HIKARU, HANS, Future of US Chess | Awonder Liang PODCAST

Try Chessreps and check out my lines here: https://www.chessreps.com/opening/mustreader-s-milner-barry-gambit-vs-the-french-6sbbek7 Today I’m joined by a young super-GM Awonder Liang. We talked about his matches against Hikaru Nakamura and Hans Niemann, the 2026 Candidates, and the discontinued Webster chess program. Awonder also shared his thoughts on chess mindset, playing under stress, what it takes to become great, and his own training routine and goals. And of course, we finished with a blitz game you don’t want to miss! Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mustreader My DISCORD server: https://discord.gg/QYX5VcpTBP My X: https://x.com/mustreader My channel with podcast highlights: https://www.youtube.com/@CwMClips My chess.com club: https://go.chess.com/MustreaderClub Collabs: mazdrid@gmail.com Awonder's X: https://x.com/awonder676 Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chess-with-mustreader/id1745521337 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2mU5WbBXgDklyN3jm6GMSN All platforms: https://mustreaderchess.mave.digital My podcast with Giri: https://youtu.be/eFWwfFySx2Q My podcast with Caruana: https://youtu.be/1LMPYFf1iLo My podcast with Peter Svidler: https://youtu.be/qVpKE0mTVsI My podcast with Erigaisi: https://youtu.be/3Nvfuk70v6g Many thanks to my Patreon supporter: Sarterus 00:00 — Intro 01:11 — Match vs Hans Niemann 03:25 — Playing under stress 07:31 — The Chessreps discussion 11:12 — Awonder’s chess mindset 14:50 — Recent troubles in Awonder’s play 17:07 — Did beating Hikaru matter? 20:53 — Confidence in chess 24:42 — Sacrificing everything for chess? 29:01 — How much does Awonder train? 29:52 — What does Awonder train? 33:06 — Do chess books matter? 35:42 — Pattern recognition 38:49 — Plan to become World Champion 41:34 — Awonder’s chess goals 42:56 — Webster chess program discontinued 45:46 — Chess support in the U.S. 50:08 — Candidates 2026 53:06 — Blitz vs Awonder My name is Greg Mustreader, I am a Candidate Master in chess, an entrepreneur and host of several podcasts. On the Chess with Mustreader channel, I interview top chess players, play against chess AIs, analyze the most interesting chess games and combinations of today and of the past, as well as show you my path in chess and the way I work on my chess improvement (including recaps from the tournaments I play). I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel the world extensively (been to 50 countries). I'm 32 years old, I have a girlfriend, three dogs and four cats. I speak English, Russian, German, and a bit of French and Chinese. Don't forget to subscribe! #awonderliang #hikarunakamura #hansniemann #uschess #candidates2026 #chesspodcast #chessinterview #chesswithmustreader #mustreaderchess #cwm