Tournaments: Chess News Network

• Clutch Chess Returns
  Tournaments
  Clutch Chess Returns to Saint Louis With Carlsen Gone and Sindarov Weeks From His Gukesh Match: Who Takes the Champions Showdown?
• Nakamura Extends Winning Streak in Bullet Brawl
  Tournaments
  GM Hikaru Nakamura wins seventh consecutive Bullet Brawl
• Niemann Claim Freestyle Friday
  Tournaments
  Hans Niemann ended his week on a high. Two days after the U.S. Championship's final round, where Chess.com says his loss to Jeffery Xiong dropped him out of the 2700 club, he won Chess.com's Freestyle Friday on October 23.
• Bayegan Pendik Wins the ECCC on Tiebreaks, Monte-Carlo Defends the Women's Title
  Tournaments
  Both European Club Cup titles in Budva, Montenegro, came down to tiebreaks. In the open section, top seed Bayegan Pendik of Turkey finished level with Novy Bor on 13 match points and took gold. In the women's, Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo tied Gambit Bonnevoie on 12 and held on to the title it won last year.
• Game of the Day: GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov Beats GM Nodirbek Yakubboev
  Tournaments
  GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat GM Nodirbek Yakubboev in round 6, board 1 of the 41st European Chess Club Cup 2026 (Open), winning in 40 moves.
• Wesley So Beats Fabiano Caruana in the Playoff to Win His Fourth U.S. Championship
  Tournaments
  Wesley So had the U.S. Championship in his hands, watched it slip away on Wednesday, and took it back on Thursday beating Fabiano Caruana for the crown.
• U.S. Championship: Round 11
  Tournaments
  Rachael Li Wins the Women's Title at 16, While Wesley So Loses to Sam Sevian and Faces Fabiano Caruana in a Playoff.
• European Club Cup Rounds 3 and 4: Abdusattorov, Giri and Erdogmus All Lose
  Tournaments
  The European Chess Club Cup in Budva, Montenegro reached its halfway point with upsets in both sections. In the open, Round 3 belonged to the favorites, with 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus climbing to world No. 15, before Round 4 saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Anish Giri and Erdogmus all lose. In the women's, CE Gambit Bonnevoie beat both of the top two seeds in a row and leads alone on a perfect 8 match points.
• U.S. Championship: Round 10
  Tournaments
  Wesley So drew Hans Niemann in under an hour and leads on 7/10, a full point clear of Fabiano Caruana and Grigoriy Oparin. In the women's, rookie Rachael Li beat Rose Atwell and leads Alice Lee by a point, but Lee won too and stays alive.
• US Championship: Round 9
  Tournaments
  Round 9 in Saint Louis left both sections with a clear leader and two rounds to play. In the open, Wesley So drew defending champion Fabiano Caruana in a sharp Italian and stays a full point ahead on 6.5/9, in a round with five draws and one decisive game. In the women's, rookie Rachael Li beat Nazi Paikidze after a late blunder to reach 7/9 and secure her first IM norm, while all six games were decisive.
• Favorites Dominate in Round 2 of European Chess Club Cup
  Tournaments
  Top players continued their strong performance in the second round of the European Chess Club Cup
• Game of the Day: GM Erigaisi Arjun Beats GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson
  Tournaments
  GM Erigaisi Arjun beat GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson in round 2, board 7 of the 41st European Chess Club Cup 2026 (Open), winning in 42 moves.
• Wesley So Extends Lead at 2026 U.S. Chess Championship
  Tournaments
  GM Wesley So defeats GM Andy Woodward, increasing his lead
• Game of the Day: IM Arystanbek Urazayev Beats GM Leon Luke Mendonca
  Tournaments
  IM Arystanbek Urazayev beat GM Leon Luke Mendonca in round 5, board 10 of the Atyrau Open 2026 (Masters), winning in 52 moves.
