From a Neighborhood Library to U-17 National Champion: The Inspiring Journey of WIM Prishita Gupta

Levy Rozman, better known as GothamChess, has a new book for players ready to move beyond the basics. How to Win at Chess, Next Level is now available at the ChessBase India shop. Aimed at players around 1000-1600 Elo, it covers planning, pawn structures, piece play, tactics, attack, defence and endgames. Here is a look at what is inside.

The Chess Academy of Armenia has announced the Tsaghkadzor Open International Chess Tournament 2026, scheduled from October 24 to October 30, 2026. The tournament will take place at the Eighty Eight Hotel and Spa in the resort town of Tsaghkadzor, Armenia. With a total prize fund of 7,000,000 AMD across two rating categories, alongside product sponsorships from ChessMood and Chessify, the 9-round Swiss tournament offers strong competitive exposure in the South Caucasus circuit.

Balanandan Ayyappan of Kerala scored an unbeaten 8/9 points to win the 3rd Eight Square Chess Academy Classical Rating Chess Tournament 2026. Prasanna Karthick M and Devnath Bijesh scored 7.5/9 points to finish second and third, respectively, on tiebreak scores. Eight Square Chess Academy organised the tournament from 7th to 11th October at the Hall of Chess, Chennai. The total prize fund was ₹5,00,001, with top 3 prizes of ₹50,000, ₹35,000 and ₹25,000 along with trophies. Photos: IA Arasu B

As a chess player, how often have you refreshed your FIDE profile and checked whether your rating moved? Have you ever wondered what really goes into it? Do you think rating treats everyone fairly? Physicist-turned-chess-coach Vlad Ghita spent months digging through 24 million games from 73 federations, and his findings are surprising. He even has a few tips for anyone planning a norm-hunting trip abroad. Read the article to learn more.

WIM Prishita Gupta of Delhi and FM Adhiraj Mitra of Jharkhand are the 36th Under-17 National Girls and Open Champions. In the Girls section, Prishita scored 9/11 points to clinch the championship; Shivamshika G of Telangana and Saranya Devi Narahari of Andhra Pradesh secured 2nd and 3rd places. In the Open section, Adhiraj Mitra and Haridev S of Tamil Nadu scored 9/11 points to finish in the top 2 places according to tiebreak scores. Vedant Garg of Chandigarh secured 3rd place with 8.5/11 points. Photo: Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta

They can't see the board, but they read it better than most of us. The Mind Champions Challenge, a rapid tournament for visually impaired chess players, returns for its 4th edition on Saturday- 17th October at the Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club, Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla. The event is sponsored by the Lions Club of Bombay Uptown and organised with the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), ChessBase India and Phoenix Marketcity. It has a prize fund of Rs. 53,000 and no entry fee . Two-time champion Swapnil Shah and defending champion Rohit Jadhav will both be looking for the another title. Can we have a new Champion this time? Here is everything you need to know.

Arpan Das from West Bengal scored 8/9 points to win the 2nd Rungta Cement International Open FIDE Rating Classical Chess Tournament 2026. IM Aradhya Garg remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and scored 8/9 points to finish 2nd on tiebreak scores. FM Harshit Ranjan Sahu finished 3rd. The total prize fund was ₹6,00,000, with top 3 prizes of ₹1,00,000, ₹60,000, and ₹40,000, along with trophies. Photos: Basant Khandelwal

Chess sells itself as a contest of calculation, where chance has been removed. Yet some elite players keep lucky pens, repeat outfits and meals, or give a cat a place in their pre-game routine. The interesting question is not whether a charm can change a position on the board; it is why people reach for one when the result matters and control feels limited.

Finding a chess coach usually relies on word of mouth or WhatsApp forwards. ChessDial by ChessBase India provides a structured directory where you can search for coaches by location, language, skill level, or preference for online vs. in-person lessons. Over 100 verified coaches and academies - from Grandmasters to beginner instructors are currently listed with transparent pricing. Listings are free for coaches!

Being a captain is a little like watching your child take an important exam. The preparation is done, the test has begun, and there is nothing left to do but wait and watch. The result matters, but all the parent can offer is their presence. We found some interesting photos from the Olympiad that show how the captains spent those long hours. Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz

Candidate Master Saurabh Choubey of Madhya Pradesh scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 points to win the 26th Mizoram Open Rapid Chess Tournament. Johnson Zoremthara Chhangte of Mizoram scored 8/9 points to secure 2nd place. Mizoram Chess Association organised this tournament on the occasion of its Golden Jubilee and 50 years in chess. We interviewed Saurabh after his win; check out this report. Photos: Mr.Lalchhauna

What does it take to build a chess community where there was none? In Bhadohi, it took two cousins, a handful of borrowed boards and ten young women willing to teach what they had just learned. This is the story of Checkmate Her Limits, and of the mentors leading it. Checkmate Her Limits, launched by Shreejan Learning Hub on January 1, 2026, aims to empower these young girls and teach them chess.

