r/chess Weekly Discussion Thread

he was also winning in game number 1.

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

Game link: https://www.chess.com/events/2026-clutch-chess-champions-showdown/03/Nakamura_Hikaru-Praggnanandhaa_R

Forgive my mid elo but is this a weird setup or what. Pretty obvious move is K-C3 fork, right? Lol… politicians love a photo op

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

https://www.chess.com/events/2026-clutch-chess-champions-showdown/05/Praggnanandhaa_R-Caruana_Fabiano

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.

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.😄

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

Garry Kasparov has said that his criticism of World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju "still stands", but he still gives Gukesh slightly better chances in the upcoming World Championship match against Javokhir Sindarov. The former World Champion spoke at a press conference in Antwerp on 21 October 2026, ahead of a simultaneous exhibition at the KMSKA museum, as reported by Sport in Antwerpen.

Kasparov criticised Gukesh's form since winning the 2024 World Championship. "Like Magnus Carlsen, I was fiercely critical of Gukesh. And that criticism still stands," Kasparov said. He added that Gukesh "didn't make a good impression at the Olympiad", but that a match against a single opponent is "completely different".

"As far as I can judge, Sindarov provides more entertainment, but experience is important. And Gukesh has that. You can hardly beat Gukesh. That is why I give him slightly more chances," said Kasparov. "It is not important how long you prepare for a match. Experience is usually the deciding factor."

He described Gukesh as a more defensive player, comparing him to "a tennis player who does not come off the baseline". But he left the door open for Sindarov: "You never know. If Sindarov takes the lead, he might be able to beat him.

In my childhood, I came into contact with a dangerous drug due to a mistaken judgment. Because of that, I lived as a slave to drugs even after becoming an adult. I was not human.

Then, two years ago, I happened to come across chess. I became interested after watching a Grandmaster stream on YouTube.

Chess was amazing. While I was focused on the chessboard, I didn't feel any craving for drugs at all.

It felt as if the craving to use more drugs had been replaced by the desire to play chess better.

I have been playing chess every single day for two years. Solve puzzles, practice coordinates, and play rapid matches every day.

And for two years, I never once used drugs, nor did I ever feel the desire to.

Chess saved my life.

Hi! i‘m 14 and i have been playing chess recently, i played a few matches on chess.com because i wanted to see where my Elo is (its currently 136 because i‘ve lost some matches) when i was younger i was playing with my grandfather sometimes. Do you guys have any tips to improve?

By Lesnik

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 have been following chess for more than 2 years now, and one thing that I have come to realize is that the content and top tournaments are so random and inconsistent in terms of entertainment. For once, you will have so much that it's hard to follow, and then, all of a sudden, there is literally nothing. And this cycle continues.

What are your thoughts on this?

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.

With Gukesh defending his title against Sindarov, I'm curious how much weight people give to recent form versus experience in a World Championship match.

Sindarov has shown remarkable consistency lately, while Gukesh has already demonstrated that he can handle the pressure of a title match, despite some inconsistent results since then.

But World Championships are different from regular tournaments. Preparation, psychological resilience and the ability to recover after a loss can matter just as much as playing strength.

Gary has just said that same thing about Gukesh.

Who do you think has the advantage, and why? More interested in chess-based arguments than just predictions.

Can black play to win? Black is down a knight and 2 pawns.

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