Perpetual Chess Linkfest #69, February 2, 2024
Books, Chess in the NBA, & the Good and Bad of GM Hans Niemann
Chess Books
Sean Marsh provides a brief preview of the book Forgotten Genius: The Life and Games of Dragoljub Velimirovic (Forward Chess Blog)
Nick Visel reviews Reti: Move-by-Move. (The player, not the opening, although in what was surely a coincidence, Reti the player did play Reti the opening.) (Nick Plays Chess)
Chess News
Congrats to the now-youngest GM in the world, Andy Woodward! JJ Lang writes “In his interview from the November 2022 issue* of Chess Life magazine, the then-12-year-old Woodward was already thoughtful and articulate with a clear vision and approach to his chess study. Not much has changed since then: he still prefers combative openings such as the Najdorf, his knowledge and appreciation of classical games manifests in confident piece coordination in imbalanced endgames.” (Chess Life Online)
The Chessable Masters is Underway. Here is a flash report of the latest action from NM Anthony Levin (Chess.com News)
OntheQueenside Highlights 5 Female Players to Watch in 2024 (LiChess Blog)
Chess is becoming a popular hobby in NBA locker rooms! “Chess might seem an unlikely pursuit for an NBA star given its historical association with nerdom. But the game has become a fixation in recent years for many of the most talented basketball players in the world, with players across the league cultivating serious chess hobbies—and helping fuel chess’ rise as a spectator sport.” (John McDermott for GQ Sports)
IM Divya Deshmukh spoke out about the online abuse she receives as a top young female player. (Tarjei Svensen for Chess.com)
Leonard Barden provides a “news catchup” focused on Wei Yi’s resurgent victory at Tata Steel. “He used to be primarily a tactician in the mode of Mikhail Tal or Alireza Firouzja, but now has a more classical playing style in the tradition of Paul Keres and Boris Spassky.” (The Guardian)
FM Dennis Monokroussos wraps up the Tata Steel Challenger’s Section, among other chess topics (The Chess Mind Blog)
Chess Improvement
Colorado-based attorney David Hamm is writing an insightful blog detailing his dedication to chess improvement as a relatively new player. This post touches on everything from getting a coach to personal fitness, to learning to celebrate small wins. (LiChess Blog)
It’s always enjoyable to read chess history by Sam Kahn. “Savielly Tartakower's enduring reputation as the chess world's leading wit has, curiously enough, led to a certain overshadowing of his playing ability, but he was particularly dangerous in tournaments around the time between 1920 and 1922” (Chess.com Blog)
That’s all for this week- I hope you all have a good weekend- Ben