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KDlearns' first introduction to chess was the same as it was for many other people: he was mercilessly destroyed by his older family members and didn't play for years after that. His reintroduction to chess follows another familiar pattern: he started playing daily games with a friend after being inspired by The Queens Gambit.

What follows is a little less conventional. KD started streaming two months into learning chess, in order to keep himself accountable and play on a regular schedule. People started watching, he began collaborating with other chess content creators, and now he finds himself in the middle of the online chess world, with an audience of thousands looking to him for chess advice and entertainment.

Read on to get KD's top tips for chess improvement, ringside stories from the world's biggest chessboxing event, and an insight into the world of chess tennis.

Your YouTube description contains the phrase To learn is to live. Whats the importance of learning for you?

So I equate learning with growth, and I know that if I'm growing, then I'm living; doing the opposite of dyingthat's probably a little bit overdramatic! But in any endeavorchess, tennis, academics, or anything elseif I am learning, it means that I'm making progress and I'm moving forward.

Moving forward in general is kind of what drives me. It's part of the whole the journey is greater than the destination cliche, but for me, making that progress is what makes life exciting. Anything I can do to help others also adopt a similar mentality, thats what Im here for!

Who are some of your favorite chess content creators? Is there anyone in particular who inspires you?

Honestly, over the last two and a half years, I think I've watched at least a little bit of just about everyone. Sometimes it's for research purposes, sometimes it's for pure entertainment, but usually it's for both reasons at the same time!

Obviously, anyone who is a chess content creator has to give a big shout-out to IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess) for being one of the people who's really exploded this whole scene.

But I've also followed a lot of the CSquared podcast, IM Eric Rosen, GM Ben Finegold, and other people like WGM Dina Belenkaya, ToshQueen, Witty_Alien, Gauri Chess The list can go on and on forever. But everyone has their own special voice or their way of presenting or creating or mashing together entertainment and education into a video. Just because I didn't list someone's name specifically doesn't mean I don't watch them and really value their participation in the chess world!

I try to take inspiration from everyone a little bit; I think if I try to take too much inspiration from one single person then it feels too much like I'm being a copycat. What I want to do is be involved in the chess community but also have my own voice.

You've had some interesting chess collaborations, including cardio chess and chess trivia. Whats been your favorite one so far?

You did name two very good ones! Cardio chess is essentially a little play on chessboxing where you combine the mental and physical aspects, but instead of punching each other it's a lot of physical exercises; the more reps you do, the better time odds you get against your opponent in the next round of chess.

I was lucky enough to compete against both chessboxing champion Dina Belenkaya and also against the world chessboxing champion from 2018, Mat Thomas, in that event Both of those are on YouTube. I won't give any spoilers but I'm pretty proud of how some of those went!

On collaborations within the chess world, between creators and even just between members of the chess community, this is one thing that I've been insanely impressed by. When I had a 600 blitz rating, I had people in my community who were 2000+ who were doing study group sessions with me and were just willing to share any and all chess knowledge.

Theres a similar vibe when I reach out to other content creators; everyone's been so receptive to collaborations or sharing information. To me that makes the online chess community such a unique and positive experience for so many people, myself included.

I think Checkmate Trivia Showdown is probably one of my favorite ones. Its a bit more recent but I've been trying to learn more about the chess world, and I feel like learning completely random trivia about chess has been a great way to do that. Its been a fun way to share things like Here's some famous games you might not have known or Here's some completely random grab-bag openings.

I'm researching a lot of stuff so I can put it into the show and then I'm testing all the contestants. That's been one of my favorite collaborations because I want to uncover as much as possible about the chess world and that's helped me do it. And not only do it for myself, but for other people as well!

Imagine you could do a chess-based collab on your stream with anyone in the world. Who would it be, and why?

So recently I've discovered that certain professional tennis players are also big fans of chess. The easy answer here would be Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz, and Andrey Rublev. I think Rublev made the opening move for one of the biggest women's chess tournaments a while back [the 2022 Astana Womens Grand Prix], Federer played with Tani, and Alcaraz has mentioned chess is an important part of his mental game

I played tennis for a couple of decades of my life, including college tennis. When Federer retired, I cried! I'm such a tennis fan, and it was a big part of my identity growing up. So to be able to do something chess-related or even chess-tennis-related with those three would be just absolutely incredible.

I might be crying as I shake hands with Roger; he may not be the official GOAT by the stats and numbers, but he'll always be my favorite. And that's never gonna change.

Speaking of Chess Tennis You recently took part in the Chess Tennis World Championship! How did it go?

It was intimidating, I will say, because I think the format in general favors chess players. So I knew I needed to really perform well in tennis, and then just scrape out a few wins in chess and hope for the best. Unfortunately, I scored four out of seven rounds in tennis and scored two out of seven in chess.

Honestly, two out of seven in chess was my goal, but for tennis I was hoping to get six or even possibly seven out of seven, having previous collegiate tennis experience. The only issue is that I've been playing too much pickleball!

If you're not in the U.S., that might make no sense to you, but it's a newer racket sport predominantly popular in the U.S. and I did not realize how much that was not going to translate back into my tennis game.

I do have to give all my opponents credit; I think this is where the mental toughness required to play chess really does translate to other games. I wasn't playing my best tennis, but these competitors were so mentally tough. They were willing to be gritty and compete as hard as possible, both over the chessboard and on the tennis court. So even though personally I think I should have won a couple more tennis matches, credit to my opponents for sticking it out and getting those wins over me.

But yeah, it was such an interesting combination. I went there alongside IM Eric Rosen, and Eric got to the semifinals, so it was a lot of fun to go through the experience with him throughout the tournament and then also cheer him on in the semis.

What do you think the overlaps are between the two sports (if any)?

I really do think that mental toughness is a huge benefit of chess, and I definitely saw that come through in this tournament.

