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Hi everyone, Something is off with the announcement notifications, so I'm posting this link here to get your attention https://www.chess.com/announcements/view/face-the-master-4-simul-with-two-masters-on-sept-18 Cheers, Judit

Thread by:  @zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz44 • @ChessBeteigeuze • @imraghav2013 A place to share OTB tournament results, chess experiences, top players tournaments, and anything else relating to OTB chess.

Thread by:  @imraghav2013 • @SPK1729 • @EnCroissantIsBrilliant See also:  Chess Openings • Chess Endgames A place to share, ask for advice on, or learn together about chess middlegames.

Suggested by:  @charlie1datil • @Southernrun A place to share and discuss anything relating to Fischer Random/Chess960/Freestyle Chess.

Thread by @squirtle • @southernrun • @SPK1729 • @EnCroissantIsBrilliant A place to share your chess improvement blogs!

Suggested by:  @Valesias120 • @Eliminator_CRAK A place to discuss anything chess books related!

Thread by:  @ElreyWasero Success: What is success? Success can be defined in many ways, it can be achieving a goal, an objective, getting a raise, etc. But what it really means is what you want it to mean. It's confusing, right? If we go directly to the formal meaning: "Success is about achieving personal objectives and goals, becoming what you really want to be, living life the way you want to live it, doing what you really want to do, achieving what you set out to achieve." But what does this really mean? This is just a definition of the greatness of this word. The most important thing here is what YOU decide to do with that word. What's most important here is what YOU decide to do with your life. I don't care who you are, nor do YOU ​​care who I am. Most people will treat you badly, hate you, do everything they can to destroy you. And why is this? It's because of success. Those people made bad decisions in THEIR lives, that's why they envy other people's lives. This does not mean that just thinking about success makes me successful, what we saw previously was the definition of success. How to achieve success? This question torments almost the entire world's population. Success is not an easy path; it requires discipline, love, and perseverance. It requires all your physical and mental capacity, both in small and large successes. The GREAT are not successful because they want to be, but because one day they decided to change their lives, they decided to leave bad habits, bad friendships, hatred, sadness, ego behind. They chose something they are passionate about, for example: Magnus Carlsen, the greatest chess player of all time. He is not the best because he thought about being better, but because HE IS THE BEST at what he does. He chose something he loved and turned it into his SUCCESS. Just like YOU, dear reader, YOU can be greater than you imagine, you just need to find your strengths and weaknesses, use everything you have in your favor and never against you, each person is special, UNIQUE... that is why everyone has different successes, love your work, as if it were your family, do not waste money, act as if it were time, because both do not come back. Steps to success: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal, what matters is the courage to keep going, giving more each day than the last." Although each person has the ability to achieve their goals on their own, and with their own unique methods, perhaps these can help you clear your mind. 1. Write down your goals: Many people have goals or objectives, but few write them down. Having VERY defined objectives helps organize your mind and focus on achieving them. 2. Review your goals: Having your goals memorized helps you not forget them, to focus only on them, and despite the circumstances, to remember what you are fighting for, what you LOVE. 3. Develop an action plan: Outline how you're going to achieve SUCCESS. Success isn't built on its own; it requires a lot of attention. You can create a life plan, for example. The important thing is to strive for it. 4. Just do it: Keeping the above in mind, just make it happen, work hard every day (don't forget to rest). You only need YOU, NOTHING ELSE. Success is rarely shared; it depends on the person who achieves it. But, value those who helped you, and give back, because you're on the same path. Thanks for reading!!

I'm stuck at rapid 1100. i need someone's CPR (_#*#_)

Feel free to ask your questions. About me: Name: Saro Khachatouri Rated 2100+ FIDE 10+ years of experience in coaching FiIDE Instructor license 18 current students

Thread by:  @New_fissy What are some ways to train in tactics that you could share? If it's puzzles, discuss ways of solving them.

Thread by: @hhart10k A place to talk about how life off the board (examples include family, work, school, health, etc.) helps or hinders your chess, and, also, a place to talk about how chess can help or hinder your quality of life, self-care and wellbeing. Basically, a place to talk about chess and life.

Thread by:  @SPK1729 The purpose of this thread is to share interesting and intellectually stimulating chess riddles with fellow members on a regular basis. Each post features a carefully selected riddle designed to encourage thoughtful discussion and creative thinking. The solution will be revealed later in the thread or in the comments, allowing members time to reflect and respond.

Thread by:  @2quire Hey everyone, I wanted to share something that's had a huge impact on my chess improvement lately—blindfold training. A few months ago, I realized that while I could calculate short variations, I struggled to hold positions clearly in my mind. So I decided to try something that always seemed a bit intimidating: blindfold chess. At first, I started small—just hiding the board and replaying simple checkmates or famous miniatures from memory. Then I moved on to reading annotated games without diagrams, trying to follow along purely from the moves. It was tough, and honestly a bit frustrating at times, but I stuck with it. Over time, something clicked. My visualization started improving—not just in blindfold, but in regular games too. Now, I can picture a few moves ahead much more clearly. I'm also better at spotting tactical patterns and planning deeper. The biggest surprise? I actually started enjoying it. Blindfold practice feels like solving a puzzle with your brain alone. It's helped me build confidence in my calculation and taught me to trust my inner board. I’m curious—has anyone else tried blindfold training? If so, how did it help your game? If you haven’t yet, I really recommend giving it a shot! Looking forward to hearing your experiences.

Hi Improvers, Have you tried playing the Fischer Random variant, also called Chess960? If you have and you like it, you might enjoy playing in the Qualifiers this weekend.The deadline to register is Friday, June 13th at 11 am ET! Read all about it here, and let us know if you have any questions.

Sometimes we need to laugh so we don't cry. This is a great place to post a silly blunder or something funny that happened in one of your games. Please be supportive! Here's one from a game of mine against a GM. I just played a bad move and my GM opponent resigned. Can you spot what we both missed about the position?

Mate in 5:   Promote to Force a Draw:  

Thread by: @hhart10k Training schedule: How have you organized your training schedule? What have you learned that works for you and what doesn't work for you? Goal setting and weekly progress: How do you identify your goals and check your progress towards them on a weekly basis? Let's discuss and if you are stuck on something related to the above, ask for help so that we can elaborate and improve together.

As this might be the last times I post daily puzzles, I’ve decided to include three today instead of the usual two Mate in 4:   Exploit the Weak King: Win Material With a Sacrifice:  

Mate in 6:   Attack and Win Material:  

Mate in 4:   Sacrifice to Win Material: