In this episode of The Chess News Podcast I discuss the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Global Chess League, and more.

It was the last week of the year and so we had the traditional World Rapid and Blitz, the favorite event of the year for many chess fans. It took place in Doha, Qatar and Magnus Carlsen took both titles once again. Alexandra Goryachkina won the women's rapid event and Bibisara Assaubayeva the blitz.

The episode also covers the last two days of the Global Chess League, won by the Alpine SG Pipers. They beat the team that had dominated the round-robin stage and the winners of both 2023 and 2024, the Triveni Continental Kings.

In other news, there’s another update to the news of two weeks ago that the FIDE General Assembly voted in favor of lifting sactions on Russia and Belarus and allowing teams from those countries back into official FIDE events. The Ukraine Chess Federation has now decided to challenge this decision at the Sports Court of Arbitration (CAS). 

Related to this is an interview that Ruslan Ponomariov gave to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo this week. Ponomariov was also of the opinion that Russians shouldn’t be allowed back into tournaments. 

Speaking of former world champions, there was a bit of news about Garry Kasparov, who has been put on a wanted list for arrest in absentia by a Russian court. The court followed an indictment against Kasparov on charges of justifying terrorism and planning a coup. The 13th world champion has been placed on an international wanted list.

I further speak about the Sunway Sitges Chess Festival, the reopening of London's Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, the passing of Jonathan Hawkins and Vladimir Kramnik filing a lawsuit against the International Chess Federation before a Swiss civil court.

SOURCES

World Rapid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN0r6h5nrhw

World Blitz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrS1rWDIdEQ 

GCL, Last day round-robin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQJjS7Z13BQ 

GCL, finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsTFcudXBhY

Ukrainian Chess Federation statement

https://www.facebook.com/UkrainianChessFederation/posts/pfbid028vUrPMc4cK7UM16qQFqQHn9FYZeBze75AabMmJ6kj12C3FTNq8sHw8jAVkQnziuZl 

Ponomariov interview

https://www.elmundo.es/deportes/mas-deporte/2025/12/22/6949809be4d4d869378b458f.html 

Simpsons

https://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-tradition-returns-to-simpson-s 

Hawkins obituary

https://www.chess.com/news/view/jonathan-hawkins-obituary

Kramnik lawsuit

https://en.chessbase.com/post/kramnik-files-lawsuit-against-fide

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to week 11 [not 12, as I said] of the Chess News Podcast where I discuss the Global Chess League, Faustino Oro’s second GM norm, FIDE updates, and more.

The biggest event underway is the Global Chess League, taking place in Mumbai, India. It is the third season of this rapid chess event among teams, a joint venture between FIDE and  sponsor Tech Mahindra. At the time of recording this podcast, 9 of the 10 rounds in the round-robin stage have been played and the winner of 2023 and 2024, Triveni Continental Kings, has a commanding lead of 21 points, which means the team has already qualified for the final. 

Then, 2.5 months after scoring his first Grandmaster norm, the Argentinean prodigy Faustino Oro has now secured his second. The 12-year-old chess player finished in a tie for third place at the Szmetan-Giardelli Masters 2025 in Buenos Aires, scoring an undefeated 5.5/9 with seven draws and two wins. That was good for a 2608 performance rating, enough for a GM norm in a field that included players such as Aryan Tari, the winner of the tournament, Ivan Cheparinov, who came second, but also the legendary Alexei Shirov, who tied for third with Oro together with Diego Flores, the Argentinean Champion.

Last week I mentioned the disturbing news that FIDE had approved the lifting of sanctions on Russia and Belarus at an online General Assembly held on Sunday the 14th. On Wednesday, The English Chess Federation (ECF) issued a statement, condemning both the procedure and the outcome. Meanwhile, the President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, IM Lasse Ostebo Lovik, has told Chess.com that his federation is considering legal action, which includes a complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). 

