Reading · Perpetual Chess Link-Fest

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Hello again! Back from vacation and I’ve got a bunch of worthwhile chess stuff for y’all. Have a good weekend- Ben

Chess Improvement

Kevin Scull went to NYC and bunch a chess at Lincoln Square. He shares what he learned. “My main takeaway is that I need to have more fun with chess…Chess doesn’t just have to be a strenuous workout where the pain feels rewarding.” (Chess Journeys)

FM Andy Lee argues convincingly why should very rarely accept draw offers. “Draw offers are a legal way to distract the other player from what they should actually be doing: finding the best move!” (Lit & Chess)

As if to illustrate Andy’s point about draws, IM Junta Ikeda wrote about a time he took a draw for the wrong reasons. (Infinite Chess)

Black to move. We are primed to move something away when its attacked without much thought, but sometimes alternatives are better. FM Dalton Perrine lays out a “threat heirarchy” and explains why 1… h4 is Black’s best move.

GM Alex Colovic shows how engines can help deepen our understanding of chess, through the lens of a classic Capablanca win. (GM Alex Colovic’s Blog)

GM Eugene Perelshteyn and his friend and student, NM Mike Mahoney got to meet GM Vasyl Ivanchuk at the Naroditsky Memorial. Read about an unforgettable experience here. You will also be able to hear them discuss it on next week’s Perpetual Chess Podcast.

Misc.

GM Jianchao Zhou is the most active GM in the U.S. so I have often wondered how and why he logs so many miles and games. A profile by Rick Massimo helps to answer this question. “He has a passion for chess, so a difficulty, like the logistics, is not a big issue for him.” (Chess Life Online)

Books

The Forward Chess Blog has posted a few overviews of books recently, including one of Attacking Strategies for Club Players by Michael Prusikin. It looks like an interesting book. (Arun J for Forward Chess)

IM Junta Ikeda shares a few takeaways from “the best non-chess book I’ve read for chess improvement.” (Infinite Chess)

How does Magnus Carlsen do when playing the Orangutan opening? Carl Portman reviews Carlsen Goes Ape (Chess Book Reviews)

Chess and the FIFA World Cup

How does Lionel Messi get away with running less than other players? Author David Epstein likens his pattern recognition to the chess players studied in the famed de Groot study . “When Messi is “mapping” the field, he is a grandmaster (playing speed chess!) unconsciously picking up on familiar chunks that will help him decide what’s coming, and where to attack.” (Range Widely)

FM Dennis Monokroussos links to a classic soccer/chess themed commericial (The Chess Mind)

News

The US team will face off against Uzbekistan in a team match in late July in Miami. (Leonard Barden for the Guardian)

xt girls junior R3 — The US Senior, Women’s Senior and Women’s Junior are all going down in St. Louis, lots more from JJ Lang here.

Videos/Podcasts

Chessbase India’s coverage of the Naroditsky Memorial was fantastic, I particularly recommend this interview with Danya’s mother, Elena Schuman. I cannot imagine how difficult the past year has been for her. (Chessbase India)

This week’s Perpetual Guest is legendary trainer and author Bruce Pandolfini. We talked about his work on *The Queen’s Gambit,* that famous scene in *Searching for Bobby Fischer*, and the traits of his most successful students. (**Perpetual Chess YouTube**) (**Spotify**)

FM Donny Ariel is not exactly in hot pursuit of the IM title despite some earlier proclamations, BUT, more importantly he is back to making instructive chess videos. In this one he crushes IM Greg Shahade. Please lavish him with praise in the comments! (Donny Ariel: The People’s Champion)

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Perpetual Chess Linkfest #174, July 16, 2026