Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest installment of The Blogger Awards v2.0, covering entries in March 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: @Alberthepirate, @KevinChessSmith, and @VOB96.

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Gold: @PokeGirl93 for Small Towns, Big Chess Stories

Silver: @WinT0L0ss for Finding Inner Piece

Bronze: @HornetCruise for Paranoia Is Changing The Way We Play Chess

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @Jehtt, @JugadaBrillante, @King_of_Snakes09

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

My first place goes to @PokeGirl93. It is short, yet impactful. In 2nd I put @AstroTheoretical_Physics with his tongue twister like title which I found very creative. Last, I gave bronze to @WinT0L0ss because I really liked the play on the word piece instead of peace.

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KevinChessSmith:

There were so many great titles that my most important criteria for reaching the podium was, which title most intrigued me the most. From #1 to #3, I picked 'Paranoia Is Changing The Way We Play Chess' (who's out to get me and why? will this blog let me know?), 'Introducing FlickChess' (I've played SweepChess before, where all the pieces end up on the floor in a fit of anger after losing a won game), and 'Immortal Weavers: A Rematch of the Legendary Duo, Athena and Arachne' (mythology and chess, that works for me). All based strictly on, wow, I want to read that.

That said, @DocSimooo, @PokeGirl93, @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @WinT0L0ss, and @nova-stone all delivered exceptional titles that I would have considered buying in a book store. Any of them are certainly meritorious of podium spots if my fellow judges choose from among them.

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VOB96:

Once again, I really liked the word-play that @WinT0L0ss used. Not as brilliant as 'War and Piece', but a good derivative. I place @PokeGirl93 in second place, especially because the contrast makes it intriguing, and reminds me of some Pokémon game titles. Very appropriate for her username. Finally, @JugadaBrillante has probably the most clickbaity title of the month and deserves my bronze.

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Gold: @WinT0L0ss for Finding Inner Piece

Silver: @JugadaBrillante for The winner of the Candidates Tournament has been leaked and @PokeGirl93 for Small Towns, Big Chess Stories

Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @DocSimooo, @HornetCruise

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

I gave 1st to @JugadaBrillante. There are many blogs that simply predict the winners, but I thought it was really cool to apply mathematics to predict the winner. In 2nd, I have @HornetCruise because he talks about something that many of us don't think about or deny thinking about. For 3rd (which was really hard to choose) I put down @PokeGirl93 because I found it interesting. exploring unique towns where chess is at its center.

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KevinChessSmith:

Well, I selected a Top Three, but there were again eight award-worthy best topic blogs, in my opinion. I placed @WinT0L0ss first for describing chess as part elixir but mostly as a structure and a haven, a humanity story with real impact! Second on my podium went to @DocSimooo who told a story of virtual parallel realities. Third, I placed @AstroTheoretical_Physics for a topic that blended music and chess.

My other podium candidates? Yup, they deserve mention! We'll go with them in order of when their entry hit the contest forum. @HornetCruise, @Aminson_Antony, @PokeGirl93, @theeldest1, and @nova-stone.

All eight of these folks are medal-worthy in their choice of topics, in my opinion.

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VOB96:

I really enjoyed the topics brought by @WinT0L0ss and @PokeGirl93, as they both taught me lots of things and introduced people that I had never heard about. Following the same reasoning, my third place goes to @AstroTheoretical_Physics, who was only slightly behind because the amount of new information was not that huge, but still cool!

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Gold: @Lightning_McQueen_04 for How to become a strategy and tactics genius

Silver: @Jehtt for Introducing FlickChess

Bronze: @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina for The 2006 World Cup Final in Chess Format!

Received votes: N/A

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

Admittingly, there weren't many blogs that fit in the category. However, the 2 that did a very good job using humor. For first, I have @Lightning_McQueen_04. It was really funny almost constantly. In 2nd is @Jehtt with good humor also!

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KevinChessSmith:

I suspect we'll have a slew of entries this category in April because of the BC April Fools' contest. For this month, I only selected two medalists. @Lightning_McQueen_04 wrote a humorous piece that could well have been a competitor in the aforementioned BC contest. I placed @Jehtt second because the title, topic, and writing were all clearly chuckle-worthy.

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VOB96:

My favorite was @Jehtt's new "variant", and the way he wrote make the blog truly enjoyable to read. Close behind was @Lightning_McQueen_04 with another brilliant mocking blog. My third place was harder to choose, but I finally opted for @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina and her great analysis of chess with football with good elements of humor.

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Gold: @nova-stone for The Move that Ended a Friendship

Silver: @theeldest1 for Chasing Dreams at the Minnesota State Scholastic!

