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2026 chess season tracker

Gollum

By Gollum
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vvvslaxman Grand Master

vvvslaxman

Posted
Posted (edited)

I went to pick up my wife. There was this guy pacig around outside the event building.  Turns out it was Alireza Firouzja.  She took a selfie and he is ecstatitc that somebody recognized him lol Story of chess player's life.

Edited by vvvslaxman
vvvslaxman Grand Master

vvvslaxman

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Every Indian must have at least heard the name Anand. I am yet to meet a person in my uni/job who hasn't. He may not be celebrated like a cricket superstar but his name is associated with chess for our people. Also, every single person in my lab is or has been active on chess.com or lichess recently, so they are more in touch with chess than cricket which they never play. 

 

Your friend's daughters should have tried their hands at chess. Can always list it in your CV. Many 2000+ ones get accepted in top schools and make their names in CS, maths, economics etc. Heard of Demis Hassabis, Kenneth Rogoff? Of course you still have to be good at academics, but with so much competition, extra skills/achievements always help, especially a cerebral activity like chess. Parimarjan Negi was India's youngest GM at one point, since his career couldn't go to next level, went and did his PhD in CS from MIT, and now has a startup in Boston....he said in an interview that his chess achievements played a part in getting selected. 

 

Some choose giving cringeworthy poses as career after trying their hand at chess :)  

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6MncsBXXcO5WyZE9pSxx

Vickydev Grand Master

Vickydev

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

I went to pick up my wife. There was this guy pacig around outside the event building.  Turns out it was Alireza Firouzja.  She took a selfie and he is ecstatitc that somebody recognized him lol Story of chess player's life.

13 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

Today i am going there. I may not watch it. Drop my wife off and go to office as i have several meetings.

Look at this @coffee_rules... Not only is @vvvslaxman flexing that he knows celebrity chess players on a first name basis but also has a wife who loves sports and has a job where he is like super important

 

I thought ICF was a safe space for jobless mofos like "us" (Just You and I it seems atm)

coffee_rules Grand Master

coffee_rules

Posted
Posted (edited)
18 minutes ago, Vickydev said:

Look at this @coffee_rules... Not only is @vvvslaxman flexing that he knows celebrity chess players on a first name basis but also has a wife who loves sports and has a job where he is like super important

 

I thought ICF was a safe space for jobless mofos like "us" (Just You and I it seems atm)

I don’t even know who  is Alireza Firouzja.. Should I know or care? #FML. All day, I sit and watch such reels

I can’t sleep at night wondering that did they settle for Kunwar-daan or Launda-den?

 

Edited by coffee_rules
vvvslaxman Grand Master

vvvslaxman

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, Vickydev said:

Look at this @coffee_rules... Not only is @vvvslaxman flexing that he knows celebrity chess players on a first name basis but also has a wife who loves sports and has a job where he is like super important

 

I thought ICF was a safe space for jobless mofos like "us" (Just You and I it seems atm)

That is what i you got from this lol  You know meeting chess celebrity is one of the easiest thing. There is no such thing as chess celebrities. THey are easily approachable. YOu just have to be there where they play.  MOst don't recognize them. It is a niche sports. 

Vickydev Grand Master

Vickydev

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, coffee_rules said:

I don’t even know who  is Alireza Firouzja.. Should I know or care? #FML. All day, I sit and watch such reels

I can’t sleep at night wondering that did they settle for Kunwar-daan or Launda-den?

 

Fascinating stuff...Exactly the kind of content I expect from you. Don't mind if it's the chess thread.:congrats:

 

43 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

That is what i you got from this lol  You know meeting chess celebrity is one of the easiest thing. There is no such thing as chess celebrities. THey are easily approachable. YOu just have to be there where they play.  MOst don't recognize them. It is a niche sports. 

Too late bro, there is no coming back. You are not one of us:no:

Gollum Grand Master

Gollum

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wesley So won the event via playoffs, though he, Caruana, Pragg were tied in the classical part. 

 

Pragg's good year continues, 2785 now, and a clear gap with Arjun/Gukesh. Earlier these 3 were clumped together, always within range. 

 

Poor tournament for Gukesh, Firouzja, Nodirbek. 

vvvslaxman Grand Master

vvvslaxman

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, Gollum said:

Wesley So won the event via playoffs, though he, Caruana, Pragg were tied in the classical part. 

 

Pragg's good year continues, 2785 now, and a clear gap with Arjun/Gukesh. Earlier these 3 were clumped together, always within range. 

 

Poor tournament for Gukesh, Firouzja, Nodirbek. 

Pragg seems to have more fans outside India than Gukesh. Gukesh gets unfairly trolled.

