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Nubairshah prevails at 16th Vaujany International Festival 2025, Anuj second and Ameya third

13/08/2025 -

IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win 16th Vaujany International Chess Festival Main (>1800) 2025. Nubairshah defeated the defending champion, IM Thibault Dudognon (FRA) to become the champion. Four players - IM Anuj Shrivatri, IM Ameya Audi, GM Thal Abergel (FRA) and GM Jozsef Horvath (HUN) scored 6.5/9 each. They secured second to fifth place respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of Main tournament was €5400. The first prize was €1200. The nine-day nine round Rating tournament was organized by Jean-Pierre Lees at Espace Loisirs in Vaujany, France from 10th to 18th July 2025. Three Indians took part in the Main tournament, and they all claimed the podium. Photo: Jean-Pierre Lees

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

Xinyang Nie wins 24th Najdorf Memorial 2025, Deep Sengupta second

13/08/2025 -

IM Xinyang Nie (CHN) scored 7.5/9 to win 24th Najdorf Memorial A (≥2000) 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. The defending champion and winner of the past two editions, GM Deep Sengupta scored sole 7/9 to secure second place. Six players scored 6.5/9 each. Out of them, GM Vladimir Hamitevici (MDA) was placed third due to better tie-break score. The total prize fund of the festival was 50000 PLN, 28000 PLN in A, 12000 in B and 10000 in C. The top three prizes were 8000, 5000 and 4000 PLN each respectively in the A category. FM Rosh Jain is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 6/9 to finish ninth. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Saint Louis Rapid R4-6: Fabiano Caruana emerges new sole leader

13/08/2025 -

Fabiano Caruana (USA) has emerged new sole leader at Grand Chess Tour Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2025. He started the day with a draw against Wesley So (USA). Then he defeated Sam Shankland (USA) and Levon Aronian (USA) in fifth and sixth round respectively to move to the top of the standings 10/12. The World Champion, D Gukesh had a tough day. He once again started his day with a loss. It was against Shanland. Then he drew against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Currently he is at fifth place with a 50% score 6/12. His last three opponents in the Rapid are Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA), So and Caruana. Round 7 starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Crystal Fuller / Grand Chess Tour

Quantbox Chennai GM R6: Pranesh beats Abhimanyu, Leon joins them in the lead

13/08/2025 -

The highly anticipated battle between the sole leader, GM Vincent Keymer (GER) and his pursuer GM Arjun Erigaisi ended in a draw. The World no.5 thwarted all attempts made by Keymer to stir up trouble in Round 6 of Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. GM Awonder Liang (USA) defeated GM Pranav Venkatesh with a beautiful exchange sacrifice in the endgame. This win helped Awonder reach 2700 in live ratings and also reduce the gap with Keymer. Both Arjun and Awonder are now at 3.5/6 each, a full point behind the Germany no.1. Awonder and Keymer will clash in the seventh round. In the Challengers section, GM Pranesh M defeated GM Abhimanyu Puranik to join him in the lead. GM Leon Luke Mendonca also scored a full point over GM Aryan Chopra. Thus, three players are now at 4.5/6 each. Round 7 starts today at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Dr. Vidhi Karelia

Malaysian Chess Festival turns 20 next month

12/08/2025 -

20th Malaysian Chess Festival will take place from 12th to 21st September 2025. There are nine different events - Team, Junior (Under-12) Team, Blitz, Age group (Under-6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16), 20th Dato Arthur Tan Open, Daniel Yong Chen-I Memorial (Below 2000), DTCN International Seniors' Open (Above 50), Malaysia Day Age Group (Open, Under-8, 10, 12, 14, 18) and Festival Blitz. 20th Dato Arthur Tan Open is the main event. The top three prizes in it are - US$ 3000, $2000 and $1000. There is a tournament for all players and age groups. So pick and choose one or more. Register now if you have not yet. Check out the article for all details about the festival. Photo: Tournament circular

