Last week, I wondered if the “hot hand” exists in high level chess. The answer, it turns out, is no, at least not in the current World Championship Match. What does exist is a dramatic match which oozes nervous tension, has had many unpredictable twists and turns, and even featured a controversy surrounding opening prep leaking. With 5 rounds to go, Nepo clings to a one game lead, and many formerly apathetic chess fans are now on the edge of the their seats as they await the next plot twist. For those of you who are still apathetic about Ding-Nepo, don’t worry, we also have a handful of insightful chess improvement posts to share. Without further ado, here are this week’s links…
Ding-Nepo !
Leonard Barden provides a big picture look at the match. Several of the games at Astana have been one-sided, but not for the same player. Anish Giri, the world No 6 and match commentator, attributes this to “asymmetrical equality”where one competitor’s strength is his opponent’s weakness. (The Guardian)
FM Jack Rodgers catches you up on Round 9 “During the press conference, Ding was asked to rate, on a scale from one to 10, his level of confidence when it came to winning the overall championship match. With a wry smile, the ever-humble Chinese GM responded with "five." (Chess.com News)
GM Jonathan Speelman Compares the Ongoing Match to the 1963 Botvinnik-Petrosian World Championship Match““The reason I’m returning to this match is not just nostalgia, but because of the parallels between how the World Championship debutants Tigran Petrosian and Ding Liren performed at the start. Both were rather terrified”.” (Chessbase News)
Chess Improvement
GM Noel Studer addresses typical excuses for not spending time on chess “I’m sure you still spend some time on Social Media, Watching Netflix and scrolling your smartphone. No shame on you, I do those things too. But whenever I want to improve something, I know that I can make time. If I don’t make time, it is not important enough.” (Next Level Chess Blog)
GM Alex Colovic strikes some similar chords- hard work pays off “One interesting thing I discovered (when I started working consistently on chess) was that it was the effort that made all the difference. Even if I failed to solve a single study in the 1 hour… the sheer effort of concentrating hard and pushing myself to consider moves and calculate bore fruit” (GM Alex Colovic’s Blog)
GM Serper with a Fun post about the Perils of Taking Bad Chess Advice (Chess.com Blog)
FM Nate Solon on the Value of Studying Endgames and Playing Blitz Games as Training There is also something to the idea that endgames are “high leverage situations.” I think of endgames as “winning time,” as basketball coaches call the last few minutes of the game. (Zwischenzug Blog)
IM Junta Ikeda on the Downsides of Taking Early Draws “I decided to play it safe, and chickened out of playing a game against a stronger player I would have learnt from, whatever the result.” (Infinite Chess Blog)
Sam Asaka on the 5 Stages to Becoming a Tactical Monster (The Road to Infinity Blog)
Misc.
Teachers Nationwide are Flummoxed by Kids’ Chess Obsession (Hannah Natanson for the Washington Post-) warning- you may need to register to read the article
GM Kayden Troff explains the story behind the Streamer Event that Took Place at a Snow Lodge in Utah, featuring GM Daniel Naroditsky, IM Eric Rosen, and many others (Chess.com Blog)
That is all for this week- have a good weekend!- Ben