Hello!
In my last month’s blog, we saw which software and engine would best suit chess improvement purposes!
We will look at a bunch of other online resources that provide a lot of value. I regularly visit some of these resources to keep myself up to date with the latest chess information.
Puzzle-solving
Most of you are very used to solving puzzles on Chess.com or Lichess.org. No doubt these are great sites to solve puzzles, but after a certain point, the puzzle patterns are repetitive, and I feel it doesn’t add much chess strength solving them. When I mean a certain point, I mean above 2600+ puzzle rating.
I recommend you keep looping puzzle platforms to get a different flavour of puzzles and then return to your preferred platform.
I would like to share two websites that are very good for solving puzzles
1)Chess Tempo
Chesstempo is used by professional players (players above IM level strength). The puzzles here are unique in comparison to other websites, in my opinion. Chesstempo operates on a freemium model. For most of the Chess Gaja students, the free version is enough, as it packs enough value.
Chesstempo has added many new features like Puzzle Training, Endgame Puzzles, Study Training, Deep Engine evaluation etc., and even I have not experienced many of these features yet. I suggest students use this resource to practise the different training modules available on this platform.
Recommended for – Players above 1800 rating, but generally, any rated player will find it helpful.
2)Chessbolt.org
Chessbolt is a website designed by my friend Saumil Padhya. I enjoy the step-by-step explanation provided when you look at the puzzle solution.
The puzzles are picked from human games, and I find them to have many fresh and unique positions. The best part of this site is that it’s completely FREE to register and access.
It’s a straightforward-looking site from a design perspective and, in my opinion, does the job very well for puzzle solving!
Recommended for – Players above 1000+ level
Podcasts
Chess Podcasts are a new trending thing, and I have seen a bunch of new podcast options in recent days. However, I would recommend the one that has been around for a long time, and that’s the Perpetual Chess Podcast by Ben Johnson.
Perpetual Chess Podcast
The podcast has been around since December 2016. Ben has interviewed all the great chess grandmasters like Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Svidler, Hikaru Nakamura etc.
The podcasts with the legends are absolute gems. You get a sneak peek into not just playing the good moves on the board, but the psychological aspect of playing chess, the thought process, the training process, and the background story behind some of their moves and game choices.
Another great thing about the Perpetual Chess Podcast is that they have interviews with a wide range of personalities like Adult Improvers, Authors, Chess Trainers, Streamers etc. So it gives you much in-depth knowledge about the whole chess ecosystem!
Perpetual Chess Podcast is not for kids who are just starting to learn the game, as it doesn’t have a lot of value for them.
I think there is something to take away from chess enthusiasts, semi-professional, and professional players.
Recommended for – Serious chess players who want to understand how chess legends think. Adult Chess Players looking to get inspired by the chess journey of other chess players. Anyone passionate about chess will find at least a few podcasts to their liking.
Watching Live Games
There are various options to watch live games, and with an ever-increasing amount of tournaments being broadcasted live you gotta find an excellent platform to watch the action live!
I highly recommend the Lichess.org Broadcast service, mainly because the interface is completely free to use, and their board layout, evaluation and such is very user friendly and intuitive.
Another option would be the Chess.com Live Broadcast and it has all the features that Lichess has except the fact that Chess.com is a freemium model website.
If you want to follow live games on your phone, you must have the Follow Chess app for Android and Apple devices.
Reason for the recommendation – Used by most of the Grandmasters to follow games, straightforward user interface, the game details and timings can quickly be followed. The highlight is you can even run an engine to get a quick computer evaluation.
In my next month’s newsletter blog, I will write about more resources that will help you get better at chess!
I hope you liked the article! If you do, please share it with your friends and also let me know in the comments box what topics you would be interested in reading about in the future blogs.
If you have a different opinion on anything mentioned on the blog, please share that in the comments section.
Regards
GrandMaster and FIDE Trainer Priyadharshan Kannappan
