chessbase india logo

International Chess Day Celebrations: An Initiative of ChessBase India and I.I.M.U.N.

23/06/2025 -

With every event we cover, and every chess tournament that an Indian wins (which is almost every week), chess gains new fans and inspires people to learn the game. Some end up playing casual online chess and some start their OTB journey! This International Chess Day, we are inspired to do something special! Our dear friend, fellow chess player and founder of IIMUN, Rishabh Shah, brought to us this beautiful idea of making the light of chess reach in the lives of people in 50+ cities of the country! Read more about it in this article and how you can contribute to it. Photo: IIMUN

ChessBase 18 and Mega 2025 are here

ChessBase 18 is an all-new program that helps you manage all your databases as an ambitious player. Mega Database 2025 has 11 million games with over 113,000 games annotated by masters. The cost of ChessBase 18 is Rs.4499/- and the cost of Mega Database 2025 is Rs.6499/- However, if you go for the combo the total amount comes to Rs.8999 (instead of 10,998/-) helping you save Rs. 1999/-.

ChessBase 18 + Mega 2025 Combo

Shreyas Ghadi triumphs at 1st BDCA Below 1800 Rating 2025

23/06/2025 -

Shreyas Ghadi scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 1st BDCA Below 1800 Rating Tournament 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Nine players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them 292nd seeded, unrated Kusagra Saxena secured second place and Rishikesh Parab third, according to tie-breaks. Shreyas drew against the eventual second runner-up, Rishikesh in Round 8. Apart from Shreyas, Rishikesh also remained undefeated. The total prize fund was ₹324000. The top three prizes were ₹35000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The three-day nine round Below 1800 Rating tournament was organized by Belgaum District Chess Association  at KPTCL Samudaya Bhavan in Belagavi, Karnataka from 29th to 31st May 2025. This is Shreyas' first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photo: FA Aakash G Madiwalar / Belgaum District Chess Association

Aakash G wins 1st Friends Chess Club Rating Open 2025

23/06/2025 -

FM Aakash G, Balkishan A and Dhanush Ragav N S scored 7/8 each at 1st Friends Chess Club Rating Open 2025. Aakash won the tournament due to better tie-break score. Balkishan and Dhanush were placed second and third respectively. All three of them remained undefeated. Aakash drew against the remaining podium finishers. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹35000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The four-day eight round  Rating Open tournament was organized by Friends Chess Club at Kumaran Kottam Campus in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 27th to 30th May 2025. This was Aakash's second overall, first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Coimbatore District Chess Association

Aradhya Garg and Daksh Goyal dominate 2nd New Delhi Rapid and Blitz Rating Open 2025

23/06/2025 -

IM Aradhya Garg scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 2nd New Delhi Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Seven players scored 8/9 each. Out of them, IM Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi and CM Aarit Kapil secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. Daksh Goyal won the Blitz Rating Open with a 100% score 9/9. He finished a full point ahead of the competition. Half a dozen players scored 8/9. Among them, IM Aaryan Varshney and Garv Rai was placed second and third respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹800000, ₹600000 in Rapid and ₹200000 in Blitz. The top three prizes in Rapid were ₹51000, ₹31000 and ₹15000 along with a trophy each, for Blitz they were ₹21000, ₹11000 and ₹8000 along with a trophy each. This is Aradhya's second and Daksh's first rating tournament triumph of the year.

Aurionpro Mumbai International GM+Junior Chess 2025 R5-7: Madhesh leads Juniors, Aleksandrov ahead in GM Open

22/06/2025 -

Going into the final two rounds of the Aurionpro Mumbai International Chess tournament, we have sole leaders in both the GM Open and Juniors Tournament. Madhesh Kumar S has captured the sole lead among the Juniors scoring 6.5/7 points, while GM Aleksej Aleksandrov is the sole leader in the GM Open with 6.5/7 points. With just 2 more rounds to go, the fight is still very much on for the top spot! Catch all that happened from Round 5-7 at the tournament. Photos: Himank Ghosh, Vivek Sohani

2nd UzChess Cup R4: Praggnanandhaa beats Sindarov to join the lead with Abdusattorov

22/06/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa scored a fine victory over Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) to join the lead at 2nd UzChess Cup Masters 2025. After initially missing chance, Praggnanandhaa managed to seize his advantage correctly to beat the 44th Olympiad Gold medalist. In a battle of World Rapid champions, Arjun Erigaisi had a hard-fought draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Thus, both Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov are now at 3/4 each. Aravindh Chithambaram had a well contested battle against the reigning World Blitz Cochampion, Ian Nepomniachtchi. Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI) avenged his last year's loss against the defending champion, Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB). Both Arjun and Parham are at 2.5/4 each. Round 5 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

New: Reinventing the Ragozin by Surya Sekhar Ganguly

22/06/2025 -

The Ragozin Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4) has become a cornerstone of modern chess theory. With 3.Nf3 gaining popularity as a way to avoid Nimzo-Indian setups and the challenges Black faces in the Queen’s Indian, the Ragozin offers a solid and dynamic alternative. Apart from downloading files and installing on your computer, you can also stream videos and study from ChessBase books on any device - computer, smartphone, tablets etc. The app runs on both Windows and Mac OSX. For Windows device, Windows 10 or higher is required. Grab this Fritztrainer by GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly and enrich your knowledge in the Ragozin Defence. Photo: ChessBase

