As the first quarter of 2026 enters its final weeks, some of the biggest tournaments in both online and over-the-board chess are happening, with the Chess.com Open starting March 14 and the Candidates Tournament, to determine the next world champi...
Quantity has a quality all its own —Thomas A. Callaghan Jr In 2019, GM Hikaru Nakamura was over the hill. He was 32 years old and had gradually dropped nearly 70 points from his rating peak four years earlier, falling from number two...
The passing of legendary GM Jan Timman is a great loss for the chess world. Not only was he an elite player, often called "The Best of the West," but he was also a truly unique personality. When I saw his photos in chess magazines in the 1980s, ...
In the world of chess, a prodigy is more than just a talented kid. A chess prodigy defies their age and, while still in grade school, often topples seasoned, adult grandmasters. The four GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and...
GM Judit Polgar, everyone's choice for the greatest woman chess player in history, has been making the rounds since the release of Queen of Chess, the hit Netflix documentary about her life in chess. Last week, she sat down at a board with Chess.c...
A national master from Southern California, NM Craig Clawitter also has a winning career record against a certain grandmaster—technically. (You'll have to read on to see who and under what circumstances!) For more than 20 years, Craig h...
At just 10 years old, English prodigy WIM Bodhana Sivanandan can already be considered to be one of the several celebrities to attend the 2025 Speed Chess Championship, which took place in London on February 7 and 8. In casual games played in the ...
GM Judit Polgar has been enjoying some major moments in the spotlight in recent weeks, with the success of Netflix's documentary Queen of Chess. In a fresh interview with Chess.com, the Hungarian chess legend shared her thoughts about the response...
A long time ago, I watched a comedian who offered simple solutions to everyday problems. They went something like this: Want to impress a girl on a first date? Use a fake French accent—romance guaranteed. Got a bad haircut? Put on sungl...
Asmoada (first name Alex) has been streaming chess for only 11 months, yet in that time she has not just already built an audience of thousands of followers, but her chess has greatly improved as well—by 500-800 Elo rating points in various ...
Queen of Chess, the documentary directed by Rory Kennedy about the life and career of GM Judit Polgar, has been informing and entertaining Netflix viewers since February 6. The film hit the global top 10 in its first week as viewers have gotten to...
Do any of these describe you, your child, or someone you know? Have never played chess before but are interested in learning Feel stuck at your current level and want to break through the plateau Play chess online and want to further develop...
GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Denis Lazavik made the semifinals of the Speed Chess Championship, and the time has come. Whether you're reading this before or after the big February 6-8 weekend festivities, you can see ...
Four players will compete in the Speed Chess Championship Finals on February 7 and 8, 2026, in London, England. GM Magnus Carlsen will aim to defend his title against five-time SCC Champion Hikaru Nakamura, last year's finalist GM Alireza Firouzja...
GM Bent Larsen was not only one of the best players in the world, but also a great thinker and writer. A book of his selected 50 games is one of the most original chess books I've ever read. It is not just a collection of Larsen's unusual openings...
For some, chess is just a game. For others, it's a hobby or a sport. But for children growing up in the slums of Mombasa, Kenya, chess can be something even more powerful—hope. Promoting Queens is an initiative committed to changing the li...
You know her as Unclejessi on Twitch and Chessi-G on Chess.com. Either way, our Chess.com Creator of the Month for January 2026 knows how to put on a chess stream. It takes a particular love of the game to go from a part-time variety streamer to a...
GM Vinay Bhat bounces in and out of the chess universe, but he may have finally found his perfect home. Unlike many American grandmasters, who either permanently leave the game after adulthood or grind it out for a lifetime without any steady empl...
They say that chess is the game of kings, an honorable pastime for people who want to lose themselves in thought. Bullet chess, however, played at a pace of one minute per side for the whole game, is anything but honorable. Bullet isn't a game of ...
GM Mauricio Flores started playing chess when he was 10 years old, and didn't have a titled coach until he was 15, improving primarily through chess books and self-analysis of his games. He nonetheless became a grandmaster and a three-time Chilean...
Welcome to 2026! We had another great year at Chess.com in 2025, all because of you. As we enter the new year, let's take a look back at the last month of action—GM Magnus Carlsen's continued dominance, our annual Chess.com Awards community ...
2025 will go down as a year that showcased chess at its very best, marked by performances at the highest level and record-breaking activity online. As we have moved to 2026, it's time to look at the moments, games, and numbers that defined the pas...
I have a student who used to complain a lot about his opponents not resigning when they were down significant material. "When are you going to resign?", he would type in the chat whenever his opponent would lose a piece but kept playing. One day...
It's time to remember the most remarkable chess games of 2025. Some memorable classical events gave us magnificent games, such as the traditional Tata Steel Chess tournament, the FIDE Grand Swiss, and the FIDE World Cup, to name three of the ...
