chessbase india logo

Ajay Srikanth dominates 1st Sports Bees Rapid Rating Open 2024 after more than a decade long hiatus

12/01/2025 -

When a lot of tournaments take place, naturally a lot of champions get crowned. However, it is slightly different with Ajay Srikanth, the winner of 1st Sports Bees Rapid Rating Open 2024. He scored 8.5/9 and finished a half point ahead of the rest. Five players - FM Ankit Gajwa, IM Sathvik Adiga, Vivaan Sachdev, FM Apoorv Kamble and Aarya Satish Chikodi scored 8/9 each. They were placed second to sixth according to tie-breaks. Ajay defeated the eventual runner-up, Sathvik in the final round to become the champion. The total prize fund was ₹250000. The top three prizes were ₹35000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The two-day nine-round Swiss league rapid rating tournament was organized by Sports Bees at CMK Convention Hall in Bangalore, Karnataka on 28th and 29th December 2024. This is Ajay's first rating tournament triumph of his career. If you have not played a tournament for a really long time, check out this report and you might just find your inspiration. Photo: sportsbees.in

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

New: Ivan Sokolov - Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.11 - King's Indian Structures

12/01/2025 -

The King’s Indian Defence is one of the most popular and historically rich openings in chess, known for its dynamic complexity and fierce battles for control. In this course, you will explore how to navigate White’s full pawn centre and understand the key plans for both sides. But understanding an opening doesn't stop at memorising theory. It's crucial to grasp the ideas and structures connected to the opening moves. Knowing how to apply these concepts and recognising mistakes from your opponent can give you a critical edge in the middlegame—a key component to transforming an opening advantage into a winning position. Photo: ChessBase

3rd Goa GM R1: Aadik and Arshiya draw with GMs

12/01/2025 -

Aadik Theophane Lenin and WCM Arshiya Das drew with GM Deepan Chakkravarthy and GM Alexei Fedorov respectively in the first round of Late Shri Manohar Parrikar Goa International GM Tournament 2025. The third edition witnesses the participation of 187 players including 17 GMs, 34 IMs and 6 WIMs in Category A (>2000) from 17 countries across the world including India. The Category B (Below 2000) has a total participation of 285 players. The total prize fund of the festival is ₹5300000. Category A has the prize fund of ₹2500000. Category C (Below 1700) starts on 16th January. Round 2 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

Johor Chess Association invites you to 9th Johor Open 2025 in Malaysia

11/01/2025 -

Johor Chess Association invites you to 9th Johor International Open 2025. The tournament has two categories - Open and Challengers (Below 2000). The top three prizes in Open are RM 10000, 6000 and 4000. For Challengers, the top three prizes are RM 1300, 1000 and 800. A total of 3 GMs, 11 IMs and a WIM have registered from eight countries across the world. Entry is Free for GM, IM and players rated above 2300 in the Open section. Last date is extended to 16th January without any penalty in entry fees. There are few conditions offered for GMs rated above 2400 and IMs rated above 2300. IM Nitin S and Venkatesh M R are the only two Indians to have won this tournament in 2014 and 2017 respectively. The next one can be you. Check out the article to find out all details about the tournament. Photo: Tournament circular

Kaustuv Kundu prevails at 1st Royal Rivals Rating Open 2024

11/01/2025 -

IM Kaustuv Kundu and Debayan Ray scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 1st Royal Rivals Rating Open 2024. The top seed, Kaustuv won the tourament due to better tie-breaks, 14-year-old Debayan secured second place. Four players - Saptorshi Gupta, CM Kunal Chatterjee, Gopal Chandra Biswas and Arijit Ghosh scored 7.5/9 each. They were placed third to sixth respectively. The total prize fund was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹50000 + trophy, ₹30000 + trophy and ₹20000 each. The six-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Classical Chess Academy at Eastern Railway Sports Academy Complex in Kolkata, West Bengal from 26th to 30th December 2024. This is Kaustuv's fifth tournament triumph of the year. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

ChessBase 18: Opponent preparation with Lichess games

11/01/2025 -

How would it be if you knew the Lichess games of your next opponent and could prepare for him with these games? An enticing idea! But to do that, you would have to know your Lichess account! ChessBase 18 now offers exactly this powerful method of preparing against your opponent! ChessBase 18 can derive the possible Lichess account from a Lichess team! You will receive a report on the most likely Lichess accounts that could belong to this player from the relevant team. Chief developer Matthias Wüllenweber shows how it works in the video! Photo: ChessBase

Vinodhkumar Balaguru wins Basel Xmas Festival 2024 Below 2100 Rating Tournament

11/01/2025 -

Vinodhkumar Balaguru, Emile Roubert (FRA) and Stephan Buettiker (SUI) scored 6/7 each at Basel Xmas Festival Experts (Below 2100) Rating Tournament 2024. Vinodhkumar won the tournament on tie-breaks, Emile and Stephan were placed second and third respectively. Balaguru drew with Emile and defeated Stephan. The total prize fund was CHF 5000. The top three prizes were CHF 1000, 700 and 500 along with a trophy each. The five-day seven-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Claudio Boschetti - Swiss CHess Tour at Mövenpick Hotel - Aeschengraben in Basel, Switzerland from 26th and 30th December 2024. This was the sole rating tournament Balaguru played in 2024 and he won it. Photo: IA Tiziana Balzarini

Iniyan convincingly clinches 15th Chennai GM Open, Venkatesh second and Aronyak third

