Tata Steel Round 8 Update

Update from the "windy city" of Wijk Aan Zee and Future Substack Plans

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My tournament was going much better after the last newsletter that I posted. Perhaps it was fatigue or tilt, but things have gone wrong. The 13-round marathon tournament is far from over, and there are still five games to mount a comeback. The collapse began with an absolute fluke. I have been playing well in many games, but I have entirely collapsed in critical moments. My round 8 game against Erwin L’Ami was a massive improvement from my last three games, but I failed to take my one chance in the entire game to seize a decisive advantage. My play has been much better than the result reflects, but unfortunately, it only takes one or two mistakes to spoil a beautifully played game. As many of you probably know, I have been posting daily recaps of my games on YouTube. I will start uploading the recaps early to Substack, giving paid subscribers access and the ability to ask me questions about the games. I will answer five questions from paid subscribers and one random question from free subscribers. There will be a post with the video behind the paywall where community members can ask questions and a separate post for unpaid subscribers. The goal is to build a community and make it simple for all of you to follow my tournaments. In addition, paid subscribers will get exclusive access to behind-the-scenes footage, short vlogs, and Q and A’s with me. I appreciate your support on this journey, and I would like to document my entire rise to the top of chess. I was inspired by Kanye’s Netflix documentary, where he had a cameraman following him around while he had barely achieved anything yet. He knew he would be successful, and he wanted the whole world to see how he persevered through insurmountable challenges. I believe my success is inevitable, so I’d like to reflect on my journey. I saw another video of Conor Mcgregor saying people laughed at him when he said he would be world champion. People might be laughing now, but I assure you, be patient and see what happens. I am off to Amsterdam for the rest of the day to get some fresh air and change pace from the depressing, windy town of Wijk Aan Zee. Stay tuned for future recaps and updates from the tournament, and subscribe for exclusive access and insights into my journey.