Kia ora, competitors and spectators!

Today is the day! After an agonizing wait of more than 480 hours since the last announcement, we will finally find out the results of the BlogChamps Final Four and the much-anticipated Season 8 Awards!

As expected, we had the pleasure of reading some excellent blog entries from our semi-finalists! My most sincere thank you to the four contestants for submitting such high-quality posts on time.

Thanks also to the judges @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @JustGettingThisOffMyChess, @KevinSmithIdiot, @nbrasington, and @NMChessToImpress for their quick, honest, and fair decisions.

Before we look at the results, I would like to mention that May 17 is a special date for me as a blogger. It is my first anniversary as a Top Blogger, and it is also the day I joined BlogChamps A lot has changed since then, hasn't it?

Enough talk. Let's get to the important stuff! Below is a summary of the two matches and their final results. As always, the comments here will focus on the positives, and more detailed feedback on each blog will be posted in a separate forum.

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Group A: PokeGirl93 vs. emateu26

@PokeGirl93 gave us an awesome summary of the history of chess in her home country, Brazil! The blog covers everything from the origins of amateur competitions to the most promising prodigies. Learn the incredible stories and feats, including world championship titles, of their national heroes who promoted chess in a soccer football-dominated place. Check out her excellent work! - A Chess Saga In The Land Of Soccer

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@emateu26 wrote an amazing review of the Andorra team's performance at the prestigious Menorca Open. The blog not only covers his own journey but also many cool backstage stories, the history of this event, and the thrilling fight for the title. You will surely want to read it to the end and play in this tournament in the future! Check it out for all the details! - Andorra Chess – Menorca: Competing in the Crown Jewel of Spanish Opens

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Both competitors had amazing seasons and wrote two blogs that have given us some serious headaches in deciding the winner. Certainly, they both did an amazing job and deserve it almost equally! However, we cannot change the rules now to allow 3 finalists, so only one of them can go on. The first finalist is:

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Group B: ChocoCaramelPawn vs. RookMindset

@ChocoCaramelPawn introduced us to some interesting chess variants. He discussed them with some of our club members, talked about how they could improve their chess skills, and also gave each of them a polemical rating. Have you ever wanted to try a fun variant or learn more about this world? This blog, which will soon become a series, is the right place for you! Have fun! - Chess variants from A to Z | Part 1

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@RookMindset explored how players of different rating ranges use the most loved and hated piece in chess: the knight. In this blog, he shares valuable insights into tactical and strategic concepts that can be applied at various levels, with vivid examples. If you want to have fun while improving your understanding of how to move this complicated piece, be sure to check it out! - How Knights Move at Different Elos

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And who will be the second finalist? Tough decision, as it was a very close match to vote. I dare say that this could easily be a final and still live up to expectations. Unfortunately, we could only choose one of them to move on, and the judges have decided that the winner of the second semi-final is:

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Congratulations to the two finalists! And to the two who were eliminated (whose names I won't mention because I'm strategically writing this template long before the submissions are even available), don't be sad. I know it's disappointing, but you made it to the semifinals in one of the greatest and toughest seasons this club has ever had!

I hope you enjoyed competing and had fun. Unfortunately, only one out of 76 can win in the end, but you should be proud of such a great run. I hope to see you come back even stronger in Season 9!

Below you can find the updated bracket:

If you are qualified, please confirm your participation in the Blog Bowl VIII by writing a short comment in this announcement or sending me a DM.

Below is the link to the closed forum with the detailed feedback for the four blogs. As always, feel free to drop me a DM if you need more details or tips:

Season 8 Final Four Feedback Forum

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SEASON 8 AWARDS

And now, after all the expectations created, it's time for the Season 8 Awards! This is a tradition that has been a part of BlogChamps since the very beginning and was revived by @AstroTheoretical_Physics in Season 6. There will be 16 categories, almost like last season, but with one special addition. These are:

• The ten awards given in the Blogger Awards v2.0.

• Five extra season-specific awards.

• The People's Choice Award for Best Blog.

Also, except for that last one, all the medalists in each category were chosen by me alone, not the judges. I know this approach is authoritarian, undemocratic, and presumptuous, but it would have taken five people a very long time to vote on so many blogs. And I can assure you that I tried my best to be fair and honest in my choices.

I understand that people may disagree with some polemic decisions, but let's not forget that this is just for fun. Also, the only prizes for winning the gold medal in any of the categories are self-esteem and recognition! (Sorry, but as an ATC, I cannot offer $25 to everyone.)

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BLOG PRIZES

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BEST TITLE OF THE SEASON

Gold: @xirinac - Judit Polgar ain't KIDding

Silver: @JugadaBrillante - Who Wants to Be a Chessllionaire?

Bronze: @LeafySnack - ChessMatrix: LIGHTS! CAMERA! AUCTION!!!

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BEST TOPIC OF THE SEASON

Gold: @WinT0L0ss - The Quantum Chess Paradox

Silver: @RookMindset - Can You Tell if You're Playing a Bot?

