Last updated: Saturday 15th August 2026 9:45 pm

The Week in Chess 1657 of 10th August 2026 by Mark Crowther. 50 stories and 10768 games. Links down the right hand margin for games in PGN or Chessbase format or on the The Week in Chess Download page.

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A compilation of the games can be had for a donation of £30. There have been over 4 million games in TWIC since the first edition on 17th September 1994.

TWIC News Feed

Carlsen wins the Chess event in the Esports World Cup

Esports World Cup 2026 Final

Mark Crowther (Sat Aug 15 14:45:39 2026)

Whatever you think of the format and razzamatazz of the chess event of the Esports World Cup, Carlsen just killed it, winning easily without the loss of a game, he defeated Denis Lazavik 2 sets to 0 in the final. Nakamura finished 3rd after beating Firouzja who quit their match after technical issues.

Sergei Tiviakov wins his fourth Netherlands Chess Championship

Netherland Chess Championship 2026 Final

Mark Crowther (Sat Jul 11 12:20:23 2026)

Sergei Tiviakov beat Erwin L'Ami and Eric Van den Doel on the way to the final. There he met 24-year-old Liam Vrolijk who he beat 2-0 in a blitz tie-break after both their classical games were drawn. Machteld Van Foreest won the women's title beating Anna-Maja Kazarian 2-0 in the final.

Surprise victory for Mukhiddin Madaminov in the 3rd UzChess Cup

3rd UzChess Cup 2026 9

Mark Crowther (Tue Jun 16 08:32:29 2026)

19-year-old Mukhiddin Madaminov made a name for himself in winning the 3rd UzChess Cup Masters. He beat Shamsiddin Vokhidov in a blitz tie-break after they tied on 5.5/9. In the final round Madaminov had a long game against Hans Niemann where he was pressing for a win but Niemann also had a late chance to win himself.

Blohberger beats Navara 3.5-2.5 in a match

Navara vs Blohberger Match 2026 3-4

Mark Crowther (Sun Jun 14 07:23:52 2026)

A win in game three proved to be enough for Felix Blohberger to defeat David Navara in a six game classical match. Game four was probably the most exciting.

Faustino Oro earns his final GM norm in Sardinia

Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026 9

Mark Crowther (Mon May 11 04:55:29 2026)

Faustino Oro is now the second youngest player in history to become a GM after a 6/9 result in Sardinia. I suspect he will be more relieved than anything else after chasing this final norm for five months. He is already among only a select few who have earned the Grandmaster title at such a young age.

Dossiers and Main Stories

Esports World Cup 2026

Esports World Cup 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sat Aug 15 16:53:00 2026)

The Esports World Cup chess section took place in Paris Tue 11th Aug to Sat 15th Aug 2026. This Double Elimination KO event featured Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakmura, Alireza Firouzja and Denis Lazavik among many famous names and faces. I have a new table format to show the results (although the introduction of sets in the final I couldn't handle) and all the games are also available. Carlsen was an easy winner of the final winning both sets comfortably and he didn't lose a game. Hikaru Nakamura finished in 3rd place winning his match against Firouzja which was plagued by technical issues and a loss in game 4 led to Firouzja just quitting. Read more ....

Esports World Cup 2026 (Paris FRA)
Tue 11th Aug 2026 - Sun 16th Aug 2026 - Official Site - Live

Esports World Cup PI 2026 (16 players 3 Rds DEKO Indiv TC:10m) - Games in PGN: Games Pl/In

Esports World Cup A 2026 (8 players 3 Rds DEKO Indiv TC:10m) - Games in PGN: Games GpA

Esports World Cup B 2026 (8 players 3 Rds DEKO Indiv TC:10m) - Games in PGN: Games GpB

Esports World Cup 2026 (8 players 3 Rds KO Indiv TC:10m) - Games in PGN: Games Final

6th Cairns Cup 2026

6th Cairns Cup 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Mon Aug 10 13:15:00 2026)

The 6th Cairns Cup takes place in Saint Louis August 10th - 21st, 2026. For the first time this women's event is alongside the Sinquefield Cup. Players: Bibisara Assaubayeva, Anna Muzychuk, Humpy Koneru, Zhongyi Tan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Divya Deshmukh, Rameshbabu Vaishali, Carissa Yip, Stavroula Tsolakidou and Alice Lee. Read more ....