• U.S. Championship: Round 7
  Tournaments
  Friday's Round 7 in Saint Louis reshuffled both sections. In the open, Wesley So came back from a worse position to beat Ray Robson and lead alone on 5/7, while Awonder Liang lost in 27 moves to Grigoriy Oparin. In the women's, Rachael Li and Alice Lee both won to lead on 5.5, and overnight co-leader Thalia Cervantes lost to Anna Sargsyan.
• SLU, UTD Remain Undefeated in Collegiate Chess League
  Tournaments
  Saint Louis University and University of Texas at Dallas are undefeated after two matches in the 2026 fall season
• U.S. Championship: Round 6
  Tournaments
  Round 6 in Saint Louis on Thursday left both sections wide open. In the open, Fabiano Caruana bounced back from his first loss and Awonder Liang beat Levon Aronian to join Wesley So and Andy Woodward on 4/6. In the women's, Rachael Li ended Alice Lee's four-game winning streak, and Li, Lee and Thalia Cervantes now share the lead on 4.5.
• US Championship: Round 5
  Tournaments
  Round 5 in Saint Louis on Wednesday produced four wins in each section, as Andy Woodward beat defending champion Fabiano Caruana to join Wesley So on 3.5/5 in the open section. In the women's, Alice Lee beat Tatev Abrahamyan to reach 4.5/5, a full point ahead of three chasers, while defending champion Carissa Yip lost again.
• Caruana Clinches Titled Tuesday On Rest Day
  Tournaments
  Fabiano Caruana used the first rest day of the U.S. Championships to win Chess.com's Titled Tuesday on October 13, finishing on 9.5 points, half a point clear of Hikaru Nakamura and Nihal Sarin. I
• U.S. Championship: Round 4
  Tournaments
  Round 4 in Saint Louis on Monday produced a new co-leader in the open section, as Fabiano Caruana beat Ray Robson to join Wesley So on 3/4, while Jeffery Xiong knocked Awonder Liang out of the lead. In the women's section, Alice Lee beat overnight co-leader Megan Paragua to go clear on 3.5/4, her third straight win.
• U.S. Championship: Round 3
  Tournaments
  Round 3 in Saint Louis on Sunday ended the perfect scores in both sections, as Wesley So and Awonder Liang drew their meeting of the open leaders and Thalia Cervantes and Megan Paragua both drew in the women's. Alice Lee won to join them, so each section now has a clear front group, and the $64,000 Fischer Prize for a perfect score is out of reach.
• U.S. Championship: Round 2
  Tournaments
  Round 2 in Saint Louis on Saturday cut the open section's leaders from three to two, with Wesley So surviving a bad position against Jeffery Xiong and Awonder Liang beating Samuel Sevian, while Fabiano Caruana scored his first win to move within half a point. In the women's section, Megan Paragua and Thalia Cervantes, the two lowest-rated players in the field, took the lead at 2/2, with Paragua beating defending champion Carissa Yip.
• U.S. Championship: Round 1
  Tournaments
  Round 1 in Saint Louis on October 9 left three players at 1/1 in the open section, with Wesley So, Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong all winning with White, and Fabiano Caruana opening with a 17-move draw. The women’s section was even more decisive, as four wins produced a four-way tie at the top while defending champion Carissa Yip started with a draw.
• Game of the Day: GM David Navara Beats GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
  Tournaments
  GM David Navara beat GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in round 1, board 9 of the German Bundesliga 2026/27 (Schachbundesliga), winning in 76 moves.
• Game of the Day: GM Murali Karthikeyan Beats GM Alexandr Predke
  Tournaments
  GM Murali Karthikeyan beat GM Alexandr Predke in round 3, board 25 of the Serbian Super League 2026 (Open), winning in 30 moves.
• Game of the Day: GM Murali Karthikeyan Beats GM Ivan Cheparinov
  Tournaments
  GM Murali Karthikeyan beat GM Ivan Cheparinov in round 2, board 7 of the Serbian Super League 2026 (Open), winning in 34 moves.
