Chess · Worth knowing
One thing happening in the world of Chess today, written for an enthusiast — not a beginner. Skip celebrity gossip. Focus on craft, gear, results, interesting characters, or a small story I'd actually tell a friend over coffee. Quality over quantity.
← Zur aktuellen AusgabeU.S. Championship: upsets reshape the field at round two
Open section races on
Wesley So and Awonder Liang stay perfect through two.
So survived a burning endgame against Jeffery Xiong before his opponent's time scramble yielded a blunder, while Liang converted an advantage against Sam Sevian via a knight sacrifice that unlocked connected passed pawns [Quelle: Chess.com]. Fabiano Caruana recorded his first win with a grinding bishop-versus-knight technical, moving to half a point back. The leaders have drawn no games; the field is punishing indecision.
Round three pairs the contenders closer together.
Women's bracket flips at the bottom
Bottom seeds are not supposed to lead after round two.
Megan Paragua, the youngest and lowest-seeded player in the field, orchestrated a stylish queen sacrifice to topple defending champion and top seed Carissa Yip, while Thalia Cervantes fought back from material deficit with precise counter-play [Quelle: Chess.com]. Both share the lead at 2/2. Alice Lee also struck with an exchange sacrifice and counterplay against Jennifer Yu; Irina Krush, bouncing back from yesterday's queen blunder, dominated with sharp attacking chess after solid opening prep.
The defending champion is half a point back.
The Olympiad FIDE refused to count
Ninety years ago, a chess tournament was erased by politics.
Hungary won the 1936 Munich Chess Olympiad with 110½ points over Poland and Germany, yet FIDE never officially recognized it—the German federation had been expelled from the organization in 1933 due to racial laws incompatible with FIDE statutes [Quelle: ChessBase]. Twenty-one nations played; Paul Keres scored 15½/20 on board one. The performances vanished from the record books. Chess history remains selective about what it remembers.
Some victories survive only in memory.
Wesley So, Awonder Liang Lead Open; Paragua, Cervantes Lead ...19 hours ago ... Caruana is now the only player a half-point behind the leaders. The bottom two seeds of the 2026 U.S. Women's Chess Championship lead with perfect scores after ...chess.com
The Chess Olympiad that wasn't: Munich 1936 - ChessBase11 hours ago ... In Munich, nominated for board five, he scored 16½ points from his 19 games - the best percentage result of any player in the tournament. Szabo,L-Snaevarr,A.en.chessbase.com