Last updated: Monday 25th May 2026 5:59 pm

The Week in Chess 1645 of 18th May 2026 by Mark Crowther. 30 stories and 6809 games. Links down the right hand margin for games in PGN or Chessbase format or on the The Week in Chess Download page.

Please note the warning "this file is not commonly downloaded" in browsers can be safely ignored.

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

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.

Magnus Carlsen wins the 31st Sigeman & Co tournament after tie-break win over Erigaisi

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 7

Mark Crowther (Thu May 07 15:41:44 2026)

Magnus Carlsen won the tournament after beating Erdogmus in the final round and then beating Erigaisi in a blitz tie-break. Erigaisi had survived a lost position against Woodward to catch Carlsen.

Erigaisi leads the Sigeman tournament alone with one round to go

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 6

Mark Crowther (Wed May 06 16:25:20 2026)

Erigaisi beat Zhu Jiner after grinding out a win in the endgame. Carlsen managed to defeat Woodward after an choosing the King's Indian as black. Erdogmus drew with Abdusattorov and Van Foreest missed a win against Grandelius. Carlsen meets Erdogmus for the first time in the final round.

Gukesh beats Sindarov in the GCT Poland Super Rapid

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 5

Mark Crowther (Wed May 06 11:24:53 2026)

Gukesh beat Sindarov in their first meeting since it was known they would play for the World Championship. Sindarov unsoundly sacrificed a piece. Niemann and Wesley So lead on 4.5/6.

Erigaisi and Erdogmus lead the Sigeman & Co tournament after five rounds

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 5

Mark Crowther (Wed May 06 07:20:07 2026)

Erigaisi beat Jorden van Foreest whilst Erdogmus survived a lost position against Woodward, they're now tied in the lead on 3.5/5. Carlsen beat Zhu Jiner in an unsteady performance. Grandelius drew quickly against Abdusattorov.

Dossiers and Main Stories

14th Norway Chess 2026

14th Norway Chess 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Mon May 25 14:04:00 2026)

The 14th Norway Chess tournament takes place Mon 25th May to Fri 5th Jun 2026. There is the regular tournament and a women's event, this year with the same prize-money. Each event has 6 players and 10 rounds and an Armageddon game if there's a draw.

Open: Magnus, Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So, R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh. Women: Ju Wenjun, Zhu Jiner, Humpy Koneru, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Anna Muzychuk and Deshmukh Divya. Read more ....

14th Norway Chess 2026 (Oslo NOR)
Mon 25th May 2026 - Fri 5th Jun 2026 - Official Site

14th Norway Chess 2026 (6 players 10 Rds DRR Indiv TC:120m+10spm(40)) - Games in PGN: Games | Live

14th Norway Armageddon (6 players 10 Rds DRR Indiv TC:10m/7m 1spm(41)Armageddon)

14th Norway Chess Women (6 players 10 Rds DRR Indiv TC:120m+10spm(40)) - Games in PGN: Games Women | Live Women

14th Norway Armageddon w (6 players 10 Rds DRR Indiv TC:10m/7m 1spm(41)Armageddon)

GCT Super Chess Classic Romania 2026

GCT Super Chess Classic Romania 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sat May 23 17:45:00 2026)

The Grand Chess Tour Super Chess Classic Romania took place Thu 14th May to Sat 23rd May 2026. Players: Caruana, Sindarov, Giri, Firouzja, Keymer, Wesley So, Jorden Van Foreest, Praggnanandhaa, MVL and Deac. Vincent Keymer emerged as the clear winner with 6/9 half a point clear of Fabiano Caruana on 5.5, Javokhir Sindarov and Wesley So were half a point further back on 5 points. Alireza Firouzja withdrew after five rounds after badly hurting his ankle, he had tried to carry on for a couple of rounds after round 3. Read more ....

GCT Super Chess Classic Romania 2026 (Bucharest ROU)
Thu 14th May 2026 - Sat 23rd May 2026 - Official Site - Results

GCT Super ROM Classic (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games

Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026

Mark Crowther (Mon May 11 09:10:00 2026)

The Sardinia World Chess Festival took place Sun 3rd May 2026 to Sun 10th May 2026 in Orosei, Italy. Frederik Svane took clear first place with 7.5/9 half a point clear of Haik M. Martirosyan, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Mamikon Gharibyan. Tied for 25th place on 6/9 was Faustino Oro who in spite of a loss to Nepomniachtchi in the final round earned his final GM norm at 12 years, 6 months, 26 days, the second youngest in history, a couple of months behind Abhimanyu Mishra. Read more ....

Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026 (Orosei ITA)
Sun 3rd May 2026 - Sun 10th May 2026 - Official Site - Results - Live

Sardinia World Open A (9 Rds Swiss Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sat May 9 16:46:00 2026)

The GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland took place Tue 5th May to Thu 7th May 2026. 9 rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz. Players: Wesley So, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, D Gukesh, Hans Moke Niemann, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alireza Firouzja, Vladimir Fedoseev, Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov and Jan Krzysztof Duda.

Hans Moke Niemann held off a fabulous Caruana challenge on the final day to win by half a point. Wesley So was a point further back. World Championship rivals Gukesh and Sindarov met and Gukesh won the rapid game and Sindarov both blitz. The rapid games scored double the blitz game in the combined standing. Read more ....

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 (Warsaw POL)
Tue 5th May 2026 - Sat 9th May 2026 - Official Site

GCT Super Rapid Poland (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:25m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games Rapid

GCT Super Blitz Poland (10 players 18 Rds DRR Indiv TC:5m+2spm) - Games in PGN: Games Blitz

Watch live games

Tournaments for Monday 25th May 2026 combined with links to official website, live coverage and PGN file
Event	Site	FED	UK Time	Rd
Web	Live	PGN
Live Games now here
26th ch-EUR Indiv w 2026	Batumi	GEO	12:00	1
14th Norway Chess 2026	Oslo	NOR	16:00	1
14th Norway Chess Women	Oslo	NOR	16:00	1
Other events today
14th Norway Armageddon w	Oslo	NOR		1
14th Norway Armageddon	Oslo	NOR		1
ch-Southern California	Los Angeles	USA		6
ch-Southern California	Los Angeles	USA		7
17th KIIT Cat A Open 2026	Bhubaneswar	IND	05:00	3
18th BPB Limburg Open	Maastricht	NED	08:00	6
TCh-POL Junior 2026	Chotowa	POL	08:30	5
Radnicki CC IM 4 2026	Kovin	SRB	09:00	3
4th Munich Whitsun Open A	Munich	GER	09:00	3
Norway Chess Open May	Oslo	NOR	09:00	3
ch-Commonwealth 2026	Waskaduwa	SRI	09:00	9
17th KIIT Cat A Open 2026	Bhubaneswar	IND	10:30	4
45th Zalakaros Open 2026	Zalakaros	HUN	14:00	3
18th BPB Limburg Match	Maastricht	NED	14:00	4
18th BPB Limburg Open	Maastricht	NED	14:00	7
Radnicki CC IM 4 2026	Kovin	SRB	16:00	4
35th Chicago Open 2026	Chicago	USA	16:00	8
4th Munich Whitsun Open A	Munich	GER	17:00	4
4th Buenos Aires Open	Buenos Aires	ARG	18:00	9
35th Chicago Open 2026	Chicago	USA	22:00	9