Grandmaster Abhimanyu Puranik scored an unbeaten 8/9 points to win the 1st Saakar Foundation All India Open Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. Four players, including IM Akshay Borgaonkar, FM Kaivalya Sandip Nagare, IM Kushagra Mohan, and FM Jaiveer Mahendru, scored 7.5/9 to finish in 2nd to 4th place. Saakar Foundation organised the tournament on 4th October with a ₹4,00,000 prize fund. The top 3 prizes were ₹1,00,000, ₹65,000, and ₹41,000 along with trophies. Photos: Mr.Rajendra Shidore

ChessBase India was among the creators invited to the YouTube Impact Summit 2026, held at the Leela in New Delhi on 29th of September. Sagar Shah was part of a panel discussion. The impact summit is one of YouTube's marquee event where they release to the country the impact that YouTube has managed to create.

Coming from badminton and motorsport, Naganethra Reddy expected chess to feel quiet and hard to read. Watching the Global Chess League changed that: the drama was in the glances, pauses, and small gestures around the board, and in the stories shared through the commentary. Here’s what she thinks.

The current superstars of the Indian chess team, World Champion D Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, are today strong players in every format of the game, but the foundation for all of them was laid in classical chess. From childhood, all of them grew up playing classical events across India and around the world. It is classical chess that, in the true sense, balances your process of thinking, of understanding the game and then of taking the right decision. That is why it is important for every budding player to play it, and that is why we are organising the Khelo Chess India Classical tournament in Bhopal every three months, and we invite you to come and take part in this event.

Premier Chess Academy’s Chess for Everyone 3.0 combined four days of FIDE-rated Classical chess with outstanding performances by Kerala’s young talents and a memorable special appearance and simultaneous exhibition by Super Grandmaster and Arjuna Awardee Vidit Gujrathi. Sahoo Utkal Ranjan of Odisha scored a perfect 8/8 to win the tournament, while this edition gave young players an unforgettable opportunity to meet, interact with, and play with Vidit Gujrathi. Photos: Premier Chess Academy

IM Harsh Suresh scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win the 1st Vijay Anand Chess Academy Rapid Rating 2026 in dominating fashion. CM Sarveshwaran V., Vignesh B., and M.S. Midilesh scored 8/9 points to finish in 2nd to 4th place according to tiebreak scores. The tournament was organised by Vijay Anand Chess Academy at the Hall of Chess, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai. The total prize fund was ₹4,00,000, with top 3 prizes of ₹30,000, ₹25,000, and ₹20,000 along with trophies. Photo: Guna

The Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championships 2026 are set to take place in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, from October 22 to 31, 2026. Organized by the Gujarat State Chess Association, the prestigious regional championship offers ambitious young talents a great platform to earn direct FIDE titles and norms. All the players who took part in the age-category national championships last year are eligible to take part in this. Read more details.

Firgun Talent and Habitat Chess Club brought together eight FIDE-rated players for five days of training and serious practice under IM Nikhil Dixit at The Fern Habitat, Mundhwa, Pune. Organised by Deepti Shidore (Founder of Firgun Talent) and Balraj Ghai (Owner of The Habitat), the camp had an average rating of around 2200 and brought together a group of ambitious players, the group included two FMs, five titled players all of them 2100+ FIDE rated! Read all about the camp in the article below.

Chess lovers with a taste for solving have something special to look forward to this week in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi NCR. On October 9, a collaboration between ChessBase India and Chess Community Jabalpur will bring the city its first-ever chess solving contest. And the very next day, on October 10, a grand event will take place across Delhi NCR, which is already turning into a hub for chess solving thanks to the continued efforts of Chess Coffee Connect and the Shivika Rohilla Chess Academy. All details and registration links follow in this article.

“Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man,” Swami Vivekananda once wrote. Education, therefore, is not just about textbook knowledge, but about bringing out the potential within every student. This idea comes alive in the work of Sandip Upadhyay, a government school teacher from Gujarat who teaches chess absolutely free of cost. He has helped several young players begin their journeys in competitive chess, with some going on to become rated players. Read on to discover Sandip’s story and the journeys of the players he has helped nurture.

Kanishkaraj V of Chennai scored an unbeaten 8/9 points to win the 6th KCA International FIDE Classical Rating 2026. Kanishkaraj and Kolla Bhavan were both unbeaten throughout the tournament and scored 8/9 points to finish in the top 2 spots according to tiebreak scores. The tournament was organised in Melapalayam, Panruti, Tamil Nadu. The total prize fund was ₹4,00,000, with the top 3 prizes of ₹40,000, ₹30,000, and ₹20,000, along with trophies. Photos: R.Pandian