Gollum Grand Master

Gollum

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 8/29/2025 at 5:50 PM, vvvslaxman said:

Pragg seems to have more fans outside India than Gukesh. Gukesh gets unfairly trolled.

If Pragg becomes WC, he too will be trolled. Foreigners liked Gukesh more before last candidates. 

bharathh Grand Master

bharathh

Posted
Posted

To those that play a lot of chess. How often are games different ? I mean - given how many games get played, don't people play the same moves over and over? 

 

Whenever I play (I'm a complete beginner), I go with maybe 2 openings (the knight or the pawn in front of the king/queen). Where does the variation come in? At the level of these folks - they would know the counters to the moves right? 

randomGuy Grand Master

randomGuy

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, bharathh said:

To those that play a lot of chess. How often are games different ? I mean - given how many games get played, don't people play the same moves over and over? 

 

Whenever I play (I'm a complete beginner), I go with maybe 2 openings (the knight or the pawn in front of the king/queen). Where does the variation come in? At the level of these folks - they would know the counters to the moves right? 

Games become new after first 8-10 moves. competitive games lasts 50 moves on average.

 

With black, try to play kan sicilian against 1.e4, it is a quick opening to learn, and gives interesting n dynamic positions to play. With white i play 1.c4 and botvinnik formation. The idea again is to quickly get out of opening and get to the fun part.

 

I started with 30+0 time format then 10+0 then 3+0 and then 1+0...at first 3+0 , 1+0 will be unthinkable for you to play, but later on , if you play more n more (which i suggest strongly against because there are better things to do in life) you will automatically start 3+0,1+0, 2+1 etc. ....most strongest players just play these 3 formats online.

Edited by randomGuy
randomGuy Grand Master

randomGuy

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

Do chess players go through bad patch? Is it a thing there?

Yes, but for gukesh,with his work ethic, his track record and his age, this will probably push him beyond 2800 elo. 

Lord Grand Master

Lord

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

Do chess players go through bad patch? Is it a thing there?

 

Its called tilt. Happens with me when I lose few games in a row :p:

 

Not sure it happens to GMs though 

crictime Mentor

crictime

Posted
Posted
On 9/5/2025 at 4:07 PM, bharathh said:

To those that play a lot of chess. How often are games different ? I mean - given how many games get played, don't people play the same moves over and over? 

 

Whenever I play (I'm a complete beginner), I go with maybe 2 openings (the knight or the pawn in front of the king/queen). Where does the variation come in? At the level of these folks - they would know the counters to the moves right? 

Depends on what level  one is playing. If one is just playing someone who has never even won anything in any chess competitions, then you should end up damaging their positional game or piece/s-up within 3 to 10 moves if not winning as they just are playing non-tournament level chess . These are unrated chess players or those who play chess for time pass. Even tournament players have no answers to so many variations that evolve. To your question, at non tournament or novice skill level, they will not know the main line forget being aware of variations or counter moves. 

 

There are two volumes on just one single chess opening. If someone says he knows every main line and variation of all chess opening along with its theoretical idea and positional images is lying. It is just about being better prepared than your opponent. Even knowledge of  main line is enough to win you games which are not tournament games. Keep it simple if you intend to not play tournaments. Have a process for every move opponent plays. Is there  checkmate threat, double check, perpetual check which gives chance to opponent to win many pieces, a position that you should not allow him to acquire in this main line. Many such check points should be included and thought about before you play your next move.  Add few points like what position you are looking to gain.  Begin with 5 checkpoints every move to cultivate a habit to grow professionally in chess. More than enough to win againts those who do not play chess tournaments. If one needs to take a step ahead, a coach is must nowadays to win tournaments. Like at credentials and achievements of coach before you select one. Do a background check on which tournaments he has participated, how much has he won, his rating if any, chess coaching certification if any etc. A accomplished caoch will hinself boast of his credentials telling you his rating and certifications etc. Background check can be limited in such cases if you have shortlisted the right coach who has been successful at chess.

 

crictime Mentor

crictime

Posted
Posted
On 8/27/2025 at 10:40 PM, vvvslaxman said:

I am just saying. When my best friend tried to get his daughters into chess who are pretty good by the way, few trainers discouraged that they won't make much money. What these guys do is phenomenal. But since it is  niche sports commercilaistion opportunities is less. I talked to a few north Indian colleagues about it. They don't even know who Anand is let alone Gukesh.  

Anand was a step back imo in our times as well. Kasparov was more popular in India and tournament payers looked to analyse Kasparovs matches and openings more than Anand. We hardly studied what Anand did in matches. Magnus Carlsen is getting that popularity in current times.

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