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How a 12-year-old chess prodigy is balancing content creation and training

21/02/2026 -

Everyone talks about building an online presence today. For chess players, it can definitely help their careers, but it can also begin to affect focus if not handled carefully. 12-year-old Aarav Sarbalia, a FIDE Master with a 2281 classical rating, shows a different way of approaching content. He started content creation to improve his communication skills. Quite a unique approach! Interestingly, he spends just two to three hours a month on it, while his main focus remains on training and tournaments. His parents handle the rest: the scripting, posting, and engagement. Read on to see how this balanced approach is shaping his journey. Photo: Sachin Sarbalia

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Loic Travadon wins 32nd Graz Open 2026, Lalit Babu MR second

21/02/2026 -

After the final round at the International Chess Open Graz 2026 Group A, it was a 3-way tie for first place. Loic Travadon scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 points to win the tournament. GM Lalit Babu MR of India, and IM Roman Dehtiarov of Ukraine also scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 points to secure second and third position respectively, on tiebreak scores. In the last round of the event, Loic Travadon and Lalit Babu drew their game, and this result helped Loic win the event. There were sensational 6 IM norms and a GM norm scored in the tournament. The total prize money of the event was €12.000, and the top 3 prizes were €1500, €1000, and €800. The tournament was organized at Novapark Flugzeughotel Graz, Austria, from 14th to 20th of February 2026. Photos: Internationales Schachopen Graz

FIDE Candidates 2026: Pairings are out, who are you rooting for?

20/02/2026 -

The pairings for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 have been confirmed after the Drawing of Lots ceremony held at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus. The FIDE Candidates Tournaments, which will take place from 28 March to 16 April 2026, will determine the challengers for the World Championship and Women’s World Championship titles. The drawing of pairings was conducted by the Chief Arbiter, Takis Nikolopoulos. For the participants, the announcement of pairings marks a decisive shift in preparation. Opening repertoires, rest-day planning, and strategic approaches are refined months in advance based on the confirmed opponents. Photos and Details: FIDE Chess

CRG Krishna wins 2nd Aspiring Minds Open Rapid FIDE Rating 2026

20/02/2026 -

International Master CRG Krishna scored an unbeaten 8/9 points to win the 2nd Aspiring Minds Open International Rapid FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2026. It was a 6-way tie for first place, as six players scored 8/9 points, but a better tie-break score helped CRG Krishna to secure the title. Sri Sai Baswanth P, Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad, Jain Kashish Manoj, Dhruva Thota, and Nidhish Shyamal finished in second to sixth place, respectively. The tournament took place on 14th & 15th February 2025 at Saroor Nagar Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, by Aspiring Minds Chess Academy, with a total prize money of ₹4,00,000, and top 3 prizes of ₹60,000, ₹40,000, and ₹25,000 along with trophies. Photos: FT IM Ravi Teja S

Neelash Saha victorious at Marienbad IM Norm Round Robin 2026

20/02/2026 -

International Master Neelash Saha won the Marienbad IM Norm Round Robin 2026 by scoring 8/9 points. Neelash remained unbeaten throughout the event and won the tournament with a 2-point lead. FM Mostbauer Florian scored 6/9 points, and he secured second place. FM Avila Bautista Roberto Al finished in the third place. This wonderful performance helped Neelash to gain 7.6 Rating points and the championship. This result came after Neelash finished on the podium at the 24th Prague Open 2026. The Marienbad IM Norm Round Robin happened at the Continental Hotel in Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic. The top three prizes of the tournament were CZK 5000, 3000, and 2000. Photos: Czech Tour

Tanmay Rajbongshi dominates with 9/9 at 1st Haflong FIDE Rapid Rating 2026

19/02/2026 -

Tanmay Rajbongshi dominated the field at the 1st Haflong FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. Tanmay scored a perfect score of 9/9 to secure first place in the event. Second place was secured by Dhar Rajib with 8/9 points, and Iftikar Alom Mazumdar scored 7.5/9 points to finish in third place. The total prize fund of the event was ₹1,00,000, with the top three prizes of ₹15,000, ₹10,000, and ₹8,000. The 1st Haflong FIDE International Rapid Rating Chess Tournament was successfully held on 8th February 2026 at NL Daulagupu Stadium, Haflong, Dima Hasao. The tournament was organized by the District Sports Office, Dima Hasao, in association with the Dima Hasao Chess Association. Photos: Ronit Dey/Dima Hasao Chess Association

Gokula Vishnu R triumphs at 11th BBCF International FIDE Rated 2026

18/02/2026 -

Gokula Vishnu R of Tamil Nadu wins the 11th BBCF International FIDE-Rated Open Chess Tournament. Gokula scored an unbeaten 8/9 points with 7 wins and 2 draws to secure first place. There was a tie for second place between FM Vinoth Kumar M and Rejath Renjith as both scored 7.5/9 points, but a better tiebreak score helped Vinoth Kumar M secure second place and Rejath Renjith secure third. The total prize fund of this 5-day FIDE-rated classical event was ₹7,00,001. The event was organized by the Brains Behind Chess Foundation at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, from 4th to 8th February. Photos: Balaji S /Brains Behind Chess Foundation

