2/16/2026 – On 16 February 1906, Vera Menchik was born. After the Russian Revolution, her family lost their property, her parents separated, and Vera Menchik moved to England with her mother. As she did not have a good command of the English language, she devoted herself to chess. In this way, she became the first woman to be invited to top tournaments. Today marks the 120th anniversary of her birth.

2/6/2026 – The President of the Georgian Chess Federation and FIDE official Akaki Iashvili visited the ChessBase office in Hamburg to familiarise himself with the company’s training and educational programs. He was particularly impressed by the children’s chess learning program Fritz & Chesster. ChessBase CEO Rainer Woisin (pictured, on the right) and Akaki Iashvili (pictured, on the left) agreed on a cooperation in the field of scholastic chess.

2/3/2026 – The results of this year’s Tata Steel tournament could not yet be taken into account in the FIDE rating list of 1 February. There was, however, some movement in the women’s world ranking. With her results in the Chinese League, Hou Yifan has fallen below 2600 for the first time since 2013, but remains number one ahead of four other Chinese players. World Champion Gukesh is the top junior, ahead of Erdogmus. In the girls’ junior ranking, 15-year-old Lu Miaoyi leads.

1/30/2026 – Matthias Blübaum is currently stunning the chess world with his performance at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. After ten rounds, he shares second to fourth place and is half a point behind leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov. In the last two rounds, Blübaum defeated Gukesh and Anish Giri, which helped him break the 2700 rating barrier for the first time in his career. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/26/2026 – The long-standing tournament in Wijk aan Zee offers a wealth of chess content, stories, images and interesting personalities. The following report takes a look behind the scenes, with background information and interviews. For example, you can meet the man behind the fantastic live experience on the Tata Steel Chess website, Menno Pals (pictured). | Photos: Nils Rhode / Interviews: André Schulz and Arne Kähler

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

1/17/2026 – Today, on 17 January 2026, Maia Chiburdanidze celebrates her 65th birthday. For a long time, she was the best female chess player in the world, a world champion and a multiple gold medallist at Chess Olympiads. Like no other, Maia Chiburdanidze represents the golden era of Georgian women's chess, though she initially competed under the Soviet flag.

1/15/2026 – The Estonian diplomat and chess enthusiast Mart Tarmak organized a consultation game between politicians and diplomats at the Estonian Embassy in Vilnius in commemoration of Paul Keres on the occasion of his 110th birthday. Viktorija Cmilyte and Peter Heine Nielsen led the teams. | Photos: Embassy of Estonia in Vilnius

1/13/2026 – The Tata Steel Masters is the youngest Masters tournament in Wijk aan Zee history. With Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, a 14-year-old has even qualified as a participant. And in the Challengers, twelve-year-old Faustino Oro (pictured) is hoping to follow in his footsteps. Which of the young guns from ten years ago have made it to the world elite? | Photo: Tata Steel Masters/ Jurriaan Hoefsmit

1/12/2026 – The former fishing village of Wijk aan Zee is world-famous, at least in the chess world. Virtually all world-class players, including almost all world champions, have passed through here. The long-standing sponsor has always been the steelworks in IJmuiden. The chess tradition is very old. Fifty years ago, some things were different from today, but much was already much the same as it is now. | Photo: Rob Mieremet, Anefo

1/7/2026 – At Christmas 2025, Stefan Löffler delighted readers of his chess column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung—one of Germany’s leading national newspapers—with a Christmas story. Forty years earlier, Garry Kasparov, still not yet world champion, had played a clock simul against the Bundesliga team of Hamburger SK and lost. Two years later, Kasparov returned to Hamburg as world champion. This time he won the rematch, and during the visit encountered a remarkable new development that was to change the game profoundly: a chess database.

12/30/2025 – Vladimir Kramnik has filed a lawsuit against the World Chess Federation FIDE before a Swiss civil court. The former world champion announced on his X account that he personally dropped off the opening documents of the lawsuit in the mailbox of FIDE’s headquarters in Lausanne. It is assumed that Kramnik is going on the offensive against FIDE after the World Chess Federation had initiated proceedings against the former world champion. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

12/28/2025 – Garry Kasparov has been put on a wanted list for arrest in absentia by a Russian court. The court followed an indictment against the former world champion on charges of justifying terrorism and planning a coup. The 13th world champion, who lives in the United States, has been placed on an international wanted list. | Photo: Kasparov.com

12/25/2025 – One of the world’s most famous chess cafés is Simpson’s-in-the-Strand in London, which is also among the city’s best-known restaurants. It was here that the “Immortal Game” was played. After several years of closure, the historic venue has now reopened — and chess will once again be played there on a regular basis.

12/21/2025 – In the Czech Extraliga, multiple teams from the same club have recently been allowed to compete. However, this has done nothing to diminish the dominance of record champions Nový Bor. Michal Vávra of Moravská Slavia Brno, meanwhile, continues to provide the most eye-catching support beside the boards. | Pictured: Michal Vávra and chess ambassador Karolína Sirotňuková wearing the new Moravská Slavia cap | Photos: Vladimír Jágr

12/20/2025 – Vladimir Fedoseev was one of the first Russian chess players to speak out critically against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He switched to the Slovenian association and never wants to represent Russia again. The Russian Minister of Sport has now stripped him of his Russian honorary titles. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

12/16/2025 – Last week, Vlastimil Hort found his final resting place at Prague's Vyšehrad National Cemetery. It was "Vlasti's" wish to be buried in his hometown. His family, friends and companions gave him a final send-off – with a glass of champagne, for a special reason.

12/11/2025 – 11 December 2025 marks the 120th anniversary of Ludwig Engels's birthday. He was one of the best German chess players in the 1930s. Following the 1939 Chess Olympiad, he, like many others, remained in South America due to the outbreak of the Second World War and settled in Brazil. At the height of his career, Engels defeated renowned players such as Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Keres and Maroczy. | Photo source: Friedrich-Karl Hebeker