I’ve Played the Catalan 1,500+ Times. Here’s 3 Lessons I Learned
Hi! I’m Vidar Grahn, a FIDE Master from Sweden. A little over two years ago, I switched from 1.e4 to…
The Pyramid of Evaluation [Part 1]
There is nothing more important in chess than the ability to evaluate a position. Without it, you ca…
How Masters See the Board
My friend studying psychology sent me this picture from one of his books:
I Analyzed 100+ Games In The Italian... This Is What I Learnt:
Hi! My name is Vidar Grahn. I'm a 20-year-old FIDE Master from Sweden, and as part of my journey to …
Good Piece, Bad Piece
Hi! My name is Vidar Grahn. I'm a 20-year-old FIDE Master from Sweden, and as part of my journey to …
I Analyzed 100+ Games In The Benoni... This Is What I Learnt:
Hi! My name is Vidar Grahn. I'm a 20 Year-Old FIDE-Master from Sweden, and as part of my journey to …
A Recap Of the U20 European Champiosnhip
Hi! I’m finally back from my long tournament trip and I’m ready to continue documenting my journey t…
I Have One Year To Become an IM...
Hi! My name is Vidar Grahn, a 20-year-old FIDE Master from Sweden. Right now, I’m writing this from …
Why I Started my Own Chess University
When I was climbing the ranks as a kid, my improvement primarily came from playing a lot and going t…
The 4 Pillars of Chess Improvement
Hi! My name is Vidar. I’m a 19-year old FIDE-Master from Sweden. In this Blog I will go through 4 st…
Chess is a Mirror of Real Life
As chess players, we’ve all been there. The tournament hall is dead quiet, par for the rhythmic thum…
When Life Moves Faster Than Your Elo
Every chess player goes through a rough patch. Progress is rarely linear, but that doesn’t make it a…
3 Super-GMs in 3 Rounds!!! | World Team Blitz Championship
If you caught my last two blogs, you know how the rapid part of the World Rapid and Blitz Team Champ…
Good End to a Tough Day | Day #2 of World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship
After a night of perhaps one too many blitz games, we rolled into Day 2 looking pretty rough. I felt…
I BEAT A SUPER-GM!! | Day #1 of World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship
When my friend Tim first suggested we play the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship together, it …
Introducing The Chessathon
Let me ask you something. Have you ever woken up at 3 a.m.? Not for a flight. Not because of a bad d…
I'm so lucky! | Day 2 of road to IM
Today was rounds 3 and 4 of the IM tournament I’m playing in. First up, I was paired with the strong…
Road to IM | Day 1
Hi everyone! If you guys didn’t know it already, my name is Vidar. I'm an 18-year-old FIDE Master fr…
Learn From One Of The Best Coaches In The World
In December of 2022 I attended a weekend long chess camp in Uppsala, Sweden. The man who was coachin…
The 100 Game Marathon
I’m writing this about an hour and a half before the marathon starts, and honestly, I’m both excited…
What Reading About Human Intelligence Has Taught Me About Chess
In the room where I often sit to study chess, there’s a sort of "mini-library" filled with my dad’s …
A Data-Driven Approach to Chess Improvement [Part 2 - Chessable Effectiveness]
By combining science-backed learning techniques, most notably SRS (spaced repetition), with interact…
How To Improve At Chess In 4 Simple Steps
In this post I’ll talk about 4 simple steps to improve at chess. To complement it, I’ve also decided…