1/8/2026 – The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Freestyle Chess Operations GmbH have agreed to stage the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in Weissenhaus, Germany, from February 13–15, 2026. There are eight players in the event, six qualified (Carlsen, Aronian, Caruana, Keymer, Erigaisi, and Sindarov), with one nominated (Niemann) and one to be still determined. Weissenhaus is just an hour's drive from Hamburg – in case you want to attend.

1/8/2026 – The opening day of Tata Steel Chess India in Kolkata delivered an entertaining start in both sections of the rapid tournament. In the open, Viswanathan Anand and Hans Niemann (pictured) share the lead with 2½ points after three rounds marked by a high number of decisive games. The women's event produced a sole leader in Carissa Yip, who also scored 2½ points. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/7/2026 – At Christmas 2025, Stefan Löffler delighted readers of his chess column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung—one of Germany’s leading national newspapers—with a Christmas story. Forty years earlier, Garry Kasparov, still not yet world champion, had played a clock simul against the Bundesliga team of Hamburger SK and lost. Two years later, Kasparov returned to Hamburg as world champion. This time he won the rematch, and during the visit encountered a remarkable new development that was to change the game profoundly: a chess database.

1/7/2026 – The Rapid and Blitz World Championships had barely finished when Faustino Oro and Magnus Carlsen were already playing their next tournament. Both took part in the first Titled Tuesday of 2026 and commented on and streamed their games live from the Take Take Take Studio in Oslo. After the tournament, they stayed on in the studio, chatting about chess, football, the Norwegian weather, and what it is like to be so young and already so good at chess.

1/7/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

1/7/2026 – In the final sections of our Christmas Puzzle Week we brought you a variety of famous and less well-known puzzles. Among them a mate problem that solves itself – literally. And one that looks deceptively simple, but requires a very subtle strategy to find the win. In no less than 46 moves! Can computers solve it?

1/7/2026 – Zhu Jiner's 2025 season marked a decisive shift in her standing within women's chess. Focusing exclusively on classical chess, this analysis traces her rise from the edge of the top ten to world number two, examining her breakthrough performances in the Women's Grand Prix, a brief mid-year dip in form and a strong finish - which included a remarkable showing at the Fujairah Superstars tournament. | Photo: Abhilash Shinde

1/6/2026 – The seventh edition of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament will take place in Kolkata on 7-11 January, featuring separate rapid and blitz tournaments in both the Open and Women's sections. The event is highlighted by the return of five-time world champion and Indian chess icon Viswanathan Anand, alongside a strong mix of domestic and international players. | Image: Official site

1/6/2026 – Lilit Mkrtchian analyzes a complex and instructive game she played against 17-year-old Georgian rising star Anastasia Gad at the European Women’s Championship, showing how deep opening preparation and understanding of pawn structures gave her an early, lasting advantage. She explains her use of ChessBase to study her opponent’s tendencies, deliberately steering the game into a Slav-type structure with colours reversed, where her opponent made subtle inaccuracies that allowed Lilit to build pressure and play comfortably. Despite time trouble and a tense middlegame with aggressive counterplay, Lilit kept control, found precise tactical solutions, and ultimately converted her advantage, highlighting how opening knowledge, planning, and calm decision-making decide high-level games.

1/6/2026 – Five national federations, including the German Chess Federation, have filed a lawsuit against FIDE with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Through the legal action, the federations are challenging the decisions adopted by the General Assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) on 14 December 2025 concerning the participation of Russian and Belarusian national teams in international chess competitions.

1/6/2026 – With a one-point margin, third seed Xu Xiangyu of China won the Rilton Cup, which was played in Stockholm over the turn of the year. A total of 19 grandmasters competed for the title at the traditional tournament, but there was no way past Xu. He conceded just two draws: one against top seed Anton Demchenko in round five and another against Mahadevan Siva in the final round. These were also the two players he relegated to second and third place respectively. | Photo: Rilton Cup, Abdel Rahman Sadeh

1/6/2026 – Anastasia Corotcova explains how to create, manage, and organize variations in ChessBase when analysing games. It shows how to promote side lines to the main line, correct incorrect continuations, and safely replace moves. Finally, it demonstrates how to insert missing moves so game notation stays clear, accurate, and well-structured.