ChessBase

• World Youth Chess Championships kick off in Montesilvano

  The World Youth Chess Championships 2026 are taking place in Montesilvano, Italy, from 14 to 27 June. Organised by FIDE, the Italian Chess Federation and UniChess, the event features under-14, under-16 and under-18 sections, with open and girls' tournaments in each category. The 11-round Swiss competitions take place at the Congress Center Pala Dean Martin. | Photo: FIDE

• Madaminov beats Vokhidov in tiebreaks, wins UzChess Cup after entering event as lowest seed

  Mukhiddin Madaminov won the UzChess Cup in Tashkent after defeating Shamsiddin Vokhidov in blitz tiebreaks. The 19-year-old Uzbek player, the lowest-rated participant in the Masters section, had entered the field only after Javokhir Sindarov's withdrawal. Madaminov and Vokhidov finished level after drawing their final-round games with the black pieces, before Madaminov won both blitz games to take first place. | Photo: Official website

• In Vienna: Felix Blohberger beats David Navara in six-game match

  Felix Blohberger defeated David Navara 3½-2½ in a six-game match held at the offices of the Austrian Chess Federation in Vienna. Five games were drawn, with Blohberger's win in game three proving decisive. The Austrian grandmaster organised the match as part of his effort to approach the 2600 Elo mark, while also providing post-game analysis of each encounter on his YouTube channel. | Photo: Emilia Castelao

• UzChess Cup - Live!

  The third edition of the UzChess Cup is taking place on 7-15 June in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Four Uzbek representatives face six international grandmasters in a single round-robin with a classical time control. Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Mukhiddin Madaminov are tied for first place after seven rounds. | Photo: Official website | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST)

• Can you deliver mate – reliably?

  Take a look at this position. The black king is completely trapped and will soon be mated, but can White do it in just three moves? Try and work it out in your mind. Spoiler: it begins with an absurd-looking move. Test your skills on this and on three more tricky mating positions. In each case the diagrams will defend and refute any bad moves you play. Solutions to the problems, with full video explanations, will come in a week. Learn and enjoy.

• A Game That Outlasted the Day (7)

  In the comments on Part 5 of the series, readers pointed out that this was not a “master game” (as stated on the Guinness page), since Arsović had an initial rating of 2200 (which by today’s standards may correspond to a rating of 1400), while Nikolić’s rating was only 15 points higher. Now in Part 7 the author examines the remaining “competitors” to the Gorkov–Golubenko game for the title of the longest game by number of moves.

• Under the Hammer

  It isn't easy to weave Sotheby’s, Queen Isabella of Spain, Fischer-Spassky 1972, Michael Caine and a vigilante killer into the same article. But that is exactly what John Henderson does, in this piece that appears in the June issue of CHESS magazine. He tells us how the vast collection of chess memorabilia of GM Lothar Schmid, considered to be the largest and most important of its kind in private hands, went under the hammer recently at Sotheby’s in London. You will not believe the prices they received.

• Upcoming tournaments and events

  Looking for an interesting over-the-board chess tournament to play, attend, or simply watch? There are plenty being staged all over the world, and we will bring you regular overviews of the most interesting of them. We do this in cooperation with MyChess.events, a global platform that helps players discover upcoming events, check dates, venues, formats, prize funds and registration details. In our selection we highlight selected events from around the world that may interest players, coaches, parents and chess fans.

• Super Chess Classic Romania - Live!

  The second event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour is the Super Chess Classic Romania, which is taking place on 14-23 May in Bucharest. Vincent Keymer and Fabiano Caruana enter the final round tied for first place, while Javokhir Sindarov, Wesley So and Jorden van Foreest stand a half point back and still have chances of taking the title. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting two hours earlier than usual, at 13.00 CEST (7.00 ET, 16.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• Super Rapid & Blitz Poland - Live!

  Kicking off the 2026 Grand Chess Tour is the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, the first of three speed chess events, which is taking place on 5-9 May in Warsaw. Ahead of the final day of action, Hans Niemann is the sole leader, with Wesley So standing close behind, at a mere half-point distance. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes