r/chess Weekly Discussion Thread

Caruana rapid have been a disaster for the past 12 month and seems no one is talking about it. He lost nearly 100 elo.

Game Link: https://www.chess.com/events/2026-clutch-chess-champions-showdown/06/Sindarov_Javokhir-Nakamura_Hikaru

And more bullet compared to blitz. Do they truly play so little rapid online, or do they usually have an alternative anonymous account that they play rapid on?

If they genuinely play so little rapid games, then what is the reason?

For instance, an acquaintance of mine who is a WFM, has played over 62,000 games on her account that are probably over 97-98% bullet and in total has played 13 rapid games. I doubt she has an alternative account because she plays about 50 to 100+ bullet games a day (sometimes over 150) post-work (she works a full-time job as a doctor).

Game link: https://www.chess.com/events/2026-clutch-chess-champions-showdown/03/Nakamura_Hikaru-Praggnanandhaa_R

I am at an IBM conference in Atlanta, GA, and there is this booth with the original board and pieces, in the original configuration, of the match.

https://www.chess.com/events/2026-clutch-chess-champions-showdown/05/Praggnanandhaa_R-Caruana_Fabiano

I remastered Windows Vista’s Chess Titans—unlocked its max engine speed, added PGN exports, and added a hidden "Crazy Hard" difficulty!

If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you probably remember Chess Titans, the classic 3D chess game that came bundled with Windows Vista and Windows 7. When Windows 8 dropped, Microsoft quietly killed it off alongside the rest of the nostalgic built-in games.

I decided to bring it back from the dead—with a few much-needed modern upgrades:

1. Instant Move Speed: The original game intentionally delayed the engine's moves to make it feel like it was "thinking." I removed that artificial delay—now, as soon as the engine calculates its move, it plays instantly.
2. Export to PGN: I always wanted to analyze my games post-match. You can now save your games as .pgn files and upload them directly to Chess.com or Lichess for analysis.
3. Unleashed Engine ("Level 11: Crazy Hard"): The original engine was heavily throttled. I uncapped its depth limit and added a new 11th difficulty level so you can play against its full, unrestricted strength.

I’m around 1200 ELO myself, and Level 8 already gives me a tough time, so good luck with Level 11!

You can download the modded version here: https://we.tl/t-UMdZO5LTGk8PC8K7

Let me know if anyone manages to beat Level 11 on Crazy Hard!

Note: I was just feeling super nerdy. It is not for profit. No ads or anything like that.😄

Game link: https://www.chess.com/events/2026-clutch-chess-champions-showdown/02/Nakamura_Hikaru-Caruana_Fabiano

Forgive my mid elo but is this a weird setup or what. Pretty obvious move is K-C3 fork, right? Lol… politicians love a photo op

Capablanca simul played at 65 boards against 84 opponents in 1915: 48 wins, 5 losses and 12 draws in 6 hours 45 minutes. Capablanca , Cuban chess player was the 3rd World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927. Source: American Chess Bulletin 1915

As per the title,

I’m learning chess and my openings are pretty solid. Most of the times, I manage to be in an advantageous position after the early game.

However, most of my games end with a sudden checkmate in the mid-game, which usually comes from the queen.

I was wondering if some of you have tips for recognising these plays. Whenever I see the queen incoming, I’m trying to figure out the line that might eventually result in a checkmate, but I overlook the checkmate anyway.

Thanks in advance.

I've enjoyed chess since I was a kid, but I've always felt held back due to my difficulties focusing. I've always been miserably bad at the game but not because I don't understand what I should be doing, but I've had this issue where I (on Chesscom for example) will be dominating an opponent, but make some remarkably idiotic blunder that immediately loses me the game because somehow their knight on f6 that's been there the entire game suddenly became invisible to me. When I was younger I would chock it up to being a rookie mistake or whatever but it's never improved with time, and I feel that all my games play the same way. Either I win in the first 15 moves, or the opponent defends until I inevitably make some sorry mistake and throw the game; obviously this pattern has become extremely boring and my drive to continue playing has been crushed.

Has anyone else with ADHD been successful in improving at chess, especially at competitive level? If anyone here has dealt with it, I would love to know what you've done to resolve or ease any issues with focus you may have had.

Link

Garry Kasparov has said that his criticism of World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju "still stands", but he still gives Gukesh slightly better chances in the upcoming World Championship match against Javokhir Sindarov. The former World Champion spoke at a press conference in Antwerp on 21 October 2026, ahead of a simultaneous exhibition at the KMSKA museum, as reported by Sport in Antwerpen.

Kasparov criticised Gukesh's form since winning the 2024 World Championship. "Like Magnus Carlsen, I was fiercely critical of Gukesh. And that criticism still stands," Kasparov said. He added that Gukesh "didn't make a good impression at the Olympiad", but that a match against a single opponent is "completely different".

"As far as I can judge, Sindarov provides more entertainment, but experience is important. And Gukesh has that. You can hardly beat Gukesh. That is why I give him slightly more chances," said Kasparov. "It is not important how long you prepare for a match. Experience is usually the deciding factor."

He described Gukesh as a more defensive player, comparing him to "a tennis player who does not come off the baseline". But he left the door open for Sindarov: "You never know. If Sindarov takes the lead, he might be able to beat him.

For context, i only play bullet, 2k1 on Lichess and Chesscom, and I want to better my endgames with the above pieces.

Is there a geometric trick I can use to premove/ visualize these endgames so I can play them faster?

Hi, I spent about a year playing the Scotch Game and then switched to Scotch Gambit and played it for maybe six months.

I've had about five weeks off studying due to illness. Now I'm getting back into it and realise that my openings really have become rusty. Feels like I'm having to relearn them to some extent.

So I'm wondering if I should continue with the scotch gambit or use this opportunity to go back to the scotch game.

I'm 1600 on Lichess. As I understand that the scotch game will take you further up the rating ladder.

I do like the scotch gambit so I'm torn between the two.

Appreciate hearing your thoughts.