Upsets or Underdogs??

I was talking to the tournament director, GM RB Ramesh, and we came to conclusion as the results that we saw today are actually not upsets. A lot of lower-rated players started their tournament with wins over strong IMs and GMs. The strength of these kids is way more than what their rating shows. FM Madhesh Kumar started the tournament with a win over GM Mamikon Gharibyan in a sharp battle. FM Adhiraj Mitra defeated GM Santiago Yago De Moura, FM Sarbartho Mani defeated IM Shahil Dey, FM Samyak Dharewa defeated IM Ayush Sharma, and so on....

FM Sarbartho Mani defeated IM Shahil Dey in an exciting, complication-filled encounter. We will publish an interview with full analysis soon.

These results are not surprising for us now, or even for the players. When I talked to and interviewed Madhesh Kumar, Adhiraj Mitra, or Sarbartho Mani, none of them were celebrating their big wins, as it was another day and another win for them. This shows that these kids are confident, and a bright future is ahead for them and Indian Chess.

Important Results of Round 1

On the 1st board, Top seed GM Aravindh Chithambaram defeated talented youngster FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma, who won the Western Asian U-18 just two days back

Aravindh has been working with GM RB Ramesh since he was 11 years old, and now Aravindh is 27. He is one of the strongest players in India, and you can see him wearing a T-shirt of Chola Chess, as he also regularly attends the camps at Chola Chess

On the second board, GM Pranesh M defeated FM Bivor Adak with white pieces

GM Karthikeyan Murali defeated Benjamin Defromont on the 3rd board

The top 20 boards are being live-transmitted, and the next 23 boards are being played on normal boards, so right now we don't have the games.

FM Adhiraj Mitra defeated GM Santiago Yago De Moura of Brazil (2466)

FM Madhesh Kumar defeated GM Mamikon Gharibyan of Armenia (2481)

India's Latest International Master, Viresh Sharnarthi, drew against GM Luka Paichadze (Georgia) with the white pieces

IM Apoorv Kamble scored a quick win over FM Binu Devdutt and then joined us for an interview

FM Avirat Chauhan drew against GM Aronyak Ghosh. In an interview with ChessBase India, Avirat spoke about the game and described it as a "Boring game in Caro-Kann" and then a simple draw

Games on Top boards in progress

Chief Guest Kanika Subbiah made the ceremonial move on the 1st board. (Ps: The game was not between Aravindh and Pranesh)

Solve Tactics from this tournament on Chessranga

Round 1 Recap

In this video, GM R.B. Ramesh takes us through some of the most interesting and instructive games from Round 1 of the Chola Chess GM Open 2026.

Round 1 Results

Bo.

White

Rtg

Pts.

Result

Pts.

Black

Rtg

1

FM

Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma

2389

0

0 - 1

0

GM

Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr.

2677

2

GM

Pranesh, M

2674

0

1 - 0

0

FM

Bivor, Adak

2387

3

IM

Defromont, Benjamin

2379

0

0 - 1

0

GM

Karthikeyan, Murali

2647

4

GM

Mendonca, Leon Luke

2629

0

1 - 0

0

IM

Wagh, Suyog

2378

5

IM

Daaevik, Wadhawan

2375

0

0 - 1

0

GM

Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel

2613

6

GM

Iniyan, Pa

2581

0

1 - 0

0

IM

Sahib, Singh

2374

7

IM

Panda, Sambit

2365

0

½ - ½

0

GM

Adhiban, B.

2574

8

GM

Ganguly, Surya Shekhar

2562

0

1 - 0

0

IM

Aakash Sharadchandra, Dalvi

2364

9

WGM

Rakshitta, Ravi

2364

0

0 - 1

0

GM

Narayanan, S L

2557

10

GM

Karthik, Venkataraman

2556

0

½ - ½

0

IM

Manish, Anto Cristiano F

2360

Details

Round 2 Preview

In the second round, Aravindh is going to face an experienced Grandmaster, Sandipan Chanda, with white pieces. On the second board, GM Boris Savchenko will take on GM Pranesh M. GM Murali Karthikeyan is facing IM Apoorv Kamble on the 3rd board. The 2nd round will start at 2 PM IST. Catch the live commentary on Chola Chess YT or RB Ramesh YT Channels.

Round 2 Pairings

Bo.

White

Rtg

Pts.

Result

Pts.

Black

Rtg

1

GM

Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr.

2677

1

1

GM

Chanda, Sandipan

2470

2

GM

Savchenko, Boris

2492

1

1

GM

Pranesh, M

2674

3

GM

Karthikeyan, Murali

2647

1

1

IM

Apoorv Kamble,

2454

4

IM

Sriram Adarsh Uppala,

2446

1

1

GM

Mendonca, Leon Luke

2629

5

GM

Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel

2613

1

1

GM

Nikitenko, Mihail

2416

6

FM

John, Veny Akkarakaran

2391

1

1

GM

Iniyan, Pa

2581

7

FM

Madhesh, Kumar S

2327

1

1

GM

Ganguly, Surya Shekhar

2562

8

GM

Narayanan, S L

2557

1

1

GM

Raahul, V S

2393

9

FM

Mani, Sarbartho

2311

1

1

GM

Alexakis, Dimitris

2536

10

FM

Samyak, Dharewa

2301

1

1

IM

Vaz Ethan,

2525

Details

Live Stream

Check out the Round 1 live stream and commentary by GM RB Ramesh and Gaurav Bakliwal

Photos and Videos

PhotosVideos
In this video, we take you to the opening day of one of India's strongest chess open tournaments, featuring 86 titled players. We also speak with GM R.B. Ramesh about the importance of such tournaments and the opportunities they create for India's young chess talents.
Interviews
We caught up with IM Apoorv Kamble after he scored a quick win in the 1st round at the 1st Chola Chess International Open Grandmasters Tournament. Apoorv talked about his coaches, the feeling of playing in strong tournaments in India, and managing his studies with chess.
In this video, Avirat analysed his game against IM Roman Shogdzhiev at the 32nd Abu Dhabi Masters 2026. Avirat also discussed his fearless mindset, his coaches, and sponsorships.

Replay Round 1 Available Games

Venue: Welcomhotel by ITC

Photo Credit: Hotel Website

Tournament Hall | Photo: Devansh Singh

Live Coverage

Games, Videos and Much More

Playing Schedule

Playing Field

34 Grandmasters, 3 Woman Grandmasters, 21 International Masters, 3 Woman International Masters, 22 FIDE Masters, 2 FIDE Masters, and 1 Candidate Master are taking part in this 9-Day 9-Round Classical FIDE Rating Chess Tournament. The time control is 90 Min /40 Move + 30 min/end + 30 sec per move, starting from move 1.

Important Links

Chola Chess: Official Site, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube

Regulations, Results and Standings, Tournament Details, Live Coverage