From the CEO

I am currently in Cyprus and the stream for the 12th round is just about to begin! The way the events have panned out, it is quite unbelievable how Javokhir Sindarov has played here. Absolutely stunning play by the youngster. He is on 8.5/11 - a score which many players made in 14 rounds to win the Candidates!

How has Javokhir made such rapid progress? This is definitely something I would love to know! I intend to do a long interview with him once the tournament ends. One person who has not come much in front of the camera, but seems to have played a big role in Javokhir’s success is IM Roman Vidonyak. We did publish an interview about Roman on ChessBase India a few months ago. But this world class trainer, seems not very well known to the general chess population. Javokhir often has mentioned the role of his coach in his post game conferences, and he was mentioning about Roman.

It’s also quite interesting to see that Bibisara Assaubayeva and Javokhir decided to make their relationship public during this event! Bibisara posted this picture on her Telegram, which is an open account that anyone can join! I wish the wonderful couple the best in their chess journeys and life!

Coming to the star of the women’s event and the big news of Indian chess - R. Vaishali. Vaishali, who often doesn’t speak much, has let her moves do the talking in this event (like always!). She is currently leading the women’s section by one full point - 7.0/11. She has 3 strong opponents left and big challenge today in the form of Zhu Jiner. I hope Vaishali would be able to keep her cool and make it to the World Championships to face Ju Wenjun. It would be another huge boost for Indian chess. Women’s World title is something that has been missing from the achievement of India as a country. Humpy reached the World Championship match in 2011, but lost it at the final hurdle against Hou Yifan. We hope Vaishali would be able to better it. Also what an amazing achievement this would be for WestBridge as a sponsor. Gukesh sponsored by them plays in the open world championship and Vaishali in the women’s.

Cyprus is beautiful and I would love to share how I am spending my time here in the subsequent newsletters. Suffice it to say, that the arrangements made by FIDE have been top notch and all the players are having an excellent time off the board! Over the board - well that’s a different story! In the Candidates tournament you can only have 2 people going home with a smile on their face! :) - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

FIDE Candidates 2026 R11: Vaishali beats Goryachkina to gain a full point lead, Sindarov still going strong

Vaishali Rameshbabu scored an important victory in the 11th round of FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026 to gain a full-point lead over Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk. Vaishali is on 7/11 points while Jiner and Muzychuk are on 6/11 points. In the 11th round of the FIDE Candidates 2026, there was only 1 decisive result in 8 games, including both sections. In the Open Section, all 4 games ended in a draw. Tournament leader Javokhir Sindarov drew his game against Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri also drew his game against Andrey Esipenko, and is still trailing Sindarov by 2 points. Praggnanandhaa missed some opportunities in a clear winning position against Matthias Bluebaum, and the game ended in a draw. Hikaru Nakamura and Wei Yi also played a solid draw. Round 12 will start on 12th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Niki Riga/ FIDE

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

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LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Menorca Masters 2026 R6-7: Nihal Sarin in joint lead with Ruslan Ponomariov going into 8th round

Nihal Sarin and Ruslan Ponomariov are in joint lead after 7 rounds of play at Menorca Masters 2026. On the 4th day, Ruslan Ponomariov won both of his games to catch up to Nihal. In the 6th round, Ruslan Ponomariov defeated Richard Rapport, while in the 7th round, he defeated World Champion D Gukesh. Nihal had two draws. In the 6th round, he drew against Pentala Harikrishna, and in the 7th round, he drew against Leinier Dominguez Perez. Gukesh had both decisive games on the 4th day, first he won against Leinier Dominguez Perez, and then lost against Ponomariov. With 3 rounds to go, Nihal and Ponomariov are co-leading with 4.5/7, and Gukesh is in sole second place with 3.5/7. Round 8 will start on 10th April at 5 PM Local time/8:30 PM IST. Photos: Saji Mathew

Read the full report

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board wins 23rd National Women Team Chess Championship 2026

The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board scored 12/14 points to win the 23rd National Women’s Team Chess Championship 2026. Airport Authority of India and PSPB both scored 12/14 points, but a better tie-break score helped PSPB clinch the title. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh B, and Telangana A scored 9/14 each to secure 3rd to 6th place, respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹5,00,000. The top three prizes were ₹1,25,000, ₹1,00,000, and ₹75,000 each. The championship was smoothly organized at Agrasen Dham, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, by Chhattisgarh State Chess Association from 16th to 22nd March 2026. Photos: Ayush Jain/ChessBase India

Read the full report

How Chola Chess is making an impact on Indian chess

Chola Chess was launched in July 2025 with a clear vision to nurture young talent in India. Even before its launch, the initiative had already begun conducting training camps from January 2025. Since then, it has conducted 100 camps and trained over 1300 players. It provides a space for promising players to train under experienced coaches. On 1st April, they conducted their 100th camp, marking an important milestone in their journey. Read the article to know how Chola Chess is making a difference. Photos: Chola Chess

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From the CEO

The newsletter is my way of sharing my experiences with all of you, and so in this edition I want to share three experiences that have been happening with me over the last week.

1. Subhash and Gukesh

In 2023, we began teaching in a Children’s home here in Mumbai. A children’s home is a government setup where kids who do not have their parents or whose parents are unable to take care of them are given refuge. When we began in 2023, we had no clue on what value we or chess could add in the lives of the kids. Slowly, we recognized that some kids were very interested in the game. One of them was Subhash. Right from the early days, Subhash’s talent in chess was quite clear. Instead of just making moves like attacking a piece or defending a piece, he would always set up his pieces in a way that he could execute a checkmate. He would always go after the king, and what I loved about him was the way he would combine two or more pieces. He had a wonderful combinative vision. It was clear to me that Subhash, if he worked hard on his chess, would do really well; however, the difficult part was, of course, to keep his motivation alive. While we would have sessions once a week, the remaining days he would have his own life that was going on in the home. And often I would observe that Subhash would lose his motivation/interest and not practice chess. While he was improving, his improvement was quite slow. But in comes a big change, a big shift.

