Chess Base

• Vaishali wins Women's Grand Swiss for a second time in a row, Lagno reaches Candidates

  Vaishali Rameshbabu won her second consecutive Women's Grand Swiss, scoring 8/11 and edging Kateryna Lagno on tiebreaks to take first place. Both players secured qualification to the 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament. In the final round, Vaishali held Tan Zhongyi to a draw with black, while Lagno drew safely against Ulviyya Fataliyeva. Bibisara Assaubayeva missed a chance to join them in a three-way tie for first, settling for third place despite an undefeated run in Samarkand. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

• Leonard Barden, going strong at 96

  Seventy years ago, on September 8, 1955, a column appeared in the Manchester Guardian, about a Russian teenager, Boris Spassky. It was written by a budding young chess master from Croydon. Leonard Barden went on to become one of Britain's strongest chess players – and a columnist who has set a Guinness World Record. | Photo John Saunders

• Grand Swiss - Live!

  The FIDE Grand Swiss is taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 4-15 September. An open event and a women's event are being played concurrently. Both tournaments are 11-round Swiss opens with classical time controls. Each tournament grants two spots in the next edition of the Candidates. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST)