2/14/2026 – The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship is taking place on 13-15 February at the Weissenhaus resort. Eight players, including Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, have qualified through the 2025 Grand Slam Tour and online competition. In Saturday's semifinals, Carlsen faces Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while Caruana faces Vincent Keymer. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CET (9.00 ET, 19.30 IST)

2/13/2026 – To mark March as a month celebrating women, the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess is inviting federations, clubs and organisers worldwide to join the 2026 Chess Women's Day Celebration under the theme "Visible, Connected, Worldwide". Following last year's global initiative, the campaign encourages tournaments, workshops and community events that promote women and girls in chess, linking local activities into a shared international network throughout the month. | Image: FIDE

2/10/2026 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov heads the FIDE Circuit 2026–27 standings after winning the Tata Steel Masters, earning 25.78 points at one of the season’s most significant events. Javokhir Sindarov, Hans Niemann, Jorden van Foreest and Vincent Keymer follow closely behind, while other early results from Wijk aan Zee, the Rilton Cup and the Brazil Series have also shaped the leaderboard. A dedicated page tracks the latest standings and regulations for the new cycle. | Image: FIDE

2/9/2026 – The Queens' Online Chess Festival returns in March 2026 for its sixth edition, offering a free, month-long celebration of women's chess around International Women’s Day. Organised by the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess, the event features a global Women's Open with continental qualifiers and a separate Princesses' tournament for unrated girls. Blitz competitions, titles, training prizes and fair-play safeguards form part of a programme open to players of all ages and levels worldwide.

2/8/2026 – The final weekend of the Speed Chess Championship moves from the online arena to a live stage in London, combining rapid, blitz and bullet segments. On Sunday, Hikaru Nakamura faces Denis Lazavik in the match for third place, while Magnus Carlsen will attempt to successfully defending his title against Alireza Firouzja. | Follow the games live with expert commentary. The consolation match starts at 14.00 CET, while the final starts at 19.00 CET.

2/6/2026 – Just two years after its launch, the New Zagreb Classic has become one of Europe's largest open tournaments, attracting more than 500 players from dozens of federations. Conceived by local organisers to give young talents broader competitive opportunities, the event combines a compact weekend format with wide participation across rating levels. The 2026 edition in Zagreb featured established masters, emerging juniors and first-time competitors, reflecting the tournament’s growing place on the European chess calendar. | Photos: Official website

2/4/2026 – FIDE traces the history of the Candidates Tournament, the event that determines who earns the right to challenge for the world chess title. Established in 1950 to replace earlier informal arrangements, the Candidates has evolved through different formats and eras, reflecting changes in the championship cycle. From Budapest to recent editions in major cities, the tournament has remained the decisive stage in the path to a world title match, with Cyprus set to host the next chapter. | Image: FIDE

2/1/2026 – FIDE has approved the regulations for the Women's Circuit 2026–2027, outlining how ranking points will be awarded and which tournaments qualify toward the series. Covering a two-year period, the circuit broadens the range of eligible events while setting clear rating and participation criteria linked to qualification for the Women's Candidates. Following recent rapid and blitz events, the first leaderboard standings have been established, with several leading players already on the board.

2/1/2026 – The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place from 17 January to 1 February and once again features the traditional structure of parallel Masters and Challengers tournaments, each consisting of 14 players competing in a single round-robin. Nodirbek Abdusattorov enters the final round as the sole leader in the Masters, while Andy Woodward and Aydin Suleymanli are tied for first place in the Challengers. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CET (6.00 ET, 16.30 IST)

1/31/2026 – Felix Blohberger set himself two ambitious goals in an interview with Arne Kähler last August: he wanted to reach 10,000 subscribers with his YouTube channel, launched a year and a half ago, and he set the magical 2600 Elo mark as the hurdle he aimed to clear as a player. He recently achieved the first goal and is therefore giving away five copies of his King’s Indian courses, published in December, to his fans. How to get the course—and how things stand with the second goal—see below …

1/29/2026 – Today is a rest day in Wijk aan Zee. A good opportunity to revisit some of the finest games played in the tournament’s long history. Robert Ris helps. The popular Dutch IM, author, and trainer has selected and annotated seven outstanding games from Wijk aan Zee. As a gift, for free!

1/25/2026 – Manuel Petrosyan and Anahit Mkrtchyan won the Armenian National Championships in Yerevan, earning national titles and places in future international team events. The parallel round-robin tournaments were closely fought, with the open section decided in the final round and the women's title emerging from a sustained duel at the top. The event reflected the depth and competitiveness of Armenia's domestic chess scene. | Photos: Armenian Chess Federation

1/25/2026 – The grenke Chess Festival returns to Karlsruhe at Easter 2026, bringing together thousands of players for one of the world's largest chess gatherings. Alongside the traditional classical Open, the festival will stage a Freestyle Chess Open that serves as a qualifier for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship. With leading grandmasters expected and substantial prizes at stake, the event combines large-scale participation with direct international sporting significance.

1/23/2026 – Judit Polgár is a name that still electrifies today. This goes back to her meteoric rise – and that of her sisters – in the 1980s and 1990s. She climbed as high as eighth place in the world rankings – note, the open rankings, not the women’s list – and even defeated Garry Kasparov. Without doubt, this career offers more than enough material for a TV series. The planners at Netflix thought the same, and so Queen of Chess will appear on the streaming platform in February. Not only chess fans are likely to be curious. | Image material: Netflix

1/18/2026 – The FIDE Commission for Women's Chess co-organised the inaugural Pia Cramling Cup in Stockholm, combining a new women’s rapid tournament with a DGT Board Operator Certification Seminar during the Rilton Cup. Held in collaboration with Pia Cramling and the Stockholm Chess Federation, the event brought together players and professionals from several countries, highlighting both competitive opportunity and technical education as part of a broader effort to expand women’s participation across all levels of chess. | Pictured: Pia Cramling and Anastasia Sorokina

1/12/2026 – From February 13 to 15, 2026, the first official Freestyle World Championship will take place in Weissenhaus, Germany. One spot is still open, and it will be decided in an online qualification tournament organised by FIDE on chess.com. The two-day event, which will determine the coveted final available place, begins on January 14 at 16:00 CET (10:00 ET / 20:30 IST).

1/10/2026 – The Social and Educational Chess Conference will take place in Bhubaneswar from 14 to 16 January 2026, marking the launch of the FIDE Year of Chess in Education. Organised by FIDE in partnership with KIIT and the All India Chess Federation, the event will bring together educators, researchers and practitioners to examine how chess can be used as a structured tool for learning, inclusion and social development. The programme combines research, case studies and practical initiatives from around the world.

1/8/2026 – FIDE has revised the FIDE Circuit, a qualification pathway for participation in the Candidates Tournament. Among other changes, the number of tournaments taken into account has been increased, and the FIDE Circuit has been extended to cover a two-year period.