Chess in 2026: Every Major Tournament Winner So Far

2026 has been the year of the young players - above all the Uzbek team and two Indian siblings. Here is every major result so far, month by month. We update this page as new events finish.

January: Abdusattorov wins Tata Steel

Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee with 9/13, half a point ahead of his teammate Javokhir Sindarov - the only player in the event to go through unbeaten. Both won their final-round games, so no playoff was needed. In the Challengers section, 15-year-old Andy Woodward of the USA won with 10/13, half a point ahead of Vasyl Ivanchuk, earning a place in next year's Masters.

February: Carlsen wins the Freestyle title

Magnus Carlsen won the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in Weissenhaus, Germany, beating Fabiano Caruana in the final. In Freestyle (also called Chess960), the back-rank pieces start in a random order, so opening preparation counts for nothing.

March-April: Sindarov and Vaishali win the Candidates

In Cyprus, Javokhir Sindarov won the Candidates Tournament unbeaten with a record 10/14, earning a title match against Gukesh. Vaishali Rameshbabu won the Women's Candidates by half a point after a last-round win. Full report.

May-June: Praggnanandhaa wins Norway Chess

R Praggnanandhaa won Norway Chess in Oslo with 18 points, beating Vincent Keymer in the final round to pass Wesley So (17). Alireza Firouzja was third and Magnus Carlsen fourth. The women's event went to Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan, ahead of Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk.

In May, the Grand Chess Tour began: Hans Niemann won in Poland and Vincent Keymer won the Super Chess Classic in Romania on his tour debut.

July-August: the Grand Chess Tour, and Carlsen in Paris

Alireza Firouzja won the Croatia leg of the Grand Chess Tour after an Armageddon finish, Praggnanandhaa the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, and Wesley So his third Sinquefield Cup.

In Paris, Carlsen won the chess event at the Esports World Cup for the second year running, without losing a game, beating 19-year-old Denis Lazavik in the final.

Then Praggnanandhaa won the Grand Chess Tour Finals, coming back from 3–9 down against Caruana to win 15–13. Full report.

September: Uzbekistan and China win the Olympiad

At the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, hosts Uzbekistan won the open section, with India second and Germany third. China won the women's section ahead of Kazakhstan and India. During the Olympiad, Timur Turlov was elected FIDE president. Full report.

October: the new rating list

The October FIDE list put Sindarov 4th in the world, and made Turkey's Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş the highest-rated 15-year-old ever. Full report.

Still to come in 2026

The calendar and current title holders are always on the News page.

Sources: Chess.com (Tata Steel), FIDE (Norway Chess), FIDE (Grand Chess Tour), The Week in Chess (Esports World Cup), Wikipedia: 2026 in chess.