The World Championship match between Gukesh Dommaraju and Ding Liren demonstrated how important it can be to catch your opponent on the wrong foot in the opening. In her 60-minute course, Svitlana Demchenko shows how this can be achieved with both colours and very little theory. | Photos: Nils Rohde
Monthly Archives: August 2026
Wesley So took the sole lead at the Sinquefield Cup after defeating Fabiano Caruana with black in round three. Vincent Keymer bounced back from his previous-round loss by beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, while Sam Sevian overcame Anish Giri after 110 moves. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian remain half a point behind So following draws against Javokhir […]
A few weeks ago this great chess organiser and sponsor passed away at the age of 57. For many years he invited us to his “Zurich Chess Challenge”, which saw some of the world’s top players competing. During that time we had interesting, personal interaction with him. For us news of his passing came out […]
Alireza Firouzja, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura secured their places in the Esports World Cup playoffs after winning both of their matches on Wednesday. Firouzja needed Armageddon deciders against Wei Yi and Arjun Erigaisi, while Abdusattorov won all four of his games. Carlsen and Nakamura also advanced without losing a match, leaving 12 […]
Four decisive games in round two of the Sinquefield Cup produced a five-way tie for the lead, with all four wins coming with the white pieces. Levon Aronian, Wesley So, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (pictured) joined Fabiano Caruana on 1½/2 points. Aronian’s 91-move win over Vincent Keymer came after he survived a lost position. […]
Freestyle Chess and FIDE have confirmed the remaining qualification path for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, with three places still available in both the open and women’s fields. Spots will be decided through the second part of the Freestyle Friday Championship and online qualifiers in November 2026 and January 2027. Five players have […]
Dear chess friends! We’ve got another great offer for you: this week (until August 16th, 2026), you can get over 25% off all Fritz Trainer courses by Svitlana Demchenko and Karsten Mueller!
Magnus Carlsen will be looking to defend his title at the $1.5 million Esports World Cup. Chess is part of the event for the second time, with this year’s competition taking place in Paris from 11 to 15 August. The tournament will be played at a rapid time control of 10 minutes per game with […]
Fabiano Caruana was the only winner in the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup, defeating Jorden van Foreest to take the early sole lead in Saint Louis. The remaining four games were drawn, though Javokhir Sindarov missed chances to convert a favourable endgame against Levon Aronian. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Grand Chess Tour
The inaugural Apogee Chess Festival will take place in Caissargues, near Nîmes, from 22 to 30 August 2026, combining competitive chess with the cultural heritage of southern France. Organised by IM Silvia Alexieva, the event will feature two FIDE-rated open sections, a €26,000 prize fund and a special appearance by former FIDE world champion Veselin […]