Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest installment of The Blogger Awards v2.0, covering entries in April 2025! This continues a blogging community tradition that recognizes the best blogs of the month in different categories. 

Another incredibly thrilling month of great blogs... and great headaches for your judges trying to split hairs. Clearly, it was a pain, as they all will pass on judging May entries and take some aspirin while urging on their replacements.

Judges: @VOB96, @JustGettingThisOffMyChess, @KevinSmithIdiot

It's time to announce the results. All those who reach the podium can expect to see the results reflected in The Blogger Awards v2.0 Medal Table in short order.

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Gold: @JugadaBrillante for Who Wants to Be a Chessllionaire?
Silver: @AgentJesusFolower785 for How to Teach a Newbie Chess: You Don't!
Bronze: @nova-stone for Do the pawns really go first in chess? and @RookMindset for Pawn to b9 and My Chess Comeback

Received votes: @outwittedyou

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

The old but gold pun was enough to make me choose @JugadaBrillante in first place. @AgentJesusFolower785 also had their merits thanks to its last two impactful words. For third place, I'd go with @outwittedyou. To be fair, I don't think any of the titles were outstanding this month. They were all good, but similar.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

I enjoy catchy titles that make you want to read on. The three that did the trick for me in particular order were @AgentJesusFolower785's, @JugadaBrillante's and @RookMindset's.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

Jugada hit the meme-theme for me... and then it got tough.

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Gold: @PokeGirl93 for The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research
Silver: @Chesser1492 for How Can Blind People Play Chess?
Bronze: @nova-stone for Do the pawns really go first in chess? and @ChocoCaramelPawn for Make your own chess variant! | Full guide for beginners

Received votes: @RookMindset, @AaravRoy_25, and @squirtle

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

I really liked the way in which @PokeGirl93 conducted this research with children. It was both interesting and enlightening. After 'stealing' his topic, I at least owe @Chesser1492 second place. Third place goes to @AaravRoy_25. It's not the most creative topic, but it's something that I and many others like to read about.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

@Chesser1492 took my gold because it was a topic rarely covered, that has been covered since because of their blog. Silver went to @ChocoCaramelPawn, by having a topic which allowed their audience to create, and bronze went to @squirtle, because they were able to make a less than ideal topic be better than it ever should have been.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

Okay, let me start by noting that chess variants don't work for me. Still, I thought Choco's topic was relevant in the chess world given all the discussion of Chess960, and refreshing for letting people know how they could create their own version of chess with tools that are already out there. Far better than helping my kids put together a "new" game as a school project using cardboard, glue, crayons, and some kludgy pieces to move around a board.

Lots of great topics this month. Chess journeys are always interesting if well presented, and that topic was covered frequently and well. Tough, tough, tough. Finally, I loved the Andorra festival blog as a topic. I just didn't have room for that (and many others) as judges only get to cast three votes. I'll have to talk to the club owner about that!!

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Gold: @RookMindset for Pawn to b9 and My Chess Comeback
Silver: @squirtle for If You Can't Win, Just Draw! The Scandinavian Defense for Black
Bronze: @outwittedyou for Mis-sing Up In Improvers' Sunday Rapid Late

Received votes: @PierreLuc

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

@squirtle managed to explain the opening he wanted while keeping me amused throughout. This is a difficult thing to do with such a topic, so I think he deserves first place. I also enjoyed @outwittedyou narrating his funny struggles. There were some options for third place, but I give it to @PierreLuc, with an honourable mention to @RookMindset. There were no blogs mainly focused on being satirical or humorous this month. This is neither positive nor negative, I'm just saying.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

I appreciate when humour is seamlessly inserted into a good blog. My Gold goes to Rook, silver to Squirtle, and Bronze to Outwitted.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

From the titles to the images to the text, to the humorous comments in the analyzed games, it was a great month for humor.

Looking back at version one of TBA, the most notable change I've seen is in the level of warm humor folks are bringing to the table. A category that used to be easy pickings is now a head-banger for the judges trying to decide amongst a lot of strong contenders...imo.

