What Makes A Good Chess Commentator With GM Jon Ludvig Hammer

052 How do we grow the game? A major way has been the huge popularity of live-streamed events with star players and world-class commentary. But whether that commentary is engaging and accessible to chess fans is critical to our game’s popularity.So, what should you look for in chess commentary?That’s a major theme that I discuss with GM Jon Ludvig Hammer in this week’s episode.Hammer has been a professional commentator for nearly a decade. He regularly works for TV 2 Norway. He’s also been a contributor for Chess.com and GM Hikaru Nakamura’s Twitch channel.Prior to his commentator career, Hammer reached Super GM status with a 2705 FIDE rating. And he was Magnus Carlsen’s second in the 2013 and 2014 World Chess Championships.In this episode, Hammer and I also discuss a key improvement topic:Do you need to play classical chess to become a better player? (We take different views!)Plus, enjoy an episode that’s more discussion-style instead of the usual interview format, per Hammer’s request.More from Jon Ludvig Hammer:Hammer’s Twitch channelHammer’s Twitter Hammer’s Chess.com educational contentPhoto Credit: The superb photo used for this episode comes from photographer and WFM Maria Emelianova. You can follow her on Twitch and Twitter.---- Please Leave a Positive Rating If You Enjoyed This EpisodeIf you enjoyed this or other episodes, please leave a 5-star rating on Spotify or Apple. Then,  DM me on Twitter or email me (scroll to the bottom) and let me know you did. I'll reply personally with a thank you!----->> Join my official FREE club for The Chess Experience on Chess.com<< (PROMOTION)