Hi everyone, it has been an action packed chess-week, and there is more on the horizon, with the FIDE Grand Swiss starting October 25. This tournament is a personal favorite because 1) its a big open tournament (which I far prefer to the elite invitationals) 2) Two spots in the 2024 FIDE Candidates will be up for grabs. For those who prefer to see amateurs from the chess community do battle, be sure to check out Chess.com’s Twitch channel at Noon EST Sunday for the #chesspunks final.
In terms of this week’s content, I found a record number of newly written book reviews, and an MVL blog entry is always a treat. Here are this week’s links.
Chess News
MVL Blog alert! “I’ve already beaten Magnus, I’ve already beaten Wesley So… Well, I’ve beaten quite a few! But Hikaru hurts me every time!” (MVL’s Blog)
GM Yakubboev won Qatar Masters in dramatic fashion, as Erigaisi blundered in heartbreaking fashion when he was on the cusp of victory. (NM Anthony Levin for Chess.com)
Speaking of IM Levy Rozman, he was defeated in the “I am Not a GM Finals” by IM Polina Shuvalova (NM Anthony Levin for Chess.com)
Congrats to repeat US Champions, GM Fabiano Caruana and IM Carissa Yip (FM Davis Zong Jr. for Chess Life Online)
Book Reviews
Chris Wainscott reviews both Grind Like a Grandmaster by David Howell and Magnus Carlsen and Strategic Chess Exercises by GM Emmanuel Bricard (Bricard Review, Howell/Carlsen Review)
Ben Graff reviews the chess-related art compilation Grandmaster of Avant-Garde - The Chess Art of Galina Satonina. (ECF Blog)
IM Andras Toth reviewed World Chess Champion Strategy for Club Players, and Alex Polak wrote a summary of Andras’ positive review (New in Chess Blog)
Nick Visel reviews Nimzowitsch Move by Move (Nick Plays Chess)
Richard James reviews the book The Chess Memory Palace by John Holden (British Chess News)
Chess Improvement
FM Dalton Perrine shows some instructive examples of positions where it pays to ask ““What if I play this move anyway?” (Chess Chatter)
Dr. Benjamin Portheault shares some advice for leaning into the discomfort of doing challenging calculation work. (Mind Creaser Blog)
Chessable’s Blog has featured four enjoyable, short “Coach’s Corner” Interviews sharing chess improvement advice from GM Daniel King, FM Kamil Plichta, FM Midas Ratsma, and GM Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko.
IM Junta Ikeda reflects on his favorite opening novelty. Is it any less meaningful if its objectively a bad move? (Infinite Chess)
FM Nate Solon shares some tips for how to use Chessable (Zwischenzug Blog)