Chess news

World championships, top tournaments and the rating list - checked against official sources. Updated 21 Oct 2026.

Latest stories

• Gukesh vs Sindarov: World Chess Championship 2026 Guide - The 2026 World Chess Championship: Gukesh vs Sindarov in Geneva from 24 November - schedule, format, tiebreaks, prize fund and how they got here. (21 Oct 2026)
• Chess in 2026: Every Major Tournament Winner So Far - Every big chess result of 2026 in one place - Tata Steel, the Candidates, Norway Chess, the Grand Chess Tour, the Olympiad and more, updated all year. (21 Oct 2026)
• Chess Olympiad 2026: Uzbekistan and China Take Gold - Results of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand: Uzbekistan won the open section and China the women's, with India taking silver and bronze. (21 Oct 2026)
• October 2026 FIDE Ratings: Sindarov 4th, Erdogmus Sets a Record - The October 2026 FIDE rating list - Carlsen still on top, Olympiad stars Abdusattorov and Yakubboev climb, and 15-year-old Erdogmus breaks Wei Yi's record. (21 Oct 2026)
• Praggnanandhaa Wins the 2026 Grand Chess Tour With a Comeback - R Praggnanandhaa came back from 3-9 down against Fabiano Caruana to win the Grand Chess Tour Finals 15-13 in St. Louis - plus every 2026 GCT winner. (21 Oct 2026)
• Sindarov and Vaishali Win the 2026 Candidates Tournaments - Javokhir Sindarov won the 2026 Candidates unbeaten with a record 10/14 to face Gukesh; Vaishali Rameshbabu won the Women's Candidates to face Ju Wenjun. (21 Oct 2026)
• Total Chess World Championship: Carlsen Leads Budapest Field - A new FIDE title mixing classical, rapid and blitz starts in Budapest on 10 November. The 24 players, the format, the scoring, and why it matters. (21 Oct 2026)

Coming up

• Total Chess World Championship (pilot) - Budapest, Hungary, 10 Nov 2026 - 20 Nov 2026
• World Chess Championship: Gukesh vs Sindarov - Geneva, Switzerland, 24 Nov 2026 - 12 Dec 2026
• London Chess Classic - London, United Kingdom, 24 Nov 2026 - 7 Dec 2026
• World Rapid & Blitz Championships - To be announced, December 2026
• Women's World Championship: Ju Wenjun vs Vaishali - To be announced, Dates to be announced

Recent results

• Chess Olympiad - Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 15 Sept 2026 - 27 Sept 2026: Uzbekistan (open), China (women)
• Grand Chess Tour Finals - St. Louis, USA, 22 Aug 2026 - 27 Aug 2026: R Praggnanandhaa
• Sinquefield Cup - St. Louis, USA, 10 Aug 2026 - 20 Aug 2026: Wesley So
• Esports World Cup (chess) - Paris, France, 11 Aug 2026 - 15 Aug 2026: Magnus Carlsen
• Norway Chess - Oslo, Norway, 25 May 2026 - 5 Jun 2026: R Praggnanandhaa; Bibisara Assaubayeva (women)
• Candidates Tournaments - Pegeia, Cyprus, 28 Mar 2026 - 16 Apr 2026: Javokhir Sindarov; Vaishali Rameshbabu (women)

Title holders

• World Champion: Gukesh Dommaraju (India), since 2024
• Women's World Champion: Ju Wenjun (China), since 2018
• World Rapid Champion: Magnus Carlsen (Norway), since 2025
• World Blitz Champion: Magnus Carlsen (Norway), since 2025
• Women's World Rapid Champion: Aleksandra Goryachkina, since 2025
• Women's World Blitz Champion: Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan), since 2025
• Freestyle World Champion: Magnus Carlsen (Norway), since 2026
• World Cup winner: Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan), since 2025
• Women's World Cup winner: Divya Deshmukh (India), since 2025
• Olympiad champions: Uzbekistan (open), China (women), since 2026

World ranking (FIDE, October 2026)

1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway) - 2823
2. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) - 2792
3. Fabiano Caruana (USA) - 2784
4. Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan) - 2782
5. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) - 2780
6. Wesley So (USA) - 2770
7. R Praggnanandhaa (India) - 2763
8. Vincent Keymer (Germany) - 2761
9. Wei Yi (China) - 2758
10. Alireza Firouzja (France) - 2757

Women

1. Hou Yifan (China) - 2596
2. Zhu Jiner (China) - 2559
3. Ju Wenjun (China) - 2553
4. Lei Tingjie (China) - 2552

Looking for lessons, openings and tactics? See Learn chess.