Shaun Evans
shevans02.bsky.social
Shaun Evans
@shevans02.bsky.social
Dad, doctoral student, chess enthusiast (purportedly in that order, but don’t tell my dissertation about my chess habits)
Some have recommended making chess ratings deteriorate with inactivity. Would it be better simply to increase the threshold for making the active players list? Currently that threshold is 1 game/year. But FIDE could raise it to 10 or 20 games. #chesspunks #chess
May 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM
I’ve been playing sharper openings recently, and my rapid rating is skyrocketing while my blitz is in the dumpster. Any other #chesspunks notice differences across time controls when trying new openings?
May 8, 2025 at 12:48 AM
When reviewing, it can be instructive to watch for moves that you never play but that the engine recommends multiple times over the course of the game. These are sometimes thematic moves in that opening or structure. #chesspunks
May 7, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Check out the life story of black's rook on h8. One of the funnier chess positions I've ever seen 😂 #chesspunks
May 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Today I got to smothered mate a queen #chesspunks
May 7, 2025 at 2:32 PM
There's something very satisfying about a graph this smooth. #chesspunks
May 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
I've got to say, the Stafford is more fun to deal with than the Englund #chesspunks
May 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
OK I swear I'll stop posting e4 games once they stop being bloodbaths #chesspunks
May 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Only today did I learn what it means to be alive.

Still working out the kinks in this 1. e4 repertoire but so far I like what I see from blitz #chesspunks
May 1, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Before studying e4 I would have said this game just looked like chaos. But it was theory through 12. 0-0-0, and then a couple of inaccuracies by black makes their position very hard to hold. #chesspunks
As a longtime d4 player, playing e4 is...a revelation #chesspunks
April 30, 2025 at 8:25 PM
My conversion of this winning position in blitz was far from perfect (at one point my opponent had a winning counter-sac), but boy does e4 help you understand the value of piece activity better. Sometimes material is equal, and there are no immediate tactics, but activity is decisive #chesspunks
April 30, 2025 at 8:06 PM
As a longtime d4 player, playing e4 is...a revelation #chesspunks
April 30, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Writing out answers like this makes me appreciate the slowness of typing chess notation on a phone 🙃 Some enterprising coder should develop a custom keyboard that has the relevant keys for chess displayed all at once #chesspunks
Just ran across this and that’s quite nice! Rxc1+ Nxc1 Qxb2+ Kxb2 Rc2+ Ka1 Rc1+ Kb2 Rb1#
April 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Advantage in chess can take the form of piece activity, king safety, pawn structure, or material, and sometimes in order to conserve your advantage, you need to convert it from one form to another. #chess #chesspunks
April 28, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Recently started implementing Nate Solon’s one move rule where after every game you update your opening files by one move and it’s made even blitz into a much more intentional training tool. Now the real task is to be disciplined enough to stick with it. #chesspunks
April 28, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately but that’s more like it 9️⃣9️⃣⭐️ And yes, I did return to my dear 1.d3 😊 #chesspunks
April 28, 2025 at 12:30 AM
What's your evaluation of the K+P ending after ...Rxf2+? I was white and misevaluated the resulting position. Highly instructive, at least for me. #chesspunks
April 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Black has several moves that conserve the advantage, but can you find the strongest and most tactical? I was happy to find it in blitz today. #chesspunks
April 15, 2025 at 1:59 PM
@drscull.bsky.social I don't think Noël Studer is on here so I'll ask you... Does this disaster of a game mean I need to deep dive on rook endgames? 😅 It takes some special skill to turn this win into a loss www.chess.com/analysis/gam... #chesspunks
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April 14, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It's amazing how interconnected most chess skills are. Learning to strategically read a position lets you home in on the most promising candidate moves and find tactics more quickly. This also reduces time trouble... #chesspunks
April 13, 2025 at 8:50 PM
What was your coolest chess related gift today #chesspunks? I’ve been pumped about the ChessUp 2 for a while now
December 25, 2024 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Shaun Evans
The difference between Freestyle Chess and Chess 960 is that they shuffle the 2nd rank as well.
November 22, 2024 at 11:13 AM
I’ll never be able to look at either of my toddlers the same 😂♟️
Also I was today years old when I learned I want to start a quirky chess set collection
I’m currently bidding on the cutest little chess set I’ve ever seen! It’s a 1950s Czech chess set.

Look at those adorable knights! And pawns so squat they look like butt-scooting toddlers! 😆
November 22, 2024 at 2:14 AM