• Game of the Day: GM Pranesh M Beats GM Pierre Laurent-Paoli
  Tournaments
  GM Pranesh M beat GM Pierre Laurent-Paoli in round 2, board 7 of the Romanian Team Chess Championships 2026 (Men’s Super league), winning with checkmate on move 39.
• Nakamura Sets New Mark for Bullet Brawl Victories
  Tournaments
  GM Hikaru Nakamura breaks record for most Bullet Brawl wins in a year
• Liang Wins Seirawan Chess Championship with Perfect Score
  Tournaments
  GM Awonder Liang wins 2026 Seirawan Chess Championship with a perfect score
• Nguyen, Maghsoodloo, Grischuk Claim 3|0 Thursday Titles
  Tournaments
  IM Quoc Hy Nguyen, GM Parham Maghsoodloo, and GM Alexander Grischuk won titles in the 3|0 Thursday tournaments on October 1.
• Freestyle Friday Resumes with World Championship Qualification at Stake
  Tournaments
  Freestyle Friday has resumed on Chess.com, with the remaining weekly tournaments leading up to the December knockout finals
• 9z Globant Wins Inaugural Chess Club Showdown
  Tournaments
  The headline result from Chess.com's first Chess Club Showdown is that 9z Globant beat Team Liquid in the finals. The result everyone is talking about instead is that a Bulgarian streamer calling himself Witty Alien beat Magnus Carlsen, then celebrated by taking his pants off on stream.
• Wesley So Wins First Titled Tuesday of 2026
  Tournaments
  GM Wesley So won the first Titled Tuesday of 2026 with 9.5 points
• Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot Field Complete
  Tournaments
  The Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot has finalized its 24-player field with top grandmasters
• Individual Excellence at the Olympiad
  Tournaments
  Team gold gets the headlines, but the Olympiad hands out individual board medals too, and this year's crop tells its own story about who carried their teams through eleven rounds in Samarkand.
• Gold on Home Soil: Uzbekistan Wins the 2026 Olympiad
  Tournaments
  Uzbekistan has won the Open section of the 46th Chess Olympiad!
• Sri Lanka Is Quietly Having the Best Olympiad
  Tournaments
  Buried outside the top 15 of the women's crosstable in Samarkand, Sri Lanka's team is on course for a medal that has nothing to do with beating China or India.
• Uzbekistan Pulls Clear as Gukesh Delivers Mate on Board One
  Tournaments
  Two rounds from the finish in Samarkand, the Olympiad has a single leader again. Uzbekistan beat the United States 2.5-1.5 on Thursday, and with Germany losing to India on the next table over, the hosts are alone at the top of the Open section for the first time since the draw that had tied them with Germany in round 8.
• The Svane Brothers End Uzbekistan's Perfect Run
  Tournaments
  Round eight delivered the result the Open section had been building toward since Uzbekistan pulled clear of the field two rounds ago: a loss, its first of the tournament, and a home-soil defeat at that.
• Round 7 Recap: Uzbekistan extend their lead as India stay in the hunt
  Tournaments
  Round 7 saw Uzbekistan strengthen their lead, while India kept their medal hopes alive and Praggnanandhaa produced the day’s standout win
• The Crucial Role of Seconds in Elite Chess
  Tournaments
  Elite chess players rely on seconds and preparation teams to gain a competitive edge
• The Two Nodirbeks Keep Uzbekistan Perfect Through Seven Rounds
  Tournaments
  Round seven pitted the Open section's top two teams directly against each other, and Uzbekistan didn't blink. Beating China 3-1, the hosts pushed their record to a perfect 7-0-0 and opened up a lead big enough that even a loss next round wouldn't cost them top spot outright.
• Six Rounds Down, Five to Go:
  Tournaments
  The Chess Olympiad reached its rest day with a settled picture at the top of the Open section and an unsettled one in the Women's, after six rounds that included a world champion's rating milestone, a family reunion on the Swedish board, and a scheduling dispute that ended up saying more about FIDE than about chess.
