Nova Daily - 26 March 2026: Flawless Fighter
Hi!
The BlogChamps final results are in, and I'm in a celebrating mood. With three astonishing blogs, the contestants truly gave the people what they deserve. I must admit that there's one blog that I haven't read yet, and that blog is the one that won the event. But I will do so before I'll submit my blog to the March contest in TBA.
What does a chess.com rating say about your real playing strength? The answer I'm inclined to give after today is "something, but not everything". My ratings are quite decent, and in several disciplines they're now higher than they've ever been. If all goes well, that will include my OTB rating by 1 April.
Online, I'm no joke either (pun not intended, especially since I have no sense of humour). My blitz rating is now 2585; two wins away from breaking into the 2600 echelons, and higher than several titled players including some GMs. I'm currently over 2600 in bullet, which is quite nice. And my rapid rating has recently scaled 2400. It now sits nicely at 2405, which happens to be the same rapid rating as IM Polina Shuvalova. I discovered this when I decided to dedicate this entry to her to honour a very epic achievement that happened today.
Polina Sergeevna Shuvalova is a Russian IM with a current FIDE rating of 2502. She turned 25 years old two weeks ago today. Her list of achievements is extensive and very impressive, and includes two world championships in 2019.
Towards the end of January this year, Shuvalova decided to take a one-year-challenge of discipline, and she has been uploading daily videos to her Instagram account where she can be seen working out, sporting, practicing and studying chess, and providing a few peaks into the rest of her daily routine. I find this inspiring, and I've been adding several of these activities into my own daily routine.
Already in February, @Flawless_Fighter broke the record for chess.com's highest blitz rating ever achieved by a female chess player. She overtook IM Eline Roebers with this feat. And today, Shuvalova added another milestone to her resume, being the first ever woman to scale the 3000 rating in blitz. This follows one week after IM Alice Lee did the same in bullet.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DWXEWQZlBCv/
Below is the game that sealed Shuvalova's achievement, with brief commentary by yours truly.
Congratulations to Polina Shuvalova for making it to 3000. A true inspiration on and off the board!
