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Meet Roman Vidonyak: The hidden coach behind top grandmasters

27/02/2025 -

Some of the world’s best chess players have trained under him, yet his name remains unknown to many. He has worked with players like Anish Giri, Jorden van Foreest, and Vladimir Fedoseev but always stayed behind the scenes. He is known for his creative training methods and intensive sessions. The name of this mastermind is Roman Vidonyak, and Sagar Shah got the opportunity to meet him in Wijk aan Zee. Check out his interview in which he talks about his training journey, training philosophy, and what it takes to create champions. Photo: German Chess Federation

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

World Junior R1-2: Sneha Halder stuns Miaoyi Lu

27/02/2025 -

WFM Sneha Halder stunned the top seed, IM Miaoyi Lu (CHN) in the first round of FIDE World Junior Girls 2025. After the Chinese was unable to maximize her chances in the opening, Sneha seized her solitary opportunity in the late middlegame and went on to win the game. In the second round, Sneha drew with FM Yana Zhapova. Mrittika Mallick held the third seeded - IM Yuxin Song (CHN) to a draw in Round 1. Sarayu Velpula and WGM Savitha Shri B won both of their games. They are at 2/2 each. Sneha and WGM Rakshitta Ravi are at 1.5/2 each. In the Open event, GM Pranav Venkatesh and IM Ilamparthi A R are at 2/2 each. Sunle Gong (CHN) outplayed the top seed, GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) in Round 2. Round 3 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Official site

Prague Masters 2025 R1: Keymer and Shankland make a winning start

27/02/2025 -

The seventh edition of Prague International Chess Festival 2025 is off to a great start. Both Masters and Challengers sections witnessed two decisive games each. Vincent Keymer (GER) and Sam Shankland (USA) scored the wins over Wei Yi (CHN) and Ediz Gurel (TUR) respectively. Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE) missed a great winning opportunity against Aravindh Chithambaram. The game eventually ended in a draw. R Praggnanandhaa shared the point with David Navara and the former was certainly not happy with the outcome. IM Divya Deshmukh suffered a loss against GM Ivan Salgado Lopez (ESP). The second round for Masters, Challengers and Futures, and Round 1 Open starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Mitrabha Guha wins Rotary Club of Kalyan Rapid Rating Open 2025

26/02/2025 -

GM Mitrabha Guha, FM Vedant Panesar, IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh and IM Kushagra Mohan scored 8/9 each at Rotary Club of Kalyan Rapid Rating Open 2025. Mitrabha became the champion due to better tie-break score. The remaining three were placed second to fourth respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹251111. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹30000 and ₹20000 along with a huge trophy each respectively. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Rotary Club of Kalyan at Navrang Banquets in Thane, Maharashtra on 23rd February 2025. This is Mitrabha's third tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Ravindra Potawad

GM-norm for Yoseph and IM title for Satria at the Indonesia Grandmaster Tournament 2025

26/02/2025 -

IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher (INA) scored his maiden GM-norm at Indonesia GM tournament 2025. He scored an unbeaten 7.5/11 to secure his norm. GM Eltaj Safarli (AZE) won the event scoring 8.5/11. IM Sugar Gan-Erdene (MGL) finished third 7/11. GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (UKR) clinched the IM tournament scoring 9/11. FM Satria Duta Cahaya (INA) scored 8.5/11 to finish second. He also earned his final IM-norm and crossed 2400 in the live ratings to become the latest International Master of India. IM Nayaka Budhidharma (INA) was placed third scoring 7.5/11. The top three prizes in the GM event was - US$ 4500, 2700 and 1700, for IM event they were - US$ 2500, 1800 and 1200 along with a trophy each. Photo: FM FT IA Peter Long

Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh and Divya set to battle world's best at Prague International Chess Festival 2025

26/02/2025 -

The seventh edition of Prague International Chess Festival 2025 starts today. Three Indians will be seen in action - GM R Praggnanandhaa, GM Aravindh Chithambaram and IM Divya Deshmukh. The first two will play in the Masters section, while Divya will battle in the Challengers. She is the sole female player in the Challengers event. Speaking of female, the Futures section has all female players. It is quite possibly the first time ever, a Futures event of a chess festival featured only girls. The average age of the section is 13. ChessBase India cofounder IM Sagar Shah and GM Harshit Raja will be the Official Commentators. Pentala Harikrishna, the winner of the fourth edition, was present during the opening ceremony to show support to his friends and compatriots. Round 1 for Masters, Challengers and Futures start today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

58th Biel Chess Festival 2025: Registrations are now open!

