11/1/2026 – "The Chigorin Defence is an opening that brings back romantic chess memories for me. As a teenager, I played it for a few years. More precisely, between 1999 and 2001, as the Mega Database reminds me with unerring accuracy – a quarter of a century ago!" says Hannes Langrock. He is an editor at a publishing house specialising in fiction and an International Master. He lives in Leipzig and plays for ESV Nickelhütte-Aue. Here he reviews Libiszewski's latest course, which brought back a number of memories. | Photos: ChessBase

10/31/2026 – Daniil Dubov has taken the sole lead at the KazChess Masters in Almaty after scoring consecutive wins in rounds five and six. The Russian grandmaster stands on 4½/6, half a point ahead of Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Denis Lazavik. Remarkably, the same three players - Dubov, Vokhidov and Mahammad Muradli - won their games in the last two rounds. Early leaders Edgar Mamedov and Denis Makhnev are now a point behind Dubov. | Photo: Niki Riga / FIDE

10/31/2026 – Twelve years ago, a college student in Charlotte with an economics degree and no business plan asked his local chess community for $10,000 to open a chess club. They gave him $30,000. Today the Charlotte Chess Center teaches 2,500 children a week, runs more rated tournaments than there are days in the year, and hosts Judit Polgar, Peter Leko and Boris Gelfand as camp trainers. Sagar Shah travelled to Charlotte for the Daniel Naroditsky Memorial and sat down with founder Peter Giannatos to understand exactly how it was built. | All photos: Courtesy of Peter Giannatos and the Charlotte Chess Center

10/31/2026 – Almaty will host the 4th International Scientific and Practical Conference "Chess in Education" on 12–13 November at Narxoz University. Organised as part of Kazakhstan's national chess development plan, the event will focus on expanding school chess, improving teacher training and integrating chess more systematically into education. FIDE President Timur Turlov and international specialists will join discussions on cognitive development, curriculum design, digital tools and the training of educators. | Image: FIDE

10/30/2026 – The London chess café Simpson's-in-the-Strand was, for a time, a meeting place for the world's leading players. Now, thanks to Jeremy King and Jason Kouchak, the historic venue is enjoying a revival not only as a top restaurant but also as a gathering place for chess enthusiasts. | Photos: Chiao Lee

10/30/2026 – Bobby Fischer fans in particular will probably be familiar with the name Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren. At the Interzonal Tournament in Sousse 1967, Fischer defeated him in a brilliant game that is still frequently cited. On 26 October, the multiple Mongolian champion, who represented his country on numerous occasions, died at the age of 88. | Foto: https://montsame.mn/

10/30/2026 – Javokhir Sindarov won the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in Saint Louis after overturning a 2½-point deficit on the final day. The Uzbek grandmaster scored three wins and three draws on Thursday, including a brilliant tactical victory over Hikaru Nakamura from the black side of a King's Indian Defence. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu finished second, 1½ points behind. The result gives Sindarov a tournament victory less than a month before his World Championship match against Gukesh Dommaraju in Geneva. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

10/30/2026 – Istanbul will host the 2026 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships from 25 to 30 December, with hundreds of players expected to compete for four world titles in the open and women's sections. Freedom Holding Corp. will serve as title sponsor. The event marks another major international chess competition in Türkiye, which has hosted the Olympiad and several youth championships while continuing to expand chess through schools and national development programmes.

10/29/2026 – The full ten-player line-up for the 2026 XTX Markets London Chess Classic has been announced, bringing together some of the biggest names in world chess for the UK's most prestigious international tournament. Defending champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the Uzbek world number five, will return to London seeking to become the first player since Magnus Carlsen in 2010 to win back-to-back Classic titles. Tennis star Andy Murray makes the ceremonial first move on Nodirbek Abdusattorov's board at the 2025 London Chess Classic, while tournament director Malcolm Pein looks on and provides commentary. | Photo: London Chess Classic

10/29/2026 – Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown is a high-profile rapid tournament gathering four elite competitors. Javokhir Sindarov, who is set to challenge Gukesh Dommaraju for the World Championship title next month, joins Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in a three-day battle. The competition runs from 27 to 29 October and follows a "clutch" structure of three double round-robins, where results become progressively more valuable with each round-robin. | Follow the action live starting at 18.00 CET (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/29/2026 – GM Sipke Ernst explains how to recognize when an attack is truly justified, focusing on factors such as development, king safety, open lines and central control. Through successful and failed examples, he shows when to strike, when to build pressure, and when a quieter or prophylactic move is the stronger choice.

10/29/2026 – The Clutch Chess tournament in Saint Louis did not get off to a good start for Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, currently ranked seventh in the world and the lowest seed in the four-player field, behind Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov. On the first day, Praggnanandhaa scored just 2 out of a possible 6 points and finished bottom of the standings. Things went better on day two, however, as he collected 9 out of a possible 12 points to take the lead. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club