From the CEO
Today, 21st of September, I am going to play a rapid rating tournament in Chembur, Mumbai. It is going to be my first rated event after 8 years! :) Why am I doing this? Well, one of the reasons is the India vs USA match where I will face Levy Rozman. I would love to be in good shape for that one. But more importantly, as you might be aware, I am on a spiritual journey in my life, where I am trying each day to work on myself and improve. Chess in that sense becomes a beautiful space for me to experiment. Why, you would ask?
ChessBase India vs GothamChess coming up! Graphic - Checkmate: USA vs India
Well, the reason is simple. I started playing chess when I was 10 years old and did it for almost 17 years without a break. It was perhaps the most important thing in my life. Naturally, in order to get better at it, I formed certain habits, routines and rituals. While these did help me during the events I played, there were also flip sides to it. One thing I vividly remember was that I would be pretty worried and stressed before an event. For eg. I have played such one day rapid events before as well when I was an active player and I would be quite tensed before going to the tournament. The reason was clear - I usually would be the top seed and I didn't like losing. So my mind would focus very heavily on how I should play the best possible chess to win the tournament. In principle the thought is dangerous - it thinks about the future when being in the present is the most important to play good chess and it stems out of fear - fear related to losing. And any action which even has a tinge of fear in it, I believe should be looked into closely.
Sagarbhai in action back in 2012! | Photo: Vishvesh Kochrekar
It's very difficult to change to the way your body reacts to something when it has been that way for years. We call it conditioning. For eg. if a dog bit you when you were little, it is possible to intellectually understand that a dog bite happening again is going to be quite rare and so being scared of dogs is not a good idea. However, the body has its own store of memory. Feelings and sensations within you which would not let you get out of the conditioning. Stomach cramps, going to washroom before every game, shorter breaths are all forms of my body's conditioning before a game of chess! In my spiritual journey, I am very keen to see if I am able to change these aspects. If I am truly a different man from what I was back in 2017, then surely it should reflect in chess as well, right?
Well, easier said than done! But I do have some interesting ideas on how to tackle such a situation.
Thinking outside the box by mixing Rice with Vanilla ice cream and Sambar, back in 2018! | Photo: Amruta Mokal
One of the things that I do need is to take care of my thoughts. If you think about it closely, what are thoughts, you will realize that thoughts are the sum of my past experiences. And so it makes sense to understand that whenever you are thinking, you are always drawing up on your past knowledge and information. In my case, for chess this is something I don't want to draw upon. Yes, I want to draw upon my opening knowledge, my endgame skills, my tactical acumen, my positional understanding (although even these I should be careful about. After all they didn't help me become a GM! 🤣), but I don't want to draw upon the thoughts like I must win this tournament, or I will celebrate with my loved ones tonight after a successful tournament. These are the thoughts which have no real value. They are just my conditioning. It's the way my brain has worked for years and wants to continue doing so!
And so what I am going to experiment with is try to be in a state of awareness rather than thinking mode. I will try and observe what is happening, rather than let my thoughts take over. In this way you try and stay in the present moment and not go into past or future.
A photo taken 10 years ago in Qatar Masters 2015 by the amazing David Llada!
It's an experiment and this experiment means a lot to me. I don't know how interesting it is to you. But if it is interesting, I will share with you the thoughts about my tournament in the next newsletter! For now, I am getting late for my first round! See you all - Sagar Shah
HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
Anish Giri and R Vaishali are FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Open and Women Champions
GM Anish Giri (NED) defeated GM Hans Niemann (USA) to become a clear champion of FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Open. Giri scored an unbeaten 8/11, performed at 2838 and finished a half point ahead of the rest. This triumph earned himself a coveted spot in the FIDE Candidates 2026. GM Matthias Bluebaum (GER) drew against GM Alireza Firouzja (FRA) to secure second place. He also qualified to the next Candidates. Firouzja finished third and missed out his place in the Candidates. In the Women's event, GM R Vaishali created history by winning it for the second consecutive edition. She drew her final round game against the 16th Women's World Champion, GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) to successfully defend her title and win the event again. Thus, she earned herself a spot in the FIDE Women's Candidates 2026. GM Kateryna Lagno drew against IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE) to also qualify to the Candidates. Photo: Michal Walusza
POSITION OF THE WEEK
White to play and Mate in 3
A lucidly constructed three-mover with a pair of well-matched variations...Hope you enjoy! 😊
Go check out the complete solution!
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
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LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
Shaunak Badole and Deekshitha Modipalli are 38th National Under-13 Open and Girls 2025 Champions
Shaunak Badole (MAH) scored an unbeaten 10/11 to win 38th National Under-13 Open Championship 2025. He finished a full point ahead of the competition. Siddhanth Poonja (KAR) scored 9/11 to secure second place. Eight players scored 8.5/11 each. Out of them, CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (MP) secured third place according to tie-breaks. WCM Deekshitha Modipalli (TEL) scored 9.5/11 to win the Girls event. Mysha Perwez (MAH) scored sole 9/11 to finish second. Maitreyi Mondal (WB) edged past three more players on tie-breaks to finish third 8.5/11. The total prize fund combining Open and Girls section was ₹800000. The top three prizes in both Open and Girls sections were ₹80000, ₹60000 and ₹48000 along with a trophy each respectively. Photos: Tushar Damor
Eastern Railway convincingly clinches 37th All India Railway Team Championship 2025
Eastern Railway scored an unbeaten 10/12 to win 37th All India Inter Railway Team Chess Championship 2025. ER defeated South Eastern Railway convincingly 3.5-0.5 in the final round to become a clear champion. The defending champion scored sole 9/12 to secure second place. They also remained undefeated. Southern Railway, South Central Railway and South Eastern Railway scored 8/12 each. They secured third, fourth and fifth place according to tie-breaks. IM Sidhant Mohapatra was the top scorer for his team ER. He scored an unbeaten 4.5/6. The highest rated player of the field - GM Diptayan Ghosh and one of the top rated IMs of the country, Aronyak Ghosh scored 4/6 each. IM Arghyadip Das drew all of his games to contribute a valuable 3/6. This is ER's first triumph of this event in 17 years. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Ajay Parvathareddy becomes the fifth International Master from Uttar Pradesh
Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy from Uttar Pradesh has completed his final IM norm at the Rudar XXII Round Robin in Serbia. His first IM norm came at the Slovakia Open Piestany 2024, followed by the second at the Trophee Dole Pasino Grand Aix 2025, and now the third. The 15-year-old is now 2482 rated as per the September FIDE Rating list, his career best so far. He is the fifth International Master from Uttar Pradesh after Dinesh Kumar Sharma, Wazir Ahmed Khan, Vantika Agrawal and Adarsh Tripathi. His focus will be on achieving the Grandmaster title now. Check out the article to see how Ajay has climbed the ranks in recent years. Photo: Shahid Ahmed
The HelpChess Fundraiser during FIDE Grand Swiss 2025
HelpChess is the charitable foundation of ChessBase India that stands firmly behind Indian chess players who need financial support. Over the past six years, the foundation has helped talents with training, laptops, and opportunities that have pushed many players towards IM and GM titles. In 2024-25, we raised Rs. 1.6 crore to help players move forward in their chess journey. Now, with the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 underway, we are once again raising funds to support more promising talents. In this article, you will find a list of all contributors and their donations since the start of the event.
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