In December 2025, the Global Chess League comes to Mumbai, and Subhash gets a chance to meet his idol Gukesh. Gukesh was kind enough to take out a few minutes to meet Subhash in person and even gave him a challenge. The dare was that you need to reach 2000 Elo if you want my jersey. This was just the perfect challenge that Subhash needed, and the boy started to work on chess in right earnest. On 1st of April, Subhash will get his FIDE rating. He managed to play well in a local tournament and beat a 1500-rated opponent. Now Subhash sleeps, eats, drinks chess, and he hopes to reach 2000 Elo soon to get that jersey from Gukesh. I’m pretty sure when he reaches 2000 and gets that jersey, Gukesh will have a new challenge waiting for him. Perhaps to reach the IM or GM title. :)

2. The value of protein

A few days ago, we visited the home of our good friends Charmie and Shikhar and stayed with them for a week. This is where we learnt a lot of things about diet and nutrition. To tell you the truth, I had my own notions of a healthy diet, but very soon I realized that having protein in the diet is a must. While exercise helps you break your muscles, protein helps to regenerate them. This was something that Charmie and Shikhar were able to tell us not just by words but by actually living that way. They practiced what they preached. We started having protein powder. We started to make sure that the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and fibers were involved in our diet. I hope to write one entire newsletter on this, but suffice it to say that properly apportioning these macronutrients in your food would drastically improve your health. Amruta and I can already see the difference in our energy levels and quality of life. It is my request to all of you to try and research about the importance of protein in your diet if you haven’t done so already.

3. Candidates 2026

For a long time, Amruta and I were confused whether we should go to the FIDE Candidates or not. With the ongoing war situation, we were unclear about whether going to Cyprus was safe. However, at some point we took a call that we would like to be there, and so just a few days ago we have booked our tickets to Cyprus. We will be live streaming from there and we will also be doing on-ground coverage. One of the things that was extremely tricky was to find a good flight connection to Cyprus. All flights have become super expensive because of the fact that Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airlines have stopped functioning normally. We found a ticket from Mumbai to Istanbul, which was roughly ₹1.3 lakh per person, but believe it when I say that this is amount is actually quite low. The current price of tickets is well over two lakhs.

The venue of FIDE Candidates 2026 - Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Cyprus.

Yogesh Gautam, who has been our travel agent, helped us immensely here. The interesting thing is that we thought that from Istanbul it’s very easy to reach Cyprus. However, from Istanbul you can only reach North Cyprus, while the tournament is taking place in South Cyprus. As the situation exists in the country, passing from North to South Cyprus is not possible, which is why we had to cancel our flight tickets from Istanbul to Cyprus and now have rebooked new tickets from Istanbul to Athens to Cyprus. Our journey will begin on the 27th of March, and we hope to reach there safely. I’m pretty sure that once we are there it will be an absolute joy to witness Pragg, Humpy, Vaishali, and Divya fight it out for the top honors. - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

IM Shashikant Kutwal Dominates Super Heroes Cup 2026

The Super Heroes Cup 2026 will be remembered not only for its inspiring participants but also for the sheer quality of chess produced across all rounds. In a knockout format where every game could end a campaign, IM Shashikant Kutwal delivered a performance of remarkable control, precision, and maturity to lift the title. Unlike many knockout events dominated by chaos, this tournament showcased a fascinating blend of fearless attacking play and classical positional understanding.

Read the full article

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

LEARN OPENINGS FROM SUPER GM ANISH GIRI!

ANISHG10

When you begin your journey of building an opening repertoire, how nice would it be to get a glimpse of what each opening looks like through the eyes of a super GM. It is exactly with this thought that “A Super GM’s Guide to Openings with Anish Giri” was made.

This video course includes GM Anish Giri’s deep insights and IM Sagar Shah’s pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered, including the Ruy Lopez, Italian, Petroff, Scotch, French, Sicilian, Caro Kann, Pirc, Modern and much more. Vol.2 has all the openings after 1.d4 as well as 1.c4 and sidelines are covered. This includes the Queen's Gambit Accepted, Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav, Nimzo Complex, London System, English Opening, 1.b3, Bird's opening and more!

Along with explaining the nuances, each video also has a story, narrated by Anish, on the favourite game he played in that opening and his memories related to it. Get this wonderful software at a 10% discount right now, using the Coupon code ANISHG10. This offer is only valid till 29th March 2026, so hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Aronyak Ghosh and Abhimanyu Puranik crowned as 2026 National Rapid and Blitz Champions

Aronyak Ghosh of RSPB scored an unbeaten 9.5/11 points to win the National Rapid Chess Championship 2025-26 with a clear half-point lead. Murali Karthikeyan and Hari Madhavan NB of Tamil Nadu scored 9/11 points to finish in second and third place according to tiebreaks. Abhimanyu Puranik scored 9/11 points to win the National Blitz Championship 2026, Sayantan Das finished 2nd on tiebreaks also scoring 9/11 points. Hari Madhavan NB finished 3rd scoring 8.5/11 points.

Read the full report

An Interview with the Former World Champion Ding Liren: Sports, Engines, Rest

In early March, Jonathan Zhi had the chance to do a written interview with Ding Liren. His answers are translated from Chinese; the original answers are available here. The questions draw heavily from previous interviews, articles, podcasts, and TV shows that Ding has given, particularly Chinese-language ones. Read this conversation with the former World Champion!

Read the full article

How strong is Gukesh at 19?

Gukesh has achieved what many of the greatest players could only dream of at his age: becoming a World Champion! How does Gukesh at 19 compare with the legends of the game when they were the same age? In this article, A Ganesan takes a historical journey through the early careers of some iconic champions. By examining their achievements, setbacks and growth at 19, the article places Gukesh’s remarkable rise into a broader historical perspective. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

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From the CEO

The FIDE Candidates 2026 is just 28 days away. When it comes to an event that captures the interest of chess audience there is definitely nothing better than the World Championship cycle. And Candidates is an absolute jewel. Whoever wins this 8-player, double round robin affair gets a match against the World Champion to dethrone them (Gukesh and Ju Wenjun). Let's try and have a look at the players in both the open and women and try to see who are the favourites.

