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FIDE Candidates 2026 R12: Sindarov maintains his lead. Can Anish stop him in the penultimate round?

13/04/2026 -

After 12 rounds at the FIDE Candidates 2026, Javokhir Sindarov is still leading the field with 2 points; he is on 9/12, while Anish is still trailing with 7/12 points. In the 13th round, Anish and Sindarov are going to play against each other, and this round can be the decisive one. In the 12th round, all games ended in a draw in the Open Section, and the standings look the same. In the Women's section, there were 3 decisive results where Vaishali Rameshbabu, who was leading the event, lost against Zhu Jiner, and now both players are on 7/12 points. Divya Deshmukh suffered a tough loss against Tan Zhongyi, and Bibisara won against Kateryna Lagno. Today is the last rest day at Candidates, and Round 13 will start on 14th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Niki Riga/ FIDE

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FIDE Candidates 2026 R11: Vaishali beats Goryachkina to gain a full point lead, Sindarov still going strong

12/04/2026 -

Vaishali Rameshbabu scored an important victory in the 11th round of FIDE Women's Candidates 2026 to gain a full-point lead over Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk. Vaishali is on 7/11 points while Jiner and Muzychuk are on 6/11 points. In the 11th round of the FIDE Candidates 2026, there was only 1 decisive result in 8 games, including both sections. In the Open Section, all 4 games ended in a draw. Tournament leader Javokhir Sindarov drew his game against Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri also drew his game against Andrey Esipenko, and is still trailing Sindarov by 2 points. Praggnanandhaa missed some opportunities in a clear winning position against Matthias Bluebaum, and the game ended in a draw. Hikaru Nakamura and Wei Yi also played a solid draw. Round 12 will start on 12th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Niki Riga/ FIDE

Menorca Masters 2026 R6-7: Nihal Sarin in joint lead with Ruslan Ponomariov going into 8th round

11/04/2026 -

Nihal Sarin and Ruslan Ponomariov are in joint lead after 7 rounds of play at Menorca Masters 2026. On the 4th day, Ruslan Ponomariov won both of his games to catch up to Nihal. In the 6th round, Ruslan Ponomariov defeated Richard Rapport, while in the 7th round, he defeated World Champion D Gukesh. Nihal had two draws. In the 6th round, he drew against Pentala Harikrishna, and in the 7th round, he drew against Leinier Dominguez Perez. Gukesh had both decisive games on the 4th day, first he won against Leinier Dominguez Perez, and then lost against Ponomariov. With 3 rounds to go, Nihal and Ponomariov are co-leading with 4.5/7, and Gukesh is in sole second place with 3.5/7. Round 8 will start on 10th April at 5 PM Local time/8:30 PM IST. Photos: Saji Mathew

Arkady Dvorkovich assesses his 8 years of work as a FIDE President

11/04/2026 -

Arkady Dvorkovich became the FIDE President in 2018 first and then once again won the elections in 2022. He has been at the helm of FIDE for 8 years now. We speak to him about the biggest challenges facing FIDE, what are his opinions on them, what is the thing is most proud of in his tenure as a FIDE President and what is that one thing he regrets the most. With 2026 elections coming, will be once again be running for FIDE Presidentship? If yes, what will be his vision for the next 4 years. All this and more in this interview.

Anustoop Biswas wins 3rd Maharathi Rapid Rating 2026, Anuj Shrivatri shines in Blitz

10/04/2026 -

Anustoop Biswas of West Bengal wins the 3rd Maharathi International Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. Seven players, including Anustoop Biswas, Aradhya Garg, Dhrupad Kashyap, Soham Kamotra, Kushagra Mohan, Samar Dayal, and Anuj Shrivatri, scored 8/9 points, securing 1st to 7th positions respectively according to tie-break scores. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹10,00,000. In rapid, ₹7,00,000 were distributed along with trophies, while in blitz, ₹3,00,000 were distributed. The tournament was organised by Maharathi Chess Academy at Thyagraj Stadium, New Delhi, on 21st and 22nd March. Photos: Maharathi Chess Academy

Menorca Masters 2026 R4-5: D Gukesh scores his first win, Nihal still in lead

10/04/2026 -

After 5 rounds at Menorca Masters 2026, Nihal Sarin is still leading the tournament with 3.5/5 points. In the 4th round, Nihal Sarin won his game against Richard Rapport, World Champion D Gukesh also scored his first win of the tournament against Pentala Harikrishna, and Leinier Dominguez Perez vs Ruslan Ponomariov ended in a draw. In the 5th round, Pentala Harikrishna scored a win against Leinier Dominguez, and the other 2 games ended in a draw. Menorca Masters reached its halfway point, and now players will play against each other one more time. Round 6 will start on 10th April at 5 PM Local time/8:30 PM IST. Photos: Saji Mathew

FIDE Candidates 2026 R10: Sindarov Strikes again, beats Praggnanandhaa to extend his lead

10/04/2026 -

After 10 rounds of play at FIDE Candidates 2026, it seems like no one can stop Javokhir Sindarov's dream run. In the 10th round, Sindarov defeated R Praggnanandhaa for the 2nd consecutive time in the tournament to reach 8/10 points and extended his lead by 2 points over Anish Giri, who drew his game against Hikaru Nakamura. Other 2 games in the open section ended in a draw. In the Women's section, Vaishali Rameshbabu emerged as the sole leader after the 10th round. She drew her game against Anna Muzychuk, while Zhu Jiner, who was co-leading before this round, lost to Bibisara Assaubayeva. Divya Deshmukh also suffered a tough loss against Aleksandra Goryachkina. 10th April is the rest day, and Round 11 will start on 11th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Niki Riga/ FIDE

FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship round 5-6: Wisdom school in sole lead, can Velammal bounce back?

10/04/2026 -

The finals of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026 (Asian Continental Stage) are set for today in Almaty. Velammal MHS School and Kalinga Institute of Social Science both started strong in round 5 with 3–1 victories but struggled in round 6, losing most of their games. Duolingo Dreamers endured a tough round 5, going down 0–4, but fought back in round 6 with a 2–2 draw. The stage is now set for an intense final round! Round 7 will start at 10 AM local time, followed by Round 8 at 1:30 PM. Photos: International School Chess Federation

Menorca Masters 2026 R2-3: Nihal Sarin wins against World Champion Gukesh, maintains his sole lead

09/04/2026 -

Nihal Sarin beats the World Champion D Gukesh in the 3rd round of the Menorca Masters 2026. This win helped Nihal get back into the 1st place, after losing his game against Leinier Dominguez Perez in the 2nd round. All 3 games have been decisive for Nihal so far, and he is leading the 6-player tournament with 2/3 points. Gukesh is yet to score his first win; he drew his second game against Ruslan Ponomariov and lost against Nihal in 3rd round. There are 4 players, Harikrishna, Leinier, Rapport, and Ponomariov, who are on 1.5/3 points, trailing Nihal Sarin. Round 4 will start on 9th April at 5 PM Local time/8:30 PM IST. Photos: Saji Mathew

FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship Rounds 3–4: Velammal MHS School tied for second

09/04/2026 -

Day 2 of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026 (Asian Continental Stage) saw thrilling action for the Indian teams. Velammal MHS School faced a tough loss in round 3 against Kurchatov School. But they bounced back in round 4 with a dominant 4:0 win. The team is tied for second place with three others. Duolingo Dreamers and Kalinga Institute of Social Science experienced mixed results, scoring their first wins in round 3 but facing setbacks in round  4 against strong opponents. Round 5 starts at 11 AM local time today. Photos: International School Chess Federation

FIDE Candidates 2026 R9: Anish Giri scores second consecutive win, Climbs up to 2nd spot

09/04/2026 -

Anish Giri scored a huge win in the 9th round of FIDE Candidates 2026. Anish won a beautiful game against Fabiano Caruana to climb up to 2nd position. Javokhir Sindarov missed a huge chance against Matthias Bluebaum and drew his game. Anish is currently on 5.5/9 points while Sindarov is on 7/9 points. R Praggnanandhaa was also clearly winning his game, but made some inaccurate moves, and the game ended in a draw. In the Women's Section, Vaishali Rameshbabu scored a big win over Divya Deshmukh, and Zhu Jiner beat Kateryna Lagno. After round 9, both players are in joint 1st place, going into the 10th round. Round 10 will start on 9th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Niki Riga/ FIDE

Menorca Masters 2026: Nihal starts with a win, Gukesh back in action

08/04/2026 -

Nihal Sarin kicked off the Menorca Masters 2026 with a win. It was an all Indian clash between Nihal and Pentala Harikrishna. Nihal was looking into some trouble in the opening, but he came back and outplayed Pentala Harikrishna to score the full point. The World Champion D Gukesh started with a draw against Leinier Dominguez Perez, while the game between Richard Rapport and Ruslan Ponomariov also ended in a solid draw. The Menorca Masters 2026 is an Invitational Rapid tournament with 6 players taking part in it. This exciting event will take place from 7th to 12th April in Ciutadella de Menorca. Round 2 will start at 5 PM Local time/8:30 PM IST. Photos: Saji Mathew

FIDE Candidates 2026 R8: Anish beats Praggnanandhaa, Caruana loses to Nakamura

08/04/2026 -

The FIDE Candidates 2026 is now in its second half, after completion of 8 rounds, Sindarov is still leading the event and getting closer to a perfect finish. In the 8th round, Anish Giri secured an important win over R Praggnanandhaa to get into the joint lead with Caruana in second place, who lost his game against Nakamura. Javokhir Sindarov drew his game against Andrey Esipenko, but Nakamura's win over Caruana helped Sindarov to increase his lead by 2 points. The 8th round in the Women's Section was very eventful as it witnessed 3 decisive results, and the standings have completely changed. It is anyone's title to grab as 5 players are in a joint lead. Round 9 will start on 8th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Yoav Nis/ FIDE

Velammal MHS School starts strong at FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026

07/04/2026 -

The FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026 (Asian Continental Stage) began in Almaty, Kazakhstan. They brought together some of the strongest school teams from across the continent. Three teams are representing India: Velammal MHS School, Duolingo Dreamers, and Kalinga Institute of Social Science. After two rounds, Velammal MHS School has made a flying start, winning both matches to sit among the early leaders with a perfect score. The other two Indian teams faced tough competition and are still looking for their first match points. Read the article for the report. Photos: International School Chess Federation

How did Cyprus and Cap St. Georges become the venue for FIDE Candidates 2026?

07/04/2026 -

We speak to the CEO of FIDE Emil Sutovsky on how the FIDE Candidates tournament was put together. How were the funds raised and how was the venue Cap St. Georges in Cyprus decided. As we speak on this subject, we get an understanding of what is needed to organize an event of this magnitude. Emil also shares his thoughts on Koneru Humpy pulling out of the event, and why it was logistically not possible to shift the venue.

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