Perpetual Chess Linkfest #50, September 1, 2023

Truce

Hey everyone! Its been a long week, so I will send you straight to the links from an action-packed chess week. Have a good weekend and I will catch you all next time- Ben

Top Chess News

Via Chessbase India

GM Hans Niemann and Chess.com have ruled out continued litigation, and Hans will be allowed to participate in events on the site. (Chess.com News, George Ramsay and Ben Morse for CNN.com)

Based on his incredible World Cup success, GM Pragganandhaa has been given a car, cash prizes and a meeting with India’s Prime Minister! (Leon Watson for Chess.com)

Leonard Barden with a rundown of the Niemann news, plus info on Super GM Nikita Vitugov’s transfer to the United Kingdom. “His transfer was aided by the English Chess Federation’s international director, Malcolm Pein, and it is likely that he will become a leading teacher at training camps for the England open and women’s teams, plus young talents, planned to be set up with the help of the new £250,000 annual government grant for top chess.” (The Guardian)

Famed blogger/economist/podcaster, NM Tyler Cowen interviewed Anand for his podcast. Links to listen or read the transcript via the link (Conversations with Tyler)

Chess Improvement

Martin Justesen looks back at a historic blunder by Kasparov (with a classic GIF of Kasparov exasperation!) (Say Chess Blog)

Sam Asaka on the importance of training hard. “Serious chess study is not something that can be multi-tasked.” (The Road to Infinity)

Does being in love help your chess? GM Alex Colovic says “maybe” (GM Alex Colovic’s Blog)

FM Nate Solon on how he deals with pre-tournament anxiety “For better or worse, the skills you have for this tournament are the skills you have right now. So it’s best to make peace with your level of preparation, whatever it is, and get ready to use it as best you can in the tournament.” (Zwischenzug Blog)

IM Jakob Pfreundt is now sharing his quest for 2500 FIDE on Substack. And he is halfway to his goal! “I used up almost all of my time on move 24, but the time was well-spent, as the position I reached as a result of those calculations was winning and easy to convert. This was a rare case of good time management and decision-making.” (Scacchia Ludus)

Chessable;s Research Awards have Been Announced, but there are More Awards to Apply for (Dr. Alexey Root for Chessable.com)

Magnus Carlsen beat Firouzja, and is in pole position in the Julius Baer Generation Cup (NM Anthony Levin for Chess.com)

Chess Books

New in Chess shares GM Andy Soltis’ Foreword about Botvinnik from a forthcoming book. (New in Chess Blog)

Richard James reviews IM Cyrus Lakdawala’s latest Irrational Chess. (British Chess News)

Dr. Patzer reviews GM Jesse Kraai’s chess novel Lisa. “So if you are looking for an easy and entertaining book while still maintaining a link to chess, this might be a good choice for you.” (Patzer’s Review)

Chess in Japan

SheldonofOsaka gives a tournament dispatch from Japan. “My preparation time coincided with my vacation, hence instead of studying tactics and reviewing my openings, I was in Canada, drinking whiskey and eating Canadian bacon.” (Chess.com Blog)

IM Junta Ikeda on why chess isn’t more popular in Japan. In a word, Shogi. “I experienced first-hand the strength of shōgi players when I visited Japan last year—I played blitz in Tokyo as well as in Kyoto, and I lost a game in each city—to a shōgi pro in one, and in the other, a young shōgi player who took up chess…several months ago.” (Infinite Chess Blog)