Smashes, rallies, and checkmates: Padel hits the Candidates
Padel is a fast-growing racket sport, particularly popular in Spain and increasingly gaining traction worldwide. Played in doubles on an enclosed court where the walls are part of the game, it combines elements of both tennis and squash. The sport emphasizes quick reflexes, agility, positioning, and team coordination. It is highly social and generally easier to pick up than tennis, making it accessible to newcomers. While padel keeps your body sharp, chess sharpens the mind, together offering a perfect balance, as one enhances reaction speed and coordination, while the other strengthens decision-making and focus. For the second rest day, the organizing team arranged a padel tournament, which quickly captured the interest of players, their seconds, commentators, the media team, and even friends and family. It provided a great opportunity to socialize while engaging in light physical activity. For many participants, it was their first time on a padel court, and judging by their enthusiasm, it would not be surprising to see them playing more often during the second half of the event. A total of sixteen teams (32 players) took part, including Candidates Fabiano Caruana and Andrey Esipenko, who teamed up with their seconds Cristian Chirila and David Paravyan. Anna Muzychuk joined Ivan Cheparinov to form another strong “chess-heavy” pair. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich also made a brief appearance in the opening round before attending to other responsibilities. The teams were divided into two groups in the initial stage, with the top performers advancing to the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and ultimately the final. After more than two hours of intense competition, the duo of Pavel Tregubov and Konstantin Kiselev emerged victorious, defeating Peter Svidler and Michael Rahal in the final. Written by IM Michael A. Rahal (Cyprus) Photos: Yoav Nis (Eugene Nisenbaum)
Vincent Keymer wins Freestyle Chess Open, secures spot in FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2027
Vincent Keymer has won the Freestyle Chess Open A at the grenke Chess Festival in Karlsruhe. The German grandmaster finished tied on points with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) but secured first place on tiebreak after a short draw in their direct encounter in Round 9. Both players ended ahead of a chasing group led by world number one Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian remained within reach throughout the final day but did not manage to overtake the leaders. With this result, Keymer qualifies for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2027 and earns €60,000 in prize money. He joins world champion Magnus Carlsen, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), and Fabiano Caruana (USA), who had already secured their spots through the 2026 World Championship. In the women’s race, Harika Dronavalli of India, Alua Nurman of Kazakhstan (pictured above), and Dinara Wagner of Germany claimed the three qualification spots for the FIDE Freestyle Chess Women’s World Championship 2027. All three finished on 6.0 points, ahead of a tightly packed group of eight players on 5.5, undescoring how close the race remained until the final round. A full report will be available in the news section of Freestyle Chess website. Photos: Freestyle Chess Official website: https://www.freestyle-chess.com/
World University Team Chess Championship to be held in Kazakhstan
Best university teams will meet in Almaty this August to compete for the title of FIDE World University Team Chess Champion. The event is governed by FIDE and organised by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, together with Almaty city administration and support from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Sports and Tourism. The competition has three stages. It begins with Online Swiss Qualifiers, followed by an Online Knockout stage. The over-the-board finals will then take place in Almaty from 3 to 10 August 2026. There will be two online Swiss Qualifiers. The registration deadlines are 27 April 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC for teams participating in Online Swiss Qualifier 1, and 4 May 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC for teams participating in Online Swiss Qualifier 2. The finals will feature 16 teams – eight that have qualified from the knockout, and eight wild cards, invited by FIDE and the organiser. The tournament features an inclusive team concept – each match will be played on four boards and lineups must include at least one female and at least one male player. Participation is open to university teams, with players born between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2008 and currently enrolled in at least one class at the university. The winning team will become the FIDE World University Team Champion and receive a prize of €25,000. The team finishing second will be awarded €15,000, while third-place will receive €10,000. “In the year which FIDE has dedicated to chess in education, the first University World Team Championship is a significant milestone in promoting our sport. We have seen chess enjoy a sharp rise in popularity among younger audiences and this is an opportunity for the game to get more people involved. FIDE is fortunate to have the Kazakhstan Chess Federation as our partners and we are looking forward to a successful event,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President. “Kazakhstan has already established itself as a reliable venue for international FIDE tournaments. Hosting the first-ever World University Team Chess Championship will be a special honour and responsibility for us. Events of this kind open new horizons for inter-university cooperation: they create a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the development of long-term partnerships between leading universities around the world,” said Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. In recent years, Kazakhstan has become a regional hub for education and science, and staging a championship of this scale is yet another confirmation of that progress. “We are grateful to our President for creating all the conditions necessary for tournaments of this level in Kazakhstan, and to the Akimat of Almaty for its unwavering support of the national chess movement. For our part, we will make every effort to ensure that the upcoming tournament is organised at the highest level,” Turlov added. Team registration is held here: https://worlduniversities2026.fide.com For more information, please email worlduniversity@fide.com. Official website: https://worlduniversities2026.fide.com