Monthly Archives: August 2025

French Championship Finals: Maurizzi v. Fressinet and Iglesias v. Hejazipour

Suspense in Vichy. The semifinals of the French Chess Championship offered thrilling duels between experience and youthful vigour. Marc’Andria Maurizzi (pictured) and Laurent Fressinet prevailed in the open competition, while Mitra Hejazipour and Yosha Iglesias will contest the women’s final. Etienne Bacrot v. Sébastien Mazé and Deimanté Daulyte-Cornette v. Anastasia Savina will be the matches […]

Sinquefield Cup: Caruana grabs second consecutive win, leads

Fabiano Caruana took the sole lead at the Sinquefield Cup after defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round four, his second straight win. The Uzbek player’s aggressive strategy with opposite-side castling and a speculative knight sacrifice backfired, leaving him with a third loss in four games. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave again missed a clear winning chance, this time against […]

Saint Louis Chess Club to unveil new world-class facility: Anand v. Kasparov match among historic events

The Saint Louis Chess Club is set to reopen this October with a newly expanded 30,000-square-foot campus, reinforcing its position as a global hub for chess. The month-long celebration will feature “Clutch Chess: The Legends”, with Garry Kasparov facing Viswanathan Anand, the U.S. and U.S. Women’s Championships, Hall of Fame inductions, and the Champions Showdown […]

Rubinstein Chess Festival 2025: Blübaum, Yakkuboev and Wojtaszek share the lead

After five rounds, the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica-Zdrój has three leaders at the top of the table: Nodirbek Yakubboev, Radosław Wojtaszek, and reigning European Champion Matthias Blübaum (pictured). In round five, Blübaum scored a notable win with the black pieces against Michael Adams, who now finds himself at the bottom of the standings. The biggest […]

Leko on The Indian Express: “Keymer is clearly a great strategist”

Peter Leko, once the youngest grandmaster in the world and a former world championship contender, played a pivotal role as mentor to Germany’s star Vincent Keymer. In an interview with The Indian Express, Leko reflects on Keymer’s steady rise, the influence of the new generation of prodigies and his own career lessons. He offers candid […]

Future of chess and clash of generations at Grand Swiss in Samarkand

The FIDE Grand Swiss returns this September with its fourth edition, bringing many of the world’s strongest players to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for one of the most prestigious classical tournaments on the calendar. Alongside seasoned contenders, a new generation of prodigies will be in the spotlight, from established teenage stars to emerging talents aiming to set […]

Sinquefield Cup: Gukesh strikes back, Firouzja scores

Round two of the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis produced two decisive games, as world champion Gukesh Dommaraju bounced back from his opening-day loss with a chaotic win against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while Alireza Firouzja turned the tables in a 100-move struggle against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The remaining three games were drawn, leaving Firouzja, Levon Aronian and […]

Rubinstein Chess Festival 2025: Yakkuboev and Wojtaszek lead

Things are heating up at the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica-Zdrój: after the former sole leader Nodirbek Yakkuboev was held to a draw and Radosław Wojtaszek (pictured) scored a win, both players now share the lead with 3 points from 4 rounds. Germany’s European Champion Matthias Blübaum also won and, together with Aravindh Chithambaram, trails the […]

French Championships: Three veterans and Maurizzi reach semifinals

The French Chess Championships are being held in Vichy from 15 to 24 August as part of a large chess festival featuring events for all levels, from national title matches to youth and amateur competitions. The Open and Women’s Championships, organised as 16-player knockouts, have now reached the semifinals. In the Open, three veterans join […]