5/29/2026 – Elmira Mirzoeva (pictured left) of England tops the standings after four rounds of the 2026 European Women’s Championship in Batumi. She shares first place with 15-year-old Ukrainian Anastasia Hnatyshyn. Seeded 53rd and 76th respectively, the two surprise leaders are half a point ahead of the next four players. Another half point behind them is a large chasing group of 29 players. | Photo: European Chess Union

5/29/2026 – In the diagram position, White makes short work of the black king e8. Let's see if you're in shape!

5/29/2026 – Magnus Carlsen scored his first classical win of this year's Norway Chess in round four, beating world champion Gukesh Dommaraju with the black pieces. The remaining two games were decided in Armageddon, with Wesley So defeating tournament leader Alireza Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu beating Vincent Keymer. Firouzja still leads by 2½ points going into the first rest day. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/28/2026 – The KCF Friendship Festival 2026 is already attracting worldwide attention, with players from more than 30 countries having registered a month before the first move is played. Organized by the Kasparov Chess Foundation and its partners, the festival will take place from June 25 to July 5, 2026, in the beautiful spa town of Radenci, Slovenia.

5/28/2026 – After three rounds at the 2026 European Women’s Championship in Batumi, seven players still maintain a perfect score of 3/3. Varvara Poliakova, seeded 110th, currently leads the standings on tiebreak. Close behind the leading group is a pack of 15 players on 2.5/3. | Photo: European Chess Union

5/28/2026 – Trompowsky fans are in for a treat this week, as we are looking at a spectacular 22 moves miniature played at the Chinese Championships. Personally, I was glad to see that the players Bai Jinshi and Li Shilong followed a line I do recommend in my course The Top-Tier Trompowsky. Black opted for the well-known pawn grabbing idea with ...Qb6xb2 but soon found himself far behind in development. Bai didn't hesitate and was willing to invest two more pawns to launch a massive attack against the black king. Just when it looked as if the black king found a safer place, White came up with another powerful idea (see diagram).

5/28/2026 – Bibisara Assaubayeva kept the lead at Norway Chess Women after drawing her classical game against Divya Deshmukh, but her advantage was reduced when Desmukh won their Armageddon decider. All three classical games in round three were drawn, with Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner also prevailing in the tiebreaks. Assaubayeva's round-one win remains the tournament's only decisive classical result so far. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/28/2026 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored the only classical win of round three at Norway Chess, beating Magnus Carlsen in a rollercoaster game. Alireza Firouzja kept the sole lead by defeating Gukesh Dommaraju in Armageddon, while Wesley So beat Vincent Keymer in the other tiebreaker. Carlsen is now last after two classical losses in three rounds. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/27/2026 – On Tuesday, 5 May 2026, on the sidelines of the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament in Warsaw, a very special event took place. The Polish Minister of Finance and Economy, Andrzej Domanski, met the legendary Judit Polgar. They discussed how chess can be made accessible to all. And following the discussion, they also played a game of chess. Check out the encounter to see how strong the Minister actually is! | Photo: ChessBase India

5/27/2026 – After two rounds, as many as 18 players remain on a perfect 2/2 score and share the lead at the European Women’s Championship in Batumi, Georgia. But some of the favourites stumbled. Second seed IM Yuliia Osmak of Ukraine (2451) lost to Germany’s Charis Peglau (2238), while England’s Bodhana Sivanandan (2374, pictured) lost a theoretical battle against Switzerland’s Sofiia Hryzlova. | Photo: Tournament page

5/27/2026 – Bibisara Assaubayeva retained the lead at Norway Chess Women after surviving a difficult classical game and winning a chaotic Armageddon against Zhu Jiner. All three round-two matches were drawn in classical play, with Divya Deshmukh defeating Humpy Koneru in the tiebreak and Anna Muzychuk recovering from her opening loss by beating world champion Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/27/2026 – Alireza Firouzja made it two classical wins in as many rounds at Norway Chess, beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu on Tuesday after defeating Magnus Carlsen on the opening day. Firouzja now leads with 6/6 points and is guaranteed to remain in sole first place after round three. Carlsen and Wesley So won the day's Armageddon deciders, against Vincent Keymer and Gukesh Dommaraju, respectively. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza