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

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/03/Nakamura_Hikaru-Praggnanandhaa_R

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).

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.😄

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

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

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

Link:

https://youtube.com/shorts/_slehY_tfSs?si=wjmJYCV1felcV8DB

Magnus ranks some top players of his own generation, the generation before him and the current one as well.

Current Gen:

Pragg > Sindarov > Alireza > Arjun > Gukesh

Unfortunately Nodirbek and Vincent are missing from this list. Where would you place them.

His Gen:

Caruana > Nepo > Hikaru > Karjakin

Old Gen:

Kasparov > Fischer > Karpov > Vishy > Kramnik

What are your thoughts about these rankings? I feel Karjakin should be above Hikaru for sure considering he was super clutch in important tournaments being the only guy besides Magnus to win World Cup, Candidates, World Rapid and World Blitz as well.

Maybe it's just me, but over the last 6 months or so opening this way with White seems to be massively popular. They play a London, or a Colle, or a Reti, or a double fianchetto. Now I admit; I struggle against this sort of slower, transpositional, conservative opening set-up. But right now it just seems like 2 out of 3 players with White are doing this, in a wide variety of rating classes.

Title: How can I improve at chess? (Below 500 Elo, 1 hour a day)

Hi everyone!

I want to seriously improve at chess, and I'd appreciate some advice on how to train effectively. I play on Chess.com and currently have a rating below 500 Elo. I know the rules and can play games, but I'm not entirely sure how to structure my training to become a stronger player.

My goal: I want to build a solid foundation, reduce my mistakes, and gradually improve my rating. I don't just want to gain Elo points; I want to genuinely understand chess and become a better player.

I'd especially appreciate advice on the following topics:

1. Tactics and puzzles: How many chess puzzles should I solve each day? Is it better to solve them under time pressure or take my time and fully understand each position?

2. Game analysis: How should I analyze my losses? Should I try to identify my own mistakes before turning on the engine? How should I categorize my mistakes so I can learn from them?

3. Openings: How much time should I spend learning openings at my level? Is it enough to focus on basic principles such as controlling the center, developing pieces, and castling instead of memorizing long variations? Which openings would you recommend?

4. Time controls: Which time control should I play? Would 10+5, 15+10, or something else be better for improvement?

5. Endgames: Which basic endgames should I learn first as a beginner?

6. Learning resources: Which YouTube channels, free courses, websites, or books would you recommend? I'm also happy to use English-language resources.

7. Daily training routine: How would you divide a 60-minute session between tactics, game analysis, lessons, and playing games?

8. Tracking progress: Apart from Elo, how can I measure my improvement? Are metrics such as blunders per game, accuracy, and puzzle ratings useful indicators?

9. Common mistakes: What habits tend to hold players below 500 Elo back the most?

If you've climbed from a low rating and made significant progress, I'd also love to hear what worked best for you and what you would do differently if you were starting over today.

I'm particularly interested in practical, actionable advice rather than generic tips.

Thanks in advance!

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?

I have a conundrum with this pawn as it blocks the LSB which obviously just leaves you without a piece in the came for a while but then not having the controlling the centre is a downside as well. So what is the best plan to coordinate these two pieces. I guess it depends on what White plays but some general advice would be grand.

Thanks

I am curious to see how transferrable are chess skills, particularly in looking a few moves ahead in different board-like games.

In theory, if these skills are truly transferrable and i take 100 players and put them against each other in a tournament on a different game, higher ELOs and GMs should win.

Some people disagree with me. Say playing chess only makes you good at chess. But it would be like saying that playing football or soccer doesn't make you inherently better at sports where speed or agility is required. You may not become Lebron, but you'll pick up basketball faster than a ping pong player. On the other hand the ping pong player may pick up padle faster than you.

Am I wrong?

EDIT 1
Maybe I should specify I'm talking about "deterministic games with a chesslike board". So, no dice, no cards, no luck elements, just move after move.

One of the two king moves is winning while the other is drawn. Which is it and why

White to move and check mate in 2

For those of you who have a membership and do puzzles every day on Chess.com, what's your target rating?

Just curious how much you guys have improved since the puzzle reset. At what rating did you start struggling or stop making much progress? How hard are you finding the puzzles now? Anyone hit a plateau?

For me, my puzzle strength doesn't really translate to rapid games because I spend a lot longer solving these puzzles. I'm not really doing them to improve my rapid chess, but more to improve my calculation.

Depending on the puzzle, I can spend anywhere between 10-40+ minutes solving it. But I genuinely enjoy puzzles, so I don't mind taking my time. I actually like sitting with a difficult puzzle for a long time and trying to figure it out. When you finally solve it, it feels really rewarding.

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.

EDIT: It seems most of the people interpreted this post as a post for advice on openings. However, I’m specifically referring to mid-game queen attacks. I’m having a hard time seeing these coming