Seven Last Minute Christmas Gifts for the Chess Lover in Your Life
Let’s be honest, they’re for you.
Hario SWITCH Immersion Dripper
I’ve been doing one puzzle every day while I have my first cup of coffee in the morning. Even if it’s only a few minutes, this ritual helps me maintain a habit of working on chess consistently. My go-to daily coffee maker is the Hario SWITCH. It’s sort of a cross between pour-over and French press, because it lets you keep the coffee grounds immersed in the water for a few minutes. I mostly like it because it’s convenient: you don’t have to do any fancy pouring or stirring. Just add ground coffee and water, wait for a few minutes, and release. I also like that you can use the switch to avoid dripping water on yourself while you carry the used filter to the garbage.
Rhodia Reverse Book
I’ve been searching for the perfect notebook for a long time and I think I might finally have found it. Things I like about this Rhodia notebook: spiral-bound so it sits flat on the table; dot grid – I have messy handwriting and lines just make it look even worse; big, square pages = more room to write. I always have one of these sitting on my desk. It’s a little pricey, but not bad compared to other fancy notebooks.
Mogul Moves Chess Club Hoodie
Look, I know chess boxing is a controversial topic. Some people love it and some people hate it. But you can’t deny this sweatshirt is dope. The details – like corduroy elbow pads and silver chess piece drawstrings – are just “extra” enough.
My Chessable Course
If you still need a gift for a chess player that can get there before Christmas, you’re probably looking at online options. May I suggest my Chessable course? It’s a full opening repertoire for White in 100 lines based on 1. Nf3. Here’s what one customer said:
Make it Stick
This very digestible book covers key insights from learning research. It turns out that a lot of what we learned about learning in school was wrong, and there are some simple changes you can implement to make your learning much more efficient. Useful for chess, but also anything else you want to learn about in your life.
The Camaratta Signature Master Chess Table
Every time I post my study setup on Twitter, someone asks where I got this table. This is by far the most expensive item on the list, but it’s currently on sale for $549 down from $795. Great option if you’re looking to build a chess cave.
Chess Coasters
You might as well finish off your chess setup with some chess coasters (also pictured with table above). These let me complete my coffee-chess setup while staying on theme.
This will be the last post of 2023 as I’m taking next week off. Have a great holidays and see you in 2024!