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Grenke Freestyle Open R4-5: Aryan and Leon spell beautiful disaster for Arjun and Rapport

20/04/2025 -

GM Leon Luke Mendonca continues his great run at Grenke Freestyle Open 2025. After beating the reigning World Blitz cochampion, Ian Nepomniachtchi in Round 3, Leon defeated the ever creative, GM Richard Rapport (HUN). In the fifth round, Leon drew with GM Alexey Sarana (SRB) to move to 4.5/5, a half point behind the sole leader, GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 5/5. GM Aryan Chopra got the better of GM Arjun Erigaisi in the fourth round. Arjun had a substantial advantage for the better part of the game. However, an error in an extremely complex position gave Aryan the win. Aryan drew with GM Hans Niemann (USA) in Round 5 to take his score 4/5. Round 6 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

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Wenjun Ju becomes Women’s World Champion for the fifth time

19/04/2025 -

Wenjun Ju defeated Zhongyi Tan 6.5-2.5 in a twelve game match to become the FIDE Women's World Champion for the fifth time. The eventual champion started the Chongqing segment with a victory, completing her hat-trick. Then she won the next game too which meant that she needed only a draw in the next four games. That's what she did in Game 9 to retain her crown. The total prize fund was €500000. Wenjun won 60% which is €300000 since the tie-breaks were not needed, Zhongyi got €200000. Zhongyi could not bring her best game and the match turned out to be extremely one-sided. Photo: FIDE/Anna Shtourman

Pune GP R5: Jiner escapes jaws of defeat after Salimova's queen sac

19/04/2025 -

IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) sacrificed her queen for a rook and knight, got herself few good opportunities to win against GM Jiner Zhu (CHN). However, despite playing so well, she was unable to capitalize on her chances and the fifth round game of FIDE Pune GP ended in a draw. GM R Vaishali scored her first win of the event against IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL). India's top two women, GM Koneru Humpy and GM Harika Dronavalli made a quick 19-move draw. IM Divya Deshmukh had a well contested draw against IM Polina Shuvalova. Today is the sole rest day. Round 6 starts tomorrow Sunday 20th April from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Grenke Freestyle Open R2-3: Leon Luke Mendonca stuns Ian Nepomniachtchi

19/04/2025 -

GM Leon Luke Mendonca made the most out of his opportunity against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in Round 3 of Grenke Freestyle Open 2025. The reigning World Blitz cochampion made an incorrect decision to castle long and found himself in great peril. Leon soon gave up a pawn and gained an exchange in the next few moves. He had no trouble converting his material advantage into a win. GM Pranesh M is the only other Indian at 3/3. He defeated GM Ray Robson (USA) in the third round. Leon will face GM Richard Rapport (HUN) and Pranesh will be up against GM Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) in Round 4. The World no.1, GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR) will face GM Etienne Bacrot (FRA) who got the better of GM Fabiano Caruana (USA). Round 4 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

Adam Jacso wins Kobe Chess Championship 2025

18/04/2025 -

Mayur Gondhalekar and his good friend, Sheldon Donaldson regularly keeps us updated about the Japan chess scene. Sheldon writes a blog about his experience of playing at Kobe Chess Championship 2025. He has already qualified for the upcoming Japan Chess Championship. So this event was a warm up for him. The Canadian origin, currently residing in Japan, Sheldon's article is full of high quality photos and some interesting moments from his games. He loves playing, analyzing and making us enjoy various moments from his games. Check out his account of the tournament which took place in Kobe, Japan. Adam Jacso (JPN) won the tournament scoring 3.5/5. Shun Tokuni (JPN) also scored the same. However, he was placed second according to tie-breaks. Four players including Sheldon scored 3/5. Out of them, Tadashi Ono finished third and Sheldon fifth. Photos: Sheldon Donaldson

Grenke Freestyle Open R1: A smooth start for the favorites

18/04/2025 -

Grenke Chess witnesses the participation of over 3000 players combining three groups in Open and three in Freestyle. It is the biggest open chess tournamet in the world. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) is the top seed in the Freestyle Open A. World no.4, Arjun Erigaisi and World no.11, Aravindh Chithambaram are two of the top Indian players in the fray. The conventional Grenke Open has a combined total prize fund of €70000 whereas the Freestyle Open has a prize fund of €225000, more than three times of Classical chess. There is no doubt that it has attracted all the top chess players around the world to try this popular old variant which has been renamed and rebranded to 'Freestyle chess'. Round 2 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

Pune GP R4: Divya Deshmukh bounces back, Humpy wins two in-a-row

18/04/2025 -

IM Divya Deshmukh bounced back with a win over IM Melia Salome (GEO) in Round 4 of FIDE Pune GP. Divya had to grind a major piece endgame, until her opponent faltered. GM Koneru Humpy won her second consecutive game by defeating IM Polina Shuvalova. Both Humpy and Divya are at 3/4 each. A half point behind the sole leader, GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) who defeated IM Alina Kashlinskaya (POL). The All-Indian clash between GM Harika Dronavalli and GM R Vaishali ended in a draw. IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) scored her first win of the event against IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL). Round 5 starts today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Can Levan Pantsulaia win 2nd Namma Bengaluru GM?

