From the CEO

I am on my way to Paris! Excited because we have 4 Indian players fighting at this Grand Slam of Freestyle Chess - Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit. They will take on the mighty Magnus, Hikaru, Caruana and others! In Freestyle Chess it is not yet clear as to who is the strongest in the world. In the 1st leg of the Grand Slam, Vincent Keymer showed his class. He outwitted not just Magnus, but also Fabiano and Alireza. It will be exciting to see who triumphs in Paris.

The last 5 days for me from 31st of March to 4th of April have been absolutely amazing! I enjoyed immensely the wedding of Vidit and Nidhi and got a unique chance to hangout with people, who I usually meet only during tournaments.

Meeting with Anish and Sopiko in Mumbai! | Photo: Sagar Shah

The wedding was held at the Oxford Golf Course in Pune and was attended by several super GMs. The most amazing of them was Anish Giri and his better half Sopiko Guramishvili, who travelled all the way from the Netherlands. The World Champion Gukesh was present and so was 5-time World Champion Vishy Anand. 

A wonderful group photo in the Marriage ceremony of Vidit Gujrathi!

The events that were held at the wedding were the following:
1. Mehendi
2. Baaraat
3. Haldi
4. Sangeet 
5. Wedding
6. Var maala
7. Reception

You can imagine how intense the schedule was as one event was followed by another. The Bride and Groom were the most busy as they not only had to attend these events, but also indulge in their make up ans also photoshoots! Add to it the fact that Vidit had a fever of 103 and it just goes to show what a test of stamina this wedding was. 

The newly-married couple - Vidit and Nidhi! | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

But it was absolutely beautiful to watch what was unfolding in front of my eyes! Whenever we found time we were all dancing our hearts out, eating sumptuous food and drinking delicious mocktails. The highlight of the event was the var maala (exchange of garlands) with sun setting down in the background and flower petals erupting and colour crackers bursting! Uff that was a moment to behold. On 3rd of April I traveled to Nashik and also attended the reception there before returning back home! I was exhausted but my heart was full! I can only wonder how tired Vidit and Nidhi would be.

The World Champion D Gukesh with Vidit and Nidhi! | Photo: Sagar Shah

Vidit, who is one of my closest friends in the world of chess, is now married. Nidhi is a doctor and an MD in homeopathy. Nidhi doesn't know much about chess. In fact, she only knows how the pieces moves! This will surely he something very fresh and new for Vidit as he embarks upon his journey to play tournaments and make new beginnings in his life.

Our best wishes to Vidit and Nidhi on this new phase of their life! | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

How will Vidit fare in Paris? Conventional wisdom says you ought to be well rested before such a major event. There are 12 players and we will have rapid qualifiers to find top 8. It won't be an easy journey for any of the players to make it to the top 8. However, one thing is clear to me from Weissenhaus - Freestyle is a lot about harmony and figuring out where the pieces belong out of the opening. That's the reason why Vincent Keymer did so well. He is famed for his positional understanding! And so is Vidit. It will be exciting to follow him here. On one hand, he is tired but on the other he has his love and lady luck by his side! :) Follow all the action on ChessBase India! - Sagar Shah

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Nihal Sarin prevails at 18th Tashkent Open, Abhimanyu Puranik third

GM Nihal Sarin drew against GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) to win 18th Tashkent Open, Agzamov Memorial 2025 Open A (≥1800). He finished a half point ahead of the rest as both GM Abhimanyu Puranik and GM Sanan Sjugirov (HUN) drew their games against GM Aleksandar Indjic (SRB) and GM S L Narayanan respectively. Sanan secured second place and Abhimanyu third according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was US$ 75000. The top three prizes were US$ 20000, 10000 and 7000 along with a trophy each. GM Aditya Mittal is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 7/10 to finish tenth. This was Nihal's first Classical rating tournament in 2025 and he won it convincingly!

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THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO WIN!

