Move to bring chess to 5,000 refugee children

9/20/2026 – Movement in Refuge is seeking further support to expand its chess programme for Rohingya children in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, after an initial FIDE-backed project reached young refugees in August. The charity hopes to raise $100,000 to bring chess to as many as 5,000 more children over two years, while founder Magnus Wolfe-Murray also plans to promote the initiative at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand and pursue the long-term goal of forming a refugee youth team.

Freedom Holding Corp. backs World Championship Match as general partner

9/20/2026 – Freedom Holding Corp. has been named General Partner of the 2026 FIDE World Championship Match, which will see Gukesh Dommaraju defend his title against Javokhir Sindarov in Switzerland from 22 November to 12 December. The 14-game match will open at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Both players will be 20 at the start, making this the youngest World Championship contest since the title match tradition began in 1886.

Chess Olympiad - Live!

9/20/2026 – The 46th edition of the Chess Olympiad is taking place on 16-27 September at the Silk Road EXPO in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. A record 208 teams in the open and 191 in the women's category are fighting for collective and individual medals. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST) | Pictured: Govhar Beydullayeva from Azerbaijan by Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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ChessBase´26 – Tips for Beginners, part 32: Training with style

9/20/2026 – It’s once again time to think about aesthetics in ChessBase´26 training: Have you ever noticed the “Style” option? If not, in this episode we’ll explain briefly and concisely how you can better adapt your screen display to your own taste.

Samarkand R4 (women): United States set the pace with 15/16 board points

9/20/2026 – The United States continued their strong start in the Women’s Chess Olympiad, reaching 15/16 individual points as ten teams are now tied for first on 8/8 match points. Alice Lee leads the Americans with a perfect 4/4, while her teammates Carissa Yip (pictured) and Tatev Abrahamyan have perfect 3/3 scores. Like Lee, five other players from the co-leading teams have also won all four of their games. Sunday’s fifth round features key clashes between the leaders. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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Samarkand R4 (open): Eight-way tie at the top as favourites hold firm

9/20/2026 – The leading group in the open section of the Chess Olympiad was reduced to eight teams after round four, with China, Uzbekistan, Germany and Armenia still unbeaten on every individual board. Lithuania supplied the main surprise of the day by beating Croatia 3–1. With all eight co-leaders now paired against one another, Sunday's fifth round is set to reshape the top of the standings. | Pictured: China's Wei Yi | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE
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ChessBase interviews from Samarkand: "How many databases? Hundreds!"

9/19/2026 – ChessBase has a team on-site at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Visitors to the ChessBase stand can find out more about ChessBase for Mac. Arne Kähler and Veronika Exler are also conducting interviews. Svitlana Demchenko has hundreds of databases, Nikita Vitiugov considers himself to be one of the best chefs among chess players, while Gloria Yepez does not enjoy playing blitz! | Photo: ChessBase
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Daniel King goes over Baadur Jobava's stunning win in Samarkand

9/19/2026 – Baadur Jobava produced a striking tactical win in round three of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, defeating Finland's Toivo Keinanen in 30 moves. Playing white from an Exchange French, the Georgian grandmaster unleashed 17.Bxh6! and followed it with a series of precise attacking manoeuvres after Black accepted the sacrifice. The game highlighted Jobava's trademark tactical sharpness, and was analysed in full by GM Daniel King. | Image: Daniel King's Power Play Chess YouTube channel
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Review: Master Class Vol. 20 – Bent Larsen

9/19/2026 – The Master Class series combines biography, a collection of games and Fritz Trainer material on a chess legend in a multimedia format. Several authors contribute to each volume, presenting the master in their respective areas of expertise. Jochen Schwarz, a club player from Bremen, has followed the Master Class series since its first volume and has taken a look at the latest edition, devoted to Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen. He also compares it with earlier volumes in the series.
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Samarkand R3 (women): Argentina and Iran score major upsets

