Let’s start with something for our non-chess friends, with a couple of pieces in the mainstream (non-chess) press:
(1) Chess in the NBA.
(2) Chess in NYC public schools.
(3) I mentioned the other day that Yagiz Erdogmus became the youngest 2700-rated player in history, breaking Wei Yi’s record by a whopping 10 months. Can he become the youngest top-player in history? That record belongs to someone who achieved it at the age of 16 years and 29 days, giving him about 14.5 months to achieve it. Who was the 16-year-old, and who were some of the other youngsters to reach the top 10? Click here for the answers.
(4) On Vaishali’s journey to the Candidates (and beyond?).
(5) An interview with Javokhir Sindarov.
(6) For fun: Sindarov beating Vladimir Kramnik.
(7) Also for fun: Sindarov vs. fellow Roman Vidonyak student (and almost Women’s Candidates winner) Bibisara Assaubayeva.
(8) Really random: I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for chess players who are best known for their losses. It’s a weird sort of “immortality” suffered by people like Dufresnse and Kieseritzky (losers of the “Evergreen” and “Immortal” games, respectively, to Anderssen) or in the last century to Donald Byrne, loser of the “Game of the Century” to Bobby Fischer. He was a terrific player in his own right, as this article details.