Chess Base

• Hikaru Nakamura to face Formula One star Charles Leclerc in strategy-game challenge

  Hikaru Nakamura will face Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc in a strategy-game challenge in Monza on 1 September, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. The pair will compete at Se!ze, a chess-inspired game developed with Leclerc's involvement. The event adds another chapter to the Monégasque driver's documented interest in chess, following earlier encounters involving Carlos Sainz and GM Teimour Radjabov. | Photo: Chivas Regal

• Pranesh M wins Kanizsa Open

  GM Pranesh Munirethinam won Group A (2200+) of the 2026 Kanizsa Open with 7 points from 9 games. In the final round, Pranesh obtained a full point in his game against IM Vadym Petrovskiy. IM Or Bronstein, GM Andrei Volokitin and GM Karthik Venkataraman finished on the same score and took second to fourth places respectively on tiebreaks. Top seed Matthias Bluebaum could only manage 21st place. The 16-year-old German junior Mykola Korchynskyi finished ten places ahead of the Candidates Tournament participant. | | Photo: Tushar Damor / Chennai Grand Masters

• Clutch Chess: Kasparov to face Topalov in 12-game chess960 match

  Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov will meet in Saint Louis from 11 to 13 September for Clutch Chess: The Legends. The two former members of the sport's elite will contest a 12-game chess960 match, with the value of wins increasing on each successive day. The encounter follows Kasparov's 2025 victory over Viswanathan Anand and revisits a rivalry that also featured a chess960 match in Saint Louis in 2018.