Andrew Hong won the Masters section of the Aktobe Open 2026 – Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial after scoring 7/9 and finishing half a point clear of the field. The FIDE Circuit event in Kazakhstan brought together 210 players from 21 countries. Daniyal Sapenov took second place on tiebreaks, ahead of Daniil Dubov, while Polina Shuvalova was […]
Monthly Archives: June 2026
The World Team Rapid Chess Championship is taking place on 17-19 June in Hong Kong. The tournament is played as a 12-round Swiss open (4 rounds per day), with six-player team matches. Elite GMs Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Viswanathan Anand, alongside female superstars Ju Wenjun, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Alexandra Kosteniuk are among the participants. […]
Chess and brain-computer interface research came together at a clinical symposium held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, with FIDE Treasurer Zhu Chen among the invited guests. The event followed recent demonstrations of BCI technology through online chess, including Neuralink patient Noland Arbaugh’s game against Anna Cramling. Researchers discussed medical applications for neurological […]
The opening press conference for the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Championships 2026 took place on June 16 at The Pavilion, The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel Hong Kong, marking the official start of one of FIDE’s most dynamic and spectator-friendly competitions. The event brings together more than 40 teams and over 300 players from […]
Magnus Carlsen makes his Hong Kong debut, alongside American star Fabiano Caruana and other chess super-stars, as the city takes centre stage of the chess world. Carlsen today made his first official appearance in the city, taking part in a press conference for the FIDE World Team Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2026. That begins […]
A little over ten years ago, Viktor Korchnoi, one of the true greats of chess history, passed away. Korchnoi had many facets and remained one of the world’s best players well into old age. But trying to talk to him about Curaçao 1962 was not a good idea. A recollection. | Photo: Rob Bogaerts / […]
FIDE launched a revised championship cycle for the under-8, under-10 and under-12 age groups in 2026, with the first World Cadets Cup U8-U12 scheduled for 15-28 June in Batumi, Georgia. The event serves as a qualifying stage ahead of the World Cadets Championships, with separate boys’ and girls’ tournaments in three age categories, under-8, under-10 […]
The World Youth Chess Championships 2026 are taking place in Montesilvano, Italy, from 14 to 27 June. Organised by FIDE, the Italian Chess Federation and UniChess, the event features under-14, under-16 and under-18 sections, with open and girls’ tournaments in each category. The 11-round Swiss competitions take place at the Congress Center Pala Dean Martin. […]
Mukhiddin Madaminov won the UzChess Cup in Tashkent after defeating Shamsiddin Vokhidov in blitz tiebreaks. The 19-year-old Uzbek player, the lowest-rated participant in the Masters section, had entered the field only after Javokhir Sindarov’s withdrawal. Madaminov and Vokhidov finished level after drawing their final-round games with the black pieces, before Madaminov won both blitz games […]
Felix Blohberger defeated David Navara 3½-2½ in a six-game match held at the offices of the Austrian Chess Federation in Vienna. Five games were drawn, with Blohberger’s win in game three proving decisive. The Austrian grandmaster organised the match as part of his effort to approach the 2600 Elo mark, while also providing post-game analysis […]