Arne Kähler sets off by golf cart from the entrance gate to the exhibition area at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. He shows the stands of WR Chess, DGT and ChessBase, while also passing the ChessBase India workspace, the food court and the souvenir shop. Arne then visits the press area and the game zone before meeting a special guest at the ChessBase stand – elite grandmaster Levon Aronian! | Photo: ChessBase

The European Continental Stage of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship has begun in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, with 27 school teams from 25 countries competing for places in the December Grand Final. After two rounds, five teams remain on maximum match points, with Gymnasium No. 50 of Minsk leading on game points. The opening day also featured messages from the previous continental champions and an Armenian carpet-weaving workshop.

The eleven-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan played on top board for England at the Women's Olympiad, was the best player on her team and one of the best performers on board one. With this result, she earned her third WGM norm and is now the youngest Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in history. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz/FIDE

Uzbekistan are Olympiad champions again! They finished two match points clear of Germany and India. After the celebrations, ChessBase India caught up with the Uzbek team to talk about the games, the pressure, and what this win means to them. Do not miss what the newly crowned champions had to say! | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Anyone playing for medals at a Chess Olympiad takes chess seriously. In Samarkand, Vincent Keymer won bronze with the German team, Germany’s first team medal since silver in Istanbul in 2000. But after the final round, Keymer took time for a short interview with Arne Kähler and handled his not entirely serious questions with ease and humour – while also revealing quite a bit about his likes and dislikes, both in chess and away from the board.

Over the past four years, Australian chess streamer Hannah Sayce has attracted considerable attention with her chess streams on Twitch, though not all of it was welcome. A stalker followed her activities, harassed her online and, after falsely accusing her of drug smuggling, caused her to be imprisoned twice.

The XTX Markets London Chess Classic (LCC) returns to the capital between 24th November and 6th December 2026. The event will begin with an opening ceremony and drawing of lots at the iconic Tower of London, with the majority of games taking place alongside the LCC Festival at London Novotel West in Hammersmith.

In the final round of the Women's Chess Olympiad, China, led by top board Zhu Jiner, defeated Vietnam 3–1 to secure first place outright with 20 match points. Their rivals did not fare as well. Kazakhstan drew with Poland, while India drew with Georgia. As a result, Kazakhstan's 18 points were enough for second place, while India took third on tiebreak ahead of the United States, Poland, Armenia and Mongolia, all of whom finished on 17 points. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Uzbekistan secured their second Chess Olympiad gold by beating Ukraine 2½–1½ in the final round in Samarkand. India took silver after drawing Hungary, while Germany claimed bronze and their first team medal since 2000 after beating the Netherlands. Nodirbek Abdusattorov won individual gold on board one, Frederik Svane repeated his individual success (also gold) from 2024, while Hungary's Gleb Dudin finished with five consecutive wins. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

The inaugural FIDE Excellence Awards were presented in Samarkand during the 46th Chess Olympiad, recognising achievements across the chess world during the 2024–2026 cycle. Honours went to players, teams, tournaments, federations, creators and social initiatives, with recipients including Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Levon Aronian, India’s Open and Women’s teams and ChessBase India. The remaining Best Chess Player awards will be presented separately at the Olympiad closing ceremony. | Photos: KNZO Photography

The 46th edition of the Chess Olympiad is taking place on 16-27 September at the Silk Road EXPO in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. A record 208 teams in the open and 191 in the women's category are fighting for collective and individual medals. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST) | Pictured: Alexandra Kosteniuk from Switzerland by Michal Walusza / FIDE

Uzbekistan will enter the final round of the Chess Olympiad with a one-point lead after beating Armenia 3½–½ in round ten. India remain their closest challengers following a clear victory over Uzbekistan 2, while Germany, Ukraine and Hungary are two points back. Ukraine will face the hosts directly on Sunday, with India meeting Hungary and Germany taking on the Netherlands. The decisive round will begin four hours earlier than usual, at 8.00 CEST. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE