Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest installment of The Blogger Awards v2.0, covering entries in June 2025! 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: @KevinSmithIdiot, @nova-stone, @squirtle

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Gold: @PierreLuc for Those 5 Bad Habits Are NOT Helping You Improve
Silver: @NMChessToImpress for Hate to Be a Buzzkill, But Don’t Play “Hope Chess”
Bronze: @DeepSeaLore for Chaos, Close Calls, and a Very Lucky Mate-in-one: The Hyperbullet Championship 2025 and @nbrasington for When the World Wars Interrupted Major Tournaments

Received votes: @ChocoCaramelPawn; @VOB96

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

In retrospect, it's obvious I went with titles that tickled me. Ironically, there were a tremendous number of those, indicating that chess bloggers find chuckles in all kinds of places. Still, @PierreLuc's title was the one that most intrigued me because we all have bad habits, frequently habits we aren't even aware of (just ask my family🙄), so this won me over for a golden vote. @NMChesstoImpress caught me with one of my favorite phrases, "Hope Chess." I've encountered way too much of that over the chess, though I do appreciate it when my opponent indulges their whimsy (I stick to hopeless chess myself). Thus, a silver chalice (Danny Kaye fans may remember a wonderful medieval ages skit, but that's not relevant here.) @ChocoCaramelPawn dove directly into one of my new favorite topics, chess quotes. You can take that sentiment and bronze it! So, apologies to the many other great titles, but those three appealed most to me because of my own shortcomings and intermittent hubris.

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nova-stone:

A good title should make me want to read the blog, and the author has to deliver on the promises that the title spells. @PierreLuc did exactly this, as did @nbrasington. For bronze I picked @NMChessToImpress, with the notion that I could've chosen several other blogs as well.

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squirtle:

I found @NMChessToImpress's title to be the most fun and creative title among all (big fan of the bee pun). @DeepSeaLore had a very long but eye-catching title. Third place went to our grand kiwi, @VOB96, for having an interesting and thought-provoking one. An honourable mention to @AaravRoy_25, it was a tough decision between his and Vanessa's title, both were great!

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Gold: @nbrasington for When the World Wars Interrupted Major Tournaments
Silver: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes; @DocSimooo for Checkmated by the Mountain - Julius Perlis' story and @PokeGirl93 for Checks And Chuckles: Stories From The Chess World
Bronze: Not awarded due to three-way tie for silver.

Received votes: @Chesser1492; @NMChessToImpress; @VOB96

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

When I was young and fun, I'd study chess for a couple hours and then read chess stories by Reinfeld, Soltis, and others to relax...until it was time to do homework. So, @PokeGirl93's topic immediately appealed to my inner nostalgia and earned a gold nomination from yours truly. @NMChesstoImpress also had a head start because I spent several weeks last year beta testing and editing GM Eugene Perelshteyn's book, Every Gambit Refuted. Our resident TB/NM covered some additional aspects of overly popular gambits, so again, my personal experiences biased me heavily in favor of the topic, but I suffer from past-bias, not recency bias, so I placed this blog second on my list. @nbrasington's topic appealed to several of my lifelong passions: history and chess. That merited at least a bronze nomination on my part.

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nova-stone:

There is an overload of topics out there, so it's hard to choose any one topic that sticks. For this category I looked at originality, relevance and attractiveness. For gold I chose @ChocoCaramelPawn because it's all of these. With a good thought-provoking issue to raise, silver went to @Chesser1492, and @DocSimooo takes the bronze for the honourable effort to rescue a hero from being obscured by the mists of time. Honourable mention to @VOB96 who indicated that I should give the points to others in case of a tie.

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squirtle:

@nbrasington had one of the most original topics about chess history I've ever read, so I consider him the well-deserved winner of the gold medal. Second place goes to @DocSimooo for providing us with the sad story of a chess master who lost his life while adventuring in the cold Alpine mountains. Third place is received by @VOB96, which told us the story of BlogChamps Season 8, one of the most intense and popular seasons of the competition.

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Gold: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes
Silver: @PierreLuc for Those 5 Bad Habits Are NOT Helping You Improve and @PokeGirl93 for Checks And Chuckles: Stories From The Chess World
Bronze: Not awarded due to tie for silver.

