The Tata Steel Chess Tournament stands as one of the most prestigious chess events in the world. For over 80 years, top grandmasters have traveled to Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands to battle for one of the game’s true major titles. And while organizers have diminished the spectacle this […]
Chess
PogChamps 3: Third Edition of Celebrity Chess Tournament Adds Mainstream Stars to Field
The first two PogChamps online chess tournaments surpassed all expectations. Featuring lineups of Twitch celebrities, they became two of the most-watched events in chess history. Now, PogChamps 3 will attempt to push the envelope even further in February. Chess.com announced on Monday that PogChamps 3 will begin on Feb. 14, […]
Airthings Masters: Radjabov, Aronian Sweep Their Way Into Finals Showdown
Teimour Radjabov and Levon Aronian dominated their respective semifinal matchups at the Airthings Masters, leaving no doubt as to which two players deserved to compete for the first major title on the Champions Chess Tour. Radjabov won the first two games of the second match to finish off Daniil Dubov, […]
Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura Eliminated in Stunning Airthings Masters Quarterfinal Matches
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura entered every online chess tournament of the COVID-19 era as the clear favorites to make the final. But neither will reach that stage at the Airthings Masters, as both grandmasters fell in shocking fashion in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Skilling Open champion Wesley So also […]
Airthings Masters: Carlsen, So, Nakamura Take Top Seeds Heading into Quarterfinals
The cream rose to the top during the preliminary rounds of the Airthings Masters, with World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Wesley So sitting tied for first during the round-robin portion of the tournament. Carlsen, So, and Nakamura each scored 6.5/11 in the preliminary rounds, enough to lead […]
Airthings Masters Delivers Christmas Cheer for Champions Chess Tour Fans
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, Speed Chess Championship winner Hikaru Nakamura, and Skilling Open winner Wesley So lead the field of 12 grandmasters who will compete in the Airthings Masters beginning on Dec. 26. The Airthings Masters is the second event and the first major of the Champions Chess Tour, […]
Hikaru Nakamura Fends Off Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for 2020 Speed Chess Championship Title
For a moment during the one-minute portion of the 2020 Speed Chess Championship final, it looked as though Maxime Vachier-Lagrave might beat Hikaru Nakamura at his own game. But the American GM turned things around, putting together a decisive string of victories to capture his third straight title in the […]
MVL Upsets Carlsen, Faces Hikaru Nakamura in Speed Chess Championship Final
French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave pulled off a major upset in the Speed Chess Championship on Friday, defeating World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen 13-11 to reach the finals of the online blitz and bullet tournament. Vachier-Lagrave outscored Carlsen in both the five-minute and three-minute portions of the match, then held on […]
Magnus Carlsen Battles Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Speed Chess Championship Semifinals
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen returns to action on Friday when he’ll take on French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for the right to face Hikaru Nakamura in the Speed Chess Championship final. Nakamura booked his place in the final with a tight 13.5-12.5 win over fellow American Wesley So on Wednesday. […]
Hikaru Nakamura Faces Wesley So in All-American Speed Chess Championship Semifinal
Hikaru Nakamura stands two wins away from claiming his third straight Speed Chess Championship title. But he’ll face one of his toughest challengers in his semifinal match on Wednesday when he takes on fellow American grandmaster Wesley So. Nakamura and So matched up in the final of the 2018 Speed […]
Carlsen, Nakamura Heavy Favorites in Speed Chess Championship Matches
Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen came into the Speed Chess Championship as the top two seeds and the prohibitive favorites to reach the final. On Thursday, both will get the chance to prove their dominance and move into the semifinals, though they’ll face dangerous Russian opponents gunning for upsets. Carlsen […]
Wesley So Upsets Magnus Carlsen in Final to Win Skilling Open
Magnus Carlsen won three of the four regular-season events on his namesake online chess tour earlier this year, along with the Grand Final. But Wesley So showed that it may not be as easy this time around, upsetting the World Champion to win the Skilling Open. After two days of […]
Skilling Open Final: Carlsen, So Battle for First Champions Chess Tour Title
Magnus Carlsen looks to continue his dominance of the online chess scene while Wesley So will attempt to put his stamp on the new Champions Chess Tour as the two world-class grandmasters face off in the final of the Skilling Open. Carlsen and So will battle in the first of […]
Skilling Open Semifinals: Carlsen Battles Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura Faces So
Hikaru Nakamura came back from down a set, and then again down a game in blitz tiebreakers to get past Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and advance to the semifinals of the Skilling Open online chess tournament. Nakamura moved on to face fellow American Wesley So, while World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen will […]
Skilling Open Quarterfinals: Carlsen, Nakamura Top Round Robin; Firouzja, Le Out on Tiebreaks
Alireza Firouzja lost his final two games on Tuesday to fall into a five-way tie for sixth place and miss out on the Skilling Open quarterfinals on tiebreaks, despite winning six games in the round-robin. Both Firouzja and Le Quang Liem missed out on qualification on eight points, the same […]
Skilling Open: Carlsen, Nakamura Lead 16 Grandmasters in Champions Chess Tour Opener
The new online Champions Chess Tour gets underway on Sunday as a field of 16 grandmasters takes the stage for the Skilling Open. The Skilling Open begins with a full round-robin of rapid chess, after which, the top eight players will qualify for the knockout stage where they’ll play head-to-head […]
Netflix’s ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Adds Momentum to Online Chess Boom
Chess – particularly online chess – was already experiencing one of its best years in decades in 2020 as the game thrived while people spent more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Netflix released “The Queen’s Gambit” on Oct. 23, and the brilliant series did more than take […]
Speed Chess Championship Odds: Aronian, Caruana, Giri First-Round Underdogs
Many of the world’s top chess players are competing in the 2020 Speed Chess Championship on Chess.com, a $100,000 online knockout competition that pits grandmasters against each other in a series of blitz and bullet games. While Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura are heavy favorites to get through the early […]
Play Magnus Group Launches 10-Event, $1.5 Million Champions Chess Tour
The Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour burst on the scene earlier this year to provide world-class chess players with big money online tournaments throughout the spring and summer. Now, the Play Magnus Group is expanding on that idea with the Champions Chess Tour, a 10-event series beginning later this month. The […]
Chess Betting Flourishes Alongside Online Events During COVID-19 Pandemic
When Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the fifth round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament on Oct. 10, it caused a sensation in the chess world. The victory ended Carlsen’s 125-game unbeaten run in classical play, the longest known streak in chess history. The result also […]