This week in chess

28th January - 4th February

Praggnanandhaa beats Gukesh to win Tata Steel Chess 2025

Chess.com Produces Documentary on American-Filipino Star Wesley So

Chessable Masters Open 2025 Tour: February 16 

Chess-Freestyle Tour Boss, Carlsen Call for FIDE President's Resignation

Praggnanandhaa hailed as Tata Steel 2025 winner

Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

In a round that resembled the 2013 finals, both leaders stumbled; GM Gukesh was defeated by GM Arjun, who played a near perfect counter to the world champion’s Petroff, whilst GM Praggnanandhaa held his own against GM Keymer for an arduous 7 hours before the latter won a bishop in the endgame. These losses set the stage for an unforgettable final, but as GM Gukesh won the first game in their blitz playoffs, GM Praggnanandhaa fired back with two wins of his own to secure the prestigious title. 

The upset that happened in round 13 wasn’t just reminiscent of the 2013 equivalent, wherein both GM Carlsen and GM Kramnik lost to GMs Svidler and Ivanchuk respectively, but an incredible upset considering the players who defeated both Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa came from the bottom of the scoreboard: GM Arjun on 4.5/12 and GM Keymer on 5/12. What’s even more impressive is GM Arjun’s performance in the last two rounds. This was arguably the worst tournament in his life, yet the 22 year old outplayed GM Gukesh and GM Nodirbek, no mean feat. GM Keymer was quoted with saying:

“The first few rounds were very shaky, but the results were fine. After that I felt that actually my play was quite decent, but I somehow managed to give away far too many points to one-move blunders... I was quickly losing like three games for no apparent reason.”

This sentiment was shared by GM Arjun, the other half of the duo that took down the champs. His main gripes were with his first game, where he:

"Should have just traded queens…" 

Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Though both players ended up losing rating, and were both unsatisfied with their level of play, they still managed to achieve a sensational dual victory that will go down in Tata Steel Chess’ history as an incredible occasion. 

When the Blitz playoffs came around, the first two matches went off without a hitch with each contender winning their game, GM Praggnanandhaa blundering with 35…Qd6 and skewering GM Gukesh’s knights in game two with 39.Bh4 . The stage was set for a decisive confrontation, and both players were certainly shaken after their disastrous defeats in round 13. GM Praggnanandhaa began with a London variation that former world champion Ding Liren played against GM Gukesh, but the game was decided by GM Gukesh’s blunder 51…Nd3, a move he made with only 8 seconds left on the clock.

Wesley So stars in documentary about him produced by Chess.com

Photo: Chess.com

The Filipino born American GM Wesley So stars in a 26 minute short film about his life, produced and published by Chess.com. The documentary covers his early years, where his limited financial situation proved to be a great obstacle which he overcame through sheer determination and love for the sport. Displaying talent from a young age, GM So became the youngest person to pass 2600 in his time, as well as regularly occupying a position amongst the top 10. 

A considerable deal of the documentary is dedicated to his transition from his native Philippine federation to the American one, a transition that came with many challenges and advantages. Though the land of liberty gave him the opportunities to truly excel as a chess player, the challenges of leaving his family behind and navigating through a completely new culture were considerable setbacks initially. Luckily for the young prodigy, he found comfort in Lotis Key (who stars in the film) and her husband, who went beyond adoptive parents and became his managers and lifetime supporters. 

The documentary was a short yet sweet tribute to Wesley So’s remarkable career, and has given insight into how his determination and perseverance triumphed over his circumstances. 

Chessable Masters Open 2025 Tour: Chess Inducted into Esports World Cup

Photo: Chess.com

Chess.com has announced the 2025 Chessable Masters Champion Chess Tour, kicking off on the 16th of February with an impressive $150,000 prize pool. Familiar faces can be found amongst the players, as recurring champion GM Carlsen will be participating, along with world No.3 GM Hikaru, GM Nepomniatchi and GM So. Quite the star studded cast, but this is to be expected of such an event. There will be two online events, and with a controversial 10+0 time control, this tour will be a guaranteed spectacle. 

In a giant step forward for chess, the sport will now be included in the Esports World Cup taking place from July 23rd - August 4th. Only the top 12 players on the CCT leaderboard will be participating, and with only two events to score points, each match will have incredibly high stakes. The Esports World Cup trailer can be found below:

https://youtu.be/rX22q_xJTOw (on the website i’ll have the thumbnail show up too)

The event will be covered live on the Chess.com youtube and twitch channels, with a similarly star studded cast of reporters including GMs Daniel Naroditsky, David Howell, IM Tania Sachdev, and more. With the constant push by GM Carlsen and Chess.com to turn chess into a spectator sport, the entry of chess into the Esports World Cup mark a monumental turning point in our history. 

Talks Between FIDE and Freestyle Chess Fall Apart; GM Carlsen and Buettner Call for FIDE President’s Resignation

Buettner at a press conference. Photo: Chess.com

Following the collapse of negotiations between FIDE and Freestyle Chess, Buettner and GM Carlsen have backed down, calling for the resignation of FIDE’s president Dvorkovich to resign over broken promises. Freestyle Chess has backed down and postponed its decision to crown a world champion, but the feud persists. 

On Monday FIDE released a statement that no agreement had been made because Freestyle Chess had  "... chosen not to acknowledge FIDE’s existing authority over the World Championship title.” Buettner fired back on X (formerly twitter), claiming that although the agreement was almost reached, FIDE withdrew from the talks. The full response is available here.

Buettner’s direct call for Dvorkovich’s resignation has only contributed to the deterioration between the two parties:

“At the very least, it means that you will have to resign immediately from your position as President, because you have now proven for the third time within two months that you cannot even speak for FIDE. Your lack of leadership skills will be costly for FIDE, as all the negotiation points are now becoming public with this open letter and its attachments."

FIDE has threatened time and time again to sue Freestyle Chess, originally starting back in January. Buettner previously responded to the threats by saying he was ready to fight the chess global body in court. "We are ready for war," he said. "But if FIDE is ready for some sense, we are ready to speak to them." In response, FIDE established the deadline of February 4th for players to sign a waiver allowing them to participate in Freestyle Chess and the next World Championship cycle. “If the ‘Freestyle Chess Tour’ removes the ‘World Championship’ title from their event, these restrictions will not apply,” the statement added.

The 2025 World Chess Freestyle Grand Slam Tour begins on the 7th of February, Germany, the first of five with a prize pool of $750,000. As the start date approached, Freestyle Chess decided to remove the ‘World Champion’ title from their tournament, and a reason was given by Buettner on X (formerly twitter):

“This decision ensures that no player is forced to choose between signing the unlawful letter FIDE is coercing them into or facing its threatened consequences,” 

In an update on Tuesday, FIDE has confirmed their withdrawal of the document that they had asked potential participants to sign.