Before he became a grandmaster, Jose Gonzalez had an eye-opening experience. Along with the top players in his country (including a grandmaster and other four strong international masters), Mexican Champion Gonzalez was assigned a trainer...
This post is written by Chessable Research Awards Coordinator, Dr. Alexey Root. All applications have been reviewed, and the winners have been chosen for the 2025 Chessable Research Awards! From the applications, Chessable selected two win...
This guest post was written by Karel van Delft and Dries Wedda. Karel van Delft is a psychologist, chess trainer, and the Science Project Manager at Chessable. He is the author of the book Chess for Educators and co-author of the book Developing...
Summer is upon us! But…you don’t really want to go…outside, do you? It’s hot out there. And there’s chess to be played! As Sheldon Cooper once said, “If outside is so great, then why has mankind...
When it comes to chess improvement, few voices bring a perspective as multidisciplinary and pragmatic as FM Nate Solon. He started as one of the strongest kids in the United States scholastic scene, spent seven years as a professional poker pla...
Shortly after winning the World Championship title in Singapore in 2024, newly-crowned Gukesh played a casual game with AI-generated pieces. In his first game after becoming World Champion, Gukesh played 1.b3, and proclaimed “for Adhiban!...
This blog post is written by WIM Luciana Morales, Social Media and Community Manager at Chessable. I’m going to keep it real – I never read IM Jeremy Silman’s books when I was learning. My own path was shaped by differ...
This guest post was contributed by Kamryn Hellman, a writer, chess player and video creator. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature through Harvard Extension School. Kamryn’s journey in ...
What’s the first thing you connect with the name Garry Kasparov? Probably the words World Champion come to mind, images of his epic battles against Anatoly Karpov, his brilliant immortal game against Topalov or his legendary match against...
This blog post is written by WIM Luciana Morales, Social Media and Community Manager at Chessable. It’s easy to look back at your games and find dazzling tactical shots. A moment of brilliance is like fireworks against the nigh...
Imagine you’ve been released from prison. What is the first thing you would do? Most people would stay as far away from the place where they were incarcerated. But upon release, a former inmate in a prison in Catalonia, Spain,...
Not many people are lucky enough to find a job that fulfills their sense of purpose — a job that doesn't really feel like work. The path to these is rarely direct. As was the case for Andras Toth, one of our most successful authors, whose...
Many of us would think that parenting three kids and working as an elementary school teacher doesn’t leave much time for pursuing another career. Not NM Laura Smith! The Brooklynite manages to be both a chess coach and Chessable author. I...
As you probably know, real improvement in chess requires studying all key aspects of the game: strategy, opening, tactics, and endgame. Among our latest releases from the last two weeks, you'll find a course for each one of them...
Are some chess positions more critical than others? This guest blog post by Dr. Marc Barthelemy answers this question, using a "fragility score" which quantifies the tension in chess positions. Dr. Barthelemy is a French theoretical physicist b...
Few authors can boast about having a course on a chess opening that matches their origin. This is the case of Grandmaster Àlvar Alonso, who hails from Catalonia, Spain, and wrote the highly regarded course Lifetime Repertoires: Alonso&rs...
It took months of anticipation, careful judging, fierce competition… and now, we have the winners! The 2024 Create Your Own Course Contest once again proves that: Valuable, game-changing chess insight can come from any rating...
From step-by-step piece setups for making tactics happen... Rare defenses that exploit the gap in every White opening... To tournament-proven opening prep that wins 9 times out of 10... This February roundup has it all!&...
Inside Washington Square Park’s Street Chess Community This guest blog post by 2024 Chessable Research Award winner FM Eugene Choi Yoo introduces us to one of the most famous street chess communities in the world. At Washington Square Park,...
The 2024 Chessable Research Awards had five student winners, including Alex Knopps, the author of this guest blog post. Knopps explores whether solving chess puzzles alone or with a partner leads to better outcomes. His research also accounted for...
Everyone aspires to play the best move in chess. But playing for positions you excel in can be just as game-winning... Which is the theme of our February roundup. Kicking things off is our latest Variation Preview update. Now, ...
The year was 2017. GM Eugene Perelshteyn was playing in the 2nd round of the Chess.com Isle of Man International Tournament. He was facing Magnus Carlsen, the reigning World Chess Champion. Having prepared a bold, double-pawn sacrifice for one of ...
Awards season is here! Move over Grammys, it’s time for the Chessable Awards. The contest was closer than ever, with thousands of votes cast and some categories being decided by just a handful of votes. This year, we’re featu...
This guest post was written by Woman International Master and FIDE Arbiter Patricia Llaneza Vega, a chess enthusiast who has contributed to the game in various ways. She started as a player and a coach and has combined these roles with arbiter and...
Our brand-new Variation Preview is already getting an update! Now, anytime you buy a course, all your tokens refill automatically. So you don't have to wait until next month. If you’re hearing about Variation Preview for the first time,...
