4/15/2025 – On 4 April, Iceland's first grandmaster Fridrik Olafsson passed away. Olafsson had celebrated his 90th birthday in January. After ending his career as a professional chess player, he became a lawyer and eventually became FIDE President. FIDE published Olafsson's last interview, in which he talks about computers, his chess career and his friendship with Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, among other things.

3/28/2025 – Beauty prizes at chess tournaments are great. But there have always been disputes about which game in a tournament deserves this prize. For example, Kateryna Lagno (pictured) felt unjustly ignored when the award was presented at the Women's Grand Prix in Monaco 2025 and has now protested in an open letter. Thorsten Cmiel reports on this dispute, which has political dimensions. | Photo: Niki Riga / FIDE

3/28/2025 – FIDE has launched the Open Chess Museum, an online platform providing free access to a vast archive of chess history as part of its centenary celebrations. Featuring rare artifacts, historical documents, and personal items from top players, the museum offers a comprehensive look at the evolution of the game. Organised into thematic sections, it includes a timeline of chess history, FIDE's institutional development and biographies of world champions. The initiative invites global contributions, ensuring a continuously expanding digital repository.

2/4/2025 – FIDE published the new world rankings at the beginning of February, but they are no longer completely up-to-date, as the tournament in Wijk aan Zee could not be considered. Carlsen remains number one, but Caruana, who is ranked second in the FIDE world rankings, fell to fourth place in the live ratings list. Hou Yifan remains number one among the women; the best junior is still Gukesh Dommaraju, followed by Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu; and with Divya Deshmukh the best junior among the women also comes from India.

1/29/2025 – The dispute between FIDE and Freestyle Chess continues. After Jan Henric Buettner attacked FIDE in an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Buettner has now published an open letter to FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky. In this letter he addresses the development of the conflict, and concludes by saying: "Freestyle seeks peace, not conflict. We are still willing to contribute $50,000 annually to ensure the players are left undisturbed." Sutovsky was quick to respond, sharing his view of the conflict on X/Twitter, although he did not comment on Buettner's offer. | Picture: Pixabay

1/22/2025 – After the Freestyle Chess Organisation had set up a series of freestyle tournaments, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, FIDE sought contact and asked for possibilities of cooperation. However, the FIDE representatives seemed primarily interested in payments to the World Chess Federation. Negotiations dragged on, and after a recent statement by FIDE and a video by Hikaru Nakamura, the tone of the debate became more controversial.

1/21/2025 – Freestyle Chess is an alternative to standard chess involving a number of top players. As the best tournament of its kind, the Freestyle Grand Slam has the status of a world championship, but FIDE reserves the right to this brand name, as it emphasised in a statement today. At the end of the year there were already some differences between the parties involved on this issue.

1/2/2025 – Just in time for the start of the new year, FIDE has published the new world rankings. With an Elo rating of 2831, Magnus Carlsen remains the clear number one, followed in second, third and fourth place by Fabiano Caruana (2803), Hikaru Nakamura (2802) and Arjun Erigaisi (2801). Gukesh Dommaraju, the new classical world champion, follows in fifth place with 2777 points, but is the highest-rated junior (under 20) in the world.

12/2/2024 – Arjun Erigaisi is now officially another player over 2800 behind Carlsen, Caruana and Nakamura in the December FIDE world rankings. Four Chinese players continue to lead the women's ranking and Gukesh D, the world's best junior might soon also be World Champion. Bibisara Assaubayeva is the world's best female junior.

10/1/2024 – The new FIDE World Ranking is out, reflecting the results of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Magnus Carlsen remains the world number one, ahead of Hikaru Nakamura in second place. But Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who scored 10.0/11 in Budapest, is the new world number three, although only one point ahead of Fabiano Caruana in fourth. World Champion Challenger Gukesh, who also won big in Budapest, is fifth and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, another top scorer at the Olympiad, is sixth.

