Chess Digest #1
Feb 1 – 7, 2025
Whether you're a casual fan or a serious player, this weekly (or every 2 weeks) roundup will keep you updated on the biggest chess news, exciting matches, insightful podcasts, and underrated creators in the chess world. From top-level tournaments to hidden gems on YouTube, we've got you covered. Let's dive into this week's highlights!
📰 News
- 📰 Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam Tour has begun on Feb 7 [watch on YouTube]
- 📰 FIDE didn't agree to a recognition of World Champion Title for Freestyle Chess Tour winner, [read official statement], Freestyle Chess responded by sending an open letter to Arkady Dvorkovic and FIDE
- 📰 Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is the Champion of Tata Steel Masters 2025, he clinched the "Wimbledon of Chess" title in the blitz tiebreaker against current world champion Gukesh D
- 📰 GM Richard Rapport and GM Andrey Esipenko will compete in a 1v1 match! [reddit post]
🎙️ Podcasts
- 🎙️ C-Squared: discussion about what went wrong at Tata Steel for Fabiano Caruana, they also touch disputes between Freestyle Chess and FIDE [watch on youtube]
- 🎙️ Dojo Talks released 2 podcasts, Should There be a "Super Grand Master" (SGM) title? [watch on youtube] and The Psychology of Goals with invited guest Dr. Joel Sneed [watch on yt]
- 🎙️ Circle Chess announced Gukesh's 1st podcast as a world champion, will be released on Feb 10 [watch trailer on youtube]
⚡️️ Speedruns
- ⚡️️ GM Daniel Naroditsky's educational speedrun, ~1600 elo, featuring how to play against Elephant Gambit with white pieces, Sicilian Najdorf with black (against Bowdler attack), Alapin Sicilian with white [watch on youtube]
- ⚡️️ IM Eric Rosen's instructional speedrun episode #84, featuring 5 games with various openings and ideas: Queen's Gambit Declined with black, 2 games in London System with white, Scotch Transposition (as white) Sicilian (as black) against 2300+ rated opponents [watch on youtube]
- ⚡️️ NM Luke Calhoum's speedrun part 3, in 1200-1300 rating range, featuring ideas in Philidor Defence [watch on youtube]
🌟 Community Spotlight
In this section we want to highlight new chess creators to help them grow and encourage for more content. One of such rising stars is Duglet's chess youtube channel, it's a mix of instructional chess content from 2400+ rated player on chess com on Openings, Opening Traps and strategic ideas e.g. Caro Kann Players HATE Facing This Brilliant 12 Move Trap as well as entertaining and fun to watch videos such as How I beat Anna Cramling using the cow.
Definitely check these videos out and don't forget to subscribe if you like them to help chess creators grow!
P.s If you're a chess creator (under 5k subs) who consistently puts out chess content online either it's articles or videos - let us know at digest@puzzlik.com if you want to be featured in the next episodes of Chess Digest.