Players who will be competing in the Open section. | Graphic: FIDE Socials

Open:
1. Hikaru Nakamura (2810)
2. Fabiano Caruana (2799)
3. Wei Yi (2754)
4. Anish Giri (2753)
5. Javokhir Sindarov (2745)
6. R. Praggnanandhaa (2741)
7. Andrey Esipenko (2700)
8. Matthias Bluebaum (2695)

Instead of telling you who I think are my favourites, I would like to share the general opinion of the people who have made tier lists on the internet and also the top players whom we interviewed on the media day in Weissenhaus. There is a general consensus amongst all the top players that Fabiano Caruana is the favorite to win this Candidates. I think it's a fair assessment. Fabi's strength in general is absolutely amazing, and the number of super tournaments that he has won is just mind-boggling. 

Hikaru Nakamura, although he is the top seed, is hardly playing classical chess, and I think it is fair to assume that he would be rusty. At the same time, I have never really seen Hikaru being this focused for any tournament in terms of preparation in recent times. I would like to see if his sheer willpower and talent can make it possible for him to have a chance to win this Candidates. 

I am a big fan of both Anish Giri and Wei Yi in terms of how they play chess. but people have mostly both of them in a similar category - chances to win but too solid. 

If people were asked to make a tier list at the midway mark in 2025, I think Praggnanandhaa would have been a heavy favorite. However, the last six months haven't gone Praggnananda's way, and that would have surely impacted his confidence. At the same time, the last few months have been absolutely amazing for Javokhir Sindarov. Some people have given Sindarov an outside chance to win the candidates! As for Andrey Esipenko and Matthias Bluebaum, people do think that they will do well in the candidates and will fight well against the best players, but have almost negligible chances to win the tournament. 

Favourite: Fabiano Caruana
Good chances: Hikaru Nakamura
Definitely to watch out for: Praggnanandhaa, Sindarov
Too solid: Anish Giri and Wei Yi
Fighters: Espienko and Bluebaum

Players who will be competing in the Women's section. | Graphic: FIDE Socials

Now let's shift our attention to the women's section:
1. Zhu Jiner (2564)
2. Koneru Humpy (2535)
3. Tan Zhongyi (2535)
4. Aleksandra Goryachkina (2534)
5. Bibisara Assaubayeva (2516)
6. Kateryna Lagno (2508)
7. Divya Deshmukh (2497)
8. R. Vaishali (2470)

I would say there is much less variance in terms of strength in the women's section than in the open section. In just pure terms of strength, I do feel that Zhu Jiner with a live Elo of 2564 is one of the favourites in the tournament, but this is her first ever Candidates, and I am pretty sure that there would be a lot of pressure on her shoulders. On the other hand, Koneru Humpy has immense experience. She played a World Championship match in 2011, 15 years ago, and here she is now fighting it out in the Candidates. Tan Zhongyi has won the Candidates in 2024. So clearly she has been there and done that - just like Alexandra Goryachkina. Kateryna Lagno is someone who has been in the top in the world of chess for over two decades now. I do feel that Tan Zhongyi and Goryachkina have excellent chances in this group of experienced players. 

The remaining three players, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali, are young and talented and all 3 of them, I am pretty sure, are preparing immensely hard for the Candidates. To me, it seems that in the women's section just about every single player has a chance to win this tournament. But if I had to make some sort of a tier list, this would be it:

Favourites: Goryachkina, Tan Zhongyi, Zhu Jiner
Experience: Humpy and Lagno
Exciting talents to watch out for: Assaubayeva, Divya and Vaishali

Winners of the Candidates Tournament 2026 and Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 will challenge World Champions Ju Wenjun and D Gukesh respectively! | Photo: Michal Walusza

I am actually pumped up for both the Open and Women's section. The winner of the Open section will take on Gukesh, and this will be very exciting for the world of chess. For example, if Caruana wins, maybe the St. Louis Chess Club would be very interested to host the World Championship Match. If Praggnananda wins it, and I'm pretty sure that the World Championship match will happen in Chennai with the two Chennai boys fighting against each other. Maybe in their Velammal School even! :) If Hikaru manages to win, his entire fan base will go crazy rooting for him in the match. 

In the women's section, the winner will take on Ju Wenjun, and it's very interesting to note that Ju Wenjun has defended her last three World Championship matches. This is no easy feat. She managed to stave off challenges from Goryachkina, Le Tingjie, and Tan Zhongyi. She is undoubtedly the most accomplished active female player in the world of chess right now.

As for we at ChessBase India, we want to bring forth unparalleled coverage of these candidates by being present at the venue in Cyprus. We are looking for a title sponsor for our coverage, and if you are interested, then do reply to this email. We will send you more details. PS: Our coverage of the previous Candidates in 2024 itself had over 100 million views just on YouTube. :) We hope that this Candidates will be just as exciting and successful for Indian chess fans as it was in 2024! :) - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Prague Chess Festival 2026 R4: Vincent gets his first win, Jorden on a winning streak

After 4 days of action at the Prague International Chess Festival 2026, Jorden van Foreest has emerged as the sole leader of the Masters section after winning his round 4 game against Nodirbek Yakubboev with black pieces. Jorden is on 3/4 points with decisive results in all 4 of his games. In round 4, Vincent Keymer scored his first win of the tournament after beating defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram with white pieces. In the Masters, the other 3 games ended in a draw. In the Challengers section, Divya Deshmukh and Surya Shekhar Ganguly drew their respective games, and in round 5, they will be facing each other. The 5th round for Masters, Challengers, and Futures, and the 4th round of Open starts today at 3 pm local time, 7:30 pm IST. Photos: Abhyudaya Ram

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

MAGNUS CARLSEN'S MIDDLEGAME EVOLUTION!

