Perpetual Chess Linkfest #52, Friday September 22, 2023
Drama Swirling
Hi again everyone! Lots of stuff happening in the wide world of chess! Whether you enjoy cheating allegations, reading about improving your game, crazy stories from the Soviet chess era or book reviews, we have something for you. Let’s get you to it. Have a good weekend! - Ben
Chess Improvement
Fun post from GM Serper about how to approach “must-win” games. (Chess.com Blog)
OK I clicked on one of the posts Serper linked to, and it is a previous column I had missed. It has an amazing story of him being told by higher-ups in the Soviet military that he needs to finish highly in the World Junior or he will be sent to live on a remote island in Siberia! Amazing story! (Yes I have previously tried to arrange an interview with Serper- no luck so far!) (Chess.com Blog)
FM Nate Solon has been blogging for months about his upcoming tournament in Charlotte, then he goes and wins the thing! Nate gives a blow-by-blow in this blog post.. (Zwischenzug Blog)
IM Junta Ikeda shares tons of insights on how to play the hedgehog. (Infinite Chess)
Another enjoyable trip/tournament report from IM Jakob Pfreundt “My opponent offered a draw on move 1 (!), after 1.e4 e5. After some consideration — after all, a draw is not a bad result against an experienced grandmaster — I declined. I couldn’t bring myself to agree to a draw that quickly.” (Schacchia Ludus)
Book Review
Nick Visel reviews the excellent book The Mammoth Book of Chess Games. “From the first to the last game, every page has a little bit to teach you, or to inspire you, and as a chess player (especially an adult chess player), that's the kind of boost you can use to stay encouraged in your journey to improve at the game.” (Nick’s Plays Chess)
Chess News
Chess Cheating Drama- Part 12
Vladimir Kramnik has been ringing alarm bells about potential cheating in online chess. It’s a lot to try to keep up with. Andre Schulz summarizes some of it. (Chessbase News)
Legendary Guardian columnist Leonard Barden also provides a good run down of the drama du jour. Barden’s ability to keep up the chess world, and to know what the word “sus” means, at the age of 94 is absolutely astounding! “Kramnik’s allegations have left many unconvinced. One typical comment on Reddit was: ‘Hans moves fast, sus. Hans moves slowly, sus. Hans plays a good move, sus. Hans plays a bad move, sus. Hans knows the ideas and nuances, a good player. Hans misses an idea, sus. Hans doesn’t play an obvious move but plays something worse, sus. Hans thinks when there’s an obvious move, sus.’ (The Guardian)
Speaking of sus- Martin Justesen wonders what is going on with LiChess Puzzle Ratings (Say Chess Blog)
Chess History
Sam Kahn looks back at Alekhine’s career. "Against these gentlemen you must only play boldly," (Chess.com Blog)
CM Vjekoslav Nemec reviews the first Women’s World Championship in 1927 (Chessentials Blog)
Upcoming Events
Registration is Open for the next Collegiate League. Kudos to Susquehanna Group for Sponsoring It. (Leon Watson for Chess.com)
Chesskid and IM Levy Rozman are hosting the first Chesskid Festival in Charlotte in February 2024 (Chess.com News)
Ilya Levitov is organizing a star-studded rapid tournament in Amsterdam in late September (Andre Schulz for Chessbase News)
Amazing article by Serper!
Thanks again for the shout out Ben. Great post!