FIDE Chess Paralympiad opens today in Astana, Kazakhstan. 34 teams from 30 countries take part. It is a very important project we are proud to stage. Players with various disabilities will gather to show their passion for the game, their mental strength and their skill. For

Tragic news. Can't believe.

Amount of love given to Danya post-mortem is unprecedented. I can't recall anything of the kind. But here is the problem - where all of you were when Danya was alive and unwell? I am not talking now about stepping in when he was accused. Although it is a separate important

Dear friends, Reading your comments to my previous tweet, I realized that it should have been clearer and more responsible. It was obviously not aimed at Danya's close friends or God forbid family. I was referring to people who now refer to themselves as friends, but did very

Ljubomir Ljuboević turns 75 today! I paid tribute to a living legend in my essay on FB, but no words can describe this colorful man. It is not about his chess strength, but rather about a personality he was and is. Keep going strong, Ljubo!

I saw many posts claiming "Wesley So resigned in an equal position". Drawn does not mean equal! If only one side can win, the position is not equal. In particular when there just a single narrow path to a draw. Objectively drawn - yes, but there is a huge difference!

Real Götterdämmerung in Goa. I can't recall anything similar - with so many of rating favorites leaving the FIDE World Cup at such an early stage. Curiously, this Götterdämmerung largely caused by German players. A very talented cohort, known as Prinzen, advances powerfully -

And so, FIDE Candidates go to Cyprus! March 28 - April 16. Candidates is always an exceptional tournament, but this one is going to be truly special, and we spare no funds or efforts to make it a one-off event for players, media and fans. Book the dates!

When one of the most busiest person in the World has a bit of a free time - what does he do? Right, he plays chess! Demis Hassabis took part in the European Chess Corporate Championship in Paris last week, scoring 5.5/8 for team Google. Photo by Manuel Aeschlimann

Some stats from the FIDE World Cup. 1.e4 regains popularity! Website and broadcast visits indicate clear top-4: India, Germany, US, Vietnam - in that particular order. That is the latest update - of course it reflects the number of respective country players still competing -

All the usual suspects to fight for the Rapid and Blitz titles this December. Glad to see Magnus back competing in the FIDE World Rapid&Blitz!

Semi-finals of the World Cup start in a couple of hours, but I'd like to single out two players, who already left the hospitable Goa. Arjun - a splendid performance for two weeks, before going down in a very close match vs Wei Yi. The missed chance in the second classical game

Congrats to Sindarov and Wei Yi, who make it to the final and the FIDE Candidates-2026! Very much deserved indeed. Commiserations to Esipenko - losing like that is very painful. World Cup's format usually does not forgive such mistakes, but Andrey got another chance - and his

One of the most shocking chess positions I've ever seen. Cognoscenti would recall it is from Nimzowitsch-Capablanca. Looks about equal. If one thinks deeper, black seems to be somewhat better, as white's attacking potential is nil. Still it is outright impossible to believe it

FIDE launches a very important project - Global Survey on Chess in Education. Over 25 million kids all over the world are taking chess classes and lessons on a regular basis. But we need to gather more data - and it is not only about the number of kids - it is also about

Kudos to Andrey Esipenko - claiming the third qualification spot - very deserving indeed. To remind you, in 2021 World Cup he was close, fighting on par with Magnus. In 2023 he played exceptionally well in the Grand Swiss, but narrowly missed it. And here he finally qualifies.

Sindarov wins the FIDE World Cup! He, Wei Yi and Esipenko are obviously the main heroes of the event, and deserve all the praise! Meanwhile, I'd like to thank all the unsung heroes, who made this event possible: India as a country, Goa - the hosting state, AICF who put a lot