ChessBase

• Harshit Raja defends title at Tirol Open in Innsbruck

  The Tirol Open 2026 featured eight days of high-level chess in Innsbruck. In the A Open, GM Harshit Raja successfully defended his title from the previous year, albeit only on tiebreaks ahead of FM Tobias Kolb, who finished level on points with the two-time champion. Philipp Schlosser, Timur Kocharin and Cedric Chassard ensured that three more German players finished in the top ten of the 57-player field.

• The 1926 anniversary tournament in Hannover

  The year 1926 was a major one for chess tournaments. Among the many outstanding events was the anniversary tournament of the Hannover Chess Club, which had already enjoyed a remarkable history and was now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The battle for first place developed into a close contest between the two favourites, Aron Nimzowitsch (pictured) and Akiba Rubinstein, with Nimzowitsch ultimately prevailing. Friedrich Sämisch proved to be the decisive factor.

• Faustino Oro returns for Legends & Prodigies in Madrid

  The second edition of Legends & Prodigies will take place in Madrid from 7 to 12 September, with Faustino Oro (pictured) returning to the event he won last year. The Argentine teenager will face David Antón, José Martínez, Ivan Sokolov, Diego Flores and José "Pepe" Cuenca in a six-player double round-robin. | Photo: Mar Melero

• FIDE and World Chess apply for the .chess domain extension

  FIDE and World Chess have submitted an application to ICANN for .chess, a proposed top-level domain intended to provide the chess community with a dedicated and verified online space. Filed as a community application on behalf of FIDE, the project would give federations, clubs, organisers, platforms, media and players recognisable chess-specific domains if approved. Registration will open only after ICANN's review, with an early-access list already available.

• FIDE ratings - September 2026

  The Sinquefield Cup and the Cairns Cup in Saint Louis brought about some movement at the top of the world rankings. Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifan remain the world's top players, while Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Anastasiia Hnatyshyn are the leading junior players. Based on the average rating of its top players, the German Chess Federation is ranked fifth overall, making it now the leading European federation.

• ChessBase Summer Special! – Part 9

  Dear chess friends! When discussing ChessBase authors and content creators, no name is more synonymous with high quality than British Grandmaster Daniel King. His courses, videos, and articles, have been essential viewing for decades! This week only, you can get ALL of his video courses at our lowest ever price. Save up to 50 percent!

• Fridrik Olafsson Memorial

  Chess players, mark your calendars. The Icelandic Chess Federation, Goðinn Chess Club, and Reykjavík Chess Club are joining forces to present "Town and Country" – two spectacular tournaments that together offer 15 rounds of high-level chess in just 11 days, set against two of Iceland’s most contrasting backdrops. It all begins on Thursday, 19 November at 19:00. On Tuesday, 24 November, the Friðrik Ólafsson Memorial Tournament opens – honouring Iceland’s first grandmaster.

• Hassabis on chess and AI

  In a 15-minute video, Demis Hassabis, one of the central scientists working on artificial intelligence, tells us why he worries about AI going rogue. Hassabis, head of Google AI research, is a very strong chess player who created Alpha zero, the first neural network program on which all modern chess engines are based. It is his vivid description of how AI handled chess that will be of particular interest to the readers of our news page.

• Quo vadis, Fischer Random Chess? (1)

  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.

• Sinquefield Cup Tiebreaks - Live!

  The Sinquefield Cup is taking place on 10-20 August at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It is a 10-player single round-robin with a classical time control. Besides battling for a share of the $475,000 prize fund, players battle to get one of the four spots in the upcoming Grand Chess Tour Finals. Follow the games live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes