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 AusgabeSt. Louis Round 6: Four-way tie, Li topples Lee
Open: Four-way lead
Caruana clawed back into contention.
Continuing the three-player race from earlier rounds, the field has now compressed into a four-way tie at the top after round 6 [Quelle: Chess.com]. Fabiano Caruana rebounded from his round-5 loss to Wesley So with a clean victory over Sam Shankland in a Queen's Gambit Declined endgame, while Awonder Liang extended his own perfect record by punishing Levon Aronian's overextension on f6 after an early queen trade. So and Andy Woodward held their ground with draws. The grind now favors those with the fewest weaknesses.
Six rounds down, five to play—and the title is anyone's to lose.
Women: Li breaks Lee's run
Alice Lee's unbeaten streak ends.
Rachael Li delivered a precision punch to halt the 17-year-old IM's march toward the title [Quelle: Chess.com]. Li identified an overextension on move 13 and punished it ruthlessly, vaulting into a three-way tie for the lead at the halfway point alongside Lee and Thalia Cervantes. Eight-time champion Irina Krush, who converted a heavy-piece endgame against Anna Sargsyan, lurks half a point behind—a position that places her squarely in the hunt as the field approaches the back half. No one has run away with it yet.
The women's race just became wide open again.
Montenegro: 130 teams, record turnout
The European Club Cup kicks off tomorrow in Budva.
The 41st edition of Europe's oldest team event begins October 17–23 with a record 130 teams across open and women's sections competing in a seven-round Swiss [Quelle: European Chess]. Top-seeded Bayegan Pendik (Turkey, 2715 average) and defending champions SuperChess Romania (2698) headline a field studded with 2750+ grandmasters including Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wei Yi, and Anish Giri. The women's draw features defending titlists Cercle d'Échecs de Monte-Carlo alongside Aleksandra Goryachkina and Humpy Koneru. The top four open finishers qualify for the 2027 European Super League—a new pathway that raises the tournament's stakes.
Club chess gets the elite treatment.
Rachael Li Catches Alice Lee In Women's; Caruana, Liang Join 4 ...21 hours ago ... Of the four decisive results in the women's championship, the most ... The 2026 U.S. Chess Championship and the 2026 U.S. Women's Chess Championship ...chess.com
European Chess Club Cup 2026 starts in Budva, Montenegro14 hours ago ... Starting lists of teams and players can be found here. Photo from European Women's Chess Club Cup 2025. The total prize fund of the Championship is 40.000 EUR, ...europechess.org