12-year-old Vesho Doulo dominates at Chess for Everyone Fide Rating Open 2026 in Nagaland
Vesho Doulo delivered a superb performance of 9/9 points to win the AICF Chess for Everyone Fide Rating Open Chess Tournament 2026 in Nagaland. Vesho won all of his games and increased his rating by 75 points. Ilung Haikam scored 7/9 points to secure the 2nd place. Icicang Haikam scored 7/9 points to finish in the 3rd place. The tournament was organized by the Interschool Chess Association at Ngwalwa Village Council Hall, Peren, Nagaland, from 10th to 14th February with a nominal entry fee of ₹250. The top 3 prizes were ₹3,000, ₹2,000, and ₹1,500 with trophies. Photos: Maciding Doson
All participants received a chessboard from Gift of Chess
This 5-day classical FIDE-rated tournament attracted 39 players from Nagaland, showing the developing interest in chess in Nagaland. The average age of the 39 participants was 16, and it's a good sign for the future of chess in the region. With a nominal entry fee of ₹250 and a good prize structure, players also received chessboards from Gift of Chess
Check out this beautiful article by Kartik Krishnan about Chess in Nagaland: Here
About the Gift of Chess
"The Gift of Chess" is a non-profit organization whose aim is to distribute 1 million chess sets across the world by 2030. They believe that chess is the great equalizer, a shared universal language that can help expand opportunities for all! Chess breaks down barriers and facilitates connection across age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Heads of state can sit across the chessboard from children from the slum communities and be perfectly equal. The Gift of Chess is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) charity in the US. Currently, they have reached 70 countries globally and are planning to reach every single country.
For the distribution of their chess sets in India, they have partnered with ChessBase India and the HelpChess Foundation. They have committed to distributing 30,000 chess sets across the country. Ambit Capital — a familiar name in Indian chess for its support of players like GM Vidit Gujrathi, GM R. Ilamparthi, and WIM Kalyani Sirin — extended its backing to the Gift of Chess initiative by covering the transportation costs through its CSR programme.
Final Ranking after 9 Rounds
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | U15 | IND | 1490 | NL | 9 | 49,5 | 49,5 | 0 | ||||
2 | 1 | U15 | IND | 1509 | NL | 7,5 | 52,5 | 40,75 | 0 | ||||
3 | 4 | U15 | IND | 1432 | NL | 7 | 55,5 | 39 | 0 | ||||
4 | 2 | U19 | IND | 1504 | NL | 6 | 52,5 | 29 | 0 | ||||
5 | 9 | IND | 0 | NL | 6 | 52 | 30 | 0 | |||||
6 | 28 | U15 | IND | 0 | NL | 6 | 44,5 | 26,5 | 0 | ||||
7 | 27 | U15 | w | IND | 0 | NL | 6 | 44 | 27 | 0 | |||
8 | 5 | U11 | IND | 1420 | NL | 5,5 | 51 | 26,75 | 0 | ||||
9 | 17 | U15 | IND | 0 | NL | 5,5 | 47 | 22,25 | 0 | ||||
10 | 16 | U15 | IND | 0 | NL | 5,5 | 46,5 | 24,75 | 0 |