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Gold: @nova-stone for Do the pawns really go first in chess? 
Silver: @armina_bel for How about a Closed Sicilian ?
Bronze: @RookMindset for Pawn to b9 and My Chess Comeback

Received votes: @squirtle

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

@nova-stone deserves first place, especially because, even though we should only focus on one blog, they analyse their games every single day and their analysis is always very thorough. Second place was difficult to decide on, but I ultimately chose @armina_bel too, although she focused more on the opening line. Third place goes to @RookMindset. However, if @NMChessToImpress had also written some comments, they would probably be in first place.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

Not my forte, or my wheelhouse, or any other term that is used to express something I'm not great at myself. In spite of that, Nova hands down deserves gold, and Armina silver. Bronze was a little more challenging, but Rook scraped through.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

I'm not competing in this category again. I snuck in and snatched a gold in March, now it's gotten way too serious! Multiple excellent examples of analysis. I had six people competing for my third-place vote. Very impressive work, folks.

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Gold: @PokeGirl93 for The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research
Silver: @RookMindset for Pawn to b9 and My Chess Comeback
Bronze: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Make your own chess variant! | Full guide for beginners and @emateu26 for 🎉 Registration is Open: Welcome to the 41st Andorra International Chess Open!

Received votes: @DocSimooo

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@VOB96:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the race for the title on @emateu26's blog. It was really engaging, perhaps because I was supporting a specific player and had to know where he finished, which made it almost like watching the tournament live. I understand it might not be to everyone's taste, but @DocSimooo's story had me hooked from start to finish. Third place goes to @PokeGirl93 because every chapter is different and keeps the reader curious.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

Rook takes gold, Choco silver, and PokeGirl93 gets the bronze.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

There were a few blogs I went back to again and again. @DocSimooo's for the story, @ChocoCaramelPawn's because I wanted to learn something even if variants in general annoy me, and @JugadaBrillante's to test out different paths (I like seeing what happens when you lose at various points and some of the answers I knew, so...). Then there were others that caught my eye for other reasons.

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Gold: @nova-stone for Do the pawns really go first in chess? 
Silver: @PokeGirl93 for The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research
Bronze: @DocSimooo for The game of the Gods - A Paolo Maurensig and Mir Malik Tribute

Received votes: @RookMindset, @NMChessToImpress

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

I think @PokeGirl93 and @nova-stone were the two best, and it's very difficult to choose the order between them. My third choice is @NMChessToImpress. It was simple and effective, and although it wasn't funny, I enjoyed the subtle humour. But many others could also be chosen to close this list.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

In the end, blogs need to be written well, and Doc did exactly that. Silver goes to Novastone, and Bronze PokeGirl93.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

The overall writing level has improved, and this is becoming ever more difficult to judge. I'll leave it at that.

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Gold: @2000Knights for The Long Path to Modern Chess
Silver: @PokeGirl93 for The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research
Bronze: @DocSimooo for The game of the Gods - A Paolo Maurensig and Mir Malik Tribute

Received votes: N/A

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

Despite some unnecessary bold text, @2000Knights' editing was consistent and standardised — well done! @DocSimooo also edited very well, especially given how challenging the topic he chose was. Third place goes to @PokeGirl93. The tables were slightly blurred and the standardisation could have been better, but it was still a great blog. Honourable mentions go to the awesome images of @Alina_Bakhtina_24 and @SPK1729, and also to the surprisingly great job by @AaravRoy_25.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

PokeGirl93 gets gold for a really nice flow, 2000Knights takes the silver, and Doc snatches bronze.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

Seeing people add a Table of Contents (and in many cases the ability to return to the Table at the end of a section), using lines as section breaks, using images to avoid word walls, and fewer misspellings made this another category that is increasingly difficult to judge. Still, the judges settled on three folks for setting the bar. I have to say, @PokeGirl93's use of tables adds a level of professionalism. And for the folks who analyze games, work on adding more comments in the game box itself.

