The Blogger Awards | September 2025 Submissions - Chess Forums

Sep 5, 2025

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#1

New month, new chances!

Bottom line up front:
To enter the September competition, you must submit a blog in this forum.

It must be a blog first published in September 2025 (unless a Super Admin informs you otherwise, which is rare but happens).

Please note that extraneous comments will be deleted from this forum. What constitutes extraneous is entirely up to your arbitrary and sometimes capricious admins and super-admins.

THE RULES:

Only one submission per individual.
You cannot swap out your submission for a new submission after 24 September.
Do not plagiarize.
Do not use AI to write your blog. (You can use tools for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.)
Do not use outside assistance to improve your submission. This is all about your best at the time you developed and posted a single blog. You can ask for constructive feedback after the round is complete.
You can use AI to create thumbnails. But for the moment, AI-generated thumbnails will not compete in the Best Thumbnail category. In the future, we might add a category for AI-thumbnails. Should that come to pass, I would suggest that an AI image combined with some individual human manipulation of the image (text, neon lights, real images, what have you) would best serve competitors.
Where do you post? Post your one submission in this forum.
Timeline: You can submit one blog that was posted in September 2025, but you must submit the link in this forum NLT 30 September 2025 Eastern Standard Time (EST). If you can find a way to submit a blog written in October 2025 or later, you will earn a special prize from Astro who will work with you to submit for a Nobel Prize. To repeat, blah, blah, blah, it must be a blog posted in September 2025...unless a Super-Admin gives you relief on the rules because you DMed them with a very good reason.
If there are any ties, unlikely as that seems, then a coin flip might break the deadlock. Or perhaps the judges will consult the I Ching...or solicit bribes🤔. Or, more likely, we’ll infringe on the freedom of some lucky TB and ask them to break a tie that we didn’t expect to see.
Outcomes and Announcements: The judges will (Caïssa willing) choose their picks for every category, and someone (again, Schacchi willing) will post the results as soon as possible in September.
Please do not update your blog once it has been posted. That can create chaos and confusion as some judges assess blogs immediately upon submission while others wait a while because they have a life.

THE CATEGORIES

Best Blog - This award will be given to the blog that has excelled to a degree in all categories. If you win this category three times in a row, you will be recommended for Top Blogger. We will coordinate that process with any individual who achieves this trifecta. (This known as a "turkey" in the Professional Bowling Association, aka, three strikes in a row. Good in bowling and blogging, not so good in baseball.)

Best Thumbnail - This is self-explanatory. We might add a category for AI thumbnails, but that is an item for further, future discussions. AI thumbnails can be used but will not receive awards.

Most Improved Blogger - This will not necessarily be awarded in every competition. This goes to the blogger who has most improved over the past month(s) and has contributed most to the blogging community. There will be times when we recognize someone who was already good but managed to find ways to noticeably upgrade their material.

Best Blog Editing - The best editor will be the one who makes their blog the one that is so well drafted and reviewed by the author that there are minimal distractions and errors. In other words, minimize typos, don't create word walls, provide a useful Table of Contents (if necessary), create distinct sections and section breaks if applicable, don't use distracting fonts and text colors, etc.

Best Research - This will go to the blog that in the judges' opinions demonstrated the most noteworthy research efforts. We are not looking for endnotes, footnotes, and links to everything you looked at. The research should be evident simply within the context of your superbly written blog.

Best Game Analysis - This probably won't be applicable to all blogs, but to those who annotate their games, yes! Analysis by other players is not eligible to win in this category.

Best Humor/Satire - If you can make a funny, sardonic, or satirical blog post, go for it. Humor has been a strong feature in multiple blogs for the past few months, so we hope to see that continue.

Best Blog Topic - Goes to most interesting blog topic. D’oh. Topics that have been covered hundreds of times are unlikely to compete well in this category unless you offer a very unique and compelling take on an overused and abused subject.

Best Blog Title - Difficult to define but originality and alignment with the topic are key factors!

Best Original Writing - A smooth and gripping style of writing is important. This is one of the most important categories you should look to excel in.

Most Engaging Blog - This award goes to the blog that provides the most engaging work that will actually make me want to read the entirety of your post.