Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Magnus Carlsen (NOR) defeated their respective opponents Vincent Keymer (GER) and Fabiano Caruana (USA) to earn their place in the Finals. The reigning Fischer Random World Champion got the better of the previous leg winner, Keymer who made an incorrect exchange sacrifice. Caruana missed a tactical shot and lost a crucial pawn. The most incredible game of the day, tournament and quite possibly in Chess960/Freestyle chess was played by Arjun Erigaisi against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Arjun was in a must-win situation. Not only did he manage to win the game, he also won the next one in 10'+10". He drew the second tie-break game to setup a clash against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) for the fifth place. Finals Game 1 starts today from 1 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy
A multinational array of top grandmasters explain the differences in thinking between professional and amateur chess players, and how the amateur can bridge the gap. It usually takes at least a decade of sustained effort for even the most talented player to reach the grandmaster level! Though this book cannot guarantee to make the reader a grandmaster, it is certainly a healthy nudge in the right direction. The authors are: GM Pavel Eljanov, GM Boris Avrukh, GM Mihail Marin, GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Tiger Hillarp Persson, GM Jacob Aagaard and GM John Shaw!
Today we have a special offer on this wonderful book - use the coupon code "GMVSA10" to avail a 10% discount on "Grandmaster vs Amateur: edited by Jacob Aagaard and John Shaw". This offer is valid until 20th April 2025 - hurry up and get your copy now!
GM Deepan Chakkravarthy scored a crushing victory against GM Karen Grigoryan (ARM) in Round 4 of 2nd Namma Bengaluru GM 2025. The second seeded Armenian went wrong in the Sicilian Dragon which allowed Deepan to seize his opportunity with a beautiful thematic knight sacrifice. The remaining six players at perfect score are - GM Manuel Petrosyan (ARM), GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO), GM Pranav Anand, IM Sanket Chakravarty, IM Viani Antonio Dcunha and IM Rajesh Vav. Viani defeated IM Tornike Sanikidze (GEO). FM Suyog Wagh outplayed IM Aronyak Ghosh after the latter lost one pawn too many. Tomorrow is the last of the two double round day. Round 5 starts at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Wenjun Ju has taken a firm lead 4-2 against Zhongyi Tan after the first six games at FIDE Women's World Championship. After a draw in the first game, Zhongyi Tan, the Challenger, struck first. However, the defending champion, Wenjun delivered the equalizer in the third game. The fourth game was a well contested draw. Wenjun had to grind a lot in the fifth game in a rook and opposite color bishop endgame. In the sixth game, Zhongyi faltered in a relatively balanced queen and knight endgame. The second half ot the match begins tomorrow in Chongqing, China. Game 7 starts on 13th April at 3 p.m. local time, 12:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Anna Shtourman
IM Ayush Sharma scored 17.5/21 to win Khelo Chess India Masters 2025. He won both Rapid and Blitz events scoring 12/14 and 5.5/7 each respectively. 11-year-old CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma scored 15/21 to finish second. He secured second place in both Rapid and Blitz - 10/14 and 5/7. IM Anup Deshmukh was placed third with score of 13/21. WIM Angela Franco Valencia (COL) scored an impressive 4.5/7 to finish third. She scored 8.5/21 to finish fifth overall. The two-day seven-round each Rapid and Blitz tournament was organized by ChessBase India at Sage International School in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 5th and 6th April 2025. This is Ayush's second and third tournament triumph of the year.
GM Abhimanyu Puranik and FM Jeet Jain scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 each at 3rd Anniversary Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club Rapid Rating Open 2025. Abhimanyu won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, Jeet had to settle for second place. GM Srinath Narayanan scored sole 8/9 to finish third. The total prize fund was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹70000, ₹50000 and ₹35000 along with a trophy each. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by ChessBase India and Phoenix Marketcity, Mumbai at Dublin Square, Phoenix Marketcity in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 5th April 2025. This is Abhimanyu's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Tanmesh Mokal