25/02/2025 -

The 58th edition of Biel Chess Festival is set to start from Saturday 12th July 2025. Apart from the two GMT (Grandmaster Triathlon) events, there will be a ten round MTO (Master Tournament) for players rated 1900+, ATO (Amateur Tournament) for players rated below 2000. There will also be a seven-round Freestyle Tournament (FSC) in Classical time control. There are also going to be several other events including Rapid, Blitz, Chess960 and Problem Solving events. Indian players did quite well last year in MTO and Blitz. Registration is open now. Check the article to know details about all 15 tournaments. Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Mahel Boyer wins 41st Cappelle la Grande Open 2025, Iniyan second and Raja Rithvik third

25/02/2025 -

IM Mahel Boyer (FRA) and GM Iniyan Pa scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 each at 41st Cappelle la Grande Open 2025. Mahel won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, Iniyan was placed second. Seven players scored 7/9 each. Out of them, GM Raja Rithvik R and GM Pranesh M were placed third and fourth respectively. The total prize fund was €12000. IM Muthaiah Al scored 6.5/9 to finish tenth. The seven-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by L'Echiquier Cappellois at Palais des Arts et des Loisirs in Cappelle la Grande, France from 15th to 21st February 2025.

Gukesh receives Times of India Sportsperson of the Year 2024 award

25/02/2025 -

On 22nd February 2025, D Gukesh received TOISA (The Times of India Sports Award) 2024 for Sportsperson of the Year (Men) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The 18th World Champion and 45th Chess Olympiad double Gold medalist also got Chess Player of the Year award. 45th Women Chess Olympiad double Gold medalist, IM Vantika Agrawal got a special recognition in chess. All India Chess Federation also got a special recognition for its role in the grand success of Indian chess players in recent times. Check out some moments from the event and get to know the reigning World Champion's thoughts he shared at the event. Photo: The Times of India

Nidhish Shyamal: The boy who started chess at five and conquered Nationals twice!

24/02/2025 -

We have all fought the screen-time struggle, haven’t we? And these days, it's not just us, even kids are glued to their screens. Nidhish Shyamal was one of them. In his own words, he was “addicted” to watching YouTube videos. But everything changed when his mother introduced him to chess. A simple attempt to divert his attention quickly transformed into an obsession. His journey started from there and led him all the way to becoming a two-time National Champion. Read on to find out how it all happened! Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Vedant Panesar wins 1st Aquinas International School Rapid Rating Open 2025

24/02/2025 -

FM Vedant Panesar and Atharva Madkar scored a 8/9 each at 1st Aquinas International School Rapid Rating Open 2025. Vedant won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, Atharva was placed second. Vedant also remained undefeated. Six players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, FM Suyog Wagh was placed third. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹251000. The top three prizes were ₹21000, ₹15000 and ₹12000 each respectively. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Universal Chess Foundation and Ashtavinayak Group at Aquinas International School in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 16th February 2025. This is Vedant's second rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Play a completely free Online Chess tournament with Rs. 10,000 in prizes - the GAMP ChessBase India Chess tournament!

23/02/2025 -

GAMP is an online platform which acts an social gaming network. With more than 291K players registered there, people can compete with their scores in various eSports and climb the leaderboards to win cool prizes! Chess is played on the platform - and we have a great tournament planned. On 1st March, the ChessBase India Chess tournament will take place on GAMP from 6-8 PM! All you have to do is log onto the website, and go play and win as many chess games as you can on Chess.com. There is no entry fee at all - and the prize fund is Rs. 10,000! Read the article below for all the info available on the tournament. Graphic: Anmol Bhargav/ChessBase India

GM Iniyan on ChessBase 18 - 2

23/02/2025 -

There are many clear advantages of using the latest ChessBase 18. It dramatically improves your level of chess study and preparation. Ask Indian Grandmaster Iniyan Pa, who sent us an in-depth three-part review of his experience with the program. You would do well to follow what he says carefully – and use our software to increase your performance and rating. Check out the tutorial and grab ChessBase 18 if you haven't yet. For those who are already using ChessBase 18, check out Iniyan's tutorials to maximize the software and help your understanding of it. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Monaco GP Round 5: Five draws

23/02/2025 -

The fifth round of FIDE Monaco GP 2025 witnessed five draws. It was the first time at this event all five games had no decisive result. Thus, the standings virtually remained unchanged. GM Kateryna Lagno is still the sole leader 3.5/5. She drew with IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL). GM Harika Dronavalli and GM Koneru Humpy shared their respective points against GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) respectively. Today is the sole rest day. Round 6 starts tomorrow Monday 24th February from 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

Mitrabha Guha wins ₹480000 at Kaun Banega Crorepati

22/02/2025 -

GM Mitrabha Guha is the 72nd Grandmaster of India and the inaugural Commonwealth Rapid Gold medalist. He has won a lot of accolades and tournaments. However, his recent one is becoming the first Indian Grandmaster to get into the hot seat in front of the legend, Amitabh Bachchan and participate in the Kaun Banega Crorepati. The globally popular quiz show is an Indian adaptation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Mitrabha talks about his journey in chess, the hardships he has faced, how he overcame them and his next goals. He joins the rare statistic of a GM appearing on an iteration of WWTBAM along with GM James Plaskett and the 13th World Champion - GM Garry Kasparov. Watch the entire episode on demand at SonyLiv website or app (SonyLiv subscription required). Photo: SonyLiv

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