Perpetual Chess Linkfest #12, November 11, 2022
[Agadmator Voice]- “Hello again everyone! “ Thanks to all who sent me well wishes, its good to be back to work. I am 80% recovered from Covid, although the last 20% has been hard to come by this week, as I am still persistently congested. In Covid, as in chess, it is hard to win a won game!
In the chess world, it feels like things have been a bit quieter lately by which I mean there have been no bombshell lawsuits or new cheating allegations in recent weeks (at least none that I am aware of). This week’s chess highlights include: GM Wesley So won the Global Chess Championships, and an injury of mysterious origin has befallen GM Anatoly Karpov. We’ve also got some insightful blog posts related to avoiding blundering and rote memorization. Without further ado, here are some of the most noteworthy news links and blog posts of the past two weeks in the chess world:
Top Tournaments (GCC, Women’s Candidates and more)
GM Wesley So won Chess.com’s Global Chess Championship over GM Nihal Sarin in convincing fashion (NM Vanessa Sun for Chess.Com)
GM Lei Tingjie awaits an opponent in the semifinals of the Women’s Candidates Cycle (The Chess Mind Blog)
Yay, one of the year’s best chess events is coming back soon…
Congrats to the winners of the Fall Chess Classic A and B groups, GM Yu Yangyu and GM Alex Lenderman (Johannes Fischer for Chessbase News)
GM Surya Ganguly won the Bangkok Open and credits his second, his 2 year old daughter “ I keep saying that she is my best teacher. I learn from her on a day-to-day basis. The way she looks at life, you know, I cannot possibly imagine. For me, as a parent, the only thing I want to provide her is expose her to travel, and get her close to nature. I think that's the only thing that I can basically give her.” (IM Sagar Shah for Chessbase India)
Jon Edwards is the new World Correspondence Champion. Congrats Jon! “The most important game in the Final was my game against Osipov. I really hoped to win in order to extend my razor-thin lead, and the game’s 119 moves testify to my determination. In one middlegame sequence, to make progress, I had to find a way to force him to advance his b-pawn one square, all while avoiding the 50-move rule. I accomplished the feat in 38 moves, in a sequence that no computer would consider or find. Such is the joy of high-level correspondence chess. Sadly, I did not subsequently find a win.” (John Hartmann for Chess Life Online)
A 12 year old Chinese prodigy, Lu Miaoyi is making tons of noise. IM Levy Rozman did a nice rundown of some of her standout games (Gotham Chess YouTube Video)
Meanwhile in Britain, FM Shreyas Royal is emerging as a top talent “The list of 40 players who have become grandmasters before their 15th birthday includes many current stars. Royal will not turn 15 until January 2024, so has a chance to join them if he can continue and improve further on his current form.” (Leonard Barden for The Guardian)
Chess Improvement Stuff
GM Jan Markos, one of my favorite authors, on how to limit blunders. “Of course, these methods are not used anymore. But the principle remains the same: You should never play moves instantly; however natural they seem to be. Please take several seconds to double-check the most basic characteristics of the position. Is your king safe? Are all pieces protected? Is there a forcing move of your opponent you forgot to take a look at?” (Chessbase News)
Speaking of GM Markos, his collaboration with GM David Navara, The Secret Ingredient, won Book of the Year from FIDE. Great choice! (Chessbase News)
CM Vjekoslav Nemec with a nice annotated rundown of some of Smyslov’s Classics (Chessentials Blog)
Dr. Benjamin Portheault on What to Eat During a Chess Tournament (Lichess Blog)
GM Max Illingworth on why He Ultimately Gave up His Beloved King’s Indian (Lichess Blog)
Why Memorizing Moves Openings is Not Enough (FM Nate Solon’s Blog)
Misc- A Chess Educator Grant/Karpov News/GM Relocations
If you know a great chess educator in the US be sure to nominate them for a Chess in the Schools Grant by December 1 (Chess Life Online)
GM Anatoly Karpov is recovering from an injury that has at various times been reported to have been caused by a fall, an alcohol induced coma, or a mugging. Whatever it was, best wishes to the former World Champion! (Andre Schulz for Chessbase News)
Amidst the Russia-Ukraine War, many top players have left Russia, including GM Peter Svidler reportedly having moved to Israel (Chesstech News)
That’s all I’ve got for you all this week, have a good weekend!- Ben