Awonder Liang on Chess, Statistics, AI and the Pursuit of Small Gains

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

WFM Pratitee Bordoloi scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 points to become the 2026 Asian Junior Girls Champion. Pratitee started the tournament as the top seed, and she gained an early lead, which she kept throughout the tournament. In the final round, she drew against Sravyasree Bheemarasetty to clinch the title. Pratitee's FIDE rating has now crossed 2350, and she also directly earns the Woman International Master title. Photos: Nehal Deshmukh

Basilisk is an esports team that champions science. The first chess player to join their team was GM Vincent Keymer. Next one was Anish Giri. Two world class players. And now on 26th of August Basilisk made a huge announcement! World's Biggest Chess Content Creator - Gotham Chess aka Levy Rozman will join them as the head of Chess!

GM Pranesh M scored an unbeaten 7/9 points to win the Kanizsa Open 2026 Group A (Above 2200). In the final round, Pranesh scored a win on demand against IM Petrovskiy Vadym to reach 7 points. 3 other players, including Or Bronstein, Andrei Volokitin, and India's Karthik Venkataraman, also scored the same points to finish in 2nd to 4th place according to tiebreak scores. It was a great event for other Indian players as 10 Norms were scored by the Indian Contingent. Photos: David Llada

R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Vincent Keymer in the Semifinal Match to reach the 2026 Grand Chess Tour Finals. Praggnanandhaa started the semifinal with a draw in the 1st classical game; in the 2nd classical game, he defeated Keymer to gain the lead. In the Rapid format, Praggnanandhaa won both games and sealed his place in the finals irrespective of the Blitz Games. In the finals, he will face Fabiano Caruana, who defeated Wesley So in the Semis. The Finals will start on 25th August at 12 PM Local Time/10:30 PM IST. Photos: Lennart Ootes

Freestyle Chess and FIDE have confirmed the remaining qualification path for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship. Three places are still open in both the Open and Women’s fields. They will be awarded through the Freestyle Friday Championship, Open and Women’s online qualifiers in November 2026, and final Open and Women’s online qualifiers in January 2027. Photos: FIDE

Jakhongir Vakhidov scored an unbeaten 7/9 points to win the prestigious 32nd Abu Dhabi Masters. In the final round, Jakhongir drew against Aleksandr Rakhmanov to win the tournament. Five players, including Daniil Dubov, Aleksandr Rakhmanov, Rudik Makarian, Pranav Anand and Daniyal Sapenov, scored 6/9 points to secure 2nd to 6th places according to tiebreak scores. Young Indian Talent Avirat Chauhan scored his IM Norm. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

GM Mayank Chakraborty and WFM Pratitee Bordoloi are in sole lead after the penultimate round of the Asian Junior Championship. Mayank started as the top seed in the Open section, and after 8 rounds, he is leading with 7 points. In the Girls section, Pratitee was the top seed, and she has a full point lead over the field. In the penultimate round, Mayank defeated Daksh Goyal, and Pratitee defeated Prishita Gupta. The Final round will start on 25th August at 10 AM IST. Photos: Tushar Damor

A chance connection through a chess webinar eventually led to ChessBase India's Big Chess Camp making its way to Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra. On Independence Day, Rohit Pol and his team at Ken Chess Academy brought more than 80 children and chess enthusiasts together for a day of free chess learning, solving and discovery. From tactical themes and challenging positions to lessons in discipline, concentration and independent thinking, the camp captured the spirit of grassroots chess development. Rohit dreams of one day seeing a National Champion emerge from Ichalkaranji, and this could well be the beginning of that journey. We bring a detailed story.

The 32nd edition of Abu Dhabi Masters is heading towards an exciting final round. After completion of 8 rounds, Jakhongir Vakhidov is leading with 6.5/8 points. 4 players, Aleksandr Rakhmanov, Daniil Dubov, Daniyal Sapenov, and India's Pranav Anand, are in joint second place with 6/8 points. Young talent Avirat Chauhan is on 5/8 points, and he is showing his class at the highest level. The Final round will start on 24th August at 10 AM Local Time. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

It was a double round day at the Asian Junior Chess Championship. In the open section, Jaiveer Mahendru is leading the tournament with a perfect 4/4. In the 4th round, Jaiveer defeated IM Aditya Dhingra with white pieces. In the 5th round, he will face top seed, GM Mayank Chakraborty. In the Girls section, Pratitee Bordoloi and Leyla Shohradova are on 4/4, and they are playing against each other in the 5th round. The 5th round will start on 22nd August at 3 PM IST. Photos: Tushar Damor

Madhya Pradesh has its new Junior Chess Champions for 2026. Gwalior’s Shubh Khatri won the Open U19 title, while Indore’s Avika Panwar clinched the Girls U19 title at the Madhya Pradesh State Junior Chess Championship held in Bhopal. Khelo Chess India Club and ChessBase India , in association with the Bhopal District Chess Association , organised the event. This was the first time that the Madhya Pradesh Junior Championship was conducted as an international rating tournament, with a total prize fund of ₹1,00,000 , the highest-ever prize fund for a junior-level tournament in the state. The successful organisation of the event was made possible with the special support of Chola Chess .

The Premier Chess Academy's Classical FIDE Rating Free Chess for Everyone Tournament officially commenced on August 20, 2026, in Trivandrum, Kerala. The defining result of the opening rounds arrived on Board 2 during Round 4, where 12-year-old Amanlal A, who is rated 1894, secured a decisive victory over Cuban International Master Jorge Marcos Gomez Sanchez. Organized with the goal of increasing classical exposure for regional talents, the tournament features zero entry fees and no prize fund, while covering complete travel and hospitality for foreign GMs and IMs. Photos: PCA