6th Cairns Cup 2026 (Saint Louis USA)
Mon 10th Aug 2026 - Fri 21st Aug 2026 - Official Site - Live

6th Cairns Cup 2026 (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv ) - Games in PGN: Games | Live

13th Sinquefield Cup 2026

13th Sinquefield Cup 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Mon Aug 10 13:11:00 2026)

The 13th Sinquefield Cup takes place 10th to 20th August 2026. Players: Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov, Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Praggnanandhaa R, Jorden Van Foreest, Maxime Vachier-lagrave, Levon Aronian and Samuel Sevian. Read more ....

13th Sinquefield Cup 2026 (Saint Louis USA)
Mon 10th Aug 2026 - Thu 20th Aug 2026 - Official Site - Live

13th Sinquefield Cup (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:120m+30spm) - Games in PGN: Games | Live

112th British Chess Championships 2026

112th British Chess Championships 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sun Aug 9 19:46:00 2026)

The 112th British Chess Championships took place at the University of Warwick 1st to 9th August 2026. Luke McShane, Michael Adams, Shreyas Royal, Harry Grieve etc. Most interesting is the number of young players with Bodhana Sivanandan being one of those. The event delivered on its promise with 17-year-old Shreyas Royal earning his first title and Bodhana Sivanandan winning a tie-break match against Trisha Kanyamarala to win her first title at a record breaking 11-years-old, the women competed in the main championship and Bodhana's only loss was to the winner. It was only a few years ago that the British was a depressing run down affair making me wonder where all the juniors were, well they were just getting started at that point apparently. Read more ....

112th British Chess Championships 2026 (Warwick ENG)
Sat 1st Aug 2026 - Sun 9th Aug 2026 - Official Site - Results

112th ch-GBR 2026 (9 Rds Swiss Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games

112th ch-GBR Major Open (9 Rds Swiss Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games Major Open

112th ch-GBR w TB 2026 (2 players 2 Rds Match Indiv TC:15m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games Women TB

Watch live games

Tournaments for Saturday 15th August 2026 combined with links to official website, live coverage and PGN file
Event	Site	FED	UK Time	Rd
Web	Live	PGN
Other events today
Stare Mesto Open 2026	Prague	CZE	08:00	10
TCh-TUR Super League 2026	Ankara	TUR	08:00	15
75th ch-Warsaw 2026	Warsaw	POL	08:00	6
13th Prague Summer Open	Prague	CZE	08:00	9
24th Spilimbergo Open	Spilimbergo	ITA	08:30	9
RUDAR 36 GM 2026	Pozarevac	SRB	09:00	9
RUDAR 36A GM 2026	Pozarevac	SRB	09:00	9
Brasschaat Open 2026	Brasschaat	BEL	13:00	1
European Girls 2026	Cetinje	MNE	13:00	9
European Juniors 2026	Cetinje	MNE	13:00	9
99th ch-FRA 2026	Vichy	FRA	13:30	4.2
ch-FRA w 2026	Vichy	FRA	13:30	4.2
99th ch-FRA Accession	Vichy	FRA	13:30	8
ch-AUT 2026	Linz	AUT	14:00	1
62nd Rubinstein Mem Open	Polanica Zdroj	POL	14:00	1
Kanizsa Open 2026	Nagykanizsa	HUN	14:00	1
62nd Rubinstein ALREH GM	Polanica Zdroj	POL	14:00	1
75th ch-Warsaw 2026	Warsaw	POL	14:00	7
Esports World Cup 2026	Paris	FRA	14:30	3
59th Mislata Open 2026	Mislata	ESP	15:30	8