Heartbreak for Aarit

FM Aarit Kapil was on 3/5 points; in the 6th round, he was paired against experienced GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, and guess what the young lad did? He gained a winning position and completely outplayed Surya after a blunder. Aarit kept Surya under intense time pressure and pressure on the board as well. The position was completely lost for Surya, but he kept on fighting, and in the end, he found his chance to draw from a dead-lost position. A miraculous save for Surya, but a heartbreaking moment for Aarit.

A tough day for FM Aarit Kapil, but we are sure that he will come back stronger

What a fighter Surya is; from a completely losing position to a draw, he turned the tables

Important Results of Round 6

GM Pranesh M defeated GM Leon Mendonca to gain the sole lead with 5/6 points
In this video, GM Pranesh discusses his crucial win against GM Leon Mendonca in Round 6 of the Chola Chess GM 2026 and shares his thoughts on playing an open tournament in India after four years.

On the second board, Murali Karthikeyan drew against S.L. Narayanan

FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma drew against GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy

FM Madhesh Kumar defeated IM Apoorv Kamble in an exciting game

FM Aadik Theophane Lenin defeated GM Dimitris Alexakis in a beautiful game

FM Jihan Tejas Shah defeated GM Karthikeyan P.

Editor's Note

Solve Tactics from this tournament on ChessRanga

Round 6 Recap

Round 6 Results

Bo.

White

Rtg

Pts.

Result

Pts.

Black

Rtg

1

GM

Pranesh, M

2674

4

1 - 0

4½

GM

Mendonca, Leon Luke

2629

2

GM

Karthikeyan, Murali

2647

4

½ - ½

4

GM

Narayanan, S L

2557

3

GM

Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr.

2677

3½

½ - ½

3½

GM

Mayank, Chakraborty

2511

4

GM

Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel

2613

3½

½ - ½

3½

GM

Savchenko, Boris

2492

5

GM

Suleymenov, Alisher

2502

3½

½ - ½

3½

GM

Iniyan, Pa

2581

6

GM

Aleksandrov, Aleksej

2435

3½

½ - ½

3½

GM

Afanasiev, Nikita

2543

7

GM

Harshavardhan, G B

2529

3½

1 - 0

3½

GM

Gharibyan, Mamikon

2481

8

GM

Ilamparthi A R,

2523

3½

1 - 0

3½

GM

Nikitenko, Mihail

2416

9

FM

Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma

2389

3½

½ - ½

3½

GM

Bernadskiy, Vitaliy

2517

10

GM

Adhiban, B.

2574

3

½ - ½

3

IM

Ayush, Sharma

2440

Details

Round 7 Preview

In the 7th Round, Sole Leader Pranesh M will be facing S.L. Narayanan on the top board with back pieces. On board 2, Ilamparthi A.R. will face Karthikeyan Murali, and on the 3rd board, Leon Mendonca will face Harshavardhan G.B. In an exciting clash, Madhvendra Pratap Sharma will play against GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly. The 7th round will start at 2 PM IST on 4th November 2026. Catch the live commentary on Chola Chess YT or RB Ramesh YT Channels.

Round 7 Pairings

Bo.

White

Rtg

Pts.

Result

Pts.

Black

Rtg

1

GM

Narayanan, S L

2557

4½

5

GM

Pranesh, M

2674

2

GM

Ilamparthi A R,

2523

4½

4½

GM

Karthikeyan, Murali

2647

3

GM

Mendonca, Leon Luke

2629

4½

4½

GM

Harshavardhan, G B

2529

4

GM

Vignesh, N R

2513

4

4

GM

Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr.

2677

5

GM

Mayank, Chakraborty

2511

4

4

GM

Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel

2613

6

GM

Iniyan, Pa

2581

4

4

GM

Aleksandrov, Aleksej

2435

7

GM

Savchenko, Boris

2492

4

4

GM

Aronyak, Ghosh

2546

8

GM

Afanasiev, Nikita

2543

4

4

GM

Suleymenov, Alisher

2502

9

GM

Bernadskiy, Vitaliy

2517

4

4

IM

Budhidharma, Nayaka

2397

10

GM

Ganguly, Surya Shekhar

2562

3½

4

FM

Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma

2389

Details

Live Stream

Check out the Round 6 live stream and commentary by GM R. B. Ramesh and FM Gaurav Bakliwal

Photos and Videos

PhotosVideosInterviews
In this video, Adhiraj Mitra breaks down his win against IM Suyog, explaining how he created complications and put his opponent under pressure. He also shares his experience at the Chola Chess GM 2026.

Replay Round 6 Available Games

Venue: Welcomhotel by ITC

Photo Credit: Hotel Website

Tournament Hall | Photo: Devansh Singh
Check out the venue tour | Video: ChessBase India

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