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Gold: @outwittedyou
Silver: @AaravRoy_25
Bronze: @ChocoCaramelPawn

Received votes: N/A

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

This was the blog by @outwittedyou that I have enjoyed the most to date. I think his BC submission and his last TBA attempt lacked a lot of things that he has now improved. @AaravRoy_25 has improved a lot, especially in terms of his editing. @ChocoCaramelPawn has shown a high standard since his first blog, but has improved consistently and I think he deserves this recognition after reaching the BC Final Four.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

@outwittedyou A huge step forward from "The Black Death: The Pestilence of Chess" to "Mis-sing Up In Improvers' Sunday Rapid Late". The thumbnail is better. The editing is better with the addition of Table of Contents that let readers know what they were going to read about and provided a navigation tool, while the inserted line between sections offered a good visual delineation. Finally, the wrap-up provided a fine exit from the main body. The Black Death conclusion just kind of faded away, so the improvement is crystal clear.

@AaravRoy_25 has also demonstrated remarkable improvements in their posts. Looking back at "The Magician of Riga: Mikhail Tal's Daring Legacy" we see a thumbnail with the top of the head cut off and no special efx. Move forward a bit over a month and we find a colorful thumb with color gradations, multiple GMs, and lightning efx in the background. Add in refinements such as a Table of Contents and more images and we're talking a sea change. I'd like to see the images of the players in the body of the text all presented at the same size as some of the images went full screen width while others were only partial, but that's a minor point for the fabulous future.

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Gold: @2000Knights for The Long Path to Modern Chess
Silver: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Make your own chess variant! | Full guide for beginners
Bronze: @RookMindset for Pawn to b9 and My Chess Comeback

Received votes: @squirtle

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Some comments from the judges:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

@VOB96:

@2000Knights was the best by a considerable margin for me. I also thought that @ChocoCaramelPawn did a good job and caught my attention. @RookMindset always delivers great content and rarely misses my podium.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

Rook always makes good thumbnails, this was no exception. Choco scored silver by using their thumbnail to set the scene for their lovely blog, to 2000knights got bronze, as it was the third best thumbnail.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

I thought @squirtle did a great job with a very straightforward image. @2000Knights did a fantastic job as always. @RookMindset made me laugh with the image of a queen on b9 (a "benign" queen who checkmates...hmm, seems awfully violent to me!). And, of course, @ChocoCaramelPawn, showed some real flair with that image!!

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Gold: Capturing the ultimate recognition was @nova-stone for Do the pawns really go first in chess? 
Silver: @squirtle for If You Can't Win, Just Draw! The Scandinavian Defense for Black
Bronze: @PokeGirl93 for The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research

Received votes: @RookMindset

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Some comments from the judges:

@VOB96:

For combining good editing and analysis with engaging content, research effort, and consistent writing, @nova-stone produced the best blog overall, even though I did not select them for many specific categories. Second place goes to @PokeGirl93 thanks to her engaging writing, interesting topic, and good editing. I awarded third place to @squirtle because I thought his ability to show an opening the blog and keep the reader engaged was commendable.⠀⠀⠀⠀

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:

Gold goes to Nova for a very well put together blog. Silver goes to Rook, for a charming and interesting blog. And Bronze goes to Squirtle, who just keeps getting better and better.

@KevinSmithIdiot:

My vote to @nova-stone for gold was easy, but I'm probably a sucker for excellent analysis paired with humor, superior writing, an amusing title, and outstanding editing. @PokeGirl93 is always near the top in this category...we'll probably have to ban her from competing sometime this summer😉. Congrats to @squirtle who won Most Improved in March and has now grabbed the silver in Best Blog!

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This is it! Congratulations to all the award winners, all the podium finishers, and everyone who took part! Remember: the competition for May has already opened, and we welcome your best blog as you try again to claim a spot on one or more podiums!

We'll see you soon with the May 2025 winners!

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MONTH SUMMARY