2014 was a great year for chess fans, and possibly a bad year for ones still in school who have grades to maintain. There was a lot of exciting stuff going on and no one wants to miss out. 2015 promises to be great as well with Wijk Aan Zee AND Gibraltar right in the new year (sign. me. up!). But before we welcome it in let’s do this high school yearbook style and take a look at the most memorable parts of this year.

Best Tournament

The Sinquefield Cup– There were a lot of really excellent tournaments this year, but the quality of the overall spectator experience (both online and in person) paired with Fabiano Caruana’s now legendary streak, winning 7 out of his first 7 games and finishing the strongest tournament in history in clear first with a very impressive 8.5/10 definitely qualifies the Sinquefield Cup as the most notable event of the year. The broadcast was really incredible, totally capturing the excitement of chess as a sport. No one could watch the show put on by WGM Jennifer Shahade, GM Yasser Seirawan, and the inimitable GM Maurice Ashley and still believe chess’ reputation as a game for boring old guys.

Best Meme

#doamagnus. It was short lived, but funny while it lasted.

Top Notch Tweeter

Chess is alive and well on Twitter, but for my chess news I like @MarkTWIC.

Best App

This one is no surprise: Play Magnus swept the floor with chess app competition with its unique premise and execution.

Man to Watch

Of course we’re all watching Fabiano after what went down in St. Louis, but this category is my prediction for who will take the world by storm in 2015. I’m calling a three way tie: Giri-MVL-So. All these guys are in for big things this year. If I had to just pick one, I think 2015 might be the year of MVL.

Looking good guys!

Most…Candid

Hikaru Nakamura- Whether you’re a fan or not you probably read all his interviews this year because they are always hilarious. A high point was his Reddit AMA, which was soon answered with an AMA by Magnus. I don’t know if 2015 will be the year Hikaru finally beats Magnus in a game of classical chess, but I think we can reliably expect that Hikaru will continue to be one of the most creative and adventurous players out there.

Lady to Watch

No surprises here either: Hou Yifan. She’s already a total superstar, so who knows how far she’ll go in 2015?! Super. Star.

Biggest Shitshow

FIDE. It’s too hard to pick just one sterling example of FIDE’s incompetency, but strong-arming Magnus and almost forcing a split of the World Championship a la Kasparov in 1993 is a pretty good place to start.

Saddest Retirement

Judit Polgar, competitive chess will miss you! Another total superstar/absolute inspiration. No one can blame her for going out on top.

Most Exciting Game

Hands down: Carlsen-Anand Game Eleven. Anand’s extremely well timed pawn break (23. …b5) and his poorly timed rook sacrifice (27. …Rb4) ensured the game was a total roller coaster. Exciting and inventive play by both sides, not to mention that it determined the match! Definitely one to be remembered.

Flyest New Chess Blog

Welcome!

I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait for the new year! If there’s one thing chess fans have on a guarantee is that there’s a lot of exciting chess to look forward to. And Berlins.

Mostly Berlins.