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

9/22/2026 – In a previous article we described the genesis of this increasingly popular form of chess – and what the strongest ever player, Magnus Carlsen, thinks of it. Today we hear the opinion of another top grandmaster. In this remarkable interview you can listen to the view of Levon Aronian – but also on a number of other subjects that are of great interest to the chess world.

9/13/2026 – Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov will face each other in “Clutch Chess: The Legends” in Saint Louis from 11 to 13 September. The two former members of the chess elite will play a twelve-game Chess960 match, with wins becoming more valuable on each successive day. The encounter follows Kasparov’s victory over Viswanathan Anand last year and renews a rivalry that was already revived in Saint Louis in 2018 with a Chess960 match. | Photos: St. Louis Chess Club, Austin Fuller | Live with commentary from 18:40 CEST / 17:40 BST / 12:40 ET / 22:10 IST.

8/31/2026 – Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov will meet in Saint Louis from 11 to 13 September for Clutch Chess: The Legends. The two former members of the sport's elite will contest a 12-game chess960 match, with the value of wins increasing on each successive day. The encounter follows Kasparov's 2025 victory over Viswanathan Anand and revisits a rivalry that also featured a chess960 match in Saint Louis in 2018.

8/19/2026 – As you have noticed, this form of chess is becoming increasingly popular. Everyone seems to like it, sponsors are lining up to stage high-prize tournaments, even World Championships. In this series we look back at the origin of Fischer-Random, Chess960 or Freestyle, as it is now called, and discuss the reasons for its popularity. In the end we will propose some modifications to the rules and how the game should be played. Stay tuned.

8/3/2026 – The British Championships in Coventry has opened as a wide-ranging chess festival, with 40 tournaments taking place over nine days across classical, rapid, blitz and variant formats. Alongside the main Championship, sections for juniors, veterans and rating groups have created a busy schedule. Early rounds have already produced testing games for the leading players, with Luke McShane held by Peter Wells and Michael Adams (pictured) overcoming Richard Bates after a difficult Catalan struggle. | Photo: Yury Krylov

8/2/2026 – Of the five players rated above 2600 at the main event of the Dortmund Chess Festival, only three began the tournament with a win on Saturday. Matthias Bluebaum (2689, last year's winner) defeated Alfred Parvanyan (2200), Rasmus Svane (2618) beat Robert Prieb (2196) and Andrew Hong (2604) overcame Junyi Zhang (2191). Dmitrij Kollars (2627) and David Navara (2619), meanwhile, were both held to draws despite being rating favourites. | Photo: Official website

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

7/23/2026 – The Biel International Chess Festival is taking place on 11-24 July. Following the Chess960 tournament on Saturday and the rapid chess stage on Sunday, the players in the Masters and Generations Challenge Triathlon face off in the final stage of the classical section on 21-23 July. | Follow the games live starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST) | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/23/2026 – Christian Gloeckler won the Masters Open Tournament at the Biel Chess Festival with a round to spare, scoring 8/9 and securing his first grandmaster norm with a 2689 performance rating. The 14-year-old German IM entered as the ninth seed and took the title after impressively collecting four straight wins. In the Masters Triathlon, Levon Aronian still leads, while Aydin Suleymanli remains in contention before the final round. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

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

7/18/2026 – The fourth classical round at the Biel Chess Festival brought another day of draws in the Masters Triathlon, with Levon Aronian and Le Quang Liem still sharing the lead. In the Generations Challenge, Vaclav Finek strengthened his leading position with a win over Vaishali Rameshbabu and remained unbeaten across the event. In the Masters Open Tournament, Peter Acs drew with Gopal G.N. but kept the sole lead on 4½ points. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/16/2026 – The tension continues to mount after round two of classical chess in the Masters and Generations Challenge Triathlongs at the Biel International Festival. At the top of the Masters standings, Le Quang Liem caught Levon Aronian after defeating Matthias Bluebaum. The Generations Challenge may be somewhat overshadowed by the main event, but its youngest participant is making a major impression. Sixteen-year-old Vaclav Finek of the Czech Republic has produced the best performances so far in both the rapid event and the two classical games, and now leads by a 3½-point margin. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/15/2026 – The first round of classical chess in the Masters and the Generations Challenge Triathlons at the Biel International Chess Festival was played on Tuesday. Each event produced two draws and one winner. Matthias Bluebaum (pictured) drew his game against Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, while Le Quang Liem defeated Jose Martinez. In the Generations Challenge, Alexandra Kosteniuk beat Carissa Yip. In the Masters Open, Christian Gloeckler surprisingly dropped half a point as early as round two. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/14/2026 – Levon Aronian and Vaclav Finek took the early lead in the two triathlon events at the Biel Chess Festival by winning their respective rapid sections. Aronian scored 9/10 in the Masters, finishing 3 points clear of Aydin Suleymanli, while Finek topped the Generations Challenge with 8/10, 1 point ahead of Xiao Tong and Marco Materia. The classical sections of both competitions begin on Tuesday. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/12/2026 – Five rounds against the other players in the Masters, followed by two rounds against players from the Generations Challenge - that was the format of the ACCENTUS Chess960 Masters tournament. After seven rounds, Matthias Bluebaum and Aydin Suleymanli finished tied for first place on 4½ points. However, Bluebaum had the edge thanks to his superior tiebreak score. Third place went to Jose Martinez. The standings were extremely close: just half a point separated Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus in fifth from the top scorers. The results of this tournament serve as the tiebreak for the Masters Triathlon. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

7/9/2026 – The 59th edition of the Biel International Chess Festival begins on the weekend of 11 July. Participating are chess greats such as Levon Aronian, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Matthias Bluebaum in the Masters Triathlon, as well as Vaishali Rameshbabu and Alexandra Kosteniuk in the Generations Challenger. In both invitational events, games will be played in a triathlon system featuring blitz, rapid and classical games. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

6/26/2026 – Jan Henric Buettner has announced that he will run for President of FIDE, with Malcolm Pein standing on his ticket as candidate for Deputy President. Buettner, a German entrepreneur and co-founder of Freestyle Chess, has become active in elite event organisation in recent years. Pein, an International Master, organiser and journalist, previously stood for FIDE Deputy President in 2018. | Photo: Freestyle Chess

5/6/2026 – For the 59th consecutive year, Biel/Bienne will host its prestigious International Chess Festival. From 11 to 24 July 2026, over the course of two weeks, more than 500 participants — ranging from ambitious amateurs to the world’s elite — will showcase their creativity, tactical finesse and strategic depth across a variety of formats. Below is an overview of the twelve tournaments, offering the chance to play alongside living chess legends such as Levon Aronian and Alexandra Kosteniuk, as well as rising star Lu Miaoyi (pictured). Matthias Blübaum and Candidates Tournament winner Vaishali Rameshbabu will also play. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

4/15/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.

4/14/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.

4/13/2026 – Javokhir Sindarov maintained his two-point lead at the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus after a quick draw with Hikaru Nakamura in round twelve. Anish Giri missed a major chance to close the gap, drawing a long and complex game against Wei Yi. The remaining two games were also drawn, leaving Sindarov firmly in control with two rounds to play. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

4/12/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.

4/11/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.