Last updated: Thursday 5th March 2026 6:22 pm

The Week in Chess 1634 of 2nd March 2026 by Mark Crowther. 29 stories and 6475 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.

Jan Timman 1951-2026

Obituary 1951-2026

Mark Crowther (Fri Feb 20 01:54:05 2026)

Jan Timman, the legendary Dutch chess player, has passed away at the age of 74. A phenomenally successful tournament player in the 1980s he also played for the FIDE World Championship of 1993 against Anatoly Karpov.

Abdusattorov beats Erigaisi to win the Tata Steel Masters

88th Tata Steel 2026 13

Mark Crowther (Sun Feb 01 14:33:12 2026)

Nodirbek Abdusattorov has been there and there abouts in the battle for first place in Tata Steel Masters for a few years now. This year it all came together for him and he won with 9 points from 13, half a point clear of his fellow Uzbek, Javokhir Sindarov. Local player Jorden van Foreest finished in 3rd on tie-break from Hans Moke Niemann and Vincent Keymer, they all scored 7. 5points.

Abdusattorov takes a half point lead into the final round of the Tata Steel Masters

88th Tata Steel 2026 12

Mark Crowther (Sat Jan 31 18:03:59 2026)

Abdusattorov leads the Tata Steel Masters by half a point from Sindarov after beating Bluebaum. In the final round Abdusattorov faces his nemesis from last year Erigaisi, Sindarov faces tail-ender Nguyen.

Sindarov joins Abdusattorov in the lead of the Tata Steel Masters with two rounds to go

88th Tata Steel 2026 11

Mark Crowther (Fri Jan 30 15:30:21 2026)

We're in for a tight finish to the Tata Steel Masters with the Uzbek players Abdusattorov and Sindarov sharing the lead after 11 rounds. Sindarov beat Erigaisi. Niemann knew he had to win today and he took huge risks against Nguyen, who was in his now customary time trouble, and this paid off with a win and a share of 3rd with Van Foreest and Bluebaum half a point behind the leaders.

Abdusattorov leads on 6.5/10 Sindarov, Van Foreest and Bluebaum are in the chasing pack

88th Tata Steel 2026 10

Mark Crowther (Wed Jan 28 17:34:37 2026)

Nodirbek Abdusattorov leads by half a point from Sindarov, Van Foreest and Bluebaum going into the final rest day before the last three rounds. There were wins for Gukesh, Bluebaum, Keymer and Aravindh.

Dossiers and Main Stories

8th Prague International Chess Festival 2026

8th Prague International Chess Festival 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Mon Mar 2 14:48:00 2026)

The 8th Prague International Chess Festival takes place Tue 24th Feb to Fri 6th Mar 2026. Players Masters: Vincent Keymer, D Gukesh, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Moke, Niemann, Parham Maghsoodloo, Jorden Van Foreest, Aravindh Chithambaram V, Nodirbek Yakubboev, David Anton Guijarro and David Navara. There's a strong Challengers section, Futures and an open too. Read more ....

8th Prague International Chess Festival 2026 (Prague CZE)
Tue 24th Feb 2026 - Fri 6th Mar 2026 - Official Site - Results - Live

8th Prague Masters 2026 (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games Masters | Live Masters

8th Prague Challengers (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games Challengers | Live Challengers

8th Prague Futures (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games Futures | Live Futures

Prague Int Open 2026 (9 Rds Swiss Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games Open

Saint Louis Masters 2026

Saint Louis Masters 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Mon Mar 2 14:34:00 2026)

The Saint Louis Masters took place Tue 24th Feb to Sun 1st Mar 2026. Mikhail Antipov won the event with 7.5/9 after beating Andy Woodward in the final round, he was half a point clear of Fabiano Caruana who failed to convert a winning endgame against Francesco Sonis. Lorenzo Lodici finished in clear third place with 6.5/9. Read more ....

Saint Louis Masters 2026 (Saint Louis USA)
Tue 24th Feb 2026 - Mon 2nd Mar 2026 - Official Site - Results

Saint Louis Masters 2026 (9 Rds Swiss Indiv TC:90m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games

FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026

FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sun Feb 15 21:05:00 2026)

The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship took place in Wangels, Germany, Fri 13th Feb to Sun 15th Feb 2026. Time control 10m+5spm. Round Robin followed by KO. Carlsen won the all-play-all with 4.5/7 half a point clear of Caruana, Keymer and Abdusattorov and they played for the title over the weekend. Aronian, Erigaisi, Niemann and Sindarov played off for the minor placings.

Magnus Carlsen beat Fabiano Caruana 2.5-1.5 in the final to win the title, he won game three.

The games are available for download but I can't display them.

chess.com Speed Chess Final 2025

chess.com Speed Chess Final 2025 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sun Feb 8 22:27:00 2026)

chess.com Speed Chess Final 2025 took place in person in London 7th to 8th February 2026. The was hosted by Chess.com's server. Magnus Carlsen won the event by defeating Denis Lazavik in the semifinals and Alireza Firouzja in the final. Lazavik beat Hikaru Nakamura to 3rd place. Read more ....

chess.com Speed Chess Final 2025 (London ENG)
Sat 7th Feb 2026 - Sun 8th Feb 2026 - Official Site - Live

SpeedChess Final 2025 (4 players 2 Rds KO Indiv ) - Games in PGN: Games from Final

Watch live games

Tournaments for Thursday 5th March 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
8th Prague Masters 2026	Prague	CZE	14:00	8
8th Prague Futures	Prague	CZE	14:00	8
8th Prague Challengers	Prague	CZE	14:00	8
American Cup Champ	Saint Louis	USA	18:00	2.1
American Cup Champ w	Saint Louis	USA	18:00	2.1
Other events today
TCh-ISL Kvika 2025-26	Reykjavik	ISL		6
Aeroflot Open A 2026	Moscow	RUS	09:00	9
Budapest Spring Open 2026	Budapest	HUN	14:00	7
Prague Int Open 2026	Prague	CZE	14:00	8
Radnicki CC IM 3 2026	Kovin	SRB	16:00	7
American Cup Elim	Saint Louis	USA	18:00	1.1
American Cup Elim w	Saint Louis	USA	18:00	1.1