Courtyard Chess

08/21/2026

08/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EwYNz39e5/

Today is Maurice Ashley Day in the town of Brookhaven! Thank you for all you do for the community of chess!

08/19/2026

One draw away from her first GM norm!

16-year-old Alice Lee enters the final round of the Cairns Cup needing just a draw to secure the first GM norm of her career!

Alice, a student of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, has been having a fantastic tournament in Saint Louis. Now, one final game stands between her and a huge milestone.

And there is even more motivation for the next generation of American women in chess. In 2024, Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield created the Cairns Chess Queens Award, offering $100,000 to each of up to five eligible U.S. women who earn the GM title by July 4, 2029. 🇺🇸🏆

Alice still has a journey ahead to earn the full GM title, but today could be a very important first step.

Let’s wish Alice the best of luck in the final round!

08/19/2026

Wesley So is the Champion of Sinquefield Cup 2026! After tying for the top spot with Praggnanandhaa, both scoring 5.5/9 points, Wesley So went on to defeat Praggnanandhaa in the playoffs.

Thanks to Wesley’s amazing performance here and consistent performance across all GCT events, Wesley has qualified to the Grand Chess Tour Finals! Wesley is now World no.5 with a live rating of 2772.7.

Graphic: Anmol Bhargav

08/10/2026

08/09/2026

GM Alice Lee is the youngest ever winner of the Women's Speed Chess Championship after winning the final two bullet games to clinch an 11.5-9.5 victory over women's number-one GM Hou Yifan.

08/09/2026

08/02/2026

Grateful for a Successful Tournament yesterday at Saint Rosalie’s Community Center!
Thank you to all for participating and supporting the great game of chess! We look forward to seeing you all at the next one TBA.
Special thanks to Father Maddaloni for providing the space and for always supporting the youth!

05/13/2026

Faustino Oro, the ‘Messi of chess,’ becomes second-youngest GM in history 🔥

🇦🇷 Faustino Oro, often hailed as the “Messi of chess,” achieved a historic milestone in his chess career, becoming the second-youngest Grandmaster in history!
Born on October 14, 2013, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Faustino was introduced to chess at the age of six by his father – a chess enthusiast and active member of the local chess community. This happened during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in May 2020. He quickly mastered the game’s fundamentals, displaying extraordinary talent, and soon began formal lessons – supplemented by online training sessions.

Faustino’s rapid ascent includes breaking multiple age-related records, such as the youngest player to achieve a 2300 rating, the highest-rated 11-year-old in history, and the youngest player to attain an IM norm (later broken by Ethan Pang). He was ten when he beat reigning world number one Magnus Carlsen in an online bullet game, in a clip that went viral within hours. Faustino became an IM at the age of 10 years, 8 months and 16 days (another record, later broken by Roman Shodzhiev). At eleven, he became the first under-12 in chess history to cross 2500, a rating reached by fewer than 200 active players in the world. In November of last year, at twelve, he became the youngest player ever to win a match at the FIDE World Cup.

Read more: https://www.fide.com/faustino-oro-the-messi-of-chess-becomes-second-youngest-gm-in-history/

05/04/2026

Congratulations Bridgehampton Recreation Childcare Center Chess Club! I am so very proud of each of you! This was your first tournament and you all were amazing! Let this be a learning experience and spring board! BRAVO 🙌🏾 ♟️