MAGNUSC10

Magnus Carlsen’s mastery of the middlegame is astonishing, even by the standards of World Champions. But how did this power develop, and what can the rest of us learn from it? To explain the mysteries requires another elite grandmaster, and Ivan Sokolov is perfectly qualified for this role.

Magnus Carlsen’s Middlegame Evolution allows the reader to celebrate the brilliance of the highest-rated chess player in history while learning from his example. With insightfully annotated games, Sokolov takes us inside the mind of a chess genius. GM Ivan Sokolov is a Yugoslav and twice Dutch Champion with decades of experience of elite chess. His peak rating was over 2700, and his extensive list of scalps includes Kasparov, Kramnik and Anand!

So what are you waiting for? Get this wonderful book at a 10% discount right now, using the Coupon code MAGNUSC10. This offer is only valid till 8th March 2026, so hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

19-year-old Rohit S becomes India's latest IM at the First Saturday IM Tournament in Budapest

Rohit S is India's latest International Master!! Rohit recently crossed the 2400 Elo mark in the live ratings at the First Saturday IM tournament in Budapest, February 2026, completing the requirements for the International Master title. He scored an unbeaten 7/9 points in the event to secure first place and gained 25.6 Elo points to cross the 2400 mark. This result came immediately after a strong performance at the Six Days Budapest GM-B tournament earlier, where he gained 33.2 Elo rating points. His first IM norm came at the Prague International Chess Festival 2024, followed by his second at the Serbia Open 2024. He completed his 3rd norm at the 18th Arad Open GP Classic 2025 in Romania. Photos: IO Nagy Laszlo

Read the full article

Aditya Mittal clear first at 3rd Al-Beruniy Challengers 2026

GM Aditya Mittal wins the 3rd Al-Beruniy Challengers 2026 with a clear half-point lead over the field. Aditya scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 points to win this round-robin event. Aditya started the event as a top seed and finished the tournament on a high note. GM Manuel Petrosyan of Armenia scored 6/9 points to secure second place, and GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov also scored 6/9 points to finish in third place. The tournament was organized by the Uzbekistan Chess Federation in Tashkent from 13th to 21st February, with the top 3 prizes in the Challengers of $5,000, $3,500, and $2,500, respectively. Photos: Uzbekistan Chess Federation

Read the full article

Can you solve these 15 positions from GM Swapnil Dhopade’s training camp?

GM Swapnil Dhopade has taken a major step by opening his offline chess academy, Chess Pathshala, in Nagpur. He recently conducted the first offline training camp at the academy, where players worked on carefully selected strategic exercises. An advanced offline camp for players rated above 2100 is scheduled from 19th to 25th March. The article also features 15 strategic puzzles from the camp that readers can try solving themselves. Check out the full article to know more about how you can register for the upcoming camp. Photo: Swapnil Dhopade

Read the full article

Rohit Jadhav wins the Mind Champions Challenge 3rd Edition

The Mind Champions Challenge 3rd Edition was held on 21st February 2026 at the Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club, Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Kurla. It was sponsored by the Lions Club of Bombay Uptown and organised in association with the All India Chess Federation for the Blind, ChessBase India, and Phoenix Marketcity Mall. Around 36 visually impaired players participated in the event. Rohit Jadhav emerged as the champion with a score of 4.5/5, followed by Swapnil Shah and Gaurav Khetre, who finished second and third, respectively, with 4/5 points. Check out the article for the report.

Read the full article

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From the CEO

Yesterday morning I spent some time in editing a video - The video showcases a 10-year-old Sharvaanica, one of India's biggest young talents, rated 2041, meeting the legend and five-time World Champion Vishy Anand. It was such a heart-warming video where you could see that Vishy Anand and his better half, Aruna Anand, were taking special efforts to inspire the young talent. They show her Vishy's trophy cabinet and then Vishy sits down to analyze a game in the London with the youngster. I am pretty sure this would be a life changing moment for the youngster. She will definitely draw up on this event for the rest of her chess career.

Vishy Anand with little Sharvaanica!

What Anand and Aruna did here is simply amazing! More than the effort, it was the thought that made this happen! Being a legend of the game, does Vishy Anand have to spend his time doing this? Not really. He can very well prepare for his upcoming tournaments, spend time with his family, work on his role at FIDE, prepare for his upcoming sessions at WACA, think about his latest book launch the lightning kid - his schedule is already filled to the brim. But amidst all of this he found time for the young girl. Sharvaanica is an incredible talent. At just the age of 10 she is already rated 2041 and is the current under-10 world champion. In all likelihood she will become a world class player. But this meet with Anand will give her that extra edge in my opinion.

Sharvaanica after becoming the U-10 Girls World Chess Champion! | Photo: Saji Matthews

What I learn from Vishy and Aruna Anand is that there is always the possibility of doing something special for the people around you. We often are too caught up with our problems and have too many issues concerning ourselves that are working in our head. If we can snap out of it and look at things from a different perspective, we can see that with minimal effort, we can make a huge impact in the life of someone. So my small suggestion right now to you is to take a moment and think of something that you can do for someone around you! :) Here's my small effort. 

P.S. Our newly launched Video course on the Caro-Kann, priced at just Rs. 36, has just crossed 2215 sales! Thank you all for the amazing reception, and we really hope it helps you in your chess journey and makes you fall in love with the beautiful opening that is Caro-Kann. If you haven't got the course yet, try it out! - Sagar Shah

Learn Caro-Kann with IM Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Magnus Carlsen wins FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026

Magnus does it again!! Magnus Carlsen wins the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the finals with a score of 2.5-1.5. This is Carlsen's 21st World Championship title; he recently won his 19th and 20th titles at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Qatar. Magnus came back from a really tough spot in 3rd game and never looked back after that. Nodirbek Abdusattorov secured third place after winning his match against Vincent Keymer. Arjun Erigaisi lost his match against Hans Niemann and missed the 5th place. This 3-day event comes to an end with Magnus winning his 21st world championship, and Caruana in agony. Read the detailed report of the last day.