Saint Louis Rapid R1-3: Gukesh's dazzling queen sacrifice

12/08/2025 -

The World Champion, D Gukesh started with a loss against Levon Aronian at Grand Chess Tour Saint Louis Rapid 2025. However, he bounced back immediately in the second round with a fantastic win over Grigoriy Oparin. The game is fascinating as Gukesh sacrificed an exchange after being ahead in material. He finished things off with a queen sacrifice which his opponent accepted and allowed to be checkmated by double bishop. Gukesh finished the day with another impressive win over World Blitz 2013 champion, Liem Quang Le. Aronian has currently taken early sole lead 6/6 by winning all three games. He is closely followed by Fabiano Caruana (USA) at 5/6, then Gukesh and Wesley So at 4/6 each. Round 4 starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Quantbox Chennai GM R5: Abhimanyu Puranik wins four in-a-row

12/08/2025 -

GM Jorden van Foreest (NED) scored his first win at Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. He defeated GM Ray Robson (USA). It was also the only decisive game of the round in Masters section. Thus, the standings did not change by much. GM Vincent Keymer (GER) is still in sole lead 4/5, followed by GM Arjun Erigaisi at 3/5. Four players - GM Anish Giri (NED), GM Vidit Gujrathi, GM Karthikeyan Murali and GM Awonder Liang (USA) are at 2.5/4 each. In the Challengers, former Asian Junior champion, IM Harshavardhan G B scored his first win of the event against GM R Vaishali. GM Abhimanyu Puranik registered his fourth win in-a-row, this time against GM R Vaishali to extend his sole lead by a full point. He is now at 4.5/5. Round 6 starts today at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Dr. Vidhi Karelia

Mohamed Anees M dominates 3rd Chairman's Trophy SRM Rapid Rating Open 2025

11/08/2025 -

IM Mohamed Anees M scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 3rd Chaairman's Trophy SRM Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. Four players - IM Senthil Maran K, FM Adharsh K, Sham R and WIM Tejaswini G scored 8/9 each. They secured second to fifth place respectively The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹250000. The top three prizes were ₹25000 + trophy, ₹20000 and ₹15000 each. The one-day nine-round Swiss League Rapid Rating Open tournament  was organized by Golden Knights Chess Academy and Master Mind Chess Academy at Padma Bhushan Major Dhyan Chand Indoor Stadium, SRM Institute of Science & Technology in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu on 13th July 2025. This is Anees' first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: SRM IST Official site

Aarit Kapil and Krisha Tamhant Jain are 38th National Under-11 Open and Girls 2025 Champions

11/08/2025 -

CM Aarit Kapil (DEL) scored an unbeaten 9.5/11 to win 38th National Under-11 Open Championship 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. Oishik Mondal (WB) scored 9/11 to finish second. He also remained undefeated. Advik Amit Agrawal (MAH) edged past five more players on tie-breaks to be placed third scoring 8.5/11. Krisha Tamhant Jain (MAH), Divi Bijesh (KER) and Pooja Shree R (TN) scored 9/11 each. Krisha became champion due to better tie-breaks, the defending champion, Divi was placed second and Pooja had to settle for third place. The total prize fund combining Open and Girls section was ₹800000. The top three prizes in both Open and Girls sections were ₹70000, ₹60000 and ₹50000 along with a trophy each respectively. Photos: Tushar Damor

Gukesh to face Caruana, Aronian, MVL, Abdusattorov, Leinier, Liem and co. at Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2025

11/08/2025 -

The fourth event of the Grand Chess Tour 2025 season is Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz. The defending champion, Alireza Firouzja (FRA) is not playing this year as he has already played the required two Rapid and Blitz events of the season. Therefore, a new champion is guaranteed to be crowned. The current World Champion, D Gukesh will be seen in action along with Fabiano Caruana (USA), Levon Aronian (USA), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB), Leinier Dominguez-Perez (USA), Wesley So (USA), Liem Quang Le (VIE), Grigoriy Oparin (USA) and Sam Shankland (USA). The tournament takes place at Richmond Heights in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Aronian, Oparin and Liem are Gukesh's first three opponents. Three rounds will be played today. Round 1 starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Quantbox Chennai GM R4: Nihal Sarin stuns World no.5, Arjun Erigaisi

