Chess Bundesliga: Newcomer Wolfhagen surprises with a double victory!

Chess Bundesliga: Newcomer Wolfhagen surprises with a double victory!

In the 2025/26 Chess Bundesliga, which has been taking place since September 27th and runs until April 26th, 2026, spectators are currently experiencing exciting competitions. Three teams share the lead in the table after collecting maximum points in the first and second rounds. Among the leading teams are the newly promoted Schachfreunde Wolfhagen, who celebrated impressive victories. They won both against USV TU Dresden (5½-2½) and against Schachfreunde Berlin (5½-2½) reports ChessBase.

A notable aspect of Wolfhagen's success is the leadership of experienced Ukrainian grandmasters, including former FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov. SC Viernheim, champions two seasons ago, were also able to hold their own. They won against Schachfreunde Berlin with 5½-2½ and against Dresden even with 6-2.

Performance of the favorites

OSG Baden-Baden, another strong team, is also performing well. They defeated St. Pauli 5-3 and Hamburg 6-2. In the duel between the top players, Vincent Keymer, one of the most famous German chess players, played a draw against his competitor Frederik Svane and thus secured important points for his team. The defending champions Düsseldorfer SK had a bumpy start: after a narrow 4½-3½ win over Deggendorf, they had to settle for a 4-4 draw against Bayern Munich in the second round. Since Düsseldorfer SK has been playing in the Bundesliga, they have only lost two points , says Chessdom.

This season the Bundesliga not only offers exciting games, but also some of the best chess players in the world. Players like Magnus Carlsen (FC St. Pauli) and Fabiano Caruana (OSG Baden-Baden) are among the prominent participants who enrich the league. Other well-known names include Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who play for SC Viernheim, as well as Levon Aronian and Richard Rapport from the ranks of OSG Baden-Baden.

Table and outlook

The league consists of 16 teams that compete in a round-robin tournament. The time control is 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by an additional 30 minutes and 30 seconds per move. This ensures exciting and strategically challenging games until the end , reports ChessBase.

With intense duels and a top-class field of players, the 2025/26 season promises to be an unforgettable chess event. The current results and developments are followed with excitement by the fans.