Read the full article

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

100 ENDGAME STUDIES YOU MUST KNOW!

JAN10STUDIES

A very sad news has struck the World of Chess recently. Once called as "best of the west", long-time World #2 and #3 chess player, Dutch Grandmaster Jan Timman passed away on February 18th, 2026. He was 74 years old. The impact Jan Timman had on the World of Chess simply cannot be justified with a few words. Considered to be the best non-soviet chess player at his peak, Jan Timman was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship several times. He lost the '93 FIDE World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. Timman became the Dutch Chess Champion 9 times, and represented his country in 13 Chess Olympiads - winning Individual Gold in 1976.

He won a huge number of top chess events over the years, and was a fantastic chess composer as well! It's a huge loss to the World of Chess, and we wish Timman's family the strength to go through this difficult time. In his loving memory, today we have his fantastic book "100 Endgame Studies You Must Know" as the product of the week. In this book, Timman presents the one hundred greatest endgame studies. In five chapters he guides you through masterpieces of increasing difficulty, beginning with elementary endings such as the Réti and Lasker manoeuvres. The studies include themes such as minor) promotion, Zugzwang and domination, all beautifully illustrated and clearly explained. By the time you reach the final chapter with the most complicated examples, you will be amazed at the myriad possibilities of chess and inspired to add more finesse to your own endgame play!

Today, we have a special offer on 100 endgame studies you must know - use the coupon code "JAN10STUDIES" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 1st March 2026!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

FIDE Candidates 2026: Pairings are out, who are you rooting for?

The pairings for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 have been confirmed after the Drawing of Lots ceremony held at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus. The FIDE Candidates Tournaments, which will take place from 28 March to 16 April 2026, will determine the challengers for the World Championship and Women’s World Championship titles. The drawing of pairings was conducted by the Chief Arbiter, Takis Nikolopoulos. For the participants, the announcement of pairings marks a decisive shift in preparation. Opening repertoires, rest-day planning, and strategic approaches are refined months in advance based on the confirmed opponents.

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Neelash Saha victorious at Marienbad IM Norm Round Robin 2026

International Master Neelash Saha won the Marienbad IM Norm Round Robin 2026 by scoring 8/9 points. Neelash remained unbeaten throughout the event and won the tournament with a 2-point lead. FM Mostbauer Florian scored 6/9 points, and he secured second place. FM Avila Bautista Roberto Al finished in the third place. This wonderful performance helped Neelash to gain 7.6 Rating points and the championship. This result came after Neelash finished on the podium at the 24th Prague Open 2026. The Marienbad IM Norm Round Robin happened at the Continental Hotel in Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic. The top three prizes of the tournament were CZK 5000, 3000, and 2000. Photos: Czech Tour

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19 year-old Rohit S becomes India's latest IM at First Saturday IM Tournament in Budapest

Rohit S is India's latest International Master!! Rohit recently crossed the 2400 Elo mark in the live ratings at the First Saturday IM tournament in Budapest, February 2026, completing the requirements for the International Master title. He scored an unbeaten 7/9 points in the event to secure first place and gained 25.6 Elo points to cross the 2400 mark. This result came immediately after a strong performance at the Six Days Budapest GM-B tournament earlier, where he gained 33.2 Elo rating points. His first IM norm came at the Prague International Chess Festival 2024, followed by his second at the Serbia Open 2024. He completed his 3rd norm at the 18th Arad Open GP Classic 2025 in Romania. Photos: IO Nagy Laszlo

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15-year-old Arshiya Das from Tripura becomes the first WIM of North East India

Arshiya Das from Tripura has created history by becoming the first Woman International Master of North East India. The 15-year-old completed all three WIM norms within a year. Her final norm came in Serbia, where she won the 42nd Rudar IM Round Robin tournament with 6.5/9 score. Along the way, she also earned her first Woman Grandmaster norm. Arshiya’s journey stands as a strong inspiration for young players, especially girls from the North East region. Discover her rise to becoming the region’s first Woman International Master. Photo: Purnendu Das

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026: Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana into the finals

Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana will face each other in the finals of the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026. In the semifinals, Magnus won his match against Nodirbek Abdusattorov with a score of 3-1, and Fabiano Caruana defeated Vincent Keymer to secure his spot in the finals. After losing to Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2018, this is a great chance for Caruana to win his first World Championship title. In the lower bracket, Arjun Erigaisi won his match against Javokhir Sindarov, and Hans Niemann sealed the deal against Levon Aronian. Arjun and Hans will be playing each other in the match for 5th place. The Finals will be played on Sunday, February 15th, at Local Time 3:00 pm CET/ 7:30 pm IST.

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

LEARN CARO-KANN FROM IM SAGAR SHAH! 

CARO-KANN

One of the missions for us at ChessBase India has always been making chess improvement as accessible as possible to the masses. Keeping this in mind, we launched our first ChessRanga video course! On 28th January, the birthday of Sagar, we launched "Learn Caro-Kann from scratch with IM Sagar Shah". Close to 2000 people have already purchased it - you can also get it right now at just Rs. 36 (USD 0.40). Head to ChessRanga now to learn Caro-Kann in depth with Sagar Shah - it's a 7-hour video course with 25 chapters!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Apoorv Kamble wins SixDays Budapest January 2026 GM Round Robin

Apoorv Kamble of Karnataka clinched the title of SixDays Budapest January 2026 GM Round Robin Group (B). Apoorv was unbeaten throughout the event. He won 3 games and drew his other 6 games to score 6/9 points. FM Palczert Matyas of Hungary and IM Krallis Christos also scored 6/9 points, but Apoorv secured the first place on a better tiebreak score. Apoorv also scored his 5th IM norm in the tournament. It was a round-robin event with time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment, organized by SixDays Chess in Budapest at the tournament hall of the Hungarian Chess Federation from 25th to 30th January. The next SixDays Budapest event will be conducted from 19th to 24th March. Photos: Apoorv Kamble, Michael Yip