Received votes: @DeepSeaLore; @IceConeDragon

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

Okay, it's not just the fact that I have, well, tens of ornate chess sets, and a chess table with rosewood chess pieces, and chess materials I don't use (online and in my chess library), but what I am saying is that I have picked up a lot of bad habits (such as a full-time profession...until I retired), that interfered with my chess growth. Bottom line? @PierreLuc had me from "Hi everybody!" and managed not to let go, earning my gold star. I'm a sucker for stories that I can empathize with. @ChocoCaramelPawn did a great job dissecting multiple misleading quotes and probably created a few new ones, all with a light touch that has to be admired, so I voted silver. @PokeGirl93's humorous stories were like a fine port and earned my bronze nod.

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nova-stone:

For me it's important to see how the audience respond as well. Gold goes to @ChocoCaramelPawn for writing this month's the greatest mockery. My silver goes to @Deepsealore, for writing what has been one of the most fun blogs that I'd read this month. Unsurprising, as he's a comedian, @PierreLuc also had a lot of fun, and this was nicely balanced with the rest of the post.

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squirtle:

@Pokegirl93 tells us about funny chess stories from around the world, which, in my opinion, is the winning idea for this category. @IceConeDragon gets second place for presenting us with the beautiful, chaotic Botez Gambit in a comedic way, while @DeepSeaLore provides us with his story of participating in the HyperBullet Chess Championship 2025 in an amusing blog, full of interesting moments.

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Gold: @NMChessToImpress for Hate to Be a Buzzkill, But Don’t Play “Hope Chess”
Silver: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes
Bronze: @JDChess121 for The Easiest Way To Do The 2-Bishop Checkmate. and @outwittedyou for My Journey- Introduction

Received votes: N/A

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

@NMChesstoImpress took the golden ring on this one, imo. To make everyone else feel better, I will offer that he suffers from the same forthright attitude as most titled players in thinking that "+-" can tell his less educated readers why a position offers decisively better for White. But his ability to teach is clear and offered with humor that reminds me of IM Lakdawala who infuses his books with levity, rather than prevent a dry tome that puts the reader to sleep (Cyrus is a good guy, btw). @ChocoCaramelPawn strikes silver again, but there were multiple contenders for silver and bronze. Finally, even though I've known the 2B mate for, well, a long time, I thought @JDchess121 did a nice job laying it out.

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nova-stone:

Analysing is a tough job, so kudos for those who take up the gauntlet. I value honesty and originality in the analysis and I tend to roll my eyes when I see a review being copied without any effort on the writer's part to tell the story. Although brief at times, @NMChessToImpress had the most solid analyses, coupled with some great overall advice on how to approach the game. Silver goes to @ChocoCaramelPawn for providing some great insights throughout his blog. Bronze goes to @JDchess121 for making a comprehensive effort to explain a fundamental checkmate procedure.

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squirtle:

Not a lot of analysis this month, sadly, but that doesn't mean the existing ones were bad! First place was deserved by @NMChessToImpress for giving a clear and easy-to-understand analysis. Second and third place were hard to decide, but I thought @outwittedyou's analysis was better than @ChocoCaramelPawn's. An honourable mention to @JDChess121 for making an easy tutorial on how to checkmate with 2 bishops only.

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Additional friendly comment from @VOB96 to @JDChess121. There is no need to have a period at the end of the title.

Gold: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes
Silver: @PokeGirl93 for Checks And Chuckles: Stories From The Chess World
Bronze: @PierreLuc for Those 5 Bad Habits Are NOT Helping You Improve

Received votes: @NMChessToImpress; @VOB96; @nbrasington; @Chesser1492

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

I found myself enmeshed in many of these blogs. But we put upon judges only get one vote per medal so I'm going with my gut. @PierreLuc took my nod for gold because I was curious what next bad habit of mine he would discuss and eviscerate. @ChocoCaramelPawn dissected quotes, while I'm on a voyage of discovery to find meaningful, attributable quotes. The dichotomy between our endeavors sold me on silver. Finally, @nbrasington did a great job putting together a ton of intriguing information on how two wars impacted chess.

