9/7/2026 – François-André Danican, better known as Philidor, was born 300 years ago today. A celebrated musician and the greatest chess player of his age, he made his living from chess in Paris and London, performed blindfold exhibitions in Berlin and, at the invitation of Frederick II, visited Sanssouci Palace. A look back at the remarkable life of one of the first great names in chess history. | Picture: François-André Philidor (1726–1795) by Augustin de Saint-Aubin and Charles-Nicolas Cochin

9/4/2026 – Thomas Paehtz was one of the leading players in East Germany, winning the East German Championship twice and the German Championship once. He later worked as a chess coach. His most successful pupil was his own daughter Elisabeth, who for decades was Germany's leading female chess player. One of his current pupils is Christian Gloeckler. Today, Thomas Paehtz celebrates his 70th birthday. | Photo: John Saunders

9/2/2026 – The year 1926 was a major one for chess tournaments. Among the many outstanding events was the anniversary tournament of the Hannover Chess Club, which had already enjoyed a remarkable history and was now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The battle for first place developed into a close contest between the two favourites, Aron Nimzowitsch (pictured) and Akiba Rubinstein, with Nimzowitsch ultimately prevailing. Friedrich Sämisch proved to be the decisive factor.

9/1/2026 – The Sinquefield Cup and the Cairns Cup in Saint Louis brought about some movement at the top of the world rankings. Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifan remain the world's top players, while Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Anastasiia Hnatyshyn are the leading junior players. Based on the average rating of its top players, the German Chess Federation is ranked fifth overall, making it now the leading European federation.

8/29/2026 – The Nottingham 1936 tournament, played almost exactly 90 years ago, is regarded as one of the greatest tournaments in chess history. Five world champions took part. With many young players in the field, a changing of the guard was already beginning to take shape. And for the first time since their 1927 World Championship match, Alexander Alekhine and José Raúl Capablanca faced each other again. Alongside the games and a number of photographs, film footage from the event has also survived as a valuable historical record.

8/26/2026 – The BBC has released a 1977 documentary from its archives on YouTube about the then world chess champion, Anatoly Karpov. The programme traces Karpov's rise to the world title and features footage from the 1977 Interpolis Tournament in Hilversum, with many of the leading players and prominent figures in chess.

8/26/2026 – At its meeting on Monday, the FIDE Council rejected the Russian Chess Federation's application for its teams to take part in the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian teams have been barred from international sporting events. Russia, however, has continued to push for this decision to be relaxed.

8/7/2026 – In the early years of the British Championship, Henry Atkins won the title seven times in succession between 1905 and 1911, before adding two more victories later on. This made him the record holder until the 1960s. What makes this achievement especially remarkable is that Atkins was essentially an amateur player who rarely competed in other tournaments. | Photo: Theo F Gidden, Wikipedia

8/1/2026 – Magnus Carlsen remains the undisputed world number one in chess. Hou Yifan is still the highest-rated woman player. Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju has lost several rating points and has also relinquished his position as the world's top junior - it is now 15-year-old Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus who stands as the top-ranked player in the under-20 category!

8/1/2026 – Magnus Carlsen learnt to play chess at the age of five, although his tournament career began a little later, in late 1999 or early 2000. In the summer of 2000, exactly 26 years ago, Carlsen faced another nine-year-old at the Peer Gynt Open in Gausdal, who would later become at least an international master.

7/31/2026 – On Monday, the African Chess Confederation elected a new executive board. In an extremely close vote, the incumbent continental president was voted out of office, and Benard Wanjala (pictured) was elected as the new president. The defeated candidate, Tshepiso Lopang, has accused Benard Wanjala of vote-buying and lodged a complaint against the result. | Photos: FIDE / ACC

7/26/2026 – Walther Freiherr von Holzhausen is not among the best-known players of the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, he was a very strong amateur and, above all, a chess problem composer of great importance. As a major in the Prussian Army, the First World War marked a profound turning point in his life.

7/24/2026 – In its 21st package of sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has added Arkady Dvorkovich to its list of sanctioned individuals. The FIDE President has temporarily stepped aside from his position, with Viswanathan Anand serving as acting president. A new FIDE Presidential Board will be elected in September.

7/24/2026 – At the end of May, Czech grandmaster, publisher and author Karel Mokry passed away. He represented first Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic in international competition. In the 1990s, he won the Austrian Team Championship three times with SC Margareten. After retiring from competitive chess, Mokry, who was a renowned expert on chess literature, ran a chess bookshop.

7/22/2026 – The election of the Executive Board at the European Chess Union's General Assembly in Bucharest last Saturday produced a clear result. The incumbent, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, was re-elected by a large majority. Ingrid Lauterbach was elected as the new Vice-President. | Photo: ECU and the Romanian Chess Federation

7/17/2026 – In September, Samarkand will host the 46th Chess Olympiad. After FIDE was founded in 1924, the first international team tournament was held in Budapest in the summer of 1926, albeit with only a small number of teams. From these modest beginnings, the tradition of the Chess Olympiad developed.

7/14/2026 – Twenty years ago, on 14 July 2006, Aleksander Wojtkiewicz passed away. Born in Soviet Latvia in 1963, he was one of the country's greatest chess talents and trained under Mikhail Tal. He later went into hiding to avoid military service, became involved in gambling and pimping, served a prison sentence, and after his release became a chess nomad. His early death in Baltimore was tragic.

7/14/2026 – For those making a last-minute decision: the 13th International IRT Chess Tournament gets underway in Lebu next Wednesday. Over five days (15–19 July), seven rounds will be played in the Swiss system. The region on Chile's Pacific coast offers stunning natural scenery, while seafood lovers will also find plenty to enjoy. | Photo: La Virgen, Boca Lebu by Valentina Pérez Garbayo.