10/8/2026 – Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has met newly elected FIDE President Timur Turlov to discuss the development of chess in the country and future cooperation with FIDE. Their talks covered chess in education, coach and arbiter training, youth development and the organisation of major events. Tokayev also highlighted Kazakhstan's recent progress, including the women's team'’s silver medal at the Samarkand Olympiad and the growing number of active players nationwide. | Photo: FIDE

10/6/2026 – For the first time in its history, the renowned German chess magazine SCHACH is available in English. Published under the title CHESS INSIGHT, the new edition was released on October 1, 2026, and is available digitally through Forward Chess.

10/6/2026 – On Saturday, 21 November 2026, Prague’s Hotel Don Giovanni will host the second Vlastimil Hort Tournament, a rapid chess tournament dedicated to one of the greatest Czech chess players of all time, Grandmaster Vlastimil Hort, who had a very special connection to Prague and the Hotel Don Giovanni. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

10/5/2026 – Sebastian Poltorak of Poland and Singaporean grandmaster Tin Jingyao have been named recipients of the 2026 Svetozar Gligoric Trophy. Poltorak was recognised for agreeing to a draw after his opponent became unwell during the European Club Cup, while Tin declined to claim a forfeit win when his opponent arrived late because of traffic. The appointed commission said both cases reflected exemplary fair play and respect for opponents over immediate competitive advantage. | Photo: FIDE

10/4/2026 – The FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand elected Timur Turlov as President and Viswanathan Anand as Deputy President, alongside a new group of vice-presidents and senior officials. Delegates also approved plans for a dedicated Chess960 rating system, changes to FIDE’s institutional designation and the process for selecting the 2030 Chess Olympiad host. An Extraordinary General Assembly will be held later in 2026 to consider the 2027 budget and provisional figures for 2028. | Photo: FIDE

10/3/2026 – Gymnasium No. 50 of Minsk won the European Continental Stage of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship in Tsaghkadzor, completing the eight-round event with a perfect match score. Riga State Gymnasium No. 1 took second place, while LEPL Georgia, Kutaisi Andria Razmadze Physico finished third. The champions also secured qualification for December's Grand Final, with individual board prizes and a closing ceremony bringing the European stage to an end. | Photos: Arlan Olzhabay / BI-Group

10/2/2026 – The 2026 U.S. and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships will take place at the Saint Louis Chess Club from 8 to 23 October, with 12-player fields and more than $400,000 in total prize money. Fabiano Caruana (pictured) will defend his U.S. title against a field including Wesley So, Hans Niemann and Levon Aronian, while Carissa Yip heads the women's event alongside Alice Lee, Irina Krush and Rose Atwell. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club

9/29/2026 – The European Continental Stage of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship has begun in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, with 27 school teams from 25 countries competing for places in the December Grand Final. After two rounds, five teams remain on maximum match points, with Gymnasium No. 50 of Minsk leading on game points. The opening day also featured messages from the previous continental champions and an Armenian carpet-weaving workshop.

9/28/2026 – The XTX Markets London Chess Classic (LCC) returns to the capital between 24th November and 6th December 2026. The event will begin with an opening ceremony and drawing of lots at the iconic Tower of London, with the majority of games taking place alongside the LCC Festival at London Novotel West in Hammersmith.

9/27/2026 – The inaugural FIDE Excellence Awards were presented in Samarkand during the 46th Chess Olympiad, recognising achievements across the chess world during the 2024–2026 cycle. Honours went to players, teams, tournaments, federations, creators and social initiatives, with recipients including Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Levon Aronian, India’s Open and Women’s teams and ChessBase India. The remaining Best Chess Player awards will be presented separately at the Olympiad closing ceremony. | Photos: KNZO Photography

9/26/2026 – Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, was elected President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The elections were held on 26 September at the FIDE General Assembly, alongside the 46th Chess Olympiad, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Turlov won in the second round, with 110 votes. At 38, he becomes the second youngest FIDE President ever elected. | Picture: ChessBase

9/23/2026 – The 24-player field for the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest is now complete, with Levon Aronian, Le Quang Liem, Jorden van Foreest, Abhimanyu Mishra, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Andrew Hong joining the lineup. The FIDE-approved event, scheduled for 10–20 November, will combine Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz in a single competition and serve as the pilot for the global Total Chess World Championship Tour launching in 2027.

9/20/2026 – Movement in Refuge is seeking further support to expand its chess programme for Rohingya children in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, after an initial FIDE-backed project reached young refugees in August. The charity hopes to raise $100,000 to bring chess to as many as 5,000 more children over two years, while founder Magnus Wolfe-Murray also plans to promote the initiative at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand and pursue the long-term goal of forming a refugee youth team.

9/20/2026 – Freedom Holding Corp. has been named General Partner of the 2026 FIDE World Championship Match, which will see Gukesh Dommaraju defend his title against Javokhir Sindarov in Switzerland from 22 November to 12 December. The 14-game match will open at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Both players will be 20 at the start, making this the youngest World Championship contest since the title match tradition began in 1886.

9/18/2026 – Poland won the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Samarkand after finishing unbeaten on 13 match points, ahead of Cuba and hosts Uzbekistan 1. The final round saw Poland defeat the Philippines 3½–½ to secure gold. The event featured a record 41 teams and was staged alongside the main FIDE Chess Olympiad for the first time. | Photos: Mark Livshitz and Rafal Oleksiewicz

9/16/2026 – FIDE Press Officer Michael Rahal writes: "By now, I have attended my fair share of opening and closing ceremonies: Grand Prix events, several World Cups and Olympiads, and even the opening and closing ceremonies of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. But none of them comes remotely close to what the chess community witnessed this evening in Samarkand, Uzbekistan." Here's what impressed him so.

9/15/2026 – Georgios Makropoulos, FIDE Vice President and a longstanding figure in Greek and international chess, has died at the age of 72. A seven-time Greek champion and former Olympiad player, Makropoulos later became one of the most prominent administrators in the game. He served in senior FIDE roles for four decades and also played a central part in Greek chess, including helping bring the 1984 and 1988 Chess Olympiads to Thessaloniki.

9/14/2026 – FIDE is pleased to announce the regulations for the Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026, confirming the venue, format, schedule, and prize distribution for the meeting between reigning World Champion Grandmaster Gukesh D and his challenger, Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov. The match will be held at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland, from 22 November to 13 December 2026, bringing a World Championship match back to Switzerland for the first time since Brissago in 2004.