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nova-stone:

Engaging comes in two forms: the users interacting with features of the blog, and the level of making you want to read the blog in one go. If your writing displays a flair for piquing interest, it's going to score higher for me. Gold goes to @ChocoCaramelPawn who has a very engaging way to present his points. Silver is for @NMChessToImpress for doing an amazing job replicating the trainer-student relationship throughout the blog. Bronze goes to @PokeGirl93 for a great accomplishment in keeping me hooked all the way through.

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squirtle:

@Pokegirl93 wins here for having a blog that I was interested in finishing. Second place goes to @VOB96 for the impressive storytelling and keeping the blog interesting to the reader while convincing him/her to join Blogchamps. @Chesser1492 presented the appearance of the infamous train dilemma in chess, making the reading fascinating.

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Gold: @PokeGirl93 for Checks And Chuckles: Stories From The Chess World
Silver: @DocSimooo for Checkmated by the Mountain - Julius Perlis' story and @VOB96 for How Writing Blogs Changes Our Relation With Chess
Bronze: Not awarded due to tie for silver.

Received votes: @emateu26; @nbrasington; @ChocoCaramelPawn; @DeepSeaLore

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

Another tough, tough category, crowded at the top three spots, with the middle group chasing them from close behind (unlike occasions when the middle was a muddle...or is that muggle?). Anyway, @PokeGirl93 on the top tier of the podium, imo. Just a slight step down, I placed @nbrasington. Rounding out my top three candidates, @ChocoCaramelPawn.

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nova-stone:

There are a lot of things that make a good writer: balance and variation in the length of sentences, no boring constructions, and most importantly no AI interference (save maybe for Grammarly) to name a few. In my opinion, the best writing was from @VOB96 for a pleasant writing style, using quotes to great effect, and going from start to finish in a seemingly effortless flow. Silver is for @PokeGirl93 for presenting her six stories in a way that made me feel like I was there to witness them. Bronze goes to @Deepsealore for providing a very vivid first-person account of the chaos and madness of a hyperbullet tournament. Honourable mention here for @PierreLuc who came very close to my bronze.

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squirtle:

Even though @DocSimooo isn't a native English speaker, I think that his way of telling Julius Perlis's sad story is fascinating, and I see him making even more impressive story blogs like this one. @emateu26 has, like always, an incredible writing style and deserves second place. @PokeGirl93 has a great style of presenting stories, which is why I gave her third place.

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Gold: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes
Silver: @SPK1729 for Less Guesswork, More Chesswork. Let's Calculate, Mate!
Bronze: @AaravRoy_25 for Crowning Grandmasters: Finding Pieces Within Players and @VOB96 for How Writing Blogs Changes Our Relation With Chess

Received votes: @nbrasington

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

In my opinion, @VOB96 had to put together more disparate material than anyone else in this category, perhaps more than any five other blogs (I don't think I'm exaggerating. In fact, I'd argue that "five" constitutes an underestimation). Much like a collage masterpiece, she artfully welded it all together to capture the essence of an entire season of BlogChamps, and in record time. Now that's a golden accomplishment. Again, imo. Moving on, I selected @nbrasington for silver and @ChocoCaramelPawn for bronze.

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nova-stone:

To me, good editing is in finding the right balance between all the different elements and make them work together to deliver the message that the blog wants to convey. In this respect, @ChocoCaramelPawn did the best job on making the editing work well with the intentions of the blog. I decided to give silver to @AaravRoy_25 because of doing a consistent effort throughout the blog and doing a great job keeping the editing within bearable proportions. Bronze goes to @SPK1729 who appears to have found his blogging strength in this category here: his editing is well on its way to become a great standard for others to aspire to. An honourable mention here goes to @nbrasington and @PierreLuc for creating a very fine balance between text and image and showing that more isn't always better (or even needed).

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squirtle:

@SPK1729 is one of the best people when it comes to this category, which is why I consider him to get first place. @ChocoCaramelPawn is also really good at this stuff, and we can see it in this blog. I liked @AaravRoy_25's interactive quiz at the end, so he deserves to enter the podium.

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Gold: @NotNerdyN3rd
Silver: @IceConeDragon
Bronze: @Anna_chess11 and @DeepSeaLore

Received votes: N/A

Some comments from the judges:

VOB96:

I was impressed by @IceConeDragon's ability to write excellent blogs about chess when he invests time in his text. That said, I think @NotNerdyN3rd demonstrated an even greater improvement, so he gets the gold while Ice gets silver. @Anna_chess11 and @DeepSeaLore are also improving with each blog and deserve recognition.