17/04/2025 -

GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO) defeated the in-form GM Iniyan Pa to gain sole lead 7.5/9, heading into the final round of 2nd Namma Bengaluru GM 2025. IM Anuj Shrivatri drew with GM Manuel Petrosyan (ARM). Levan will face Manuel in the final round. GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB) lost to GM Sandipan Chanda. Nithin Babu earned his final IM-norm after a draw against IM Ameya Audi. The result was immaterial to his norm chances. Total ten players are at 7/9 each. Levan winning the last round makes him a clear champion whereas a draw means his fate will be left in others hands. Round 10 starts tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

22nd BCC Open R1-4: Lalit Rohit in a three-way lead

17/04/2025 -

GM Lalit Rohit defeated IM Arif Abdul Hafiz (INA) to maintain his perfect score 4/4 at 22nd BCC Open 2025. The defending champion, GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (UKR) lost to IM Arif Abdul Hafiz (INA). 15-year-old talented FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca (PHI) won against GM Stephen J Gordon (ENG). Currently, Christian, Arif and Lalit are the only three players in the lead 4/4. They are closely followed by 13 players at 3.5/4 each. Among them, GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly, winner of the 20th edition of this celebrated event. The first prize in the Open group is THB 100000. Round 5 starts today at 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST. Photo: bangkokchess.com

Pune GP R3: Humpy halts Divya's winning streak

17/04/2025 -

GM Koneru Humpy denied IM Divya Deshmukh any opportunity to score a hat-trick. She mentioned in the post-game interview that she played something, got a new position and outplayed Divya. GM Harika Dronavalli scored her first win of the event against IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL). IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL) launched a devastating attack on the queenside to beat IM Alina Kashlinskaya (POL). GM R Vaishali drew with IM Polina Shuvalova. GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) shared the point with IM Melia Salome (GEO) to emerge an early sole leader 2.5/3. Humpy, Divya, Polina and Batkhuyag are at 2/3 each. Harika moved to 1.5/3. Round 4 starts today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

2nd Namma Bengaluru GM R8: Iniyan's excellence of execution propels him to the top

16/04/2025 -

GM Manuel Petrosyan (ARM) drew against GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB) in Round 8 of 2nd Namma Bengaluru GM 2025. Nithin Babu had a solid draw against GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO). GM Iniyan Pa played a fantastic game to completely squash IM Ethan Vaz. Ethan is also in good form, however, he was no match for Iniyan's excellent play. IM Padmini Rout suffered her second consecutive loss. It allowed her opponent, IM Ameya Audi join the leaders pack. FM Suyog Wagh lost a long minor piece endgame against IM Anuj Shrivatri. He also moved to the top. Currently, there are seven players at 6.5/8. It will be an extremely close finish. Round 9 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Aravindh Chithambaram will feature at 58th Biel Chess Festival GMT

16/04/2025 -

GM Aravindh Chithambaram will play in the 58th Biel Chess Festival Grandmaster Tournament (GMT) in Masters section. The World no.11 earlier participated in two Biel Masters Open (MTO) tournament. Both were forgettable events for him. However, he is at his career best shape and rating, so one can certainly expect fireworks from him. The remaining participants in the Masters are: GM Liem Quang Le (VIE), GM Frederik Svane (GER), GM Volodar Murzin, GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL) and GM Saleh Salem (UAE). Challengers: GM David Navara (CZE), GM Daniel Dardha (BEL), GM Ma Qun (CHN), GM Nikolas Theodorou (GRE) and GM Rinat Jumabayev (KAZ). The festival will run from 11th to 25th July 2025. Check out the press release to find out the details of the tournament and the schedule. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Aditya Dileepraj clear first at 2nd Namma Bengaluru Category B (Below 2000) Rating Tournament 2025

16/04/2025 -

13-year-old Aditya Dileepraj scored an unbeaten 9/10 to win 2nd Namma Bengaluru Category B (Below 2000) Rating Tournament 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Four players - Afreed T Khan, Rohith P, Subramanian R M and Nijesh R scored 8.5/10 each. They were placed second to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. Both Afreed and Nijesh remained undefeated. Aditya drew with both Rohith and Nijesh in the last two rounds respectively. The total prize fund was ₹1500000. The top three prizes were ₹125000, ₹100000 and ₹80000 along with a trophy each. The four-day ten round Rating tournament was organized by The Golden Aura Trust at Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka from 10th to 13th April 2025. This is Aditya's first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Pune GP R2: Vaishali self-destructs against Divya Deshmukh

16/04/2025 -

IM Divya Deshmukh scored her second consecutive win at FIDE Pune GP 2025. She defeated her 45th Olympiad Gold medalist teammate, GM R Vaishali. The GM blundered on move no.17. Divya had no trouble spotting the excellent tactic and win the game in nine more moves. GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) scored the only other win of the round against IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL). The latter made an incorrect pawn sacrifice in the double rook endgame which cost her the game. GM Koneru Humpy and GM Harika Dronavalli drew with IM Melia Salome (GEO) and IM Alina Kashlinskaya (POL) respectively. IM Polina Shuvalova shared the point with IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL). Round 3 starts today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

2nd Namma Bengaluru GM R7: Nithin Babu grinds a rollercoaster bishop endgame, joins the lead

15/04/2025 -

IM Ethan Vaz drew with GM Manuel Petrosyan (ARM) in the seventh round of 2nd Namma Bengaluru GM 2025. IM Padmini Rout lost to GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO) after she made a one-move blunder. IM Harsh Suresh was held to a draw by FM Suyog Wagh. IM Ayush Sharma lost a topsy-turvy same color bishop endgame against Nithin Babu. IM Manish Anto Cristiano F played a well contested draw against the second seeded, strong GM Karen Grigoryan (ARM). IM P Saravana Krishnan pulled off a huge swerve against GM Van Huy Nguyen (VIE). Both kings dashed to the center, yet the Vietnamese was the one to make the final mistake. Round 8 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

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