8/10/2026 – Ural State Mining University has been crowned champion of the inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship Finals, defeating Saint Louis University in Sunday's final in Almaty. The final day of competition brought the championship down to its two decisive encounters: Ural State Mining University against Saint Louis University for the title and Kazakh National University of Sports against The University of Texas at Dallas for third place.

8/10/2026 – Shreyas Royal and Bodhana Sivanandan claimed the main titles at the 2026 British Chess Championships in Coventry, bringing the largest edition in the event's history to a record-breaking conclusion. Royal, 17, won his first overall British title after finishing ahead of Luke McShane and Michael Adams, while 11-year-old Sivanandan became Britain's youngest-ever women's champion after defeating Trisha Kanyamarala in a rapid playoff. | Photos: Yury Krylov

8/9/2026 – One of the world's strongest women's super-tournaments returns to Saint Louis this summer as the 2026 Cairns Cup welcomes ten of the world's top women chess players to compete for a $250,000 prize fund - one of the largest in women's chess. The tournament will take place on 10-19 August at the recently expanded Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC), where it will run alongside the prestigious Sinquefield Cup, creating one of the world's premier showcases of elite chess. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club

8/9/2026 – Following three days of group-stage competition and Friday's quarterfinals of the inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship, the original field of sixteen universities had been reduced to four: Kazakh National University of Sports (KNUS), Ural State Mining University, Saint Louis University, and The University of Texas at Dallas. On Saturday, the finalists were confirmed: Saint Louis University and Ural State Mining University.

8/8/2026 – Day four of the FIDE World University Team Championship Finals began away from the chessboard, as participants traded the playing hall for the mountains surrounding Almaty. Before the start of the quarterfinals, players had an opportunity to visit Shymbulak, one of the city’s best-known mountain destinations. After three intense days of group-stage competition, the morning excursion gave the students a chance to experience another side of Almaty and spend time together before returning to the tournament venue for the start of the knockout stage. A few hours later, attention turned firmly back to chess.

8/7/2026 – The group stage of the inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship Finals came to an exciting conclusion on Thursday in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the eight quarterfinalists now confirmed after three days of intense competition. With all sixteen participating universities in action for the final time, the last rounds determined which teams would continue their quest for the inaugural title and which would conclude their championship journey.

8/6/2026 – One month before the Chess Olympiad gets underway in Samarkand, FIDE has published the team line-ups. They reveal a number of significant changes since the 2024 Olympiad: the United States have included Hans Niemann, World Champion Gukesh will play on board four for India, hosts Uzbekistan once again rely on their young golden generation, and the battle for medals in the Women's event also promises to be fiercely contested.

8/6/2026 – The inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship Finals continued on Wednesday in Almaty as the battle for the knockout stage intensified, with university teams from around the world fighting for every point. Following another day of intense competition across the four pools, the championship once again highlighted the unique connection between elite chess, higher education, and international friendship.

8/5/2026 – ... as the Inaugural FIDE World University Team Chess Championship gets underway, bringing together university teams from across the globe for the first-ever edition of the competition. Hosted by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University as part of FIDE's Year of Chess in Education 2026, the championship celebrates not only sporting excellence, but also the growing role of chess in higher education.

8/1/2026 – Fintech entrepreneur and chess sponsor Timur Turlov has announced his candidacy for President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), standing together with five-time World Champion Vishwanathan Anand as his candidate for Deputy President. Press release.

7/31/2026 – FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF) have introduced a new format for the World Schools Team Championship. Continental championships will first be held in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe, with the continental winners advancing to a final tournament in December.

7/29/2026 – The British Championships will take place from 1 to 9 August in Coventry and, with more than 1,700 participants across all sections, will be the largest edition in 122 years. The country's leading players will compete alongside a number of promising young talents. Particular attention will be focused on Bodhana Sivanandan, England's young chess prodigy. | Photo: English Chess Federation

7/28/2026 – In a press release, FIDE just announced that Geneva will host the 2026 FIDE World Championship match between reigning champion Gukesh Dommaraju and challenger Javokhir Sindarov from November 25 to December 15. The announcement ends months of speculation over the venue and brings the title match back to Switzerland for the first time since Kramnik and Leko met in Brissago in 2004. At just 20 years of age, Gukesh and Sindarov will contest the youngest World Championship match in chess history.

7/25/2026 – San José will host the American Continental Stage of the FIDE-ISCF World Schools Team Championship from 11 to 16 August, marking the first time the event has been held in Costa Rica or Central America. School teams from across the Americas will compete for places in the Grand Final, while a parallel educational programme will include a ministerial conference, masterclasses, girls' chess activities and initiatives linked to the Year of Chess in Education.

7/24/2026 – Timur Turlov, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and founder of Freedom Holding Corp., an international financial services and technology group, has announced his decision to run for president of the International Chess Federation, or FIDE. Viswanathan Anand, one of the world’s most accomplished grandmasters and a former world chess champion, will join Turlov’s ticket as a candidate for vice president.

7/24/2026 – Levon Aronian won the 2026 Biel Masters Triathlon on his first appearance at the festival, drawing his final classical game against Aydin Suleymanli to finish on 29½ points. The US grandmaster built his victory on strong rapid and blitz results, while Suleymanli took second place ahead of Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Le Quang Liem. Vaclav Finek won the Generations Challenge, and Christian Gloeckler secured the Masters Open title. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/21/2026 – WR Chess will stage a USA v. Uzbekistan team event at Faena Miami Beach on 27–28 July, bringing together ten leading grandmasters in a rapid and blitz Scheveningen format. Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Levon Aronian will represent Team USA, while Uzbekistan's line-up includes World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev and Shamsiddin Vokhidov. The event marks WR Chess' US debut. | Image: WR Chess

7/20/2026 – Levon Aronian extended his lead in the Masters Triathlon at the Biel Chess Festival after scoring 8½/10 in Sunday's blitz tournament, while Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus posted the second-best result. Aronian, Aydin Suleymanli, Erdogmus and Le Quang Liem have qualified for the final stage. In the Generations Challenge, the three teenagers advanced, while Alexandra Kosteniuk missed out narrowly. Christian Gloeckler and Savitha Shri B share the Masters Open lead. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival