In honor of Fischerrandom/Chess960/Freestyle Chess, I am going to put the Miscellaneous topic posts first.
Misc.
Chessable is still giving money for research to university students conducting chess-related research. If you know any chess-enthusiast students, be sure to spread the word! (Chess.com Blog )
MVL Blog alert! In this one, his friends offer early memories and personal reflections on the French great: “MVL is an immense champion, perhaps the most fabulous calculator on the planet. But Maxime is also a nice guy, very sociable and kind-hearted. (After his chess career) I can imagine him running a great restaurant (he loves good food), going from table to table with a kind word for everyone.” (MVL’s Blog)
Jen Shahade on what she learned, and lost from becoming a whistleblower. “It’s been a year since I tweeted about being assaulted by Alejandro Ramirez. The post went viral and changed my life. “ (Jennifer’s Substack)
Chesskid had their first national chess festival in Charlotte. IM Levy Rozman got shot with water guns. (NM Anthony Levin for Chess.com News)
“OnTheQueenside” Walks You Through Some of the Key Tournaments in the History of Women’s Chess (LiChess Blog)
Who played more accurately in Montreal 1979, Tal or Karpov? (GM Alex Colovic’s Blog)
Chess Improvement
“TheOnoZone” on the rating anxiety he encountered as he transitioned to OTB chess. (LiChess Blog)
GM Serper shows some positions where,“the best defense is a good offense.” (Chess.Com Blog)
David Hamm on how he is dealing with chess burnout (LiChess Blog)
Book Review/Discussion
Dawn Lawson reviews the new book Mindful Chess by GM Paul van der Sterren and discusses a few other chess/mindfulness resources. I enjoyed the book as well. (Dawn Lawson’s Blog)
Dr. Benjamin Portheault interviewed me about Perpetual Chess Improvement. (Mindcreaser Blog)
News
The field is set for the 2024 Grand Chess Tour and it features young stars like Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa in addition to cagey veterans like MVL and Nepo (Colin McGourty for Chess.com)
The Chess.com Team Chess Battle is off and running. (Even Chess Reddit enjoyed it!) Lots of fun teams are involved, but I have to say I’ll be rooting for Gustafsson and Svidler on Monday! (NM Anthony Levin for Chess.com)
Another week, another record-breaking prodigy, congrats to Ashwath Kaushik on becoming the youngest ever to beat a GM! (Tarjei Svensen for Chess.com)
Jan Henric Buettner, the organizer of the Freestyle G.O.A.T. championship is already planning more events (Chessbase News)
In his must-read weekly rundown, Leonard Barden succinctly describes the paradox that is Chess960 “However, Freestyle’s major selling point, its absence of memorised openings, is a negative for the average player who relies on his book knowledge as a road map to reach a playable middle game and ending.” (The Guardian)
FM Dennis Monokroussos has been blogging actively lately and is always worth a read. This post is a “potpourri” covering engines, the Grand Chess Tour, Chess960 and more (The Chess Mind)
Have a good weekend- Ben