9/13/2025 – On 9 September 2025, Jacob Murey passed away in a care home in Israel. Born in Moscow in 1941, Murey immigrated to Israel in 1976. In 1978, he worked as Viktor Korchnoi's second in the World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. In 2001, he became the first European Senior Champion. At his peak, Murey was among the 50 best players in the world.

9/10/2025 – As part of the Fortune Brainstorm Tech Conference, Anna Cramling will play a game of chess against Noland Arbaugh. Arbaugh is paraplegic, but with the help of a novel neurochip in his brain, he can move the pieces via a Brain Computer interface using pure thought power.

9/3/2025 – The first stage of the Chinese Team Championship took place in Shandong and comprised six rounds. Hou Yifan was the tournament's best player, winning all six of her games and helping her team, Shenzhen Pengchen, to third place. The Hangzhou Bank team is in the lead. | Photos: Liang Ziming

9/1/2025 – The best news in the new FIDE world rankings from a German perspective is Vincent Keymer's leap into the world's top ten. For the first time since Robert Hübner, a German chess professional belongs to the absolute world elite. Never before has a German player achieved an Elo rating of 2751.

8/16/2025 – Duobeniajan Costa Calida from Murcia obtained their third consecutive title at the Spanish Team Championship. In the final round, the team could even afford to lose to Magic Extremadura. Second place went to C.A. Silla from Valencia, while Magic from Extremadura completed the podium. | Photos: Spanish Chess Federation (FEDA)

8/15/2025 – After the first day of blitz at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, the cross table is split into two parts. Five players scored six points, including Levon Aronian, who has taken the lead in the overall standings. Gukesh Dommaraju and especially Fabiano Caruana suffered setbacks. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

8/15/2025 – In his youth, Jason Kouchak had two great idols: lyricist Don Black and designer and game inventor Ernö Rubik. He later had the opportunity to meet both of them in person, and all three share a love of chess. Kouchak's two heroes from his youth are now over 80 years old, but they draw a great deal of inspiration and strength from their involvement with chess.

8/14/2025 – The battle for victory in the rapid chess tournament in Saint Louis was a duel between Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian. In the final round, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju added some excitement with a victory over Caruana. However, Aronian was unable to capitalise on Caruana's defeat. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

8/13/2025 – Levon Aronian was unable to repeat his strong performance from the previous day on the second day of the rapid chess tournament in Saint Louis. In the sixth round, he lost to Fabiano Caruana in the top match and relinquished the lead. Aronian shares second place with Weskey So going into the third day of action. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

8/12/2025 – Levon Aronian made the best start at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, winning all three games on the first day to take the lead with six points (wins are worth 2 points each). Fabiano Caruana did not finish the day far behind, scoring two wins and a draw. In round two, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju dazzled with a queen sacrifice. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/7/2025 – Since the other players in the leading group at the British Championship had to settle for draws, Michael Adams took sole lead with a win. Facing Shreyas Royal's Sicilian Defence, Adams chose a seemingly quiet setup that was everything but harmless. | Photos: Yury Krylov/ English Chess Federation

8/1/2025 – While there were few changes in the absolute world rankings, there was a lot of movement in the women's rankings. Magnus Carlsen remains the world's best player. Hou Yifan lost many Elo points, but remains the top-ranked female player. Best junior is Praggnanandhaa, closely ahead of World Champion Gukesh, best female junior is the Winner of the Women's World Cup in Batumi, Divya Deshmukh.

7/31/2025 – Two-time Under-18 World Champion Aleksey Grebnev won the strong Oskemen Masters in eastern Kazakhstan. After an impressive win in the last round, in which he showed his endgame skills, Grebnev shared first with top seed Richard Rapport. Both had 7.0/9, but Grebnev had the better tiebreak and won the tournament. | Photo: Aleksey Grebnev at the Dubai Open in June 2025 - which he also won. | Photo: Dubai Chess & Culture Club

7/28/2025 – Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh faced off in the tiebreak for the title at the 2025 Women's World Cup. After a draw in the first game, the second developed into a dramatic battle with fluctuating evaluations in a complex rook endgame. With time running short, it was Humpy Koneru who made the final mistake, allowing Divya Deshmukh to win the game, the match, and the title. | Photos: Andrei Anosov/FIDE

7/28/2025 – With a victory in the match for third place against Lei Tingjie, Tan Zhongyi became the first player at the Women's World Cup to secure a spot in the Candidates Tournament. In the final, Divya Deshmukh and Humpy Koneru drew their game and will head into a tiebreak on Monday. | Photos: Anna Shtourman

7/25/2025 – During the FIDE World Cup, the FIDE Council held an online meeting and decided to allow a "neutral team" featuring Russian players to participate in the upcoming Women’s Team World Championship. The European Chess Union (ECU) issued a statement protesting this decision.

7/25/2025 – Oskemen has made a new entry into the international tournament calendar. In the largest city of East Kazakhstan, three open tournaments are currently taking place, including a Masters event featuring nearly 20 grandmasters competing for a substantial prize fund. Oskemen is notable not only for its strong chess field but also for its rich and complex history. Once known as Ust-Kamenogorsk, the city was an important center during the Soviet era and remains a cultural and industrial hub today.

7/23/2025 – Both semifinal matches at the Women's World Cup in Batumi ended in draws, leaving qualification for the final to be decided in Wednesday's second classical games. Lei Tingjie and Humpy Koneru drew after a tense, strategic battle, while Tan Zhongyi and Divya Deshmukh split the point in a shorter, balanced game. With three Candidates spots at stake, the outcomes of the remaining games will be crucial for all four players. | Photo: Anna Shtourman / FIDE