4/20/2025 – Magnus Carlsen leads the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open after five rounds, standing as the only player with a perfect score in a field of nearly 300 participants. The nine-round Swiss tournament, which includes 16 players rated 2700 or above, is a notable application of the Freestyle Chess format in an open setting. Seven players are half a point behind Carlsen, including Awonder Liang and Parham Maghsoodloo. Carlsen will face Liang with the black pieces in round six. | Photo: Stev Bonhage

4/14/2025 – Magnus Carlsen holds a 1–0 lead over Hikaru Nakamura after winning the first classical game of the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam final. Fabiano Caruana also took the lead in the third-place match, defeating Vincent Keymer with Black. Elsewhere, Arjun Erigaisi and Ian Nepomniachtchi both scored wins in the fifth and seventh-place matches respectively. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/13/2025 – Ju Wenjun moved closer to retaining her title by defeating Tan Zhongyi in game 7 of the 2025 Women's World Chess Championship, marking her third consecutive victory and extending her lead to 5–2. The match resumed in Chongqing, Tan's hometown, after the first six games were played in Shanghai. Although Tan gained an extra pawn in the middlegame, she mishandled the position, allowing Ju to take control. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/13/2025 – Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura reached the final of the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam after winning their respective semifinal matches against Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer. Both matches were decided without the need for tiebreaks, with Carlsen and Nakamura each scoring 1½–½. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave forced tiebreaks in their placement matches and advanced to the battle for fifth place. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu secured ninth place by defeating Richard Rapport. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/12/2025 – Teodora Injac of Serbia won the 25th European Women's Chess Championship in Rhodes with an impressive 9½/11, finishing 1½ points clear of the field. Despite losing her first-round game to 16-year-old Anastasia Kirtadze - having missed a mate-in-two - Injac rebounded with nine straight wins, including victories over key contenders. Irina Bulmaga, Mai Narva and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya tied for second place with 8 points each. | Photos: European Chess Union / Mark Livshitz

4/11/2025 – The quarterfinals of the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam concluded on Thursday, with Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Vincent Keymer advancing to the semifinals. While Carlsen, Caruana and Nakamura secured their places through wins in the classical games, Keymer needed tiebreaks to overcome Ian Nepomniachtchi. The German GM is now the only player from the younger generation left in the tournament. The upcoming semifinal matchups are Carlsen v. Caruana and Keymer v. Nakamura. | Photo: Stev Bonhage

4/10/2025 – The first day of the quarterfinals at the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam saw Magnus Carlsen claim the only win, defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov with white. The remaining games ended in draws, including a complex encounter between Arjun Erigaisi and Hikaru Nakamura, who tested the experimental "Nepo Gambit". Nakamura managed to equalise after a difficult start and eventually got an edge, but the game ended peacefully. Abdusattorov must now win on Thursday to force tiebreaks and keep his hopes of reaching the semifinals alive. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/8/2025 – After six rounds of rapid play on the opening day of the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov lead the standings with 5 points each. Abdusattorov remained undefeated, while Carlsen suffered a single loss to Arjun Erigaisi. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave follows closely with 4½ points. At the lower end, Richard Rapport and Vidit Gujrathi are struggling with just 1 point each. The final five games of the round-robin will be played on Tuesday, deciding the eight knockout qualifiers. | Photo: Stev Bonhage

4/7/2025 – After six rounds at the Women's European Chess Championship in Rhodes, 16-year-old Georgian WFM Anastasia Kirtadze has taken the sole lead with 5½ points. Seeded 70th and rated 2180, Kirtadze has defeated several top-ranked opponents. With five rounds remaining, she stands ahead of a strong chasing group that includes Sophie Milliet, Mai Narva, Bella Khotenashvili and Teodora Injac. The tournament runs over eleven rounds and is set to conclude on Friday. | Photo: European Chess Union

4/6/2025 – Shortly before the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam is set to begin, US grandmaster Hans Niemann has withdrawn from the tournament citing personal reasons. He is the second player to exit the event this week, following Alireza Firouzja's earlier withdrawal. Niemann will be replaced by Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The tournament, featuring twelve players for the first time, runs from 7 to 14 April at the Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy in Paris. | Photo: Frans Peeters

4/6/2025 – In game 3 of the Women's World Chess Championship, Ju Wenjun levelled the score by defeating Tan Zhongyi with the white pieces. After choosing a positional sideline against the Sicilian Defence, Ju gradually built a small advantage that she carried into a rook and opposite-coloured bishop endgame. Although the position remained objectively balanced for some time, a mistake on move 60 allowed Ju to convert her extra pawn. The game lasted 87 moves and over five and a half hours. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

4/1/2025 – India’s presence in elite chess continues to strengthen, with Aravindh Chithambaram reaching world number 11 in the latest FIDE rankings. The 25-year-old grandmaster from Madurai recently won the Prague Masters and delivered a flawless performance in the German Bundesliga, gaining 17.5 rating points. His rise places him among India's top players, alongside Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. With strong tournament results, Aravindh is now a serious contender for a place in the next Candidates Tournament. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

3/30/2025 – The 25th European Women's Chess Championship begins on 31 March 2025 in Rhodes, Greece, bringing together nearly 140 players from 34 European federations. Hosted at the Rodos Palace Conference Hotel, the tournament will include 11 players rated 2400 or above. Defending champion IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva will compete in the 11-round Swiss system event, which serves as a qualifier for the Women's World Cup. A total prize fund of €60,000 is at stake, with live coverage available online.

3/29/2025 – The Agzamov Memorial took place from 21 to 29 March in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, attracting a strong field of international players in Group A. Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin claimed outright victory with an unbeaten 8/10 score, finishing ahead of a competitive field that included eight 2600+ rated players. Among the standout performances was 15-year-old Uzbek IM Khumoyun Begmuratov, who secured ninth place with a solid 7/10. | Photo: Uzbekistan Chess Federation

3/24/2025 – The 2025 American Cup concluded with Hikaru Nakamura and Alice Lee emerging as champions in the open and women’s sections, respectively. Nakamura secured his second title by defeating Fabiano Caruana 1½-½ in the Grand Final, winning the first classical game and drawing the second. Meanwhile, Lee successfully defended her title, overcoming Tatev Abrahamyan in a closely contested match that was only decided in the blitz tiebreaks. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/23/2025 – The Punta del Este Masters Tournament was held from 14-20 March with six players taking part in a double round-robin format. Among the competitors were four GMs and two IMs, including Argentine Sandro Mareco, who started as favourite, and the 11-year-old Faustino Oro. Mareco was crowned champion with 6½/10 points, while Andrés Rodríguez and José 'Pepe' Cuenca shared second place with 5½ points each.

3/22/2025 – The finalists of the 2025 American Cup have been decided, with Hikaru Nakamura and Alice Lee securing their places through the Champions Bracket, while Fabiano Caruana and Tatev Abrahamyan fought back in the Elimination Bracket to earn rematches. Nakamura defeated Caruana in blitz tiebreaks before Caruana overcame Levon Aronian to stay in contention. In the women's section, Lee advanced after Abrahamyan missed a winning opportunity, but Abrahamyan recovered by eliminating Irina Krush, ensuring a new Grand Final pairing for the first time in the tournament's history. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/20/2025 – Day 5 of the 2025 American Cup saw contrasting matches in the Champions Brackets, with Alice Lee securing a key win in the women's section, while Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana opted for a quick draw in the open section. Meanwhile, the Elimination Brackets featured intense battles, as Irina Krush and Nazi Paikidze advanced in the women's event, while Levon Aronian and Sam Sevian eliminated Wesley So and Leinier Dominguez, respectively. | Photo: Lennart Ootes