Perpetual Chess Linkfest #161, April 10, 2026

Its been an eventful couple of weeks in the world of chess.

1. GM Javokhir Sindarov has displayed a dominant performance in the Open FIDE Candidates tournament, making the last four rounds more of a coronation than a conclusion. The Women’s section looks to make up for the lack of drama in the Open, as five players are within one point of tournament leader GM Vaishali, with four rounds to go.

2. The highly anticipated “Chess Mates” Netflix documentary about the Carlsen–Niemann scandal has been released. Next week, I will be recording a podcast with GM Ben Finegold to share our thoughts on it, but I will also share a number of reviews and related features in the body of this email.

3. We’ve got some drama in the chess business world, as the Magnus-co-founded Take-Take-Take app announced that it will be launching a play zone, to compete with the Magnus affiliated Chess.com. It reminds me of the stories of an adolescent Bobby Fischer playing chess against himself.

Below are the rest of the latest chess links, so much good stuff!-

“Unless Javokhir Sindarov pulls off a choke for the ages, he’ll play Dommaraju Gukesh for the World Championship later this year.” (FM Dennis Monokroussos’ The Chess Mind)

FM Andy Lee is impressed by the protean styles Sindarov has displayed while romping through the Candidates field. (Lit & Chess)

In the video realm, FM Mike Klein has been presenting daily dispatches from Cyprus, GM Daniel King’s game recaps are always high class, and Dojo Talks provided an entertaining breakdown at the halfway point. (FunMaster Mike YouTube) (Powerplay Chess) (Dojo Talks)

Tarjei Svenson of Chess.com hits a few of the highlights from Chess Mates. (Chess.com)

Edward Tansley of the Athletic also wrote about the film, although this feature is as much a chronology of events as review. (The Athletic)

Adam Crafton of the Athletic profiled Magnus Carlsen- not too much new in this one. (The Athletic)

OTOH, ESPN reporter Aishwarya Kumar spent a day in NYC with Hans Niemann and got some spicy quotes. “Every single instance that Magnus made his accusation, he hid behind proxies to do his dirty work for him,” Hans says. (ESPN.com)

It is often said that players around the beginner level should eschew opening study. FM Dalton Perrine argues that this is misleading advice. (Chess Chatter)

IM Junta Ikeda returned from a successful chess tournament and reflected on what he learned. “Going back to ‘normal life’ after a chess tournament can feel jarring, partly because it’s harder to (experience similar emotions.)” (Infinite Chess)

“In one of his games at the 1958 Chess Olympiad in Munich, GM Mikhail "the Magician" Tal, true to his style, sacrificed a pawn. His team member, then world champion GM Mikhail Botvinnik, asked him, "why did you sacrifice that pawn?" "It was in my way!" was Tal's instant response.” ( GM Gregory Serper for Chess.com)

GM Noel Studer wrote about a chess/life lesson he learned from dreaming of big poker scores. “When I get the taste that success could be easy, fun, and quick, the real way—which is difficult, boring, and slow—becomes so much less appealing.” (Next Level Chess)

Kevin Lincoln is getting close to a lifelong goal of breaking 2000. What will it take? (Good Moves)

Dr. Nick Vasquez also shared some brilliant insights on finding a balance between chasing goals and not having enough hours in the day. “What life has taught me is that plans are hopeful documents that often do not survive reality.” (Chess in Small Doses)

The Charlotte Chess Center announced details for the first Naroditsky Memorial Blitz and Rapid featuring a star-studded field. (JJ Lang for CLO)

Hilarious Instagram/Tiktok creator Matt Biancuzzo has launched a new, affordable, chess collectible- Chess Trading Cards. (Kickstarter)

Keanu Reeves is an executive-producing another chess themed film, called Madwoman’s Game. Keanu said “I don’t want to play digital, I like in-person chess way better.” (Payton Turkeltaub for Variety)

US Chess and Jennifer Shahade have resolved their legal dispute, and Jen has been named the Official Ambassador of US Chess. (Chess Life Online)

What would chess be like if pawns could move sideways? Jen Shahade explores this question, and built an app where you can try this chess variant. (Games and the Grid)

Nick Visel reviews the novel “The Spy’s Mate” by Brad Buchanan (Nick Plays Chess)

This newsletter is committed to remaining free but does use affiliate links. One way to help support it (and your chess!) is to sign up for special offers using the following links:

Chessdojo- Great chess community for dedicated improvers, use- the code “Ben” at checkout for a for a 10% discount on your membership.

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Chessmood- Chessmood features a chess video library with opening, middlegame, endgame videos. Plus game analysis and opening explorer tools.

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Chessmood.com/Ben

GM Noel Studer-

GM Studer has published two popular courses- one with the goal of getting you to 1200, and the second designing a study

Check out Noël’s updated course on studying chess the right way here (https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system?ref=bc4be0)