SOURCES

GCL Day 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6aUBi02Er4

GCL Day 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6G-nM66lE

Caruana-Firouzja by ChessBase India

https://x.com/ChessbaseIndia/status/2001996122899018058

Gashimov Memorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyzJwQQ7Wycx

Tarjei Svensen’s report on FIDE

https://www.chess.com/news/view/fide-approves-lifting-sanctions-on-russia-belarus

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to week 10 of The Chess News Podcast where I discuss the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, the FIDE General Assembly, and more.

The 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour came to an end on Thursday and it was Magnus Carlsen, co-founder of Freestyle Chess, who won the Tour after coming second in the final leg in Grootbos, South Africa. Carlsen lost the final to Levon Aronian, who had also won the previous Grand Slam in July in Las Vegas.

In an online meeting on Sunday, taking place on Zoom, FIDE organized its General Assembly and one decision was particularly important. As it turned out, a majority of the chess delegates went against IOC recommendations and voted in a secret ballot to allow Russian and Belarus teams back in official events. 

Just last Thursday, the IOC had recommended that individual youth athletes could be allowed in official competitions again, also playing for teams and under their national flags, but that other recommendations were upheld, meaning that the IOC continues to recommend banning Russia and Belarus for adult competitions. But the FIDE Council went against the IOC this time, put it to vote, and got a majority.

In other news, FIDE announced that Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu officially qualified for the Candidates, having clinched the 2025 FIDE Circuit. 

Then, 14-year-old Turkish chess Grandmaster Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus became the youngest player ever to enter into world top 50 after narrowly beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a 6-game match. 

There was also news on the Total Chess Tour, the new initiative by FIDE and Norway Chess. On Tuesday, a press release provided insight into the qualification paths for the new tour.

Also this week there is news about chess and film. A new documentary called Queen of Chess, about Judit Polgar, is coming out soon. This is great news in itself, but even more special is that it has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival, which is America’s most prestigious independent film festival 

Then, on X, Hikaru Nakamura has announced that he and his wife WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan are now parents.

SOURCES

Freestyle broadcasts:

https://www.youtube.com/@freestyle_chess/streams

FIDE General Assembly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIbTF1YAxqY

Praggnanandhaa message:

https://x.com/rpraggnachess/status/1998365715083251762

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to Week 9 of The Chess News Podcast, where I talk about the London Chess Classic, chess played underwater, and more. We're wrapping up the London Chess Classic, where Nodirbek Abdudattorov won the Elite tournament and scored 6 wins in a row between rounds 2 and 7. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu tied for first in the Open and further cemented his lead in the FIDE Circuit.

A remarkable event was held on Thursday in Cape Town, as part of several side events anticipating the upcoming Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals in South Africa. Hans Niemann became the Diving Chess Cape Town 2025 Champion after beating Fabiano Caruana in the final of an underwater chess event held at the Silo Hotel in Cape Town. In what was the first-ever under water Freestyle competition, the players made their moves on a small chess set placed 110 centimeters deep, on the bottom of the Silo Hotel’s beautiful rooftop pool. Each time a player moved and came out of the water to catch some air, the opponent had to take a dive instantly and make their move.

Other news items covered are the Jerusalem Masters, the Argentine Championship, the launch of the Pia Cramling Cup, Casto Abundo passing, and the film War is Over!.

SOURCES

London Chess Classic Round 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82E2Ur-Xfg

London Chess Classic Round 7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOGvmx5EhaU

London Chess Classic Round 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikviuV_p9Tc

Diving Chess: ChessBase India

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyYFD0B2SFk

War is Over!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W68-XaFepOg

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to week 8 of the Chess News Podcast, where I discuss the FIDE World Cup, the London Chess Classic, Google DeepMind's The Thinking Game, and more.

SOURCES

Sindarov wins!

https://x.com/chess24com/status/1993642610368675899

Sindarov press conference

https://x.com/FIDE_chess/status/1993691470864187515

London Chess Classic broadcasts

https://www.youtube.com/@ChessinSchools/streams

Ivanchuk’s loss on time 

https://twitter.com/ECUonline/status/1994835598658752617 

The Thinking Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d95J8yzvjbQ 

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

This podcast discusses the quarterfinals and semifinals of the FIDE World Cup, three matches from the Chess.com Speed Chess quarterfinals, the Women’s World Teams controversy, the announced participants of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz, the Tata Steel Chess Challengers, and the Daniel Naroditsky Memorial and Fellowship Fund.

SOURCES 

FIDE World Cup QF, game 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p1nr9kgwH4

FIDE World Cup QF, tiebreak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBccUDXIc4

FIDE World Cup SF, tiebreak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwbWJnWFAsg

Wei Yi interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO-4DTVW4Ks

SCC Nakamura-So

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r16CG8FhWog

SCC Firouzja-Nepomniachtchi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KmPpUqiWQo

SCC Lazavik-Niemann

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6GkVzx4e7E

Naroditsky Memorial Chess Fund

https://www.chess.com/news/view/naroditsky-memorial-chess-fund-announced 

Ukrainian protest

https://www.chess.com/news/view/ukraine-files-complaint-vs-russian-team-fide-womens-world-teams

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to week 6 of The Chess News Podcast, where I discuss the FIDE World Cup, the announcement of the FIDE Candidates, Magnus Carlsen beating Fabiano Caruana in the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, the announcement of the Grand Chess Tour, Faustino Oro's match with Sandro Mareco and CBS' 60 covering chessboxing.

Sources:

FIDE World Cup Round 4, Game 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnfskWjHYik&t=7615s

FIDE World Cup Round 5, Game 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1VioqLOI-g

FIDE World Cup Round 5, Tiebreaks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Jh05JCq14

Sam Shankland interview

https://youtu.be/PTRXDSWaWkA

Carlsen-Caruana SCC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIXTj2I1SOU

60 minutes on Chess boxing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmOFhZbgXIc

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to Week 5 of the chess news podcast where I discuss the FIDE World Cup, Hikaru Nakamura’s road to the Candidates, Eberechi Eze returning to school, and more.

AUDIO SOURCES

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on beating Vladislav Artemiev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAZ3NLImJJk

Alexander Donchenko on beating Anish Giri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2hV0xGUByw

Frederik Svane on beating Gukesh Dommaraju

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcEz5Co5fRQ

Ian Nepomniachtchi exiting the World Cup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RYWtBqFKrk

Diptayan Gosh on beat Ian Nepomniachtchi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTURJDYxXKQ

Wesley So resigns in a drawn position

https://x.com/chess24com/status/1986084796880339160

Sam Shankland on beating Vidit Gujrathi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyCfagJipIc

Peter Leko on making it to the fourth round

https://x.com/ChessbaseIndia/status/1987763329927090279

Hikaru Nakamura into the Candidates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlpIYNxzA_E

OTHER SOURCES

Chess.com’s Naroditsky tribute

https://www.chess.com/article/view/naroditsky-chess-articles-videos-commentary

Eberechi Eze returns to school

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6743316/2025/10/24/eberechi-eze-arsenal-crystal-palace-chess/

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

This episode discusses Magnus Carlsen's victory at the Clutch Chess tournament in St.Louis, the three matches that were played this week in the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, the start of the FIDE World Cup, two scientific articles related to chess, and other news.

Audio sources:

2025 Clutch Chess | Champions Showdown: Final Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYydM0eGKcQ

Maurice to Magnus the Champ: You Blew Up My Format!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbGEvta9bcs

What Did Gukesh Think of the Clutch Format?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypv_jyHIQbo

SCC 2025: Hans Niemann vs. Ding Liren!! Will Ex-World Champ Make It Through Ro16?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1kKBgjwOU

SCC 2025: Ian Nepomniachtchi v. Anish Giri! Will Anish Carry His Grand Swiss Form To SCC?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXeFetg4KfM

SCC 2025: Fabiano Caruana vs. Pragg Clash For The Last QF Spot! Ro16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KowiU5VL5eE

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

The third episode of The Chess News Podcast is, of course, mostly about Daniel Naroditsky. It’s been exactly a week since the terrible news broke that he had died at the age of 29. The chess world is still in shock and mourning the death of a brilliant and wonderful young man. At the same time, there is a long of anger toward especially Vladimir Kramnik as many believe that the former world champion has been too harsh upon Naroditsky, but there is also anger toward toward FIDE and how it has been dealing with the whole situation.

I try to break down the developments in the past week, summarizing things and bringing the most notable reactions. There is also an 8.5 minute part where I speak to David Navara, the Czech grandmaster who has also suffered from being connected to the topic of cheating by Vladimir Kramnik.

At the end of the episode I briefly discuss the U.S. Champsionships, the European Club Cup, the Hoogeveen tournament and the Amsterdam Chess Tournament. Enjoy the episode.

Some sources:

Aronian on Naroditsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN43OjPnNFg

Carlsen on Naroditsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhkfq7puG34

Sutovsky's tweet

https://x.com/EmilSutovsky/status/1980918888519864800

CNN on Kramnik

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/23/sport/chess-vladimir-kramnik-daniel-naroditsky-fide-intl

The C-Squared podcast from a year ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGiDosCed48

Dina Belenkaya's interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHPp1RgRUj0

Danya's mother responding to the media

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-15217147/mom-chess-grandmaster-daniel-naroditsky.html

Kramnik going to the Swiss authorities

https://www.reuters.com/world/chess-kramnik-files-complaint-over-online-threats-after-naroditskys-death-2025-10-26/

Caruana on his 4 consecutive titles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51cOu4L9wNo

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Please note that this podcast was finished and about to be uploaded when I heard about the terrible and tragic news that Daniel Naroditsky has died. I think he was one of the best writers and commentators of our time, extremely funny, a great teacher of concepts, and full of knowledge and wisdom. I feel grateful that I could work with him for a bit and wish I could have known him more. My condolences to the family whom I wish strength in this very difficult times.

The second episode discusses:

• The new Total Chess World Championship Tour to be organized by Norway Chess and approved by FIDE and the early reactions to it
• The situation at the U.S. Championships after round 7
• Ukraine and Poland winning the European Team Championship
• The revival of CHESS, the musical, premiered on Broadway
• The 2025 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship got underway
• Gukesh Dommaraju is in the 40 under 40 list of the Economic Times
• The famous 16th game of the 1985 Karpov-Kasparov match was played 40 years ago this week

Sources:

• Vidit Gujrathi video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j5RNwCpXFTU
• Carlsen interview by TakeTakeTake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlX_xcVEMY4
• Irina Bulmaga's blog: https://irinabulmaga.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-grand-batumi-experience.html
• Chess, the musical: https://www.instagram.com/chessbway/?hl=en
• Speed Chess Championship broadcasts: https://www.youtube.com/@chess/streams

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/

Welcome to the very first episode of ChessVibes weekly, a chess news podcast providing weekly updates of what’s happening in the chess world. I am your host Peter Doggers. Podcasting is a new thing for me, and I believe there might be an audience for regular updates on the chess news which you can listen to while doing other things. It’s an experiment, but I hope I can keep it up and you will like it.

The main story in this first week is a Chess960 match between legends Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand in St. Louis, 30 years after their PCA World Championship, in 1995 in New York. Also, the European Team Championship is underway in Batumi, Georgia, and, going straight back to the U.S. of A., the U.S. Championships started on Sunday in St. Louis while America’s number one player Hikaru Nakamura is once again fighting lesser gods, this time in Canada.

Thanks to ChessBase India, the Saint Louis Chess Club and the European Chess Union for their great work to promote the game. The audio clips, relevant to the news stories, are from their channels.

ChessBase India's interview with Kasparov:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5bM0DtoLWY

The Saint Louis Chess Club coverage of Kasparov-Anand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOXam6o6yiM

The European Chess Union's round 7 xoverage of the European Team Championships:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsm_wNvnGy4

Thanks for listening and please spread the word that this podcast exists! :-)

You might also be interested in my other podcast Masters and Matches which I co-host with Arne Moll.

https://peterdoggers.com/masters-and-matches-podcast/

Also, check out my book The Chess Revolution at

https://peterdoggers.com/book/