10/01/2025 -

GM Iniyan Pa defeated his coleader, GM Deepan Chakkravarthy to win 15th Chennai GM Open 2025. Iniyan sscored an unbeaten 8.5/10, performed at 2629, gained 14.7 Elo rating points and finished a half point ahead of the competition. GM Venkatesh M R won against IM Ethan Vaz to secure second place 8/10. IM Aronyak Ghosh drew with IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete to finish third 7.5/10. Deepan, Sammed and IM Kaustuv Kundu also scored 7.5/10. They secured fourth to sixth place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹2000000. The top three prizes were ₹400000 + trophy, ₹300000 and ₹180000 each. Nine out of the top ten places were claimed by Indians. Photo: IA R Anantharam

Devesh Anand Naik decimates QTCA Rating Open 2024

10/01/2025 -

Devesh Anand Naik scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win QTCA Rating Open 2024. He finished a whopping 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Five players - Anecx Kanjiravila B C, Aravinda B R, Chaitanya V Gaonkar, Aaryavrat Rasiket Naik Desai and Chaitanya Sushant Patil scored 7/9. They were placed second to sixth according to tie-breaks. Devesh defeated both podium finishers and won the tournament with a round to spare. The total prize fund was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹40000, ₹25000 and ₹15000 along with a trophy each. The five-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Quepem Taluka Chess Association and Govt. College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Quepem at Govt. College of Arts, Commerce and Science in Quepem, Goa from 26th to 30th December 2024. This is Devesh's second tournament triumph of the year. Photo: IA Sanjay Kavlekar

What do you get for a World Championship's VIP ticket?

10/01/2025 -

Imagine attending the prestigious World Chess Championship in Sentosa, Singapore, and opting for the ultimate VIP experience. At 380 Singapore dollars (slightly under 24,000 Indian Rupees), this ticket is akin to securing Category 1 seats for a Taylor Swift concert. Naturally, you might find yourself pondering whether this investment is truly worthwhile. After all, with that budget, you could snag some World Championship merchandise - think t-shirts, posters, phone cases, umbrellas, and mugs - alongside the popular game collection books featuring Ding Liren (NIC) and Gukesh (Elk and Ruby), with some change left over. But what are the perks of buying a VIP ticket for the World Chess Championship? Read the article to find out. Photo: Michelle Tay

Sharpen Your Strategic Skills with ChessNeurons - Final Episode

09/01/2025 -

Welcome back to the Strategic Mastery series, where we explore advanced chess concepts to help you elevate your game. After an incredible journey, we’ve arrived at the final episode of our Strategic Mastery series. It’s hard to believe that we have covered so many profound strategic themes and puzzles, all designed to sharpen your understanding of chess and elevate your positional play. In this final episode, we will take a look back at the various themes we have explored together - each one aimed at deepening your knowledge, improving your strategic thinking, and helping you approach the game with a fresh perspective. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate player, or someone looking to refine your skills, we hope this series has been a valuable resource in your quest to become a more insightful and thoughtful chess player. | Photo: ChessNeurons

Chess in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

09/01/2025 -

Exactly a month ago, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle released worldwide. Being a massive fan of the Indiana Jones franchise, this game was obviously a must-play. You must be wondering, why are we talking about a video game on a chess website? Well, the game had plenty of chess positions which were carefully curated. Unlike WatchDogs, you cannot solve the positions by moving pieces but you can certainly use your mind to solve them or even for that matter, recollect where you might have probably seen it. The game releasing day one on Xbox Game Pass meant, not waiting for a deal/sale or a price drop, you can hop in on any given day as long as you have a valid subscription. All photos are in-game screenshots captured by the author. Game cover: Indiana Jones fandom

Indrajeet Mahindrakar wins a double at 14th Ethugalpura Rating Open 2024

09/01/2025 -

Indrajeet Mahindrakar scored an unbeaten 9.5/10 to win 14th Ethugalpura Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. G W D M Dabarera (SRI) scored 9/10 to secure second place. A A H M B Senarathne (SRI) was placed third scoring 8.5/10. The total prize fund of the tournament was over LKR 1200000. The top three prizes in the Classical event were LKR 150000, 75000 and 50000 along with a trophy and medal each. Indrajeet won the Blitz Rating event scoring a perfect 9/9. He finished a full point ahead of the field. C U Hettiarachchi (SRI) and C C Weerasinghe (SRI) secured second and third place scoring 8/9 each. These were Indrajeet's fourth and fifth tournament triumph of 2024. Photo: Ethugalpura International Chess Championship

Bangkok Chess Club invites you to 22nd BCC Open 2025

09/01/2025 -

The 22nd Bangkok Chess Club Open will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from 13th to 21st April 2025. The first prize in Open group is 100000 Baht. There are prizes for the top ten and five best players from Thailand Chess Association. The top five in the Challengers (Below 2000) will receive a prize each. That's not all, there is a Blitz event on 16th and 17th April which is played in two stages. Join this tournament where utmost care is given to the playing conditions. 7 GMs, 3 IMs and a WIM have already confirmed their participation. The tournament takes place during Songkran festival. So you can enjoy the fantastic tournament along with experiencing the most special festival of Thailand. FM FT IA Peter Long writes about this event. Photo: Bangkok Chess Club

Deepan or Iniyan - Who will win 15th Chennai GM Open?

09/01/2025 -

GM Iniyan Pa made a quick draw with IM Aronyak Ghosh to maintain his lead at the conclusion of the penultimate round. GM Siddharth Jagadeesh (SGP) suffered a loss against GM Deepan Chakkravarthy. Thus, Deepan joined Iniyan in the lead 7.5/9. They will inevitably face each other in the final round. A draw would allow any five players - IM Ethan Vaz, Aronyak, IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete, GM Venkatesh M R and FM Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy to catch up with them. A win scored by either Deepan or Iniyan will make them an outright champion. Who will win 15th Chennai GM Open? Round 10 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: IA R Anantharam

Contact Us