Chess digest, Oct. 3–7: Nakamura reaches 3500, Russia's titles at halfway, FIDE approves a Chess960 rating
The first 3500 rating in Chess.com's blitz pool, both Russian national championships at their halfway point in Rostov-on-Don, and the FIDE General Assembly's decisions on Chess960 and the 2030 Olympiad.
Coverage window: after 10:45 Sofia time on October 3 through 10:45 on October 7, 2026.
The Olympiad is a week behind us, and this window has the ordinary rhythm of the chess year again. Hikaru Nakamura put the first 3500 rating into Chess.com's blitz pool, Russia's two national championships reached their rest day with both titles open, FIDE published what its assembly in Samarkand decided, and a school from Minsk took a European title.
Nakamura becomes the first 3500 on Chess.com
Hikaru Nakamura reached 3500 in Chess.com's blitz rating on October 5, the first time anyone has done so, and pushed the record to 3503 during Titled Tuesday on October 6 while streaming from Sithonia, Greece. 1 That number is the site's own blitz rating, built from games played on Chess.com, and it is a different measure from the FIDE list. 1
Nakamura arrived at exactly 3500 before the tournament and made no promise to stay there. "Unless I'm only going to skip [Titled Tuesday and 3 0 Thursday] every week, there's no way even to keep my rating where it is," he told Chess.com, calling the mark "very much a one-time thing". Asked during the stream where the ceiling might be, he put it around 3550. 1
The tournament itself went to Vladislav Artemiev, who beat Nakamura in the final round and finished on 9½/11. Alexander Grischuk and Alexey Sarana also scored 9½ and took second and third on tiebreak; Nakamura, half a point off the lead with one round to play, finished ninth on 8½. 1 It was Artemiev's first Titled Tuesday title since he won three of four between February 16 and March 9 in 2021, and worth $2,500. Nobody managed a perfect 11/11, so the $4,500 bounty rolls over to $5,000 next week. 1
Three days before the milestone, Nakamura had won Bullet Brawl for the fourth week in a row, and with it the record for the most wins of the event in a single calendar year: 20 in 2026, with three months to spare. 2 He finished on 155 points, 15 clear of Jose Martinez on 140, with Tuan Minh Le third on 137, and took the $400 first prize. "I think I've won 20 of 21 Bullet Brawls that I've played this year," he said, "even though today was easily the worst Bullet Brawl I've had in a very long time, I still get the win." 2
Esipenko leads the Russian Superfinals; two women share first
The 79th Russian Championship and the 76th Russian women's championship are being played as two 12-player, 11-round round robins at the Grand Rostov Hyatt Regency in Rostov-on-Don, from October 1 to 12. 3 The prize fund is 11 million rubles, 7 million of it for the open event and 4 million for the women's, and each champion also receives a LADA car from AvtoVAZ. The top five in the open event qualify for the 2027 FIDE World Cup, and the top three women for the 2027 Women's World Cup. 3
Andrey Esipenko, the highest-rated player in the field at 2680, leads the open event alone on 4½/6 after drawing with Aleksey Goganov in Tuesday's sixth round. 4 Four players sit half a point behind him, among them Pavel Ponkratov, ninth of the twelve on rating at 2540. The reigning champion, Arseniy Nesterov, won his first game of the tournament in round six by beating Ernesto Inarkiev, who is last on 1½. 4
| Pos | Player | Rating | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrey Esipenko | 2680 | 4½ |
| 2–5 | Savva Vetokhin | 2555 | 3½ |
| 2–5 | David Paravyan | 2587 | 3½ |
| 2–5 | Arseniy Nesterov | 2590 | 3½ |
| 2–5 | Pavel Ponkratov | 2540 | 3½ |
| 6–8 | Evgeniy Najer | 2580 | 3 |
| 6–8 | Aleksey Goganov | 2507 | 3 |
| 6–8 | Dmitry Kokarev | 2510 | 3 |
| 9–10 | Aleksey Grebnev | 2614 | 2½ |
| 9–10 | Ivan Popov | 2595 | 2½ |
| 11 | Vadim Zvjaginsev | 2522 | 2 |
| 12 | Ernesto Inarkiev | 2637 | 1½ |
In the women's event, Leya Garifullina caught the leader on Tuesday by beating Maria Pershina with the black pieces, while Anastasia Bodnaruk drew with Ekaterina Kovalevskaya. Both stand on 5/6, a point clear of Ekaterina Goltseva, who has won three in a row. 4 Anna Shukhman, the highest-rated player in the women's field at 2434, is on 3½, and Valentina Gunina is last on 1½. 4
| Pos | Player | Rating | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Leya Garifullina | 2418 | 5 |
| 1–2 | Anastasia Bodnaruk | 2354 | 5 |
| 3 | Ekaterina Goltseva | 2337 | 4 |
| 4–6 | Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | 2293 | 3½ |
| 4–6 | Olga Girya | 2380 | 3½ |
| 4–6 | Anna Shukhman | 2434 | 3½ |
| 7 | Margarita Potapova | 2225 | 2½ |
| 8–10 | Maria Pershina | 2303 | 2 |
| 8–10 | Galina Mikheeva | 2177 | 2 |
| 8–10 | Marina Korneva | 2265 | 2 |
| 11–12 | Daria Charochkina | 2308 | 1½ |
| 11–12 | Valentina Gunina | 2332 | 1½ |
The standings above are after round six, played on October 6. October 7 is a rest day, and rounds seven to eleven run from October 8 to 12. Both events are all-play-all, so each pair of players meets once, and a tie for first place goes to an extra playoff rather than a tiebreak. Rounds start at 3 p.m. Moscow time, except the eleventh, on October 12, which starts at 1 p.m. 34
FIDE's assembly sets a Chess960 rating and puts Qatar first for 2030
FIDE published the main decisions of its General Assembly on October 4, a week after the Congress in Samarkand. 5
Delegates approved a FIDE rating system for Chess960, the variant also called Fischer Random, in which the pieces on the back rank are shuffled before each game. Germany, Iceland, Norway, Ireland and the Faroe Islands proposed it together, arguing that the variant has grown internationally while the lack of an official rating has kept it out of the wider competitive structure. The system has to be worked out and in place no later than June 1, 2027. 5
The assembly also approved an amendment to the FIDE Charter giving the federation a bilingual institutional name. Wherever FIDE displays its full name together with its acronym, seal or emblem, it will read International Chess Federation / Fédération Internationale des Échecs. The amendment concerns the institutional identity and how it is presented; English stays the official and working language. 5
For the 2030 Olympiad, the assembly noted that both the Qatar Chess Association and the Georgia Chess Federation are ready to host, along with the 2030 Olympiad for people with disabilities and the 2030 Congress, and instructed the FIDE Management Board to negotiate with Qatar first. If the organisational and financial guarantees do not arrive and no contract is signed within a reasonable time, the right to sign passes to Georgia. 5
A further Extraordinary General Assembly will meet online late in 2026 to consider FIDE's budget for 2027 and provisional figures for 2028. 5
The assembly also filled in the rest of the slate around President Timur Turlov and Deputy President Viswanathan Anand, both elected at the Congress: Luigi Maggi as treasurer, Bouchra Kadiri as vice-president and secretary of the FIDE Council, and Mahir Mammedov, Carol S. Williams Pesqueira and Mykhailo Podolyak as the president's nominated vice-presidents. Four honorary vice-presidents — Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Javier Ochoa de Echaguen, Fouad Fahmi Darwish and Michael Stoettinger — go to the FIDE Council for approval, and Francois Strydom was elected to the Constitutional Commission. 5
Minsk's Gymnasium No. 50 wins the European schools title
The European stage of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship ended in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, on October 3, after four days and eight rounds, with 27 school teams entered. 6
Gymnasium No. 50 of Minsk won and never lost a match. The Belarusian school opened with two 4–0 wins and turned away every challenger, led by Damir Bulgak on board one and Katrina Yakovleva on board four. 6 Riga State Gymnasium No. 1, the top seed by average rating, lost only to the champions and took second, with Daniel Beniosev unbeaten on board two. 6 LEPL Georgia, Kutaisi Andria Razmadze Physico-Mathematical Public School finished third, ahead of the host team from Yerevan. 6
The champions qualify for the Grand Final in December. 6 Bulgak also supplied the move of the final day. In his game against Matej Viglas, White played 26.Nd2?? and walked into 26…Nxf2!, after which taking the knight runs into 27.Kxf2 Qxh2+ 28.Kf1 Re6! and a forced mate, while declining it leaves White lost. 6
Also this window
- The Gligoric Trophy went to two players who gave something up. Sebastian Poltorak of Poland agreed to a draw with Aleksandar Inđjić at the 2025 European Club Cup after his opponent had to leave the playing hall for medical reasons, and GM Tin Jingyao of Singapore let his opponent play on in the sixth round of the 2025 Almaty Region Open instead of claiming a win by forfeit when that opponent arrived late because of traffic. The commission called both cases exemplary fair play; the award covers September 2024 to September 2026. 7
