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The 2025 Chess Calendar established that there are 151 official World Chess Championships. Another will be added in 2027 – the Total Chess Championship. The pilot tournament takes place in Budapest from 10 to 20 November. The field is strong, the format is complicated, and ChessBase has gone through the Total Chess webpage in an attempt to understand it. However, it is unclear whether all the rules have been correctly understood and reproduced. The following information is therefore provided without guarantee of accuracy.

Today marks the 90th anniversary of Mikhail Tal's birth. Tal was one of the great figures in chess history, playing particularly exciting chess in his youth and becoming the youngest world champion in history in 1960. Unfortunately, he suffered from health problems throughout his life and died at a relatively young age. | Tal giving a simultaneous exhibition in 1977 (Photo: Miass City Museum Archive)

Pranesh M won the inaugural Chola Chess Open in Chennai, scoring 7/9 points after finishing with two consecutive victories. The Indian grandmaster ended half a point ahead of five players, including runner-up S. L. Narayanan. The tournament also saw 16-year-old Viresh Sharnarthi earn his second GM norm in ten days, while 11-year-old Sarbartho Mani secured his first IM norm. Nine title norms were achieved in total. | Photo: Devansh Singh

Indian grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran won the Bavarian Chess Championship in Gmund am Tegernsee, finishing on 7½/9 points and taking first place on tiebreaks. German GMs Frederik Svane and Roven Vogel finished second and third, while Indian FM Arun Daakshin also reached 7½ points. All four won their final-round games with the black pieces, bringing an event that attracted 548 participants to a close. | Photo: Sandra Schmidt

The Salamanca Chess Festival will take place from 10 to 14 November, bringing together six players for a rapid round-robin tournament. The field includes 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan (pictured), former world top-ten player Loek van Wely and Spanish grandmaster Paco Vallejo, who returns to top-level competition after a lengthy absence. Elisabeth Paehtz, José Martínez Alcántara and Anastasiia Hnatyshyn complete the lineup. Several side events are also scheduled. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Yu Yangyi successfully defended his Chinese Rapid Championship title in Shaoxing, defeating 18-year-old Xiao Tong in an Armageddon decider after six games had failed to separate the finalists. Xiao had previously eliminated Ding Liren and Lu Shanglei in blitz tiebreaks to reach the final. Meanwhile, Lu secured third place by defeating Xu Xiangyu. | Photo: Chinese Chess Association

Born in Latvia, Aaron Nimzowitsch was one of the most important players and theorists of the first third of the 20th century, influencing generations of chess players with his strategic ideas. His life, however, was far from easy and sadly cut short. Today marks the 140th anniversary of his birth. | Photo: J. Graudenz

Gukesh Dommaraju will defend his world title against Javokhir Sindarov in Geneva after a remarkable rise that made him the youngest undisputed champion in history. Since his 2024 triumph, however, the Indian grandmaster has endured a more difficult period and slipped down the world rankings. The match therefore presents a different challenge: rediscovering his best form while facing a younger rival who arrives with strong recent results and considerable momentum. | Image: FIDE

With 6 points from 7 rounds, Indian grandmasters Krishnan Sasikiran and G.N. Gopal share the lead at the Bavarian Chess Championship in Tegernsee. Their opponents' average ratings of 2413 (Sasikiran) and 2411 (Gopal) also leave them closely matched on tiebreaks, with both having faced stronger opposition on average than any other participant. Gopal drew with Elham Amar on the top board. While the games on the neighbouring boards also ended in draws, including Frederik Svane (5½/7) against Adrian Gschnitzer, Sasikiran secured a win over Rithvik Raja. | Photo: Sandra Schmidt

The KazChess Masters Almaty 2026 takes place from 26 October to 3 November in Kazakhstan. The ten-player invitational tournament brings together five international grandmasters and five players from the host country. Among the best-known participants are Muhammad Muradli, Daniil Dubov and Denis Lazavik, who recently reached the Esports World Cup final. Another player to watch is 14-year-old Kazakh talent Mark Smirnov. | Live from approximately 6:15 AM ET / 3:45 PM IST / 11:15 AM CET | Pictured: Edgar Mamedov | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

For Jochen Schwarz, club player from Bremen, FritzTrainer courses have become an essential part of his hobby. Over the past ten years, he has studied numerous courses and now shares some of the favourites that have impressed him most.