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Chess park: When Bobby Haywood preceded Bobby Fischer, and then vanished

July 10, 2026 5:54 pm

The Washington Square Park in New York sees chess hustlers dare passersby to a game under leafy canopies, earning as much as $1000 dollars on a good day

Naroditsky had in December 2024 described how Kramnik's accusations and social media crusade against him at the time affected him every time he played online chess. (X/Michal Walusza via FIDE)

Vladimir Kramnik banned for 2 years, ordered to do 12 months of unpaid service

July 03, 2026 10:50 pm

The second year of the two-year ban is currently suspended. For the first year, Kramnik is banned from participating in any FIDE chess competition or being involved in any chess-related activity as an arbiter, organizer, coach, trainer, or representative of a chess federation

File image of Pranav Venkatesh during the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Almaty. (PHOTO: FIDE via Lennart Ootes)

Pranav V becomes first Indian to qualify for 2027 FIDE Freestyle World Championship

June 30, 2026 1:28 pm

The former World Junior Champion Pranav joins Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Vincent Keymer in the Open category

League commissioner Gourav Rakshit (centre) with representatives of all the six teams during the GCL 4 Draft in Mumbai on Monday. (Photo: GCL)

GCL could experiment with board swaps, heart-rate monitors this season

June 29, 2026 8:51 pm

GCL 4 will have Magnus Carlsen back after he skipped last edition, while Divya Deshmukh will feature for the 1st time. World champion Gukesh, women’s world championship contender Vaishali Rameshbabu and R Praggnanandhaa will be missing.

For the 4th season of GCL, defending champions Alpine APL Pipers have added Magnus Carlsen and Divya Deshmukh along with Koneru Humpy, Anish Giri and Vidit Gujrathi. (Express Photos)

Divya Deshmukh teams up with Magnus Carlsen; Sindarov, Nihal in same team for GCL

June 30, 2026 10:19 pm

The 4th edition of GCL will see Vishy Anand switch teams for the first time in league history. At Alaskan Knights, he will be joined by Arjun Erigaisi, Turkish phenom Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and the youngest GM in history, Abhimanyu Mishra

Viswanathan Anand will not be running for FIDE Deputy president's role but will be part of Arkady Dvorkovich's (R) team. (Michal Walusza/FIDE & Special Arrangement)

Vishy Anand not running for FIDE Deputy President post as Arkady Dvorkovich announces re-election bid

June 29, 2026 8:04 pm

Arkady Dvorkovich has announced that he will be running for a third term as world body's chief with Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, as his running mate

Ethan Vaz (14) earned his third and final grandmaster norm at a tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina called Chess Summer in Sarajevo – GM Mix. (Photo by special arrangement)

Making of India’s 96th GM Ethan Vaz: a nuke disaster, crowdfunding and family’s sacrifices

June 28, 2026 2:37 pm

When the tsunami hit Japan in March 2011 and led to the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown, Ethan's parents had been living in Japan for over seven years. They were looking to buy a house and Edwin spoke the language fluently.

Divi Bijesh claimed the U12 title at FIDE World Cup in Georgia’s Batumi. (Photo: FIDE)

From 21st place to U12 World Cup winner: Divi Bijesh’s epic chess comeback

June 28, 2026 7:42 am

Divi’s triumph is another vindication of the risky move that her father Bijesh S made at the end of 2024: to quit his well-paying IT job and become a full-time chaperone for his 9-year-old chess-playing daughter

Team MGD1 (L) missed out on title defence and finished second in the FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2026 in Hong Kong. (FIDE/Michal Walusza)

Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin shine but India's MGD1 fall short of defending World Rapid team title

June 20, 2026 3:22 am

Team MGD1 came agonisingly close to defending their FIDE World Rapid Team Championship title, only to lose on the third tiebreak as Ding Liren's Dragon Chilling clinched the crown in Hong Kong.