Bronze: @PokeGirl93 - The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research

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BEST SATIRE/HUMOR OF THE SEASON

Gold: @squirtle - Reacting to Your Chess Games: Part 2

Silver: @PokeGirl93 - The Best Chess Stories I Have To Share

Bronze: @MaybeEvery - the 1900 bots and their openings

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BEST ANALYSIS OF THE SEASON

Gold: @RookMindset - Pawn to b9 and My Chess Comeback

Silver: @DavidGaming08 - My Journey in Europe’s Biggest U2200 Chess Open - Part One

Bronze: @squirtle - If You Can't Win, Just Draw! The Scandinavian Defense for Black

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MOST ENGAGING BLOG OF THE SEASON

Gold: @PokeGirl93 - The Best Chess Stories I Have To Share

Silver: @JugadaBrillante - Chess time travel

Bronze: @emateu26 - 🎉 Registration is Open: Welcome to the 41st Andorra International Chess Open!

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BEST WRITING OF THE SEASON

Gold: @DocSimooo - SKILLS TO DEVELOP TO BECOME A STRONG CHESS PLAYER

Silver: @PokeGirl93 - The Best Chess Stories I Have To Share

Bronze: @PierreLuc - Your Elo is lying to you!

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BEST EDITING OF THE SEASON

Gold: @Alina_Bakhtina_24 - Napoleon Bonaparte: A great strategist on the battlefield and on the chessboard

Silver: @2000Knights - The Long Path to Modern Chess

Bronze: @PokeGirl93 - The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research

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BEST THUMBNAIL OF THE SEASON

Gold: @RookMindset - Can You Tell if You're Playing a Bot?

Silver: @DocSimooo - The mathematical and musical harmony of chess

Bronze: @2000Knights - The Life of José Capablanca

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BEST BLOG OF THE SEASON (VOB96's Choices)

Gold: @PokeGirl93 - The Best Chess Stories I Have To Share

Silver: @RookMindset - Chess Nightmares From A-Z

Bronze: @JugadaBrillante - Squid Chess Game

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BEST BLOG OF THE SEASON (BlogChamps Members' Choices)

Gold: @PokeGirl93 - The Best Chess Stories I Have To Share

Silver: @RookMindset - Can You Tell if You're Playing a Bot?

Bronze: @Alina_Bakhtina_24 - Napoleon Bonaparte: A great strategist on the battlefield and on the chessboard 

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BLOGGER PRIZES

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ROOKIE OF THE SEASON

Gold: @PokeGirl93

Silver: @ChocoCaramelPawn & @emateu26

Bronze: N/A

PokeGirl93 wins Gold for reaching the final, but I was not brave enough to pick one of the other two to be above, so they share the silver for reaching the same stage.

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MOST IMPROVED BLOGGER

Gold: @squirtle

Silver: @AaravRoy_25

Bronze: @Alina_Bakhtina_24

Here, I considered their improvement not only during the season but also what I had seen from these bloggers before the season started, based on previous blogs that I had read from them.

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SURPRISE OF THE SEASON

Gold: @Chesser1492

Silver: @Starflight_FTW

Bronze: @Utkarsho

It sounds similar to the last category, but here I am looking at bloggers who have either gone further than I imagined or who I had no idea how good they could be, and performed very well.

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COMEBACK BLOGGER OF THE SEASON

Gold: @2000Knights

Silver: @squirtle

Bronze: @outwittedyou

Bloggers who are veterans of the club and have made an epic comeback after one or more seasons away from the main stage.

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MOST UNDERRATED BLOGGER

Gold: @PierreLuc

Silver: @IFQA

Bronze: @RandomUserForChessAcc

Bloggers whom I saw almost no one praising or having expectations that could do well, but who posted pretty good blogs.

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BLOGGER OF THE SEASON (Gold and Silver were updated after the final match)

Gold: @RookMindset

Silver: @PokeGirl93

Bronze: @ChocoCaramelPawn & @emateu26

As we do not have a bronze medal match to decide, both semi-finalists are entitled to this.

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Click here to check out the Season medal table and the full People's Choice Award ranking!

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BLOG BOWL KICKOFF

Now it is time for the greatest event of the chess blogging community, the BlogChamps finals, the Blog Bowl! 76 bloggers started the season, only 2 have survived, and they will now compete for the Zachary Isaac Snow II Trophy on the biggest stage! Both are only one blog away from the highest glory of the chess blogging universe, which will bring them a Top Blogger recommendation from me, and also the mega incredible prizes of U$25 and a one-month premium membership!

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The Blog Bowl is officially open, and the rules are again very simple:

• You have until June 4th 23:59 EST (Eastern Standard Time) to submit your blog in the following forum: Submission Forum - Season 8 Blog Bowl

• I'm giving you 18 days again. Make sure you post the best blog you can and do it on time! This is the last match, so give it your best shot, and you can be sure it will be worth it because there's very little left to do. I apologize in advance, but for the final match, no extensions can be given.

• Also, it is never too much to remind you: Please don't forfeit! I don't really need to explain why a forfeit now would be a disaster, right?

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That's all, folks! As always, I'm open to questions in the comments or via DM. And if you're one of the two finalists, get ready because I'll be sending you some reminders soon

Good luck to you all, and I'll see you back with the Blog Bowl VIII results!