Kia ora, dear bloggers and club members!

The most prestigious blogging competition on Chess.com will start in a few weeks! I am writing this announcement to give you all the details and answer the most important questions about BlogChamps Season 8!

If you participated in Season 7, or if you have already read the announcement about its format, there will probably be nothing new, but it is important to make everything official. Let's get started.

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REGISTRATION

As most of you know, registration for Season 8 is already open via the following link: Season 8 Registration. Currently, we have 43 registrations. (February 03, 2025)

If you've already registered, don't worry, all you have to do is wait for the competition to start! If you haven't done so yet but would like to take part, you are welcome to do so. Registration for Week 1 is open until February 21st. Also, feel free to share this with any friends you know who like blogging and who you think would like to join.

Season 8 starts on February 21st.

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FORMAT

The format will be the same as in Season 7 (if there are any changes, there will be announcements to explain them, but that is not the plan now). So how does it work?

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Qualifiers Week 1: All registered participants must submit a blog for Week 1. The blog must be published after the 21st of February, which is the official start of the season, and before the deadline, which will probably be February 28th. However, you can, and I hope you are already doing so, start writing the draft!

The judges will give your blog a score from 0 to 10 and we will then calculate the average. The top 8 blogs from Week 1 will go through to the Sweet 16.

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Qualifiers Week 2: Those who didn't qualify in Week 1, or who didn't submit a blog, or who decided to join the competition later, will have another chance in Week 2, with the exact same rules. The top 8 blogs will go through to the Sweet 16.

Note: If you submitted a blog for Week 1 and didn't qualify, you must submit a new one for Week 2 and cannot use the same blog.

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Once the 16 qualified bloggers are determined, the knockout stage begins. In each phase, the bloggers will be paired up in individual matches, just like in a football World Cup, and the best blog will go on until the Season 8 Champion is crowned. Check it out below:

The judges for this season are:

@JustGettingThisOffMyChess: Season 7 Winner.

@nbrasington: Season 4 Runner-up and Top Blogger.

@KevinSmithIdiot: Season 6 Winner and author of two Chessable books.

@AstroTheoretical_Physics: Season 5 Runner-up and Top Blogger.

@NMChessToImpress: National Master and Top Blogger.

@VOB96: Season 6 Runner-up, Top Blogger, and who still likes to talk about herself in the third person.

3 judges will judge Week 1, and the other 3 will judge Week 2. In the knockouts, I will step out and be only backup, in order to reduce my workload. For those wondering, @alphaous has decided to take a break for a season. @sleepyporcyy is currently taking a break from chess, and I don't know when she'll be back, but when she returns, she'll probably judge too.

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PRIZES

For Season 8, I am pleased to announce that we will be offering three different prizes.

1) The first is the same as always and the most traditional of BlogChamps. The winner gets a recommendation for Top Blogger status to the Chess.com staff. If your blogs are good enough to win the competition, they are very likely good enough to get the badge as well. But please note that a recommendation is not a promise.

2) Since I am an adult and pay my own bills, I have also decided to offer a second prize, hoping to encourage more people to write and not forfeit. The winner will get a U$ 25 Amazon gift card, just like Chess.com does for the Blog of the Month winner. I might upgrade it if there are no forfeits in the knockout phase, if I am in a good mood, and if no plane crashes happen that are my fault in the meantime, but at least I can promise the U$ 25.

3) One-month Diamond Membership, as suggested below in the comments section by one of the competitors.

Note: These two last prizes are from me, Vanessa Bristow, they involve money and are NOT a club policy or anything like that. If I'm not here in a future season, please don't bother the staff about it. Also, it will only be given to non-TBs. If you are a TB, you are welcome to join the Season, but you already have the chance to earn the same prize by writing the Blog Of The Month.

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FAQ

1) I am the winner of Season 8. Do I automatically get a Top Blogger badge?

No, please note that Top Blogger status can only be awarded by Chess.com staff. We will certainly recommend you and, as I said, your blogs are probably very good if you manage to win, but we cannot promise that.

2) I think my blogs are very good, but I didn't win. Should I forget about my hopes of becoming a Top Blogger?

Absolutely not! We have many Top Bloggers who were raised by BlogChamps and didn't win their seasons, like @SheldonOfOsaka, @nbrasington, @sleepyporcyy, @YEAT, @AstroTheoretical_Physics, @NDpatzer, and the list goes on. Basically, taking part and working hard to win is half the battle, as it is all about the quality you need to achieve during the process.

3) I also like to participate in the monthly contests of "The Blogger Awards v2.0" club. Can I submit the same blog to both competitions?

Yes, you can! Using the same blog is not only allowed, but encouraged, so you can focus on writing only one great blog instead of splitting your time between two articles. Just make sure it is published after the 21st so that it is within the rules for both contests!

4) I don't agree with the judging results. Can I appeal?

No.

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I believe I have explained everything I think is important, but if you have any open questions that are not answered here, please feel free to ask in the comments section or send me a PM.

Best wishes and have a great Season 8!

Vanessa Bristow