4/18/2026 – Abhimanyu Mishra scored 7½/9 in consecutive open tournaments in Spain, finishing tied for first place both at the Semana Santa Open in Alicante and at the Menorca Open. The 17-year-old remained undefeated across both events, gaining 15.3 rating points in the process. His recent run brought him up to sixth place in the live ratings list among junior players. | Pictured: Star organiser Patricia Claros and Abhimanyu Mishra | Photo: Luis Barona / Semana Santa Open

4/17/2026 – KCF Academy is welcoming a very special guest. On April 19th, at 17:00 CET, we open the doors to an evening with Arshak Petrosian, one of the greatest coaches the chess world has ever seen. It is an incredible chance to see live the coach, thinker, and architect of a golden era in chess, live at KCF Academy.

4/17/2026 – The closing ceremony of the 2026 Candidates in Cyprus brought together players, organisers and guests after more than two weeks of intense competition. Held at the St. George's Hotel & Resort, the evening combined music, dance and prize presentations, culminating in honours for Vaishali Rameshbabu and Javokhir Sindarov as the winners of the women's and open events, respectively. | Photo: ChessBase / Nils Rohde

4/17/2026 – ChessBase is expanding. In a press release, Freedom Holding Corp. has announced the acquisition of ChessBase. The Kazakh financial and technology group, based in New York, has been committed to chess for many years – as a partner of FIDE and a sponsor of international tournaments. An initial $5m investment is set to further develop and expand the ChessBase platform. The company will continue to be headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.

4/17/2026 – In the diagram position, with his active pieces and the coffin nail on f6, White has everything he needs for a successful kingside attack. A preparatory move, then strike - I hope you enjoy it!

4/17/2026 – Three wins and nine draws in twelve games - not a bad record for the winner. Remaining unbeaten, Hans Niemann left no doubt during his match in Paris against Awonder Liang. Niemann (pictured at the Grenke Open 2026 in Karlsruhe) won games three, eight and nine in the all-American clash, in which Liang was unable to score a single win. | Photo: ChessBase / Nils Rohde

4/16/2026 – Vaishali Rameshbabu won the Women's Candidates Tournament by defeating Kateryna Lagno in the final round, finishing clear first on 8½/14 and earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun in the match for the world title. In this interview, Vaishali looks back on the months of preparation that followed her Grand Swiss victory, discusses the support of her family and team, and explains how she coped with the pressure of a tense and closely contested tournament. | Photo: ChessBase / Nils Rohde

4/16/2026 – The Candidates is over and eventually turned into a one man show: Javokhir Sindarov did what Veselin Topalov did back in the day: completely dominating the first half of the event by virtually winning everything and then convincingly staying out of trouble in the second half. Our Game of the Week is the sixth (!) win that Sindarov scored, in the tenth round, with the white pieces against Praggnanandhaa. Later on this year Sindarov will be the challenger of Gukesh for the highest title. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/16/2026 – Javokhir Sindarov concluded the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus with a quick draw against Wei Yi, finishing on 10/14 and recording the highest score of the modern Candidates era. Anish Giri secured sole second place by beating Matthias Bluebaum, while Fabiano Caruana ended the event in third after defeating Andrey Esipenko. Sindarov gained more than 30 rating points and climbed to fifth place in the live ratings list. | Photo: ChessBase / Nils Rohde

4/16/2026 – Preparations are fully underway for the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026 in Hong Kong from 16 to 22 June. In previous editions, the tournament has featured numerous top players competing alongside amateurs and rising talents, producing a dynamic atmosphere rarely seen in traditional elite events. Magnus Carlsen is expected to participate in Hong Kong, adding further star power to the competition.

4/16/2026 – Strategical rules are important. Without them, learning chess would be much more difficult, if not impossible. When a beginner starts learning about the royal game, he needs a lot of guidance. Rules like “a bishop pair is stronger than a bishop and a knight” or “the threat is stronger than its execution” can provide such help. However, once the beginner turns into a grandmaster, he finds out that there is no need to follow the rules every time. Rules tend to have exceptions. Sometimes, specific aspects of the position are more important than an abstract rule. Let us have a look at four positions where it was good to break the rules! | Image: Markus Winkler

4/16/2026 – The ChessBase crew travels to Cyprus to cover the Candidates Tournament, bringing you daily impressions from one of the biggest events in chess. What is the atmosphere like around the world’s best players? How is the venue, and where do the stars spend their time? What happens behind the scenes in the media centre and beyond? And what is Cyprus like as a host for such a prestigious event? From travel moments and unexpected encounters to exclusive insights into the tournament environment, we take you along for the journey—day by day. Experience the Candidates from the inside.