• A Blundered Queen Hands Uzbekistan the Sole Lead Heading Into the Rest Day
  Tournaments
  Round six settled a question the Open section had been building toward for two rounds straight: who would actually separate themselves from the pack of co-leaders. The answer arrived through one costly mistake on board three.
• Nakamura Wins Second Consecutive Bullet Brawl
  Tournaments
  GM Hikaru Nakamura wins his 18th Bullet Brawl of the year
• Germany Upsets Top-Seeded US in Chess Olympiad
  Tournaments
  Germany defeats the US, joins Uzbekistan and India in the lead
• Eight Teams Still Perfect After Round Four
  Tournaments
  Round four in Samarkand didn't produce a single upset among the tournament's top boards, but it did settle into a genuinely crowded picture at the summit: eight teams remain unbeaten after four rounds, and the day's best individual story came from a player who, by rights, should have lost.
• Ashraf, Xiong, and Sarana Dominate 3 0 Thursday Event
  Tournaments
  FM Artin Ashraf, GM Jeffery Xiong, and GM Alexey Sarana had dominant performances in the 3 0 Thursday event on Chess.com.
• Blohberger's Rough Week Continues, and the Women's Section Has Its Day of Shocks
  Tournaments
  Round three in Samarkand kept most of the tournament's favorites on track, but it produced two genuinely major upsets in the Women's section and one very unlucky repeat customer in the Open.
• Swedish Family Business
  Tournaments
  Sweden's women's team in Samarkand is a family affair in the most literal sense possible: GM Pia Cramling plays board one, her daughter WFM Anna Cramling plays board four, and Pia's husband, GM Juan Manuel Bellón López, captains the whole operation from the sidelines
• Gukesh Slips Under 2700, and Montenegro Delivers the Upset of the Tournament
  Tournaments
  The second round of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand saw the introduction of top players from leading teams, with several teams securing victories and some dropping points along the way.
• Three Huge Rating Gaps, Three Different Endings on Day One
  Tournaments
  Round one of the Olympiad produced its share of predictable results, but three games in particular showed just how differently a massive rating gap can actually play out over the board
• Pakistan Forfeits Round One Match Against Israel at the Olympiad
  Tournaments
  Pakistan did not show up for its scheduled Round 1 match against Israel at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, leaving all four boards unplayed and handing Israel a 4-0 walkover.
• FIDE Recaps Day 1 of the Olympiad
  Tournaments
  The 46th Chess Olympiad opened in Samarkand with 207 teams in the Open section and 191 in the Women's, and while most of the day went exactly the way the ratings predicted, round one still found room for a genuine shock at the very top of the field.
• Team India Board Order Revealed
  Tournaments
  Gukesh Dommaraju holds the World Championship title. At this Olympiad, he's not even India's top three.
• Tickets Now Available for 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand
  Tournaments
  Spectator tickets for the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, are now on sale, with various ticket categories available.
• Topalov Wins 2026 Clutch Chess: The Legends Chess960 Match
  Tournaments
  GM Veselin Topalov wins the 2026 Clutch Chess: The Legends Chess960 match against GM Garry Kasparov.
• Israel, Cuba, and Czech Republic Share the Lead as Poland Claws Back
  Tournaments
  Three rounds into the Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Samarkand, the tournament has a genuine three-way tie at the top, and the team that stumbled hardest on day one has already put itself back in the conversation.
• Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi to Meet in Tech Mahindra Global Chess League Final
  Tournaments
  The 2026 Tech Mahindra Global Chess League final matchup is set between Carlsen's Alpine APL Pipers and Nepomniachtchi's Ganges Grandmasters.
• Alpine APL Pipers to Face Ganges Grandmasters in GCL Season 4 Final
  Tournaments
  Defending champions Alpine APL Pipers will face Ganges Grandmasters in the Season 4 final of the Global Chess League