Another huge aspect is ownership and accountability. Chess and tennis are both very individualistic sports, which means that if you win that is to your credit, but if you lose, that is also your fault. There's no hiding, you are the one responsible for both your success and your failure. I think that puts a lot more pressure on you, but learning to deal with that pressure and learning to be functional in the moment is so important for an athlete or competitor.

I feel like chess and tennis can both teach you super valuable life lessons in that sense.

I found a list of chess books you recommend for improving players. Can you describe the following books in five words each?

Ill do my best!

Silmans Complete Endgame Course. Best overall endgame book ever.

Dvoretskys Endgame Manual. I tried, until I couldnt.

My System by Aron Nimzowitsch. Friend recommended, never readexposed.

Artur Yusupov: Build Up Your Chess (2 & 3). These are great, my five words would be: I want all the stars.

At the end of every chapter, he gives puzzle exercises and their difficulties are 1, 2, and 3 starsyou have to get every variation correct to earn extra stars. But its an amazing series. My Discord community has gone through a lot of the Yusupov books in study group sessions, and its been immensely helpful for me and others in developing our chess.

You create some of the best chess merch out there; fans include Chess.coms very own IM Danny Rensch. Whats your favorite piece of merchandise that youve designed?

I know Danny was sporting the Excuse My French T-shirt while he was commentating on the Chess Clash event! I do like that shirt but I dont think its my favorite, mostly because I dont actually play the French Defense! I have two favorites, theyre kind of close: one is the "Sac! Sac!! Mate." shirt, which has a great move, a brilliant move, and then a period to symbolize that its over.

My other favorite is the one Im wearing right now; on the front theres a little KDlearns logo with a pawn wearing a graduation cap signifying the whole learning process, and on the back theres a pawn looking into a mirror... In the mirror theres a queen, and it says "Trust The Process." It goes with the theme of learning through failure and keeping the end goal in mind.

You were in Dina Belenkayas corner for her chessboxing match. What was that experience like?

Everything about that weekend was quite crazy! Dina is such a badass that I feel like I was more nervous than her. There were multiple times when I was getting starstruck because I was meeting Ludwig and GM Fabiano Caruana and Danny Rensch for the first time, and shes just coaching me through how to act normal around these people! It was like Im supposed to be helping you, not the other way around!

But honestly, I loved every bit of it, getting to meet all sorts of different chess personalities, as well as getting to know Dina better. She has her content personality which is very brash and trash-talking-centric, but shes insanely kind and just amazing to work with. So I was happy to be able to be her videographer and personal hype man in the corner!

Im glad I wasnt the one getting punched because Andrea looked quite scary. It was just an awesome culmination of the competition as well as meeting so many people in person for the first time, like WFM Anna Cramling and all the other people I mentioned earlier.

Overall it was a 10/10 experience except my rental car got stolen, so Im now forever banned from renting from Hertz.

Lastly, you've been quite serious (and successful) about chess improvement over the last couple of years. What advice do you have for people who want to improve their game?

I think I can break this down into three main tips: the first one is my favorite and hopefully everyone elses favorite when they embark on their chess improvement journey: puzzles. Youve gotta do your puzzles, ideally every day. You have to train your board vision, and eventually your puzzles can get more targeted. Recently Ive been doing more endgame puzzles because thats what Ive identified as one of my weaknesses.

Number two would be analyzing your games. Im guilty of this, but I don't mean just clicking the Game Review, smiling at the brilliant move or high accuracy, and moving on. Take the time to actually sit down, review it without the engine first, annotate it, and then double-check your analysis with the engine on. Thats what Ive found really, really helped. I cant do that with every single game that I play, but I try to tell myself I will play 2-5 rapid games throughout the week, and those games I will do a full analysis on. I can still just play random games for fun without any pressure, but 2-5 times a week Ill do my homework and try to push myself forward.

Number three is just consistency. Even if its a little bit every day, working on your chess a little bit is better than working on your chess whenever you feel like it. Building that foundation day by day goes a long way. I try to do five puzzles every day at minimum when pushing for chess improvement, and many days itll turn into a lengthier puzzle session, but getting into the habit of doing it every day really helps.

Consistency is one of the essential parts of delayed gratification. In the modern world of social media and constant dopamine hits, appreciating delayed gratification is something thats a good life skill to have.

You can find KDlearns on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, and Twitch.

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Learning And The Art Of Chess Tennis - Chess.com

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has pulled off the mission impossible of beating world number-one Magnus Carlsen, not in just one match but two, to win the 2023 AI Cup and qualify for the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto. "Maxime was strong and I failed at the critical moments," said Carlsen, after failing to win a game while Vachier-Lagrave won three.

That meant heartbreak for GM Vladimir Fedoseev, whose victory over GM Vladislav Artemiev in the Division II Grand Final would have meant a spot in Toronto if not for Vachier-Lagrave's heroics.

GM Sam Sevian ended the season with the extraordinary feat of winning Division III three times, after also winning two matches against GM Rauf Mamedov.

See what happened

The final day of the AI Cup meant the Grand Final in all three divisions.

To win the AI Cup, Vachier-Lagrave knew that he would first have to beat Carlsen in a four-game match, and then again in a two-game "reset." It was a mountain to climb, but climb it he did!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," a Chinese proverb runs, and for the French grandmaster that step was an extraordinary win in the first game of the first match.

Grand Final: Vachier-Lagrave 2.5-1.5 Carlsen

One of the questions going into the day was whether we would see a repeat of the phenomenally hard-fought and accurate play we'd seen from the same two players in their match two days earlier, when Carlsen had scraped home as the winner with a draw in the final sudden-death game. The answer was yes and no.

The first moves highlighted one difference, since after four Sicilians in that match, Carlsen opened 1.d4, and then Vachier-Lagrave went for the Queen's Gambit Accepted with 1...d5 2.c4 dxc4.

Any expectation of quieter games was dispelled when the Frenchman went for one of his typical pawn sacrifices for activity early in the middlegame, and he was making Carlsen burn up time to preserve a nominal advantage. By the time we reached the endgame, however, a draw looked inevitable, and only the five-time world champion could be better.

Queens have just been exchanged, and if here Carlsen had put his bishop on e5 it's inconceivable that he could have lost with his extra pawn. Instead, however, he went for 28.Bd6?!, allowing Vachier-Lagrave to capture the knight and then the pawn on d4. Carlsen must have held out some hopes for his b-pawn, but instead things went from bad to worse as he soon dropped another pawn.

Maxime later had a sober assessment of the first match: "I think I was quite dominated throughout, but I got this lucky break in game one where he over-pushed and then gave up this pawn on f2, thinking probably that he was forcing a draw, but actually he wasnt."

Carlsen didn't get another chance and found himself having to resign.

It was already clear that Carlsen wasn't at the top of his game, but then neither was Vachier-Lagrave. He commented:

Today I feel like I played a bit worse actually, but Magnus as well was quite tired. I dont know about the quality of the moves, but at least I was missing a lot of ideas for Magnus, and Magnus was also missing a lot of ideas for me. That was not happening two days ago.

The Frenchman also shared his secret to preserving his lead:

Somehow this mix of solidity and finding practical resources to get counterplay, this obviously is one of the things Im very good at, at least I consider myself to be very good at. I did manage this today. Theres something I feel I didnt manage too well todaymy calculation was a bit shaky, but overall its kind of normal. I was feeling tired already from the start of the day and throughout it got worse.

That ability to find resources came in handy in the second game of the day, when Carlsen threatened to take over on the black side of a quiet Berlin Defense before Vachier-Lagrave's counterplay ensured a draw.

Game three, however, was where the former world champion missed a huge chance to hit back. He'd had time to refresh his memory of some sharper replies to the Queen's Gambit Accepted and struck early in the center. Vachier-Lagrave reacted badly and, after some twists and turns, found himself completely lost.

Time was low, but if Carlsen had kept queens on the board, he would have had a huge advantage. Instead, he took on f5 with his queen, going for an endgame. Suddenly the winning margin grew narrow, and soon Black found a way to defend and escape with a draw.

Carlsen had such episodes on his mind when he summed up later: "Im disappointed obviously. I was hoping to do quite a bit better today, but Maxime was strong and I failed at the critical moments, so thats I think a fair outcome."

That meant Carlsen had to win the final game on demand with the black pieces to take the match to armageddon. He switched to the Caro-Kann, but this time nothing went his way, and in fact, Vachier-Lagrave got to launch a kingside attack.

Soon all Carlsen could do was save the game with a draw by perpetual check, but that was fine by Vachier-Lagrave, since it meant he'd won the first match and forced a Grand Final "reset." He managed to retain his momentum in the second, decisive match.

Grand Final Reset: Vachier-Lagrave 2-0 Magnus Carlsen

The key game was again the first, when Carlsen unleashed an extraordinary queen sacrifice.

Vachier-Lagrave said he'd checked this "very briefly," and though he blitzed out his moves he forgot a final touch. Carlsen was on top, but one slip turned the tables. Instead of taking the rook on a8, he played 31.g5? and got hit by 31...Rac8!

He commented:

I just didnt see that he could play Rc8 and threaten Qc2. I was calculating other things. If Id seen that, I would have taken the rook, and I would have had a very, very safe position, and I think presumably good winning chances. So things often go my way, they didnt today, but I think the margins were fine, and, as I said, I think its a fair outcomehe was better today!

GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed that stunning Game of the Day.

That meant Carlsen again had to try and win with the black pieces on demand, and this time he chose the Sicilian. It worked out much better, and the Norwegian seemed to be weaving his magic, until Vachier-Lagrave suddenly went for a bishop sacrifice on h7 that transformed the game.

He explained his reasoning:

I thought it might disrupt the course of the game, because at that moment he had too much flow going for him, all his moves were coming in easy, and I thought, thats not what I want, especially Im down three-four minutes, and he can just apply pressure and play forever, so this was a practical decision. Of course, if it loses by force then I look very stupid, but it worked out very well in the end!

It worked to perfection, though it was also losing by force!

In the end, it seemed Vachier-Lagrave could barely believe he'd done it.

It wasn't only about winning the tournament, since despite only playing Division I once all season, Vachier-Lagrave had qualified to join Carlsen, and GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Denis Lazavik, and Alireza Firouzja, in the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto this December, for a chance to win the $200,000 top prize.

Carlsen saw it as absolutely fitting that Vachier-Lagrave had made it.

Its hard to find a more deserving qualifier for the Finals. Its amazing. I think he was very, very strong in the Speed Chess Championship as well. Over the two and a half matches that we played now, he was better, so its good to see Maxime doing well. There was never any real reason for him to all of a sudden be falling off, so I think this is the level that hes always been capable of playing at, and happy to see him back!

Carlsen had failed to make it three Division I victories in a row (and four total), but he wasn't too downhearted:

Im not going to sit here and be extremely disappointed by losing in the Grand Final against such a field. I always want to win, but he was very strong and I failed at the critical moments, so Im definitely not heartbroken by this loss.

Neither player has long to dwell on the outcome, since they're both flying on Saturday to Albania, where the 2023 European Chess Club Cup team event starts Sunday.

Division I Bracket

For one person to succeed others must fail, and it was tough on Fedoseev, who did his job by beating Artemiev for a second time in this event to win Division II. The match turned on a single win, which Fedoseev scored in the theoretically drawn but notoriously difficult to defend rook and bishop vs. rook endgame.

One careless check by Artemiev and it was over.

112...Kg3! attacked the rook on h4 and also threatened mate-in-1 by bringing the rook to the a1-square. Artemiev allowed checkmate on the board.

That looked likely to mean a dream day, and tournament, for Fedoseev.

In the end, however, Vachier-Lagrave denied Fedoseev a spot in Toronto.

