Monthly Archives: January 2026

World Champion loss against Underdog – The Underdog

Gukesh, the World Chess Champion, endured a difficult 2025. Still, he produced a convincing win against Magnus Carlsen and finished tied for first at Tata Steel Chess, ultimately losing the blitz tiebreak to Praggnanandhaa. At the World Blitz Championship in Doha, he suffered a stunning upset against underdog Sergey Sklokin (2407), where an extraordinary endgame […]

Saint Louis Chess Club announces 2026 invitational tournament schedule

The Saint Louis Chess Club has unveiled its 2026 tournament calendar, outlining a full season of elite events in the United States and abroad. Anchored by an expanded 30,000-square-foot home campus, the schedule includes established fixtures such as the American Cup, Sinquefield Cup and U.S. Championships, alongside international stops on the Grand Chess Tour. | […]

Chess on the beach: An initiative by the Argentine Olympic Committee

The Argentine Olympic Committee has launched “Olympic Beach”, a nationwide summer programme that brings organised sport and Olympic values to Argentina’s coastal and riverside locations ahead of the Santa Fe 2026 South American Games. Running throughout January across eight venues, the initiative combines free sporting activities, youth engagement, environmental actions and federation-led events, including the […]

Weissenhaus Play-In: Abdusattorov gets final spot in Freestyle Chess World Championship

The knockout stage of the online Play-In for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship decided the last place in the February championship. Nodirbek Abdusattorov progressed through the semifinals and went on to face Pranav Venkatesh in the final. The four qualifiers competed in two-game matches with a 15+3 time control. Amin Tabatabaei prevailed in the […]

Weissenhaus Play-In: Abdusattorov, Pranav, Oparin and Tabatabaei make it to knockout stage

The Swiss stage of the online Play-in for the Freestyle Chess World Championship has determined the four players who remain in contention for the final qualification place. Over nine rounds of Freestyle Chess, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Pranav Venkatesh (pictured), Grigoriy Oparin and Amin Tabatabaei finished level on 7/9 to secure places in Thursday’s knockout stage. | […]

Tata Steel Chess: Four Candidates among Masters’ participants

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2026 takes place in Wijk aan Zee with the youngest Masters field in the event’s history. This preview examines the format, the historically young lineup and the Challengers field, while noting that world champion Gukesh Dommaraju will face four Candidates Tournament’s participants: Anish Giri, defending champion Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (pictured), Javokhir […]

ChessBase tips for beginners – Variations from Reference & Engines

Anastasia Corotcova explains how to insert variations into your notation using both reference games and engine suggestions. It shows how the Reference tab lists common moves and past games for the current position, allowing you to click or copy them directly into your analysis. Finally, it demonstrates how to add an engine (Kibitzer) and insert […]