Kostya Kavutskiy

Hello all! I've started to journal about my lifetime pursuit of the GM title✍️ I'll be logging my training, travel, and tournaments, hoping to stay focused on the ultimate goal 🏅 If you'd like to follow 💙 check out the first post here: hellokostya.substack.com/p/day-1

The well known IM Kostya Kavutskiy (@hellokostya) of Chess Dojo speaks about Daniel Naroditsky and the impact he had on his career. #chess #chessbaseindia

@mustreader @PHChess Thank you!

@hellokostya @PHChess Great content! And congrats on the jubilee!

Was cool to talk with @PHChess about the FIDE election, even if we are completely powerless as chess players 🥲 Cheers to 200! 🥂

Played in the Naroditsky Memorial this past weekend in Charlotte. Not an event I ever imagined playing, but it was such a nice way to honor Danya's memory. Thanks to everyone at the @CLTchesscenter for their incredible efforts 💙

Since Danya’s passing last October, our local community and the chess world at large have felt an incredible void. In an effort to bring us together, we launched the Naroditsky Memorial Fund under the Charlotte Chess Center Foundation, promising two key initiatives: a world class tournament and a legacy fellowship. This past weekend, that promise became a reality. The inaugural Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz was a beautiful representation of what chess could and should be, a unification of top grandmasters, creators, amateurs, and fans. With more than 300 players and hundreds of spectators joining us, we sent a clear message: this community stands behind Danya, his family, and everyone who loved him. We choose to honor him through the principles he lived by, positivity over vengefulness, and kindness over retribution. A massive congratulations to Javokhir Sindarov for winning both the Rapid and Blitz championships, and to John Bartholomew for an incredible 9 0 sweep in the Creator Invitational! During the event, we were also proud to officially announce the Naroditsky Fellowship, a support fund for America’s top junior players. We will be distributing $50,000 in its first year come January 2027, with applications and criteria opening this August. We hope this serves as a lasting, vital supplement to the support that already exists for the next generation. An endeavor of this magnitude requires an unimaginable amount of work. For the last six months, this project has been a full time job for a core group of CCC staff. My deepest gratitude goes to Grant Oen, Kelly Centrelli, and Dr. Walter High. Without your tireless, relentless dedication, none of this would have been possible. Thank you as well to every single staff member and volunteer who ensured the event ran flawlessly, keeping the atmosphere positive and seamless for players and fans alike. We are incredibly grateful to our community business sponsors, New In Chess, AAU, House of Staunton, Crown Trophy, USCF, DGT, Dunstan Group, and The Social Rook. Your contributions offset major organizational costs, directly allowing us to allocate more funds toward the junior fellowship. Thank you to all the players and creators who gave their time to attend; your presence provided immense value and proved that chess can be a force for unity. Our broadcast partner, Chess.com, specifically Danny Rensch, Sam Copeland, and Mike Klein acted as our megaphone to the world. The production team, alongside the fantastic broadcast support from Menno Pals and his crew, delivered a seamless online experience. Hearing David Howell, Peter Leko, and Judit Polgar on commentary was spectacular; Danya would have absolutely loved the team we assembled. An event of this scale has an immense number of moving parts, so if I have inadvertently missed thanking anyone by name, please excuse me. Your support did not go unnoticed. Most importantly, thank you to Danya’s family for trusting and supporting us to lead these efforts in his name. It has been an incredibly difficult time, but your trust has allowed us to channel our shared grief into a lasting, positive contribution to the game he loved. A Personal Reflection: For the past seven to eight months, I have woken up every single morning working for Danya. This project has been my grieving process. For those who attended the dinner prior to the tournament, you may have seen me break down, something I rarely do. I poured myself into this event to devote myself to a lost friend. But grief brings complicated emotions. I have always lived for achievement; I take great pride in earning things through hard work and dedication, and I never want anything handed to me. Because of that, I battle a strange feeling that I did not truly earn this success, because it was born out of Danya's passing. That is a paradox that will never fully fulfill me personally. Instead, I look for fulfillment in the value this brings to the chess community. My hope is that the joy, unity, and support felt through this Memorial Event and Fellowship will carry on for years to come. Even as time passes and memories inevitably fade, I want the world to always remember Danya’s name as one that contributed beautifully to the game, both in life, and long after.

Always a treat to talk chess with @GMJacobAagaard !

@euroschach danke schön!

Think Clearly, Calculate Precisely, Improve Consistently!! 😃♟️ Dann schaut in die neue Software vom Internationalen Meister Kostya Kavutskiy "Mastering Calculation": euroschach.de/kostya-kavutsk… Neu bei Euro Schach in Dresden!👋 #schach #chess #calculation @hellokostya #ajedrez

My first course for @ChessBase is finally out! 🎉 I grew up watching their DVDs, so it was quite an honor for me to visit their HQ & join their incredible list of authors. The course is all about improving your calculation. hope you take a look! 👉 shop.chessbase.com/en/products/ka…

Commentary for the 2026 National Open is starting now! @chess_vegas twitch.tv/chessdojo

Round 1 of @gmblohberger vs. GM David Navara is starting now! ⚔️ Coverage with @GMAlexColovic! 📺

I'm delighted to be the official commentator in the upcoming match between grandmasters @gmblohberger and David Navara! A very pretty graphic by @emiliacastelao with the confirmed guest commentators @hellokostya @ginger_gm and @JenShahade and Markus Ragger.

It took GM Axel Smith more than 29 hours to complete a 49-board blindfold simul this weekend. The Swedish grandmaster scored a dominant 41-8—but said afterward that raising awareness for a climate cause mattered more than the result or any record. chess.com/news/view/axel…

@Kaldas90 @kamrynheidi Recently the TSA agent asked if I "had a bunch of magnets in my bag" 😳 I said no, then they showed me the scan and I realized it was the DGT pieces I was carrying

2016, together with my colleague we flew to a tournament abroad. At the airport, two security guys approached me and told me that they have some questions regarding my baggage. We went to some room and they told me to open the bag. They told me to take away some things, and it turned out the problem thing was a digital dgt chess clock. They suspected it might be a bomb. So I had to switch it on and explain them how it works and that I go to chess tournament. They told me everything is ok and they let me go. The thing is that the first thought I had was to switch on the clock, set the timer at 10 seconds and watch the security guards see 10 9 8 7 etc. I luckily didnt do it.

One of my funniest travel experiences was when my chess set triggered the baggage metal detector thing in airport security and a big buff tsa guy had to very seriously examine each little pawn with a hand scanner while I stood there trying to look innocent

Happy Faustino Oro day🏅

@BishopPair Of course it's possible but defeats the whole purpose of looking at the game from a human POV

Surely it’s possible to have a setup where the commentator operates a board without the bar visible to them, but the bar is shown only to the audience?

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"I see the bar which is killing me all the time, irritates me. But if we just want to have fun we should erase that bar"- @GMJuditPolgar The queen has spoken!! 👑 #noengines

Made it to Orosei to play the Sardinia Open ♟️ Wish me luck! Coverage around 3:30 CEST on twitch.tv/chessdojo

New course is out! 100 Tactical Patterns YMK Workbook! Thank you to @chessable for trusting me with this project ☺️