The 2022 Sinquefield Cup occupies a special place in chess history. It was in this edition of the prestigious event at the Saint Louis Chess Club where world No 1 Magnus Carlsen had accused Hans Niemann of cheating after losing to the American Grandmaster in the third round, leading to one of the biggest scandals in the sport’s history.

The controversy’s set to be explored in further detail in a
Netflix documentary titled _Untold: Chess Mates_ that will be released on 7 April, with the US streaming giant
releasing a trailer for the episode earlier this week on YouTube and other platforms.

No evidence to suggest Niemann cheated, says chief arbiter

Among those reacting to the teaser uploaded on X by Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) was Chris Bird, who occupies a special place in the sport’s history as the Chief Arbiter of what is one of the most infamous games of chess ever.

And in his quote-tweet to the clip posted by Netflix Sports, Bird raised eyebrows by claiming that he had “seen no evidence” that would suggest Niemann had cheated against Carlsen, or in any of the other games he’s overseen that also involved the American GM.

“It’s sad to say but even to this day one of the most common questions I get asked when folks find out I was the Chief Arbiter of “the game” is do I think Hans was cheating? I’ve seen no evidence that Hans cheated in this game, or any event I’ve overseen that he has played in,” Bird wrote in the quote-tweet on Saturday, hinting at the possibility of Niemann being unfairly targeted by the five-time world champion.

It’s sad to say but even to this day one of the most common questions I get asked when folks find out I was the Chief Arbiter of “the game” is do I think Hans was cheating? I’ve seen no evidence that Hans cheated in this game, or any event I’ve overseen that he has played in. https://t.co/YLUYnUpyG9

— Chris Bird (@ChrisBirdIA) March 14, 2026

Niemann had responded to the cheating allegations nearly four years ago by filing a $100 million lawsuit against Carlsen and several others. The case, however, was ultimately resolved through an out-of-court settlement between the two parties.

Carlsen and Niemann, however, have shared frosty relations ever since, with the latter accusing the Norwegian superstar of attempting to ruin his life with his accusations and the two trading barbs on social media and through other platforms.

Their heated rivalry has also led to some high-voltage showdowns over the board, with Carlsen pulling off dramatic victories over Niemann at the Speed Chess Championships and the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in 2024, a couple of years after the scandal.

Sina Movahed, the 15-year-old Grandmaster from Iran, shocked the world number one Magnus Carlsen with a perfect game enroute to his victory at the latest Titled Tuesday.

The 15-year-old prodigy earned 10.5/11 to register a dominant victory in the weekly tournament. This is now the first time that a player has scored 10.5 in Titled Tuesday. Carlsen finished second with 9.5 points. The win helped Movahed secure $1000 as prize money.

Movahed terms Carlsen’s opening dubious

Movahed met Carlsen in the seventh round of the tournament. The Iranian played with white and started the standard e4 to which Carlsen replied with the Sicilian defence. However, Movahed termed Carlsen’s opening ‘dubious’.

“This is not something I expect, but in blitz I feel like I have really great chances, especially online. The opening he chose [today] was also very dubious,” the Iranian GM said after his win as per Chess.com.

His performance against Carlsen was described as “masterpiece” by English Grandmaster David Howell. Movahed achieved 100% accuracy in his win where he put Carlsen under pressure early on and even though he was down a pawn in the midgame, he set things up nicely to earn a big win.

Despite scoring 10.5 in 11 rounds, Movahed was not happy with his performance in the early rounds. “The first four rounds were terrible, I could have lost any of them,” he said about his accuracy.

Movahed started with eight straight wins before being held on to a draw by Greek Grandmaster Nikolas Theodorou in the round. That was a small setback for the 15-year-old who still managed to finish a full point ahead of Carlsen to win the tournament.

Movahed recently also won the Under-16 ChessKid Youth Championship and is emerging as a solid young talent. With his home country Iran in turmoil after attacks from the United States and Israel, Movahed carries on with his focus totally on chess.

“I just play chess—this is my work—so I don’t really have thoughts on that,” said Movahed on the ongoing conflict between Iran and US-Israel.

