Who will become the FIDE World Combined Champion?

11/6/2026 – The Total Chess World Championship series is a new tournament format combining three different time controls: fast classic, rapid and blitz. The winner of the series will be crowned the FIDE World Combined Champion. Both the winner and the runner-up will then qualify for the Candidates Tournament for the classical World Championship. How did this format come about? | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess
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Loek van Wely: 10 Chess Principles That Actually Matter

11/6/2026 – In his new course, GM Loek van Wely shares ten practical principles from a career spanning 14 Olympiads, eight Dutch championship titles and decades of games against Karpov, Kasparov, Anand and Carlsen. Instead of opening lines, he focuses on how decisions are really made at the board: managing your clock around the critical moments, knowing when to simplify, staying objective about mistakes and recognising the right moment to take a risk. He also covers the psychological side of chess, from not being intimidated by stronger opponents to trusting your own calculation under pressure. A course about the part of chess that opening theory can’t teach you.
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Difficulty level 2640

11/6/2026 – In the diagram position, 19.f5! leads to a decisive attack. However, White still has a very tough nut to crack – are you up for it?

Bavarian Championship: Gopal emerges as sole leader

11/6/2026 – Indian grandmaster G.N. Gopal has taken the sole lead at the Bavarian Chess Championship in Gmund am Tegernsee, reaching 5½/6 points after defeating 15-year-old German IM Hussain Besou on Thursday. Twelve players follow half a point behind, including top seed Frederik Svane, who defeated Polish IM Klaudia Kulon. | Photo: Finn Engesser
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World Senior Championships underway in Serbia: Cramling, Georgiev and Gaprindashvili among participants

11/6/2026 – The 2026 FIDE World Senior Chess Championships are taking place in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, from 3 to 14 November. A total of 385 players from 65 federations are competing for four world titles, divided into the open and women's 50+ and 65+ categories. Among the participants are legendary grandmasters Pia Cramling, Kiril Georgiev, Zurab Sturua and former women's world champion Nona Gaprindashvili. Each tournament consists of 11 rounds. | Photo: FIDE
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Peter Leko and Peter Svidler to commentate on the Gukesh v. Sindarov Geneva match

11/5/2026 – Peter Leko and Peter Svidler will provide the official commentary for the 2026 FIDE World Championship match between Gukesh Dommaraju and Javokhir Sindarov in Geneva. Leko brings first-hand experience of playing for the world title, while Svidler combines extensive top-level experience with a long-standing reputation as a commentator. Their coverage will accompany the 14-game match, which begins on 24 November at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny. | Image: FIDE
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Suleymenov on Gukesh, Sindarov and the psychological side of chess

11/5/2026 – Chennai has given GM Alisher Suleymenov a title and a reason to return. After winning the 1st Chola Chess International GM Round Robin earlier this year, the Kazakh grandmaster is back for the 1st Chola Chess GM 2026. In this interview with Devansh Singh, he recalls beating a 12-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju and explains why he considers Javokhir Sindarov the favourite in the World Championship match. He also speaks about his ambitions in chess and the importance of staying psychologically strong. | Photo: ChessBase India
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Bavarian Championship: 15-year-old Hussain Besou joins the leaders

11/5/2026 – Six players share the lead with 4½ points after five rounds of the Bavarian Chess Championship in Gmund am Tegernsee. The leading group includes three Indian grandmasters and 15-year-old German IM Hussain Besou, who defeated former world junior champion Peter Acs in round five. Top seed Frederik Svane and third seed Alexander Donchenko are among the 31 players trailing the leaders by half a point. | Photo: Finn Engesser
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Chinese Rapid Championship: Ding Liren and Wang Hao exit in quarterfinals

11/5/2026 – Ding Liren and Wang Hao were both eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Chinese Rapid Championship, as three of the four rating favourites failed to reach the last four. Ding lost to Xiao Tong in a blitz tiebreaker, while Wang Hao was defeated by Xu Xiangyu. Yu Yangyi was the only higher-rated player to advance, joining Xiao, Xu and Lu Shanglei in the semifinals. | Photo: Chinese Chess Association
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FIDE President Timur Turlov meets Georgia's Akaki Iashvili

11/4/2026 – FIDE President Timur Turlov met Georgian Chess Federation President Akaki Iashvili to discuss major events, the 2027–2028 international calendar and possible improvements to competition formats and organisational standards. The talks also covered chess development in Georgia, including the reconstruction of the Tbilisi Chess Palace and preschool initiatives, as well as a proposed World Chess Championship for Miners. Both officials also discussed ways to expand FIDE's global reach and support national federations. | Photo: FIDE
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Eugenio Torre: Asia's first grandmaster turns 75

