Category Archives: News

The first FIDE Freestyle World Championship in Germany

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Freestyle Chess Operations GmbH have agreed to stage the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in Weissenhaus, Germany, from February 13–15, 2026. There are eight players in the event, six qualified (Carlsen, Aronian, Caruana, Keymer, Erigaisi, and Sindarov), with one nominated (Niemann) and one to be still determined. […]

Forty Years Ago: Kasparov vs. Hamburger SK

At Christmas 2025, Stefan Löffler delighted readers of his chess column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung—one of Germany’s leading national newspapers—with a Christmas story. Forty years earlier, Garry Kasparov, still not yet world champion, had played a clock simul against the Bundesliga team of Hamburger SK and lost. Two years later, Kasparov returned to Hamburg […]

Tata Steel Chess India – Live!

The seventh edition of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament is taking place in Kolkata on 7-11 January, featuring separate rapid and blitz tournaments in both the Open and Women’s sections. The rapid tournaments are played from 7 to 9 January, with three rounds per day. The blitz sections follow on 10–11 January, featuring nine […]

Lilit Mkrtchian’s Best Games of 2025 – Understanding pawn structures

Lilit Mkrtchian analyzes a complex and instructive game she played against 17-year-old Georgian rising star Anastasia Gad at the European Women’s Championship, showing how deep opening preparation and understanding of pawn structures gave her an early, lasting advantage. She explains her use of ChessBase to study her opponent’s tendencies, deliberately steering the game into a […]

FIDE sued by five federations

Five national federations, including the German Chess Federation, have filed a lawsuit against FIDE with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Through the legal action, the federations are challenging the decisions adopted by the General Assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) on 14 December 2025 concerning the participation of Russian and Belarusian […]