Announcing The 2026 January & February Improvers Monthly Rewards Winners

Dear Improvers,

At the beginning of the year, we announced that the Chess Improvement Challenge Rewards are back for 2026! We are now ready to announce the winners for January and February of 2026!

1. Video of the Month

My Second OTB Classical Chess Tournament by Francisco de Leon, aka KiriyamaKazuo.

In the video, Francisco documents his experience playing in his second over-the-board (OTB) classical chess tournament. He shares key moments from his games, reflections on his performance, and lessons learned throughout the event. The video covers things like how he prepared, how he felt during the matches, and insights into what he could improve going forward. It’s both a personal tournament recap and a motivational, real-life chess-learning story that many players can relate to as they start competing OTB for the first time.

I Entered a Rapid Chess Tournament in Secret by Matthew Richards, aka TrustyMatt.

Matt decides to quietly enter an online rapid chess tournament to see how he would do if he played without streaming or telling anyone. Without the usual distractions, he’s able to focus completely on the games. During the tournament, he goes over several key moments, talking through his opening ideas, tactics he spotted, and a few mistakes that made the games more difficult than they needed to be. Along the way, he reflects on how things like time pressure, nerves, and concentration affect tournament play. The experience shows him that when he plays without distractions and really locks in, he’s able to think more clearly and play noticeably better chess.

2. Post of the Month:

From First Blunder to Checkmate: My Journey to Chess Mastery by Pablo David Ludena Ordonez, aka EndfileCore.

In this inspiring blog post on Chess.com, Pablo shares his journey from making beginner blunders to developing real chess mastery.
He explains how he moved beyond tricks and quick wins, focusing instead on understanding fundamentals, consistently solving tactics, analyzing games, and embracing slower, more thoughtful play. Along the way, he faced plateaus and self-doubt, but learned that true progress comes from disciplined thinking and steady effort.
It’s a motivating read for anyone looking to seriously improve their chess and enjoy the journey along the way.

Returning to Tournament Chess - or, What Does It Mean to Be a Chess Player at a Time Like This? by Elijah Neumann, aka chessanarchist95.

In this blog post, Elijah Neumann talks about coming back to tournament chess after taking a long break. As a teenager he improved quickly and reached expert level, but then life—school, work, and general adult chaos—got in the way and chess took a back seat. Years later, he decides to give tournaments another shot and realizes that returning to competitive chess is both exciting and a little terrifying. Along the way he reflects on rating plateaus, nerves, and the strange psychology of chess players, mixing in a few annotated games from a recent rapid tournament. Overall, it’s a humorous and honest look at what it feels like to return to serious chess and remember why we willingly sign up for hours of stress over a board.

3. Annotated Game of The Month

The winner of this new category in January is the game analysis by Adriano, aka adrianonunesfx.

Adriano shares the story of what he considers his best classical tournament performance. He describes entering the event with modest expectations but ending up playing some of his strongest chess. Over several rounds, Adriano managed to deliver strong results, defeating strong opponents and handling difficult positions with solid calculation and patience. The post includes a few annotated games where the player explains key moments, such as winning tactics, strategic decisions in the middlegame, and converting advantages in the endgame. Overall, a great example of how a player should reflect on how preparation, confidence, and staying calm during critical moments, which helped him achieve their best tournament result so far.

Key Takeaways

• Confidence matters: believing in your chances can help you play more actively and decisively.
• Stay calm in tough positions: many games were decided by patience rather than quick tactics.
• Preparation pays off: knowing opening ideas gave the player early advantages.
• Conversion is key: turning small advantages into wins made the difference in the tournament.
• Analyze your games: reviewing games afterward helped the player learn and improve.

For the February winner, we have chosen GM_Bondo3 and his analysis of his recent game. 

Matt faced an 1800-rated opponent playing the London System and immediately unleashed a prepared, aggressive line as Black. He boldly brought his queen out early, sacrificed a pawn (or two!), and never looked back—always keeping his pieces active while White scrambled to catch up. With a series of sharp tactics—like ...Re8+ and opening the center against an exposed king—Matt turned his initiative into a relentless attack. Every move piled on pressure, culminating in a dazzling queen-and-rook checkmate. The game is a perfect lesson in attacking chess: don’t be afraid to sacrifice material, seize the initiative, and punish an uncastled king. Pure Tal-style fire from start to finish.
The key takeaway points are:

• Early aggression: sharp opening gave instant initiative.
• Activity over material: pawn sacrifices opened lines against the king.
• Coordinate pieces: queen and rooks teamed up for a decisive attack.
• Tactical awareness: calculated sacrifices led to a stunning checkmate.
• Attack boldly: relentless pressure overwhelmed the opponent.

Calling for Submissions for 2026 March and onwards

Missed the announcement of the 2026 Improvement Challenge Monthly Rewards? Need to look up some of the details of the categories? It's not too late to click and consider submitting your entry for the 2026 March and onwards.

Read the Full Announcement