Banter Blitz, Bullet Battles, And Brilliant Bots
We've escaped the May-trix but June keeps us in the middle of a bullet-time showdown between some of the world's best players, as the 2024 Bullet Chess Championship continues.
Also: a mysterious new bot, free lessons by titled players, and the return of one of the most beloved community events in the chess world...
Here's what this update covers:
Product & Engineering
Another mystery for you to solve, and tips on making the most out of Chess.com's features.
- It's time for you to take on the world's most powerful chess robot, and... wait, is that a guy in there? Figure out this month's mystery chess player by defeating the Mechanical Turk bot!
- Wondering how to get better at chess? Check out top tips from coaches on which Chess.com features can help you improve your skills.
- Want to keep up with the latest chess tournaments? It's now easier than ever, with the handy new Chess Events app available on iOS and Android.
- It was a quieter month than usual for puzzle lovers, with 403 new playable puzzles added to reach a total of 843,848.
If you are in tech and would like to join our team, we're hiring!
Events
Last month was full of big chess events, and there are even more zooming your way as we speak.
- GM Alireza Firouzja won Division I of the 2024 Chess.com Classic, defeating GM Magnus Carlsen in the process. Could it be that Carlsen is human after all?
- GM Hikaru Nakamura is the undisputed king of Bullet Brawl after another hugely dominant performance, going 74 games without a single loss. He won 70. What more can we say?!
- Norway Chess 2024 is in its final hours, and we've had some spectacular battles between crowd favorites like Carlsen and Nakamura, as well as an exciting women's event.
- GM Andrew Tang went into hyperspeed as he defeated GM Daniel Naroditsky to win the first-ever Hyperbullet Chess Championship. At least we think he did; he was moving too fast.
- In case your need for speed isn't satisfied yet, the 2024 Bullet Chess Championship is taking place right now, finishing with a showdown on June 14. Which speed demon will finish first?
Community
The return of the king. Also, who's played the most games on Chess.com? Let's find out.
- It's given us some legendary moments, and introduced many of us to GM Jan Gustafsson's bone-dry humor: Banter Blitz is back in town!
- TwitchCon is upon us, as some of the chess world's top streamers and content creators gather in Rotterdam to meet the community on June 29-30.
- BlitzChamps III saw an underdog victory as Justin Reid tackled the competition to officially become the NFL's best chess player, winning $30,000 for charity in the process.
- You might be a chess legend in your own group of friends, but how do you compare to the rest of Chess.com? Find out who holds records like 'most games played', 'most puzzles solved', and 'coolest and best-looking Chess.com member' (it's you!)
Content
Find out your true chess personality, see if you can handle chess's hottest takes, and more.
- GM Jose Martinez was accused of cheating. He let a camera crew into his home and they filmed him playing Titled Tuesday. See the results above.
- Are you a sneaky chess assassin, or more of a brutal caveman? A calculating technician or a creative artist? Discover your playing style in our new chess personality quiz!
- Have you ever lost at chess? No, us neither. But just in case you ever do, here are some ready-made excuses, such as "I was bribed" and "ChatGPT lied to me."
- With comments like "These opinions should get him permanently banned from playing chess", you know that things are getting spicy. Where do you stand on the biggest hot takes in chess?
- What's the net worth of GM Viswanathan Anand? Only one person knows... Watch and enjoy as Vishy answers the internet's most pressing questions about himself!
Chessable
This month's keyword is 'free', with two free lessons and a full week of free Chessable PRO.
- There are lots of benefits to Chessable PRO: 20% of all courses, unlimited course slots, custom puzzles based on your Chess.com games, offline mode, and more. Try it now!
- IM Andras Toth presents IM Jeremy Silman's iconic The Amateur's Mind, giving you easy-to-follow instructions that allow you to play like a world champion! Check it out here.
- Ever found yourself five moves into a game, and you've fallen for an annoying trick? Never again! Join GM Eugene Perelshteyn on his quest to refute every single gambit.
ChessKid
A year ago, WFM Anna Cramling joked: "I'm never playing chess against kids again! They are too good!" Spoiler alert: The kids got even better.
- FM Rose Atwell and WFM Megan Paragua, with a combined age of 27, defeated Cramling and WGM Nemo Zhou in the first 'Kids vs. Stars' event.
- FM Fausti Oro is closing in on his next title, having secured his second IM norm at the Continental American Championship. Just for fun, he also finished third in Titled Tuesday!
- Speaking of wonderkids... GM Yagiz Erdogmus just broke GM Judit Polgar's long-standing record, becoming the highest-rated player ever before the age of 13.
Fair Play
The Fair Play team is always hard at work to keep Chess.com a safe and fair place to play for everyone in the community,
Fair Play stats for May:
- 346,062 reports created
- 62,595 Fair Play closures (including 6 titled players: 1 GM, 1 WFM, 1 NM, 1 CM, 1 FM, 1 IM)
- 54K mute actions
- 47.6K accounts muted
- 156.5K abuse closures
- 21,386,644 rating points refunded
Support
The team has integrated AI into their work, making the first-response time immediate, while still following up with human action as soon as possible.
- Average Time to First Human Response: 1 day, 16 hours
- Total Requests Received: 86,422
- Average Quality by Member Rating: 86.6%
- Total Ratings: 5,094
Thank you for being part of the world's largest chess community. Let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!
Missed an update? You'll find last month's edition here.