- Awonder Liang did not drop a game at the Seirawan Chess Championship. The 23-year-old American won all 12 of his games across three matches, each by 3–0, to take the title for the second time after 2024 and a $750 first prize. 8 Jakub Chyzy, 20, of Poland lost to Liang in both the winners' final and the grand final and finished second for $500. 8 In Seirawan chess each side gets two extra pieces, a hawk that moves as bishop and knight and an elephant that moves as rook and knight, both brought onto the board during the game. 8 Crazyhouse and Fog of War are the last two Community Championships of 2026. 8
- Six players share the lead at Fagernes. Two rounds into the GM Swiss at the Scandic Valdres hotel in Norway, Tiger Hillarp Persson, Aksel Bu Kvaløy, Christian Gloeckler, Harika Dronavalli, Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal and Mads Vestby-Ellingsen are all on 2/2. The ten-round tournament runs to October 11. 9
- Moussard took both titles in London. Jules Moussard won the Pall Mall Super Rapid with 7½/10, a point clear of Gawain Maroroa Jones on 6½, and the Super Blitz with 7/10, a point ahead of Benjamin Bok on 6. Praveen Balakrishnan won both Challenge events, the rapid on tiebreak from Ameet Ghasi after both scored 6/9 and the blitz with 6/9, half a point clear of Marcus Harvey. 10
- Greece's championships opened on Psara Island. The 75th Greek Championship and the 48th women's championship began on the Aegean island on October 4, nine rounds each to October 11. After two rounds Ioannis Nikolaidis led the open event on 2/2. 10
What to watch next
| Date (Europe/Sofia) | Event and location | Checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| October 8–23 | U.S. and U.S. Women's Championships, Saint Louis Chess Club | Two 12-player round robins and 11 classical rounds from October 9, with more than $400,000 in prizes; Fabiano Caruana defends the open title, Carissa Yip the women's, and games stream daily from 12:20 p.m. Central. 11 |
| October 8–12 | Russian Championship Superfinals, Rostov-on-Don | Rounds 7–11 settle both titles, the World Cup places and the LADA cars, with the final round on October 12. 4 |
| October 16–24 | European Club Cup, Budva, Montenegro | The 41st open and 30th women's club cups, seven-round Swiss events at 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes with a 30-second increment, and a €40,000 prize fund. 12 |
| October 24–November 1 | Sahel Chess Festival, Monastir, Tunisia | Around 300 players are expected at the Hotel El Habib, with Titas Stremavicius, Pavel Ponkratov, Friso Nijboer, Mihail Marin and Amir Zaibi already entered. 13 |
| November 2–15 | World Senior Chess Championships, Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia | Four world titles over 11 rounds of classical chess, in the Open and Women's 50+ and 65+ sections, with a €50,000 prize fund. 14 |
| November 10–20 | Total Chess World Championship Tour pilot, Budapest | A 24-player field led by Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, in four groups of six, with Fast Classic games and a blitz Swiss setting the tiebreaks for the knockout stages. 15 |
| November 22–December 13 | Salesforce FIDE World Championship match, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cologny, Geneva | Gukesh Dommaraju defends his title against Javokhir Sindarov over a maximum of 14 games, with the opening ceremony on November 22 and the first game on November 24. 16 |
| November 24–December 6 | XTX Markets London Chess Classic, London | A ten-player Masters with the field still to be announced; Nodirbek Abdusattorov won last year's edition. 17 |
References
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5ChessBase: Main decisions of the FIDE General Assembly 2026
en.chessbase.com
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9ChessBase: Six-way tie in the lead after two rounds in Fagernes
en.chessbase.com
- 10The Week in Chess 1665
theweekinchess.com
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14ChessBase: Upcoming tournaments and events
en.chessbase.com
- 15
- 16ChessBase: Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026
en.chessbase.com
- 17ChessBase: XTX London Chess Classic returns
en.chessbase.com
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