Vincent Keymer (GER) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA) to become the champion of Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1 Finals. The Germany no.1 truly played like a champion throughout the event. He started the tournament with four losses in the first eight games, finishing the Rapid Round-Robin stage with only 4/9 at sixth place. In the Knockout stage, he eliminated Alireza Firouzja, Magnus Carlsen and won the Finals against Caruana. He did not need a single tie-break game, winning all his KO matches with 1.5-0.5 score. This triumph earned him his highest prize in his career so far which is US$ 200000. The second leg of the tour will take place from 8th to 15th April in Paris, France. Photo: Lennart Ootes
The Anand Files offers a detailed insight into the strategies Viswanathan Anand used to win three World Championship matches in a row. It takes the reader behind the scenes to show the inner workings of Team Anand, including pre-game planning and preparing opening novelties, some of which have yet to be used. Meticulously researched over several years, during which the author conducted numerous interviews with members of Team Anand, this book follows Anand and his team of seconds for his dramatic matches against Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand!
Today, we have a very special offer on this wonderful book - use the coupon code "ANANDF10" to avail a 10% discount on The Anand Files by Michiel Abeln! This offer is valid till 22nd February 2025 - so hurry up and get your copy now!
The Women's World Championship Match will be played in Shanghai and Chongqing, China from 1st to 23rd April 2025. Just like the last time, the host cities will be exactly the same. The reigning four-time Women's World Champion, Wenjun Ju will face the winner of FIDE Women's Candidates 2024 - Zhongyi Tan. Wenjun's World Championship reign started in 2018 by winning against the 16th World Champion, Zhongyi. So it will be a rematch after nearly seven years, only this time it will be a 12-game match instead of 10. One thing is for sure, Women's World Champion title is not leaving China for the foreseeable future. Photo: FIDE
Delhi International GM Tournament is back after two years. The total prize fund combining three categories is ₹12100000, ₹5100000 for Category A and ₹3500000 for Category B (Below 1900) and Category C (Below 1700). The top three prizes in A are ₹700000, ₹600000 and ₹500000 each. That's not all. The top ten prizes in Category A are ₹100000 or more. Best Female and Best Foreign Player first prize is ₹100000 each. Entry is free for GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. They will be offered free accommodation on twin sharing basis. The winner of the last two editions are - Aravindh Chithambaram and Arjun Erigaisi. They are now World no. 21 and 4. The next one can be you. The tournament is part of FIDE Circuit. So valuable FIDE Circuit points will also be up for grabs. Check out the article to find out all details about the tournament. Photo: Tournament circular
Shaon Chowdhury scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win New Delhi Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Mani Bharathy scored sole 8/9 to secure a second place finish. Eight players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam was placed third according to tie-breaks. He was only player to draw with the eventual champion, Shaon in the penultimate round. The top three finishers remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹850000. The top three prizes were ₹71000, ₹51000 and ₹31000 along with a trophy each respectively. The five-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Sara Foundation at Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi from 31st January to 4th February 2025. This was Shaon's second rating tournament triumph of the year. Both of them occurred in Delhi.
On the 16th of January, a chess tournament was held at the Chembur Children’s Home as a part of their annual sports event. Though it was a competition, it felt more like a celebration. Some played their first-ever tournament while some learned to balance multiple sports. But the best part about this event was to see the excitement among children! This event was organized under Teach Chess India Mission to give children a chance to experience a professional chess tournament. Read the article to know more.