Chess Gambit 64

  A career-defining moment: Vincent Keymer celebrates his Grand Chess Tour triumph in Bucharest.. Źródło: Grand Chess Tour What a phenomenal week of elite chess in Bucharest! The second leg of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour (GCT) —the Super Chess Classic Romania—concluded with an absolute nail-biter of a final round. Five players entered the last day with a mathematical chance to take the crown, but it was 21-year-old German prodigy Vincent Keymer who emerged victorious, capturing the biggest title of his young career. Held at the stunning Museum of the National Bank of Romania from May 13 to May 23, 2026, the 10-player classical round-robin tournament featured a grueling test of deep preparation and mental stamina. The Dramatic Finale Going into Round 9, Vincent Keymer and world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana were deadlocked at the top of the scoreboard. While Caruana pushed hard but ultimately drew a complex endgame against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Keymer left nothing to chance. Facing Jorden ...

The 2026 Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest—the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT)—has reached its critical shifting point. Following the conclusion of Round 6, the tournament has been completely reshaped by a dramatic, unexpected turn of events off the board. 🚨 The Big Headline: Alireza Firouzja Withdraws The tournament suffered a heartbreaking blow when Alireza Firouzja officially withdrew from the event due to a severe ankle injury. Firouzja’s exit came after some incredible, gritty drama: in Round 5, he actually played his classical game against Javokhir Sindarov from a bed in a specially arranged hotel room because he was unable to sit at the board. Though he managed to hold a 5-hour draw in that game, the pain proved too much, forcing his withdrawal before Round 6. The Forfeit Rule Impact : Because this is a single round-robin tournament, all players who had no* yet faced Firouzja automatically receive a forfeit win (1 point). 🏆 Standings & Leaders After Rou...

  Romanian Championships 2026 - Open (14-22.02.2026) 1. GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac 2.  IM Filip Magold 3. GM Constantin Lupulescu. Romanian Championships 2026 - Women (14-22.02.2026) 1. IM Corina-Isabela Peptan 2. WIM Andreea-Marioara Cosman 3. WGM Elena-Luminita Cosma.  Romanian Championships 2026 - two interesting games: Partia mi si� podoba�a (ChessBase 16) [Event "Round 6: Peptan, Corina-Isabela - Iordac"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2026.02.16"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Peptan, Corina-Isabela"] [Black "Iordache, Alexia-Andreea"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E92"] [WhiteElo "2298"] [BlackElo "2120"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] {[%evp 0,81,25,26,18,-17,37,37,37,34,44,38,27,27,29,32,65,48,48,74,62,7,89,70,68,54,94,67,131,65,66,62,58,57,62,80,72,66,89,90,123,129,142,149,145,153,152,155,149,184,187,202,248,155,161,155,265,244,242,191,196,191,209,226,2...

  Who would've expected this?  The Women's Chess World Cup final is set, and there's no Chinese player in sight! Yesterday, Divya Deshmukh eliminated Zhongyi Tan, and today, Humpy Koneru defeated Tingjie Lei in a tiebreaker. This means two Indian women will face off for first place, while two Chinese women will battle it out for third. We've already posted the decisive game on our website. ```

The Beautiful Dream Continues: Deshmukh Divya Reaches Women's Chess World Cup Final! The incredible run continues! 9-year-old Deshmukh Divya has defeated the favored Zhongyi Tan in the second game of their match today, securing her spot in the Women's Chess World Cup final. It truly seems that India is a "mine" of chess talent, producing exceptional players of both sexes. Today's game was an absolute rollercoaster—incredibly dramatic and full of swings. Divya held a material advantage for a long time, utilizing it well. However, at several points, she'd miss a winning move, and the position would revert to a draw. Then, her Chinese opponent would make a big mistake, handing the advantage back to Divya, only for it to slip away again. This back-and-forth must have had both coaches reaching for the valerian! 😂 Ultimately, the final mistake came from the Chinese player. Upon winning and clinching her spot in the final, the young Indian couldn't hold back her...

The first semifinal games of the Women's Chess World Cup concluded today, and both matches ended in draws. While there were no major upsets, it's worth noting that both Chinese players, despite having the advantage of playing white, were met with easy equalization by their Indian opponents. We've posted both games on our website, and we encourage you to analyze them yourselves! Women's Chess World Cup Semifinals: Game 1 Results: GM Tingjie Lei (2552) - GM Humpy Koneru (2543)  -  1/2-1/2 GM Zhongyi Tan (2546) - IM  Deshmukh Divya (2463)  -  1/2-1/2.

In a captivating showdown today, Divya Deshmukh emerged victorious over her compatriot Harika Dronavalli in two intense tiebreak games. This win secures Deshmukh's place in the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 semifinals . The games themselves were packed with action and intriguing chess. Be sure to check them out – they're now available on our website!

