Chess is one of the few sports where a game can end in a draw — a result that carries its own strategic and psychological weight. In most sports, there’s always a winner and a loser, but in chess (and occasionally in soccer), the possibility of a draw fundamentally changes

I was stuck around 2470–2500 for almost five years. It was a painful phase where it felt like nothing was moving, even after I became a grandmaster. I kept making the same mistakes again and again. At some point, I decided to try something different. That change is what eventually

What Helped Me Get My Final GM Norm In 2018, I went on a two-month trip in search of my final GM norm. I played six to seven tournaments in a row, fully believing that I would get my norm and finally become a Grandmaster. At that point, I was

Recently, I played what I can only describe as a horrible game—full of inaccuracies, poor decisions, and missed chances. Thankfully, I didn’t lose. But more importantly, I learned a lot from it. And that’s what I’d like to share with you. This article is my attempt to turn that experience

In my previous post, I shared a set of positions from a game that was far from my best—but full of practical lessons. If you haven’t seen that post yet, I recommend going through it first and testing yourself before reading on:👉 Go to the test positions This post is

Once upon a time at the Sabarmati Ashram, a mother brought her son to meet Mahatma Gandhi. There were hundreds of people in line, all waiting for a chance to see Gandhiji. When their turn finally came, the mother asked Gandhiji if he could advise her son to stop eating

I want to succeed. So do most chess players I know. But “success” can mean different things: From what I’ve seen, most professionals are focused on the first and third: winning games and gaining rating. And between the two, gaining rating wins — almost every time. So what do we

As you might know, I wrote an article on how to deal with time pressure in chess. What I didn’t cover in that article came back to haunt me in the recently concluded Sharjah Masters 2025. The problem I’m referring to is playing impulsively — moving too fast at critical