r/chess

I need your honesty here. Do you see why is it a blunder and what is your rating?
▲ 93 r/chess

I need your honesty here. Do you see why is it a blunder and what is your rating?

Im a puny 1100 on lichess, and i think there is no way a 1100 player can see it.

u/andreacro — 5 hours ago
▲ 96 r/chess

Hans Moke Niemann to play a Blitz match against Anish Giri on Endgame AI | 18 games | 3+2 | Date: July 12th

>Hans Niemann announces a $10,000 match against Anish Giri on Endgame AI

>Hans Niemann has announced a new weekly match series on Endgame AI against top grandmasters, featuring different formats including blitz, Fischer Random, and classical chess.

>The first match will be against Anish Giri on July 12. The two will play 18 games with a 3+2 time control.

>If Giri wins the match, he will take home $10,000

Link: https://x.com/EndgameaiChess/status/2073439405105201586

Link: https://x.com/HansMokeNiemann/status/2073681567323754911/photo/1

u/FirstEfficiency7386 — 6 hours ago
▲ 9 r/chess

Adult learners who reached 2300+ ?

Is there any adult learner here who reached 2300+ RAPID on Chesscom or Lichess ?

I heard that the limit is around 2200 for adult learners but I want to believe otherwise.

Also is there any adult learners who earned a title ?
Like CM or NM or FM ?

I hope I find exceptions who prove 2300+ rapid is possible as Adult learners (above 18)

reddit.com
u/youness_zdn — 7 hours ago
▲ 21 r/chess

content creator appreciation post

A recent thread about toxicity here got me thinking that, deep down, all appropriate and inappropriate criticism aside, I have a lot of appreciation for these content creator that took a game I’ve loved for most of my life and turned it into a global phenomenon.

I'm too old to be the parasocial type and I don't know much about their private life and any objectional things they might have done, so I'm sorry if I'm clueless about a lot of that, but I wanted to invite other to share something they love about these people that make chess feel more alive and relevant than I can ever remember or ever had thought possible.

In no particular order:

Ben Finegold: Might be the first chess creator I remember from his lessons at St Louis. his ability to turn repetitive dad jokes into legitimate teaching tools is legendary. You laugh at the same line for the hundredth time and then realize, annoyingly, that you now actually remember the principle. You find yourself losing a game thinking "that's why you never play f3... guess itS' time to cry like a grandmaster."

Levy: Polarizing figure, sure, but he understood better than anyone that chess is fucking fascinating. He captured that excitement and made it his brand. HE''s better than anyone at making chess accessible, not by dumbing it down, but by making a game between two people you’ve never heard of feel like something you absolutely need to see. People that don't even know chess watch an hour-long recap of the candidates and all of the sudden, they are a chess fan.

Hikaru: One of the best ever gave the world just gave us court-side seat into his chess intuition. There’s something uniquely valuable about watching his thought process as he dismiss 5 moves in 2 seconds, draws 17 arrows, and still explain enough that you can begin to understand why.

Botez sisters: I haven't seen a lot of there stuff and what I have seen was mostly before Andrea was a regular, but I feel like they are teh first that really made chess feel like social content. Alex showed us the hidden side of chess too, the anger than can come with blundering a piece, the insecurity of feeling like you'll never be good enough, but also all the work that goes into being a 2000+ fide. I know they weren’t the first women in chess media, obviously, but they proved that women could be at the absolute centre of the online chess world. The space feels much less unusual for women now, and I think they deserve real credit for helping make that happen.

Eric Rosen: For showing that calmness can be a form of comedy, that we can laugh at ourself and still be a force to be reckoned with. Nobody else can hang a queen, whisper “oh no,” and somehow leave you unsure whether you’re witnessing a disaster, a trap, or both. In a world a big personality and confrontation, Rosen is a moment of zen that heals the worried mind. When rozman screams with excitement, Rosen whispers a quite laughter.

Anna Cramling: For making me want to share chess with my son. The content with Pia and Anna's dad (sorry, the name escape me) captures something rare: chess not just as competition or improvement, but as a culture passed down. It makes me look forward to playing with my son and sharing this love. Also, she's better than anyone at bringing laugher and positivity to a game that can too often feel serious and cruel.

The big streamers that included chess in their rotations (Ludwig, MoistCritical, Tyler1, etc.): I don't know them well, but I know Ludwig helped make chess feel like a genuine internet event for the most unlikely of fans. I've seen so many kids that want to play chess because of him. (though I guess they are older now... time flies!)

I had the chance to see Charlie give us one of the most unexpectedly great complicity with Danya. The dry humour, Charlie’s willingness to look completely ridiculous, and Danya playing along with the weirdly vulgar and awkward questions about which move gives the most BDE. I don't know how much of it was just content, but it felt like watching the weirdest friendship form over the board.

