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The guides
Everything we can defend over a board — researched properly, annotated dryly, and written for players who already know the difference between a plan and a trap.
Chess.com Diamond vs Platinum: Which Should You Buy in 2026?
Platinum already includes unlimited Game Review, puzzles and lessons. Diamond adds per-move coach explanations, Insights and Cloud Analysis. The feature split from Chess.com's own plan list, and who should pay for which.
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- 02Over the Board · Oct 8, 2026 · 9 minWhat Is Increment in Chess? The Official Wording, Notation and Sizes (2026)
- 03Over the Board · Oct 8, 2026 · 7 minWhat Is the Timer For in Chess? How the Chess Clock Works in 2026
- 04Training & Study · Sep 5, 2026 · 9 minIs Chess.com Diamond Worth It? Every Tier, Priced Per Feature
- 05Training & Study · Sep 5, 2026 · 9 minHow to Analyze Your Own Chess Games: The Loop That Actually Teaches You Something
- 06Training & Study · Sep 5, 2026 · 9 minHow to Actually Finish a Chess Book: A Study Workflow That Sticks
- 07Tactics & Patterns · Sep 5, 2026 · 9 minA Chess Tactics Training Plan by Rating: Volume, Review, and Logging
Chess Opening Books vs Chessable Courses: Same Repertoire, Which Format Sticks?
Print repertoire books and course-platform versions often carry the same content, so the choice is about format economics: cost per line, who is responsible for remembering it, what happens when the theory moves on, and what you still own in five years.
Chess.com vs Lichess in 2026: Feature by Feature, and Who Should Pick Which
A feature-by-feature comparison of the two big chess sites: puzzles, analysis, lessons, variants, community, and what free actually means on each. Plus the honest version of the rating question and the study material that neither platform replaces.
Chess Clock Rules: Delay vs Increment vs Bronstein, and How to Set Each
What d5, inc30 and SD/30 actually mean, exactly what simple delay, Bronstein and Fischer increment do to your remaining time, what US Chess and FIDE expect, and the setting procedure and verification check that work on any digital clock.
Best Electronic Chess Boards: Chessnut Air vs DGT vs Square Off
Sensor boards compared on the things that decide the purchase: piece recognition versus square occupancy, automatic PGN recording, playing online with real pieces, and the tournament-legality question every manufacturer page leaves out.
How to Build a Chess Opening Repertoire: Free, Cheap, and Paid Paths
Three budget paths in the right order: a Lichess study built from the opening explorer for free, one Everyman repertoire book once the opening has proved itself, and a Chessable course only for drilling a settled repertoire. Plus the scorebook routine that feeds it.
DGT North American vs DGT 3000: Which Clock Do You Actually Need?
Feature-by-feature: both DGT clocks run US delay, Bronstein, and Fischer increment; the 3000 adds always-on seconds, stored programs, go modes, and an e-Board link at roughly double the price. Which one a club player needs, and which one an arbiter does.
Chess Board Size Guide: The 75-80 Percent Rule That Makes Pieces Fit
The FIDE and US Chess sizing rule turned into arithmetic: king base divided by 0.75 to 0.80 gives the square size, with worked examples in inches and millimeters, the four-pawn test, why crowded and loose sets feel wrong, and how the rule bends for magnetic travel boards.
Best Chess Sets for Kids: Safety, Size, and Losable-Piece Logic
Criteria first: what the small-parts and magnet warnings actually mean, why the standard 3.75-inch tournament set is right for small hands, why replaceable Staunton pieces beat themed sets, which magnetic set survives the car, and when a wooden set is worth it.
Best Chess Clocks 2026: DGT North American vs LEAP vs Chess Armory
DGT North American, LEAP, and Chess Armory compared on the things that decide a clock purchase: US delay versus Bronstein versus Fischer increment, what the US Chess rulebook prefers, button feel, display, and battery life. One clear pick for rated play, one for the club bag.
Best Chess Books by Rating: 1000-1400, 1400-1800, and 1800+
A rating-banded shelf instead of a flat top-ten list: which tactics workbook, primer, middlegame text, endgame book, and repertoire volume belong at 1000-1400, 1400-1800, and 1800+, what each assumes you already know, and what a book can and cannot do for a rating.
Best Wooden Chess Sets by Wood Type: Sheesham, Ebony, Boxwood, Walnut and Maple Explained
Sheesham, boxwood, rosewood, ebony, walnut and maple: what each wood is, what it costs, and what 'weighted', 'felted' and 'inlaid' really mean on a listing. Plus how to match pieces to a board and which sets and boards are worth buying at each tier.
Best Tournament Chess Sets: FIDE and USCF Specs, Weighting, Boards, and Bags
What US Chess and FIDE actually require of a tournament set, what a director really checks, why triple weighting matters under time pressure, and how to carry board, pieces, clock and scorebook without creasing the board. Picks at three price points.
Best Chess Sets in 2026 for Every Budget: $30 to $300+, With Real Specs
The best chess sets at $30, $75, $150 and $300-plus, judged on the four numbers that matter: king height, base diameter, weighting and square size. A tournament combo is all most players need; here is what the extra money actually buys.
Chess Club Swag, Decoded: Tees, Stickers, and Mugs That Speak Fluent Jargon
A tour of the best insider-jargon chess apparel and accessories — zugzwang, en passant, luft, post-mortem, and more — with each term explained so you actually learn the vocabulary and the joke behind it.
Chess Wall Art for the Study Corner: Openings, Patterns, and Endgame Posters
A guided tour of chess wall art for the study corner, from ECO opening-code plates for the Sicilian and Ruy Lopez to mate-in-three, back-rank, and endgame studies, plus piece portraits and the scoresheet. Learn what each poster teaches.
Gifts for Chess Players, From Club to Grandmaster
A chess gift guide organized by who you're shopping for — the improving beginner, the club and OTB player, the online grinder crossing over, and the one who has everything. Real buying criteria for sets, boards, and clocks, plus the fun picks that land.
Back-Rank Mates: The Pattern That Decides More Games Than Theory
The back-rank mate wins more club games than any opening line. Here is the anatomy of the pattern, the three-sacrifice liquidation the brand is named for, when luft is worth a tempo, and how to hunt the mate before your opponent does.
Algebraic Notation, Fast: How to Keep Score Without Flagging
Algebraic notation is a compact, unambiguous language you can master before your first rated game ends. Piece letters, captures, castling with the letter O, promotion, disambiguation, the result codes, and the move-then-write rule that trips up online players.
Increment, Delay, Classical, Blitz: Every Time Control, Explained
Time is the second board. The complete taxonomy of chess time controls: how a clock works, the crucial delay-versus-increment distinction, classical through bullet and Armageddon, and the exact clock settings that produce each one for club and rated play.
Chessnut Air Review: The Online-to-OTB Bridge
Does an electronic board fix the screen-to-board transfer problem? A clear-eyed assessment of the Chessnut Air, built from long-term owner consensus and the spec sheet: what it rebuilds for online players, where it falls short of tournament conditions, and who should buy it.
Digital vs Analog Chess Clocks: What Rated Play Actually Requires
The romance of the falling flag versus the reality of modern rated sudden death. A head-to-head on delay and increment, precision, flexibility, cost, and legality, with a clear verdict by use case for players crossing from online into over-the-board chess.
Your First Rated Tournament: Pairings, Byes, and the Skittles Room
You have played thousands of games online; your first over-the-board rated event is a different animal. Swiss pairings, byes, the clock and the flag, touch-move, draw-offer etiquette, and the skittles room where the real culture lives, all decoded.
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