The Blogger Awards: January 2026 Winners
Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest installment of The Blogger Awards v2.0, covering entries in January 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: @ChocoCaramelPawn, @JustGettingThisOffMyChess, and @nbrasington.
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Gold: @MrRiskau99 for A Winning Board , Under Grey Skies
Silver: @DocSimooo for Pawns: Prey or Predators? A Reflection on Vulnerabilities
Bronze: @aminson12345 for Louis Paulsen;The Unromantic Legend from the Romantic Era
Received votes: @JugadaBrillante; @RikLikesTacos1
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
@DocSimooo's mysterious title really caught my eye out of all submissions. @MrRiskau99's title is very well formed, and @RikLikesTacos1's title was simple and straight to the point.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
I will let the titles speak for themselves.
Gold: @MrRiskau99 - A Winning Board , Under Grey Skies
Silver: @DocSimooo Pawns - Prey or Predators? A Reflection on Vulnerabilities
Bronze: @JugadaBrillante - What if they weren't chess players?
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@nbrasington:
I give gold to @MrRiskau99 here for a very intriguing and mysterious title, silver to @aminson12345 for a title that flows very well, and bronze to @DocSimooo for another interesting and ominous title.
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Gold: @JugadaBrillante for What if they weren't chess players?
Silver: @MrRiskau99 for A Winning Board , Under Grey Skies
Bronze: @WinT0L0ss for The Longest Climb
Received votes: @MaybeEvery; @theeldest1
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
I think @WinT0L0ss, @JugadaBrillante, and @MaybeEvery all chose very exciting and interesting topics which they were able to spin into very good blogs.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
@MrRiskau99 takes gold with a topic that all chess players can relate with. @MaybeEvery snatches silver with a topic that can't be replicated. @theeldest1 receives bronze, because who wouldn't flex about being in the New Zealand Chess Congress!
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@nbrasington:
My gold vote goes to @JugadaBrillante here with a very creative and funny idea, silver to @MrRiskau99 for a deep and fascinating topic, and bronze to @WinT0L0ss for a great narrative highlighting a lesser-known inspiring chess player story.
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Gold: @MaybeEvery for 2025 Chess Bot of the Year
Silver: @JugadaBrillante for What if they weren't chess players?
Bronze: @Alberthepirate for Why Blogging Sucks
Received votes: @ebenezer169; @Mmm_Goat_Milk
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
I think the best humorous blogs this month were made by @MaybeEvery and @JugadaBrillante, with @Alberthepirate taking third for being able to make a nicely satirical blog.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
This could have gone to a litany of people, including @ebenezer169, @MaybeEvery, @WillowCat4223, and @JugadaBrillante. There was also a hilarious blog by @nova-stone that I wish had entered, and @jolie92 would have fared well also. However, I've ended up settling on @MaybeEvery for gold, @JugadaBrillante for silver, and @ebenezer169 in bronze.
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@nbrasington:
@Alberthepirate takes gold here for a funny blog mocking blogs, @JugadaBrillante gets silver for a humorous post on where chess players would be if they weren't chess players, and @Mmm_Goat_Milk for a wild post chronicling crazy events in chess history.
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Gold: @BugMeLater for A Surprising System in the Open Game
Silver: @fischersh2pawn for Back in Action
Bronze: @RikLikesTacos1 for Want Victory? Prepare correctly!
Received votes: @theeldest1
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
I want to say that this month was very competitive! After a lot of thinking, I decided to nominate @BugMeLater for gold, @fischersh2pawn as silver, and @theeldest1 in bronze. There were also many other blogs that could have earned spots here, unfortunately there are only 3 spots.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
In my favourite category, @fischersh2pawn gets my gold, @BugMeLater the silver, and @RiklikesTacos1 takes bronze.
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@nbrasington:
This was tough, but @BugMeLater is my gold winner with an extensive and helpful guide on an opening that can be very powerful. @RikLikesTacos1 gets silver for some nice opening and middlegame analysis, and @theeldest1 gets bronze for some in-depth analysis of his games from the NZ Chess Congress.
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Gold: @MrRiskau99 for A Winning Board , Under Grey Skies
Silver: @Mmm_Goat_Milk for These Are the CRAZIEST Moments in Professional CHESS History
Bronze: @MaybeEvery for 2025 Chess Bot of the Year
Received votes: N/A
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
A lot of very engaging blogs! I was really amazed by @MrRiskau99's work, I re-read his blog multiple times, and I want to keep doing that. Next comes @Mmm_Goat_Milk with his compilation of insane chess moments, and finally, @MaybeEvery with their amazingly written blog which ended up being very exciting!
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
@MaybeEvery takes gold here, because it isn't easy to engage a reader for that long, and they did just that. @Mmm_Goat_Milk receives silver for adding personality to a common topic, with a few fresh ideas. @MrRiskau99 rounds this up with the bronze.
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@nbrasington:
Here I give the gold medal to @MrRiskau99 for a super enthralling blog, silver to @Mmm_Goat_Milk for a fun ride through insane chess moments, and bronze to @MaybeEvery for managing to make a simple idea so pleasing to read.
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Gold: @MrRiskau99 for A Winning Board , Under Grey Skies
Silver: @Mmm_Goat_Milk for These Are the CRAZIEST Moments in Professional CHESS History
Bronze: @theeldest1 for I played the 133rd New Zealand Chess Congress! and @WinT0L0ss for The Longest Climb
Received votes: @DocSimooo; @MaybeEvery
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
@MrRiskau99's writing skills are just outstanding, followed by @WinT0L0ss' masterpiece, and @Mmm_Goat_Milk's amazing stories.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
@Mmm_Goat_Milk has a great writing style and receives my gold. @MrRiskau99 took a risk, and it paid off, earning silver, and @MaybeEvery receives the bronze, in a close battle. This order could be shuffled, and others could join and I would completely understand. This category continues to get harder to judge.
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@nbrasington:
I again give a gold to @MrRiskau99 for captivating writing, silver to @theeldest1 for composing an extremely enjoyable OTB recap, and @DocSimooo gets bronze for an in-depth look at pawns that included many different examples.
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Gold: @King_Red_A for Daily Puzzle Log: Feb 12
Silver: @HornetCruise for The Reminisces of Top Bloggers - Part II and @JugadaBrillante for What if they weren't chess players?
Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver
Received votes: @Anna_chess11; @DocSimooo; @MrRiskau99; @WinT0L0ss
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
I found @King_Red_A being top notch, followed by @DocSimooo's colourful blog with a plenty of images. They were followed by @MrRiskau99's blog with an atmosphere made pleasurable via the use of editing elements.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
@JugadaBrillante receives gold, @Anna_chess11 the silver, and @HornetCruise bronze.
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@nbrasington:
Here @King_Red_A gets gold for pulling off a unique editing style, @HornetCruise gets silver for managing to keep the layout looking simple and clean even with so many different sections and images, and @WinT0L0ss gets my bronze for an overall satisfying-looking post.
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Gold: @RikLikesTacos1
Silver: @aminson12345
Bronze: @trynafindL
Received votes: N/A
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
@RikLikesTacos1 is definitely taking the gold here. Every new blog is far better than the previous one.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
I'm not sure if this is allowed, as I'm comparing this person's work with a blog they didn't submit for this month. However, this is about improvement, not the blog itself, and @RiklikesTacos1 earnt the gold.
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@nbrasington:
I give gold to @RikLikesTacos1 for taking a massive leap from his previous posts with a great blog here.
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Gold: @WinT0L0ss for The Longest Climb
Silver: @HornetCruise for The Reminisces of Top Bloggers - Part II
Bronze: @Anna_chess11 for The Last Move: How Chess Became Magic in Harry Potter and @Chesser1492 for Before the Crown
Received votes: @DocSimooo
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Some comments from the judges:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
I think @WinT0L0ss', @Anna_chess11's and @Chesser1492's thumbnails all deserve a big round of applause. All of them are very creative, and they introduce the topic very well.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
@Wint0l0ss and @HornetCruise fought neck and neck, with polarizing styles. I ended up picking Win, with Hornet silver, and @DocSimooo bronze. Also, a shout out to @fischersh2pawn for making theirs so bad it's good.
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@nbrasington:
This was another hard decision, but I have gold to @WinT0L0ss for a creative and clean thumbnail, silver to @HornetCruise's simple and smooth thumbnail, and @Chesser1492 snags bronze for a clean thumbnail featuring a unique text style.
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Gold: @DocSimooo for Pawns: Prey or Predators? A Reflection on Vulnerabilities
Silver: @Charlie_Harold for From Bugs To Bullet: The Long Evolution Of Online Chess and @WinT0L0ss for The Longest Climb
Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver.
Received votes: @Mmm_Goat_Milk
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Some comments from the judges:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
@DocSimooo does not dissapoint and takes the gold with high-level research, as always. @Mmm_Goat_Milk takes second with a compilation of really interesting chess events and @WinT0L0ss comes third with a bit of nice research about a not so well-known National Master.
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
@Charlie_Harold wins gold for his novel of Research. @DocSimooo gets my silver by writing in two languages, meaning they researched a whole extra language just for a blog! (That was a joke. Their blog had lots of research in it). @WinT0L0ss rounds this out with bronze.
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@nbrasington:
Here I award another medal to @WinT0L0ss, who earns gold for his deep dive into an obscure chess story, while silver goes to @Charlie_Harold for a thorough write-up on the history of online chess, and bronze to @DocSimooo for another large and well-researched review.
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Gold: Capturing the ultimate recognition was @theeldest1 for I played the 133rd New Zealand Chess Congress!
Silver: @MrRiskau99 for A Winning Board , Under Grey Skies
Bronze: @WinT0L0ss for The Longest Climb
Received votes: @MaybeEvery, @Mmm_Goat_Milk
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Some comments from the judges:
@ChocoCaramelPawn:
Big congratulations to @MrRiskau99, @WinT0L0ss, and @Mmm_Goat_Milk for crafting amazing blogs worthy of the Best Blog title!
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@JustGettingThisOffMyChess:
This took me way too long to decide. The sheer amount of wonderful blogs this month is amazing. I finally decided on gold for @theeldest1, silver for @MaybeEvery, and bronze for @WinT0L0ss.
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@nbrasington:
Finally, the ultimate honor this month in my opinion goes to @theeldest1 for an S-tier OTB recap chronicling his successes in a major tournament, with silver going to @MrRiskau99 for pleasantly surprising everyone with a brilliant blog and bronze to @WinT0L0ss for a great post about a great story.
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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 Febraury 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 February 2026 winners!
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MONTH SUMMARY
| Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Best Title | MrRiskau99 | DocSimooo | aminson12345 |
| Best Topic | JugadaBrillante | MrRiskau99 | WinT0L0ss |
| Best Satire | MaybeEvery | JugadaBrillante | Alberthepirate |
| Best Analysis | BugMeLater | fischersh2pawn | RikLikesTacos1 |
| Most Engaging | MrRiskau99 | Mmm_Goat_Milk | MaybeEvery |
| Best Writing | MrRiskau99 | Mmm_Goat_Milk | theeldest1 / WinT0L0ss |
| Best Editing | King_Red_A | HornetCruise / JugadaBrillante | - |
| Most Improved | RikLikesTacos1 | aminson12345 | TrynafindL |
| Best Thumbnail | WinT0L0ss | HornetCruise | Anna_chess11 / Chesser1492 |
| Best Research | DocSimooo | Charlie_Harold / WinT0L0ss | - |
| Best Blog | theeldest1 | MrRiskau99 | WinT0L0ss |
