Two Steps Forward, One Step Back March ended with me hitting a new peak: 1675 USCF. April ended with me back down to 1589. So yes, the title basically wrote itself. April was one of those months that reminds you chess improvement is not a strai...
March 2026: Progress You Can Trust March wasn’t a perfect month. There were strong wins, frustrating losses, and more time trouble than I’d like to admit. But when I step back and look at the full picture, this month represents some...
February 2026: A Quieter Month, but One of My Strongest Yet February was a lighter month for me in terms of classical competition, but somehow it became one of the most meaningful months I've had in a while. Even though I only played one quad nig...
Back to Playing Humans On February 4th, during my lesson, my coach FM Mees van Osch told me something I kind of already knew… but didn’t really want to hear. “James, you need to play real people online.” And I immediately...
Catapult to 1642: Quads, Tunnelvision, and a Month That Finally Clicked January wasn’t just a good month it was the month where everything stopped moving sideways. After two years of grinding, tinkering, studying, and trying to figure out w...
November 2025 Recap: Sharp Lines, Long Drives, and Early Mornings Tournament Hall of The Columbia Club If October was about getting back in the ring, November was about seeing whether I could actually throw punches again. Over the course o...
National Chess Day Spotlight: Tamaghna Roy October 11, 2025 – Columbia Chess Club Tamaghna Roy representing South Carolina at the 2025 Tournament of Champions When I first met Tamaghna Roy in 2023, I directed his very first over-the-...
The State Championship: Back In The Ring (For Real This Time) Trophies and Club Awards Three weeks after writing Back In The Ring, I found myself lacing up the metaphorical gloves again — this time for the 2025 South Carolina State Cha...
Tunnelvision XXXVI: Three Years, Fifty Players, and One Surprising Win Three years ago, Tunnelvision was just Brandon, me, and a stack of folding tables in a church hall.No livestream. No team of TDs. No custom pens or scoresheets, not even a pla...
Back in the Ring: My Inaugural Post as a Chess.com Top Blogger Well, this is new. I get to type the words “Top Blogger” next to my name, and it feels a bit surreal. Thank you to Chess.com, the Blog Champs community, and to all of my f...
Storming the Gates: A Slav Defense Blitz Battle Some games aren’t just about finding the best moves — they’re about imposing your will on the board, taking risks, and making your opponent walk into the storm you’ve been qu...
My Chess Journey: From San Diego Subway Matches to Building a Chess Legacy in South CarolinaBy James Brandmair My journey with chess began when I was ten years old, learning the rules from my dad after moving from Columbia, SC to San Diego...
Beating the Gremlin: My Game vs. GremlinPlaysChess at Tunnelvision XXXIV By James Brandmair Round 2 of Tunnelvision XXXIV gave me the rare opportunity to play an opponent I’ve long admired—not just as a chess player, but as a conten...
Round 1 – Holding Strong in 111 Moves Opponent: Neil Noronha (1483)Result: 1-0 Neil is a sharp and dedicated high school player who regularly makes the 90-minute drive from Florence to compete. He plays both aggressively and patient...
Eight Games, One Week: Tactics, Lessons, and Surprises at Columbia Chess Club Three events. Eight classical games. One exhausted but wiser chess player. 👋 The Setup Last week was a grind — the kind of grind that serious improvement dem...
Holding the Line: A Nimzo-Sicilian Draw vs. a Veteran Opponent By James Brandmair | June 2025 Classical Month – Round 1 Facing an experienced player like Robert Folts (1622) is never an easy task—especially when you&rsq...
The Nimzowitsch Surprise – A Battle Against Aaryav SahaBy James Brandmair Heading into Round 5 of the Columbia Chess Club Championship, I had spent the week prepping to face Aarush Panda with the Black pieces. But as pairings go, I found...
Outplayed in the Endgame — Lessons from Tunnelvision XXXII The final round of Tunnelvision XXXII paired me with a tough opponent—Erik Murrah, a strong chess dad with a 1600+ rating. I had the white pieces and was ready to battle it...
Columbia Club Championship - Round 3White: Mark Ritchie (1466)Black: James Brandmair (1380)Result: 1-0 This game was one of those painful but instructive battles that haunt you just enough to make you better. Mark Ritchie played solidly, capit...
Game Analysis – Round 2, 2025 Columbia Chess Club ChampionshipJames Brandmair (1380) vs. Chase Norton (649)Result: 1-0 I went into this game trying to keep things flexible and simple. I played 1.Nf3 followed by g3 and Bg2, aiming for a q...
“Brandmair’s Boast Rap” Yeah, checkmate season, we takin’ no Ls,Brandmair on the board, ringin’ victory bells.Columbia’s finest, the club’s in the spot,Set up the pieces, let’s see what you g...
I can’t believe I finally did it—I scored my first win over a titled player! For those who don’t know, National Master Mike Sailer is a resident fixture at the Columbia Chess Club here in South Carolina. With 21 state championshi...
The Giant Slayer It was a crisp January evening at the Columbia Chess Club. The Dual Action Quad Night had just begun, and players of all skill levels filled the room, their focused expressions masking the fierce determination in their hearts...
The Columbia Chess Club has made great strides over the past year. Starting out with just a handful of casual meetings, the club has now grown to regularly host tournaments with over 30 players, and even organized the largest open chess tournament...
A king sits on his black throne,His agents obeying every orderSome moving quickly,Others moving slowly,All seeking to topple the purityThe white king on his white throne.Oh king, move your pawns,Gather your alliesThe weak and plentyInvest in them,...
