The first major upsets of the 2025 FIDE World Cup occurred on Wednesday in Goa, as three players rated over 2700 were eliminated from the competition. Wesley So, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Aravindh Chithambaram were all knocked out by lower-seeded opponents – Titas Stremavicius, Diptayan Ghosh and Karthik Venkataraman, respectively. With 37 matches already decided, the […]
Category Archives: News
In recent decades, the number of draws in international correspondence chess tournaments has increased significantly due to the tools used, and it is now approaching 100%. Venceslav Rutar of Slovenia has therefore proposed an alternative tiebreak system, as not all draws are the same. This system is now set to be tried in a correspondence […]
GM Dorian Rogozenco demonstrates how to filter and analyse games by rating, year, and tournament to see which openings are currently popular and successful – without needing multiple databases. Rogozenco shows practical shortcuts and explains how to use live updates and tournament selections to instantly study what top grandmasters are playing right now. The episode […]
The World Cup entered a new phase on Tuesday in Goa, as chess heavyweights joined the field and the competition intensified. With the arrival of the top 50 seeds, 64 games were played in round two’s first day, producing 21 decisive results. Many top players began cautiously, but some struck quickly — among them Wei […]
Naroditsky’s tragic passing, details still unclear, though with serious allegations levelled at a now-named former top player, invites us to look beyond the parish pump of chess. FIDE itself states in connection with the case: ‘Human life and dignity are fundamental values shared by all of us. While we hold deep respect and love for […]
After a long break from competitive play, GM Jon Speelman returned to the board with three intense games in quick succession – each offering instructive lessons and a few painful oversights. In his latest column, he revisits the most critical moments from these battles, including a London League clash against Jonathan Parker and two 4NCL […]
A tense day of tiebreak battles brought the opening round of the FIDE World Cup to a close on Monday in Goa. Rapid and blitz games decided the fate of 20 hard-fought encounters, as most favourites advanced but a few unexpected heroes emerged. Among them were India’s Aronyak Ghosh, Argentina’s 12-year-old prodigy Faustino Oro and […]
The opening round of the 2025 FIDE World Cup neared its conclusion on Sunday, with most matches already producing a winner after the second classical game. Out of 78 encounters, 58 were decided without the need for tiebreaks, while 20 remain level and will continue on Monday. A few players managed to level their matches […]
The wait is over for one of the chess world’s most prestigious events, as the FIDE World Cup got underway on Saturday in Goa, India. Over the next 26 days, 206 players will compete for three coveted places in the next Candidates Tournament. While most favourites began solidly with wins, a few underdogs held higher-rated […]
The FIDE World Cup is taking place from 1 to 26 November at the Resort Rio in Goa, India. The knockout tournament features 206 participants, including world champion Gukesh Dommaraju alongside rating favourites Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri and Arjun Erigaisi. The top three finishers will qualify to the 2026 Candidates Tournament. | Follow the action […]