CHRISTMAS WITH CHESSPA

Gift the little ones the joy of ChessPa

Checkout Now!

chesspa christmas banner

The HelpChess Fundraiser during Tata Steel Chess 2025

24/01/2025 -

The HelpChess Foundation was established on 21st June 2018 to financially support Indian chess players. Since its foundation, it has raised over Rs. 1 crore with the help of thousands of donors. We have been able to support many players in their journey in some ways from generous donations. Every year, our mission is to help more players than before. Previously, we have raised funds during important tournaments like the World Cup 2023 (Rs. 12,58,827.55) and the 45th Chess Olympiad (Rs. 10,26,577.13). This year, we started fundraising with the Tata Steel Chess 2025 tournament and successfully raised Rs. 5,87,374. This amount will be used to support a talented chess player in India. Read the article to find the complete list of contributions made since the start of the tournament. 

NEW LAUNCH

CHESSBASE '26 + MEGA DATABASE '26

The industry standard new combo is here to help you uplift your Chess!

ChessBase '26 + MEGA DATABASE '26 Shop Now

Atharva Madkar triumphs at Belgaum Rating Open 2025

24/01/2025 -

Atharva Madkar scored 8/9 to win Belgaum Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Dr. Prajwal P Shet scored sole 7.5/9 to secure second place. Six players scored 7/9 each. Among them, IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam was placed third according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹325000. The top three prizes were ₹55000, ₹35000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each respectively. The five-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Lions Club of Belgaum, Midtown in association with Belgaum District Chess Association at Dharmnath Bhavan, Ram Nagar in Belgaum, Karnataka from 4th to 8th January 2025. Atharva won the first tournament he played in 2025. Photo: Aakash Madiwalar

Sharjah Masters 8th edition starts from 16th May 2025

24/01/2025 -

One of the strongest classical tournaments in the chess calendar is back with its 8th edition! The Sharjah Masters 2025 is set to take place from 16th May to 26th May 2025. The last edition was won by Bardiya Daneshvar (Masters), Divya Deshmukh (Challengers), and Agshin Alizada (Futures). Once again, the event will feature three exciting sections: A, B, and C (replacing the previous names of Masters, Challengers, and Futures). While the players' list is yet to be announced, we can expect some of the world’s best players fighting for the title. It will be a nine-round Classical Swiss tournament with a time control of  90 minutes+30 seconds increment per move for the whole game. The tournament will be held at the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club. Check out all the tournament details below. Photo: Sharjah Masters

Tata Steel 2025 R5: Gukesh beats Keymer, Fedoseev stuns Caruana

23/01/2025 -

D Gukesh scored his second win at 87th Tata Steel Masters against his friend and second - Vincent Keymer (GER). After losing a pawn, the Germany no.1 could not find the correct way to hold the position. Peter Leko, Keymer's trainer, pointed it out to them after their game. He allowed a queen trade which gave the world champion a decisive advantage. The sole leader, R Praggnanandhaa had a well contested draw against Max Warmerdam (NED). Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) caught up with him as he defeated Jorden van Foreest (NED) in a complex game. Both Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov are now at 4/5 each. They are followed by Gukesh and Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) at 3.5/5 each. Fedoseev defeated World no.2, Fabiano Caruana (USA) after the latter made some inaccuracies in a minor piece endgame. Leon Luke Mendonca drew with Arjun Erigaisi. Pentala Harikrishna shared the point with the defending champion, Wei Yi (CHN). In the Challengers, R Vaishali drew with Frederik Svane (GER). Today is the first of three rest day. Round 6 starts tomorrow Friday at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST for both Masters and Challengers section. Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025

New: The Catalan, an opening repertoire for life Vol.1 - Open Catalan by Jan Werle

22/01/2025 -

Unlock the full potential of the Open Catalan in this in-depth course designed for both aspiring and experienced players. In this volume, we dive deep into the various critical lines that arise after dxc4, examining Black's most popular and challenging setups, including 5...c5, 5...a6 with 6...b5, and the flexible Nc6. Each variation is thoroughly explored to give you a complete understanding of the positions you’ll face and how to navigate them. Grab this new Fritztrainer if you have not got it yet. Now you can study chess on any device either via streaming or on ChessBase Book. Photo: ChessBase

Aaryan Varshney dominates 1st Jabalpur Rapid Rating Open 2025

22/01/2025 -

IM Aaryan Varshney scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 1st Jabalpur Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Five players - IM Himal Gusain, Gourav Nigam, Kamad Mishra, Rajesh Diwan and Sangharsh Soni scored 8/9 each. They were placed second to sixth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹150000. The top three prizes were ₹21000, ₹15000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each respectively. The two-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Foundations Chess Academy in association with Kaunteya Ventures at Rungbhumi Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar Shukla Stadium in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on 4th and 5th January 2025. Aaryan won the first tournament he played in 2025. Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

Tata Steel 2025 R4: Praggnanandhaa scores a hat-trick, emerges sole leader and now World no.8

22/01/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa made a fantastic start at 87th Tata Steel Masters 2025. He scored his third win in-a-row to gain sole lead 3.5/4 and also become World no.8 in the live ratings. Praggnanandhaa just outplayed his fellow countryman, Leon Luke Mendonca, after the latter struggled to find out a correct plan in the middlegame. He is closely followed by Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) at 3/4. He drew with the defending champion, Wei Yi (CHN). Pentala Harikrishna made a short work of Max Warmerdam (NED) in just 23 moves. Arjun Erigaisi suffered a tough loss as he blundered in a winning position against Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO). IM Divya Deshmukh and GM R Vaishali scored a win each over GM Ediz Gurel (TUR) and GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) respectively. Round 5 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST for both Masters and Challengers section. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025

Story of U-13 Open Champion Reyan Md: Bihar’s potential first grandmaster

21/01/2025 -

The current National U-13 Open Champion, Reyan Md’s journey began in an unexpected way with a simple Ludo box. What started as a curiosity about a new game soon turned into a promising chess career. With his family’s constant support and guidance from good coaches, Reyan has excelled in various top tournaments. The youngster has the potential and is on his way to becoming Bihar’s first Grandmaster. Read the article to discover the story of one of India’s promising young chess players.

FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 to take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 3rd to 15th September

21/01/2025 -

FIDE Grand Swiss and Women's Grand Swiss will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 3rd to 15th September 2025. Both events are part of the next World Championship Cycle. The winner and runner-up of each section will secure their spots in their respective Candidates 2026. Vidit Gujrathi and R Vaishali won the previous edition in 2024. It earned them a spot in the Candidates 2024. The event will also feature an increased prize fund - boosted by at least 30%. More details and tournament regulations will be released by the end of February. Photo: FIDE

Shaon Chowdhury wins 4th Matrix Cup Rating Open 2025

21/01/2025 -

Shaon Chowdhury, Mrityunjay Kumar and FM Ram Prakash scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 4th Matrix Cup Rating Open 2025. Shaon became champion due to better tie-break score. Mrityunjay and Ram were placed second and third respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹901000, an increase of ₹50000 from the previous edition. The top three prizes were ₹101000, ₹75000 and ₹50000 along with a trophy each respectively. The five-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Matrix Chess Academy at Abhinav Global School in New Delhi from 3rd to 7th January 2025. Shaon won the first tournament he played in 2025. Photo: Matrix Chess Academy

Tata Steel 2025 R3: Praggnanandhaa wins two in-a-row, Gukesh draws with Caruana

21/01/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa won his second consecutive in the third round of 87th Tata Steel Masters 2025. This time he outplayed his 45th Olympiad Gold medal winning teammate, Arjun Erigaisi. Praggnanandhaa was surprised that his opponent went for a line which traded queens early. However, in the endgame Arjun made a few inaccuracies which cost him the game. This win brought Praggnanandhaa back to World no.10 in the live ratings. D Gukesh drew with the World no.2, Fabiano Caruana (USA). Leon Luke Mendonca made his first point of the event as he had a well contested draw against Pentala Harikrishna. Round 4 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST for both Masters and Challengers section. Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025

Ayush Sharma amazing at 3rd Goa GM 2025

20/01/2025 -

IM Ayush Sharma defeated GM Sethuraman S P to win Late Shri Manohar Parrikar Goa International GM Tournament 2025. Sethuraman missed an opportunity to force a queen trade which allowed Ayush to launch a brutal attack on the kingside and win the game. Ayush finished a half point ahead of the rest 8.5/10. IM Alexander Slizhevsky scored sole 8/10 to secure second place. IM Semetei Tologon Tegin (KGZ) scored 7.5/10 to be placed third. Sethuraman, IM Aronyak Ghosh, IM Ethan Vaz, IM Kushagra Mohan and FM Mohamed Anees M also scored 7.5/10 each. They were placed fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹2500000. The top three prizes were ₹450000, ₹350000 and ₹250000 along with a trophy each respectively. Ayush won the first tournament he played in 2025. Sriram Adarsh Uppala scored an IM-norm. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

Santu Mondal wins 1st Sipajhar Rating Open 2025

20/01/2025 -

Five players - Santu Mondal, Soni Krishnan, Tanmay Rajbongshi, Barnil Kumar Das and Iftikar Alom Mazumdar scored 7.5/9 each at 1st Sipajhar Rating Open 2025. Santu won the tournament due to better tie-break score. The remaining four were placed second to fifth respectively. Santu drew with both runners-up. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹351000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹30000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each respectively. The five-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by All Assam Chess Association at Sipajhar College in Darrang, Assam from 3rd to 7th January 2025. This is the first tounament Santu played in this year, he remained undefeated and he won it. Photo: Northeast Chess India

Tata Steel 2025 R2: Praggnanandhaa scores as Harikrishna falters in the endgame, Gukesh draws

20/01/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa scored his first win at 87th Tata Steel Masters against his Gold medal winning Olympiad teammate, Pentala Harikrishna. After escaping with a draw in the first round against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB), Praggnanandhaa was on the verge of making his second consecutive draw. However, the endgame expert made a mistake of deciding not to trade the rooks and arrive at a bishop endgame which would have ended in a draw. D Gukesh had a solid draw against Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO). Arjun Erigaisi shared the point with Anish Giri (NED). Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Abdusattorov are the only two other victors in Masters. Round 3 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST for both Masters and Challengers section. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025

Ayush Sharma or Sethuraman - Who will win 3rd Goa GM?

19/01/2025 -

IM Ayush Sharma defeated the sole leader - IM Semetei Tologon Tegin (KGZ) to move himself to the top of the standings at Late Shri Manohar Parrikar Goa International GM Tournament 2025. Ayush seized his opportunity when his opponent blundered in a rook and few pawns endgame. GM Sethuraman S P was determined to score a win over IM Srihari L R. He made it very clear early in the game and went on to win it. IM Ameya Audi missed an opportunity to force a draw in the queen endgame aganst IM Alexander Slizhevsky. It resulted in Ayush, Sethuraman and Slizhevsky, all three in the lead with a score 7.5/9 each. It will be Ayush vs Sethuraman and Slizhevsky vs IM Ethan Vaz. Goa's very own, 13-year-old Ethan can dash Slizhevsky's hopes to win the tournament, while Ayush and Sethuraman duke it out amongst themselves. Round 10 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

Contact Us