2021 in chess

The 2021 chess calendar was again disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and because of this many chess OTB tournaments were stopped, but major events that took place included the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, won by Jorden van Foreest.

The Candidates Tournament 2020–21, disrupted by the pandemic, concluded on 27 April 2021. It was won by Ian Nepomniachtchi.

In November, Nepomniachtchi subsequently faced defending champion Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship title in Dubai, UAE during Expo 2020. Carlsen won the match 71⁄2–31⁄2 to retain the title with three games to spare and become a five-time world champion.

The International Chess Federation, FIDE, admitted four new member federations: Dominica, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Niger, and Belize.

2021 tournaments
This is a list of significant 2021 chess tournaments:

Deaths

 * 14 January – Yrjö Rantanen
 * 15 January – Gildardo García
 * 18 January – Lubomir Kavalek
 * 13 March – Nikola Spiridonov
 * 1 June – Román Hernández Onna
 * 1 July – Yury Dokhoian
 * 28 July – István Csom
 * 18 August – Evgeny Sveshnikov
 * 11 October – Boris Pineda
 * 14 November – Marek Vokáč
 * 19 December – Boško Abramović
 * 31 December – Gábor Kállai