World Chess Weekly: Russia Row Explodes, Oro Edges Closer And Baby Hikaru Born
It's been a momentous seven days in chess. Truly historic.
Over the board, IM Faustino Oro stunned the world—again. In India the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2025 also got under way, and a surprise announcement was made.
But the sport has taken a back seat this week to the politics surrounding it.
A fundamental decision made at the FIDE General Assembly threw chess into the global headlines again, for all the wrong reasons, and set the scene for a series of battles next year. Here's the week that was:
That Meeting
Chess found itself in the eye of an international storm this week after a controversial decision made at the annual FIDE General Assembly.
The meeting brings together representatives from 200 chess federations worldwide. It should be a moment to celebrate the game.
But two votes which sanctioned the return of Russian teams to international competition in 2026 instead led to deep divisions being exposed. FIDE couldn't event agree what those two votes meant. It's not pretty.
You can read about this growing furore and what it means for next year's tournament schedule in full in our report of the meeting and the subsequent interventions by the English and Norwegian chess federations.
Incredible Oro
The boy wonder did it. IM Faustino Oro won his second grandmaster norm on Tuesday at the Magistral Szmetan–Giardelli tournament in Argentina.
The 12-year-old is now just one step away from becoming the youngest GM in history.
The world is watching. Oro has until March 11 to get his third and final norm to break the record. Go Faustino!
Watch Out, Folks
In more heart-warming news, world number-two GM Hikaru Nakamura revealed his wife WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan has had a baby boy.
Nakamura, who also turned 38 last week, told the world in a recap after his game against World Champion GM Gukesh D in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League.
He later posted on X about it, and was congratulated by none other than GM Garry Kasparov.
In October, Pourkashiyan put an inspirational performance at the U.S. Chess Championships in Saint Louis while seven months pregnant. The 37-year-old Iranian-American toppled reigning U.S. Women’s Champion and top seed Carissa Yip.
The "mini Hikaru" comes two months after world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen and his wife, Ella Victoria Carlsen, welcomed their first child, also a boy, on September 27.
Carlsen and Nakamura's children born just two months apart? If they follow in their fathers' footsteps that's going to be an incredible rivalry!
Headlines From The Week
- Chess Federations From England, Norway And Ukraine Stand Up To FIDE Over Return Of Russian Teams
- 'Messi Of Chess' Faustino Oro Is On The Brink Of Breaking Youngest Ever Grandmaster Record
- Guinea, The Marshall Islands And Kiribati Welcomed Into The FIDE Fold (And Burkino Faso Welcomed Back)
- Chess World Left In Limbo As FIDE's Russia Vote Ends In Chaos And Confusion