Chess · Worth knowing

David Anton won the second edition of the Legends & Prodigies tournament in Madrid unbeaten with a performance rating of 2756, finishing 1½ points ahead of the field with five wins and five draws. Defending champion Faustino Oro, the 12-year-old Argentine prodigy playing his first tournament as a grandmaster, finished third with a 2618 performance rating, while Jose Martinez Alcantara took second place. Anton led from start to finish, defeating strong opposition like Ivan Sokolov twice while drawing all four games against his closest rivals, and will represent Spain on board one at the upcoming Olympiad in Samarkand.

The Ganges Grandmasters won the fourth season of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, defeating defending champions Alpine APL Pipers 4-2 in the final in Bengaluru. Ian Nepomniachtchi secured a decisive victory over Magnus Carlsen with a tactical bishop sacrifice on f2, while Stavroula Tsolakidou clinched the title by beating Humpy Koneru. The first match ended 3-3, and the Grandmasters prevailed in the second match despite playing Black on all boards. Tsolakidou, named Player of the Tournament, demonstrated impressive form in the second half of the event with wins against Alexandra Kosteniuk and Koneru. Polina Shuvalova also starred for the champions, scoring seven points from ten games, the tournament's highest individual total.

Vaishali Rameshbabu won the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026, held in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16, finishing with 8.5/14 points to secure a title match against defending champion Ju Wenjun. The 24-year-old Indian player will face 35-year-old Ju Wenjun in the Women's World Chess Championship 2027, though the dates and location for the match have not yet been announced. Eight players competed in the candidates event, with Bibisara Assaubayeva finishing second and Zhu Jiner in third place.