Gukesh receives Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award for Vantika Agrawal

17/01/2025 -

D Gukesh became the 18th World Chess Champion by defeating Ding Liren (CHN). He is also the youngest world champion determined in a match format. After, Vishy Anand, Gukesh became the second Indian to become a World Champion. Before that, he also won double Gold at 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. IM Vantika Agrawal won double Gold at 45th Chess Olympiad Women. Both Gukesh and Vantika won individual and team Gold. Vantika also won a Team Silver medal at 19th Asian Games 2022 held in China in 2023. Gukesh was conferred with Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024. Vantika received Arjuna Award 2024. Photo: President of India twitter

Anish Gandhi dominates Bhilwara Rating Open 2024

17/01/2025 -

CM Anish Gandhi scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win Bhilwara Rating Open 2024. He finished a full point ahead of the competition. Saikat Nath scored sole 7.5/9 to secure second place. Seven players scored 7/9 each. Out of them, Aman Balana secured third place. However, he won the Best Below 1799 prize. Rewansh Vaidya won the overall third prize. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹600000. The top three prizes were ₹75000, ₹50000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each respectively. The six-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by District Chess Association Bhilwara at Sri Mahesh Vatika in Bhilwara, Rajasthan from 24th to 29th December 2024. This is Anish's second overall and sole rating tournament triumph in 2024. Photo: Ajay Kumar Gupta / District Chess Association, Bhilwara

Vishy Anand and D Gukesh in a new Myntra FWD ad

17/01/2025 -

On 16th January 2025, fwd by Myntra released an 80 second ad featuring Vishy Anand and D Gukesh. An ad featuring two world champions from India is undoubtedly the most talked about thing on the internet among the chess universe. This is the first time ever Anand and Gukesh have appeared in a commercial motion advertisement. It is also the 18th world champion, Gukesh's commercial motion ad debut. Ever since the maestro became less active on the board, we got to see the humane side of him off the board in various aspects. CRED and Subway are the two ads which vividly come to mind. The fwd by Myntra ad is definitely fun and a must-watch for all. Have you seen it yet? Photo: fwd

3rd Goa GM R6-7: Slizhevsky, Semetei and Fedorov in a three-way lead

17/01/2025 -

GM Alexei Fedorov joined IM Alexander Slizhevsky and IM Semetei Tologon Tegin (KGZ) in a three-way lead at Late Shri Manohar Parrikar Goa International GM Tournament 2025 after Round 7. The coleaders - Slizhevsky and Semetei drew their game against each other in Round 6. Fedorov defeated FM Quoc Hy Nguyen (VIE) in Round 7 to make it a three-way 6/7. Eight Indians are currently trailing the leaders by a half point at 5.5/7 each. Nithin Babu is the sole untitled player among them. He drew with IM Ethan Vaz and beat GM Deepan Chakkravarthy in consecutive rounds. Round 8 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

13th National Schools Chess Championship 2025 Preview

16/01/2025 - The 13th edition of National Schools Chess Championship will take place from 17th to 21st January 2025. A total of 1214 children have registered in six different age groups - Under-7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17. The tournament is organized by Andhra Chess Association at Sri Prakash Synergy School, Peddapuram, Andhra Pradesh. The total prize fund is ₹504000. The top three prizes in each category is ₹10000, ₹7000 and ₹6000 each respectively. As many as 14 different champions will be crowned in the next days. Adithya A Chullikad (2166, KAR) will be the highest rated player of the event playing in the U-17 Open category. Photos: Himank Ghosh, Aditya Sur Roy, Ravindra Potawad, Tournament Circular

Fundraising tournament to support Tymek Kalata's battle with DMD

16/01/2025 -

13-year-old Tymoteusz Kalata from Poland has been fighting Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) since he was six months old. Despite the struggles this condition brings, his love for chess has remained unaffected. However, due to the high costs of his medical treatment, Tymek’s family is reaching out for support from the chess community. A chess tournament will be organized in Warsaw, Poland to raise funds for his treatment. Read the article to learn more about how you can join the tournament or donate to support Tymek’s fight. Photo: Dominik Kosiorek

Back-to-back Hanoi GM-IM-FM Tournaments kick-start 2025

16/01/2025 -

FM Dang Hoang Son (VIE) scored 6/9 to win Hanoi GM 1 Round-Robin 2025, earn his final IM-norm and become Vietnam's latest International Master. After a 2/2 start, he lost the next two games. However, he managed to bounce back by scoring an unbeaten 4/5 in the second half of the tournament to fulfill his third IM-norm requirements and earn the title too. Two days after the conclusion of GM 1, he played IM 2 and won that event scoring 7/10. This was the eleventh edition of the series, organized by Vietnam Chess Federation with the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and IA GM Bui Vinh with his Future Grandmaster Chess Club. FM FT IA Peter Long writes about the tournaments and shares beautiful photographs captured by him too.