11/4/2026 – In 1974, Eugenio Torre became the first Asian chess player to earn the grandmaster title. At his peak, the Filipino was among the world's elite and capable of beating any of the leading players. Torre also holds the record for the most appearances at Chess Olympiads, having competed in 23 editions. He was also one of the few people to maintain a close friendship with Bobby Fischer over many years. Today, Eugenio Torre celebrates his 75th birthday. | Photo: Reykjavik Open
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GothamChess to host new Total Chess highlights show in Budapest

11/4/2026 – From November 10 to 20, Budapest will host the first Total Chess tournament, bringing together 24 top players, including Magnus Carlsen. The new format combines Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz chess to test players across three time controls. The organisers have now announced their broadcast team: Anna Rudolf, Fiona Steil-Antoni, David Howell and Jovanka Houska will cover the tournament, while Levy Rozman, better known as GothamChess, will host a daily highlights show featuring interviews, analysis and special guests.
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KazChess Masters: Lazavik takes title, Smirnov earns GM norm

11/3/2026 – Denis Lazavik won the KazChess Masters in Almaty with 6½/9 points, finishing unbeaten after drawing his final-round game against Aram Hakobyan. The 19-year-old Belarusian overtook Daniil Dubov in the penultimate round and eventually finished half a point ahead of the Russian. Another notable result came from 14-year-old Kazakh IM Mark Smirnov, who scored 5½/9, shared third place with Shamsiddin Vokhidov and earned his first GM norm. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE (World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2026)
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New: ChessBase Magazine #234

11/3/2026 – 2026 Chess Olympiad: Game analyses by Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alexander Donchenko, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Anish Giri, Ediz Gurel, Nils Grandelius, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Wesley So, Nikita Vitiugov, Wei Yi and many more. Felix Blohberger demonstrates his "great win" against Peter Leko in the video! – ‘Rooks love open files’: 35 games packed with tactical exercises + 4 interactive videos by Oliver Reeh – Endgames with knight and bishop against rook: In his series ‘Endgame Basics’, Dr Karsten Mueller explains why the minor pieces do not always triumph – Queen on the third rank: Petra Papp favours the flexible 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Qd3!? - Sicilian Dragon Variation, Jaenisch Gambit, Caro-Kann: Daniel King, Ivan Sokolov and Nico Zwirs highlight new trends and offer tips for your repertoire in the video and much more! Take a look into the new issue!
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Game of the Week #746: Xiong vs Liang

11/3/2026 – The USA Championship was super strong with 12 top grandmasters participating, and only Nakamura/Dominguez missing. A key role was played by 16-year-old Andy Woodward, who impressively beat Caruana, but lost to So. In the final round Caruana caught up with So, but in the rapid tiebreak Wesley So was crowned the winner. From many fascinating games we selected the encounter between Xiong and Liang as our Game of the Week, because of its highly surprising plot twist. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

The Illusion of Hopelessness

11/3/2026 – The Illusion of Hopelessness: Amazingly, White can defend against the passed pawns thanks to his own passer: White to move and draw.
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Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: Saemisch Variation of the King's Indian

11/3/2026 – In his last tournament before the World Championship match later this month, Javokhir Sindarov showed great form by winning Clutch Chess in Saint Louis. My favorite game was his spectacular victory with the black pieces against Nakamura. In a Saemisch Variation of the King's Indian, Nakamura used his pet line with 6.Bg5 which he has been using frequently playing against his own favorite opening he's had great successes with over the years. Interestingly up till move 17 the players were following an earlier blitz game played in Saint Louis back in 2016 between two KID specialists Nakamura and Kasparov! Despite the short time control (10 min + 5 sec) the young Uzbek superstar considered this game as ''one of his best games with the King's Indian'', so it's an absolute must-see!

Gawain Maroroa Jones wins English Championship 2026

11/3/2026 – The open tournament at this year’s English Championships was dominated by the two top seeds. Gawain Maroroa Jones won convincingly, finishing unbeaten with 7½ points out of 9. In round five, he drew with Michael Adams, who also remained undefeated and secured second place, one point behind the winner. In the women's event, Elmira Mirzoeva claimed the title with the same one-point margin over runner-up Anusha Subramanian. | Photos: Official website / Melinda White
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KazChess Masters Almaty 2026 - Live!

11/3/2026 – The KazChess Masters Almaty 2026 takes place from 26 October to 3 November in Kazakhstan. The ten-player invitational tournament brings together five international grandmasters and five players from the host country. Among the best-known participants are Muhammad Muradli, Daniil Dubov and Denis Lazavik, who recently reached the Esports World Cup final. Another player to watch is 14-year-old Kazakh talent Mark Smirnov. | Live from approximately 6:15 AM ET / 3:45 PM IST / 11:15 AM CET | Pictured: Edgar Mamedov | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
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