FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Championships 🌏

The FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Championships have kicked off in Astana, Kazakhstan. Astana has quickly become a chess epicenter as last year, the World Championship took place here as well. The matches are running from August 1st to 6th.

Go here for the live coverage. Commentators include GM Irina Krush, GM Peter Leko, and GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko.

There have been some spectacular highlights ✨

♟️Magnus lost to Rapport in 23 moves. Nepo’s reaction was well captured ⬇️

♟️Mystery Player: Who is Pang Bo?

Unrated player, Pang Bo, has made an impeccable performance. As of this writing, he has scored 10/10 games. He is in Team China 🇨🇳. Ju Wenjun has called him ‘our secret weapon.’ Pang Bo has been trending in X and Reddit communities, sparking massive curiosity.

The 45th Chess Olympiad is coming very soon. The event will take place September 10-23rd. At this olympiad, a team of refugees will compete at the event as part of the initiative to increase inclusivity. This was approved by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Notable players include Gukesh, Sachdev, Caruana, Aronian, and Dronavalli. (source: FIDE)

Rapid Open Tournament in NYC’s Central Park 🌲

Chess in the Schools, a non-profit organization in New York, is hosting the annual Rapid Open Tournament in Central Park on September 14 in collaboration with NYC Parks. The games will be by the beautiful and historical Bethesda Fountain. Go here for more details.