---

From the CEO

On 29th of September 2025 I will take a flight to go to Texas in USA for the India vs USA match. Like a professional chess player, I am arriving a few days in advance (the game against Levy Rozman is on 4th of October) to acclimatize to the jetlag! As my journey into the world of playing chess continues, I do feel like sharing some of my findings with all of you. I played my first ever Rapid Rating event in 7 years last Sunday and scored 7.0/9. I played pretty decently - the score could very well have been 6.0/9 or even 8.0/9 as some games I was in trouble and I won and some games I was better which I drew/lost. I finished 11th but I had a lot of fun and learnt a lot. I also did something interesting during the tournament. 

Sagar in action at the final round of the Chembur Gymkhana Rapid tournament! | Photo: Kartik Krishnan

After every game that ended, I went to a park right next to the venue. It was just 30 seconds away and I tried to simply walk around observing nature. There were no thoughts, I just tried to observe - looking at the leaves, looking at the bark of the tree, the grass and so on. As is true with rapid events in Mumbai, the rounds happen at rapid pace! You have 15-20 minutes of break, and I would enter my game into the ChessBase online app on the phone and then walk around for the remaining 10-15 minutes. This exercise in general is useful because when I started observing, thoughts began to recede. And when you are playing, you want your single minded focus on the game. As I played the game, I sometimes realized my mind would simply wander when it was my opponent's move. I would begin thinking about whether I would win the game. In fact I even got my childhood thoughts of how will people close to me react if I won the tournament! 

I still remember the brutal game I played back in the day (around 2005 I believe) when I was around 15 years old and was facing a very experienced 2250 rated player Syed Anwar Shazuli. He played poorly out of the opening and me, who was rated 200 Elo points below him, won two pawns! I was so excited that I started thinking about, what am I going to do today evening after the game. My first win over a 2200+ player! I even had planned to eat a pizza! And of course, as you would have guessed, I lost the game and in the next few hours I just couldn't stop my tears rolling down my cheeks. This is how dangerous irrelevant thoughts can be and I am quite aware of it. But the mind has certain patterns it reverts to if you haven't gotten rid of them entirely. And this is what was happening from time to time during the Chembur rating event. 

Syed Anwar Shazuli (middle left) is still going strong - here is him receiving the Champions cheque after winning the 1st KPK-ABCCC Rapid Rating Open 2023! Photo: IA Umapathy M 

This is when it dawned on me that chess players like myself start doing these very interesting experiments of observing, being thoughtless, meditating when their tournament arrives or when they are preparing for an event. However, what about the way in which one lives his/her life? What if I am able to lead a life where I am not constantly thinking about 100 different subjects in a day. What if I am not constantly attracted to the dopamine rush of the reels on my phone whenever I get a free moment. If I lived Monday to Saturday in a mess, certainly I could not expect things to turn around rapidly during a rapid event on Sunday! :) Meditating before a game is great, but meditating while living life is even better. Detaching from result and focusing on the process is great when you are at a chess event, but you can try doing that even with other aspects of your life like when you interact with your closed ones or running your business or while preparing for your exams!

Chess is nothing but a reflection of the way you live life. I am not talking about the skill set here. Definitely one has to solve tactics, prepare openings, train with a competent trainer, play online games, analyze your losses and victories, but beyond that lies a very important domain which has been very less explored in the chess world I feel. The domain of how you live your life. Live well, with the right mindset and it is very likely that if you are putting in the hours on your chess preparation it will turbo charge your growth. 

Philosophical Shah playing tournaments with this T-shirt! | Photo: Vidhi Karelia

One final point - I want to perceive chess losses a little differently. Losses are painful for one and all. But think a little deeper and you will realize that losses are not really losses if you look at them objectively. A loss in this tournament and the lessons you learn from it are very well going to help you win several games and tournaments in the future. This might very well be the objective way to look at a loss. However, everyone always thinks of losses as something not so great. But why? Is it because we have been conditioned that way by everyone around us. Is it because top players rush out in anger after losing a game? Or is it because your closed ones get super happy when you win and super unhappy when you lose? It's actually time to rethink losses. If regret (why did I make this move) and sadness (I am in such a bad position in this tournament) are done away with, then losing and winning have no real difference in a psychological sense. Yes, externally you might be given or not given awards, titles and prize money but deep within you are always equanimous. By the way, I am no big expert at this, but I am trying. You might very well bump into me during today's rapid event (yes I am playing one more before I leave) and see me regretting or being unhappy! Remind me of what I wrote in this newsletter! :)

After a long, long time, Vishy Anand will face Garry Kasparov in a proper match - playing Freestyle Chess! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Apart from my own journey, I am super excited about two things coming up - the Vishy Anand vs Garry Kasparov match in Saint Louis from 8-10 October. I will be present there along with my team member Aditya Sur Roy to cover this iconic battle. I was too young in 1995 (just 5 years old) when Garry and Vishy played each other in the World Championship Match in USA. But this time I will be looking at all the games up close and will enjoy two legends battling out against each other. What I am super curious about is how both of them are preparing for this chess960 format. We will get to know after the event, perhaps. And the second thing is the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2025 coming to my hometown of Mumbai in December! It will be amazing to see some of the best players in the world play at the Royal opera house in the city! I hope you will come there and apart from meeting some of the greats like Vishy, Hikaru, Caruana, Gukesh, Pragg, Arjun and many others, I am also looking forward to meeting you in person! :) - Sagar Shah

