Nicholas Van Der Nat

Online chess coach offering personalized coaching & training to boost your intellectual skills & enjoyment of the game. DM to start

[Chesspublishing @chesspublishing]

IM Ezra Kirk takes a look at a fascinating game in his May Anti-Sicilian update. Black sacrifices a Rook and a Bishop for an ongoing attack! 😱
https://t.co/ApXdr05O9Q

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@arjunkalyan555 I agree with you because when he played Bd7 it seemed out of place but when you see your idea it makes sense

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@MementoLoL Well done. Do you find any parallels between chess improvement and lol ?

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@romain_edouard @ChessMenorca @OpenChessMenorc That will go in my lesson for invasion of the back rank and dominance of a file. Very pretty finish

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@ImShahinyan Happy birthday David. Now you have unlocked all the chess pieces to life at 32.

[Adekunle Emmanuel @adekunle_sp]

I bought a ticket for FIDE CANDIDATES in CYPRUS without realizing the dates collided with my wedding date.

If anyone is interested in taking my place, it's at The Haven event centre off Oba Akinjobi G.R.A, Ikeja, Lagos. on April 16th
Her name is Simisola.

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

This is where engines rob the beauty of the game. Black has only one path to save the game but an engine just puts 00.

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

So the question is : Has Caruana improved in the last 8 years?

[IM David Shahinyan @ImShahinyan]

Fabiano Caruana: Classical Rating by Age ♟️

🇺🇸 Age 9 — 2032 (first FIDE rating, January 2002)
🇺🇸 Age 10 — 2134
🇺🇸 Age 11 — 2219
🇺🇸 Age 12 — 2381
🇺🇸 Age 13 — 2421
🇮🇹 Age 14 — 2598 (became GM at 14 years 11 months — youngest in US & Italy history at the time)
🇮🇹 Age 15 — 2640
🇮🇹 Age 16 — 2670
🇮🇹 Age 17 — 2721
🇮🇹 Age 18 — 2740
🇮🇹 Age 19 — 2760
🇮🇹 Age 20 — 2770
🇮🇹 Age 21 — 2782
🇮🇹 Age 22 — 2844 (all-time peak, October 2014)
🇮🇹 Age 23 — 2827
🇺🇸 Age 24 — 2800
🇺🇸 Age 25 — 2800
🇺🇸 Age 26 — 2795
🇺🇸 Age 27 — 2800
🇺🇸 Age 28 — 2823
🇺🇸 Age 29 — 2800
🇺🇸 Age 30 — 2795
🇺🇸 Age 31 — 2795
🇺🇸 Age 32 — 2795
🇺🇸 Age 33 — 2795 (current, March 2026 list — World #3)
🏆 Peak Rating — 2844 (Age 22, October 2014 — 3rd highest classical rating in chess history, behind only Kasparov and Carlsen)

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@sf9801705496 @GMAlexColovic Because you already touched your King 😀

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@DoctorScull @NealBruceBC The first question you should ask is what are you looking to improve?
Then choose a book that matches that.
So a simple answer to help start you on the answer is 1001 chess exercises for beginners then move onto 1001 for club players.

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

A beautiful example of imagination in chess and the importance of identifying options. Clue follow the most forcing moves

[Ilja Sirosh @IMIljaSirosh]

♟️Can you crack it in under 60 seconds?

White to move and win!

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

For all chess fans give Stjepan a follow. His passion for the game comes through in all his work and he has some great book recommendations

[Chessreads @chessreads]

What is the single best chess book you have ever read?
Tough question for me but I have to say - New York 1924. What would be your answer?

Check the full video review of the book: https://t.co/UjBcJB466l
Or get the inspiration here: https://t.co/ljmPmyV8kS

#chess #chesspunks

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

This is great advice for all people seeking to get better.
It is especially great advice for chess players.
We all learn best from mistakes.
So don’t be afraid to stretch yourself

[Mindset Machine  @mindsetmachine]

The Golden Rule when you're learning a new skill‼️👇

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

So pretty and works on finding creative solutions.

[KibitzingPatzer @kibitzingpatzer]

White to move and mate inn three. 🤔

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@chess_insights I agree with you. It would be a dream for chess if we could become like golf where top players need to choose which events to compete in. So the events compete for the top players. Right now the top players are competing for events

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@DrCanChess Congratulations! Your passion to connect with your audience always comes through in your work. The chess world is very lucky to have you lifting the standard for teaching chess themes.

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

A great introduction by Boris to his improved Kalashnikov repertoire.
For anyone who wants to add the Sicilian to their repertoire Boris is the man to follow.

[Boris Avrukh @askavrukh]

New release. Kalashnikov Sicilian: Repertoire for Black.
https://t.co/UHauHMi99g

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

I just watched the Judit Polgar documentary Queen of Chess.
I really enjoyed hearing the perspective of Judit and her family behind her great chess.
I highly recommend everyone gives it a watch on Netflix.
@SusanPolgar @GMJuditPolgar

[Nicholas Van Der Nat @ChessExcellence]

@NealBruceBC The pain of the back rank