Some Fun Moments from Day 2 of the Global Chess League Season 4

Alpine APL Pipers are showing why they are considered the favourites for the Global Chess League 2026. After 2 days of action, the team led by Magnus Carlsen is the only unbeaten team in the tournament. On the 2nd day, Alpine APL Pipers started the day with a dominating win over Ganges Grandmasters. Magnus was in a completely losing position against Ian Nepomniachtchi, but he escaped like a magician to remain unbeaten. Meanwhile, Vidit and Humpy scored important wins. Read what happened in all the matches in this report. Photos: Global Chess League

GM S.P. Sethuraman's father, Panayappan, has spent 25 years organising tournaments and training young talent in Tamil Nadu. His son, Grandmaster S. P. Sethuraman, went on to win the 2004 Asian Under-12 Championship and the 2009 World Under-16 Championship, before earning the GM title, taking team bronze with India at the 2014 Chess Olympiad, and winning the 2016 Asian Chess Championship. As Panayappan marks a quarter-century since his first event, we spoke to him about the players he's helped shape and what keeps him going. Photos: S.P. Sethuraman.

On a busy Saturday afternoon at Phoenix Marketcity in Velachery, twenty chess boards sat in neat rows in the middle of the mall's open concourse. Shoppers slowed down, phones came out, and a small crowd gathered around the ropes. At the centre of it all was Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram, one of India's finest players, walking board to board in a simultaneous exhibition hosted by the Chola Chess Club and by the end of the afternoon, he had beaten 19 of his 20 opponents.? Photos: Neeraj.

Fide Master Setumadhav Yellumahanthi scored 5.5/9 points to earn his maiden IM Norm at the 2026 Kanizsa Open . Setumadhav played with a performance rating of 2479 and also increased 69 rating points. In the final round, he was in a must-win situation against GM Wan Yunguo of China with the black pieces. He played the Sicilian and won that game to score his maiden IM norm. Read the full story of Setumadhav here. Photo: David Llada

The Global Chess League season 4 has started and it's already giving us beautiful moments. Six teams are battling it out in Bangalore from 5th-13th September. ChessBase India has been there capturing moments from the games, the dugouts, and everything in between. Here are some memorable pics from Day 1. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Javokhir Sindarov led the FYERS American Gambits to score consecutive wins on the first day of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2026. In the first match, American Gambits defeated PBG Alaskan Knights, where Sindarov defeated Vishy Anand on the Icon board. In the second match of the day, Ganges Grandmasters defeated Triveni Continental Kings. In the 3rd match, Alpine APL Pipers defeated CheQ Mumba Masters. In the final match, Triveni Continental Kings suffered another loss of the day against FYERS American Gambits. Photos: Anmol Bhargav/ChessBase India

Candidate Master Jyotshnav Talukdar scored 5/9 points to score his maiden IM Norm at the Kanizsa Open 2026. Jyotshnav also increased his Elo rating by 102 points in the tournament. In August, Jyotshnav played 4 tournaments and added a total of 121.4 rating points, taking his published rating to 2358. We caught up with Jyotshnav after the tournament, where he talked about his chess journey.

Subhayan Kundu scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 points to win 50 Obert Internacional d'Escacs "Ciutat de Badalona" Grup A. Subhayan Kundu (IND), Siddharth Singh (USA), and Utsab Chatterjee (IND) scored the same points and secured top-3 positions according to tiebreak scores. Shaurya Chaudhary of Delhi also performed really well and barely missed his IM Norm in the tournament. The tournament was organised at Center Civic La Salut, Barcelona, from 2nd to 10th August. Photos: Badalona foto events

Shaurya Chaudhary, a talented youngster from Delhi, delivered a spectacular performance at the 2026 Catalan Circuit. Competing in three tournaments across Barcelona, Spain, he gained a massive 411 Elo points. His standout performance came at the XXVII Open Internacional de Sants, where he secured his maiden IM norm and added 188.8 Elo points to his rating, crossing the 2400 barrier. Bouncing back brilliantly from a tough outing in Azerbaijan, Shaurya proved his mettle in style. Check this report to explore his remarkable comeback! Photo: Federació Catalana d'Escacs

After electrifying stops in Dubai, London, and Mumbai, the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL) returns to Indian soil for Season 4. From September 5 to 13, 2026, the world’s best gathers in Bangalore. After skipping Season 3, Magnus Carlsen returns as an Icon player for the defending champions, Alpine APL Pipers. The opening ceremony was held at the Royal Bangalore Palace on 4th September. The Stage is set, and the action will start on 5th September at 15:30 IST at The Lalit Ashok, Bangalore. Photos: Amruta Mokal/ChessBase India

Niharika Challa recently earned the Woman International Master title after completing three norms in three consecutive European tournaments this summer. In her own words, Niharika takes us through the twelve-year journey behind that achievement, including the setbacks, the turning points, the coaches who believed in her, and the training that helped her gain nearly 300 rating points in under a year while simultaneously pursuing an MBA.