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Alisher Suleymenov wins Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin, Ethan Vaz second, Ameya Audi third

Kazakh Grandmaster Alisher Suleymenov is the Champion of the Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin Tournament. Alisher drew against IM Ameya Audi in the final round in a hard-fought battle, sealing the tournament victory with 6/9 points. IM Ethan Vaz secured second place with 5.5/9 points and a better tiebreak score than IM Ameya Audi, who lost his game against Ethan in round 2 of the event. Ameya scored 5.5/9 points to secure third place, but he barely missed his GM norm by half a point as his last game against Alisher ended in a draw. The event was successfully organized at Chola Chess, Chennai, from 3rd to 11th February. Photos: Chola Chess/Himank Ghosh

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How the Queens of Braille Chess are making their mark on Indian chess

Indian chess has produced many Grandmasters, including current World Champion D Gukesh and Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh. Every year, more young talents continue to emerge across the country. But away from the spotlight are achievers like Himanshi Rathi and Sanskruti More. They play Braille chess, a format that relies on touch, memory, and deep focus. Their journeys have been shaped by challenges and resilience. They want to bring change and greater recognition to the game they love. Read their story and discover a side of Indian chess that deserves to be seen. Photo: BBC

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Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club celebrates its 4th anniversary with Rs.500,000 rapid and blitz rating event

On 19th March 2026, the ChessBase India Chess Club at Phoenix Marketcity Mall will complete 4 years. To celebrate this milestone, we are organising the 4th Anniversary Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club FIDE Rapid and Blitz Tournaments 2026 on 28th February and 1st March at Dublin Square, Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Kurla, Mumbai. Both events are FIDE-rated, with a total prize fund of Rs. 3 lakh for Rapid and Rs. 2 lakh for Blitz. Read on to find all the event details and registration information.

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From the CEO

This happened in roughly at the middle of 2025. Amruta and I were excited because our good friends Shikhar and Charmie were visiting us from Bangalore. Both of them are excellent at what they do - Charmie - a top notch designer, and Shikhar - an amazing product manager and entrepreneur. We also had super GM Vidit Gujrathi coming home that day. We all met in the afternoon and spent a lot of time discussing about AI. Vidit, who had just learnt about cursor back then, showed it to me, and we even managed to build something very quick in the next few minutes! After spending a few hours, Shikhar's eyes fell on our ChessBase India shop website. He didn't like the look and feel of it. He asked us - "What do you use to manage your shop?" My reply was, "There is a website known as Ecwid and we have been using it since 2016." To which Shikhar's natural question was - "Why do you guys not use Shopify? It's the best website to build a shop." (This newsletter is by no means a promotion of Shopify!). As Shikhar asked me this question, my mind went back in time. It was 2016, and we had just started off ChessBase India. The earliest customers who would buy ChessBase softwares would deposit the money in our bank account and send us an email. We would then check our bank account, and then send them serial keys and setup files! :) 

In order to simplify the process back then we had a choice - Shopify or Ecwid. And because we needed certain features which Shopify didn't provide, or because we wanted to save some cost, we had gone for Ecwid. Now in the last 9 years - our entire e-commerce business was built around it. We would put the details of every single transaction into the system. We had customized it in a way that if someone ordered a product then they would immediately get the serial key and setup files. Yes, the front end look and feel wasn't particularly the best, but we had learnt to live with it. After all the amount of time and energy we had spent in nurturing the platform to the liking of not just the ecommerce team, but also our accounting team was huge! And now here comes Shikhar, we are having a fun day together and he is asking us to change the platform. I was not convinced. "We don't have the bandwidth time wise or monetary resources wise to make all the changes", I said. "We also would have to train our team all over again for this." He of course, understood the complexity of the situation, but he still insisted that shifting to Shopify was a no-brainer. Amruta and I decided to take a leap of faith. There are some people in your life who give you advice after due thought and when such people insist, you must take it seriously. Shikhar helped us to find the right person for this transition. His own brother Ujjwal joined ChessBase India and over the next few months immaculately transformed our shop! What you now see on our website - shop.chessbase.in is our new shop powered by Shopify.

I must tell you - the change was not a pleasant one. Every few days we had the question - whether it was worth it? Well, the answer is - it was totally worth. Almost everyone in the company is happy with this transition and the happiest is the customer. They have better searching possibilities, better checkout experience and just overall a positive feeling visiting our shop. Our sales have also risen since the shift. We can already see the limitless potential that lies ahead of us to scale the e-commerce business. A big thanks to Shikhar who insisted that we make the change, and a big thanks to Charmie and Vidit who agreed with him wholeheartedly that day. 

If you have read what I have written here, it might be a good idea for you to think about your chess journey. Think about what is that limiting factor that is limiting you in life like Ecwid was for us. There must be Shikhar's in your life as well - people who are recommending you with all their heart to do something new, something different - that would take your game to the next level. But you are not ready to change. Why? Because you have invested a lot of time and energy into your existing openings, systems and style of play. Change is always difficult. But when done right, it frees up your way! A road that had roadblocks everywhere now becomes a highway. But for that you must take that leap of faith. And then you will find an Ujjwal (a chess coach) who will come and guide you along the path. Yes, it might seem that you don't have enough resources/money to afford a chess coach. But sometimes you have to invest before you reap the benefits. Sometimes you investing in upgrading yourself will help you win a tournament and help you recover your expenses. As my grandfather (nanaji) used to say, "Sometimes you have to spend first before you earn!" I hope through this newsletter, all of you find the courage to take that next leap in your life. - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

88th Tata Steel 2026 R10: Gukesh bounces back again

The World Champion, D Gukesh bounced back once again in Round 10 of 88th Tata Steel Masters 2026. Gukesh joked about teaching a lesson to the 14-year-old as he lost few games against the stronger players when he was a 13/14-year-old. He also praised how Yagiz became stronger in the last year. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) drew his game against Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) to maintain his sole lead 6.5/10. Jorden van Foreest (NED) drew against Javokhir Sindarov (UZB). Both of them maintain their pursuit at 6/10 each. Matthias Bluebaum (GER) scored his second consecutive win to cross 2700 in the live ratings for the first time in his career. Bluebaum crushed Anish Giri who opted for a sharp line. World no.4 Vincent Keymer (GER) got the better of World no.5 Arjun Erigaisi. Aravindh Chithambaram scored his first win of the event against the Czech Republic no.1, Thai Dai Vang Nguyen after the former made a bold practical decision in the endgame. Today is the last rest day. Round 11 starts tomorrow Friday 30th January at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST for both Masters and Challengers section. 