Division II Bracket

Sevian, meanwhile, has carved out a niche for himself as the absolutely dominant force in Division III. He scored a third victory by "doing a Vachier-Lagrave" and coming from the Losers bracket to beat Mamedov twice on the same day and clinch the title.

Division III Bracket

The Champions Chess Tour 2023 (CCT) is the biggest online tournament of the year. It is composed of six events that span the entire year and culminate in live in-person finals. With the best players in the world and a prize fund of $2,000,000, the CCT is Chess.com's most important event.

Previous Coverage

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AI Cup: MVL Pulls Off Mission Impossible, Beats Carlsen TWICE To ... - Chess.com

"Obviously, it's very disheartening to be accused of cheating," chess grandmaster Hans Niemann said. Asked about a bizarre idea that vibrating anal beads could signal players about the best moves, he replied, "That is not a serious theory." Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

"Obviously, it's very disheartening to be accused of cheating," chess grandmaster Hans Niemann said. Asked about a bizarre idea that vibrating anal beads could signal players about the best moves, he replied, "That is not a serious theory."

Chess prodigy Hans Niemann says he is "unfazed, perspicacious, and composed" as he competes in the World Junior Chess Championship. But Niemann is also answering questions about an improbable method of cheating, one year after controversy took over the chess world.

"Have you ever used anal beads while playing chess?" Piers Morgan asked Niemann on Monday's episode of his talk show.

"Your curiosity is a bit concerning, you know, maybe you're personally interested," Niemann replied as Morgan persisted in asking about the bizarre idea. "But I can tell you no."

The theory came up repeatedly during the nearly 20-minute interview, in which Niemann spoke directly about cheating allegations against him, his recently resolved lawsuit against five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen and the Chess.com website, and his attempts to move on after making mistakes.

Drama erupted in elite chess last September when Carlsen called Niemann a cheater after losing to him. Niemann says his victory was fair and square.

Online, the drama generated slews of "what-if" theories, as chess players and fans debated whether and how it might be possible for a player to cheat during in-person or "over-the-board" games. Some discussed a buzzer that could fit into a shoe. But a next-level and hopefully, purely hypothetical idea got the most attention: anal beads that could vibrate via remote command to guide a player's moves.

The bead theory came from chess commentator Eric Hansen; it was then picked up by Elon Musk in a since-deleted tweet. That brings us to Piers Morgan, who did his best to get to the bottom of it all.

"Obviously, it's very disheartening to be accused of cheating after that victory" over Carlsen, Niemann said of the allegation. As Morgan pressed for more answers about anal beads, the young chess grandmaster added, "That is not a serious theory. That was something that was taken out of context and that was never a serious thing."

This month, Niemann, 20, entered the World Junior Chess Championship with the tournament's top ranking. Worldwide, he is currently ranked at No. 69, with Carlsen at the No. 1 spot.

Niemann says he has learned from his mistakes, and also from being pilloried by other chess players and some media outlets.

But he has also admitted to cheating during online chess games twice, when he was 12 and 16 years old. Niemann insists he hasn't cheated since, and never in an over-the-board game. Last year, Chess.com released a report accusing him of cheating in more than 100 games an accusation Niemann says is unfounded.

In a sport long associated with young prodigies, suspicions have spread beyond Niemann's case. Consider former world champion Vladimir Kramnick's recent announcement that he will no longer play matches on Chess.com, saying there were "[just] too many obvious cheaters here and nothing is done to clean the platform from those small crooks."

One week before Kramnick made those comments, he lost two games to Niemann. But Niemann notes that Kramnick didn't single him out. And he says he has proven himself in the past year.

"In over-the-board tournaments, I have continued to play chess at a very, very high level," he told Morgan.

When Niemann's $100 million lawsuit was resolved, Chess.com issued a statement saying that while it stands by its report on Niemann from last October, it also reiterated, "we found no determinative evidence that he has cheated in any in-person games."

Carlsen also seemed ready to move forward, stating, "I am willing to play Niemann in future events, should we be paired together."

Niemann says Carlsen and others tried to bully him. He also says he's ready to play the Norwegian again if and when they're matched against each other in a tournament.

"You know, it's not gonna be the last time that I beat him," Niemann said during the interview with Morgan.

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Chess scandal: Hans Niemann denies using vibrating beads to cheat - NPR

Chess returns to Villa Marina in Douglas, Isle of Man

Preview of the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss & the FIDE Womens Grand Swiss

Press releasy by FIDE

The Isle of Man plays host once more to the chess world's creme de la creme, as the 3rd FIDE Grand Swiss and 2nd FIDE Womens Grand Swiss tournaments are set to launch on 25 October

The return of these prestigious world championship qualifying competitions to the Isle of Man marks a momentous occasion. Over the course of 12 days, from 25 October to 5 November, the island in the Irish Sea will emerge as the epicentre of the chess world, hosting an elite assembly of top-tier players fighting for the prizes, prestige and a spot in the 2024 Candidates.

Having debuted on the island in 2019, the tournaments are back in the familiar and distinguished setting of the Villa Marina, located along the island's picturesque seafront in the capital city of Douglas. This venue hosted five editions of the Chess.com Isle of Man Masters tournaments between 2014 and 2018, as well as the 2005 British Chess Championship.

Both open and womens tournaments consist of eleven rounds, with one rest day after the first six rounds (on Tuesday, 31 October) and the final round 11 being played on Sunday 5 November, followed on the same day by the closing ceremony. Once again, the event enjoys the generous patronage of the Scheinberg family, with a prize fund to the tune of US$600,000, part of a seven-figure sponsorship package. The first three prizes in the open tournament are $80,000, $60,000 and $40,000 and, in the womens tournament, $25,000, $17,500 and $15,000, respectively, with further prizes for those finishing below the top three places.

