The inaugural FIDE Excellence Awards were presented in Samarkand during the 46th Chess Olympiad, recognising achievements across the chess world during the 2024–2026 cycle. Honours went to players, teams, tournaments, federations, creators and social initiatives, with recipients including Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Levon Aronian, India’s Open and Women’s teams and ChessBase India. The remaining Best Chess […]
Monthly Archives: September 2026
Uzbekistan will enter the final round of the Chess Olympiad with a one-point lead after beating Armenia 3½–½ in round ten. India remain their closest challengers following a clear victory over Uzbekistan 2, while Germany, Ukraine and Hungary are two points back. Ukraine will face the hosts directly on Sunday, with India meeting Hungary and […]
Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, was elected President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The elections were held on 26 September at the FIDE General Assembly, alongside the 46th Chess Olympiad, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Turlov won in the second round, with 110 votes. At 38, he becomes the second youngest FIDE President […]
Uzbekistan regained sole first place in the Chess Olympiad by beating top seeds United States 2½–1½ in round nine, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Nodirbek Yakubboev again providing the decisive points – like they did against China in round seven. India, Armenia and the over-achieving Uzbekistan 2 are one match point behind, the latter after a […]
In his essay Christian Hesse – professor of mathematics and, no less importantly, a passionate lover of chess – brings together mathematical and chess problems that are complete and self-contained, problems that explain themselves and need no lengthy verbal instructions. Helmut Pfleger, grandmaster and medical researcher, tells us what he thinks of the subject.
We have seen a lot of great performances at the Olympiad in Samarkand – many great players have lived up to their high standards. But it is especially pleasing to see chess prodigies you have known and looked after since their early teens deliver the goods. Like this batch, who have been surging. One has […]
Germany ended Uzbekistan’s perfect run in round eight of the Chess Olympiad, beating the hosts 2½–1½ to join them on 14/16 match points. Brothers Frederik and Rasmus Svane (pictured) collected wins for Germany on the bottom boards for a second day in a row. Eight teams now sit only one point behind, including China, India, […]
Bodhana Sivanandan is only eleven years old, but in Samarkand she is already playing in her second Olympiad. And with considerable success: after seven rounds, she has scored six points on top board for the England women’s team, corresponding to an Elo performance of 2504. But when she spoke to Arne Kähler, chess was not […]
Timur Turlov is an entrepreneur, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and a candidate for the FIDE presidency. But how did he get into chess? In a conversation with Johannes Fischer at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Turlov talks about how his grandfather taught him the game, how his six children rekindled his enthusiasm for […]
Uzbekistan opened a two-point lead in the Chess Olympiad after defeating China 3–1 in round seven, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Nodirbek Yakubboev scoring the decisive wins. The hosts remain the only team unbeaten on every individual board. Armenia, India, Germany, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan form the chasing group. On Wednesday, Armenia drew the United States, […]