2/14/2018 – Bad press for FIDE as Dr. Adrian M. Siegel, the organisation's treasurer, has informed all officials and members of the World Chess Federation via an open letter that the FIDE account has been closed by the Swiss UBS bank, due to the more than two year old sanctions of the US Treasury against FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. | Photo (of Dr. Siegel): GFHund (Sarah Hund) CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

2/6/2018 – On Saturday, February 3, the Russian Chess Federation held presidential elections. The current president Andrey Filatov started the day facing several challengers, notably Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the current FIDE president, who is expected to stand for reelection to the body in September at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi. Ilyumzhinov received support from an unlikely source in former ECU president Silvio Danailov, but ultimately Ilyumzhinov withdrew his bid before the actually voting was held, and Filatov was easily returned to office, along with his team. | Photo: ruchess.ru

12/26/2017 – The World Rapid Championship attracted significant international media attention as it began on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the focus was mostly centred around the absence of Women's World Rapid and Blitz Champion Anna Muzychuk, and all players from Israel, who were denied visas to travel to the country. | Photo: riyadh2017.fide.com

12/21/2017 – Weiwen Leung shares an op-ed on reimagining votes in FIDE elections, based on the chess activity of each country or federation — as, for instance, measured by the number of rated games played — rather than the present "one federation, one vote" policy. A brilliant suggestion or "pie in the sky"? | Photo: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with Vladimir Putin en.kremlin.ru

12/14/2017 – Geurt Gijssen is one of the most renowned chess arbiters and during his active time witnessed many dramatic and historical moments of chess history. In an interview Vlastimil Hort asked the veteran arbiter about his career, his passion for chess, and his take on incidents and scandals in recent chess history. | Photo: Gerhard Hund

12/9/2017 – The Royal Morocco Chess Federation has been in discord since members of its governing body raised the alarm over impropriety on the part of its leadership, including the disappearance of the equivalent of $200,000 US Dollars. DIANA MIHAJLOVA reports on a host of allegations which have beset the federation's president Mustapha Amazzal. Part one of a two-part chronicle. | Photo: Members of the Moroccan team at the chess Olympiad in Baku (from right to left): Khalid Becham, FA Amina Bamous, IA Akkour Abdel Fattah, Hind Bahji, Mehdi Ait, Hmidou, Ferdaous Idrissi, Adil Choukri, Firdaouss Myar Idrissi (seated), the Moroccan Women’s Champion | Mouhcine Bennadi's Facebook page

11/29/2017 – Magnus Carlsen will defend his World Championship title in a 12-game match to be held in London from November 9th to 28th, 2018, World Chess confirmed today. He will play the winner of the Candidates tournament to be held in Berlin in March.

11/17/2017 – The final stage of the FIDE Grand Prix has started in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and at stake are the final two spots in the next Candidates. Both Teimour Radjabov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will fight tooth and nail to pull the rug from under the feet of Mamedyarov and Grischuk. In round one, MVL had a perfect start with a win over Gelfand. Inarkiev and Giri also won their games with stylish victories. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky | Photo: Agon

11/5/2017 – The election for the presidency of the World Chess Federation is a year away, but there is already intrigue swirling around whether Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the current president, can or will run again. Though Mr. Ilyumzhinov recently lost a no-confidence vote by the executive board, it is not clear that will be enough to dissuade him, and the acting president, Georgios Makropoulos, has ducked repeated questions. Dylan McClain updates on the current situation.

10/27/2017 – In the November issue of CHESS Magazine, International Master and organiser Malcolm Pein shares his views regarding the recent 88th FIDE Congress in Antalya, Turkey, where one of the more unusual decisions coming out of the Executive Board meeting was a non-binding "motion to "request the FIDE President [Kirsan Ilyumzhinov] not to run in the next Presidential elections." | Photo FIDE.com

10/7/2017 – It's tempting to make light of this affair by, for instance, referring to it as "the short(s) report". But when a tournament as prestigious as the FIDE World Cup is making international headlines for what amounts to dress code enforcement, it should be no laughing matter. We take a comprehensive look at the facts in evidence and Kovalyov's response to the previously published report. | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova (used with permission)

10/5/2017 – Agon today announced the venue for the 2018 Candidate Tournament in Berlin. The players will compete in the "Kühlhaus Berlin" next March 10th to 28th. According to Agon Limited, tickets are now available. | Photo: Artists representation of the playing space / AgonLimited.com

7/24/2017 – Today, FIDE announced the list of participants for the World Cup 2017, which will be played from September 2nd to 28th in the city of Tbilisi. One name on the list was particularly surprising — Magnus Carlsen. Two years ago the World Champion revealed that he is a fan of the knock-out-mode. Now he's gunning for one title he does not yet have. | Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich, dubai2014wrb.com

7/16/2017 – It was a suitably exciting end to an overall excellent tournament. In the final round, Teimour Radjabov fought a tough-as-nails game against Ian Nepomniachtchi, who needed a win in order to pull the first-place rug from under the Azeri’s feet. Incredibly, both players offered draws at different moments, and both declined, though in the end, they did indeed draw, giving clear first to Radjabov, and second to Nepomniachtchi. Final report with analysis by GM Lenderman.