Nilsu Pattnayak perfect at 4th Ganjam District Rating Open 2025

22/06/2025 -

Nilsu Pattnayak won 4th Ganjam District Rating Open 2025 with a perfect score 9/9. He won the tournament with a round to spare and finished a whopping 1.5 points ahead of the rest. 10-year-old Manish Mishra scored 7.5/9 to secure second place. Four players - Fakir Majhi, Jagdish Barik, Meher Bhabanee Prasad and Rabindra Kumar Ojha scored 7/9 each. They secured third to sixth place respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹25000, ₹20000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each. The five-day nine round  Rating Open tournament  was organized by Ganjam District Chess Association at Takshashila Residential School  in Ganjam, Odisha from 21st to 25th May 2025. This is Nilsu's second tournament triumph of the year. He is the reigning Odisha State Rapid 2025 champion. Photo: K K Sarma

Shubham Lakudkar clear first at Perth Congress Rating Open 2025

22/06/2025 -

Shubham Lakudkar scored an unbeaten 6/7 to win Perth Chess Congress Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. IM Angus J Dunnington (SCO) and Andrew Mccusker (SCO) scored 5.5/7 each. They shared second place. The top two prizes were £350 and £175 each. The four-day seven round Rating Open tournament was organized by Scottish Chess Tour at Salutation Hotel in Perth, Scotland from 23rd to 26th May 2025. This was Shubham's second tournament triumph of the year. Earlier in February, he won TAFCA Individual Chess Congress 2025 with an unbeaten 4.5/5. Photo: Scottish Chess Tour

2nd UzChess Cup R3: Abdusattorov outwits Rapport, emerges early sole leader

21/06/2025 -

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) defeated Richard Rapport (HUN) to emerge early sole leader at 2nd UzChess Cup Masters 2025. Abdusattorov was confident going into the relatively balanced bishop vs knight endgame. The Hungarian's blunder allowed the former World Rapid champion to walk away with victory. R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Aravindh Chithambaram drew their respective battles against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB), Ian Nepomniachtchi and Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI). Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) forced a draw via repetition as his opponent, Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) left without a choice to keep his queen on the board. Round 4 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Shubham Shukla sensational at Sharjah Masters C 2025

21/06/2025 -

Shubham Shukla scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 8th Sharjah Masters C (<1900) 2025. He won the tournament with a round to spare and finished a full point ahead of the competition. Naziraliev Kilichbek (UZB) scored 7.5/9 to secure second place. Out of the seven players who scored 6.5/9 each, Al Balushi Emad (OMA) finished third as he had the best tie-break scores among them. The total prize fund of the tournament was more than $73000, Masters C had $5200. The top three prizes were $1500 + trophy, $1100 and $900 along with a medal each. Muhammad Shayan Noushad Ibrahim, Vaibhav Krishnan K P, Kirthika B and Nookala Nikhil Sriram scored 6.5/9 each. They were adjudged fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth place respectively. This was Shubham's second overall, first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Sharjah Chess Club

Sailesh wins 1st United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association Rating Open 2025

21/06/2025 -

Sailesh R, Nigash G, CM Lakshmi Narayanan M V, Adharva P T, Selvamurugan B and Mani Bharathy scored 7.5/9 each at 1st United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association Rating Open 2025. Sailesh won the tournament due to better tie-break score. The remaining five were placed second to fifth respectively. Sailesh, Nigash and Adharva remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹400001. The top three prizes were ₹50001, ₹35000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The five-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association at United Educational Institutions in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 21st to 25th May 2025. This was Sailesh's third consecutive rating tournament triumph in 17 days, fifth overall of the year. Photo: Coimbatore District Chess Association

Aurionpro Mumbai International GM+Junior Chess 2025 R4-5: Lalit and Arsen lead masters, Madhesh and Aansh leading Juniors

21/06/2025 -

After 5 rounds of play at the Aurionpro Mumbai Grandmaster and Junior tournament, we have 2 players co-leading in the Masters and Junior section each. In the GM Open, Armenian IM Arsen Davytan is leading alongwith Indian GM Lalit Babu MR - both are on 5/5 points. In the Juniors tournament, the top seed Aansh Nandan Nerurkar is co-leading with Madhesh Kumar S - they are also on a perfect score. Madhesh scored the biggest upset of the tournament so far by defeating GM Tornidze Sanikidze in Round 4 of the GM Open! Photos: Himank Ghosh, Vivek Sohani

S Rutherford wins 1st Annai Arul Public School Rating Open 2025

21/06/2025 -

S Rutherford, Umashankar A and Hiren K G scored 8/9 each at 1st Annai Arul Public School Rating Open 2025. Rutherford won the tournament due to better tie-break score, Umashankar and Hiren were placed second and third respectively. Rutherford drew with the eventual runner-up, Umashankar in Round 7 and defeated the second runner-up, Hiren in Round 6. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. The top three prizes were ₹50000 + trophy, ₹40000 and ₹30000 each. The five-day nine round  Rating Open tournament was organized by Annai Arul Public School, Chennai in Tamil Nadu from 21st to 25th May 2025. This was Rutherford's fourth overall, first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Jagan V

2nd UzChess Cup R2: Praggnanandhaa pummels Vokhidov, now World no.5

20/06/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa completely decimated Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) in Round 2 of 2nd UzChess Cup 2025. Praggnanandhaa got an ideal position for an English Opening player. His opponent did not react correctly by accepting a knight sacrifice. He had to pay a heavy price for it. This win also moved Praggnanandhaa up to World no.5 and India no.2 with a live rating 2777.2. Arjun Erigaisi played a solid draw against Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI). Aravindh Chithambaram did not feel at home from the early part of the game against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB). He missed all his chances to get back in inferior positions and ended up losing the game. Speaking of missed chances, Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) missed a couple of good chances against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and the game ended in a draw. Round 3 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Contact Us