As a first-time author, I learned this week that a book launch is more of a process than an event. But the process has begun! My book is now shipping from Europe, by New in Chess. New in Chess has also published a free preview, and the book is available for purchase on their e-reader as well. Here in the U.S., Perpetual Chess Improvement is not yet widely available. I am selling signed copies while supplies last, but it should be available less expensively from Amazon and on Kindle soon. I will have more to say about the book in the coming days/weeks and will be discussing the book in detail with Dr. Christopher Chabris on next week’s Perpetual Chess Podcast, but for now, let’s move on to the wider chess world.
Its a busy and entertaining time in chess with the FIDE Grand Swiss getting rolling, IM Levy Rozman launching his hit book, and some fun chess improvement posts. Here are this week’s links.
Chess Improvement
Martin Justesen interviews Marcus Buffet, the creator of a new opening study tool, called Chessbook (The SayChess Blog)
How much does solving puzzles blindfolded help your chess? Two students tackle that question in a study (Chessable Blog by Giovanni Marchesich and Laura Tamburini)
It nice to see that US Chess will be running the first US Women’s Senior Championship. JJ Lang introduces you to the participants (Chess Life Online)
When it comes to competing OTB, GM Alex Colovic is increasingly wondering, “Why?” (GM Alex Colovic’s Blog)
IM Junta Ikeda on the challenges of being process-oriented in an outcome-driven game. (Infinite Chess)
More on the psychological side of chess- FM Nate Solon on chess (and poker) tilt (Zwischenzug Blog)
Instructive post from FM Dalton Perrine on the difference between thinking “in words” and “in moves” (Chess Chatter)
Chess Books
Nick Visel drops possibly the first review of IM Levy Rozman’s How to Win at Chess. “This book is great for anybody to pick up and read and learn how to play the game.” (Nick Plays Chess)
Dr. Patzer reviews the classic book Silman’s Endgame Course (Patzer’s Review)
Chess.com’s Peter Doggers is writing a book about chess and A.I. called The Chess Revolution. It sounds great. (Katie Fraser for The Bookseller)
Chess History
Another chess history lesson from “SimaginFan” who shows six classic King’s Indian battles between Petrosian and Gligoric (Chess.com Blog)
More chess history- Sam Kahn on Capablanca “Again and again in Capablanca’s games, I emphasize his ability to find, at the earliest possible juncture, a concrete strategic plan that drives the rest of the game.” (Chess.com Blog)
New in Chess’ Editor Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam showed off his extensive library to IM Sagar Shah, and reflected a bit on the changing role of books in chess. Worth a read and watch! (New in Chess Blog)
Chess News
GM Fabiano Caruana is off to a good start in the FIDE Grand Swiss, including a “Berlin Masterclass” win over GM Hans Niemann (NM Anthony Levin for Chess.com News)
IM Carissa Yip takes you behind the scenes of winning the US Women’s Championship “After a brief celebration with my dad (this mostly consisted of excited shrieks by me), I made my way back to the club.” (Chess Life Online)
Chessbase co-founder Frederic Friedel reflects on the explosion of Indian chess talents (Chessbase India)
Misc.
QueenRosieMary shares the harassment she endures simply for playing on LiChess with a woman’s screenname. “Sometimes female users encounter unwanted attention online. It can be in the form of sexist or derogatory comments about their chess ability because they are female, verbal insults, explicit or inappropriate private messages, or requests for personal information such as social media links, photos, videos, mobile numbers and geographical location.” (LiChess Blog)
GM Ray Robson recently had a birthday, and GM Avetik Grigoryan told a story about him to honor the occasion (Chess.com Blog)
Have a good weekend! - Ben
Thank you so much for sharing my blog about the harassment of women in online chess!
Hi Ben, greetings from Brazil. Writing via automatic translator - sorry for the bad English!
Congratulations on the book launch. I tried accessing it on Amazon and, for Brazil, I couldn’t find purchase options (for the physical version). Will the Kindle version have international distribution? I know that some publishers limit the international edition of the e-book, and I’d prefer to buy it for Kindle to read on the Amazon’s e-reader itself.
I tested Chessbook for iOS. My repertoire is quite limited, but I really liked the spaced repetition dynamic to recall main lines. I’ll test it for a few more weeks to see.
Furthermore, I wish you success with the launch. I picked up the podcast again on the episode with GM Rafael Leitão and, since then, I’ve been following the episodes whenever possible and keeping myself informed about chess through the newsletter. Thank you and keep up the good work!