8th Blitz "Death Match" Player Announcement!
Chess.com's next "Blitz Death Match" will feature a matchup between two of America's best-known chess figures, and host a "East vs West" showdown of Super Coaches. Both IM Dean Ippolito and FM Robby Adamson are famous for their personal chess achievements, as well as their teaching accomplishments, having trained many of America's brightest scholastic individual stars and teams.
International Master Dean Ippolito is the founder and President of the Dean of Chess Academy in New Jersey, a world record holder, a former scholastic chess star himself, and one of the most successful chess coaches in the country!
As a true chess professional, when Dean is not running his business, he is actively pursuing the Grandmaster title. Dean is one of the strongest International Masters in the U.S. - ranked in the Top 50 overall amongst active players.
FIDE Master (and now, IM-Elect) Robby Adamson is best known in the online chess community as "BLITZMASTER". Considered to be one of the strongest online blitz and bullet players in the world, Robby has recently become an active player on Chess.com, and "BLITZMASTER" can be seen as one of the top bullet players on Chess.com!
FM Adamson is also the head coach of Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson, Arizona -- Catalina being winners of multiple National Scholastic Championships, while Tucson itself, due in large part to Adamson's teachings, has become a breeding ground for many of the countries most talented juniors. The Western Invitational Chess Camp, founded by Adamson, is one of the strongest summer chess camps in the country.
On paper, ratings would suggest IM Ippolito as the slight favorite, but FM Adamson's blitz prowess and reputation precedes him, and many would surely see a loss for Robby in this match as a big surprise...
The match will be live on www.Chess.com/tv on Sunday, September 23rd at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern! IMs Daniel Rensch and David Pruess, along with other special guests, will host the coverage.
Danny Rensch is an international master and Chief Chess Officer at Chess.com. After a successful scholastic chess career, Danny joined Chess.com as a co-founder in 2009. He directs the company's content, media partnerships, and professional chess events. Danny is an accomplished commentator and broadcaster, which he used to establish Chess.com's streaming and creator programs. He has channeled his lifelong passion for playing and teaching chess to advance Chess.com's mission of growing the game and helping people enjoy their lives through chess. With over 200 million registered users, Chess.com is the leading platform for playing and learning chess.
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Read “Dark Squares,” Danny’s Highly Anticipated Memoir
Danny Rensch has released his highly anticipated memoir on September 16, 2025. Described as Educated meets The Queen’s Gambit, this powerful and deeply personal book dives into his upbringing in an abusive cult and how chess ended up saving his life.