Bronze: @fluffycrepes for Manhattan Gambit: Destroying 3 Dutch Systems

Received votes: @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

In the gold position I have @nova-stone. Every game that was in the blog had many annotations/analysis that really explained the positions very well. 2nd is @theeldest1 who also gave very good accounts for each of his games from his tournament. In bronze is @fluffycrepes who explains the different responses to the Manhattan Gambit!

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KevinChessSmith:

I selected @nova-stone for the top of my podium because I tend to prefer stellar technical analysis a bit more than the equally brilliant human elements @theeldest1 provided in his analysis (he provides expert technical analysis as well!). To be honest, both their approaches offer equal value and these two both deliver in spades. I can read the analysis of either and gain insights. In third, I placed @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina third because I so appreciated the way she smoothly and concretely incorporated the review of a football game into the analysis of a chess game.

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VOB96:

For me, the best ones were @theeldest1 and @nova-stone. However, I gave my gold to @theeldest1 because I usually like an analysis of their own games better than that of other players' games. It is not @nova-stone's fault, but a matter of circumstances. Finally, my third place goes to @fluffycrepes and his nice explanation of some lines I had never seen before.

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Gold: @WinT0L0ss for Finding Inner Piece

Silver: @theeldest1 for Chasing Dreams at the Minnesota State Scholastic!

Bronze: @DocSimooo for The Döry Defense: A Love Story Told Through Chess

Received votes: @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @JugadaBrillante, @nova-stone

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

Another hard one. In first I put @theeldest1. While reading, I had the craving to keep on reading to know how it ended. In silver I have @WinT0L0ss. Each of the stories were unique and made me want to read more about how impactful chess is. Lastly, I have @nova-stone. The drama at that chess tournament suck me into reading the blog!

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KevinChessSmith:

Plenty of blogs that kept me anywhere from enraptured to enlightened to enjoying. @WinT0L0ss told several stories including a deeply personal one that kept me intent on not missing a word, so I placed them first. @AstroTheoretical_Physics wrote a well-paced biography that intrigued me on multiple levels, placing him second on my podium. I placed @DocSimooo third for those wonderful, parallel stories.

My honorable mentions for posts that kept me locked in from the first letter to the last bit of punctuation were @HornetCruise, @PokeGirl93, @theeldest1, and @nova-stone.

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VOB96:

My gold goes to @DocSimooo's great story that kept me hooked during the whole reading. Similarly, @theeldest1 always manages to make me read every line to know what will happen next in the tense tournaments he play. My third place goes to @JugadaBrillante and his brilliant data analysis, something that I will always be interested in reading.

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Gold: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for How a Symphonist Sought Serenity in Chess

Silver: @nova-stone for The Move that Ended a Friendship and @PokeGirl93 for Small Towns, Big Chess Stories

Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver

Received votes: @DocSimooo, @HornetCruise

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

In first I have @nova-stone with very elegant writing. Next I have @AstroTheoretical_Physics which had a lot of nice diction and rhetoric. Last, I have @HornetCruise.

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KevinChessSmith:

I placed @DocSimooo atop my personal Candidate's list because of his stupendous intermeshing of past and present, yet each era felt period specific. My silver nod went to @AstroTheoretical_Physics, and @PokeGirl93 took my bronze coin.

My honorable mentions included @HornetCruise, @theeldest1, @WinT0L0ss, and @nova-stone.

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VOB96:

Very hard choice as we had a lot of well-written blogs this month. I chose @PokeGirl93 as my first place, mainly because of the section about Marostica, which made it stand out a bit more than any other posts. Second place goes to @AstroTheoretical_Physics, and the third could literally go to at least 8 different users, but I chose @nova-stone for keeping it simple yet engaging and clear.

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Gold: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for How a Symphonist Sought Serenity in Chess

Silver: @PokeGirl93 for Small Towns, Big Chess Stories

Bronze: @King_Red_A for iCHESS: A New Era

Received votes: @HornetCruise, @theeldest1, @WinT0L0ss

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

In first I put @AstroTheoretical_Physics since it was so well organized and nice to look at. Followed very closely was @theeldest1 in 2nd, and @PokeGirl93 in 3rd.

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KevinChessSmith:

@AstroTheoretical_Physics (gold), @PokeGirl93 (silver), and @WinT0L0ss (bronze) were my votes for spots on the podium.

That said, the competition was rigorous. I could easily foresee @HornetCruise, @theeldest1, or @nova-stone earning podium spots, depending on how the other judges voted.

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VOB96:

This is the most painful category to judge because the level is already too high. Ultimately, I had to base my vote on tiny things that are not even worth explaning here. I gave my first place to @King_Red_A, followed very closely (almost tied) by @HornetCruise and @PokeGirl93. As always, a lot of brilliantly edited posts!

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Gold: @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina

Silver: @Zunaye

Bronze: @KarimVagapov2

Received votes: @Aminson_Antony, @fluffycrepes

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

My first place goes to @KarimVagapov2 with a massive improvement in the blogs. Next is @fluffycrepes, especially with game analysis. Lastly is @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina with the best blog made by her yet!

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VOB96:

@Zunaye is back and has shown remarkable improvement compared to his blogs from the past. I really enjoyed the reading. @Fiamma_la_Fiorentina deserves silver for writing the best blog I have seen from her so far. Very nice and creative. My third place is @Aminson_Antony, who wrote his blog that I most enjoyed reading.

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Gold: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for How a Symphonist Sought Serenity in Chess

Silver: @HornetCruise for Paranoia Is Changing The Way We Play Chess

Bronze: @Aminson_Antony for Beyond Gotham and the Botez Sisters: Chess YouTube Gems the Algorithm Keeps Hiding from You and @WinT0L0ss for Finding Inner Piece

Received votes: @JugadaBrillante

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

I would have to say that 1st goes to compelling thumbnail of @AstroTheoretical_Physics. In 2nd is @WinT0L0ss which I found simple but moving in a way. Last, I have @Aminson_Antony in 3rd.

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KevinChessSmith:

The top two were in a different stratosphere, in my opinion. I finally concluded that @AstroTheoretical_Physics inclusion of a piano faintly elevated his image beyond the thumb provided by @HornetCruise. I guess Astro's struck extra chords with me. Really enjoyed @JugadaBrillante's Candidate's thumbnail and that lifted him just above a few other folks for me.

Call outs to @nova-stone and @TrustyMatt. Both of you made a run at my personal podium.

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VOB96:

We have plenty of nice thumbnails, but my favorite was from @AstroTheoretical_Physics, followed closely by @HornetCruise. My third place was a difficult choice, but I decided on @Aminson_Antony. It is intriguing and beautifully crafted.

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Gold: @HornetCruise for Paranoia Is Changing The Way We Play Chess

Silver: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for How a Symphonist Sought Serenity in Chess and @PokeGirl93 for Small Towns, Big Chess Stories

Bronze: N/A due to tie for silver

Received votes: @nova-stone, @WinT0L0ss

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

All the blogs that had research did it very well. I am giving 1st to @AstroTheoretical_Physics and followed closely in 2nd is @nova-stone. Both did a very good job researching a story. For 3rd, I slammed my head against the wall a few times. After quite some time, I decided that bronze goes to @HornetCruise. I would like to give an honorable mention to @WinT0L0ss, who was very close to placing.

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KevinChessSmith:

Tougher to judge every month! I placed @HornetCruise on top of the dogpile (a friendly group of purebreds, mind you), followed closely by @PokeGirl93, and @AstroTheoretical_Physics.

In the dogpile, but uncomfortably for them not quite on top (in my opinion), were @DocSimooo, @Aminson_Antony, @WinT0L0ss, and @nova-stone.

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VOB96:

Lots of great research this month. The one that stood out the most for me was @WinT0L0ss gathering so many amazing chess stories from all over the world. @PokeGirl93 did something similar with nice towns that live in the shadows and deserved my 2nd place. Finally, @HornetCruise who made some research on different cases and even scientific data.

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Gold: Capturing the ultimate recognition was @WinT0L0ss for Finding Inner Piece

Silver: @theeldest1 for Chasing Dreams at the Minnesota State Scholastic!

Bronze: @AstroTheoretical_Physics for How a Symphonist Sought Serenity in Chess

Received votes: @nova-stone, @PokeGirl93

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Some comments from the judges:

Alberthepirate:

I am giving gold to @AstroTheoretical_Physics. His blog hit all the criteria for me. Next, in 2nd place is @WinT0L0ss which was very inspiring. Lastly, in 3rd I have @theeldest1. However, I would like to say that @nova-stone was worthy of placing too.

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KevinChessSmith:

Podiums never tell the full story. I won't try to either. My nominee for gold was @WinT0L0ss, silver: @nova-stone, bronze: @theeldest1.

Depending on how the other judges chose (wisely, I'm sure) I wouldn't be surprised to see @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @PokeGirl93, @DocSimooo, or @HornetCruise grabbing a well deserved medal.

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VOB96:

Despite the reduced number of submissions compared to other months (23 is still great though), the quality was so high that made my decison very very hard. Finally, I decided that the cherry on top for @WinT0L0ss amazing BC gold medal entry would also be a gold medal here. Second place is @PokeGirl93, as I really enjoyed learning more about those towns and even felt moved by it at some points. Finally, the classic tournament recap that never fails to engage me by @theeldest1. Congratulations everyone for the many awesome entries we received!

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This is it! Congratulations to all the award winners, all the podium finishers, and everyone who took part! Remember: the April 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 April Fools' Contest in BlogChamps can be submitted here, too!

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

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MONTH SUMMARY