Atharva Madkar amazing at 3rd Goa GM Category B Below 2000 Rating Tournament 2025

16/01/2025 -

Atharva Madkar scored an unbeaten 8.5/10 to win Late Shri Manohar Parrikar 3rd Goa GM Category B Below 2000 Rating Tournament 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Seven players scored 8/10 each. Michael Ashwinth and Rudra S Pathak secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹1500000. The top three prizes were ₹175000, ₹135000 and ₹100000 along with a trophy each respectively. The four-day ten-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Goa Chess Association at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Panaji, Goa from 11th to 14th January 2025. This is Atharva's second consecutive rating tournament triumph in 2025. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

How a 12-year-old demystified Tal

15/01/2025 -

It happened during a training session we arranged for three young talents in the ChessBase office. It was conducted by Dr. Karsten Müller, who is a leading endgame expert. Some time later, Karsten wrote an article in the (German language) Chess Calendar describing how the pre-teen Dommaraju Gukesh refuted a Tal brilliancy by the legendary Mikhail Tal. Here's an English translation of Karsten's article. Photo: ChessBase

Indian Chess Masters West Zone Qualifiers to take place on 16th and 17th January 2025

15/01/2025 -

SOG Grandmasters Series - Indian Chess Masters West Zone Qualifiers will take place on 16th and 17th January 2025. The tournament is only for people residing in West Zone of India - Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Other zone qualifier exact dates will be announced later. The total prize fund is ₹700000. Last date of registration has been extended to 12 p.m. IST on 16th January 2025. Venue details will be shared with the shortlisted participants. Entry is FREE for all. The tournament will take place on the online chess platform - Tornelo. Check out the article to find out all details about the tournament. Photo: Indian Chess Masters

Chess Academy of Zhansaya Abdumalik invites you to Kazakhmys Youth Team Cup 2025 in Kazakhstan

15/01/2025 -

Chess Academy of Zhansaya Abdumalik invites you to Kazakhmys Youth Team Chess Cup 2025. It will be a rapid rating team event. Each team will comprise of players between Under-10 and Under-14 category. The total prize fund is Kazakh Tenge 8000000 (≈ ₹1306400). The top three prizes are KZT 2400000 (≈ ₹391920), KZT 1900000 (≈ ₹310270) and KZT 1500000 (≈₹ 244950). Entry is Free for all participants from the entire world. Special conditions are offered for one team from each country. The tournament is organized in honor of launching a new branch of Chess Academy of Zhansaya Abdumalik. The tournament is sponsored by Kazakhmys Corporation LLP. Do you want to form a team and win it? Check out the article to find out all details about the tournament. Photo: Tournament circular

3rd Goa GM R5: Sayantan Das in pursuit

15/01/2025 -

IM Alexander Slizhevsky and IM Semetei Tologon Tegin (KGZ) defeated GM Sethuraman S P and IM Nitin S to emerge coleaders after Round 5 of Late Shri Manohar Parrikar Goa International GM Tournament 2025. Sethuraman could not get out of the gate against Slihevsky. Nitin made a human decision in a complex position which gave his opponent the upper hand. GM Sayantan Das successfully navigated his king to safety to win his game against IM P Saravana Krishnan. He is the sole Indian at 4.5/5, trailing the two leaders by a half point. Sriram Adarsh Uppala and WIM Arpita Mukherjee defeated GM Boris Savchenko and GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB) respectively. Today is the sole rest day. Round 6 starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

The Anatomy of Chess Solving—Episode 01

14/01/2025 -

The problemist's art has always been a bit of a mystery to chess players. Are chess problems merely puzzles with unique and rather curious solutions, or is there something more to them? Join Satanick Mukhuty, our Chess Composition Editor, as he dissects the art of chess problem-solving in his new blog, The Anatomy of Chess Solving. The inaugural episode showcases five meticulously curated problems designed to illuminate the subtle nuances and clever craftsmanship of problem chess. To get the most out of this article, take 10 minutes to study each position before reading the explanatory text. This will help you develop your problem-solving skills and appreciate the artistry behind each chess composition.

Sa Kannan superb at 15th Chennai GM Category B Below 2000 Rating Tournament 2025

14/01/2025 -

Sa Kannan scored an unbeaten 9/10 to win 15th Chennai GM Category B Below 2000 Rating Tournament 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the field. Sanjay Thiruvengadam scored sole 8.5/10 to secure second place. Sivan S Roshan, Hemal Varshan Andalamala and P Santhana Prabu Ayyappan scored 8/10 each. They were placed third to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹1000000. The top three prizes were ₹100000 + trophy, ₹70000 and ₹50000 each respectively. The four-day ten-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from 2nd to 5th January 2025. Photo: IA R Anantharam

Jinshi Bai clear first at Hong Kong International Open 2024, Sethuraman second

14/01/2025 -

GM Jinshi Bai (CHN) scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win Hong Kong International Chess Championship Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. GM Sethuraman S P scored sole 6.5/9 to secure second place. He also remained undefeated. Nine players scored 6/9. Out of them IM Bo Li (CHN) was placed third according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes were HK$ 40000, 20000 and 10000 along with a trophy each. The seven-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Hong Kong Chess Federation Limited at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai, Hong Kong from 27th December 2024 to 2nd January 2025. Photo: Hong Kong International Open Chess Championship