Bournel Antoine clear first at 1st Harda International Rapid Rating 2026

17/02/2026 -

International Master Bournel Antoine from France scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 points to win the 1st Harda International Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. He finished half a point ahead of Kartavya Anadkat and Prakhar Bajaj, who scored 8/9 points and secured 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. The total prize money of this one-day rapid-rated event was ₹1,51,000, with the top 3 prizes ₹25,000, ₹20,000, and ₹15,000 respectively. The tournament was organized at Harda Degree College, Harda, Madhya Pradesh, on 24th January. Time control was 15 minutes+5 seconds increment from move one. Photos: IM Akshat Khamparia

Rethinking time controls in the Candidates and World Championship

17/02/2026 -

Are the Candidates and World Championship time controls stuck in the past? Players are still facing brutal time scrambles that hurt the quality of chess we love to watch. Why does the increment start at move 41 for some, but from move one in others? Is tradition really helping, or just stressing players unnecessarily? In this opinion piece, Ravi Abhyankar dives into why FIDE’s current system feels arbitrary and offers a smarter, simpler solution. If you are interested in how time controls shape elite chess, this article offers a thoughtful perspective. Photo: Wikipedia

Garv Rai Dominates at 1st Uttarakhand Fide Rapid Rating 2026

17/02/2026 -

Garv Rai from Delhi dominated the field at the 1st Uttarakhand Fide Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. Garv scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 points and won the tournament with a full point lead. Garv was on 8/8 points and drew his last game to win the event, and won a cash prize of ₹31,000. Four players scored 7.5/9 points, and better tiebreaks helped Shreyansh Sahu to secure second place and IM Akshat Khamparia from Madhya Pradesh to secure third place, respectively. This two-day rapid rating event was organized by the DevBhoomi Chess Association at Bhartiyam International School, Rudrapur, on 10th and 11th January, with a total cash prize of ₹3,00,000. Photos: Bhartiyam International School

10 year-old Aarit Kapil wins 1st Shri PL Sharma Memorial Rapid Rating 2026

16/02/2026 -

The 1st Shri PL Sharma Memorial Open International Fide Rated Rapid Chess Tournament was won by CM Aarit Kapil of Delhi. He scored 8 points to win the tournament with 7 wins and 2 draws. Second place was secured by CM Vandan Alankar Sawai of Delhi, as he also scored 8 points with 7 wins and 2 Draws. Third, Fourth, and Fifth place was secured by IM Aaryan Varshney of Delhi, scoring 8/9 points, Anadkat Kartavya of Gujarat, 7.5/9 points, and IM Sharma Dinesh K of LIC scoring 7.5/9 points. The tournament was organised by Queen Chess Academy at Sadhu Vaswani International School for Girls, Sector 4, Shanti Niketan, Delhi, on 31st January-1st February. Photos: IA Shardul Sharma

Magnus Carlsen wins FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026

16/02/2026 -

Magnus does it again!! Magnus Carlsen wins the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the finals with a score of 2.5-1.5. This is Carlsen's 21st World Championship title; he recently won his 19th and 20th titles at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Qatar. Magnus came back from a really tough spot in 3rd game and never looked back after that. Nodirbek Abdusattorov secured third place after winning his match against Vincent Keymer. Arjun Erigaisi lost his match against Hans Neimann and missed the 5th place. This 3-day event comes to an end with Magnus winning his 21st world championship, and Caruana in agony. Read the detailed report of the last day. Photos: Stev Bonhage/Fresstyle chess, Aditya Sur Roy/Chessbase India

15-year-old Arshiya Das from Tripura becomes the first WIM of North East India

16/02/2026 -

Arshiya Das from Tripura has created history by becoming the first Woman International Master of North East India. The 15-year-old completed all three WIM norms within a year. Her final norm came in Serbia, where she won the 42nd Rudar IM Round Robin tournament with 6.5/9 score. Along the way, she also earned her first Woman Grandmaster norm. Arshiya’s journey stands as a strong inspiration for young players, especially girls from the North East region. Discover her rise to becoming the region’s first Woman International Master. Photo: Purnendu Das

Anuj Shrivatri emerges victorious at SBI GIC Fide Rated Rapid Tournament 2026 at IITK

15/02/2026 -

Top seed Anuj Shrivatri wins SBI GIC Fide Rated Rapid Tournament 2026 at IIT Kanpur. Anuj scored 8/9 points to secure the victory. He was leading the event with 8/8 points going into the 9th round, Anuj lost to Arnav Agrawal, a young talent from the host state Uttar Pradesh. This important win helped Arnav to secure second place with 8/9 points. India's latest GM Aaryav Varshney and IM Aaditya Dhingra also scored 8/9 points to secure 3rd and 4th positions, respectively, on tiebreaks. This one-day rapid-rated event was organized in the IIT Kanpur campus on 7th February with a total cash prize of ₹2,00,000. Photos: Akshat Srivastava/ChessClub IITK

FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026: Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana into the finals

15/02/2026 -

Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana will face each other in the finals of the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026. In the semifinals, Magnus won his match against Nodirbek Abdusattorov with a score of 3-1, and Fabiano Caruana defeated Vincent Keymer to secure his spot in the finals. After losing to Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2018, this is a great chance for Caruana to win his first World Championship title. In the lower bracket, Arjun Erigaisi won his match against Javokhir Sindarov, and Hans Neimann sealed the deal against Levon Aronian. Arjun and Hans will be playing each other in the match for 5th place. The Finals will be played on Sunday, February 15th, at Local Time 3:00 pm CET/ 7:30 pm IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy/Chessbase India

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