Round seven of the Tata Steel Masters saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov extend his lead with a second straight win, defeating top seed Vincent Keymer in a sharp Semi-Slav. Javokhir Sindarov remains in sole second place, while Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus scored a second win in a row and Anish Giri grabbed his first victory of the event. […]
Monthly Archives: January 2026
Calculation separates the wheat from the chaff in chess. At the same time, many club players devote too little of their training to the skills involved. In today’s flood of courses and databases, everyone can bring their openings to a solid level and make “sensible” moves. Yet most games are still decided in close combat. […]
The grenke Chess Festival will return to Karlsruhe over Easter 2026, bringing together thousands of players for parallel classical and Freestyle opens. For the first time, the Freestyle event will serve as a qualifier for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, adding direct sporting stakes to the established festival format. Leading figures including Magnus Carlsen […]
The European Chess Union has announced the creation of the European Chess Super League, a new elite club competition scheduled to debut in 2027. Featuring eight leading clubs and a substantial prize fund, the event aims to bring top-level team chess into a dedicated continental format. Organisers also confirmed plans for a corresponding Women’s Super […]
Round six of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament featured a number of pivotal games in both sections. In the Masters, Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated world champion Gukesh Dommaraju after a sudden one-move blunder, moving ahead of the field, while Vincent Keymer and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus also collected important wins. The Challengers saw Andy Woodward claim a […]
Judit Polgár is a name that still electrifies today. This goes back to her meteoric rise – and that of her sisters – in the 1980s and 1990s. She climbed as high as eighth place in the world rankings – note, the open rankings, not the women’s list – and even defeated Garry Kasparov. Without […]
Magnus had recently seemed somewhat weary of tournaments with classical time controls, but the organisers of the TePe Sigeman & Co Tournament (1–7 May 2026) have now rather surprisingly announced the participation of the world number one. Carlsen last played in Malmö as a 14-year-old. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Song Yuxin’s 2025 season marked a decisive step forward in her career. Focusing exclusively on classical chess, this analysis looks at how a heavy tournament schedule, largely centred on open events, translated into a major rating climb, a rise from the fringes of the top 100 to the women’s top 25, and a strong finish […]
Auckland, 21 January 2026 – The 2026 edition of the Bob Wade Memorial round robin event concluded in Auckland, New Zealand, with English super GM Michael Adams finishing top with 6.5 points out of 9 rounds and a final tally of +4 -0 =5, half a point ahead of Commonwealth Chess Champion and ChessBase columnist, […]
Post-game, thoughtful interviews from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament offer insight into form, temperament and longevity at the top level, guided by the calm questioning of Fiona Steil-Antoni. Carissa Yip speaks openly about nerves during critical moments, Faustino Oro displays unusual poise for his age, while Vasyl Ivanchuk gives an account of a notable incident […]