chessentials

Chess writer, author of Chessable courses, shogi addict and shitposter.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

Got blocked by Kramnik yesterday, so thought I would celebrate it by making this parody video :).

It is not perfect, but I spent way too many hours on it! I did entertain myself - so I hope I can also entertain you :).

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@TheButcherChess Sick result, congratz! How many Dragons? :D

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@TarjeiJS @ChessbaseIndia @CholaChess @Rameshchess @KanikaSubbiah @Vellayan_S Either way, isn't he a bit too old to only be making IM now, at the zenith of his career?

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@kevingohwm I had a phase a couple of years ago where I was obsessed with Shogi.
Currently focusing more on chess/chess goals. But shogi is such an amazing game. I am hoping/planning to play the shogi tournament at some point.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@JenShahade Go get them!

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@anishgiri I actually think ping pong has some similar issues as chess, because it is somewhat hard for the casual player to understand everything that is happening (a lot of the things involving rotation of the ball remain somewhat "hidden").

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

Quite a sick position I stumbled during the calculation training on chesstempo.
White to play and win. There are multiple good moves, but one is head and shoulders above others in terms of both efficiency. And beauty.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

If anything, I feel these kids should spend WAY MORE TIME socializing and away from the screens.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

Call me a luddite/technophobe, but the influx of AI in everything chess-related is quite depressing.

While its effects on creative endeavours such as content creation are sad but understandable, there is something deeply dystopian about people building AI chess coaches...
1/4

[Chessiro @Chessiro_]

Introducing the new Chessiro AI coach.

For the last year, we’ve worked on one thing: making it the best AI chess coach in the world.

Ask it about any position, and watch the answer play out on the board.

Try it out now

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

NOTE: I am personally not affected by this because I don't do coaching online these days. I only coach kids IRL at my chess club (which is basically volunteer work). I do only have 1 private student (who is again, a KID).
4/4

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

Fans of Neil Mcdonald's Art of Planning In Chess might aslo remember this one.

[Alex King @alexkingchess]

@thechessnerd This is the only notable fxg3 I can think of.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@MeerMaurits Yeah I have much less problem with that. There is a discussion to be had whether competitions such as ECU should be eligible for direct titles (as elaborated in the video on the topic I recorded). But that is completely different discussion to outright rigging the board order.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

In the recently concluded European Club Cup, Dutch player Dick de Graaf became FM by scoring 5/7 on the 6th board.

Alas, this is the result of a shameless abuse of FIDE's direct titles regulations, which demonstrates why they need to be changed.

A thread!

1/17

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@J_Almaguer You sure you could make 5/7? :P

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@janwinter15 Haha I am not sure you did me a service because I got the army of angry Dick's friends commenting on my video :D

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@IMJackRudd @Rahal_Michael @4NCL We also have a 100-rating rule in the Croatian League.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think rating rule is necessary. UNLESS THE COMPETITION IS ELIGIBLE FOR DIRECT TITLES.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@Dixit__Nikhil He literally played in the team where the 6th board made FM in 2025.
Maybe thumbnail could have been better, but clickbait seems the name of the game these days.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@Meesakan

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@Najdorf250 Ah I am stupid. I meant he met 5/7 requirement. Doesn't thankfully deduce from the main point of the thread.

[chessentials @Chessentials_]

@janwinter15 Semi-regular.