When people ask me (frequently) who I most would like to interview for The Perpetual Chess Podcast, I often stumble for a minute and then, by default, begin discussing Magnus Carlsen. A few days ago before any whispers of today’s sad news, I had the thought that the true answer to this question is/was actually IM Jeremy Silman. (I had even mentally noted that I should remember this answer for the next time I am asked this question in an interview.)
While not on Magnus’ level over the board, Silman was a very accomplished player who made immense contributions to the game. His massively popular books displayed a sharp sense of humor and an empathy for and understanding of amateur players that was once pretty rare in chess literature. I could be forgetting someone, but my sense was that Silman was the first English-language chess author who actually wrote in the way that people talked. Plus he had tons of stories!
I never met IM Silman, and my few emails to him about a potential interview went unanswered. When I asked around about him I had heard about some health issues. But I had no idea the issues were so serious. He was only 69. What a loss, but what a legacy.
The news of IM Silman’s passing just broke Thursday night, so I haven’t found many obituaries yet, but I look forward to the tributes to this legendary author, and by all accounts, kind person. My condolences to Jeremy Silman’s many friends and to his loved ones. - Ben
Here are this week’s links:
Book Reviews
Richard James highly recommends the book Zlotnik’s Treasure Trove (British Chess News)
Matthew Sadler reviews Euwe’s Best Games and The Essential Sosonko (New in Chess Blog)
Chess Improvement
Dan Bock on the merits of slow blitz to help one accumulate “one unit of chess improvement” (The Chess Improvement Lab)
A fun chess poem from IM Junta Ikeda (Infinite Chess)
GM Alex Colovic on the importance of comfort for chess improvement (Alex Colovic’s Blog)
TheChessCorner does a deep dive on Closed Sicilian tabiyas by letting engines square off. Interesting post (The Chess Corner)
FM Nate Solon won his last tournament but still sees plenty of things to work on (Zwischenzug Blog)
Chess News
The World Junior is under way in Mexico, with GM Hans Niemann and IM Carissa Yip as the top seeds (JJ Lang for US Chess)
The star-studded Levitov Chess Week is underway in Amsterdam, with a star-studded roster and audience. “Meanwhile, the private area was brimming with special guests, including many famous grandmasters from earlier days. Among them were Simen Agdestein, Erwin l'Ami, Evgeny Bareev, Vladimir Chuchelov, Jan Gustafsson, Joel Lautier, Ljubomir Ljubojevic, Jeroen Piket, Jan Smeets, and Genna Sosonko.” (Peter Doggers for Chess.com)
The World Senior Team is underway, with Iceland and Great Britain starting strongly (Alex Colovic for Chessbase.com)
Misc.
TheOnoZone wonders: How can men properly discuss how to make the chess world safer and more equitable for women? (LiChess Blog)
PSA- The Deadline for Chessable’s Research Grant is Coming Up (Current Application Info Here) (Most Recent Winners Here)
US Chess President Randy Bauer faces calls for resignation (Tarjei Svensen for Chess.com)