7/15/2017 – Round eight of the FIDE Grand Prix in Geneva was both fascinating and intense. While leader Teimour Radjabov drew quickly and quietly against Alexander Raizantsev, Alexander Grischuk put up a huge fight against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and in spite of a huge advantage, was unable to close the deal. Ian Nepomniachtchi took advantage and joined Grischuk in second after beating Levon Aronian.

7/14/2017 – Three wins, but what a win one of them was. In round six, Indian Pentala Harikrishna had scored a big win over Levon Aronian, not only dashing the Armenian’s dreams to pieces, but making it a three way tie for first with Grischuk and Radjabov. In round seven, Teimour Radjabov had some inspired opening play, and milked a small advantage for all its worth into a resounding victory to take sole first. Here is the report, video interviews, and analysis by GM Lenderman.

7/13/2017 – The rest day in Geneva seems to have done the trick, since round six was sizzling. Five of the nine games ended in decisive results, and even the draw between the leaders Alexander Grischuk and Teimour Radjabov was hard-fought. At the top of the leaderboard, it was Harikrishna’s convincing win over Aronian that made the biggest waves, allowing him to join the leaders. Report, videos, and GM commentary.

7/11/2017 – As the Grand Prix in Geneva hits the official midway point after five rounds, it is safe to say that things are going to become make-or-break for a number of players who still wish to vie for one of the two coveted spots in the next Candidates. One player who clearly set out to make a stand was Alexander Grischuk, who defeated Pavel Eljanov in an important theoretical game. Enjoy this study of the various situations, accompanied by analysis by GM Mekhitarian.

7/10/2017 – Round four was a quiet round in terms of the leaderboard, since few attempts to really rock the boat were made. Radjabov continues to lead with 3.0/4 by half a point over a group of six players, but it wasn’t all dull as several did come to the board with a will to make a fight of it. The most interesting of these was no doubt the spectacular game between Saleh Salem and Richard Rapport, analyzed in the report by GM Alexandr Fier.

7/9/2017 – After two very strong rounds of fighting chess, and a wealth of results, it was inevitable that at some point the games would align for a tepid day, and that day was round three. Of the nine games, only two ended in a decisive result, though one player will really be kicking himself: Pentala Harikrishna, as he squandered an utterly won game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Report with analysis by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.

7/8/2017 – Only two rounds into the third installment of the AGONizing FIDE Grand Prix series, and it already appears to be the best to date. After a snoozefest in Sharjah, it picked up a bit in Moscow, but in Geneva they just sprinted out of the gates at full steam. If round one was a pleasant surprise, round two was sensational with five decisive games, nearly six, including excellent wins by Aronian and Radjabov, who has 2.0/2. Report and analysis by GM Yermolinsky.

7/7/2017 – The 2017 FIDE World Chess Grand Prix series continues with the third tournament, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from 5-16th July. The tournament is being held in Hotel Le Richemond, set on the banks of Lake Geneva, by the famous Jet d’Eau, and brings many intriguing names such as Levon Aronian, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and many more, but does that ensure a thrilling tournament? Round one brought several good wins, such as Teimour Radjabov over Anish Giri. Report with GM analysis.

6/17/2017 – For the first time the Open and the Women's Championships are being held at the same time, from June 16–27, 2017, in Khanty-Mansiysk, the oil boom town in western Siberia. The opening ceremony took place on Friday, with some spectacular cultural stage presentations, all meticulously documented in an hour-long video you should not miss. We will be covering the event on Playchess – check our "Live Broadcast" list on the right.

4/10/2017 – After the turmoil of the past weeks – the official FIDE web site announced the resignation of its President, followed within hours by emphatic denials from Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – an Extraordinary Presidential Board meeting was held in Athens today. It was attended by Ilyumzhinov, Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, and fourteen other voting members, representing a quorum. Ilyumzhinov apologized for making certain statements, and seems to remain in power. FIDE press release.