A busy week for chess away from the World Championship spotlight. Magnus Carlsen won a dramatic online knockout event after coming back from a bracket reset. Ding Liren returned to the board for the first time since losing the World title. A German club team finished a perfect season. And both World Championship challengers began their preparation journeys.
Carlsen Wins the Chess.com Open Playoffs After a Dramatic Reset
The most dramatic event of the week concluded on April 26. Magnus Carlsen won the 2026 Chess.com Open Playoffs, a 16-player double-elimination knockout tournament, taking home $50,000 and a qualification spot for the Esports World Cup.
The final against Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda was extraordinary, and fittingly took place on Duda’s 28th birthday. Duda beat Carlsen 2.5 to 0.5 in the first final match to force a bracket reset. In the deciding game of that first match, Duda sacrificed a rook on g2 and converted the win while Carlsen was in severe time trouble.
The bracket reset was a different story. Carlsen swept Duda 2 to 0. In the first game of the reset, Duda miscalculated a complex tactical sequence under clock pressure, leaving both his bishop and rook hanging. In the final game, Carlsen offered a queen sacrifice for two minor pieces and a pawn, then flagged Duda in an equal position to take the title.
Earlier in the tournament Carlsen had defeated Denis Lazavik in the semifinals after losing to him in the winners bracket. Sindarov, who was also in the field, was eliminated in the early rounds by Daniil Dubov. Indian GM Nihal Sarin reached the round of eight before losing to Dubov.
Duda took home $35,000 for second place. Both Carlsen and Duda qualified for the 2026 Esports World Cup through this result.
Ding Liren Returns to Classical Chess
The biggest story in chess this week had nothing to do with an online tournament. Former World Champion Ding Liren made his return to classical over-the-board play at the 2026 Chinese Team Championship in Daqing.
Ding had been away from classical chess since losing his title to D Gukesh in December 2024. According to ChessBase, the absence was due to long-term health complications following the grueling title defense.
He came back in sharp form. In Round 1 against IM Chen Qi, playing with the black pieces in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation, Ding seized the initiative after White played an inaccurate bishop exchange. He used precise queenside play and forced resignation on move 25. In Round 4 against IM Meng Yihan, he used the English Opening to build a superior pawn structure, then launched a decisive kingside attack after his opponent overextended on move 29. He forced resignation on move 39.
After three wins from his opening games, Ding’s rating profile was reactivated by FIDE. His live rating of 2734 placed him back at World No. 15. The tournament was still ongoing through April 27 with Chongqing leading the standings.
His return matters beyond just one tournament. Ding is one of the most experienced players in the world and his re-entry into the elite rating ecosystem changes the qualification landscape for future FIDE events.
Viernheim Win the German Bundesliga With a Perfect Season
SC Viernheim won the 2025/26 German Chess Bundesliga title at the final weekend in Berlin, becoming the first team in the league’s history to go through an entire season without losing a single match. Their final record was 15 wins from 15 matches, a perfect 30 out of 30 match points.
The final weekend ran from April 24 to 26 at the Willy-Brandt-Haus in Berlin. Viernheim’s most important result was defeating historic rivals OSG Baden-Baden in Round 14, which effectively sealed the title. OSG Baden-Baden and Wolfhagen tied for second place on 23 points, with Baden-Baden taking the runner-up position on a better board point score.
Anchor Bassem Amin played all 15 rounds and scored 11.5 points for Viernheim. Alexey Sarana and Dennis Wagner both scored 9.5 points. Jorden van Foreest, who also won the GCT roster spot this week, was particularly strong in Berlin, winning decisive games in Rounds 14 and 15.
Baden-Baden had won 16 league titles before this season. Viernheim’s perfect campaign is a landmark achievement in German chess history.
Sindarov Speaks: Counter-Strike, Cold Weather, and the Championship
On April 21, post-tournament interviews with Candidates winner Javokhir Sindarov were published. He confirmed that opening preparation for the World Championship match against D Gukesh will begin the following week. He plans to compete in the Grand Chess Tour and the 2026 Chess Olympiad as preparation before moving into isolated match training.
He also revealed that after beating R. Praggnanandhaa he felt around 90 percent certain he would win the tournament, but that his game against Caruana was the most draining of the event, forcing him into a style he was not comfortable with.
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana both gave public assessments of the upcoming Sindarov vs Gukesh match. Carlsen, speaking at a Chess Party event in Stockholm, said Sindarov has a more well-rounded game and fewer specific vulnerabilities than Gukesh has shown recently. Caruana, on his C-Squared podcast, put the odds at roughly 55 to 45 in Sindarov’s favor based on current form, while noting that Gukesh’s ability to perform in high-stakes environments could close the gap.
Sindarov’s live rating after the Candidates 2026 was 2755, placing him at World No. 5. Gukesh currently sits at World No. 15 with a rating of 2732. The 43-point gap makes Sindarov the higher-rated player heading into the match.
Vaishali's Media Week and the Road to Ju Wenjun
Vaishali Rameshbabu continued her post-Candidates media tour throughout the week. Coverage focused heavily on her final-round win against Lagno and her status as only the second Indian woman in history to reach a Women’s World Championship match.
