5/24/2025 – The TePe Sigeman & Co tournament is taking place on 20-26 at the Elite Plaza Hotel in Malmö, Sweden. The tournament is an 8-player single round-robin featuring Richard Rapport, Javokhir Sindarov and Ray Robson as the top seeds. Living legend Vasyl Ivanchuk and former women's world champion Tan Zhongyi are also in the mix. | Follow the games live starting at 15.00 CEST (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST)

5/23/2025 – The Chess.com Classic is the second and final leg of the 2025 Champions Chess Tour. The deciding stage is taking place from Tuesday to Friday, as sixteen players, including Magnus Carlsen, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Hikaru Nakamura, battle in a double-elimination bracket. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 17.00 CET (11.00 ET, 21.30 IST)

5/18/2025 – GM Daneshvar Bardiya of Iran and IM Song Yuxin of China emerged as the champions of the 2025 Asian Chess Championship, held on 6-15 May at the Danat Resort Hotel in Al Ain, UAE. Bardiya claimed gold in the open section with 7/9 points, edging out top seed Nihal Sarin on tiebreaks. In the women's section, Song Yuxin secured the title after a tightly contested final round, prevailing based on the highest average opponent rating. | Photos: Asian Chess Federation

5/16/2025 – The 2025 Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest marks the second stage of this year's Grand Chess Tour and the first of two classical tournaments in the series. Held on 6–16 May, the event brings together ten top grandmasters in a single round-robin format. Reigning tournament champion Fabiano Caruana and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju are part of the star-studded lineup. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST)

5/15/2025 – The sixth and final leg of the 2024/25 Women's Grand Prix series is taking place in Grosslobming, Austria, on 6-15 May. A 10-player single round-robin, the event will decide who wins the series and who gets the two spots in the next edition of the Women's Candidates Tournament. Among the participants, Zhu Jiner, Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi have the best chances to fight for the coveted top spots in the series. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CEST (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST)

5/13/2025 – FIDE's Ethics and Disciplinary Commission has imposed a provisional 60-day suspension on GM Christopher Yoo, effective from 9 May 2025, following a second complaint alleging harassment. The suspension relates to two separate complaints, including one filed by the US Chess Federation (USCF), which previously banned Yoo for a year and placed him on five years' probation. The USCF has requested that FIDE recognise and enforce its sanction globally, a matter still under investigation by the EDC. | Photo: Niklesh Jain / ChessBase India

5/6/2025 – The final stage of the 2024/2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix opened in Grosslobming, Austria, with a festive ceremony featuring local music, traditional dress and regional wine. Set in a 19th-century manor near the Red Bull Ring, the tournament marks the conclusion of the series and will determine both the overall Grand Prix winner and two qualifiers for the 2026 Women's Candidates. | Photo: Przemysław Nikiel

5/4/2025 – The 2025 Canadian Chess Championships took place in Toronto on 17-22 April, bringing together 90 players from across nine provinces. IM Nikolay Noritsyn (pictured) claimed his third national title in the open section, while WIM Li Yunshan secured her first women’s title on tiebreak. The championships featured strong performances from both established and emerging players in two parallel 9-round Swiss tournaments. Close contests in both events led to final-round deciders. | Photo: John Upper

5/3/2025 – On 4 October 2025, Arlington, Texas will host "Checkmate: USA vs. India", a major international chess event at Esports Stadium Arlington. Featuring top stars such as Hikaru Nakamura, Gukesh Dommaraju, Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi, the match blends elite competition with high-end production and entertainment. With youth and women's matchups, and a face-off between top chess streamers, the event aims to present chess in a bold new format to a global audience. Tickets are now on sale. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

5/2/2025 – The sixth and final leg of the 2024/2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix begins on 6 May in Grosslobming, Austria, with three players still in contention for the overall title. Aleksandra Goryachkina currently leads the standings but will not compete in the final stage, leaving Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk with a chance to overtake her. The event will also determine which two players qualify for the 2026 Women’s Candidates, making this final stage a pivotal moment in the Women's World Championship cycle.

5/1/2025 – April saw notable shifts in the FIDE Circuit 2025 leaderboard, with Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu moving into first place after a strong showing in Poland. Vladimir Fedoseev’s victory in Warsaw propelled him to third, while Vasyl Ivanchuk's success in Menorca earned him fourth. Other key movements include Lu Shanglei rising to eighth and Parham Maghsoodloo entering the top ten.

4/30/2025 – Kicking off the 2025 Grand Chess Tour is the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, the first of three speed chess events, which is taking place on April 26-30 in Warsaw. The event starts with 9 rounds of rapid action, followed by 18 rounds of blitz. Included in the field are young elite GMs such as Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Alireza Firouzja alongside former world champion Veselin Topalov. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST)

4/27/2025 – FIDE has announced the first group of recipients for its 2025 support programme for chess veterans, awarding a total of €21,500 to eleven distinguished players, coaches and organisers. Among those honoured are Grandmasters Jesús Nogueiras, Igor Zaitsev and Petar Velikov, alongside prominent figures such as Valentina Kozlovskaya and Marija Petrović. This initiative, now in its eleventh year, has so far distributed nearly €500,000, recognising the lifelong contributions of veterans to the global chess community. The next awards will be made in late 2025.

4/27/2025 – From Friday to Sunday, the teams from the Bundesliga and the Women's Bundesliga will play their final rounds together in Deggendorf. Düsseldorf and Bad Königshofen have the best chances of winning the championship. The question of relegation is still open. Live here: Friday from 16.00 CEST, Saturday from 14.00, Sunday from 10.00.

4/26/2025 – This new interactive ChessBase video course by GM Fabien Libiszewski offers over eight hours of detailed instruction on the Pirc Defence, a dynamic opening for players seeking winning chances with black. Grandmaster Libiszewski guides viewers through key games and a complete repertoire, helping players grasp the main strategic ideas and counterplay opportunities. Suitable for both English and French speakers, the course also allows users to save games and variations for further study, making it a valuable addition to any ambitious player's training.

4/26/2025 – With three out of eight events completed, the race for a spot in the 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament is intensifying. Ju Wenjun leads the standings with 86.5 points, closely followed by Humpy Koneru on 84, after strong performances in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Former champions and rising stars, including Tan Zhongyi, Kateryna Lagno and Afruza Khamdamova, remain in contention. The series resumes in May with the final Women's Grand Prix leg in Austria, keeping qualification hopes alive for seventeen players.

4/25/2025 – FIDE has launched the Social Chess Storytelling Challenge 2025, inviting filmmakers, federations, and changemakers worldwide to share short films that showcase the social impact of chess. Under the theme "Every Move Counts", the competition seeks stories of resilience, inclusion, and opportunity inspired by the game. Open to all, with professional and grassroots categories, submissions run from 24 April to 25 October. Winning entries will be honoured at the 2026 Olympiad and featured across FIDE’s platforms and global events.

4/24/2025 – The ninth edition of the Semana Santa Open, held in San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante) from 16 to 21 April, consolidated the event as a feature on the European circuit. With more than 700 participants, including 235 titled players from more than 50 countries, the event stood out for its high competitive level. Reigning world rapid champion Volodar Murzin won the main tournament, while Lu Shanglei and Vasyl Ivanchuk claimed second and third place, respectively. | Photo: Luis Barona