As the biggest star in chess today and one of the greatest to have ever played the game, Magnus Carlsen carries a heavy burden on his shoulders. Not only does he carry the burden of expecations, with the Norwegian Grandmaster expected to win every single time due to his stature, he also immense influence on followers of the sport across all ages, including and especially young children.

Carlsen uses star power to spread awareness

It is therefore significant when the 35-year-old spreads awareness on allowing young children to be granted the freedom to pursue their hobbies. Carlsen also urged parents to be open-minded in allowing their children to pursue hobbies such as chess regardless of gender and not exhibit different attitudes towards their sons and their daughters.

“There’s this culture in society where it’s more acceptable for boys to be obsessed with certain hobbies at a certain age, and it’s very important for parents and support systems to also encourage young girls to do those things… think you lose a lot of talent because of this mentality,” Carlsen was quoted by Chess.com as saying.

Carlsen’s comment also carries weight due to the gender imbalance that exists in chess in this day an age. Icons like Hungarian GM Judit Polgar, the greatest female player of all time and the only woman to be ranked in the world top-10 and rated above 2700, are an exception after all, with only three female players having ever been ranked inside the top-100. Chess, additionally, has had over 2,100 Grandmasters till date and only 44 of them are women.

The disparity between the two genders in chess has been a major talking point over the years, and some believe it is due to lack of encouragement for young girls to take up chess either as a hobby or as a profession.

Carlsen’s recent comment, however, might end up having a positive effect on that front and increase female participation in the sport in the years to come.

World number one and former world champion Magnus Carlsen is all set to make his return to classical chess in May this year when he takes on seven other opponents at the Sigeman Chess Tournament 2026. This will be his first appearance in a closed tournament outside of his home country Norway since 2023.

Carlsen had been already announced as one of the participants for the tournament alongside Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Now the entire list of eight players has been revealed for what will be a round-robin competition.

From India, national number one Arjun Erigaisi will be participating in the event that will take place from May 1-7 in Malmo, Sweden.

Sigeman Chess organisers grateful to Carlsen

Sigeman Chess chief organiser Johan Berntsen told Chess.com that this will be the strongest line-up in the history of the tournament.

“It’s very exciting. It’s the strongest field in the tournament’s history,” Berntsen said. “It’s a very strong lineup, and it’s great that we have Magnus,” he said, adding, “We are very grateful to Magnus for picking us and that he has been so cooperative.”

Carlsen will be participating in the Norway Chess tournament in 2026 which will take place after the competition in Sweden and the organisers think the reason behind his participation could be preparation for his home event.

“Perhaps he felt he needed a classical tournament before that event,” Berntsen said. “Our format, seven rounds in seven days, may also fit him very well.”

Carlsen vs Erdogmus to steal the show

Recently Carlsen praised Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus as “the best 14-year-old the world has ever seen” and now the two will face each other soon. This will be the first time the upcoming superstar will face arguably the greatest chess player of all time.

On the verge of becoming the youngest player to cross 2700 in ratings, Erdogmus has been breaking records left and right in recent years.

In a comment to Chess.com, he said: “I’m very happy. Playing a classical game against him is something I’ve wanted for a long time. It will be a great experience for me to play against Carlsen.”

For India, Arjun will be the lone representative. His form has been dodgy of late and he also dropped out of the world’s top 10 after some disappointing performances in recent months.

Sigeman Chess 2026 complete line-up

Magnus Carlsen, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Jorden van Foreest, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Nils Grandelius, Andy Woodward, and Zhu Jiner.

World No. 1-ranked player Magnus Carlsen has opened up about one of the biggest myths in chess. He recently shared his view on how far ahead elite players can actually calculate during a game.

Speaking to TakeTakeTake, Carlsen said that many people wrongly believe that chess players think many moves ahead. According to him, that is not true in most situations and players just visualise two or three moves ahead.

“One common misconception is that chess players think very, very far ahead, which we don’t. You can sometimes think very far ahead if there are very few options, but I mean, I’ve gotten that question so many times, like, how many moves do you see ahead? Most of the time I see like two or three moves. But the truth is, you get to a certain point and then you have to reevaluate because conditions might have changed in some way,” Carlsen said.

