🇺🇸 Hikaru Nakamura: "If not for Magnus, I would have won at least two World Blitz Championships" Hikaru Nakamura on claims that he isn't the best blitz player after 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen: "I saw a hot take that after Magnus you aren't a great over-the-board blitz player. Grischuk and Levon have won more World Blitz Championships. Well, there are two things about that." "First of all, I will say that I am a great player with no increment. Like if I play 3 0 for example, I'm great at 3 0. But there's a huge difference between playing with increment and not playing with increment." "The second thing that I would say is that people I think have forgotten that I tied for first place in the 2019 World Blitz, and then I lost a tiebreaker to Magnus. There was another year, like 2016 or something, where I think I finished second where I was also very, very close, but there's this guy called Magnus Carlsen." "And there's no doubt in my mind that if not for Magnus, I would have won, I'm gonna say at least two World Blitz Championships. I'm not gonna go crazy and say I would have won like four or five."

Meet Oleg Romanishin. 18...b5!! 19.Rxb5 d5!!

Zoey Tang eases to another win in Las Vegas against IM Roman Pyrih (2408), and does it with Black! 😮 She's on 4½/6 (!), and only the tournament leader is having a better tournament performance so far! 😀 chess.com/events/las-vegas-i… 📷: L Ootes

♟ BBC: How chess 'boom' is building young minds In a new BBC article, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich (@advorkovich) calls the impact on young players enormous: "I can see that it helps millions of children." 🔗 Read more: bbc.com/news/articles/cy73dp… #EducationalChess2026 #EveryLessonCounts @BBC

🇩🇪 Vincent Keymer on his financial situation: "I have a sponsorship contract with an esports organization. In addition, one company has supported me since childhood, and I also receive some assistance from the chess federation. I have now reached a level where coaching services are very expensive, and sponsorship funding is no longer enough to fully cover them. Therefore, I have to invest part of my prize money back into my preparation. Other top-10 players often receive greater financial support, which allows them to maintain a full team. But the last few years have gone so well that I don't have any financial problems. I can even save money."

FM & WIM Liwia Jarocka, from Poland, has joined to the Sants Chess Open 2026. She has been successfully competing in national and international competitions, including World and European Championships. Welcome to Barcelona. #santschess #chess #barcelona #poland #chessplayer

Mariama Sy (🇸🇳 1508), a member fo the Senegalese team at the Chennai Chess Olympiad. #ChessInAfrica

We are excited to announce that we won the @WorldBankGroup Youth Innovation Fund grant, selected as one of seven finalists from a highly competitive pool of 57 proposal submissions to fund the next phase of our “Chess to Dream” After-School Program for public secondary school students in Lagos. This means more students reached, a stronger digital skills curriculum, and greater access to technology-driven learning. We believe that Talent is universal and as a result, Opportunity shouldn’t be the exception. Special shoutout to Evangeline Inyang, Precious Ozegbe, and Levon Gyozalyan for championing this proposal and to @lufthansa and Help Alliance for making our Innovation Hub possible. A chessboard can be the starting point of a dream. We’re proving it everyday♟️ #ChessInSlumsAfrica #WorldBankYouthInnovationFund #UnveilingRoyaltyInEveryChild #ChessInNigeria

India is hosting a strong open (2300 ) for once, & Sri Lanka's top talent Oshini Gunawardhana (2340) is one of only two women in the field. 🇱🇰 She started w/ tough pairings (double Black), but has since bounced back w/ back-to-back wins! 👏👏 lichess.org/broadcast/360-on… 📷: A Jain

In Anichess, a rook can fire diagonally and take your queen. It’s chess with spells, both sides armed, and tonight it decides who earns a shot at Magnus Carlsen. The Road to Magnus knockout is LIVE on Anichess YouTube and @opensea. 16 players, one bracket, four seats at Magnus’s table on the 16th. The five creators chasing them: → FM @AMKazarian → Phoebe Witte → IM Masruri Rahman → @chessborn → WFM @KoridzeLile Magnus is the best player alive. The right spell makes him beatable. Watch live ↓

Fun and easy for the end of the week. 🤠 White mates in 2

Opening Tactic! White just played 7. Nd4, with the idea of temporarily sacrificing the Queen on d1 to exploit Black’s vulnerable King and Queen after Nxc6. How should Black defend against this powerful attack? #ChessTactic #ChessPunks

🇺🇿 Mukhiddin Madaminov wins the 2026 UzChess Cup Masters! Entering the tournament as a late replacement for Javokhir Sindarov and as the lowest-rated player in the field, Madaminov produced the performance of his career to claim the title. Often out of the spotlight and best known as one of Sindarov's seconds, Madaminov has now made a name for himself with a stunning tournament victory.

🔥 The FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships are just days away! ♟️ Daily rounds begin at 14:00 local time (UTC 8) We’ve listed the start times for a few cities around the world 🌍 ❗️ Check the image to see when the action begins in your timezone! Watch the live broadcasts 👇 youtube.com/@FIDE_chess/stre… ♟ FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026 📍 Hong Kong 🇭🇰 🗓 Game days: June 17-21 #FIDERapidBlitzTeams #HongKong

Do you agree with Hikaru? 🤔 #FIDEWorldCup

Joyce Kabengano, playing for Uganda at the Baku Chess Olympiad 2016. #ChessinAfrica

🎤♟️

Mukhiddin Madaminov is the UzChess Cup Masters champion!

✨ The FIDE EDU Preparation of Teachers courses train teachers and educators to teach educational chess in creative and fun ways in schools, and our Senior Lead Instructors (SLI) represent the highest level of achievement. In Morocco, SLI Lamyaa Berri leads a program at Ella Maillart School which brings chess learning to 180 students ages 7-10. ♟ “Rather than focusing solely on competition, the program uses chess as a tool to develop thinking, concentration, and responsible decision-making. From their first lesson, students work within a learning contract based on respect, listening, and fair play. The lessons are structured around stories, challenges, mini-games, worksheets, the use of LogiqBoard, and a giant chessboard, allowing children to discover chess concepts progressively and actively participate in the learning process through visual, hands-on, and physical engagement. A distinctive feature of the program is the use of a color system (green, orange, and red) that helps students monitor their behavior, attention, and readiness to learn. This approach encourages self-regulation and autonomy rather than external discipline. During lessons, students solve worksheet challenges, manipulate positions on the LogiqBoard, explain their choices, justify their moves, and discuss solutions with their classmates. Chess therefore becomes a space where children practice reasoning, communication, and reflection. The objective is not only to teach chess, but to help students become thoughtful learners capable of making informed decisions. The program also creates a bridge between educational chess and competitive chess. Some students who will move next year into grades where chess is not part of the regular program have already chosen to join the school’s competitive chess club, allowing them to continue developing their skills and remain connected to the game. However, the primary goal of the program is not to produce chess champions. Through chess, students learn to think before acting, justify their choices, persevere through challenges, and take responsibility for their decisions. These are skills that extend far beyond the chessboard and support their growth as learners and as individuals.” 🔸 When you combine passionate and committed instructors with the right tools and strategies to deliver effective learning, amazing things happen. Programs like these can be implemented in any school, and educational chess provides the foundation for growth for grassroots programs in schools. 👏 Kudos to Coach Lamyaa and to the staff and students at Ella Maillart! Click to learn more about our courses: edu.fide.com/potinfo Know an educational chess project making a difference? ✉️ Share it with us at socialmedia@fide.com #EducationalChess2026 #EveryLessonCounts

And what after gxh5?🤔