Perpetual Chess Linkfest #119, April 11, 2025
Classical Chess Brain
Hi there! Below you can find another week’s worth of chess links. Enjoy!- Ben
Misc.
In an article that is both entertaining, and mildly disturbing, British GM Jonathan Levitt writes about how he semi-accidentally started composing chess-themed pop songs with the help of A.I. The Fischer song is not the worst thing I have ever heard! (Chessbase News)
A new satirical chess site has appeared, Serious Chess News featuring headlines such as “Light-squared Bishops Launch Class Action Suit Against French Players” (Serious Chess News)
FM Nate Solon continues his crusade to make chess tournaments more enjoyable and writes. “I’m confused how it’s even possible to make a website that looks like (certain organizer sites do) in 2025.” 🤣 (Zwischenzug Blog)
Reviews
Nick Visel reviews Botvinnik: Move by Move. He likes it, but notes that engines have changed a lot of the given evaluations in the time since it was published. (Nick Plays Chess)
NM Han Schut provides a video review of The Woodpecker Method 2: Positional Play. He recommends it, but says that if you have not read Chess Structures you may want to go for that first. No arguments here. (NM Han Schut’s YouTube)
Chess Improvement
Kevin Lincoln wrote about the unexpected result he got from taking a risk in an OTB game. Big life lessons here! (Good Moves)
Are you into the ongoing freestyle chess tournament? As a fan, I am not, but I get why the elite players prefer to play it. FM Andy Lee does a nice job deconstructing some of the challenging opening choices they face. “There are a lot of Freestyle positions where pawn advances that look thematic to the classical chess brain are actually serious mistakes.” (Lit & Chess)
Kids are Good at Chess
This week’s record-breaking prodigy is Luca Protopopescu, who became the youngest ever to reach 2200 FIDE. (Tarjei Svensen for Chess.com)
Chess News
Legendary Icelandic GM Fredrik Olaffson passed away, at age 90. “He gained renown for his brilliance at the chessboard, and equally for his refinement and elegance.” said former Icelandic President Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson (Peter Doggers for Chess.com)
Podcasts and Videos
This weeks Perpetual Chess is an adult improver pod with Omar Mills. Omar discovered chess in his 40s during the pandemic and expected rapid improvement. Rating gains have proven more challenging than he thought, but, as Omar shares, he has learned alot along the way, such as his propensity for negative self-talk. “Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to your best friend or to your mom.” (Perpetual Chess Podcast)
Why did GM Alireza Firouzja forgo a big paycheck and withdraw from the Freestyle tournament at the last minute? Its sponsor, Jan Buettner is mystified. “Magnus, Gukesh and Hikaru all signed the (same) contract, so I don’t understand (why Alireza wouldn’t sign).” (Take Take Take)