9/26/2024 – During the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the Women's Commission hosted the "Women & Chess & Balance" conference—a gathering dedicated to exploring how chess can drive gender equality and empower women both on and off the board. The event brought together experts, advocates, and chess professionals from around the globe, tackling the multifaceted challenges women face in the chess world while also offering forward-thinking solutions that extend beyond the game. | Photos: Denis Burko

9/24/2024 – On 21-22 September, FIDE conducted its General Assembly meeting in Budapest. The meeting saw votes on new members for the Constitutional Commission, Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, and Verification Commission, alongside decisions on proposals from member federations. | Photos: FIDE

9/14/2024 – While the entire world at large has been caught up with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some affected more obviously than others, one of the consequences for athletes specifically was the International Olympic Committee's ban of Russian athletes from any event under its auspices. This in turn led to the similar ban in FIDE, a ban Russia plans to try to overturn on September 22. (Image: Albert Silver/Flux Pro)

6/13/2024 – The FIDE Ethics Commission is threatening to expel the Russian Chess Federation from FIDE for, among other things, organising chess tournaments in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia in violation of international law. It has also reprimanded FIDE President Arkadij Dvorkovich for his close ties to sanctioned members of the Russian government. Unsurprisingly, Russia criticised the Ethics Commission's decision.

4/15/2024 – Continuing its global journey from the Indian subcontinent to Africa and Europe, the FIDE100 Torch Relay, commemorating a century of FIDE, has now reached the shores of North America. The ceremony was held on April 13, at the Nathan Phillips square in the center of Toronto, not far from the Great Hall where the strongest men and women players in the world are fighting in the Candidates tournament.

4/1/2024 – FIDE published an updated world ranking list on 1 April. The climber of the month is undoubtedly Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who won the Masters at the Chess Festival in Prague and is now fourth in the world rankings after having gained 15 rating points. Also, joining the top ten is Arjun Erigaisi in ninth place, who earned 8 rating points in March, in Shenzhen and in the Bundesliga.

3/17/2024 – The FIDE Education Commission is pleased to announce its new initiative: the launch of the FIDE Chess School Award. The award is established to enhance the quality and position of chess in the primary and secondary education systems around the world. FIDE’s wish to provide recognition and motivation for existing Chess in Education activities and programs in schools through a certification process.

3/10/2024 – The Swiss Queens Wednesday Series, launched in partnership with the International Chess Federation (FIDE), is an initiative aimed at boosting women’s participation in chess. With tournaments every Wednesday, the series has attracted some of the strongest players from around the world. Five editions were played in February, with Martha Fierro, Valentina Gunina, Anastasia Bodnaruk, Gunay Mammadzada and Polina Shuvalova emerging victorious in each of them.

3/1/2024 – With the top players mainly playing online and freestyle, there has been little change at the top of the rankings. Magnus Carlsen, the current World Champion in Rapid and Blitz, is still the world number one, as he has been since July 2011. Fabiano Caruana follows in second place and is the only other player besides Carlsen with a rating of 2800+.

1/28/2024 – FIDE has introduced a series of changes to the qualification paths that will be in effect for the Candidates Tournament in 2026. Most notably, the runner-up from the World Championship match no longer automatically qualifies for the Candidates. The alterations are aimed at enhancing the competitive landscape, encouraging player participation, and ensuring a fair representation of the top contenders.

1/4/2024 – FIDE has launched a new top tournament for young chess players, the "World Cup for Youngsters". 48 children each in the U8, U10 and U12 age groups will play a preliminary round and then in a knockout system. The tournament takes place in June/July in Batumi, Georgia. | Photo: Uwe Brodrecht (FIDE)

1/3/2024 – Early in 2023, the Qualifications Commission (QC) initiated a review of the FIDE rating regulations, inviting federations, officials and the public to contribute their thoughts and suggestions. The review was prompted by feedback from professional players and FIDE officials, highlighting a rating deflation resulting from prior changes in the rating system.

1/3/2024 – With the publication of FIDE's January rating list, the participants in the Candidates Tournaments in April have been practically finalised. Alireza Firouzja and Humyp Koneru qualify thanks to their ratings while Magnus Carlsen is formally qualified, but has already stated that he does not wish to play.

12/19/2023 – FIDE has issued a statement in response to the last-minute series of matches in Chartres, France, which began on Monday 18th December and in which Alireza Firouzja is playing three much weaker opponents in an attempt to gain the necessary Elo points that would secure him a place in the 2024 Candidates Tournament.