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Grand Swiss: Gukesh, Vidit, Abhimanyu, Vaishali and Vantika make a winning start

05/09/2025 -

The World Champion, GM D Gukesh made a winning start against GM Etienne Bacrot (FRA) in the first round of FIDE Grand Swiss 2025. Gukesh seized his opportunity when the France no.3 erred. The defending champion, GM Vidit Gujrathi scored an emphatic win versus GM Alexander Donchenko (GER). GM Abhimanyu Puranik won a wild game against the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 winner, GM Divya Deshmukh. The game could have gone either player's way. In the Women's event, IM Vantika Agrawal and GM R Vaishali won their respective games against IM Yuliia Osmak (UKR and IM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (UZB) respectively. Round 2 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: FIDE / Michal Walusza

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

Tapan Badamundi wins the 65th Odisha Senior State FIDE Open Chess Championship 2025

04/09/2025 -

Chess in Odisha is growing steadily with time. Initiatives like Chess-O-Disha and Pro-Chess-Ta are producing players from every corner of the state. One such rising star from the state is Tapan Badamundi, a tribal boy who hails from the Paralakhemundi region. He discovered his passion for chess early on, but limited resources made it difficult for him to pursue it. But he didn't give up! Recognizing his potential, he was gifted a laptop through ChessBase India’s YouTube Members Program last year. All his hard work and dedication paid off when he recently won the 65th Odisha Senior State FIDE Rating Open Chess Championship. He missed the trophy quite a few times in the past, but this time, he remained undefeated and scored 7.5/9 to clinch the title. Read on to discover what makes his journey so inspiring. Photo: Debi Prasad Nayak

Kaustuv Kundu triumphs at 2nd Guwahati Smart City Rating Open 2025

04/09/2025 -

IM Kaustuv Kundu, IM Mayank Chakraborty and Alekhya Mukhopadhyay scored an unbeaten 8.5/10 each at 2nd Guwahati Smart City Rating Open 2025. Kaustuv won the tournament due to better tie-break score. Mayank and Alekhya were placed second and third respectively. Kaustuv drew against the top seed and eventual runner-up, Alekhya in the seventh round. The total prize fund was ₹510000. The top three prizes were ₹70000, ₹50000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each. The five-day ten round Rating Open tournament was organized by All Assam Chess Association at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Guwahati, Assam from 4th to 8th August 2025. This is Kaustuv's fourth rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Bibendu Das

Matthias Bluebaum wins 52nd Sparkassen Chess Trophy Open 2025, Surya Sekhar Ganguly second

04/09/2025 -

Six players - GM Matthias Bluebaum (GER), GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly, IM Dau Khuong Duy (VIE), GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER), GM Yan Liu (CHN) and GM Jan Malek (POL) scored 7/9 each at 52nd Sparkassen Chess Trophy Open A (≥1951) 2025. Bluebaum won the tournament due to better tie-break scores. The remaining five were placed second to sixth respectively. Bluebaum drew against Ganguly in the final round to win the tournament. The total prize fund for 52nd Dortmund Chess Days was €20000, €16010 for Open A. The top three prizes were €4000, €2400 and €1600 along with a trophy each. The nine-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Initiative Pro Schach e.V. from 2nd to 10th August 2025 at Kulturzentrum "Alte Schmiede“ in Dortmund, Germany. Photo: Official site

Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Gukesh are the top three seeds at FIDE Grand Swiss 2025

04/09/2025 -

A total of 18 Indians will be seen in action at FIDE Grand Swiss and Women's Grand Swiss 2025. World no.4 - R Praggnanandhaa, World no.5 - Arjun Erigaisi, World no.6 and the reigning World Champion - D Gukesh are the top three seeds in the Open section. The remaining Indians are - the defending champion, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, Nihal Sarin, Karthikeyan Murali, Raunak Sadhwani, Abhimanyu Puranik, Aryan Chopra, Leon Luke Mendonca, Pranav Venkatesh, S L Narayanan and Divya Deshmukh in the Open. GM Harika Dronavalli, GM R Vaishali and IM Vantika Agrawal in the Women. The top two finishers from both Open and Women event will qualify to their respective Candidates in 2026. Round 1 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Same-Move Checkmate: Praggnanandhaa’s strategy at IMC India Simul

04/09/2025 -

On 8th August, GM R Praggnanandhaa took on ten IMC employees in a thrilling simul at IMC India's Mumbai Office. There was also a live commentary, a quiz, and prizes for the audience. Before the first move, Pragg announced his challenge to checkmate all ten opponents on the same move. Did he pull off his daring challenge? Read on to find out. Photo: IMC India

K S Naveen Shines with Perfect Score as 64 Squares Marks 10th Fortnightly Tournament!

03/09/2025 -

The 64 Squares Chess Academy, a renowned hub for chess talent in Chennai under the guidance of Candidate Master S. C. Subramanian, has long been credited with nurturing the careers of Grandmasters like Adhiban Baskaran and M. Shyam Sundar. Staying true to its mission of fostering talent at the grassroots, the Academy recently hosted the 10th edition of its fortnightly Open & Children’s Chess Tournament, a series that has swiftly established itself as a highlight of the city’s chess calendar. What set this milestone event apart from the rest? Read on to discover the highlights.

Bristy Mukherjee and Diya Chowdhury clinch three medals at Asian Amateur 2025

03/09/2025 -

India has won a total of three medals at Asian Amateur Chess Championships 2025. WFM Bristy Mukherjee won the sole Gold medal in Rapid Women event. She scored a perfect 9/9, won the tournament with a round to spare and finished 1.5 points ahead of the rest. She also won a Bronze medal in the Classical Under-2300 Women scoring 5.5/9. Diya Chowdhury earned a Bronze in Under-2000 Women Classical. She scored 6/9. The total prize fund of the tournament was HKD 215700. The top three prizes in Under-2000 and Under-2300 Women were HKD 8000, 6500 and 5000 along with a trophy and medal each. For Rapid Women, the top three prizes were HKD 2000, 1000 and 500 each.

Carlos Albornoz Cabrera triumphs at Leça Open 2025, Harikrishnan second

03/09/2025 -

GM Carlos Albornoz Cabrera (CUB) scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win Leça Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. India's 87th Grandmaster, Harikrishnan A Ra scored sole 7.5/9 to secure second place. The fifth round battle between them ended in a draw. Ten players scored 6.5/9 each. Out of them, IM Noe Tutisani (GEO) was placed third according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes were €2000, €1000 and €700 along with a trophy each respectively. The seven-day nine round Rating Open tournament was  organized by Grupo Desportivo Basquete de Leça - Chess Club (GDBL Chess Club) from 31st July to 6th August 2025 at Pavilhão Municipal de Leça da Palmeira in Leça da Palmeira, Porto district, Portugal. Photos: GDBL Official

Can Durak wins 34th "Vasilis Theodoridis" Kavala Open 2025, Aaryan Varshney shares second place

03/09/2025 -

IM Can Durak (TUR) scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win 34th "Vasilis Theodoridis" Kavala Group A (≥2100) 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE) and IM Aaryan Varshney scored 7/9 each. They shared second place. The total prize fund combining all three groups was €12000. The top three prizes in Group A were €2500, €1500 and €1000 along with a trophy each. he eight-day nine round Rating Group A (≥2100) tournament  was organized by Kavala Chess Club - East Macedonia & Thrace Chess Union  at Megali Leschi - Great Club in Kavala, Greece from 28th July to 4th August 2025. Aaryan's fantastic performance earned him his maiden GM-norm. Photo: Laskaris Tsoutsas / Municipality of Kavala

Pranav Venkatesh convincingly clinches Fujairah Global Superstars with a 2843 performance

02/09/2025 -

GM Pranav Venkatesh defeated GM Alan Pichot (ESP) to win Fujairah Global Superstars 2025 convincingly. In an equal rook and many pawns endgame, Pichot misplayed which cost him the half point. The reigning World Junior champion performed at 2843 which is certainly a testament to his dominant show at this event. Starting the event with a win over the top seed, GM Nihal Sarin, it was only fitting that Pranav finished the event with a victory too. GM Aditya Mittal is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish in Superstars. He scored an impressive unbeaten 5.5/9 with a 2701 performance to finish sixth. The first US-born African-American GM Brewington Hardaway won the Masters section scoring 7.5/9. The reigning National champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman is the sole Indian to make a top ten finish in it. He scored 7/9 to claim fourth place. Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

Shahil Dey clear first at 18th Marseille International Festival 2025, Raghav V second

02/09/2025 -

IM Shahil Dey scored 7.5/9 to win 18th Marseille International Festival 2025 Main (>1950). He finished a full point ahead of the rest. FM Raghav V scored sole 6.5/9 to secure second place. IM Remy Degraeve (FRA), IM Nikola Kanov (BUL) and CM Kumaresh A scored 6/9 each. They secured third, fourth and fifth place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the festival was €7000. The first prize was €1500 + trophy. WFM Shubhi Gupta scored 5.5/9 to finish sixth. Jaidambareesh N R and Rohith S scored 5/9 each to be placed seventh and tenth respectively. Gowtham K K scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win the Accession (<2000) event. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. The first prize was €500. Photo: Mistu Dey

Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Gukesh still World no.4, 5 and 6

02/09/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh maintained their places at World no.4, 5 and 6 respectively. Only R Praggnanandhaa among them gained Elo rating points. He increased his Elo rating point by six points at Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2025. Nihal Sarin, Karthikeyan Murali and Abhimanyu Puranik, all three of them added valuable rating points at Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. They increased 1.2, 10.8 and 4.6 points. Currently, there are six Indians in Top 30. Among the Women, four are in Top 25. GM Divya Deshmukh became India no.2 as GM Harika Dronavalli dropped a bit of rating. IM Vantika Agrawal gained six points in the month of August. FIDE Grand Swiss starts in two days, so a lot of changes may occur in the next month's rating list. Photo: Crystal Fuller / Grand Chess Tour

Nubairshah Shaikh clear first at 29th Creon IM Round-Robin Closed 2025

01/09/2025 -

IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 to win 29th Creon IM Round-Robin Closed 2025. Nubairshah finished a half point ahead of the rest. IM Simon Lamaze (FRA) and FM Ewen Pichon (FRA) scored 6/9 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. The eight day nine-round round-robin rating tournament was organized by Lauron Wesley from 27th July to 3rd August at Ulli Senger Hall in Creon, France. This is Nubairshah's second tournament triumph of the year. Both of them occurred in France. Screenshot: Tele Canal Creonnais

A K Jagadeesh wins 2nd United Educational Institutions and CDCA Below 1800 Rating 2025

01/09/2025 -

A K Jagadeesh and S Paresh scored 8/9 each at 2nd United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association Below 1800 Rating Tournament 2025. The veteran, Jagadeesh won the tournament due to better tie-break score, Paresh was placed second. Half a dozen players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, R Venkatakrishnan was adjudged third according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹35000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The three-day nine round Below 1800 Rating Tournament was organized by United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association at United Educational Institutions in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 1st to 3rd August 2025. This is Jagadeesh's first rating tournament triumph in nearly 15 years. The last rating tournament he won was in August 2010. Photo: IA R Anantharam

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