C-Squared Podcast

Fabi and Cristian break down the biggest stories in chess right now. Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus becomes the youngest player ever to cross 2700, smashing Wei Yi's record by nearly a year after a dominant 5-1 demolition of Topalov in Monte Carlo. Hans Niemann is back in the Grand Chess Tour with a wildcard slot in Warsaw. And Take Take Take's new Lichess partnership puts Magnus's app on a collision course with Chess.com.
Episode sponsored by our friends at https://www.chessreps.com/ — the fastest way to learn openings and actually remember them. Train smarter, play sharper.

The 2026 Candidates is over, and Javokhir Sindarov is heading to the World Championship match against Gukesh. Fabi breaks down Sindarov's magical run and insane opening prep, reflects on his own Candidates dream, and weighs in on Hikaru's opening disaster, the state of Titled Tuesday, and who takes the title in Gukesh vs Sindarov. Episode sponsored by our friends at https://www.chessreps.com/
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00:00 Intro 00:28 Sindarov's Magic 05:28 Fabi vs Sindarov 07:28 Sindarov Stays Consistent Until The End 10:48 Fabi's Candidates Dream 23:28 Sindarov's Insane Prep 27:38 Hikaru Blames His Seconds For Opening Disaster 32:08 Titled Tuesday Is Dead 32:42 Gukesh Vs Sindarov Predictions

Fabi gets real about Gukesh's controversial cheating comments, reveals how his Candidates camp is shaping up, and we dive into the E-Sports World Cup threatening to clash with the Grand Chess Tour. Plus: Why are Super GMs suddenly playing in open tournaments? And our full Prague Masters preview.
📌 The 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament starts March 29 in Cyprus. Fabi plays White against Hikaru Nakamura in Round 1, an All American Clash!
🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes as we count down to the Candidates!
♟️Play With Us: https://www.chess.com/join/csqpod?ref_id=207174611
Episode sponsored by our friends at https://www.chessreps.com/
👕MERCH: https://c-squared.shop/
🌐 Website: https://c2pod.com/
☕Buy Us A Coffee : buymeacoffee.com/c2pod
🐦Twitter/X : https://x.com/CSQpod
📸Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/csqpod/
💬Discord : https://discord.gg/XeP3tENMTr

The boys connect to talk about the biggest news of the week. The chaotic Speed Chess Championship is over, and we unpack everything that happed in London, and much more. Episode sponsored by our friends at https://www.chessreps.com/ ♟️Play With Us: https://www.chess.com/join/csqpod?ref_id=207174611 👕MERCH: https://c-squared.shop/ 🌐 Website: https://c2pod.com/ ☕Buy Us A Coffee : buymeacoffee.com/c2pod 🐦Twitter/X : https://x.com/CSQpod 📸Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/csqpod/ 💬Discord : https://discord.gg/XeP3tENMTr 00:00 Intro 00:35 Overview of last week 03:15 Tata Steel Recap 15:02 Tata Steel B Group 22:50 Polgar Netflix Documentary 24:20 Speed Chess Championship Review 46:00 Grand Chess Tour VS Esports World Cup Clash #magnuscarlsen #fabianocaruana #speedchess

♟️Play With Us: https://www.chess.com/join/csqpod?ref_id=207174611
👕MERCH: https://c-squared.shop/
🌐 Website: https://c2pod.com/
☕Buy Us A Coffee : buymeacoffee.com/c2pod
🐦Twitter/X : https://x.com/CSQpod
📸Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/csqpod/
💬Discord : https://discord.gg/XeP3tENMTr
00:00 Intro 00:42 Comeback 03:30 Grand Slam & Wimbeldon of Chess 04:44 Wijk aan zee History 07:50 Chess has become a young sport 16:00 Strongest 15 years old 26:55 Chess Engine Power 33:44 Candidates performance in Tata Steel 37:24 Who win Tata Steel? 45:25 Gukesh Blundered 52:45 Fabi reveals his Candidates Prep 56:49 Freestyle World Championship #chess #fabianocaruana #tatasteelchess