---

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Praggnanandhaa, MVL, Caruana and Aronian to battle at Grand Chess Tour 2025 Finals

The Grand Chess Tour 2025 Finals starts today at World Trade Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil. R Praggnanandhaa will face Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) and Fabiano Caruana (USA) will be up against Levon Aronian (USA). Praggnanandhaa and Caruana will get the white pieces in the first Classical game. They will have reversed colors in Rapid and Blitz matches. Each Semifinal consists of two Classical, two Rapid and four Blitz games. All matches will be played to completion, even if the match is already decided. Each match will have a maximum of 28 points. Semifinal Game 1 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Read the full article

---

POSITION OF THE WEEK

White to play and Mate in 2

Go check out the complete solution!

---

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

SAGAR SHAH TEACHES THE CLASSICS!

SAGAR10

Wise and successful players of the game have always told us to study the classics – games by the great masters of the past. But in this age of cutting-edge opening theory, preparation and engines, is studying the classics really that helpful? On this video course, Sagar Shah does not merely preach. First, he shows you classical games of great legends such as Petrosian, Botvinnik, Fischer, Korchnoi and Kasparov, looking at typical patterns and ideas from the middlegame. The author then goes on to explain how you can use these ideas in your own battles – by showing you examples of applied classical knowledge from his own games! As well as looking at the middlegame, Sagar also focuses on the opening.

The information explosion has ensured that opening theory continues to evolve at a rapid pace. shows that playing through the classics can help us establish a strong and stable feel for the initial phase of the game, and analyzes the opening duel between Botvinnik and Petrosian from their World Championship match in 1963. Going over these games will give you an excellent idea of how the classics can be used to prepare your own openings!

Today, we have a special offer on Learn from the Classics by IM Sagar Shah - use the coupon code "SAGAR10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 5th October 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

---

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

62nd National Championship R7: Deep, Ayush and Harsh join the leaders' pack

The top six boards ended in a draw in 31 moves or less at 62nd National Championship 2025 Round 7. It allowed GM Deep Sengupta (PSPB), GM-elect IM Ayush Sharma (RSPB) and IM Harsh Suresh (TN) to catch up. Deep defeated IM Sidhant Mohapatra (RSPB) who went wrong in the double rook and knight endgame. Deep's passed pawn was superior which helped him earn the victory. Ayush thwarted IM Manish Anto Cristiano F's (TN) ambitious knight sacrifice. Harsh capitalized on IM Subhayan Kundu's (RSPB) late mistake ina rook and many pawns endgame. Seven players including the previous day leaders - GM Sasikiran Krishan (PSPB), IM Aronyak Ghosh (RSPB), IM Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy (UP) and GM Abhijeet Gupta (PSPB) are now at 6/7 each. Round 8 starts tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Read the full report

---

World Cadet Under-10 Open 2025 R1-6: Sarbartho Mani scores a double hat-trick to emerge sole leader

Sarbartho Mani defeated Moxuan Bai (CHN) to score a double hat-trick an emerge sole leader at World Cadet Under-10 Open 2025. Shunzhe Yuan (CHN) is the sole pursuer at 5.5/6. They will inevitably clash in the seventh round. Sattwik Swain is at 5/6. In Under-10 Girls, WCM Divi Bijesh defeated Vanshika Rawat to move to 5.5/6. She is at a half point behind WCM Chinzorig Nandinjiguur (MGL) 6/6. CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma drew against one of the leaders, CM Ethan Guo (USA) to move to 5/6. CM Danis Kuandykuly (KAZ) and CM Ali Poyraz Uzdemir (TUR) are the coleaders at 5.5/6 each in Under-12 Open. WFM Laurie Qiu (USA) is the sole leader in Under-12 Girls. She is at a perfect score 6/6. WCM Pratitee Bordoloi and Aya Bayramova (TKM) are at 5.5/6 each. Yesterday 25th September was the sole rest day of the event. Round 7 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Dastan Kapayev

Read the full article

---

Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival starts in just three days!

The countdown for Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival has begun, and in just three days, on 30th September, the Hungarian National Gallery will open its doors for chess lovers around the world. You can explore different dimensions of chess and meet the legendary Polgar sisters in person. There will be exciting activities for all ages, including RubikChess, which combines chess and Rubik’s Cube, interactive games, a community simul with Judit Polgar, and an opportunity to try the world’s first AI-powered chess robot. All chess lovers from around the globe will enjoy this festival of creativity and innovation. Read the full article to discover more about this festival. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Read the Full Article

---

On air with World Chess Champion D Gukesh

Gukesh..Gukesh..Gukesh..the crowd screamed, welcoming the youngest world chess champion on the stage. A bit overwhelmed, but extremely calm and composed, the 19-year-old youngster took the stage in a foreign land where people waited to watch him. And as humble as he is, Gukesh shared his thoughts on the stage! As the audience cheered in applause, he said, "Just keep loving chess". Gukesh was invited to be a part of a two day event in Poland and these were two of the most incredible days that we had spent with Gukesh! In this article, we want to share our experience. All photos and videos by Aditya Sur Roy.

Read the full report

---