9/25/2026 – After round eight, China lead the women's section outright with 15 out of a possible 16 match points. Kazakhstan, who had previously shared the lead with China, drew with India, while the Chinese team defeated Georgia. Kazakhstan, Armenia and Mongolia are China's closest pursuers. The Netherlands, led by Eline Roebers, lost to hosts Uzbekistan, whose team is headed by Afruza Khamdamova. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

9/25/2026 – Germany ended Uzbekistan's perfect run in round eight of the Chess Olympiad, beating the hosts 2½–1½ to join them on 14/16 match points. Brothers Frederik and Rasmus Svane (pictured) collected wins for Germany on the bottom boards for a second day in a row. Eight teams now sit only one point behind, including China, India, the United States and the Netherlands. With three rounds remaining, the standings have tightened considerably ahead of another set of direct clashes among the leading teams. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

9/24/2026 – Timur Turlov is an entrepreneur, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and a candidate for the FIDE presidency. But how did he get into chess? In a conversation with Johannes Fischer at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Turlov talks about how his grandfather taught him the game, how his six children rekindled his enthusiasm for chess, why chess helps him in his work as an entrepreneur, and why he supports the game.

9/24/2026 – Bodhana Sivanandan is only eleven years old, but in Samarkand she is already playing in her second Olympiad. And with considerable success: after seven rounds, she has scored six points on top board for the England women’s team, corresponding to an Elo performance of 2504. But when she spoke to Arne Kähler, chess was not the only passion they discussed.

9/24/2026 – China and Kazakhstan remained tied for first place in the Women's Chess Olympiad after drawing their round-seven direct encounter. The two top seeds, India and Georgia, both closed to within one match point with wins over Germany and Poland. Bulgaria, Armenia and Mongolia also joined the chasing group and all three teams did it by obtaining upset wins over higher-rated opponents. With four rounds remaining, the standings have tightened considerably ahead of two key round-eight matches involving the top four seeds. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

9/24/2026 – Uzbekistan opened a two-point lead in the Chess Olympiad after defeating China 3–1 in round seven, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Nodirbek Yakubboev scoring the decisive wins. The hosts remain the only team unbeaten on every individual board. Armenia, India, Germany, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan form the chasing group. On Wednesday, Armenia drew the United States, while the remaining four chasers all won their round-seven encounters. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

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.

9/20/2026 – It’s once again time to think about aesthetics in ChessBase´26 training: Have you ever noticed the “Style” option? If not, in this episode we’ll explain briefly and concisely how you can better adapt your screen display to your own taste.

9/20/2026 – The United States continued their strong start in the Women’s Chess Olympiad, reaching 15/16 individual points as ten teams are now tied for first on 8/8 match points. Alice Lee leads the Americans with a perfect 4/4, while her teammates Carissa Yip (pictured) and Tatev Abrahamyan have perfect 3/3 scores. Like Lee, five other players from the co-leading teams have also won all four of their games. Sunday’s fifth round features key clashes between the leaders. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

9/20/2026 – The leading group in the open section of the Chess Olympiad was reduced to eight teams after round four, with China, Uzbekistan, Germany and Armenia still unbeaten on every individual board. Lithuania supplied the main surprise of the day by beating Croatia 3–1. With all eight co-leaders now paired against one another, Sunday's fifth round is set to reshape the top of the standings. | Pictured: China's Wei Yi | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

9/19/2026 – ChessBase has a team on-site at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Visitors to the ChessBase stand can find out more about ChessBase for Mac. Arne Kähler and Veronika Exler are also conducting interviews. Svitlana Demchenko has hundreds of databases, Nikita Vitiugov considers himself to be one of the best chefs among chess players, while Gloria Yepez does not enjoy playing blitz! | Photo: ChessBase

9/19/2026 – Baadur Jobava produced a striking tactical win in round three of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, defeating Finland's Toivo Keinanen in 30 moves. Playing white from an Exchange French, the Georgian grandmaster unleashed 17.Bxh6! and followed it with a series of precise attacking manoeuvres after Black accepted the sacrifice. The game highlighted Jobava's trademark tactical sharpness, and was analysed in full by GM Daniel King. | Image: Daniel King's Power Play Chess YouTube channel