Samarkand R2 (open): Despite close calls, all top teams grab wins

9/18/2026 – All of the top 28 seeds won in round two of the open Chess Olympiad, but several favourites were pushed hard. The United States (pictured), India and the Netherlands all prevailed by 2½–1½, while El Salvador produced the biggest team upset by beating Cuba. Gukesh Dommaraju was held to a draw by Satria Duta Cahaia and slipped below 2700 on the live rating list. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

Fianchetto fiasco

9/18/2026 – It's hard to believe, but after 23...Bg7 in the diagram position the game lasted only two (!) moves. White received a big checkmate gift - and you can unwrap it!

Poland crowned champions at Olympiad for People with Disabilities

9/18/2026 – Poland won the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Samarkand after finishing unbeaten on 13 match points, ahead of Cuba and hosts Uzbekistan 1. The final round saw Poland defeat the Philippines 3½–½ to secure gold. The event featured a record 41 teams and was staged alongside the main FIDE Chess Olympiad for the first time. | Photos: Mark Livshitz and Rafal Oleksiewicz
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On the Superfluity of Words (2)

9/17/2026 – In today's article we present a gem of chess composition. It is a study requires no words, no instruction or stipulation, such as, for example, "White to move and win". Everything is solved by simply analysing the diagram. Can you follow the logic that tells you everything abut this diagram? It is extensive, exacting, and truly dizzying.

Chess Olympiad - Live!

9/17/2026 – The 46th edition of the Chess Olympiad is taking place on 16-27 September at the Silk Road EXPO in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. A record 208 teams in the open and 191 in the women's category are fighting for collective and individual medals. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST) | Pictured: Ediz Gürel from Turkïye by Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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ChessBase at the Olympiad in Samarkand: Interviews

9/17/2026 – 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. Adriana Palao loves sacrificing queens, Konstantin Peyrer would rather not use a board for the first game analysis, while Jerelyn Adeshola Mary Beckley wants to beat Magnus Carlsen in ten years' time. | Photo: ChessBase

Samarkand R1 (women): Nine teams from the top ten score 4-0 victories

9/17/2026 – India began their women's Chess Olympiad title defence in Samarkand as the top seeds, ahead of Georgia, Kazakhstan, China and the United States. The leading teams made a comfortable start, with nine of the top ten seeds winning 4–0 and no major upsets on individual boards. England's 11-year-old top board Bodhana Sivanandan also opened with a win, defeating Hanna Wilson of Barbados. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE
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Samarkand R1 (open): Favourites win comfortably, Thailand's Laohawirapap upsets Erigaisi

9/17/2026 – The 46th Chess Olympiad began in Samarkand with 206 teams in the open section, where the United States, India, Uzbekistan and China are the leading seeds. The top 30 teams all won their opening matches, though a few strong grandmasters dropped points. Botswana produced the only team upset by holding Brazil to a draw, while Arjun Erigaisi suffered the biggest individual upset of the day, losing to Thailand's IM Prin Laohawirapap (pictured). | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE
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That time Uzbekistan surprisingly won silver at the 1992 Chess Olympiad

9/16/2026 – The 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila was the first held after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Suddenly, instead of one dominant USSR team, there were several very strong teams representing former Soviet republics. Russia continued the Soviet Union's run of success. The surprise team from Uzbekistan, with just one grandmaster, took silver ahead of Armenia. In the women's event, Georgia won the gold medal. | Photo: Gerhard Hund
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A night unlike any other

9/16/2026 – FIDE Press Officer Michael Rahal writes: "By now, I have attended my fair share of opening and closing ceremonies: Grand Prix events, several World Cups and Olympiads, and even the opening and closing ceremonies of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. But none of them comes remotely close to what the chess community witnessed this evening in Samarkand, Uzbekistan." Here's what impressed him so.
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Jon Speelman: Beware the Centaur's Hooves

9/16/2026 – GM Jon Speelman returns to the theme of opening preparation in the computer era, examining how engine-assisted novelties can unsettle even the strongest players. His examples begin with Fabiano Caruana's preparation from the recent Grand Chess Tour final, before moving to an earlier attacking idea by Hikaru Nakamura and, finally, the famous gambit introduced by Frank Marshall (pictured) against José Raúl Capablanca in New York in 1918.
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The first major tournament after the Second World War: The Staunton Memorial 1946

9/15/2026 – The first major international tournament after the end of the Second World War took place in Groningen in August and September. It was the anniversary tournament of the Staunton Chess Club, founded in 1871. For the first time ever, a group of Soviet players also took part in a tournament outside the Soviet Union. Before the tournament began, they inadvertently caused a number of organizational problems. Report with video... | Photos: Dutch National Archives (Anefo), unless otherwise indicated.
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Georgios Makropoulos (1953–2026)

9/15/2026 – Georgios Makropoulos, FIDE Vice President and a longstanding figure in Greek and international chess, has died at the age of 72. A seven-time Greek champion and former Olympiad player, Makropoulos later became one of the most prominent administrators in the game. He served in senior FIDE roles for four decades and also played a central part in Greek chess, including helping bring the 1984 and 1988 Chess Olympiads to Thessaloniki.
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In Memoriam: Anthony John Gillam (1943–2026)

9/15/2026 – On 15 August 2026, the publisher, renowned author and chess historian Anthony Gillam died at the age of 83. He was one of the leading figures of the Chess History & Literature Society. In his obituary, Michael Negele recalls many moments from their shared research and the joy of discovery.
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Chess historians meet in Copenhagen

9/15/2026 – At the end of August, the chess historians of the Chess History & Literature Society met in Copenhagen to exchange new findings from their research into chess history and chess literature in talks and lectures, and to present interesting new books. Herbert Bastian, Michael Negele and Frank Hoffmeister report. | Photo: The conference venue, Skakkens Hus, Sølvgade 5, 1307 Copenhagen / Photos: Herbert Bastian
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Knight magic

9/15/2026 – Knight magic: Knight sacrifices happen from time to time in knight endgames: White to move and draw.
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Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026

9/14/2026 – FIDE is pleased to announce the regulations for the Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026, confirming the venue, format, schedule, and prize distribution for the meeting between reigning World Champion Grandmaster Gukesh D and his challenger, Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov. The match will be held at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland, from 22 November to 13 December 2026, bringing a World Championship match back to Switzerland for the first time since Brissago in 2004.
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The Power of Initiative: Episode 21 - Benko Gambit

9/14/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world's best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

Samarkand ready for a record-breaking Chess Olympiad

9/14/2026 – For centuries, Samarkand stood at the crossroads of civilisations. Merchants, scholars and travellers crossed the ancient Silk Road, carrying ideas and cultures from one part of the world to another. Now, another kind of journey will bring the world to the legendary city: 400 chess teams from across the globe will gather for the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad.
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