  The third participant in the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 semifinals has been decided! Tan Zhongyi secured her spot by defeating Rameshbabu Vaishali today. Congratulations to Zhongyi on a strong performance, especially with her win falling on International Chess Day! The fourth semifinalist will be determined tomorrow. The match between Deshmukh Divya - Harika Dronavalli is currently tied 1-1 and will proceed to a tiebreaker.

Tingjie Lei is playing some very nice chess. Today, she easily advanced to the semifinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 with a win in the second game of her match against Nana Dzagnidze. Be sure to check out this game; we're posting it on the website.

After winning yesterday's game, Humpy Koneru needed a draw to advance. Yuxin Song tried her best, but there was never a moment where a draw was possible on the board. Koneru thus won the match 1.5-0.5 and a dvanced to the semifinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 . Game Yuxin Song -  Humpy Koneru:

The FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 quarterfinals have concluded, and we have all the results for you! If you've been following our predictions, you'll see they were quite accurate. Get ready for more excitement tomorrow, as the second sets of the quarterfinals begin. The battles on the board are sure to be captivating! Koneru,H -  Song,Y  1-0 Dzagnidze,N -  Lei,T  0-1 Vaishali,R -  Tan,Z  1/2-1/2 Divya Deshmul -  Dronavalli,H  1/2-1/2

Tingjie Lei has won the first game of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 quarterfinals! Her opponent, Georgia's Nana Dzagnidze , struggled to find the correct response after 24...Bxg3, allowing the Chinese player's attack to succeed. It appears Dzagnidze might have approached the game with too much caution. We're posting the full game on our website, and we encourage you to analyze it!

As we predicted, Humpy Koneru clinched the first game of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 quarterfinal against China's Yuxin Song ! The Indian grandmaster seized an early advantage in the opening. While Black focused on capturing pawns, it came at the cost of a weakened king's position. We're posting the full game on our website – go check it out for yourself!

The FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 has reached the quarterfinals, with only eight top chess players remaining: four from India, three from China, and one from Georgia. The first games are set for tomorrow, and we're currently assessing the chances of each pairing: GM Nana  Dzagnidze 2505  -  GM T ingjie Lei 2552 Tingjie Lei , the number one seed, is having an excellent tournament, winning all her games so far in the regular season without needing tiebreaks. The Chinese player has won five games and only drawn one, making her appear to be the favorite in this match. Nana Dzagnidze, on the other hand, had a tough encounter with Valentina Gunina. However, it's important to remember that the Georgian is playing at home. IM Deshmukh  Divya  2463  -  GM  Harika Dronavalli 2483 The match between Deshmukh Divya vs Harika Dronavalli promises to be very interesting, as both players hail from the same country. While they are similarly strong, we're giving Desh...

And now we know! Rameshbabu Vaishali is the eighth and final player to qualify for the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 The Indian chess player secured her spot after six intense tiebreak games. We're posting the deciding game on the website. Complete results:

  Harika Dronavalli advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. It wasn't easy, as she had to play four tiebreak games. Congratulations! We've posted the decisive game on our website.

Deshmukh Divya and Humpy Koneru have advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 after winning their tiebreak matches.  Both players secured victory in their first games and then drew the second to clinch their spots. Congratulations! Check out both winning games:

Apart from Lei Tingjie (see our entry:  Lei Tingjie advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 ), the following players also advanced to the quarterfinals: T an Zhongyi,  Dzagnidze Nana and  Song Yuxin .  A draw was enough for the two Chinese players to advance today, but Nana Dzagnidze had to win her game against Mariya Muzychuk. The Georgian player first won a pawn and then gradually strengthened her position to convert her advantage. We're posting this game on the website. 3 GM Tan Zhongyi CHN 2546 1 ½ 1½ 14 IM Osmak Yuliia UKR 2468 0 ½ ½ 9 GM Muzychuk Mariya UKR 2492 ½ 0 ½ 8 GM Dzagnidze Nana GEO 2505 ½ 1 1½ 28 IM Song Yuxin CHN 2410 1 ½ 1½ 21 IM Javakhishvili Lela GEO 2432 0 ½ ½

Today, a draw was enough for Lei Tingjie to advance. It must be admitted that Umida Omonova tried hard, tightened her position, and pushed for victory. She even had a chance, as the Chinese player made a big mistake in the game by playing 39. ...h5??. If White had played 40.f4 now, they could have won. Instead, the game ended in a draw, and Lei Tingjie will play in the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. 1 GM Lei Tingjie CHN 2552 1 ½ 1½ 81 WIM Omonova Umida UZB 2211 0 ½ ½  Both games of this match:

The 2025 USA Senior Championship is underway in Saint Louis, featuring many renowned, albeit older, chess players. You can gauge their current level of play by looking at games from two grandmasters: Gregory Kaidanov (66) and Maxim Dlugy (59). Game: Gregory Kaidanov - Maxim Dlugy