The Hot Girl Summer of 2025 is giving way to the Sizzling Chess Summer of 2026, at least for fans of the Royal Game here in the DMV.
Colombian GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez and U.S. GM Santiago Avila Pavas shared first place in the Open section at last week’s highly successful 13th Cherry Blossom Classic in Sterling, Virginia, both finishing at 7½-1½ to top a field that included more than three dozen titled players.
And that was just the auspicious opening act for what will be a packed summer of Grand Prix tournaments in the region. Summer 2026 is shaping up to be one of the busiest in memory, with three top-flight events on tap, all of which we will be following closely in this space.
First and foremost, the 54th World Open is temporarily vacating its traditional Philadelphia venue and will be held this year at the District’s Omni Shoreham Hotel, July 1-5. Annually one of the strongest and most lucrative open events on the American chess calendar, the World Open also features a number of side events, lectures and other opportunities to compete while in town.
Just before the tournament kickoff, the D.C. Chess Association will be staging its 4th annual D.C. International tournament June 25-29 at the Omni Shoreham, as well as the D.C. Open.
Just three weeks after the World Open wraps up, the Maryland Chess Association will host the 13th running of the Washington International at the Rockville Hilton in Rockville, Maryland. This increasingly popular nine-round Swiss event this year features a record prize fund of $51,000.
And it wouldn’t be a real chess summer in Washington if we didn’t have the Continental Chess Association’s traditional Atlantic Open, the 54th edition of which will also be held at the Omni Shoreham from Aug. 21-23. Information on the tournament put on by Continental — which is also organizing the World Open — can be found online at chessevents.com.
For a full roster of upcoming rated events both local and national, the best place to start is the U.S. Chess Federation’s tournament calendar on its website at new.uschess.org.
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A critical moment in the Cherry Blossom Classic came in the Round 8 showdown between Corrales and GM Titas Stremavicius. It was the Lithuanian grandmaster’s only loss in the event, and it might just be one of the best games played this year. A double-edged position arises out of a Classical French Defense, with Corrales as White sacrificing a pawn to open lines to the Black king in the center.
The play is already razor-sharp after 18. b4 Bd7!? 19. Qg4! (White stays on the attack; 19. bxc5 Qxc5+ 20. Qe3 Qxc3 recovers the piece for Black) Kc7 20. Rf7 Rhf8 21. Rxg7 Rf4. If Stremavicius can get his king to safe harbor, he stands a very good chance in the endgame.
But White finds a string of startling blows to keep his attack alive: 23. cxd3 Qb6+ 24. d4!! (dashing Black’s hopes of 24. Kh1 Qf2!, forcing trades and taking the sting out of Corrales’ attack) Qxd4+ 25. Kh1 Qf2 (see diagram), and here 26. Nxd5+!! (Qxf2? Rxf2 27. Rxh7 Rg8, and Black has all the play) exd5 27. Qc3+!! caps a magnificent string of attacking hammer blows.
The queen check seems harmless at first glance, but it turns out White is weaving a brilliant mating net. A shocked Stremvicius sportingly lets his opponent play things out to a satisfying conclusion with 27…Kd8 (my favorite variation, noted by White after the game, was been 27…Kd6 [Kb8 28. Re8+!] 28. Qe5+ Kc6 29. Qe6+!! Bxe6 30. Rxe6 mate; losing more prosaically was 27…Rc4 28. Qe5+ Kb6 29. Rxd7) 28. Re8+! (Corrales called this position “beautiful geometry) Bxe8 29. Qc7 mate.
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The month of May this year featured a blue moon and something far, far rarer: three losses at classical time controls by former world champion Magnus Carlsen, who is still the world’s top-rated player despite voluntarily relinquishing his crown three years ago.
Carlsen put Norway on the chess map when he first captured the title in 2013, but he has not always been at his incomparable best when playing before the local fans. His struggles continued at this year’s Norway Chess 2026 tournament, with losses already to French GM Firouzja Alireza, India’s GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and American GM Wesley So. “Maybe that’s his weakness, defending his home court,” So joked after their game.
It was only So’s second win ever at classical time controls against Carlsen, and he appears to adopt the ex-champ’s own style to do it. Black patiently maneuvers in this closed Giuoco Piano line, probing the White position as Carlsen’s position grows more and more uncomfortable.
Black’s nagging initiative after 30. Rb3 Nfg6 31. Nf1 Nxh4 32. Qxh4 f5! turns into a clear edge after a slight lapse by White just at the time control: 37. Kg2 Rxf3 38. Rbxf3 gxf3+ 39. Rxf3? (Kh3, leaving the pawn to be captured at a later date, would have kept White in the game) Qxb2+ 40. Kh3 Qd4!, and it turns out Black will have a winning endgame after the queens and rooks come off the board.
Once it gets to the e5-square, So’s far more agile knight will find plenty of targets on White’s queenside. Carlsen, by contrast, has no good way to exploit his own two-to-one pawn majority on the kingside. In the final position, after 57. Kc2 Kxd5 58. g5 Ke5, 59. Nxd2 Nxd2 60. Kxd2 Kf5, Black’s king corrals the passed pawn and leaves White helpless against the march of Black’s central pawns. Carlsen resigned.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Corrales-Stremavicius, 13th Cherry Blossom Open, Sterling, Virginia, May 2026
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 a6 8. Nf3 c5 9. dxc5 Nc6 10. Bd3 Nxc5 11. O-O b5 12. a3 f5 13. exf6 Qxf6 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. fxe5 Qxe5 16. Qf3 Kd8 17. Rae1 Qd6 18. b4 Bd7 19. Qg4 Kc7 20. Rf7 Rhf8 21. Rxg7 Rf4 22. Qg3 Nxd3 23. cxd3 Qb6+ 24. d4 Qxd4+ 25. Kh1 Qf2 26. Nxd5+ exd5 27. Qc3+ Kd8 28. Re8+ Bxe8 29. Qc7 mate.
Carlsen-So, Norway Chess 2026, Oslo, Norway, May 2026
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 d6 7. c3 a5 8. O-O O-O 9. Nbd2 Ba7 10. a4 g5 11. Bg3 Kg7 12. Re1 g4 13. Nh4 Nh5 14. Nf1 Qg5 15. Ne3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Nf4 17. Qe1 Be6 18. f3 h5 19. Bb5 Ne7 20. d4 f6 21. Rd1 Neg6 22. Rd2 Rf7 23. Kh1 Kh7 24. d5 Bd7 25. Bxd7 Rxd7 26. Nf5 Ne7 27. Bh4 Qg6 28. Ng3 Qh6 29. c4 Rf8 30. Rb3 Nfg6 31. Nf1 Nxh4 32. Qxh4 f5 33. Qe1 fxe4 34. Qxe4+ Ng6 35. g3 Rdf7 36. Rf2 Qc1 37. Kg2 Rxf3 38. Rbxf3 gxf3+ 39. Rxf3 Qxb2+ 40. Kh3 Qd4 41. Qxd4 exd4 42. Rxf8 Nxf8 43. Kg2 Nd7 44. Nd2 Ne5 45. h3 Kg6 46. Kf2 Kg5 47. Kf1 Kf6 48. Kf2 Nd3+ 49. Ke2 Nb2 50. Nb3 Ke5 51. Nxa5 Ke4 52. g4 hxg4 53. hxg4 d3+ 54. Kd2 b6 55. Nb3 Nxc4+ 56. Kc3 d2 57. Kc2 Kxd5 58. g5 Ke5 White resigns.
• Got a hot tip or a cool game to share? David R. Sands can be reached at davidrsands18@gmail.com.
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