Alan Ormsby (Isle of Man) is the tournament director, IA Alex Holowczak (England) is the chief arbiter of the Grand Swiss and IA Ana Srebrni (Slovenia) will serve as the chief arbiter of the Womens Grand Swiss.

Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

The primary function of both tournaments is as world championship qualifiers, with the two highest-placed players from each going forward to the two 2024 FIDE World Candidates tournaments.

As in previous editions this is made a little complicated by the inclusion in the field of players who are already qualified for next years eight-player Candidates event who still wish to take part in the Grand Swiss.

The Isle of Man line-up features a handful of players who have already qualified for the Candidates via the recent FIDE World Cup competitions: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (India), Fabiano Caruana (USA) who were the runner-up and third-place finisher, respectively, in the month-long Baku knock-out competition. If they were to figure in the top two places in the Grand Swiss, the next player down from them on the final score table would qualify for the Candidates. Similarly, in the womens competition, there are three players competing in the Isle of Man who have already qualified for the 2024 FIDE Womens Candidates tournament, namely Aleksandra Goryachkina (competing under the FIDE flag), Nurgyul Salimova (Bulgaria) and Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), so the same scenario applies if they also finish in the top two in the Womens Grand Swiss.

Only the worlds best can take part in the Grand Swiss, having had to compete within a rigorous set of requirements. This is all to ensure that the great majority of the competitors have a realistic chance of going further in the world championship cycle, plus a handful of continental and local nominees. The Grand Swiss features 21 players rated 2700+ and a further 73 rated 2600+. That leaves a further 15 to complete the field, of whom two are rated below 2400, being representatives of the host country.

Very few Swiss tournaments in chess history have approached this level of strength in depth, with notable exceptions being the two previous Grand Swiss competitions, plus the 2017 Chess.com Isle of Man Masters won by Magnus Carlsen.

The two highest-rated contenders are both Americans: Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. There is a sense that neither is under pressure to succeed, for different reasons. Caruana is already through to the Candidates, so he will be in the Isle of Man for the money and the prestige. Having narrowly failed to become world champion in 2018 he became the only losing finalist in world championship history not to lose a classical game to the eventual winner he went through a relatively fallow period of recovery but now seems to be flexing his muscles once again. Good results in the Superbet Bucharest Classic in May and the FIDE World Cup in August bode well for the renewal of his assault on the world championship. A victory in the Grand Swiss which would be a second straight success in the Isle of Man, where he finished 1st= in 2019 would be another morale booster going into next years Candidates showdown.

Hikaru Nakamura (left) meeting Fabiano Caruana in the last round of the 2019 Grand Swiss. They are the top seeds in the 2023 event (photo Maria Emelianova/chess.com)

Hikaru Nakamuras reason for being relatively relaxed about his performance in the Grand Swiss is different. Two or three years ago his burgeoning career as a chess streamer seemed to indicate a dwindling interest in over the board play, or at least classical chess, but a strong showing in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix saw him regain his status in the longer form of the game. His victory in Norway Chess 2023, ahead of both Carlsen and Caruana, took him to second place in the FIDE ratings for the first time since 2015. Nakamuras experience and success in strong Swiss events he has four Gibraltar Masters titles under his belt, including three consecutive wins from 2015 to 2017 make him a strong contender in the 2023 Grand Swiss.

Alireza Firouzja, now of France and rated third in the tournament line-up, will be playing in the Isle of Man for the first time. At the time of the 2019 Grand Swiss, he was a star on the horizon. During that tournament, the director of the Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee Jeroen van den Berg told me that he had invited the young Iranian for the next edition of the legendary Dutch tournament. Firouzja scored a 50% score on that occasion, his first appearance in an elite event, but made rapid progress during the following two years, culminating in his victory at the November 2021 Grand Swiss tournament held in Riga, thereby qualifying for the 2022 Candidates Tournament. His progress since then has been steady, if not meteoric, with few classical chess appearances. At 20, the best is yet to come.

Alireza will make his first appearance in the Isle of Man (Photo: Grand Chess Tour/ Lennart Ootes)

Anish Giri is fourth in the Grand Swiss line-up. He has long been one of the most richly talented players in the world but at 29, in a chess world whose stars are getting ever younger, he may be close to his peak. This year has been successful for the mercurial Dutchman, with a win in the Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee Masters, beating the then current and soon-to-be world champions Carlsen and Ding Liren along the way. Then, for good measure, he added another individual win against Ding Liren in the Bucharest Superbet Classic in May, though he did not win that event. His playful posts on social media give the impression of someone who is satisfied with his current status and lifestyle but perhaps that masks a more serious attitude and a steely ambition to reach the top. Giri has played in the Isle of Man once previously, in 2018, as top seed level with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian, when he was unbeaten on 6/9 to finish 10th.

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It is hard to believe that Dommaraju Gukesh (better known in the press as Gukesh D) is still only 17. And perhaps even harder to believe that he was only 13 when he scored 6/11, bracketed with 21 players rated in the 2600s, four years ago in the 2019 Grand Swiss here. In that time, Gukesh has soared past the 2600 level to an eye-watering 2758 on the September 2023 rating list eighth place in the world, one place ahead of his great Chennai predecessor, Vishy Anand. The maturity of his play mirrors the extraordinary calmness of his bearing, both at the board and away from it. Since a slightly negative start to 2023 with 5/13 at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee, Gukesh has steadily accumulated rating points during the year in events in Menorca, Dusseldorf (including a win versus rival Praggnanandhaa), Stavanger (including a win versus Firouzja), Ankara and the FIDE World Cup in Baku. His victims in the latter competition included Wang Hao, who won the 2019 Grand Swiss, before losing in the fifth round to eventual winner Magnus Carlsen. With a trajectory as impressive as this, it seems only a matter of time before he challenges for the world title.

