Chess News for Beginners: Firouzja, Carlsen, and a Big Festival

Alireza Firouzja: A Super Talent with Some Bumps

Alireza Firouzja is a 23‑year‑old chess grandmaster (that’s the highest title for a chess player). He was born in Iran and now plays for France.

• He just won a big fast‑chess event called the Croatia Super Rapid and Blitz in Zagreb, organized by St Louis.
• He was far ahead at the start of the last day, but then had a rough patch, scoring only 2 wins out of 7 final games.
• He still took the trophy thanks to a special sudden‑death game called an Armageddon tie‑break (where one player has less time and must win to not lose).

Important: Alireza’s career has been held back by weak results in the Candidates – a special tournament that decides who gets to challenge for the world championship.

• In 2022, he hurt his chances by playing fast late‑night blitz games and being too tired.
• In 2024, he did even worse, finishing 7th out of 8 players.
• In 2025, he tried hard to qualify through the Grand Swiss in Samarkand. He hired the late Daniel Naroditsky (a coach who has since passed away) to help him. He finished third, but only the top two could qualify. At the victory ceremony, the third‑place podium was left empty.

A New Championship That Might Help Him

A fresh competition called the Total World Championship is being organized by Norway. It will mix three speeds of chess:

• Fast classical: 45 minutes per player for the whole game.
• Rapid: a quicker version.
• Blitz: super‑quick chess.

A test event will be held in October 2026, and a full tour in 2027. This mixed format should give Alireza a better chance to become world champion.

A Cool Chess Puzzle

Here is a puzzle from a real game in 1996 (White to move and win):

Puzzle 4032: Eric Lobron (White) vs Pablo Ricardi (Black), Germany vs Argentina, Yerevan Olympiad 1996.

The winning sequence is:

1. Rbd1 (White moves rook) … Black replies Qc3
2. e6! (White pushes pawn) … Black captures fxe6
3. Qxe6+ (White queen takes with check) … Black king moves Kh8
4. Qf7! (White queen moves) … Black plays Rf4
5. Qxf4! (White queen takes rook) and White wins.

Another Young Star: Javokhir Sindarov

• Javokhir Sindarov won the 2026 Candidates tournament.
• He showed again that he is currently the best young player of his generation – even ahead of Alireza – by winning the rapid and blitz events at the Naroditsky Memorial in Charlotte (held over the Independence Day weekend).

Magnus Carlsen: 15 Years at the Top

Magnus Carlsen is a 35‑year‑old Norwegian grandmaster.

• He has now been the world’s No. 1 player for 15 unbroken years in the official monthly ratings by FIDE (the world chess organization).
• He recently played not‑so‑well in Oslo, finishing a disappointing 4th out of 6, but that barely changed his lead of more than 30 rating points over the next players, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura (both from the USA).

Important: Magnus’s long reign had a little luck. In his 2018 world title match against Caruana, all the slow games were draws (6‑6). Magnus won the quick‑play tie‑break. In game 6, Caruana actually had a forced checkmate (a guaranteed win) that would take 58 moves – impossible for a human to spot during the game!

Chasing the Highest Score

• Magnus passed the old rating record of Garry Kasparov (2851 points).
• He tried three times to reach 2900 points (like reaching the South Pole or Everest in difficulty) but found it too hard.
• His best moment was early 2019, including a beautiful win against Alexander Grischuk.

Kasparov vs Carlsen: Who Is the Best Ever?

• Kasparov was No. 1 from 1986 to 2006 (except one 1996 list where Kramnik had the same rating but played more games). Kramnik beat Kasparov in London in 2000 to become champion.
• Kasparov faced super‑strong rival Karpov in five title matches. Their 48‑game series in 1984‑85 was epic; Kasparov was behind 1‑5 after six games but held on through a long Moscow winter. His win in the final game of their next match is considered one of the best ever.
• Rarely are both finalists at peak form (examples: Capablanca vs Alekhine 1927, Botvinnik vs Smyslov). All five Kasparov‑Karpov matches were top quality; only Carlsen’s match vs Caruana was similarly high‑level.

The debate on the greatest will continue even if Magnus matches Kasparov’s 20 years in 2031. New young challengers may appear and risk Magnus’s legacy.

Remembering Jimmy Adams

Jimmy Adams, who edited Chess magazine for nearly 20 years and wrote praised books about many old chess masters (Zukertort, Chigorin, Breyer, Keres, Flohr, Boleslavsky), has died at age 79. His friend Sarah Hurst wrote his obituary.

Free Chess Festival in London

• ChessFest in Trafalgar Square takes place on Sunday 12 July from noon to 7 pm.
• It is completely free for everyone, from beginner to expert.
• England’s top players and young talents will be there.

Summary

In this article we learned:

• Alireza Firouzja won a fast‑chess event but has struggled in qualifying tournaments; a new mixed‑speed championship may help him.
• A 1996 chess puzzle showed a clever winning sequence.
• Javokhir Sindarov is currently the top young star.
• Magnus Carlsen has been world No. 1 for 15 years, with some luck, and is compared to Kasparov.
• We remembered Jimmy Adams and invited everyone to a free chess fest in London.

FAQ

Q1: What is the Candidates tournament?
A: It’s a special contest where the best players fight to earn the right to play the world champion for the title.

Q2: What is blitz chess?
A: It’s a version of chess where each player has only a few minutes for all moves, so they must think super fast.

Q3: Who is Garry Kasparov?
A: He is a famous Russian chess player who was the world’s top‑rated player for many years before Carlsen.

Q4: What is an Armageddon tie‑break?
A: It’s a final game where one player has less time but must win (or sometimes draw) to take the prize; if they lose, the other wins.

Q5: How can I join ChessFest?
A: Just go to Trafalgar Square in London on July 12 between noon and 7 pm; it’s free and open to all skill levels.