Daniel Naroditsky: The professor, the boy-genius, the goat. He was sharp, gentle, funny... his ability to never making you feel stupid for not seeing what he saw is something I aspire to. Plenty of strong players can explain a position after the fact. Danya had the much rarer gift of reconstructing the thought process from where you were standing. He didn’t just show better moves, he made people feel capable of finding them. I don’t think online chess education will ever be quite the same without him.

reddit.com
u/RoiPhi — 6 hours ago
▲ 2 r/chess+1 crossposts

*White to move and win. When a queen sac is counter by a queen sac

Hint: Black will try >! 2.Rd8 !<

u/Either-Case-5930 — 7 hours ago
▲ 923 r/chess+1 crossposts

Magnus Carlsen best Chess Player celebreating like animal after Norway beat Brazil

u/Blue-Hai-Jaati — 13 hours ago
▲ 54 r/chess

What Happened to Chess.com Ratings? I Analyzed 348,890 Rapid Games from 2016 to 2026.

>>> Link to Full, Published Google Doc <<<

Conclusion / TL;DR / Spoilers

  • Does Move Quality Correlate with Rating?
    • The correlation between move quality (measured by median ACPL) and rating is overall very strong, but has been on a slight downward trend between 2021 and 2026.
  • Is There Rating Inflation or Deflation?
    • Both “rating inflation” and “rating deflation” are true if they strictly mean comparing against the performance of same-rated historical players, but on opposite ends of the rating distribution.
  • Is the Player Base More Beginner-Heavy Now? Or Is the Pool Just Stronger Now?
    • The player base in 2026 is overwhelmingly composed of beginner-level players by move quality, whereas pre-COVID it was made up of a small group of chess nerds whose median player was more of an intermediate-level player. Nowadays the median rapid player is a beginner-level player, who would have fallen into about the 10th percentile in 2016 based on move quality.
  • How Do Low-Rated Players Compare to Historical Ones?
    • Modern players rated <1000 do play much stronger when compared to same-rated historical players. However, the practical floor has also moved down a few hundred points from ~400 to 100.
  • How Do Intermediate Players Compare to Historical Ones?
    • The 1000-1400 segment is a sort of “inflection point” where the relationship between move quality and rating has stayed fairly similar over time.
  • How Do Club Players and Experts Compare to Historical Ones?
    • Players rated 1400-2300 actually play a bit weaker on average when compared to historical same-rated players. Ratings of 2400+ were not included in the study.
  • When Did the Rating Shift Happen?
    • The biggest shift in the relationship between move quality and player rating occurred between 2020 and 2021, which lines up with both an overwhelming surge in new Chess.com players and Chess.com’s introduction of self-selected starting ratings.
  • Is Elo Hell Real?
    • If “Elo Hell” refers to players having similar ratings but playing with wildly differing strengths, its existence is not supported by the move-quality distribution data.
  • What Separates Strong Players from Weak Ones?
    • The largest measured separator between weak players and strong players is avoiding large CPL moves, which are often tactical blunders or missed tactics. 100-rated players play moves equivalent to blundering a minor piece or worse about 8 times as often as a 2300-rated player.
  • Does the Chess.com Rating System Need an Overhaul?
    • The data did not support the need for a rating reset or adjustment for Chess.com’s rapid pool. Our understanding of which rating numbers correspond to which playing strengths may need to be tweaked slightly.
u/GABE_EDD — 8 hours ago
▲ 7 r/chess

Assessment of India's Big Three youngsters

Interesting comment on the styles of each of the chess players. I agree, Arjun seems like the most solid against lower rated players, but occasionally slips with higher rated players, so is it fair to say he is mentally tougher? On the other hand, Gukesh does have insane self belief, to the extent that he tries to attack always, and he got rewarded in high pressure situations for it. But he isn't getting away with it now. However, I don't think the other two players have faced the level of pressure that he does now. As for the comment on Pragg, I found it hilarious that he is confused. Its hard to put Pragg in any sort of box, but I think he has the most genius for the game out of the three.

But if you were to make player cards for each of the three players in 2026, they would be different than the ones made in 2024.

What do you guys think?

u/Various_Elk3166 — 3 hours ago
▲ 7 r/chess

Chess Board Hanger!

Got a board for free because it was missing a piece. Decided to build a keychain hanger! Any one know which game this position is from?

u/SavageSava — 5 hours ago
▲ 53 r/chess

Most popular Norwegian sportsman -- Carlsen, Haaland, or someone else?

To Norwegians, is Carlsen their most popular sportsman (including chess in all sports)? Or has Haaland surpassed him? Or is it someone else outsiders don't know as well?

reddit.com
u/Rocco_Skene — 22 hours ago
▲ 1.1k r/chess

IM John Bartholomew wins the 2026 Naroditsky Memorial Creator Invitational on a perfect 9/9 score.

u/Chr02144 — 1 day ago