9/19/2026 – Argentina and Iran produced the standout results in round three of the Women's Chess Olympiad, defeating higher-seeded Ukraine and France respectively. Both joined a 20-team leading group on 6/6 match points. Poland recorded their second 4–0 victory of the event, while India, Kazakhstan and the United States also remained perfect with comfortable wins. | Pictured: Candela Francisco (Argentina) facing Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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Samarkand R3 (open): Top ten stay perfect after tense third round

9/19/2026 – The top ten teams in the open section of the Chess Olympiad all remain perfect after round three, although several were pushed hard by lower-seeded opposition. The United States, Germany, the Netherlands (pictured), Hungary and Armenia all won by 2½–1½, while 11th-seeded England were held by Lithuania. Singapore and Kyrgyzstan produced the biggest team upsets, defeating Norway and Brazil respectively, as 21 teams moved into round four on 6/6 match points. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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ChessBase – finally on Mac!

9/18/2026 – Our database program – used by everyone, from the World Champion to lowly club players – will now be available for Mac users. The new version has been developed from the ground up: modern, built for fast access to what matters. The official release is November 2026. Register now to make sure you don’t miss the launch of a new era in chess study.
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Vlog from Uzbekistan: ChessBase team makes it to Samarkand!

9/18/2026 – A ChessBase team travelled to Samarkand. During the journey, Arne Kähler was already interviewing teams on their way to the event. Nigel Short spoke about ambitious plans that had only come about thanks to an earlier interview with Arne. The ChessBase team met Carissa Yip in Istanbul. Yip had just arrived from the Global Chess League in India. In the travel vlog, the team also shares impressions of Samarkand itself, as well as excerpts from the opening ceremony. | Photo: Emine Yanik
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Fianchetto fiasco

9/18/2026 – It's hard to believe, but after 23...Bg7 in the diagram position the game lasted only two (!) moves. White received a big checkmate gift - and you can unwrap it!

Samarkand R2 (women): Georgia only manage a draw against Montenegro

9/18/2026 – Georgia became the first leading team to drop match points in the Women's Chess Olympiad, as the second seeds were held to a 2–2 draw by Montenegro in round two. Alena Skvortsova and Aleksandra Milovic (pictured) scored the Montenegrins' two wins. The Czech Republic were also held by the United Arab Emirates, while Tajikistan and Kenya recorded notable match victories against higher-seeded opposition. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE
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Samarkand R2 (open): Despite close calls, all top teams grab wins

9/18/2026 – All of the top 28 seeds won in round two of the open Chess Olympiad, but several favourites were pushed hard. The United States (pictured), India and the Netherlands all prevailed by 2½–1½, while El Salvador produced the biggest team upset by beating Cuba. Gukesh Dommaraju was held to a draw by Satria Duta Cahaia and slipped below 2700 on the live rating list. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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Poland crowned champions at Olympiad for People with Disabilities

9/18/2026 – Poland won the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Samarkand after finishing unbeaten on 13 match points, ahead of Cuba and hosts Uzbekistan 1. The final round saw Poland defeat the Philippines 3½–½ to secure gold. The event featured a record 41 teams and was staged alongside the main FIDE Chess Olympiad for the first time. | Photos: Mark Livshitz and Rafal Oleksiewicz
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On the Superfluity of Words (2)

9/17/2026 – In today's article we present a gem of chess composition. It is a study requires no words, no instruction or stipulation, such as, for example, "White to move and win". Everything is solved by simply analysing the diagram. Can you follow the logic that tells you everything abut this diagram? It is extensive, exacting, and truly dizzying.

ChessBase at the Olympiad in Samarkand: Interviews

9/17/2026 – ChessBase has a team on-site at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Visitors to the ChessBase stand can find out more about ChessBase for Mac. Arne Kähler and Veronika Exler are also conducting interviews. Adriana Palao loves sacrificing queens, Konstantin Peyrer would rather not use a board for the first game analysis, while Jerelyn Adeshola Mary Beckley wants to beat Magnus Carlsen in ten years' time. | Photo: ChessBase
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