Still only 17, Gukesh has recently overtaken former world champion Viswanathan Anand in the rating list (photo: Lennart Ootes)

The 27-year-old Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport, who now represents Romania, is ranked fifth in the Grand Swiss line-up and 11th in the current world rating list. He has been a grandmaster since shortly before his 14th birthday. His year started with a 6/13 performance in the Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee event. During that tournament, he defeated Ding Liren, but in April he found himself on the same side of the board as the Chinese player as he acted as his second for his successful conquest of the world championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Subsequently, his only classical chess has been in the Bucharest Superbet Classic where he made a plus one score with no losses. Rapport, who lives with his wife Jovana Vojinovic in Belgrade, is known for his aggressive style of play. Rapport didnt take part in the 2023 FIDE World Cup but is one of five players from the 2022 Candidates tournament to take part in the 2023 Grand Swiss, so he will be attempting to qualify for his second successive Candidates event.

World number 15 Levon Aronian will turn 41 the day after the Grand Swiss ends, so I fear he will have to endure being referred to as a veteran by me and other chess writers. The Armenian/US star made a par score at Wijk aan Zee to start the year, but showed he is still a force to be reckoned with in winning the WR Masters in Dusseldorf in March ahead of a stellar field, despite losing a game to Ian Nepomniachtchi. He did not take part in the FIDE World Cup in Baku. He will be making his third appearance in the Isle of Man, having scored a modest 5/9 in the 2018 Chess.com Isle of Man Masters but a stronger 7/11 in the 2019 Grand Swiss. Aronian took part in the 2007 FIDE World Championship tournament, but it is fair to say that his results in this and subsequent Candidates tournaments have been generally disappointing. He failed to qualify for the 2020 Candidates and finished last in 2018. Could the 2023 Grand Swiss mark his last hurrah as a credible candidate for the world title?

Levon Aronian drew with Magnus Carlsen in the last round of the 2019 Grand Swiss. They tied for 3rd place behind Wang Hao and Fabiano Caruana. Photo: John Saunders

Alexander Grischuk turns 40 a few weeks after the Grand Swiss ends, so he joins Aronian in the veteran category. Like the Armenian, Grischuk took part in the 2007 World Championship tournament in Mexico City but suffered a similarly disappointing result. His best performance in a world championship qualifier was in 2011 when he defeated Aronian and Kramnik in short matches before losing to Boris Gelfand in the match to decide the challenger to Vishy Anand. His classical chess appearances in 2023 have been confined to a team event in Sochi in June and the FIDE World Cup when he went out in the second round, defeated in rapid/blitz play-offs by the Iranian grandmaster Bardiya Daneshvar after two draws in the classical games. Grischuk will be making his third appearance in the Isle of Man: in 2018 he scored 6/9, half a point behind the joint winners, and at the 2019 Grand Swiss, 7/11.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (more commonly Praggnanandhaa or simply Prag), along with Firouzja and Gukesh, forms the teenaged triumvirate that threatens to take the chess world by storm. Just 18, the brilliant youngster from Chennai astonished the world in August when he fought his way through to the final of the gruelling, four-week FIDE World Cup in Baku. His list of victims along the way comprised Maxime Lagarde, David Navara and then Hikaru Nakamura (in a rapid play-off probably an even greater achievement than beating the American quickplay wizard at classical chess). That wasnt the half of it, literally, as he still had to overcome Ferenc Berkes, Arjun Erigaisi and Fabiano Caruana before coming face to face with Magnus Carlsen, who was trying to win one title that had eluded him as world champion. Prag held Carlsen 1-1 in the classical games before succumbing in a rapid shoot-out, but his achievement in reaching the final was sensational enough and reverberated throughout the world, particularly in India, where he was seen being borne aloft by cheering crowds on arrival home and on his return to school.

Praggnanandhaa looking self-confident at the 2018 Isle of Man Masters (photo: John Saunders)

Like Gukesh, Prag seems unaffected by all the ballyhoo going on around him. Perhaps his mere appearance in the Isle of Man is testament to this, since he is already qualified for the Candidates tournament, showing he is simply keen to get the chance to cross swords with the elite. Of which he is now definitely a member, of course. Prag first played in the Isle of Man Masters in 2016 when he scored an excellent 5/9 as an 11-year-old, beating a 2645-rated GM in the final round. He made the same score in the significantly stronger 2017 Isle of Man Masters, taking a point off David Howell along the way, then 5/9 in 2018. With a win against current world champion Ding Liren under his belt already, Prag must already be focused on the world championship crown.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave completes the list of the ten highest-rated starters in the 2023 Grand Swiss. As someone very close in age to Magnus Carlsen the Frenchman is a month older than the Norwegian it would be easy to argue that MVLs opportunities of challenging for the world title had come and gone, but perhaps it is more a matter of motivation than age. Some excellent results in 2021 and 2022 (first in the Shenzhen Masters and the Bucharest Superbet Classic) suggest he is still a strong contender. He has been less successful than others at qualifying for Candidates tournaments, but when his chance came in 2020/2021, as a replacement after Radjabov withdrew, his challenge was the victim of force majeure. The first leg of the double-cycle tournament saw him defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi and thus share the lead with the Russian, a point clear of the field, but at that point, the tournament had to be suspended due to the Covid-19 outbreak. It was not resumed until a year later when MVL started with a loss to Caruana, after which he was unable to make up the leeway on Nepomniachtchi though still finishing second.

In 2023 MVLs classical chess appearances have been in the Bundesliga, the Bucharest Superbet Classic (where he made a par score) and the FIDE World Cup, in which he was eliminated in round three by the 17-year-old Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov, who is also in the Grand Swiss line-up.

There is nothing to say that the winner of the Grand Swiss will come from the ten players featured above. That still leaves another 11 players rated over 2700 in the field who all have a realistic chance of doing well, not to mention the huge phalanx of players in the 2600 range. Ill pick out a few names... Jan-Krzysztof Duda reached the 2022 Candidates final and will be keen to do so again. Yu Yangyi has been active in Sharjah, Dubai and Baku (where he went out to Etienne Bacrot in a play-off): perhaps surprisingly, he is the only Chinese-registered player in the Grand Swiss line-up. England will be pinning its hopes on Nikita Vitiugov, who will be playing his first major event under the aegis of his new federation.

