Issue 40 | Tournament on Mar 12th | Chicago Summer Chess Camp
The best monthly chess newsletter you receive.
It’s the 40th issue of the Mindful Masters Newsletter, the best (and only?) monthly chess newsletter you receive. I cover chess culture and relevant wisdom I've collected along the way. Please let’s welcome the newest MMChess.org students: Artur, Jen, Oliver, Thomas, Ivy, Felix, & Shimmy.
Current students: refer your friends with our “give a lesson, get a lesson” coupon! If they sign up for classes, you get a free lesson credit!
MAGExMM Chess is running a chess camp from June 17th - June 21st in Chicago. Sign up while space remains!
Student Success🏆
Every month we’re highlighting some of the successes of our students. Proud of something chess-related? Send me photos!
Marc’s students, twins Peng-Yu and Peng-Chi, got 1st place and 2nd place in the U-800 section! Last month, their brother Ray won 1st place in a higher quad as well!
Congrats to Gabriel’s student Shrey S for winning 1st place in his section!
“The most powerful weapon In Chess is to have the next move.”
– David Bronstein
My story 🖼️
This month, with the blessings of God, my wife gave birth to a healthy girl (our first child!) - T. R. Vilenchuk! The pediatrician at our appointment last week called her a “perfect specimen.” She’s very cute!
“The winner is the one who makes the next-to-last mistake.”
– Savielly Tartakower
Monthly Tournament♟️
📅 This month’s tournament will take place on Wednesday, March 13th, at 7 pm EST (6 pm CT, 5 pm MT, 4 pm PT). Most of the players will be rated from 500-1800. In the last tournament, there were 26 students, both kids & adults!
To Play: Reply to this email or press the big green button here. If you haven’t already, you also have to join the MM team and press the “MM March Arena.” The Zoom for the tournament is here.
Congrats last month to Shreyas, Wells, and Yoan! You rock, guys!
(Jaden with his prize last year!)
“When you see a good move, look for a better one.”
– Emanuel Lasker
Chess News 📰
🏆 The Youngest Chess Master, Ashwath Kaushik’s dream of becoming a World Champion: He is only eight years old, but he has already made history by beating a chess grandmaster in a classical game. He is the youngest player ever to achieve this feat. He tells CNN how he started playing chess, how he trains, and what his goals are.
💞 Chess, Love, and Laughter - The Life of Anish and Sopiko: They are one of the most successful and adorable couples in the chess world. Anish Giri and Sopiko Guramishvili have achieved great results on the board, but they also enjoy life off the board. In this article, they reveal their secrets of happiness and harmony.
😎 How Carlsen Became the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T.: 9 Takeaways from the Tournament GM Magnus Carlsen showed his brilliance and versatility by winning the 2024 Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge, defeating GM Fabiano Caruana in the final. The tournament was a unique experiment with classical Chess960 and pre-game consultation, and it gave us a lot of insights into chess and its evolution. Here are nine takeaways from the event.
⚾ Steven Kwan - The Slugger Who Slayed the Chessboard: Steven Kwan is not only a great outfielder, but also a chess master. He won the first SlugChamps Chess Tournament, beating his teammates in a knockout format. He donated $6,000 to two charities that support Asian Americans and mental health.
🤝🏼 The Sweet and Strong Chess Duo: So and Lee are both strong chess players, but they are also sweet and courteous. GM Wesley So and IM Alice Lee made it to the semifinals of the 2024 Team Chess Battle, beating GM Peter Leko and GM Pia Cramling 2-0. They showed their chess prowess and their politeness, thanking their adversaries and their partners.
👾 Gukesh, Pragg, and Abdusattorov - The Chess Phenoms of the Grand Chess Tour: They are the phenoms of chess, but they are also the challengers. They are Gukesh, Pragg, and Abdusattorov, the three teenage marvels who are taking part in the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. They have already amazed the chess community with their performance, and they are ready to face the best.
“Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation.”
– Max Euwe
Fun Facts💡
🌉Did you know there’s a bridge in India painted like a chessboard? This is a testament of how serious Indians take chess and is a celebration of the 2022 Chess Olympiads, held in India for the first time in 100 years.
Source: The Hindustan Times
Having a second look at it… Doesn’t it look a bit dangerous to paint the street like that? 👀
👦The youngest grandmaster ever gained his title at age 12! Abhimanyu Mishra from NJ took the big title home in 2019 when he broke the previous record that was in place for over 19 years. Not to mention he also gained the title of youngest Master ever at age 9.
🧑⚕️There are more brain surgeons than chess masters! The most recent WHO research indicates that there are around 50.000 brain surgeons worldwide, compared to the 20.000 Masters and 1.700 Grandmasters active today. So yeah, finding master-titled coaches is probably harder than finding brain surgeons haha.
👑 Looking at players born after 1945, the average age to become a GM drops to slightly above 26. And it keeps getting younger! For players born after 1990, the average age is a mere 18.5 years old.
This shows a clear trend: players are achieving the prestigious GM title faster than ever before. Pretty cool, right?
Source: https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/9891/what-is-the-average-age-to-become-a-grandmaster