11/4/2026 – FIDE President Timur Turlov met Georgian Chess Federation President Akaki Iashvili to discuss major events, the 2027–2028 international calendar and possible improvements to competition formats and organisational standards. The talks also covered chess development in Georgia, including the reconstruction of the Tbilisi Chess Palace and preschool initiatives, as well as a proposed World Chess Championship for Miners. Both officials also discussed ways to expand FIDE's global reach and support national federations. | Photo: FIDE

11/4/2026 – In 1974, Eugenio Torre became the first Asian chess player to earn the grandmaster title. At his peak, the Filipino was among the world's elite and capable of beating any of the leading players. Torre also holds the record for the most appearances at Chess Olympiads, having competed in 23 editions. He was also one of the few people to maintain a close friendship with Bobby Fischer over many years. Today, Eugenio Torre celebrates his 75th birthday. | Photo: Reykjavik Open

11/4/2026 – From November 10 to 20, Budapest will host the first Total Chess tournament, bringing together 24 top players, including Magnus Carlsen. The new format combines Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz chess to test players across three time controls. The organisers have now announced their broadcast team: Anna Rudolf, Fiona Steil-Antoni, David Howell and Jovanka Houska will cover the tournament, while Levy Rozman, better known as GothamChess, will host a daily highlights show featuring interviews, analysis and special guests.

11/3/2026 – Denis Lazavik won the KazChess Masters in Almaty with 6½/9 points, finishing unbeaten after drawing his final-round game against Aram Hakobyan. The 19-year-old Belarusian overtook Daniil Dubov in the penultimate round and eventually finished half a point ahead of the Russian. Another notable result came from 14-year-old Kazakh IM Mark Smirnov, who scored 5½/9, shared third place with Shamsiddin Vokhidov and earned his first GM norm. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE (World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2026)

11/3/2026 – 2026 Chess Olympiad: Game analyses by Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alexander Donchenko, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Anish Giri, Ediz Gurel, Nils Grandelius, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Wesley So, Nikita Vitiugov, Wei Yi and many more. Felix Blohberger demonstrates his "great win" against Peter Leko in the video! – ‘Rooks love open files’: 35 games packed with tactical exercises + 4 interactive videos by Oliver Reeh – Endgames with knight and bishop against rook: In his series ‘Endgame Basics’, Dr Karsten Mueller explains why the minor pieces do not always triumph – Queen on the third rank: Petra Papp favours the flexible 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Qd3!? - Sicilian Dragon Variation, Jaenisch Gambit, Caro-Kann: Daniel King, Ivan Sokolov and Nico Zwirs highlight new trends and offer tips for your repertoire in the video and much more! Take a look into the new issue!

11/3/2026 – The USA Championship was super strong with 12 top grandmasters participating, and only Nakamura/Dominguez missing. A key role was played by 16-year-old Andy Woodward, who impressively beat Caruana, but lost to So. In the final round Caruana caught up with So, but in the rapid tiebreak Wesley So was crowned the winner. From many fascinating games we selected the encounter between Xiong and Liang as our Game of the Week, because of its highly surprising plot twist. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.