All five games ended drawn in the first round of the Super Chess Classic Romania, though several players had chances to grab full points. Alireza Firouzja missed the clearest opportunity against defending champion Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (pictured), while Fabiano Caruana failed to make the most of an extra pawn against Jorden van Foreest. Wesley So v. […]
Monthly Archives: May 2026
Simpson’s in the Strand has reopened with a nod to its origins as a chess venue, a detail explored by Harry Wallop in The Times. Wallop’s article uses the London restaurant’s history to examine a wider revival of over-the-board chess, from social clubs and café events to rising sales of physical chess sets, and considers […]
The second event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour is the Super Chess Classic Romania, which is taking place on 14-23 May in Bucharest. Nine regular tour players, all elite GMs with 2700+ ratings, are joined by wildcard Bogdan-Daniel Deac. Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov and Anish Giri are the top seeds. | Follow the action […]
Wadim Rosenstein came into prominence when he organised the first edition of WR Chess in 2023. He then came up with the idea of the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Teams – an event that has become a mainstay in the chess calendar. In recent times, if you follow Rosenstein on his X account, the […]
The ChessBase Opening Encyclopedia 2026 is one of the company’s flagship products alongside the Mega Database and the ChessBase database program – currently ChessBase’26. For years, these programs have formed part of the essential toolkit for everyday chess work. From the very beginning, the Opening Encyclopedia has played a key role by providing a fast […]
Four days, thousands of rapid and blitz chess games, international and national participants such as Maghsoodloo, Pranav and Blohberger – the 2026 Grand Prix at PlusCity in the Austrian town of Pasching is once again set to become one of Europe’s biggest chess festivals. Anyone who wants not only to think chess, but to experience […]
If a game could have been legally drawn dozens of moves earlier, why was it played on? Why were obvious draw claims never made, even when repetitions were plainly visible? Why did both players repeatedly adjourn a position whose theoretical outcome was already beyond doubt? Was it artificially extended to get it recognition by Guinness? […]
Jose Martinez won the opening stage of the 2026 Romania Grand Prix in Bucharest after drawing (with black) an Armageddon decider against Aydin Suleymanli. The rapid tournament, held at the Palace of Parliament on 9-10 May, attracted 581 players from 27 countries. Five players tied for first place on 8½/10, with Martinez and Suleymanli advancing […]
The first stage of the inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship has concluded, with 32 teams advancing from two online Swiss qualifiers to the knockout phase. Saint Louis University topped the Americas and Africa qualifier, while Ural State Mining University led the Europe and Asia event. The qualified teams will now compete online for eight […]
A little over a hundred years ago, the Dresden Chess Club celebrated its 50th anniversary with a major international tournament. It was not the favoured Alexander Alekhine, who became World Champion a year later, but Aron Nimzowitsch who emerged as the winner of the tournament.