Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest installment of The Blogger Awards v2.0, covering entries in April 2026! This continues a blogging community tradition that recognizes the best blogs of the month in different categories.

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.

Judges: @HornetCruise, @nova-stone, and @theeldest1.

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Gold: @WinT0L0ss for Box Office Blunders

Silver: @FiammaFiorentina for Prose and Pawns - Building Towards Brilliance

Bronze: @emateu26 for The Catalan Circus: How I Got Fined for Not Using My Phone in a FIDE-Rated Game and @StageDistro for How Developing a Chess Addiction Changed My Life

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics; @JugadaBrillante; @PierreLuc; @PokeGirl93

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

I know it. You know it. The king of titles strikes again. I don't think I have to explain myself too much when I give my gold medal vote for title to @WinT0L0ss. His title is the perfect length and catchy. My second place pick may be unconventional, but hear me out. @StageDistro. His blog "How Developing a Chess Addiction Changed My Life" may sound like cheap clickbait, but Stage offers real substance to back his title. It caught my eye this month and I thought it deserved some recognition. Last but not least my third place pick is @AstroTheoretical_Physics. Astro has always known how to craft his titles and probably was the title king before Win was born. A suitable submission as always.

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nova-stone:

There have been quite some nice titles this month, which makes it hard to choose. In the end I went with @WinT0L0ss in first because it introduces the topic in three words that simultaneously makes me want to read it right away. @PierreLuc comes in second for being both fun and inviting, and slightly ahead of @JugadaBrillante for the reason that the first delivered on its promise a bit better.

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theeldest1:

@FiammaFiorentina gets first for a fun bit of wordplay that connects nicely with the content. @emateu26 takes second with his line that drags OTB players in, and @PokeGirl93 lands third.

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Gold: @DocSimooo for FEN, PGN and Chess Notation: The Secret Language of Chess

Silver: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for A Medal Won, But A Legacy Lost to Time

Bronze: @PierreLuc for Is the cheapest chessboard on Amazon absolute trash? and @WinT0L0ss for Box Office Blunders

Received votes: @Aminson_Antony; @PokeGirl93

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

A close category for sure, but once again I give my first place vote to @WinT0L0ss. Among all the "chess in movies" blogs around on Chess.com, Win finally brought the topic to life and gave it some uniqueness. I tossed and turned about it over my very close second pick, @AstroTheoretical_Physics. Astro somehow keeps finding really compelling true stories (He has to run out someday surely?). In third place I chose @PokeGirl93. She's really stretching out her love for Brazil in her posts, but she's still kept it interesting and made it seem not forced up to this point. Well done.

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nova-stone:

I had four contenders here: Astro, Simone, Pierre, and Vanessa. For a mixture of originality and relevance, I chose to award gold to @PierreLuc and silver to @DocSimooo. Bronze goes to @AstroTheoretical_Physics because its relevance is more prevalent.

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theeldest1:

#1 goes to @DocSimooo, #2 to @Aminson_Antony, #3 to @AstroTheoretical_Physics. Doc's blog is excellent for addressing the oh-so-important-but-often-overlooked area of chess notation, Aminson pointed out some exceptional content creators that don't get the spotlight, and Astro reveals the man who kick-started the rise of Indian chess (it's not who you think it is).

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Gold: @JugadaBrillante for How to troll your chess player friend

Silver: @chickpea123456 for Play the Caro-Crab: Tips and Tricks for Black's Strongest Opening

Bronze: @JustGettingThisOffMyChess for I Played in the 78th Chess.com Quick Knockouts Tournament and @King_Red_A for Punchline: A Fool's Guide to April Fools' Day

Received votes: @KevinChessSmith; @MrRiskau99; @PierreLuc

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

A pretty easy choice, @JugadaBrillante. His post was the only fully satirical post this month that made me laugh. Very well crafted. In second I have @KevinChessSmith who's just naturally quippy in his writing. Very delightful to read. In third, unfortunately, I don't have a pick, but again this category is hard to judge lol.

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nova-stone:

What a category to decide in April! Largely falling in line with the April Fool’s category, it would come as no surprise that @JugadaBrillante takes my gold here. My silver goes to @JustGettingThisOffMyChess for keeping a very light-hearted tone and balancing the humour very well with the actual report. And of course for one of the best puns of the year. Bronze was a tough decision, but in my view, @PierreLuc deserved it here. Honourable mention to @MrRiskau99 who scored second place in April Fool's.