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The Secret Ingredient is a grandmaster guide to maximizing your chess results, focusing on key elements of practical play which have received little to no attention in previous chess literature. How exactly can we best make use of computers? What’s the ideal, step-by-step way to prepare against a specific opponent? How can we optimize our time management at the board? And what’s the one key skill that separates the best players from those who have yet to reach their full potential?

GM Jan Markos sheds light on these topics and many more, helped by the world-class insights of his good friend GM David Navara. Jan Markos is a Slovakian grandmaster and trainer, and David Navara is a ten-time Czech Champion and a world-class grandmaster! Today we have a special offer on this wonderful book - use the coupon code "SECRETCHESS10" to avail a 10% discount on "The Secret Ingredient to winning at Chess". This offer is valid until 12th April 2025 - hurry up and get your copy now!

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LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

World School 2025: Pragnika Vaka Lakshmi Golden, Silver for Om Esh Gottumukala and Divi Bijesh

Pragnika Vaka Lakshmi scored a perfect 9/9 to win the Gold medal for India at the World School Under-7 Girls Chess Championship 2025. She defeated both runners-up, Mohinur Azakhujaeva (UZB) and Vera Jintian Xu (NZL) in Round 4 and 5 respectively. Om Esh Gottumukala secured a Silver medal in Under-7 Open. He scored 7.5/9, suffering only one loss against the eventual champion, Abdul-Malik Kairat (KAZ). Om drew with Oskar Fatkhlislamov in the last round. WCM Chinzorig Nandinjiguur (MGL) and WCM Divi Bijesh scored an unbeaten 8/9 each in Under-11 Girls. Chinzorig won Gold and Divi had to settle for Silver. Their sixth round game against each other ended in a draw. Photo: Andrej Jovanovic/Chess Federation of Serbia

 

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Pentala Harikrishna clinches Czech Extraliga 2024-25 for Novy Bor Chess Club

Novy Bor Chess Club won Czech Extraliga 2024-25 for the 14th time. They scored 30/33 and finished three points ahead of the rest. Exhibition center in Lysá and Labem, and BŠŠ Frýdek-Místek scored 27/33 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. GM Pentala Harikrishna scored an unbeaten 4.5/5, performed at 2868 for the winning team. He is the ultimate team player in the chess universe today and been so for quite some time. Whichever team wins a league in anywhere in the world, there is a good chance that Harikrishna played a key role in it. Novy Bor Chess Club is also the reigning 39th European Club Cup 2024 champion. Photo: Novy Bor Chess Club

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Six new champions crowned at 12th National Amateur Chess Championships 2025

The twelfth edition of National Amateur Chess Championships 2025 witnessed a total participation of 450 players from various states, union territories and units across the nation. Six new champions were crowned in six different rating categories. They are: Vedant Ghadge (MAH) - Below 1700 Open, Aayusree Sarkar (WB) - Below 1700 Women, Archisman Patra (WB) - Below 2000 Open, Marium Fatima (BIH) - Below 2000 Women, Utkrisht Tuli (PUN) - Below 2300 Open and WFM Bristy Mukherjee (WB) in Below 2300 Women. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹300000. It was organized by All Bihar Chess Association at Sambodhi Retreat in Bodhgaya, Bihar from 25th to 29th March 2025. Photo: All India Chess Federation

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Arjun Erigaisi returns to World #4, Praggnanandhaa moves to #7 and Aravindh Chithambaram storms into #11

Arjun Erigaisi returned to World no.4 in April FIDE Rating list 2025. R Praggnanandhaa gained only 0.2 Elo rating points at Prague International Chess Festival 2025 Masters. It moved him up by one place to number seven from eight. Aravindh Chithambaram's stellar triumph of Prague Masters 2025 and two wins at Bundesliga earned him 17.5 Elo rating points. It propelled him from 22 to 11 which is also his career highest ranking. Pentala Harikrishna added 2.8 Elo rating points at Bundesliga and by winning Czech Extraliga. He is now World no.29. Seven Indians are still in top 30. Harika Dronavalli increased her rating by 5 points at FIDE Nicosia GP. She also finished third there and moved to World no.15 from 16. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

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