Connect With Us

Who Will Challenge
Magnus Carlsen
in
November 2020?

Only one of eight top rated chess players in the world will challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship tentatively scheduled for November in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 2020 Candidates Tournament

The 2020 Candidates Tournament is an 8-player double round-robin that will decide Magnus Carlsen’s challenger for the World Championship match later this year.

The 14-round Candidates Tournament is being played in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Yekaterinburg, Russia from March 15 to April 3, 2020. The prize fund is €500,000.

Who’s Playing?

2020 World Chess Candidates Photo - March 17, 2020Candidates by March 2020 World Chess Ratings

1. #2 Ranked – Fabiano Caruana, USA, rated 2842.

2. #3 Ranked – Ding Liren, China, rated 2805.

3. #4 Ranked – Alexander Grischuk, Russia, rated 2777.

4. #5 Ranked – Ian Nepomniachtchi, Russia, rated 2774.

5. #9 Ranked – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani, rated 2765. ***

5. #8 Ranked, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, France, rated 2767.

6. #11 Ranked – Anish Giri, Netherlands, rated 2763.

7. #12 Ranked – Wang Ho, China, rated 2762.

8. #39 Ranked – Kirill Alekseenko, Russia, rated 2698.

*** Less than two weeks before the Candidates Tournament starts in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Teimour Radjabov from Azerbaijani decided to withdraw from the Candidates Tournament, citing personal reasons. Reports speculated his decision had to do with the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

Radjabov denied the characterization and instead expressed a desire for the tournament to be postponed.

The # 8 ranked chess player in the world, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France, will be his replacement in Yekaterinburg.

See March 2020 Chess Ratings below >


Fabiano Caruana sitting at chessboard #2 in World March 2020

USA’s Fabiano Caruana

#2 Rated Chess Player in the World

USA’s Fabiano Caruana the #2 rated chess player in world is just 20 points behind Magnus Carlsen in the February 2020 World Chess Ratings!

Fabiano must win the Candidates Tournament to challenge Magnus in the World Chess Championship match in November 2020.

Fabiano challenged Magnus in the 2018 World Chess Championship in a 12-game match in London, and played to 12 draws in Classical Chess, only to lose the match in a Rapid Chess tiebreak playoff.


Norway’s Magnus Carlsen

Rated 2862!

Born: November 30, 1990 (age 29 years) in Tønsberg, Norway

Magnus Carlsen hand to face Ding Liren behind him over left shoulder

After winning the World Blitz Chess Championship in December 2019, Magnus now holds all three titles–the Classical Chess, Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess Champion!

Will Magnus reach 2900 in 2020?

38-points to go!

Top 10 Players in World – March 2020

Ratings 1-10 March 2020


Top 10 Women in World – March 2020

#1 – China’s Yifan Hou

Hou Yifan 2020 at chessboard

Yifan Hou

Rated 2658

Born: February 27, 1994 (age 26 years) in Xinghua, China


Top 10 Women in World – March 2020

Ratings 1-10 Women March 2020

Overall, at 2658 Hou Yifan is now the #87 strongest rated chess player in the world!

Hou Yifan Relinquishes Title!

Hou Yifan relinquished her Women’s World Chess Champion title in 2018 to pursue her studies at Oxford, and played only a few Classical Chess games in 2019.


2020 Women’s World Chess Championship

The 2020 Women’s World Chess Championship between champion China’s Ju Wenjun and her challenger, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina, took place in January 2020 in two parts–one part held in Shanghai, China and one part in Vladivostok, Russia.

Ju Wenjun and Aleksandra each won 3 games and drew 6 games in the exciting match of 12 Classical Chess games, which ended in a tie.

However, Ju defeated Aleksandra in a Rapid Chess tiebreak playoff to retain her title!

Ju Wenjun

Game 3 champion Ju Wenjun under pressure pawn behind at chessboard in chair

Women’s World Chess Champion
China’s Ju Wenjun

#3 Rated: 2583


Aleksandra Goryachikina

Aleksandra Goryachkina in white sitting at chess board behind black pieces.

Challenger
Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachikina

#4 Rated: 2579


How to Improve YOUR Chess Rating!

Thank you for your support!

Available Now

 

Beginner’s Book – Chess Rules For Students

Chess Rules For Students workbook

Chess Rules For Students is a workbook for students learning the game of chess and for beginning students returning to the game. No previous knowledge of chess is necessary. Parents unfamiliar with chess will find this booklet a valuable guide to their child’s new interest.

Chess Rules For Students is designed with students, coaches, and parents in mind. Reading level is appropriate for grade-school use. All major rules of chess are covered, and algebraic notation worksheets are included. Each page is in easy-to-use worksheet format.

A student-friendly Answer Key makes self-correction fun!


 

Beginners & Intermediate Book – Checkmate! Ideas For Students

Checkmate! Ideas For Students

Checkmate! Ideas For Students is a workbook for beginning and intermediate students. Checkmate! covers the tactics used in checkmate attacks with clear explanations, diagrams and arrows to pinpoint the key features.

Unlike many other basic checkmate books, Checkmate! categorizes the checkmates by the tactics used to force the checkmate–like Pins, Sacrifices, Removing the Guard, Attraction, Clearance and Attacking Flight Squares–rather than only the checkmate pattern itself.

The worksheets and Answer Key are clear and simple for the student to use, and easy for the parent, teacher and coach to correct! Fun!


 

Intermediate & Advanced Book – Chess Tactics For Students

Chess Tactics For Students workbook

Chess Tactics For Students contains 434 carefully selected problems in worksheet format.

Chess Tactics has been extensively field tested with elementary, middle-school, and high-school students over a four-year period. This book is ideal for independent seat work as well as for homework and classroom instruction.

The worksheet format and Answer Key enable self-correction with minimal dependence or direct help from a chess teacher, coach, or parent.


Chess for Students Shop Now

SOLVE A PUZZLE & WIN!

Solve a chess puzzle, enter the weekly drawing as often as you like, and win awesome prizes! Winners’ prizes are listed below. If you don’t win this week, try again next week! New puzzles are posted daily!

CHESS PUZZLES WEEKLY PRIZES

Below are the weekly prizes we send out! If you don’t win, try again the following week for your chance to win! Click on the prize to learn more about it.

Checkmate In One Prize
Chess Rules For Students Workbook
An instructional workbook designed for students learning the game of chess. Click here to learn more!
Checkmate In Two Prize
Checkmate! Ideas For Students
An instructional workbook containing tactics in worksheet format used to checkmate--like Pins, Sacrifices, Removing the Guard, Attraction, Clearance, and Attacking Flight Squares!
Checkmate In Three Prize
Chess Tactics For Students
An instructional workbook containing 434 carefully selected problems presented in worksheet format.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This