“How many moves do you see ahead?” @MagnusCarlsen pic.twitter.com/DoAcgbnJJz

— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) March 2, 2026

Carlsen continues to dominate world chess

Carlsen’s comments have come shortly after
he won the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, claiming his record 21st world title. He defeated American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the final that was held in Weissenhaus in Germany last month.

A draw in the fourth and final game was enough for Carlsen to seal a 2.5-1.5 victory in the match. The turning point came in game three, where Carlsen managed to win from what many believed was a completely lost position. That dramatic comeback shifted the momentum in his favour and a draw ensured his victory.

Carlsen is also a five-time world champion in the Classical format. He could have won even more titles if he had chosen to defend his Classical crown in 2023, but he has since voluntarily stepped down from it. India’s D Gukesh is the reigning world champion and the winner of 2026 Candidates will challenge him for the title.

Carlsen, on the other hand, will next be seen at the 2026 Norway Chess, his home tournament, where he will look to defend his title. Carlsen won last year for the seventh time in the tournament. Other top players to take part in the event are Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Vincent Keymar, Alireza Firouzja, and Wesley So.

The world of chess is witnessing an unexpected controversy involving Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin. The latest FIDE rankings for March have turned into a major debate after Karjakin was added and then removed from the updated list, creating confusion across the chess community.

When FIDE released its latest classical ratings list, many fans were surprised to see Karjakin’s name suddenly back in the top 10. The more shocking thing was that he was listed at world No. 10 with a rating of 2750, pushing India’s reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju down to No. 11.

Why Karjakin’s return to top 10 caused a stir?

Karjakin remains one of the most controversial figures in modern chess. He was born in Ukraine, but later switched his federation to Russia in 2009. He even challenged Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship title in 2016 and pushed him to a tense tie-break.

However, Karjakin’s career took a dramatic turn in 2022. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Karjakin publicly supported the war. In March 2022, FIDE banned him for six months because of his political statements supporting the invasion. Many top tournaments stopped inviting him after that.

Karjakin also refused to play FIDE-rated games when Russian players were not allowed to compete under their national flag. As a result, he became “inactive” in the rankings because he did not play enough official games over the past few years. In February 2025, he was even placed on the European Union sanctions list.

That is why his sudden return to the top 10 has caused such a shock among chess aficionados. Reports suggested that Karjakin had played two private rated games against a junior player to regain his “active” status. Those games appeared in the FIDE database, making him eligible to be ranked again.

Karjakin himself posted about his return on social media. But his comeback did not last long. Within hours, the two games that had made him active disappeared from FIDE’s database. His name was also removed from the top 10 list after that. Gukesh has since returned to No. 10 once again.

Surprise!😉 pic.twitter.com/vrI8tzA38S

— Sergey Karjakin 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 (@SergeyKaryakin) February 28, 2026

Faustino Oro has been the next big thing in the world of chess for quite some time now, and is widely seen as someone who is will be among the biggest stars in the sport once he hits his prime. The Argentinian, aptly nicknamed the ‘Messi of Chess’, already has a number of impressive achievements in his resume; he was after all, the youngest at the time to achieve the 2300 Elo rating in 2023 and the title of International Master in 2024.

More recently, he had become the first 11-year-old ever to achieve a 2500 rating. At the recent Chess World Cup in Goa, he had become the youngest player ever to win a game at the prestigious tournament by defeating Croatia’s Ante Brkić in the first round. And that’s not all – he had even defeated the legendary Magnus Carlsen in an online bullet game in 2024. Certainly impressive for a kid who is largely a self-taught player.

And in the coming week, ‘Fausti’ – also known as ’el pibe de oro’ (the golden boy) – is set for the biggest achievement of his career so far, one that will likely cement his place among the sport’s elite. The Argentine, after all, begins his hunt for his final Grandmaster norm at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow on Saturday, and if things go according to plan, the 12-year-old could break American GM Abhimanyu Mishra’s record to become the youngest Grandmaster in chess history.

Has Carlsen finally found his successor? 

With Faustino on the cusp of history, one can’t help but wonder if the throne that has had Magnus Carlsen as its occupant for the better part of the last two decades finally has a successor?

