UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Is Giving £1 Million To Chess!
The best monthly chess newsletter you receive.
Issue 34 | MM Chess
It’s the 34th 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: Ashriya, Luke, Ilanchezhiyan, Vetrivel & Marco.
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!
Group lessons are starting next week!
Student Success🏆
Every month we’re highlighting some of the successes of our students. Proud of something chess-related? Send me photos!
It’s been a slow month - our students have risen through the ranks, but August doesn’t have many tournaments.
My story🖼️
Earlier this month, I published my 140-page workbook: “Become Top 10 in Chess.” The goal of the book is to take a child from 0 to 1200. The first edition is being used by ~150 taught by myself and other teachers… exciting stuff! I’ll be on Amazon soon!
Monthly Tournament♟️
📅 This month’s tournament will take place on Wednesday, September 20th, at 7pm EST (6pm CT, 5pm MT, 4pm PT). Most of the players will be rated from 500-1800. In the last tournament, there were 35 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 The Zoom for the tournament is here, and the password is Smile.
Congrats last month to Benjamin, Shreyas, & Vihan!
Chess News 📰
🔥 Unstoppable WR Chess Titans. With billionaire Wadim Rosenstein's vision, a legendary team emerged. Wesley So, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Hou Yifan led the charge at the World Rapid Team Championship, dominating with eight wins.
👑 Carlsen Triumphs, Young Genius Praggnanandhaa Shines. Magnus Carlsen secured the Chess World Cup title in a nail-biting final against India's prodigy Praggnanandhaa. The intense contest led to a tie-break, where Carlsen clinched victory in the first game. Praggnanandhaa's remarkable journey saw victories over top players like Caruana and Nakamura.
👦🏻 Italy's Chess Prodigy: 10-Year-Old Dynamo Takes Center Stage!
Meet Leonardo Vincenti, the pint-sized sensation shaking up Italy's chess scene. Rewriting records at just 10 years old, he’s at a FIDE rating of 2238A new chess star emerges, setting the stage for Italy's future triumphs - and is on his way to (possibly) becoming the youngest grandmaster ever!
👨🏻⚖️ From Parliament Plans to Chess Grandmaster Dreams! Jonathan Arnott, the ex-politician with a knack for knights, admits, "Politics cramped my chess style!" Once plotting UKIP leadership, he's now masterminding moves at the South Yorkshire Chess and Education Centre, swapping “podiums for pawns.”
💂🏻♀️ Chess Fever Sweeps UK: The government's £1 million boost for chess has the English Chess Federation (ECF) celebrating. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is doubling funds to £500,000!
👯📢 Chess Women Unite: Battling Harassment with Courage. A fierce group of 14 French players is shaking the chess world. They tagged harassment head-on, penning an open letter. This movement, now joined by over 150 players, including UK's Sabrina Chevannes, is a powerful symphony of change and unity.
👴🏻 Legendary Legacy of Aleksandar Matanovic passed away. Celebrating the Serbian grandmaster's remarkable 93-year influence on chess (1930-2023). From junior champ to grandmaster, he etched a saga of victories and legendary clashes with icons like world champion Tal. Matanovic founded Chess Informant.
✈️ GM Alan Pichot: Chess Odyssey from Argentina to Spain. Latin American champ Alan Pichot, Argentina's top player, and globally ranked 101 with a 2642 rating, moved to Spain. His shift to Spain was due to the Argentinian Chess Federation's lack of support.
Fun Facts💡
🤟 Former world champion Mikhail Tal only had 3 fingers on his right hand, which many with a really dark sense of humor allege that it’s because he was specifically made for chess, the three fingers are what he needed to grab the pieces. Here’s a photo of him looking like a movie super-villain:
💀 You can get this notification if you’re bad enough. Some users in Lichess have received this notification after a really bad streak, which adds insult to the mix!
P.S. a sandbagger is a player who intentionally lowers their rating by losing on purpose, often with the intent of entering tournaments that they can easily win.
🤣Hikaru’s reaction when he sees Magnus losing is just HILARIOUS. Maybe he needed some time off from young Praggnanandhaa 😏
😵💫An enthusiastic player went to a nearby village where he was told there were public chessboards at the park. This is what he found:
Can you spot the “error”?👆