Regarding the teenaged triumvirate mentioned above: you may feel that my arithmetic is awry there as there are some more teenagers sporting 2700+ ratings, namely Vincent Keymer (Germany, aged 19), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan, 19) and Arjun Erigaisi (India): OK, the latter is now 20 but only just. Like Gukesh, Erigaisi reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, while Keymer went out to Carlsen in round four despite beating the former world champion in their first game. Abdusattorov suffered an early exit in the World Cup but performed well in the 2023 Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee tournament, leading with a round to go but then losing to Jorden van Foreest and being overtaken by Anish Giri.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, playing Pavel Eljanov at the 2019 Grand Swiss (Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com)

Other young stars to look for, further down the rating list: Nihal Sarin (India, 19) is a few points short of the 2700 mark and has impressed in the Isle of Man on previous occasions, while Hans Niemann (USA, 20 in June) was 2708 as of last May but has since slipped to 2667. Hes been very active in 2023 but slipped in rating until an encouraging upswing in September saw him regain some points. At the time of writing Niemann is competing in the world junior championship in Mexico. We then have IM Ihor Samunenkov from Ukraine, who received a wild card for the event. The 14-year-old IM made headlines in 2021 when at the age of 12, he became the Ukrainian Champion! Currently rated 2515, Ihor is the world's number two among players under-14 after GM Abhimanyu Mishra, who is also taking part in the Grand Swiss. Mishra is just 14 years old but hes been a grandmaster for two years already, having beaten Sergei Karjakins record for being the youngest player to qualify for the title. As of September 2023, his rating stands at 2599. He has surpassed rating performances of 2730+ twice in the past year so is on a similar trajectory to the other older teenagers in the field.

Then there is IM Ediz Gurel from Turkey already a well-known face in the chess world who created a huge upset in the World Cup, beating the Serbian GM Velimir Ivic in just 28 moves. With an ELO of 2512, Gurel is the strongest 15-year-old in the world, rightfully receiving the wild card for the Grand Swiss where will be a difficult nut to crack for his opponents.

The Grand Swiss is not just about the young stars, of course: some famous established stars will be doing battle too. For example, Alexei Shirov, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Boris Gelfand and the 2002 FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov are to be found in the list of competitors at numbers 46, 47, 51 and 64, respectively: all players who have either won the world title or else qualified for a world title match. It may seem incredible to see those numbers matched to those names, but it underlines the amazing strength in depth of the field.

A pensive Boris Gelfand at the 2019 Grand Swiss (photo: John Saunders)

Alongside the 100+ GMs, there are seven IMs and just one untitled player competing. A few pointers about those players... 18-year-old IM Elham Amar of Norway is being talked about as a major talent in the making, in a country which knows a thing or two about brilliant young players. England has a second player in the line-up, 14-year-old IM Shreyas Royal. Shrez is the countrys great hope for the future, and recently enjoyed a close encounter with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the announcement was made of a 500,000 investment in British chess over the next two years. Shrez chalked up his first GM norm last year at a younger age than David Howell, so much is expected of him.

The Isle of Man is itself represented in the Grand Swiss by IM Dietmar Kolbus and Li Wu. Youll note that their names appear in the list of competitors with the designation IOM as the Isle of Man is now an affiliate organisation of FIDE and treated as a federation in many respects. Both are strong players with good track records in domestic UK competitions notably the 4NCL (Four Nations Chess League) a.k.a. the British Team Championship, which Manx Liberty have won for the past two seasons but the opposition they face in the Grand Swiss will be, shall we say, challenging.

Alongside the (open) Grand Swiss is the 2023 FIDE Womens Grand Swiss, being held for the second time after the inaugural event in 2021 in Riga. The field consists of 50 qualified and (in a few cases) nominated players.

Aleksandra Goryachkina, ranked third in the world after Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun, is probably the favourite to win this tournament. Though the gap between her and the next group of players is not huge in rating terms, she is a little bit younger (at 25) and in good form having won the FIDE Womens World Cup in August. There, her progress was smooth as far as the quarter-final where she needed rapid games to eliminate Harika Dronavalli. She then defeated former world champion Tan Zhongyi in the semi-final (partial revenge for being knocked out of the 2022/23 Candidates tournament by the Chinese player) before once again needing rapid games (and a bit of good fortune) to see off Nurgyul Salimova in the final. This success qualified her for the Candidates tournament, so a victory in the Isle of Man would be icing on the cake. Having said, she is in good form in terms of recent success, her rating has suffered a little since its peak at 2611 in May 2021. Though she gained some points in the Grand Prix event in New Delhi in May, she lost more in the (open) European Individual Championship in Serbia in April and also in the Cyprus Grand Prix tournament in June, where Dinara Wagner (Germany) was the surprise winner.

Aleksandra is coming to the Isle of Man fresh from winning FIDE Womens World Cup (Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com)

Goryachkinas closest rating rivals are all former womens world champions. Alexandra Kosteniuk, ranked second in the line-up and seventh in the world, has switched federation from Russia to Switzerland this year. Having lost to Goryachkina in the 2022/2023 Candidates eliminator, she bounced back with victory in the Munich leg of the FIDE Grand Prix in March, then not so well in the Cyprus event before finishing first equal in the Cairns Cup in Saint Louis, USA, in July. In the 2023 FIDE World Cup she was surprisingly eliminated by Serbian IM Teodora Injac in the third round.

Tan Zhongyi is third-ranked player in the line-up in the 2023 FIDE Womens Grand Swiss and currently ranked ninth in the world. Coming into 2023 following a comfortable win in the Chinese Womens Championship, she then defeated Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina in the quarter and semi-finals of the 2022/23 Candidates before being eliminated in the final by Lei Tingjie. She was mildly below par in the Munich Grand Prix but then suffered a defeat at the hands of Lei Tingjie in the Candidates final in May. Her World Cup aspirations were ended by Goryachkina in the semi-finals. She is the only Chinese player in the line-up, perhaps surprisingly for a country that has dominated womens chess for so long.