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

GARRY KASPAROV ANALYZES HIS GAMES!

KASPAROV10

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part 1 is the first book in a major new three-volume series. This series will be unique by the fact that it will record the greatest chess battles played by the greatest chessplayer of all-time. The series in itself is a continuation of Kasparov’s mammoth history of chess, comprising My Great Predecessors and Modern Chess. Kasparov’s historical volumes have received great critical and public acclaim for their rigorous analysis and comprehensive detail regarding the developments in chess that occurred both on and off the board. This new volume and series continues in this vein with Kasparov scrutinizing his most fascinating encounters from the period 1973-1985 whilst also charting his development away from the board!

It had been known in Russia for some time that Kasparov had an extraordinary talent but the first time that this talent was unleashed on the western world was in 1979.The Russian Chess Federation had received an invitation for a player to participate in a tournament at Banja Luka and, under the impression that this was a junior event, sent along the fifteen year old Kasparov (as yet without even an international rating!). Far from being a junior tournament, Banja Luka was actually a major international event featuring numerous world class grandmasters.  Undeterred Kasparov stormed to first place, scoring 11½/15 and finishing two points clear of the field!

Today, we have a special offer on this amazing book - use the coupon code "KASPAROV10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 6th Feburary 2026 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

A dozen champions crowned at 14th National Schools Chess Championships 2025

The 14th National School Chess Championships 2025 witnessed a participation of 1153 players from 30 different states and union territories across the nation. Kerala bagged the maximum number of medals - six, two Gold, Silver and Bronze medals each. Karnataka won four medals, two Gold and Silver each. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal also got four medals each. The twelve champions are - Nimalan Dharanipathy (KAR), Tanishka Bhandari (MAH), Ilaan Shafeek (KER), Teesha Byadwal (RAJ), Dhyaan Patel (GUJ), Yakshini P (TN), Advik Singh Chauhan (HAR), WCM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR), Siddhant Salunke (MAH), WCM Shanmathi Sree S (TN), FM Samyak Dharewa (WB) and Ameya A R (KER).

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When India's rising star Pranav Anand faced Magnus Carlsen at the World Blitz Championship

19-year-old Grandmaster Pranav Anand was in superb form at the FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025. He scored impressive wins against strong players like Amin Bassem, Robert Hovhannisyan, Richard Rapport, and Murzin Volodar. He finished the tournament with a score of 12/19 and performed at a rating of 2739! In the fifth round, he faced Magnus Carlsen, a dream encounter for any young player. He has annotated his game against the World No. 1 in this article. Check out how the exciting battle unfolded. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

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Aaryan Varshney dominates 16th Andranik Margaryan Memorial 2026, becomes the 92nd Grandmaster of India

IM Aaryan Varshney became the 92nd Indian to achieve the Grandmaster title on Friday 16th January 2026. Aaryan drew against GM Jegor Lashkin (MDA) in the final round to become the champion and also earn his final GM-norm. The 20-year-old from Delhi scored his first norm at 34th Vasilis Theoridis Kavala Open 2025 in August. He reached 2500 in FIDE Rating list November. Aaryan scored his second GM-norm at 3rd Leonine GM Round-Robin in the same month. Aaryan has won a lot of tournaments throughout his career. Since November 2023, his rating kept climbing up, thanks to his meticulous planning of tournaments. This year India might just get the highest number of GMs in a calendar year and reach 100 GMs. 

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Prraneeth Vuppala prevails at 37th Roquetas Chess Festival Open 2026

GM Prraneeth Vuppala scored 7.5/9 to win 37th Roquetas Chess Festival Open 2026. Prraneeth finished a half point ahead of the rest. FM Pau Marin Ferragut (ESP), IM Filip Cukrowski (POL), IM Nico Chasin (USA) and IM Felix-Antonio Illinca (ROU) scored 7/9 each. They secured second to fifth place according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes were €2600 + trophy, €1600 and €1200 each respectively. GM Diptayan Ghosh, GM Raja Rithvik R and GM Vignesh N R scored 6.5/9 each. They were placed seventh, eighth and tenth respectively. IM Aronyak Ghosh scored an unbeaten 8/9 to secure second place in the 7th The Eve of Magi Blitz Rating Open. Nico won that event scoring 8.5/9. The top three prizes in Blitz were €120, €90 and €70.

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From the CEO

An interesting episode happened at the World Rapid Championships 2025 held in Qatar, Doha. Vladislav Artemiev started day 2 as one of the co-leaders with 4.5/5. And then he beat Arjun Erigaisi with some absolutely stunning and bold play under time pressure to reach 5.5/6. He then faced off against Magnus Carlsen and in what was an absolutely crazy encounter he emerged victorious to reach 6.5/7. At this point, Artemiev had a full one point lead over the field. With 6 rounds to go, he was definitely a huge favourite to become the World Rapid Champion. And then something quite surprising happened. Vladislav drew 6 games in a row. A couple of them were also draws with white pieces under 10 moves - against Sarana and Sindarov. With this he finished 2nd (9.5/13) and got the silver medal. No points for guessing who finished first - Magnus Carlsen with 10.5/13! After losing to Artemiev, Magnus went on a hot streak, winning 5 games in a row and then drawing his final round to become the World Rapid Champion 2025. 

