Perpetual Chess Linkfest #85, May 31, 2024

Summer Schedule

Hello again readers! I don’t have any editorializing for y’all this week, but did want to let you know that I have some travel coming up, starting with The National Open next week. As a result, the Linkfest will be off next week. I will be back on June 14 with two weeks worth of links. Take care and good luck in your many chess games!- Ben

Chess Improvement

Jennifer Shahade summarizes some helpful tips for retaining information that she learned from memory champion Yanjaa Westgate (Jennifer’s Substack)

Van Forreest-Vachier Lagrave, 2024… Why is 54… Kg7 better than 54… Kg6 here? MVL found out vs. Van Forreest. For that explanation, and much more, check out MVL’s new blog post.

FM Nate Solon is back from paternity leave and, appropriately, sharing advice for how to get ready for a tournament quickly (Zwischenzug Blog)

David Hamm checks in with some helpful advice he has been incorporating into his study regimen from the book Mastery, The Perpetual Chess Podcast, C-Squared, and The Chess Dojo. Lots of potentially helpful nuggets in this one! (LiChess Blog)

GM Noel Studer dispenses a lot of hard-won wisdom on how to limit blunders (Next Level Chess)

More fun engine experimentation from Julian “ I decided to try and write a program that identifies the ideal square for a given piece using Stockfish.” (Chess Engine Lab)

FM Andy Lee looks at a recent clash between GMs Sam Shankland and Hans Niemann, and reflects on teaching an adolescent Shankland years ago. “Back in those days Sam would stubbornly defend his ideas and then, after I beat him over and over again, would explain that the problem was not that the idea was bad but that I was just better at chess than he was. He probably wasn’t wrong, and pretty soon he was a lot better than I was.” (Lit & Chess)

Books

FM Dennis Monokroussos warns that in the engine age, the tidy game narratives of classic authors like Irving Chernev could be detrimental to your chess. (The Chess Mind)

Chess News

Hungarian legends, GM Richard Rapport and GM Peter Leko will be returning to the board for Hungary in the upcoming Olympiad. More details from Andre Schulz here, Image via FIDE’s X.

Hikaru Nakamura and Vaishali lead after 4 rounds at Norway Chess. Peter Doggers provides all of the analysis and details. (Chess.com News)

10-year old Argentinian phenom earned his second IM Norm and is well-suited to break more records. “Last week Argentinian newspaper InfoBae revealed that a group of anonymous businessmen, along with the Argentinian Chess Federation, have launched what is described as an unprecedented plan to back the family financially.” (Tarjei Svensen for Chess.com News)

The Madrid Chess Festival will start June 10, in, well, Madrid, and should be entertaining with Anna Cramling, Levy Rozman, Eric Rosen and Pepe Cuenca vying for norms, prizes and ratings points. (Leon Watson for Chess.com)

Misc.

There is a new movie out in India chronicling the life of GM Surya Ganguly. Aditya Sur Roy shares his impressions. (Chessbase India)

Ray Linville traces tennis star Carlos Alcarez’s enthusiasm for chess. “I love chess. Having to concentrate, to play against someone else, strategy—having to think ahead. I think all of that is very similar to the tennis court.” (Chess.com Blog)