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theeldest1:

Normally this category is almost empty, but due to the April Fools' contest in BlogChamps there were almost a dozen contestants who could have won in this section! My vote for gold goes to @chickpea123456 who proclaimed the virtues of the Caro-Crab, my silver to @King_Red_A with his history of April Fools, and the bronze to @MrRiskau99 for his case file on the '2000 Experiment'. Honorable mentions also go to @Riley_Welch, @King_of_Snakes09, @KevinChessSmith, and @JugadaBrillante.

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Gold: @KevinChessSmith for Can you summit Mount Elo? Science lets you know!

Silver: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for A Medal Won, But A Legacy Lost to Time and @JustGettingThisOffMyChess for I Played in the 78th Chess.com Quick Knockouts Tournament

Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver

Received votes: @PokeGirl93

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

In a month full of great game analysis, it was hard to find just one that could take first place. In the end I chose @JustGettingThisOffMyChess. He's always presented great analysis and I thought his entry this month especially deserved recognition. Well done. In second I have @AstroTheoretical_Physics. Although there is not a lot of analysis to be had in his submission, what is there is very good. My third place pick is @KevinChessSmith, which... is pretty self explanatory lol.

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nova-stone:

Without a doubt my favourite category. My gold goes to @KevinChessSmith for including high-detail analysis in such a way that you can study it if desired but don’t really need to in order to proceed the story.

Then I had four blogs for two medals. After deliberating, I chose to go with silver for @JustGettingThisOffMyChess for making a solid effort to try to explain what went on, and going the extra step to probe his opponents for their views and provide a richer account of his games. My bronze goes to @PokeGirl93 for providing her own thoughts and relying less on the engine to convey the story. Honourable mentions to @VOB96 for having a lot of implied analysis that would’ve been nice for the audience to see in full, and to @AstroTheoretical_Physics for an overall okay job.

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theeldest1:

@AstroTheoretical_Physics had some amazing analysis in his blog — balancing the line between computer moves and human comprehension — to earn 1st place. @KevinChessSmith takes 2nd and @PokeGirl93 wins 3rd.

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Gold: @VOB96 for The Murder of Magnus Carlsen. Can You Solve the Mystery?

Silver: @KevinChessSmith for Can you summit Mount Elo? Science lets you know!

Bronze: @DocSimooo for FEN, PGN and Chess Notation: The Secret Language of Chess and @MrRiskau99 for The 15-Month 2000 Experiment - Case File #1

Received votes: @WinT0L0ss

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

This category really came down to two of the competitors. @VOB96 and @KevinChessSmith. Vanessa presented a very intriguing murder mystery while Kevin gave us a very fun interactive quiz. In the end, I chose the former. Vanessa's post really forces you to interact with it. The same can be said of Kevin's, but I felt hers pushed the boundary just a little further. A very hard pick. Kevin of course gets my vote for second, and for third I chose @DocSimooo. His really helps in understanding notation. It something lots of chess players would love to do but just don't know how. Great post.

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nova-stone:

Usually I find this one of the hardest categories to decide, but this time I had a clear winner. @VOB96 had my attention from the start. A very good effort, and it took me a good bit of reasoning to pass all the tests. I have @KevinChessSmith in second place for also doing a good job on the CHYOA. Bronze is a difficult one, but I decided to go with @WinT0L0ss for making a very relevant topic very accessible.

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theeldest1:

This month we had two CHYOA blogs submitted! It comes as no surprise then that the authors of those blogs, @KevinChessSmith and @VOB96, received my gold and silver, respectively. Third place was a tough choice between @MrRiskau99 and @King_Red_A, but I eventually decided upon @MrRiskau99.

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Gold: @WinT0L0ss for Box Office Blunders

Silver: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for A Medal Won, But A Legacy Lost to Time

Bronze: @VOB96 for The Murder of Magnus Carlsen. Can You Solve the Mystery?

Received votes: @DocSimooo; @FiammaFiorentina; @JugadaBrillante; @KevinChessSmith

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

Again, this was an extremely hard category to judge, but in the end it was the two auteurs presenting sublime work again. @AstroTheoretical_Physics and @DocSimooo were in a deadlock for my first place pick, but it ultimately goes to Astro. He has really perfected his writing over the years and it's been quite amazing to see him progress. Doc came in close second, never failing to write to beautifully. In third I have @KevinChessSmith. His blog really flowed well and I was surprised how fast I got through it considering the length. Very entertaining.

