From February 13 to 15, 2026, the first official Freestyle World Championship will take place in Weissenhaus, Germany. One spot is still open, and it will be decided in an online qualification tournament organised by FIDE on chess.com. The two-day event, which will determine the coveted final available place, begins on January 14 at 16:00 […]
Monthly Archives: January 2026
On January 6, Magnus Carlsen and the 12-year-old Argentine Faustino Oro, who still has good chances of becoming the youngest grandmaster of all time, played Titled Tuesday at the Take Take Take Studio in Oslo. Afterwards, they chatted briefly and played a blitz game (3+2). Of course, “nothing” was at stake — but of course […]
The European Women’s Rapid Championship, held over the weekend in Monte-Carlo, brought together 143 players from 30 countries for an 11-round Swiss at a 15+10 time control. After leading for much of the tournament, Alexandra Kosteniuk was overtaken in the final round by Nino Batsiashvili, who secured the title on tiebreaks. The event also featured […]
The concluding day of the Tata Steel Chess India event decided the blitz titles in Kolkata. In the open section, Wesley So kept things under control to secured first place with a round to spare. Nihal Sarin got second place, while Arjun Erigaisi again finished third. The women’s event ended in a playoff, where Carissa […]
The concept behind ChessBase’s “60 Minutes” courses is simple: a one-hour video course for just under ten euros. There are also courses on middlegame or endgame topics, but most of them present rather “specialised” opening lines. In the second instalment of a small series, Jochen Schwarz introduces the most important 60 Minutes courses for 1.e4 […]
In this analytical column, GM Jon Speelman examines the disproportionate power of subtle “creeping” moves in chess. Using examples from games by Alireza Firouzja, Boris Spassky (pictured in 1964) and Garry Kasparov, he shows how small, almost inconspicuous piece shifts can radically alter complex positions. Blending modern encounters with classic material and personal recollections, Speelman […]
The 2025 European Women’s Blitz Championship, held on Friday in Monte-Carlo, brought together 127 players for a 13-round Swiss played at a 3+2 time control. The title was decided in dramatic fashion in the final round, where top seed Eline Roebers defeated long-time leader Bella Khotenashvili to secure tournament victory. | Pictured: The start of […]
The final day of the rapid tournaments at the Tata Steel Chess India event saw titles decided in both sections. In the open, Nihal Sarin claimed first place after finishing clear of the field, ahead of Viswanathan Anand. The women’s tournament also produced an outright winner, with Kateryna Lagno securing victory with a round to […]
The rift between FIDE and Freestyle Chess seemed final – and then, on Wednesday evening, a press release from both surprised the chess world: in February 2026, the first joint World Championship in Freestyle Chess is set to take place in Weissenhaus, Germany. Sagar Shah of ChessBase India conducted an in-depth interview with Jan Henric […]
A reigning world chess champion has not played a serious game in Czechia for exactly 95 years. That is about to change. GM Gukesh Dommaraju, also known as Gukesh D, will take part in the 8th edition of the Prague International Chess Festival. The Indian prodigy has broken numerous modern chess records. The Festival, the […]