The All India Chess Federation highlighted her tactical execution in the final round and her comeback from a slow start in Cyprus. FIDE has not yet formally announced the dates, location, or prize fund for the Women’s World Championship match against Ju Wenjun
Viswanathan Anand‘s phrase from last week, “one horse in both races,” continued to circulate widely in Indian chess media, reflecting the unprecedented nature of India having challengers for both the Open and Women’s World titles in the same year.
Van Foreest Joins the Grand Chess Tour Lineup
On April 23, the Grand Chess Tour officially announced that Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest has been added as a full-tour participant for the 2026 season. The announcement comes on the back of his strong Bundesliga season and recent elite performances.
The tour kicks off with the Super Rapid and Blitz Poland event from May 4 to May 9, 2026. The field for the European legs includes Sindarov, Praggnanandhaa, Vincent Keymer, Firouzja, Caruana, Anish Giri, and Vachier-Lagrave among others. Van Foreest’s inclusion adds another elite player to what is already one of the strongest tour fields in recent years.
Nihal Sarin Wins Titled Tuesday, Leads CCT Standings
Indian GM Nihal Sarin won the Chess.com Titled Tuesday blitz tournament on April 21 with a score of 9.5 out of 11 points in a 424-player field. It was his second outright Titled Tuesday victory in six weeks.
The field included over 70 players rated above 3000 on the platform, including Hikaru Nakamura, Caruana, and Grischuk. Nihal’s critical win came in the final round where he beat Hans Niemann with the black pieces, navigating a complex middlegame and converting a superior pawn structure in the endgame. Wesley So finished second on tiebreaks from a seven-way tie at 9 points. Arjun Erigaisi finished third.
The win moved Nihal level with Sina Movahed at the top of the Champions Chess Tour spring split standings with 27 points each. Indian WFM Nivedita V C also had a strong result, scoring 7 out of 11 to win her first international women’s prize.
11-Year-Old Wins Under-18 Blitz Gold
The FIDE World Youth Rapid and Blitz Championships concluded in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia on April 21. The headline story was 11-year-old International Master Roman Shogdzhiev winning the gold medal in the Under-18 Open blitz section, competing against players up to seven years older. Russia won 15 total medals at the event including seven golds. Kazakhstan finished second in the medal table with 10 medals.
Ding Liren's Rating Return and Indian Milestones
Live rating tracking confirmed this week that Ding Liren’s activity at the Chinese Team Championship reactivated his FIDE profile, placing him at World No. 15 with a live rating of 2734. FIDE regulations require players to compete in rated classical games to remain on the active top 100 list.
Indian GM Pranav V continued making headlines in the rating lists. He holds a career-high live rating of 2657 after gaining 16 classical rating points, placing him at World No. 52. He remains part of a group of young Indian grandmasters pushing toward the 2700 barrier.
CFR Appeals FIDE Suspension
The Chess Federation of Russia formally filed an appeal against the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission’s decision to suspend its membership for two years. According to CFR Executive Director Alexander Tkachev, the federation argues that the suspension based on potential damage to FIDE’s reputation is legally insufficient to expel a national federation. The CFR also submitted a request to the FIDE General Assembly to amend the EDC Code and re-elect the entire Commission. The appeal is expected to become a significant issue at the 2026 FIDE Congress.
What This Week Means for Young Chess Players
Ding Liren walked away from the game after one of the hardest years of his professional life and came back to win his first games with clinical precision. That is a real lesson. Nihal Sarin won Titled Tuesday against a field that included the world’s best blitz players. Shogdzhiev is 11 years old and beat teenagers in a blitz world championship. Chess rewards preparation and resilience at every level. If your child is learning right now, they are learning in the most exciting era the game has ever seen. Read more about what chess does for a child’s development in our article on the connection between chess and IQ.
Looking Ahead
The Grand Chess Tour 2026 begins with the Super Rapid and Blitz event in Poland from May 4 to May 9. That will be the first elite classical and rapid event since the Candidates concluded. Both World Championship matches, Sindarov vs Gukesh and Vaishali vs Ju Wenjun, are expected later in 2026 with dates and locations pending FIDE announcement.
FAQ
Not yet. FIDE has not officially announced the dates or location for the Sindarov vs Gukesh World Championship match. It is expected in November or December 2026. Both players are now in preparation mode.
Ding Liren was World Champion until December 2024 and had been away from classical chess since losing the title due to health issues. His return reactivates his FIDE rating profile and brings one of the most experienced players in the world back into the elite rating ecosystem.
The Grand Chess Tour is an elite circuit of classical, rapid, and blitz events featuring the world's top grandmasters. The 2026 season begins in Poland in May and runs through the year with events in multiple countries. It is one of the most prestigious annual chess tours in the world.
Roman Shogdzhiev is an 11-year-old International Master from Russia who won the Under-18 Open blitz gold medal at the FIDE World Youth Championships in Serbia this week, competing against players up to seven years older than him.
