A Sunday Night Miscellany
The young, advice to the young, Chess960, litigious bishops, and a Palm Sunday meditation.
Time for a bit of everything.
We start with a “feel-good” story, if by “feel-good” you mean one that makes you question all the years you’ve put into the game. (I kid - it shouldn’t do that unless your participation in chess is driven by ambition alone. In that case, you will probably want to move on to the next item.) A number of nine-year-olds have achieved a 2200 FIDE rating, but Luca Protopopescu of France shaved 98 days off the previous record to achieve the mark at the crazy age of nine years and five days. (HT: Stacia Pugh) There are some incredible chess players on that list, including Vugar Gashimov and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, so watch out for this youngster - even if his record is bound to be passed by an eight-year-old, and…
There is much more to this old interview than just Hikaru Nakamura giving advice to the young, though that is a component of this almost-three hour gabfest with Lex Fridman. It’s two and a half years old and so not exactly hot off the press, but almost everything there remains of interest today. Recommended.
Speaking of Nakamura, he’s in the final of the 2025 Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Final against Magnus Carlsen. (Probably one of the most common event summaries of the past five years: Carlsen vs. Nakamura in the final.) More here.
I’m not sure if this was originally an April Fool’s piece, but chess teachers might want to pass this along to students who habitually lock in their bishops or to anyone who plays the French. (HT: Allen Becker)
Finally, I commend this Palm Sunday meditation by Rod Dreher to you. You may disagree with him on various matters both general and particular, but I think the heart of what he writes is worth our taking to heart.