All Chess News

"We were very-very near to a deal" — Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner on mending relations with FIDE

Freestyle Chess co-founder and CEO Jan Henric Buettner discussed the merger of FIDE and Freestyle Chess in an interview on the ChessBase India YouTube channel on January 8. He detailed the journey fr…

January 08, 2026

Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura to play blindfolded chess match

Sportsbook operator Betby has announced a series of on-stage events with Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Levy Rozman in Barcelona on January 20. Magnus and Hikaru will play an exhibition blindfo…

January 07, 2026

FIDE and Freestyle Chess unite for the first-ever FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship

The first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship will be held in Weissenhaus, Germany, from February 13 to 15, 2026. The event is governed by FIDE in collaboration with Freestyle Chess Oper…

January 07, 2026

Botez sisters rate Indian food with Grandmasters Erigaisi, Vidit, and Pragg

Andrea and Alexandra Botez with Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and R Praggnanandhaa created a tier list of Indian national foods from C to S on the BotezLive YouTube channel on January 3. During the…

January 07, 2026

Tata Steel India — Rapid Day 1: Two-Way Tie at the Top

The first day of the Tata Steel Chess India 2026 — Open Rapid in Kolkata has concluded. After three rounds, two players share the lead with 2.5 points each, with Viswanathan Anand leading on tiebreak…

January 07, 2026

Tata Steel India — Women’s Rapid Day 1: IM Carissa Yip leads

The first day of the Tata Steel Chess India 2026 — Women's Rapid in Kolkata has concluded. After three rounds, IM Carissa Yip scored 2 wins and 1 draw and leads the tournament with 2.5 points. Cariss…

January 07, 2026

Magnus Carlsen wins Titled Tuesday on tiebreaks on January 6

Magnus Carlsen scored 9.5 points with 9 wins and 1 draw to win Titled Tuesday on January 6. Runner-up Vincent Keymer won 9 times, drew once and lost once, which led him to finish second with 9.5 poin…

January 06, 2026

12-year-old Faustino Oro plays first over-the-board game with Magnus Carlsen

Twelve-year-old IM Faustino Oro played his first over-the-board game with Magnus Carlsen at the Take Take Take studio on January 6. The official Take Take Take X account posted a photo and video wher…

January 06, 2026

Tata Steel Chess India 2026 begins in Kolkata on January 7

The Tata Steel Chess India 2026 starts tomorrow in Kolkata, India, running from January 7-11. First matches begin at 9:30 UTC. The Open and Women’s tournaments feature a combined $83,000 prize fund. …

January 06, 2026

"The controversy is complete nonsense!" — Hikaru Nakamura about his Candidates qualification method

American GM and popular streamer Hikaru Nakamura commented on his FIDE rating-based qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament in an interview with Reuters.com on January 6. He described this m…

January 06, 2026

First 16 players to compete in Pilot Total Chess World Championship Tour

Sixteen players have secured invitations to the 2026 Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot on January 6. The field includes reigning World Champions, medalists from the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz…

January 06, 2026

"You might be taking home €200,000 after taxes, for winning the literal ultimate crown!" — Levy Rozman on World Chess Championship earnings

Popular chess content creator IM Levy Rozman shared his opinion on the World Chess Championship prize fund in an interview on the YouTube channel Prakhar Gupta. Rozman also mentioned S-Tier tournamen…

January 06, 2026

Last day for early registration for the Charlotte Open 2026

Early registration for the 2026 Charlotte Open closes on January 6. Final registration closes 75 minutes before round 1 on January 17.

January 05, 2026

Hikaru Nakamura withdraws Niclas Huschenbeth from his Candidates preparation team

German GM Niclas Huschenbeth will no longer be working on Hikaru Nakamura's team in 2026 and will not be seconding him before and during the FIDE Candidates Tournament. Niclas commented on Nakamura's…

January 05, 2026

"Chess is not my entire life now" — Hou Yifan on shifting focus from profession to hobby

Chinese GM Hou Yifan reflected on her career shift from professional chess to a hobby in an interview with The Hindu on January 2. The world's No. 1 female player discussed her current academic focus…

January 05, 2026

Dina Belenkaya surpasses 100 million views on YouTube

Israeli WGM Dina Belenkaya's YouTube channel exceeded 100 million views in a month, becoming the most-watched channel in the chess category globally. She announced the milestone in an X post.

January 05, 2026

FIDE published 2025 fan-voted awards results

FIDE summarized 2025 on its YouTube channel by conducting polls in various categories. The voting was held during FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships. A total of 63 thousand users participated in …

January 04, 2026

"Sindarov blunders under time pressure..." — Hikaru Nakamura leaks his Candidates preparations

World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura jokingly analyzed all players who qualified for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 in a video on his YouTube channel on January 4. In the video, he used the free website …

January 04, 2026

Gukesh Dommaraju withdraws from Tata Steel Chess India 2026

World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju has withdrawn from Tata Steel Chess India 2026, which will be held in Kolkata from January 7 to 11. The official announcement was posted in a Story on the official Tat…

January 03, 2026

"I wouldn’t say I tried my best to qualify for the Candidates" — Alireza Firouzja on missing The Candidates 2026

French GM Alireza Firouzja explained why he will miss the upcoming FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 in an interview with The Indian Express on January 2. Alireza stated that the FIDE Grand Swiss Tourn…

January 03, 2026