Top Chess Improvement Tips (And How To Lose To An Owl At Chess)
November has come, bringing with it a huge new partnership and lots of exciting developments in the chess world. Can you defeat Duo, or will this cultured green owl be your doom?
Here's what this monthly update covers:
Duolingo is now on Chess.com! Also, there's something else to brighten up your day if you're into engine analysis.
- It's official: Duolingo bots have landed on Chess.com. Self-appointed culture expert Oscar and the enthusiastic Junior might not pose much of a threat... but can you survive the withering putdowns of Lily or the existential terror of Duo?
- Until December 2, all Chess.com members can claim one month of free Super Duolingo while Chess.com Premium members can claim two months.
- Torch is a new engine developed by the Chess.com team that has quickly risen to the #2 spot in the chess engine rankings. Find out how to use Torch for your analysis in this article.
- Last month, we increased our playable puzzles by 28,641, landing at a total of 788,304 at the start of November.
If you are in tech and would like to join our team, we're hiring!
Events
October saw some scarily good performances by GMs and non-GMs alike.
- IM Polina Shuvalova won the 2023 I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship after defeating IM Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess) 10.5-9.5 in the final, becoming the first woman to win the tournament.
- Saint Louis University ascended to first place in the 2023 Collegiate Chess League, after defeating The University of Texas Dallas. Who will end up taking the crown as the strongest chess university around?
- October's Bullet Brawl events were dominated by GM Daniel Naroditsky, who won three out of four events, and now has seven total Bullet Brawl wins; he trails only GM Hikaru Nakamura, who has ten.
- GM Daniil Dubov tricked his opponents and treated the viewers on his way to a second consecutive Halloween Mystery Banter Blitz victory, all while barely being able to see the screen through his mask!
Community
Check out some of the brilliant things going on in the Chess.com community, including one gigantic green highlight.
- October's Photoshop contest is over. Check out PepeArcade's magnificent winning entry above!
- The ChessPunks community now has an official club on Chess.com (and its first official championship). Originally founded on Twitter, the ChessPunks community is centered around adult chess improvers who encourage each other in their journeys.
- The first-ever Variants Community Series event concluded in a victory for GM Jose Martinez, who proved that he was the true King of the Hill! November's variant, chosen by a community vote, will be 3 Check Chess.
- The official Chess.com Community Club now has over 10,000 members. If you haven't joined yet, you're missing out on exclusive events, prizes, and one of the most active chess clubs on the internet.
- Chess.com partnered with advocacy organization GLAAD on October 19 to mark Spirit Day, the world's biggest LGBTQ anti-bullying campaign.
Content
Lots of useful new content to help you improve at chess, and a fun look at the different playing styles of some of the game's most legendary figures.
- Tired of making the same chess mistakes? Watch the video above to identify the 10 most common mistakes people make, and how to avoid them in your games.
- Ever wonder what chess legend your playing style resembles? Find out if you're more of a Polgar, Capablanca, or Carlsen in this guest article by Lularobs.
- Eight respected chess coaches recently shared their best advice for improving players as part of preparations for the ChessPunks Champs tournament. Check out their top tips!
Chessable
It's (still) not too late for you to become the internet's new favorite chess teacher. Check out the details below.
- The 2023 Create Your Own Course Contest continues until November 30, and is open to Chessable PRO members of all levels. Try making your own course and be in to win fabulous prizes.
- GM Fabiano Caruana's new Ruy Lopez course is out on Chessable now. Enjoy the Short & Sweet version of the course for free here, and learn directly from one of the highest-rated players in chess history.
- Chessable's Black Friday deals are on until the end of November, with up to 60% off a wide range of courses—the biggest discount of the year. If you want to surprise a chess fan in your life or treat yourself to a course, now's the time.
ChessKid
A big addition to the upcoming ChessKid National Festival, and other exciting news.
- The 2024 ChessKid National Festival keeps getting bigger. IM Danny Rensch, IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess), and FM Mike Klein will be joined virtually by legendary GM Judit Polgar, who will host an online-exclusive workshop for VIP ticket holders.
- ChessKid ambassador WCM Bodhana Sivanandan made history, scoring 10/10 to become England's first world youth champion in 25 years.
- We have a bunch of new resources for chess coaches and teachers who are preparing their students for tournaments. (Note: Adult chess players can also benefit from these!)
- The ChessKid pumpkin-decorating contest is over, and the results are in! Check out the winning entries below.
Fair Play
The Fair Play team, as always, kept Chess.com a safe and fair place to play for everyone last month.
Fair Play stats for October:
- 61,308 Fair Play closures (including 4 titled players)
- 88.8K mute actions
- 78.7K accounts muted
- 106.2K abuse closures
Support
The Support team is always here to respond to your questions. Even if that question is "What is en passant?"
- Average Time to First Response: 2 days
- Total Requests Received: 78,651
- Average Quality by Member Rating: 93%
- Total Ratings: 6,763
As always, thank you for making Chess.com such an amazing place, and thank you for the comments you leave on these updates. Stay tuned—your thoughts might be featured in one of these updates soon...
