Rookreview · Chess news, lifestyle and commentary

Chess Rewind 2025 by World Chess

World Chess, an official FIDE partner, summed up the results of 2025, highlighting the most significant events in a video on their official YouTube channel on January 13th. Such famous people as Kjell Madland, Pia Cramling, Evgenij Miros...

01.14 18:33

“If you overuse the computer, you can lose the human element” — Andrey Esipenko on his Candidates preparations

Russian GM Andrey Esipenko shared details of his preparation for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 in an interview with Peon de Rey magazine on January 1. The 23-year-old grandmaster noted that quality preparation requires a combinatio...

01.14 16:21

“This is actually a great omen for my future chess results” — Hans Niemann shares Vienna travel story ahead of Tata Steel Chess 2026

Hans Niemann shared a story about problems he faced flying to Vienna before heading to Tata Steel Chess 2026 in Wijk aan Zee. The grandmaster posted about it on his official X account on January 13.

01.14 15:52

"What is this guy smoking? Terrible predictions, just ridiculous!" — Hikaru Nakamura on getting A-Tiered at the Candidates predictions

Hikaru Nakamura reacted to a video about Candidates predictions from Jacksark during his stream on Kick on January 12. Hikaru dismissed the idea that he had been farming rating points to qualify for the tournament.

01.14 15:09

"I just don't know how long-term this is" — Anish Giri on Esports World Cup

Dutch GM and polyglot Anish Giri discussed his views on the Esports World Cup in an interview for the Russian-language YouTube channel Chess-ray. Giri described the tournament positively but expressed doubts about its future if support f...

01.14 14:02

Javokhir Sindarov wins Titled Tuesday without a single loss on January 13

Javokhir Sindarov scored 9.5 points with 8 wins and 3 draw to win Titled Tuesday on January 13. Runner-up Arjun Erigaisi won 9 times and lost twice, which led him to finish second with 9 points.

01.13 18:19

Duolingo x Pragg marketing campaign launched in India

The language-learning platform Duolingo is running a marketing campaign to promote its new chess course in India. The campaign features 20-year-old Indian GM Praggnanandhaa R in a photo shoot with Duolingo.

01.13 17:33

Play-in of the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship begins on January 14

The Play-in stage for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship starts on January 14 on Chess.com. Matches begin at 3:00 PM UTC. The Play-In tournament features a $5,000 prize fund.

01.13 16:38

Hou Yifan vs Bibisara Assaubayeva to play in Weissenhaus

GM Hou Yifan and GM Bibisara Assaubayeva will play a Chess960 exhibition match during the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship from February 13 to 15, 2026, in Weissenhaus.

01.13 15:07

Norway Chess moves to Oslo after 13 years in Stavanger

Norway Chess announced that from 2026, Norway Chess Open and Women will be held in Oslo, instead of Stavanger. Norway Chess published this information on its official website on January 12.

01.13 14:03

“She lost on time, but I didn’t notice it…” — Vantika Agrawal on curious draw at Tata Steel India 2026

Indian IM Vantika Agrawal explained what happened in the curious game against GM Harika Dronavalli at The Tata Steel Chess India 2026 — Women’s Blitz in an interview on the Chess Base India YouTube channel on January 12. Vantika note...

01.12 16:45

“I got fed up with not playing! How many years can I just stand there and watch?” — Vishy Anand wants to return to the active play

56-year-old Viswanathan Anand shared thoughts about a return to the competitive circuit in an interview with the Indian Express on January 11. Anand discussed considering a return to active tournament play and noted the difficulties of p...

01.12 16:12

“Büttner would sooner or later get tired of his Freestyle Tour!” — Doubts raised over Freestyle Chess events

Austrian FM Anatol Vitouch shared his opinion on the situation with the Freestyle Chess project in an interview with Der Standard on January 11. Anatol expressed doubts about the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2026 taking place and also...

01.12 15:24

"I’m not sure that playing Freestyle is as useful as playing regular chess" – Anish Giri on Freestyle Friday and weekly Blitz tournaments

Dutch GM and polyglot Anish Giri discussed his views on Chess.com's weekly online tournaments in an interview for the Russian-language YouTube channel Chess-ray. Giri described Titled Tuesday as practice for maintaining form, praised the...

01.12 14:23

"Okay, we're going to have to delete this video…" — Hans vs. Levon push-up challenge gone wrong

Hans Niemann and Levon Aronian participated in a quiz where they answered questions about which of the two was better at a given topic on the ChessBase India YouTube channel on December 7. When asked who could do 50 push-ups, both grandm...

01.12 11:32