Specialist

44:30- Antonio breaks down a recent tournament in which he played, how it went for him, and shares his  plans (or lack thereof) for future tournaments. 

48:00- Another Patreon question- Can Antonio tell whether a GM game is a fast or slow game based on the quality of the moves? 

Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Andrew Tang

49:30- We talk about Agadmator’s beloved dog Medo, who can often be seen in the background of his video.

52:30- What other projects is Antonio working on? In closing we discuss his channel a bit more, specifically how Antonio deals with haters and negative feedback. 

58:30- Thanks to Antonio for coming on the show! Here is his info: 

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5YbN5WLFD8dLIegT5QAbA

Twitter-https://twitter.com/agadmator?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/agadmator/?hl=en

If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate

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