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nova-stone:

You can clearly see that over the last year, the overall level of writing of everyone has improved dramatically. With eight contenders for my medals, this month was a feast to read. Thank you!

I chose to award gold to @VOB96 for writing a rather much better murder mystery than Das and Terlingen have done on The Sponsor. Silver is for @WinT0L0ss for finding a very good balance between width and depth, while also keeping an overall pleasant writing style and not overdoing any single topic. Bronze is for the consistent work that @JugadaBrillante managed to maintain throughout the blog.

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theeldest1:

Perhaps due to the staggering amount of Top Bloggers that participated in April, I managed to narrow down my list of potential podium finishers to... twelve. That's right, 50% of the submitted entries could have won, but sadly I can't give a medal to you all. My top three in this category in order are: @WinT0L0ss, @FiammaFiorentina, and @AstroTheoretical_Physics.

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Gold: @MrRiskau99 for The 15-Month 2000 Experiment - Case File #1

Silver: @PokeGirl93 for Across the Bo(a)rders: Foreign Masters of Brazilian Chess

Bronze: @VOB96 for The Murder of Magnus Carlsen. Can You Solve the Mystery?

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics; @KevinChessSmith; @King_Red_A; @WinT0L0ss

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

Perhaps the easiest first place to judge, but my first place pick goes to @VOB96. A really well edited piece. There wasn't a lot that came close. She made the editing process of her post seem like a piece of cake although I'm sure it wasn't. Great job. In second place, I have @PokeGirl93 who just in general has great editing. She didn't falter this month and showed some great skill. In third I have @WinT0L0ss. Solid editing from him as usual. It's very easy to fall into word walls in those types of posts but Win avoided them miraculously.

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nova-stone:

This category has become increasingly important in our blogging community. Good editing is what can make a blog stand out, and it can add different layers of content that you wouldn’t be able to get in book form.

To me, editing is more than just including funky embed codes to make the blog look nice. Good editing ought to be supportive of the overall point that the blog wants to convey. In some cases, overdoing the editing gets in the way of the meaning of the blog, and it’s painful when that happens. But I digress.

For a well-edited blog, I feel that @MrRiskau99 deserves gold. There were several things that I was very happy to see work here and that I’d love to include in my own writing arsenal: the different quote style, the collapsible footnotes, the layered collapsible entries, to name a few. Silver is for @King_Red_A for a blog that I already liked a lot in the April Fool’s contest but couldn’t include for its lack of relevant chess discussion. For bronze, it was essentially a coin-flip between @KevinChessSmith and @VOB96, but I chose for Kevin’s blog because of the multiple paths with the chances to recover, and the fact that I already had Vanessa up for several other categories.

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theeldest1:

Once again, this was a very hard section to judge. After much deliberation, I settled on @MrRiskau99 for first with his astounding use of HTML code, @PokeGirl93 in second, and @AstroTheoretical_Physics in third.

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Gold: @WillowCat423

Silver: @Mario_ChessBlogger

Bronze: @chickpea123456 and @StageDistro

Received votes: N/A

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

Other than Best Editing, this was my easiest first place lol, and my vote goes to @WillowCat423. Having competed against her in the Terrific Twelve in BlogChamps Season 10, I've seen her constantly improving and this month she gets my recognition. In second, I have @StageDistro who as I said earlier really put substance behind his title. I see a lot of potential in his work. Finally, I have @chickpea123456 in third who has also made great improvement over the past couple of months. Keep up the good work you three.

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theeldest1:

My gold medal goes to @Mario_ChessBlogger for a fun blog that stands out from his usual work. Silver is @chickpea123456 with his Caro-Crab, and bronze is @StageDistro.

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Gold: @DocSimooo for FEN, PGN and Chess Notation: The Secret Language of Chess

Silver: @KevinChessSmith for Can you summit Mount Elo? Science lets you know!

Bronze: @PokeGirl93 for Across the Bo(a)rders: Foreign Masters of Brazilian Chess and @VOB96 for The Murder of Magnus Carlsen. Can You Solve the Mystery?

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics; @PierreLuc

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

In a month where @AstroTheoretical_Physics submits, this category especially is really competitive. And if we were simply voting on the most visually pleasing thumbnail, he might win. But we're not. While Astro had the most visually pleasing thumbnail, @PokeGirl93 wins all the simplicity points and my first place vote. Terrific thumbnail. In second (I may shock you guys) I have @KevinChessSmith. To my knowledge he's never received any kind of vote in this category, but he's really stepped up his game and will get my vote for second place. In third, I may be going unconventional again, but my pick is @PierreLuc. His thumbnail is actually really good, and once I saw it I knew it was probably going to be in my top three. It doesn't go without saying that I struggled with this. Vanessa, Win, and Astro are both all good honorable mentions for this category.

