Hey, chess lovers! The end of the year is almost upon us, and as if that isn't enough reason to celebrate, we still have to look back at the penultimate month of the year—and review all the interesting things that happened around the site in...
Registration is open for the 2021 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship, which is set to begin at 12 a.m. Pacific on January 1. Each year, the Chess.com Daily Chess Championship has set a new record for the largest tournament we've ever held. ...
There's no doubt about it: "The Queen's Gambit" is a huge hit. With incredible performances by the actors, beautiful sets, and a well-constructed plot, it's no wonder the miniseries is so successful. With 68 million households watching the show in...
GM Hikaru Nakamura has broken all manner of chess barriers in 2020. According to the man himself, he's now a professional streamer, focused on his groundbreaking content on Twitch and YouTube, streaming for thousands of hours and becoming both the...
For an average beginner, the road to a rating in the range of 1400-1600 is pretty straightforward. Learn as many tactical patterns as possible, get yourself familiar with some basic opening principles, and you are there! Notice, I said that the ro...
Your favorite annual chess quiz tradition is back for the 2020 holidays. Enjoy this year's quiz, and see if you can win one of our prizes for a top score. Play the puzzler here. [Jan. 5, 2021 update: click here to see the correct answe...
Stockfish made huge waves earlier this year when the release of Stockfish 12 pushed computer chess to new Elo heights. Stockfish remains the premier chess engine on the planet on this update, topping all rating lists—bullet, blitz, and rapid...
The Bullet Open Championship will kick off on December 19-20, with the winner clinching a spot in next year's Bullet Chess Championship. With a $10,000 prize fund on the line, this event will feature a 1|0 time control, open to all ...
Today, World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen turns 30 years old! The Norwegian super-talent is well on his way to being nearly universally deemed the greatest chess player of all time. He is considered so by many already. Carlsen is renowned for h...
Endgames. The word, alone, may conjure up feelings of happiness, dread, or even despair for many chess players. Some adore the endgame while others despise it. There is a grain of truth in the old Soviet saying that amateur chess players "play t...
There are lots of “chess firsts.” In nearly every category we can think of there are those who achieved something for the first time or who were considered premier in some way. This puzzle looks at some “chess firsts.” They...
There was a study published last month by PNAS titled "Life Cycle Patterns of Cognitive Performance over the Long Run" which looked at chess as a way to measure cognitive performance. The study looked at the move-by-move performance of top profess...
Ask a dozen chess players what their favorite square is, and quite likely you'll get a dozen of different answers. I suspect all four central squares (d4, d5, e4, and e5) will be on the list. While it is difficult to dispute the importance of...
Hey, chess lovers!... What's new!? That's what we're here to find out! October 2020 was a fun & busy month, as the crazy-popular Netflix series The Queen's Gambit inspired many people to give chess a try—or rekindled a passion for...
Let's face it. As chess players, we don't have the best rep regarding social skills. No one has ever said, "You know what this party needs? More chess players!" I get it. There's a certain stereotype attached to people like us. On the bright sid...
Over the past few weeks “The Queen’s Gambit” has taken the world by storm. The story of a young girl, Beth Harmon, who escapes the difficult childhood thanks to her immense chess talent and beats the best men in their game has ca...
The Queen's Gambit has become more than "a chess show." The seven-episode Netflix miniseries has captured the attention of audiences worldwide and was the #1 show in over 12 countries. It has introduced or re-ignited viewers' interest in the royal...
Practically all strong players from the former Soviet Union made their first chess moves in their local Pioneer Palace. All kids were accepted there. Even those who didn't know the rules of the game. In order to assign players to a group that matc...
Here are infographics for the 2020 Speed Chess Championship taking place Nov. 1 through Dec. 13 on Chess.com/TV and Twitch.tv/Chess. Bracket: Schedule: Participants: Prizes: Format: Tiebreak:
Chess.com is pleased to announce the Chess.com Computer Chess Ratings. These ratings are calculated based on performances in the Chess.com Computer Chess Championship, Chess.com's 24/7 computer tournament platform where the best engines are consta...
Chess is just a game, but as long as it is played by humans, emotions will be a factor. Sometimes we are faced with moves by our opponents that may ratchet up our sense of fear, even if they are not 100 percent sound. We've all played games wher...
In just three days from now, one of the biggest events of 2020 starts: the $100,000 Speed Chess Championship Main Event with GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Magnus Carlsen as the top seeds. What can we expect? How to watch? The game...
Past results are one of the best predictors when it comes to online chess events. The 2020 Speed Chess Championship features players from past speed chess championships, junior speed chess championships, and other qualifiers who have played s...
After a rigorous qualification cycle, this Sunday will kick off the 2020 Speed Chess Championship. With GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Magnus Carlsen listed as the top players in the field, this year's competition stands to be the toughest edition...
