Really? I must check that out, I don't really know lichess except for watching events.

OK, I poked him...

Inside the Amazing Mind of Anish Giri | Runners-up at the FIDE Candidates 2026 YouTube video by ChessBase India

If you're missing the candidates tournament, Chessbase India made about three candidates tournaments worth of video. I'm still catching up

Here is IM Sagar Shah interviewing future FIDE president @anishgiri.bsky.social for two and a half hours
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MeE...

This reminds me of how I was COMPLETELY baffled by Magnus burning his last white vs. Karjakin - to gain extra rest (and bank on his rapid+ skills). People expected (at least in title matches then) a preference to avoid speedier/more random settings. Why is -> blitz 'normal' in shorter match format?

OK, how does one Bluesky virally and bring the #chess conversation over here?

I see @polborta.bsky.social has switched back to cricket commentary

players standing on the podium at the European Individual Chess Championship. They are holding novelty checks showing their prize winnings. Congratulations to the Winner and Medalists: 🏆IM Roman Dehtiarov 🇺🇦, 9 points 🥈GM Nijat Abasov 🇦🇿, 8.5 points 🥉GM Aydin Suleymanli 🇦🇿, 8.5 points Photo via European Chess Union

18-year-old Ukrainian international master Roman Dehtiarov (2452) just won the European Individual Chess Championship with 9/11 and a 2781 performance rating.

Quite an upset against a field with many 2600+ GMs. (He was 126th seed by rating)

lichess.org/broadcast/eu...

It's bound to happen. I was more surprised that Magnus devoured everything historical, and that was just as things were becoming digital.

... ah! It's both.

I'm constantly getting replies that I cannot trace back and so have no idea what they're answering about. Is this me or the interface?

I found the Esipenko-Caruana game impressive, but even more comforting. The kind of calm, long-range positional compensation that we were taught in pre-historic times always worked somehow in the Dragon still looking smooth and terrifying in the engine age.

Not sure Russia moving to Asia was a great career move...

a good candidates tournament. felt like the players were just warming up, though. time to get back to our roots: 28-round, quadruple round robins

2028 goals

@polborta.bsky.social thank you for the past two weeks of commentary, Peter. Please convey my gratitude to Jan as well. I really enjoyed having you two back together, and here’s hoping it happens again soon. Take care.

Brilliant pic

Lot of respect to Bluebaum for coming out brawling in the last round on -1. Didn't go his way, but not for lack of trying

Meet Roman Vidonyak: The hidden coach behind top grandmasters Some of the world’s best chess players have trained under him, yet his name remains unknown to many. He has worked with players like Anish Giri, Jorden van Foreest, and Vladimir Fedoseev but always st...

Vidonyak is a Ukrainian-born IM and student of Dorfman & Mikhalchishin. He doesn't even have an English-language Wikipedia page yet, but Chessbase profiled him last year:

en.chessbase.com/post/meet-ro...

IM Roman Vidonyak being interviewed at the candidates tournament

Roman Vidonyak, Sindarov's coach, asked when he realized there was something special about him:

"Here."

Vaishali is the challenger, winning in the final round of the #chess #Candidates2026. A blow to the soap opera segment of chess fandom hankering for more Sindarov-Bibisara adventures, but a boon for Indian fans who will have interests in both title matches.

I'm already on record for the all Uzbek 2900+ 2028 match

I believe he said prolonged world domination is the final step, a la Kasparov or Carlsen

... except for that typo

Don't need to go to Coachella. I can just blast different songs simultaneously from every room in my house and pretend I have no bathrooms.

That Vidonyak quote should go viral, just saying #chess #Candidates2026

Forgot to say, super coach Roman Vidonyak.

Whoa! Just heard Sindarov's super-coach saying winning the #chess #Candidates2026 is step 2 of their 4-step plan, snd winning the world title is step 3... 😮

Yes, exactly, that's a better summary of how it feels.

He's gotten better, but classical journalists will find reasons to prickle

I agree, though he makes the press conferences very much about him, and then the standards are higher

Anish showing his fine form, negotiating a sharp surprise with crisp calculation. He's been excellent with black at the #chess #Candidates2026 get @anishgiri.bsky.social on Bluesky