The Week in Chess

• Sergei Tiviakov wins his fourth Netherlands Chess Championship - Final

  Sergei Tiviakov was the surprise winner of the 2026 Netherlands Chess Championships held at the Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Hotel. Whilst the event was missing the strongest two players, Anish Giri and Jordan van Foreest, it was a pretty respectable field and Tiviakov was the eighth seed.

  Tiviakov beat IM Eelke De Boer in the first round. In the second he lost the first game to Erwin L'Ami but recovered in a must win game two before winning the blitz (5m+2spm) tie-breaks 1.5-0.5. He beat Eric Van den Doel 1.5-0.5 in the semi-finals. His opponent in the final was another surprise, 9th seed 24-year-old Liam Vrolijk. The two classical games were drawn before Tiviakov won the two blitz games to take the title.

• Netherland Championships 2026 - Games and Results

  The Netherland Championships took place in Amsterdam Sat 4th to Sat 11th Jul 2026. The event was a KO with both an open and women's event. Sergei Tiviakov won his fourth title defeating Liam Vrolijk in the final after a tie-break. Machteld Van Foreest beat Anna-Maja Kazarian 2-0 in the final.

• KazChess Masters 2026 - Games and Results

  The KazChess Masters took place Tue 30th Jun to Wed 8th Jul 2026 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Alexey Sarana edged out Alexander Donchenko on tie-break after both scored 6/9. Igor Kovalenko finished half a point behind.

• GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2026 - Games and Results

  The GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia took place in Zagreb 1st to 5th July 2026. Players: Vincent Keymer, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Jorden Van Foreest, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Ivan Saric, Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Gukesh Dommaraju.

  Alrizeza Firouzja won an Armageddon Tie-break against Nodirbek Abdusattorov after they tied the combined standings and a two game rapid tie-break match.

• FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2026 - Games and Results

  The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships takes place Wed 17th Jun 2026 Sun 22nd Jun 2026. Three days of rapid followed by three days of blitz in Hong Kong. 48 teams. Players: Magnus Carlsen, Vladislav Artemiev, Arjun Erigaisi, Alireza Firouzja, Levon Aronian, Viswanathan Anand, Wei Yi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Javokhir Sindarov, Ding Liren, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Anish Giri, Nihal Sarin, Dmitry, Andreikin, Jan Krzysztof Duda, Alexander Grischuk etc

• Surprise victory for Mukhiddin Madaminov in the 3rd UzChess Cup - 9

  Mukhiddin Madaminov won the 3rd Uzchess Cup in Tashkent, a real surprise as he was the bottom seed and there as a replacement for Javokhir Sindarov. Madaminov won a final blitz tie-break 2-0 against fellow Uzbekistani Shamsiddin Vokhidov who also wasn't one of the favourites.

  Madaminov's victory came after a long game against Hans Moke Niemann where he was pressing for a win but was also in danger of losing at one stage. He didn't have more than a few minutes to prepare for the tie-break.

  19-year-old Madaminov has played most of his recent chess in Asia which according to Vlad Ghita suffers from rating deflation, potentially making him very underrated. Madaminov has also been working as Sindarov's second since the 2025 World Cup no doubt that's...

• 3rd UzChess Cup 2026 - Games and Results

  The 3rd UzChess Cup took place in Tashkent Sun 7th Jun to Mon 15th Jun 2026. The Masters: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Hans Moke Niemann, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, Nikolas Theodorou and Mukhiddin Madaminov.

  The lowest rated player, 19 year-old Mukhiddin Madaminov won after winning a tie-break blitz match against 8th seed Shamsiddin Vokhidov. They had both scored 5.5/9 half a point clear of Ian Nepomniachtchi, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Arjun Erigaisi. Mahammad Muradli won the Challengers with a dominant 7.5/9 two points clear of second placed Mittal Aditya. The Futures tournament was won by IM Khumoyun Begmuratov (born 2010). Timur Gareyev edged out Shavkatjon Abdukholikov on tie-break in the open after both scored 7.5/9.