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

3/16/2025 – The 2025 American Cup began with contested battles in both the open and women's sections. In the open section, all four games ended in draws, with top seeds Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura failing to convert with the white pieces. Meanwhile, the women's section saw three decisive games, as Irina Krush, Alice Lee and Carissa Yip secured victories. Yip's win was particularly dramatic, as her opponent, Thalia Cervantes, missed a forced checkmate before ultimately collapsing. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

3/15/2025 – Vidit Gujrathi has secured his place in the Paris leg of the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam after winning the online Play-In stage held from 8 to 14 March. The Indian grandmaster advanced through a competitive knockout phase without needing tiebreakers, defeating Ding Liren, Pranesh Munirethinam, Amin Tabatabaei and Richard Rapport. Despite feeling underprepared, Vidit's strong performance earned him a spot alongside Magnus Carlsen, Gukesh Dommaraju and Hikaru Nakamura in the tournament, set to take place from 7 to 14 April. | Photo: Anmol Bhargav

3/14/2025 – From 14 to 20 March, the Hotel del Lago hosts the Punta del Este Masters, a closed double round-robin tournament bringing together four Grandmasters and two International Masters from Spanish-speaking countries. Among them, the young Argentinean Faustino Oro, aged 11, and the Mexican Sion Galaviz, aged 19, will try to score the necessary points to obtain GM status. The event is part of the Punta del Este International Chess Festival, which will include open tournaments and promotional activities. | Photo: David Llada

3/14/2025 – The 2025 American Cup returns to Saint Louis, bringing together the nation's top chess players for a high-stakes competition. Organised by the Saint Louis Chess Club, the tournament follows a double-elimination format, testing players in both classical and rapid chess. Featuring elite grandmasters such as Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, as well as rising stars like Alice Lee and Carissa Yip, the event promises intense matches in both the open and women's sections. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/9/2025 – The Prague International Chess Festival offers a wide variety of events, catering to both competitive players and chess enthusiasts. Among them is the problem-solving competition, which was held for the second time on 28 February. Milan Petras won the event, scoring 55 points, ahead of Dimitra Amiridou and Sahib Hasanzada. A notable feature of this year's competition was that all positions were curated by renowned chess composer Yochanan Afek, adding an extra layer of prestige to the challenge. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/8/2025 – The 2025 World Junior Chess Championship took place from 26 February to 7 March in Petrovac, Montenegro, featuring nearly 260 players from 67 countries. GM Pranav Venkatesh won gold in the open section with an unbeaten 9/11, while WIM Anna Shukhman secured victory in the girls' event with the same score. The competition saw strong performances from FM Matic Lavrencic, GM Elham Amar, WIM Ayan Allahverdiyeva and IM Miaoyi Lu, who reached the podiums in their cateegories. | Photo: Mitar Djukanovic

3/8/2025 – The seventh edition of the Prague Chess Festival concluded with Aravindh Chithambaram winning the Masters section after securing an undefeated 6/9 score. His final-round draw against Ediz Gürel ensured victory as Anish Giri defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the only player who could have caught him. In the Challengers section, Nodirbek Yakubboev claimed first place after defeating Jonas Buhl Bjerre in a blitz tiebreak. With this win, Yakubboev secured a spot in next year's Masters tournament. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/6/2025 – The second day of play at the Champions Showdown in Saint Louis saw Fabiano Caruana overtaking Wesley So in the standings after winning their rapid game, with the blitz and semi-classical encounters ending in draws. Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian also secured mini-match victories, with Nakamura defeating Ray Robson in their rapid game and Aronian beating Leinier Dominguez in the semi-classical format. Despite his loss to Nakamura, Robson remains in third place and is set to face leader Caruana on the final day. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

3/5/2025 – The Champions Showdown began on Tuesday at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring six of the top players from the United States competing in blitz, rapid, and semi-classical games. Instead of a points-based system, standings are determined by prize money earned. The first day saw Fabiano Caruana defeating Hikaru Nakamura in the semi-classical game, while Wesley So secured two victories against Levon Aronian. Meanwhile, Leinier Dominguez and Ray Robson won one game each in their head-to-head encounter. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/28/2025 – Three players finished tied for first place at the Women's Grand Prix in Monaco, with Aleksandra Goryachkina, Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Humpy Koneru each scoring 5½ points. Goryachkina was declared the tournament winner on tiebreaks, securing her second consecutive Grand Prix victory. The final round saw three decisive games, including a critical loss for former sole leader Kateryna Lagno against Sara Khadem. With two events played, Goryachkina now leads the overall Grand Prix standings. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/27/2025 – Four decisive games in round eight of the Monaco Women's Grand Prix had a major impact on the tournament standings. Kateryna Lagno, the sole leader going into the round, drew her game, allowing Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Aleksandra Goryachkina to catch up after scoring key victories. Tan Zhongyi also won, keeping her title chances alive. With only one round remaining, three players share the lead, while two others remain within striking distance. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/25/2025 – Round six of the Monaco Women's Grand Prix saw two decisive games, as Aleksandra Goryachkina and Tan Zhongyi (pictured) claimed victories to shake up the standings. Sole leader Kateryna Lagno held a quick draw to maintain her lead, while Humpy Koneru and Sara Khadem suffered defeats. Goryachkina's endgame technique allowed her to overcome Humpy, while Khadem faltered in a difficult defensive position against Tan. With three rounds remaining, Goryachkina and Batkhuyag Munguntuul now trail Lagno by just half a point. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/23/2025 – French Grandmaster Marc'Andria Maurizzi delivered a commanding performance to win the Djerba Masters, a 10-player single round-robin held on the paradisiac Tunisian island. The 17-year-old secured first place with a round to spare and finished with an impressive 7½/9 score. Belgian GM Daniel Dardha claimed second place as the only other undefeated player, while Parham Maghsoodloo and Volodar Murzin shared third. | Photos: Djerba Chess Festival

2/23/2025 – As the Monaco Women's Grand Prix reached its rest day, all five games in round five ended in draws, leaving Kateryna Lagno in the sole lead. Three players - Humpy Koneru, Sara Khadem and Batkhuyag Munguntuul - remain just half a point behind. Lagno held a solid draw with black, while both Humpy and Elisabeth Paehtz (pictured) missed opportunities to convert promising positions. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/22/2025 – Kateryna Lagno emerged as the sole leader of the Monaco Women’s Grand Prix after securing the only decisive result in round four. She defeated Elisabeth Paehtz in a tactical encounter marked by mutual time trouble, bringing her score to 3/4 points. Meanwhile, Sara Khadem missed a chance to convert a promising position, and Aleksandra Goryachkina pushed until move 93 but could not break through against Tan Zhongyi. Lagno will now face Batkhuyag Munguntuul with the black pieces in the fifth round. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/22/2025 – Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious in the Chessable Masters Grand Final, defeating Hikaru Nakamura 2½-1½ to claim the title. The Norwegian had already beaten Nakamura in the winners' bracket final and repeated his success with a strong performance. Nakamura missed a key opportunity in game two, and despite needing a win in the fourth game, he could not break Carlsen's resilience. With this result, Carlsen, Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi secured their spots in the Esports World Cup, set for late July.

2/21/2025 – Five players competed on Thursday for a place in the Chessable Masters Grand Final against Magnus Carlsen, who had already secured his spot in the winners' bracket. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja and Arjun Erigaisi faced a tougher path than Hikaru Nakamura, needing three consecutive wins to advance. Nepomniachtchi emerged from the knockout rounds to challenge Nakamura, but the American grandmaster held firm in an Armageddon decider to secure his place in the final, setting up a rematch with Carlsen. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova