4/6/2026 – Meet the ultimate training-and-prep bundle: Fritz 20 plus Fritz Powerbook 2026 - your personal chess trainer combined with a modern, statistics-based opening reference. With opponent-style simulation, Bullet Training, and AI voice commentary on the Fritz side, you can turn preparation into realistic practice games. And with 25 million opening positions built from 1.7 million high-class tournament games, Powerbook 2026 gives you a clear, structured picture of what actually works in today's openings.

4/6/2026 – Vincent Keymer holds the sole lead at the grenke Freestyle Open A with 6½/7 points after defeating Hans Niemann and drawing Magnus Carlsen in a tense encounter. A chasing group consisting of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexey Sarana and Pranav Venkatesh remains within striking distance as the final two rounds of the event are set to take place on Monday. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

4/5/2026 – Drawing on a game from the previous Candidates, Hikaru Nakamura's win over Alireza Firouzja is revisited through a detailed analytical lens, leading to a study-like endgame. The position, refined after further work, offers a challenging exercise inspired by practical play. Alongside this, a brief statistical note highlights recurring opposite-coloured bishop endings in encounters involving Fabiano Caruana, adding context to recent Candidates battles. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza (Candidates 2024)

4/5/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.

4/5/2026 – Anna Muzychuk moved into the sole lead at the Women's Candidates after defeating Zhu Jiner with the black pieces, opening a one-point gap in the standings. Bibisara Assaubayeva suffered a second consecutive loss, while Aleksandra Goryachkina was held to a draw despite getting winning chances. Vaishali Rameshbabu and Divya Deshmukh scored their first wins of the event. | Photo: FIDE / Yoav Nis

4/5/2026 – Javokhir Sindarov's astonishing run continued in round six of the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, as he defeated Wei Yi with the black pieces to reach 5½/6. The 20-year-old now leads by 1½ points over Fabiano Caruana, with the rest of the field even further behind. The remaining three games were drawn, leaving Sindarov as the clear frontrunner ahead of the final round of the event's first half. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/3/2026 – At the top three places in the world rankings, nothing has changed: Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana. Vincent Keymer has lost a few points and swapped places with Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Hou Yifan is the highest-rated female chess player in the world, and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju is the best under-20 player. Alua Nurman is the new number one in the girls' youth category.

4/2/2026 – Amin Tabatabaei won the Reykjavík Open in dominant fashion. After securing seven consecutive victories at the start, he clinched the winner's trophy with two draws in the final rounds. In second place finished US grandmaster Zhou Jianchao, half a point behind. Third place went to the Ukrainian legend Vasyl Ivanchuk, who had the best tiebreak score among a group of seven players on 7 points. | Photo: Jökull Úlfarsson

4/2/2026 – Anna Muzychuk and Bibisara Assaubayeva share the lead after round four of the Women's Candidates Tournament, following two decisive games on Wednesday: Muzychuk defeated Kateryna Lagno, while Zhu Jiner overcame Divya Deshmukh. Assaubayeva missed chances to take sole first place in her draw with Tan Zhongyi, while Vaishali Rameshbabu held Aleksandra Goryachkina after facing early pressure. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/2/2026 – A clear leader has emerged after four rounds of the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus. Javokhir Sindarov defeated Fabiano Caruana in the clash of co-leaders to move to 3½ out of 4, with a full-point lead over his closest chaser. Anish Giri also won, beating Andrey Esipenko with black to return to a fift-percent score, while the remaining two games were drawn ahead of the tournament's first rest day. | Photo: FIDE / Yoav Nis

4/1/2026 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 is already in full swing, with streamers and top players sharing their takes on the early results. A common narrative has emerged: Matthias Bluebaum is seen as the biggest underdog in the field, but is that really justified? With a rating close to 2700 and back-to-back European Championship titles, his credentials are difficult to ignore. In this episode, Robert Ris has a closer look at one of Bluebaum's recent victories, explaining why the underdog label might still fit, and how it could become his greatest weapon in surprising the field.

4/1/2026 – British chess phenom Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by shooting to the top of the UK chess rankings after a sensational start to 2026, the English Chess Federation is pleased to report. At ten, she was the youngest female chess player to beat a grandmaster, and the youngest ever to secure a WGM norm. She is really going places. We predict there will be a Netflix documentary about her in a few years' time.