10/27/2026 – In this special Olympiad episode of Svitlana’s Smart Moves, Svitlana looks back at her final round game for Canada against Singapore. She explains how she handled a familiar setup in the King's Indian Attack, why she chose a safer practical route instead of an early pawn sacrifice, and how typical plans such as e5 and kingside pressure developed into a strong attack. She features several instructive tactical moments, difficult decisions about when to simplify, and a winning endgame that Svitlana had to calculate precisely.

10/27/2026 – FIDE President Timur Turlov has presented plans for a new organizational structure aimed at clarifying responsibilities, improving governance and strengthening the federation's international activities. The proposed changes include a stronger role for the FIDE Council, a new Advisory Board and several leadership appointments. Turlov also outlined plans to expand support for national federations, chess education and international partnerships.

10/26/2026 – While looking through the standings of the European Club Cup which concluded last week, René Mandelbaum focused on the teams at the bottom of the table. To his surprise, he discovered that many of their players were rated between 1800 and 2000. These are good club players - still, he had expected stronger opposition at a European championship. "With a field like this, we shouldn't finish last", he thought. | Photos: SK Weisse Dame Hamburg

10/26/2026 – IM Marcus Harvey won the English Rapidplay Championship in Peterborough after defeating fellow IM Jonah Willow in a five-game playoff. Both players finished the 11-round tournament on 9 points, half a point ahead of top seed Michael Adams, who was held to a draw in the final round. Harvey and Willow exchanged wins in both the rapid and blitz stages of the playoff before Harvey prevailed in Armageddon. | Photo: Yuri Krylov / 4NCL

10/26/2026 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation Academy has wrapped up its third season, marking another important year of growth for the organization, with expanding educational programs, international events, and outstanding achievements by participants in KCF programs. And the momentum isn't slowing down: registration is now open for the KCF Academy 2027 season, a six-month online training program for ambitious chess players around the world.

10/26/2026 – The Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown event returns to Saint Louis on 27–29 October, with Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Javokhir Sindarov (pictured) competing in an 18-game rapid tournament. The four elite GMs will play three double round-robins, with victories worth progressively more points over the three days. A jackpot funded by drawn games further adds entertainment value to the competition. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

10/25/2026 – Lionel Messi's appearance in a recent OpenAI advertisement has produced an unexpected crossover between football and chess. After ChatGPT suggested the “GOAT Horns” opening with 1.e4 a6 2.d4 c6, Hikaru Nakamura tried the same setup with black in an online event and went on to win the tournament on tiebreaks. The episode offered a light-hearted example of Messi's growing interest in chess. | Screenshot: OpenAI

10/25/2026 – Chess Olympiads produce remarkable stories. The 1939 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires was particularly dramatic, as Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, while the tournament was still taking place, marking the beginning of the Second World War. Against this backdrop, it is easy to overlook the fact that José Raúl Capablanca, world champion from 1921 to 1927, played his final tournament and his final competitive game in Buenos Aires. | Photo: José Raúl Capablanca (Archive)

10/24/2026 – The English Chess Federation hailed her as a ‘generational talent.’ Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, shattered yet another world record, this time becoming the youngest female player in history to qualify for the International Master title. In doing so, she eclipsed a record set 38 years ago by chess great Judit Polgar, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player of all time. | Photo R Oleksiewicz

10/24/2026 – Bayegan Pendik and Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo won the European Club Cup titles in Budva, both finishing level on match points with their closest rivals and prevailing on tiebreaks. Novy Bor took silver in the open section, while Gambit Bonnevoie finished second in the women's competition. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan completed her final international master norm, becoming the youngest female player to fulfil the requirements for the title. | Photo: Gerd Densing

10/24/2026 – For Jochen Schwarz, club player from Bremen, FritzTrainer courses have become an essential part of his hobby. Over the past ten years, he has studied numerous courses and now shares some of the favourites that have impressed him most.

10/24/2026 – The 6th Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners brought together a record 140 teams from 56 countries, highlighting the continued growth of FIDE's Chess for Freedom initiative. Beyond the competition itself, programmes in Argentina, Romania, Ghana, Australia (pictured), Nigeria and Zimbabwe show how chess is being used in correctional facilities to encourage discipline, critical thinking, emotional control and social reintegration, while giving incarcerated players opportunities for structured learning and international participation. | Photo: FIDE