11/08/2025 -

GM Anish Giri (NED) halted GM Vincent Keymer's (GER) winning streak in the fourth round of Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. GM Nihal Sarin won a topsy-turvy battle against GM Arjun Erigaisi. This was Nihal's first win and Arjun's first loss of the event. It resulted in Keymer increasing his sole lead by a full point 3.5/4. Only Arjun is at 2.5/4, followed by five players at 2/4. GM Karthikeyan Murali scored the only other victory of the round in Masters as he got the better of the reigning Dutch champion, GM Jorden van Foreest (NED). In the Challengers, GM Abhimanyu Puranik defeated GM R Vaishali to emerge sole leader 3.5/4. Birthday boy, GM Diptayan Ghosh scored a win against IM Harshavardhan G B to move to 3/4. Round 5 starts today at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Loic Travadon wins 44th Villa de Benasque Open 2025, Pranav Anand third

10/08/2025 -

Four players - IM Loic Travadon (FRA), GM Dan Zoler (ISR), GM Pranav Anand and GM Pierre Laurent-Paoli (FRA) scored 8.5/10 each at 44th Villa de Benasque Open 2025. Loic remained undefeated and won the tournament due to better tie-breaks. The remaining three were placed second to fourth respectively. GM Aditya S Samant and GM Karthik Venkataraman scored 8/10 each. They were placed fifth and sixth according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund was €51000. The top three prizes were €10000, €8000 and €5000 along with a trophy each. Photo: WIM FA FT Raluca Sgircea / Benasque Open

New: ChessBase Magazine #226

10/08/2025 -

European Championship 2025: Analyses by Bluebaum, Frederik Svane, Abasov, Alonso Rosell, Cheparinov, Grandelius, Lagarde, Navara, Ponomariov, Rodshtein, Sargissian, Suleymanli, Tari, Velten, Vogel, Volokitin, Wojtaszek and Yuffa – Raid in the Sveshnikov: Lars Schandorff shows that Black has to be extremely careful after 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.Qf3!? – ‘Queen sacrifice with dividend’: Oliver Reeh's tactical tests with over 30 current games + four interactive videos – Kramnik at his best: Dorian Rogozenco reviews the ‘Modern Classic’ Kramnik-Ehlvest (Tal Memorial 1995), including the novelty in move 16 and the impressive play by the former world champion, and much more. Photo: ChessBase

Quantbox Chennai GM R3: Vincent Keymer outplays Karthikeyan Murali, scores a hat-trick

10/08/2025 -

GM Vincent Keymer (GER) has made a perfect start at Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. He completely outplayed GM Karthikeyan Murali after the latter made a couple of positional mistakes in consecutive moves. Keymer is the sole leader at 3/3. GM Arjun Erigaisi is the only player at 2.5/3. Arjun defeated GM Ray Robson (USA) comfortably after getting a dream position out of the English opening. GM Awonder Liang (USA) and GM Vidit Gujrathi scored their first wins of the event against GM Jorden van Foreest (NED) and GM Nihal Sarin respectively. Nihal for the second consecutive game, struggled to convert his advantage into a win. This time, the outcome cost him a full point. Round 4 starts today at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Velammal MHS Golden at World Schools Team Championship 2025 with a perfect score

09/08/2025 -

Velammal MHS scored a perfect 16/16 to become World Schools Team champions. They won the event with a round to spare when they defeated Seed Educational Complex (KAZ) by 0.5-3.5 in Round 7. National School of Physics and Mathematics (KAZ), The Harker School (USA) and Astana 2 RSPM (KAZ) scored 12/16 each. They secured second to fourth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Velammal MHS Mogappair won the inaugural edition in the Under-12 category back in 2023. Instead of two separate events in Under-12 and Under-18 categories, there was only one event this time. IM Ilamparthi A R and FM Pranav K P won individual Gold on Board no.4 and 5 respectively with a score of 93.8% and 92.9% Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

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