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nova-stone:

A tough category to decide. I think that @NotNerdyN3rd, @IceConeDragon and @Anna_chess11 deserved the medals in these categories.

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squirtle:

The first place here was a no-brainer, @IceConeDragon changed types of blogs just to prove Vanessa wrong(if you guys know what happened in the footballer forum on BlogChamps, you know what I'm talking about). @NotNerdyN3rd and @DeepSeaLore have also improved a lot so I think they deserve their spot here.

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Gold: @nbrasington for When the World Wars Interrupted Major Tournaments
Silver: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes
Bronze: @Anna_chess11 for Einstein’s Gambit: When a Genius Sat Across the Board

Received votes: @NMChessToImpress; @outwittedyou; @ChocoCaramelPawn (for the thumbnail he made to @VOB96)

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

Bottom line up front: I'm biased here. I thought @ChocoCaramelPawn's thumbnail for @VOB96's blog was fabulous. I realize it fails the test of enticing people outside TBA and BC, but it sure works for me. Call me a sucker for familiarity. So, that golden ticket was punched. I nominated @nbrasington for silver and @NMChesstoImpress for bronze.

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nova-stone:

@ChocoCaramelPawn deserves the medal in this for his effort on both his own and Vanessa's blog; either one would've grabbed the gold. Silver in this respect is for @nbrasington for a design that a significant effort behind it yet looks very simple and conveys the message without screaming. Third thumbnail goes to @outwittedyou for an image that makes me want to click and read the epic journey that the author is hopefully on. Honourable mention to @Anna_chess11 who did a lovely job on having Einstein make like I want to pat him on the head.

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squirtle:

@nbrasington's thumbnail is one of the best thumbnails I've ever seen, so easily this is first place. There was a close fight for 2nd place, but I think that @Anna_chess11 had a thumbnail a little bit better than @ChocoCaramelPawn's.

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Gold: Capturing the ultimate recognition was @PokeGirl93 for Checks And Chuckles: Stories From The Chess World
Silver: @VOB96 for How Writing Blogs Changes Our Relation With Chess
Bronze: @ChocoCaramelPawn for Why you can't understand chess: Top 3 Misunderstood Quotes and @nbrasington for When the World Wars Interrupted Major Tournaments

Received votes: @DocSimooo; @NMChessToImpress

Some comments from the judges:

KevinSmithIdiot:

Oh, my. I hate it when hoisted by my own rules. To wit, each judge shall have only one vote for gold, one vote for silver, and one vote for bronze. I believe you can tell what a difficult choice this was for me by reading the multiple comments about my selectees above. Since I couldn't award three golds, I selected @VOB96 for gold, @PokeGirl93 for silver, and @NMChesstoImpress for bronze.

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nova-stone:

A good blog is more than the sum of its parts, and doing well in one category doesn't make your blog stand out in each of them. However, my gold for best blog has to go to @ChocoCaramelPawn for making a great impression on me on many different fronts. Although her blog didn't qualify for most of the categories, my silver went to @VOB96 for providing a detailed, balanced, and multi-faceted account of BlogChamps 8. In many categories her blog only barely missed out on the points. For me, bronze went between four excellent contenders, but I decided to give it to @PokeGirl93. Out of these four blogs, hers had stuck best in my mind even several days after I had read them for the first time.

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squirtle:

In my opinion, the best blog was @nbrasington, because it succeeded in a lot of categories. Close to it, but barely losing first place comes @PokeGirl93's blog. @DocSimooo takes bronze here, this being one of his best blogs yet in my opinion.

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EXTRA

A final remark from judge @nova-stone:

It's very hard to choose the winners for this competition, because it demands a few very specific things from the judges as well. Switching off my own personality wasn't always easy: I had to ignore my own quote in Vanessa's blog, the questions that I had with several blogs that wound up receiving my points, and also the degree to which I like the people I'm judging. All of this makes it very hard to do my judging, and I've done my best to be as fair and impartial as possible.

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MONTH SUMMARY