Carlsen remains miles ahead of his competitors and is among the greatest to have ever played the sport, if not the best. But the 35-year-old will not be sitting on the throne forever, and like Garry Kasparov or Anand before him, will likely transition into the role of a mentor or a commentator sooner rather than later, with his participation in tournaments likely limited to exhibition matches.

He already is semi-retired from the Classical format, having limited his participation in Standard chess since 2023. And should ‘Fausti’ make history by achieving his third Grandmaster norm, the timing of the feat certainly should lead to discussion within the chess community, discussion centering around life after Carlsen in chess.

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky, for one, had recently offered his take on chess’ future stars and players who are likely to break into the top-10 by the end of the decade and are most likely to emulate Carlsen’s legendary career, and
Oro was one of three players named by the Israeli GM. He even revealed that Carlsen held ‘Fausti’ in high regard and sees him as one of chess’ biggest stars down the road.

“Magnus also was of a very high opinion of Oro few days ago and now he’s of (Yagiz Kaan) Erdogmus. I think all these guys are exceptional talents but it’s tad too early to claim they would be next Magnus or similar to that. It would be not difficult to expect or to forecast that,” Sutovsky told ChessBase India.

“Both Erdogmus and Oro would make into top 10 that’s for sure. Top five very likely because after all, if they are already best in this age group so what will happen in three or four years? The generation who are much older than them they will start fading away and then they’re best around this age so it’s natural to expect them by the year 2030 to be in top five for sure. But to be a dominating player like Magnus is very difficult feat,” he added.

‘I’m not really focused on the record of the youngest Grandmaster’

It’s also worth mentioning that
in a recent interview with _Firstpost_, ‘Fausti’ had mentioned that he isn’t too bothered about becoming the youngest Grandmaster of all time, and prefers to keep himself grounded rather than get carried away by the thought of such feats.

“I prepare for tournaments. I’m trying to improve all the days a bit. And in the tournaments, I try to focus on the next game and try to win. I’m not really focused on the record of the youngest Grandmaster. I want to be a Grandmaster. But well, my goal is to be a world champion,” Faustino had said in October ahead of the Chess World Cup.

It’s safe to say that the young Argentine will be commanding the attention of the entire chess community when he competes at the Aeroflot Open, which comprises a tough field comprising 51 grandmasters and 58 international masters.

Few individuals or teams have dominated a sport the way Magnus Carlsen has ruled chess for the better part of the last two decades. The Norwegian Grandmaster had risen to stardom while still in his teens in the 2000s and has been the undisputed No 1 in the FIDE ratings in the world since 2011, besides holding the record for the highest ever peak rating (2882).

He is also a five-time world champion in the Classical format, and would have had a sixth and possibly even a seven had he not voluntarily decided against defending his title in 2023. Carlsen’s also racking up world titles in other formats for fun, having won his 21st title with his
triumph in the inaugural FIDE Freestyle World Championship earlier this month.

Miles ahead of his competitors

It doesn’t matter what era he’s been part of – he had famously defeated the legendary Anatoly Karpov at the age of 13 in 2004 and would defeat Indian icon Viswanathan Anand twice in as many World Championship showdowns a decade later. And even in his mid-30s, Carlsen is miles ahead of everyone else, including reigning world champion D Gukesh.

So what is it that sets Carlsen apart from everyone else? When asked about the difference between himself and a top-100 player, the world No 1 was humble enough to state that he was only a “little better at everything”.

“Very hard to say. Against most people, around top-100, I am a little bit better at everything. I evaluate a little bit better, I calculate a little bit better. Some people, they will get a little bit intimidated playing against me, so they might not play as aggressively as they should and I can use that to my advantage sometimes,” Carlsen said in an interview on Take Take Take.

“It’s overall net positive. Not all positive, because sometimes people will not take as many chances,” he added.

What separates a top 100 player and @MagnusCarlsen? pic.twitter.com/xORFJDLTgb

— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) February 27, 2026

After becoming the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess world champion, Carlsen will be setting his sights on Norway Chess, his home event and the only Classical event that he remains a regular participant in, in June as well as defending his title at the Esports World Cup in August.

The 35-year-old is also
set to appear in an upcoming Netflix documentary titled Untold: Chess Mates that explores the fallout of the 2022 cheating scandal and its aftermath.