Tan Zhongyi is only Chinese player in the 2023 FIDE Womens Grand Swiss line-up (Photo: Timur Sattarov)

Ranked fourth and fifth in the Womens Grand Swiss line-up are Ukrainian sisters Mariya and Anna Muzychuk, currently rated within seven points of each other. Both lost to Lei Tingjie in the Candidates eliminators. The two then went head-to-head in round four of the World Cup when elder sister Anna won through in a rapid play-off, proceeding eventually to the semi-final where she lost to Nurgyul Salimova. However, she then won a 3rd/4th place play-off against Tan Zhongyi to secure her place in the 2024 Candidates competition. Thus, the pressure is on Mariya Muzychuk to secure her place via the Grand Swiss as her rating lags behind Humpy Koneru, who is likely to receive the final Candidates place by dint of her position in the womens rankings.

Those are the five highest-rated players but there are no fewer than ten other holders of the (full) GM title who might challenge them, not to mention a few other up-and-coming players. Close in rating to the Muzychuk sisters are Harika Dronavalli (India) and Polina Shuvalova (FIDE). The 19-year-old Kazakh IM Bibisara Assaubayeva is a rising player, as is the 24-year-old Kalmyk-born German WGM Dinara Wagner after her astonishing victory and full GM norm in the Nicosia leg of the Grand Prix in June (after finishing last in Munich previously), followed by another first place in the Dortmund Sparkassen tournament in the same month. Another player to follow will be Nurgyul Salimova, after her remarkable success in reaching the final of the World Cup, thus clinching a place in the 2024 Candidates. She is 27th in the Isle of Man rankings.

Harika Dronavalli was the top female scorer in the 2019 Grand Swiss: now there is a separate Women's Grand Swiss in which she is sixth seed (photo: John Saunders)

As well as Harika Dronavalli, India will be looking to Rameshbabu Vaishali, sister of Praggnanandhaa, and 21-year-old Agrawal Vantika to challenge for a high place. IM Tania Sachdev, so often with a microphone in her hand these days, will be back at the board in the Isle of Man, playing her first classical chess of 2023. Another young Indian player to look out for will be Shri B Savitha, a 16-year-old player already rated 2375 and with a world under-12 title to her name.

Other familiar faces in the line-up will be the evergreen Pia Cramling and former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova. Neither has been involved in Womens World Championship or World Cup action recently, but they have still kept their hand in this year with some team chess and domestic events.

There is just the one US player in the field, but she is definitely one to watch. Alice Lee wont turn 14 until a few days after the tournament but already holds the IM title and is just a few points short of 2400. After finishing 5th= in the 2022 US Womens Championship, shes been piling on the rating points in 2023, notably in a norm tournament in Saint Louis in January, and then the American Cup where she scored wins against Irina Krush, Nazi Paikidze and Atousa Pourkashiyan in coming second to the first-named in a rapid play-off. She completed her third IM norm during the 2023 Canadian Transnational Championship in June, beating two GMs and achieving a performance rating of 2531.

...114 players

...50 players

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The Isle of Man's grand chess spectacle - ChessBase

GM Nihal Sarin soared to dizzying heights and amassed a total score of 294 in September's fourth Bullet Brawl. Thanks to 78 wins, six draws, and just three losses during the two-hour arena, Nihal finished ahead of 10-time victor GM Hikaru Nakamura (251) and GM Andrew Tang (214) en route to claiming the $400 first prize.

FM Anastasia Avramidou was the winner of the $100 best female prize once again. In Saturday's edition, she placed 15th overall, the highest positioning of a female player in Bullet Brawl so far.

In the 263-player strong community event, user "Carbonara_bonne" garnered a 237 score after winning 66 games and conceding nine.

The next edition of Bullet Brawl will take place next week on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

How to review games?The games from September's fourth Bullet Brawl can be found here.

A new multi-time Bullet Brawl winner has emerged in Indian prodigy Nihal and the Kerala native announced himself in style in the latest edition. Having reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 Speed Chess Championship and winning Titled Tuesday's late tournament four days ago, Nihal put on an exhibition in Saturday's event.

In September's third edition, we reported that Nakamura had set a new record for the longest undefeated streak in Bullet Brawl history (46 games). However, history has been rewritten just seven days later with Nihal's 56-game unbeaten run. The world number-43's opponents were no easy-beats either, and his run featured an array of wins over dangerous GMs including Jose Martinez, Sergei Zhigalko, Oleksandr Bortnyk, Andrew Hong, and Shamsiddin Vokhidov.

One notable aspect of Nihal's performance was his ability to win games in fewer than 30 moves, a skill that came in handy later in the event as he staved off a comeback from the indomitable Nakamura.

The eventual first- and second-place getters played only once during the two-hour arena, a game which the 19-year-old Sarin was able to win in a clinical fashion in a rook endgame arising from the Modern Defense.

Tang, who placed third, also made an impression with his tactical mastery, which was on full display in his 24-move victory over WFM Marija Larina and earlier against Iranian GM Amin Tabatabaei.

In Bullet Brawl events over the weekend, 108 titled and 263 untitled players participated, and with a healthy weekly prize fund on offer, the world's top bullet chess players will continue to pit themselves against each other in the popular arena.

Standings

Bullet Brawl is an exciting new titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists and now takes place weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control; the prize fund is $1,000.

Much like Titled Tuesday and Arena Kings, Bullet Brawl often features top GMs, including Hikaru Nakamura, Daniel Naroditsky, Andrew Tang, Tuan Minh Le, and many more!

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Nihal Sets Record With 56-Game Unbeaten Run - Chess.com