Andre Schulz

7/17/2026 – In September, Samarkand will host the 46th Chess Olympiad. After FIDE was founded in 1924, the first international team tournament was held in Budapest in the summer of 1926, albeit with only a small number of teams. From these modest beginnings, the tradition of the Chess Olympiad developed.

7/22/2026 – The election of the Executive Board at the European Chess Union's General Assembly in Bucharest last Saturday produced a clear result. The incumbent, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, was re-elected by a large majority. Ingrid Lauterbach was elected as the new Vice-President. | Photo: ECU and the Romanian Chess Federation

7/24/2026 – In its 21st package of sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has added Arkady Dvorkovich to its list of sanctioned individuals. The FIDE President has temporarily stepped aside from his position, with Viswanathan Anand serving as acting president. A new FIDE Presidential Board will be elected in September.

7/26/2026 – Walther Freiherr von Holzhausen is not among the best-known players of the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, he was a very strong amateur and, above all, a chess problem composer of great importance. As a major in the Prussian Army, the First World War marked a profound turning point in his life.

7/31/2026 – On Monday, the African Chess Confederation elected a new executive board. In an extremely close vote, the incumbent continental president was voted out of office, and Benard Wanjala (pictured) was elected as the new president. The defeated candidate, Tshepiso Lopang, has accused Benard Wanjala of vote-buying and lodged a complaint against the result. | Photos: FIDE / ACC

8/1/2026 – Magnus Carlsen learnt to play chess at the age of five, although his tournament career began a little later, in late 1999 or early 2000. In the summer of 2000, exactly 26 years ago, Carlsen faced another nine-year-old at the Peer Gynt Open in Gausdal, who would also later become a grandmaster.

8/7/2026 – In the early years of the British Championship, Henry Atkins won the title seven times in succession between 1905 and 1911, before adding two more victories later on. This made him the record holder until the 1960s. What makes this achievement especially remarkable is that Atkins was essentially an amateur player who rarely competed in other tournaments. | Photo: Theo F Gidden,

8/26/2026 – At its meeting on Monday, the FIDE Council rejected the Russian Chess Federation's application for its teams to take part in the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian teams have been barred from international sporting events. Russia, however, has continued to push for this decision to be relaxed.

8/26/2026 – The BBC has released a 1977 documentary from its archives on YouTube about the then world chess champion, Anatoly Karpov. The programme traces Karpov's rise to the world title and features footage from the 1977 Interpolis Tournament in Hilversum, with many of the leading players and prominent figures in chess.

8/29/2026 – The Nottingham 1936 tournament, played almost exactly 90 years ago, is regarded as one of the greatest tournaments in chess history. Five world champions took part. With many young players in the field, a changing of the guard was already beginning to take shape. And for the first time since their 1927 World Championship match, Alexander Alekhine and José Raúl Capablanca faced each other again. Alongside the games and a number of photographs, film footage from the event has also survived as a valuable historical record.