Grandmaster Nigel Short, FIDE Director for Chess Development, visited Benin for the first time in the country’s history. The trip was part of FIDE’s efforts to support chess growth in nations that do not yet have a national federation.
During the visit, he met with officials
Who will win the FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates? ♟️
With the tournaments starting this month, some of the world’s elite players have already shared their predictions! 🔥
Here’s what you need to know about the event:
🗓 Dates: March 28–April 16
🌍 Location: Cap St
🔍 Time for a FIDE Candidates 2026 word hunt! How many chess stars can you find in this grid?
Drop your discoveries in the comments! 👇
Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 edition:
🗓 Dates: March 28–April 16
🌍 Location: @capstgeorgeshotelresort, Cyprus 🇨🇾
🎟️ Book
Find the best move in this game between two World Champions. ♟
Can you spot it before the time runs up? 👀
Here’s what you need to know about the event:
🗓 Dates: March 28–April 16
🌍 Location: Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort Cyprus 🇨🇾
🎟️ Book your tickets now:
🔗
♟️ History of the Candidates: from Budapest (1950) to Cyprus (2026).
🔸 1991 – The Split
The 1991 Candidates Matches kept the same format as three years before – half of the 14 players were eliminated before Karpov joined in the quarterfinals. In the final, held in 1993, Nigel
🔥 History throwback!
On this day 83 years ago, Bobby Fischer was born. ♟
The 11th World Champion was not only one of the greatest players in chess history, but also a good friend to the legendary Mikhail Tal.
Let’s dive into a remarkable story from the Candidates Tournament
Introducing: Hamilton K-8 School ♟️
📍 USA 🇺🇸
✨ In a quiet little town about 20 miles from San Francisco lies a K-8 public school using chess as an educational tool. This school is redefining success by valuing teaching kids to make good choices on and off the board rather
🔥 The 11th World Champion, Robert James Fischer, was born on this day 83 years ago!
Fischer went down in chess history not only as a great champion but also as an author and a popularizer of Chess960, also known as Fischer Random Chess ♟️
FIDE Circuit 2026-2027: Nodirbek Abdusattorov pulls away
🇺🇿 Nodirbek Abdusattorov extended his lead in #FIDECircuit 2026-27 following his triumph in the Prague International Chess Festival Masters netting him 23.14 circuit points. The GM from Uzbekistan claimed his second major
The 5 youngest girls in the Women’s Top 100! ♟️
14-year-old Oshini Devindya Gunawardhana 🇱🇰 has entered the World Top 100 Women Players list this month.
She is currently the youngest player on the list and also the first female player from Sri Lanka to reach this level in the
The 5 youngest girls in the Women’s Top 100! ♟️
14-year-old Oshini Devindya Gunawardhana 🇱🇰 has entered the World Top 100 Women Players list this month.
She is currently the youngest player on the list and also the first female player from Sri Lanka to reach this level in the
♟️ History of the Candidates: from Budapest (1950) to Cyprus (2026).
🔸 1988-1989 – Return to Matches
For the next cycle, the Candidates phase came back to matches, but this time with 14 players, whom Karpov joined in the quarterfinals.
He again proceeded to win the event and
Chess Women’s Day Celebration 2026: Visible, connected, worldwide 🎉
Throughout the month of March, the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess once again brings the global chess community together through the Chess Women’s Day Celebration, inviting federations, clubs, academies and
FIDE releases Gender Equality in Chess Index 2026
On International Women’s Day, the FIDE Women in Chess Commission (WOM) and The University of Queensland published the second edition of the Gender Equality in Chess Index (GECI), a comprehensive measure of female participation,
🥳🎉 Happy International Women’s Day!
And as every chess player knows — the queen rules the board! ♟️👑
👌 Nice choice, Hikaru!