In a candid January 2026 interview, 2700-level chess prodigy Awonder Liang reflects on his unique journey from a teenage sensation to a serious competitor while balancing a degree in economics and applied math. Liang challenges the notion that elite chess requires sacrificing a normal life, arguing that at the low 2700s, massive gains are still possible through fundamentals and doing what you enjoy. Read the full interview for his fascinating insights into chess and what drives his journey. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Nithin Babu crossed the 2400 rating barrier at the 2026 Kanizsa Open to become one of India's newest International Masters. Widely regarded as a formidable talent, his title was only a matter of time. The real proof of his chess strength is that he earned all four of his IM norms in Open Swiss events rather than closed round-robins and achieved three of them right here on home soil. Read on to explore the full story of Nithin's incredible journey. Photo: David Llada

The September 2026 FIDE rating list is out. Praggnanandhaa has returned to the World Top 10 after seven months. India has 15 players in the Open Top 100 and 11 players in the Women’s Top 100. Several Indian women have also made notable gains, including Deekshitha Modipalli and Kalyani Sirin. Here’s a look at the biggest rating and ranking changes among Indian players this month.

GM Aaryan Varshney of Delhi scored an unbeaten 9/10 to win the 2nd Siliguri SCGC International Fide Rating Chess Tournament 2026. Parambrata Sarkar also remained unbeaten and scored 8.5/10 to finish in 2nd place. Aritrya Pal secured 3rd place with 8/10 points and the best tiebreak score. The tournament was organised at Shilpanchal Bhawan, Burdwan Road, Siliguri, West Bengal. The total prize fund was ₹4,50,000, and the top 3 prizes were ₹80,000, ₹60,000, and ₹40,000, along with trophies. Photos: Sekhar Paul

Chess is a game of skill, calculation and concentration. But how much do we really know about what happens in a player's mind during a game? CircleChess and Neurostellar are exploring this question by bringing cognitive science to chess training. Their initiative combines chess data with cognitive-performance tracking to study focus, endurance and decision-making. Here’s a look at how this could add a new dimension to understanding chess performance. Photos: CircleChess

Aditya Savalkar scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 points to win the Vish: 2nd Makarand Aaba Patil Chashak FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. CM Ashish Chaudhari also scored 8.5/9 to finish in second place according to tiebreak scores. Nirgun Keval scored 8/9 points to secure third place. The tournament was organised by Vishwaganga Pratishthan, Satara, on 9th August 2026. The total prize fund of this one-day rapid rating tournament was ₹1,50,000, with top 3 prizes of ₹15,000, ₹10,000, and ₹7,000 along with trophies. Photo: Aparna Shinde

In April 2026, ChessBase India was awarded a grant by the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) to promote the art of chess composition across India. A portion of this fund has already helped us conduct solving competitions in Chennai, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai — and now, the journey takes us to Ichalkaranji, in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district. On 5 September, Ken Chess Academy and Lions Club of Ichalkaranji, in association with ChessBase India, is set to host the city's first-ever chess solving contest. Details follow in this article.

Jval Saurin Patel secured his final IM norm at The Kanizsa Open 2026 to become one of the latest International Masters of India and the youngest in Gujarat. Jval scored his 1st IM Norm at the Vezerkepzo GM November 2025 in Budapest, where he scored 5.5/9. He scored his 2nd Norm at the Sixdays July Chess Tournament in Budapest, again scoring 5.5/9, and finally he scored his Open IM Norm at the Kanizsa Open, where he again scored 5.5/9. Read the life story of Gujarat's Youngest International Master.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu made history by becoming the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour 2026. Pragg defeated Fabiano Caruana in the final 15-13 to win the GCT. For almost a month, Pragg has been playing at Saint Louis Chess Club. He started by winning the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz; after that, he finished 2nd in the Sinquefield Cup and finally won the whole tour for the 1st time. With this win, Pragg also qualifies for the Grand Chess Tour 2027. Photos: Lennart Ootes

Defeating Magnus Carlsen in any format remains one of the most difficult tasks in modern chess. For 15-year-old Vandan Alankar Sawai of Delhi, that milestone arrived on August 18 during the late Titled Tuesday. Paired with the white pieces against the former World Champion in Round 2, Vandan kept pressing, but at one point Magnus mouse-slipped, and after that Vandan gave him no chance to come back. Read the story of this talented boy.

Sri Lankan chess is set to witness a historic breakthrough as the Jaffna District Chess Association (JDCA) announces the First-Ever International Master (IM) Norm Round Robin Tournament in Jaffna. Held under the banner of the Jaffna International Chess Championship 2026, the landmark 9-round classical event will take place from December 5 to December 9, 2026, at Chelva Palace, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

GM Mayank Chakraborty scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 points to become the 2026 Asian Junior Champion. In the final round, Mayank drew against IM Artem Pingin to clinch the title. Three years ago, Mayank won the Asian Junior Rapid Championship, and this time he won the classical title. Mayank started the tournament as the top seed and finished in 1st place. Artem Pingin secured the silver medal with 7/9 points. Daksh Goyal of India scored 6.5/9 and had the best tiebreak score to finish in 3rd place. Photos: Nehal Deshmukh