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nova-stone:

In this case I’ve decided to award gold to @VOB96 for immediately catching my attention and simultaneously introducing the topic right away. For silver I have @DocSimooo for standing out in both his own and JGTOMC’s work. For third place I have @AstroTheoretical_Physics, who presented me with a bit of a dilemma: “The Indian Legend Nobody Talks About” or “The Indian Nobody Legend Talks About”? Which of the two is it?

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theeldest1:

Many fun thumbnails this month, with my podium finishers being @DocSimooo, @KevinChessSmith, and @AstroTheoretical_Physics.

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Gold: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for A Medal Won, But A Legacy Lost to Time

Silver: @PokeGirl93 for Across the Bo(a)rders: Foreign Masters of Brazilian Chess and @WinT0L0ss for Box Office Blunders

Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver

Received votes: @King_Red_A

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

Ultimately there weren't a lot of "researchy" submissions this month (probably due to April Fool0's), so it really came down to three blogs. In first I have @AstroTheoretical_Physics for his true story, in second I have @PokeGirl93, and in third I have @WinT0L0ss. Great job, guys!

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nova-stone:

This is one of my favourite bits, and one of the things that can make a blog really stand out from its competitors. It’s incredibly important to get all your facts right, which appears to be a rather difficult task too.

In first place I have @WinT0L0ss, who conveyed a wealth of errors that I hope can serve as a warning for all movie makers out there. Silver goes to @AstroTheoretical_Physics for piecing together an entire biography on one key figure in Indian chess history. My bronze went to @PokeGirl93 because the combined work on four entirely different figures adds up significantly.

Honourable mentions to @King_Red_A whose work lacked relevance in the world of chess but was fantastic otherwise, and @DocSimooo, whose blog I feel has the potential to become a landmark reference source for many more waves of bloggers to come.

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theeldest1:

@King_Red_A takes the cake (AKA 1st) with some incredible research on the origins of April Fool's Day. Second goes to @AstroTheoretical_Physics, who researched on a topic that wasn't easy to find online, and third is for @PokeGirl93 for her work on foreign players in Brazil.

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Gold: Capturing the ultimate recognition was @VOB96 for The Murder of Magnus Carlsen. Can You Solve the Mystery?

Silver: @KevinChessSmith for Can you summit Mount Elo? Science lets you know! and @PokeGirl93 for Across the Bo(a)rders: Foreign Masters of Brazilian Chess

Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics; @JustGettingThisOffMyChess; @MrRiskau99; @WinT0L0ss

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Some comments from the judges:

HornetCruise:

An insane catalog of submissions this month. In all my time judging, this has got to be one of the hardest best blog decisions I have made. 8 Top Bloggers submitted this month, and knowing I could only choose three was really tough. Not getting a spot in my top three reflects that difficulty, not your failure. In first place: @PokeGirl93. An outstanding piece and perhaps one of her best. I can't really say much more than that. It was an excellent post. In an extremely close second I have @VOB96. Her blog was really great and it could have easily been first. And in third I have @AstroTheoretical_Physics. He keeps building on each of his posts and in another month he could've easily won.

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nova-stone:

With an outstanding blog in several different respects, I feel that @VOB96 wrote this month’s Best Blog. In second place I have @WinT0L0ss who made a very solid impression in several categories. Third for me was @JustGettingThisOffMyChess for a great effort recapitulating a tournament and going beyond what could reasonably be expected from anyone doing the same type of blog.

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theeldest1:

@KevinChessSmith gets the gold medal for Best Blog! @VOB96 takes silver, and @MrRiskau99 wins bronze.

I chose Kevin for Gold due to his CHYOA having many different paths to go down, even if you get a trial wrong. Vanessa's classic murder mystery CHYOA takes a well-deserved second place, with a plot twist at the end! And I was really impressed with @MrRiskau99's work this month, enough to place him on my podium.

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This is it! Congratulations to all the award winners, all the podium finishers, and everyone who took part! Remember: the May competition has already opened, and we welcome your best blog as you try again to claim a spot on one or more podiums! Don't forget that any blog submitted to the Week 1 Qualifiers in BlogChamps can be submitted here, too!

We'll see you soon with the May 2026 winners!

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MONTH SUMMARY