Grenke Freestyle Chess Open returns to Karlsruhe: Now a qualifier for Freestyle Chess World Championship

1/24/2026 – The grenke Chess Festival will return to Karlsruhe over Easter 2026, bringing together thousands of players for parallel classical and Freestyle opens. For the first time, the Freestyle event will serve as a qualifier for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, adding direct sporting stakes to the established festival format. Leading figures including Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer are set to feature in one of the largest open gatherings in world chess. | Photo: Stev Bonhage
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Tata Steel Chess - Live!

1/24/2026 – The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place from 17 January to 1 February and once again features the traditional structure of parallel Masters and Challengers tournaments, each consisting of 14 players competing in a single round-robin. After five rounds, Hans Niemann, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov share the lead in the Masters, with 3½ points each. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CET (7.00 ET, 20.30 IST)
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European Chess Union unveils European Chess Super League 2027

1/24/2026 – The European Chess Union has announced the creation of the European Chess Super League, a new elite club competition scheduled to debut in 2027. Featuring eight leading clubs and a substantial prize fund, the event aims to bring top-level team chess into a dedicated continental format. Organisers also confirmed plans for a corresponding Women's Super League, underlining a broader effort to expand the profile of club chess in Europe.
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Tata Steel Chess: Abdusattorov sole leader, as Gukesh blunders inexplicably

1/24/2026 – Round six of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament featured a number of pivotal games in both sections. In the Masters, Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated world champion Gukesh Dommaraju after a sudden one-move blunder, moving ahead of the field, while Vincent Keymer and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus also collected important wins. The Challengers saw Andy Woodward claim a marathon victory over Carissa Yip to take clear first place. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lenart Ootes
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Judit Polgár: Queen of Chess – Coming to Netflix in February

1/23/2026 – Judit Polgár is a name that still electrifies today. This goes back to her meteoric rise – and that of her sisters – in the 1980s and 1990s. She climbed as high as eighth place in the world rankings – note, the open rankings, not the women’s list – and even defeated Garry Kasparov. Without doubt, this career offers more than enough material for a TV series. The planners at Netflix thought the same, and so Queen of Chess will appear on the streaming platform in February. Not only chess fans are likely to be curious. | Image material: Netflix
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Magnus Carlsen to play at the TePe Sigeman & Co in Malmö

1/23/2026 – Magnus had recently seemed somewhat weary of tournaments with classical time controls, but the organisers of the TePe Sigeman & Co Tournament (1–7 May 2026) have now rather surprisingly announced the participation of the world number one. Carlsen last played in Malmö as a 14-year-old. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Endgame Magic #322: Highlights from 2025 Part 2

1/23/2026 – Karsten shows 5 endgame highlights from the last year. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Jump!

1/23/2026 – From the diagram position, Black skillfully paves his way to the white king, always relying on a patent move. Please get to work!

2025: A breakthrough year for Song Yuxin

1/22/2026 – Song Yuxin's 2025 season marked a decisive step forward in her career. Focusing exclusively on classical chess, this analysis looks at how a heavy tournament schedule, largely centred on open events, translated into a major rating climb, a rise from the fringes of the top 100 to the women's top 25, and a strong finish to her final year as a junior. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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Adams wins 2026 Bob Wade Memorial

1/22/2026 – Auckland, 21 January 2026 – The 2026 edition of the Bob Wade Memorial round robin event concluded in Auckland, New Zealand, with English super GM Michael Adams finishing top with 6.5 points out of 9 rounds and a final tally of +4 -0 =5, half a point ahead of Commonwealth Chess Champion and ChessBase columnist, GM Daniel Fernandez (+3 -0 = 6). Report by Edwin Lam Choong Wai, photos by Weiyang Yu, Cadence
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Standout interviews from Wijk aan Zee

1/22/2026 – Post-game, thoughtful interviews from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament offer insight into form, temperament and longevity at the top level, guided by the calm questioning of Fiona Steil-Antoni. Carissa Yip speaks openly about nerves during critical moments, Faustino Oro displays unusual poise for his age, while Vasyl Ivanchuk gives an account of a notable incident in round three - his making the time control with just one second on the clock! | Image: Tata Steel Chess
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KCF: A Champion Takes the Stage

1/22/2026 – We are thrilled to announce that GM Antoaneta Stefanova, former Women’s World Chess Champion, and one of the most distinguished figures in modern chess, will deliver a live lecture at the Kasparov Chess Foundation Academy. Keep January 25, 18:00 CET, free to listen to her.
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Floripa Open in Brazil: A tough, multitudinous field

1/22/2026 – The Floripa Open, part of the Brazil Chess Series, is taking place on 17-25 January as a 10-player Swiss open in Florianópolis. Niclas Huschenbeth recently announced that he would be competing in the popular Brazilian event. After six rounds, he has realised how difficult it is to consistently live up to the role of being among the top seeds. | Photo: Niclas Huschenbeth at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Tata Steel Chess: Sindarov joins the lead in the Masters, Oro and Woodward continue to impress in the Challengers

1/22/2026 – Round five of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament saw four decisive games in the Masters, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann and Javokhir Sindarov emerging as co-leaders on 3½/5. Sindarov joined the lead after inflicting a first loss on Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. In the Challengers, Andy Woodward and Faustino Oro both grabbed wins to catch Aydin Suleymanli at the top. | Photo: Nils Rohde
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Pranav Anand analyses his World Blitz Championship game against Carlsen

1/21/2026 – 19-year-old GM Pranav Anand was in superb form at the World Blitz Championship 2025. He scored impressive wins against strong players like Amin Bassem, Robert Hovhannisyan, Richard Rapport and Volodar Murzin. He finished the tournament with a score of 12/19 and obtained a 2739 TPR! In the fifth round, he faced Magnus Carlsen, a dream encounter for any young player. He has annotated his game against the world number one in this article. Check out how the exciting battle unfolded. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
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Carlsen and Nakamura dazzle Barcelona with blindfold chess show at ICE Gaming 2026

1/21/2026 – World number one Magnus Carlsen and world number two Hikaru Nakamura appeared at ICE Barcelona for a blindfold exhibition match. The encounter, staged at the international gaming and tech expo, was accompanied by live commentary from Levy Rozman, a.k.a. GothamChess. Beyond the game itself, the event offered spectators insight into elite calculation, modern chess culture and the game's growing crossover with digital entertainment. | All photos: BETBY
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Tata Steel Chess: Niemann and Abdusattorov grab wins, share the lead

1/21/2026 – Round four of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament featured three decisive games in the Masters, with Hans Niemann scoring an impressive win over Aravind Chithambaram, which included a well-timed queen sacrifice. Nodirbek Abdusattorov also won to share the lead, while Javokhir Sindarov defeated Matthias Bluebaim to stay in close contention. In the Challengers, Aydin Suleymanli kept the sole lead after defeating Lu Miaoyi with the white pieces. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lenart Ootes
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Daniel Naroditsky toxicology report at time of death is released

1/21/2026 – After the shocking death of the American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky at the age of 29, speculations and accusations were rampant on whether it had been suicide or other. The Chief Medical Examiner of the North Carolina Office released the toxicology report, stating it had found a number of drugs in his system that could lead to addiction or death, though it leaves as many questions as answers. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Norway Chess announces move to Oslo for 2026 edition

1/20/2026 – Norway Chess will enter a new chapter in 2026 as the tournament moves from Stavanger to Oslo after thirteen editions. From 25 May to 5 June, both Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women will be staged at Deichman Bjørvika Public Library, bringing the event to the country's capital for the first time. Magnus Carlsen has already confirmed his participation, with further players to be announced. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
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