Peter Svidler and Jan Gustafsson will be commentators at the 2026 #FIDECandidates on the FIDE YouTube channel ⬇️
youtube.com/@FIDE_chess/st…
If you’re an IM (or stronger, or weaker), join now so you don’t miss any of the action 📺🍿
“Peter Svidler and Jan
🇺🇿 Nodirbek Abdusattorov wins the Masters category at the Prague International Chess Festival 2026! 🏆
Abdusattorov, the event’s only unbeaten player, claimed his second major title of 2026, gained 9 rating points and consolidated his leading position in the FIDE Circuit 2026 –
The FIDE Candidates starts this month 🔥
Before the fight for the World Championship Challenger begins, here’s where the players stand on the latest FIDE rating list.
Do the ratings tell the whole story?
Here’s what you need to know about the event:
🗓 Dates: March 28–April 16
👉 Introducing Bibisara Assaubayeva 🇰🇿
♟️ Women's #FIDECandidates 2026
Qualification path: 2024-25 FIDE Women’s Events
Bibisara Assaubayeva is one of the most distinctive talents in women’s chess, a player whose career has been shaped by fearless instincts, sharp calculation,
♟️ History of the Candidates: from Budapest (1950) to Cyprus (2026).
🔸 Chaos and Stability – The Candidates tournament and matches 1985-1987
The second part of the 1980s was a hot time for chess: a famous unlimited match between Karpov and Kasparov in Moscow 1984-85; its
👉 Introducing Javokhir Sindarov 🇺🇿
♟️ #FIDECandidates 2026
Qualification path: 2025 FIDE World Cup winner
Javokhir Sindarov earned his place in the Candidates with one of the most dramatic results of the qualification cycle, winning the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa. His triumph
What’s the biggest non-chess achievement of the players at the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026?
Education, family… or something completely different? 👀♟️
Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 edition:
🗓 Dates: March 28–April 16
🌍 Location: Cap St Georges Hotel &
A clash of generations is coming to Cyprus. ♟
Eight of the world’s best players will compete in the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 for the right to challenge reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun.
From experienced contenders like Humpy Koneru, Tan Zhongyi, and
Who has the most appearances in the FIDE Women’s Candidates? ♟
It turns out that we have a three-way tie! Tan Zhongyi, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Kateryna Lagno have each played four times in the Candidates.
In Cyprus, we will also see three rookies: Divya Deshmukh, Bibisara
🇧🇷 Henrique Mecking — Brazil’s greatest chess player — facing the legendary Viktor Korchnoi in the 1974 Candidates Quarterfinal. Both were at the absolute elite level of world chess.
“Mequinho” unleashed a brilliant sequence, sacrificing a knight in a move that looked like a
👉 Introducing Aleksandra Goryachkina
♟️ Women's #FIDECandidates 2026
Qualification path: 2024-25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2nd place
Few players in the field are as closely tied to the World Championship cycle as Aleksandra Goryachkina. She announced herself at the very top in
The FIDE Continental Online Chess Championships for Prisoners returns for its second edition, set to take place across four continents in May 2026.
Regional championships will be held across four continents:
🌍 Africa – May 12
🌎 Americas – May 14
🌍 Europe – May 19
🌏 Asia –
FIDE Infinite Chess Project finds a kindred spirit in Los Angeles
At the 2026 Greater LA School Chess League, organized by the Kindness On Board Foundation, 46 teams from 32 schools competed — while raising nearly $7,000 for the FIDE Infinite Chess Project, a global program
♟️ History of the Candidates: from Budapest (1950) to Cyprus (2026).
🔸 1974 – 1984 – Anatoly Karpov’s Era
In the decade following the Match of the Century, Anatoly Karpov gathered momentum and turned into the chess scene’s leading actor, winning the Candidate Matches 1974 and
1971 — total domination by Bobby Fischer. ♟
Fischer’s legendary run began with 6–0 sweeps against Taimanov and Larsen. Then, in the FIDE Candidates Final, he faced Tigran Petrosian. Fischer defeated the former World Champion 6½–2½ and earned his place in the 1972 Match of the