An elated Magnus Carlsen after becoming World Rapid Champion 2025! | Photo: FIDE/Anna Shtourman

I was very curious about Artemiev's strategy - why would a player of his skill and calibre not want to push and win the gold medal. So in the interview after the tournament I asked him exactly this question. To which he replied,  "It’s a very individual thing. I wanted to win at least a medal. Bronze was good, silver better. If I took big risks, maybe I could fight for gold, but maybe I would finish 10th as well. So I preferred to secure a medal. I made some quick draws, but I also played some serious battles. I am very happy with silver, because to win this tournament you must be better than Magnus — and that is extremely difficult. He won five games in a row at the end!" 

Vladislav Artemiev in action - watch our full interview with him | Photo: FIDE/ Lennart Ootes

This safety first approach which Vladislav Artemiev took is also an approach that we take for many of the things in our life. While Magnus Carlsen is always gunning for the gold. It's easy to dismiss Magnus as someone who is in a different league altogether having won 18 world titles before that World Rapid Championship! (Now it is 20!). But there was a time when Magnus was also at 0 titles as well and he faced opponents who wanted the gold. Somehow he risked it back then and the result is here for all of us to see. In order to make a huge leap, you need to be ready to fail. You need to think and believe in yourself that if you lose this opportunity now, you will get it back again in future. 

Magnus with his first World title - he became World Blitz Champion in 2009. This was his 20th World title as he won the World Blitz Championship 2025!

They say youngsters are able to do this much more easily. For eg. for youngsters like Gukesh, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer - this approach of going all in comes much more easily. It seems like they are able to not worry about what they will lose but focus on the bigger picture - self improvement and trying to gain experience. For those who grow older they start taking safer decisions and this has to do with a lot of factors.  One of them is that once you grow older, there are more responsibilities on your shoulders - let's say you have a family or you feel you need to do something for your country. There's also this very interesting thing that once you have burnt your hands in something you don't want to burn them again! :) 

Taking all of this into consideration it might be easy to say that taking risks is a young man's job! However, this is far from the truth. What is extremely important in my opinion is to have this unrelenting drive of becoming the best version of yourself - no matter where you are. And for that you need to have the right attitude within you and the right environment around you. You need to have people in your life - your coach, your family - who is pushing you to take those chances rather than settling for something less. I met an official in Turkish chess, who came to me and said after the World Rapid championships 2025 - "Yagiz (Kaan Erdogmus) just doesn't know how to play for a draw." He played an incredible tournament (beating Arjun, Nihal, van Foreest) and in the last round he wanted to beat Dominguez to get a medal. He lost and finished 15th. What counts is how Yagiz takes this loss and how his coach and family react after he has taken this somewhat bold decision. Words like "you could have made a draw to finish in top 10" have dangerous consequences. On the other hand, a comforting pat on the back can be a much more prudent approach in the long term. Once a player loses a key game, the first feeling that he/she gets is that of regret. How quickly can one overcome that? How can your team ensure that you never remain in this regret zone for too long, but come back to the moment where you have the ability to work on yourself again. 

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus displayed amazing fight spirit at the World Rapid and Blitz 2025! | Photo: FIDE/Lennart Ootes

Becoming the best version of yourself in any domain is an unrelenting task. It makes your question every single dogma that you have. It makes you prioritize your self improvement over everything else. Very few people in the world are able to shut out all the noise and are able to focus on that. Very few people are able to build support teams who think this way. Very few people can digest failure, not feel the regret and bounce back on the horse rapidly. Are you one of them? If not, then you can question yourself - Why not? - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

A recap of Indian chess in 2025

When we look back at Indian chess in 2025, what stands out is how consistent the progress felt. The signs were already there in 2024, but this year, the results kept coming consistently. Indian players made their mark in the world’s biggest tournaments. It was impressive to see great and consistent results month after month. There was always something to talk about! It was a year that felt alive, steady, and exciting for Indian chess. In this article, we revisit some of the most memorable wins and moments that made 2025 such a remarkable year for Indian chess.

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

CHESSBASE '26 IS HERE!

10CHESSBASE26

ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughout the world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more. Whether it is preparation for an individual opponent or tournament, administration and analysis of one's own games, development of training material for self-study or for training groups, or publication of games on the web or in print: ChessBase '26 has an incredible wealth of functions for all areas of study and playing levels. 

Some of the new features on ChessBase '26:

Opening report - Club players need statistics that are different from top players. Prepare for your level, not for GMs. Opening books reflect main stream theory and often suggest lines that are not practical for normal players!

 New Reference filters - Instant preparation: Just type the name. Filter out Blitz and rapid with one click!

 Monte Carlo Analysis - An engine evaluation is a single number. Monte Carlo provides additional insights into a position. Practical chances, drawing width, typical manoeuvres!

 AI description of plans - Explains a position to you like a good personal trainer would do it. (Valuable insights, but beware of hallucinations which are still possible). 

Today, we have a special offer on ChessBase '26 - use the coupon code "10CHESSBASE26" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 12th January 2026 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Carlsen bests Abdusattorov in the Finals to clinch World Blitz 2025, Bronze for Arjun Erigaisi

Magnus Carlsen (NOR) defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) 2.5-1.5 in the Finals to retain his World Blitz title. This was his ninth FIDE World Blitz crown, making it his overall 20th World title. Arjun Erigaisi topped Stage 1, also known as Swiss-League stage, scoring 15/19 and finishing a full point ahead of the rest. Arjun lost to Abdusattorov in the Semifinals by 0.5-2.5. Fabiano Caruana (USA) suffered 1-3 loss against the eventual champion, Carlsen. Thus, both Arjun and Caruana won a Bronze each. Arjun became only the second Indian after Vishy Anand to win a medal in both World Rapid and Blitz events of the same year. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) defeated GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) by 2.5-1.5 to clinch Gold in the Women's. Thus, she became FIDE World Blitz Women's champion for the third time. The reigning World Junior Girls Blitz 2025 champion, IM Eline Roebers (NED) lost to Anna in the Semifinals. Eline and GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) won a Bronze medal each. This marked Eline's impressive debut at the event as she was the only IM to win a medal at this year's World Blitz Rapid and Blitz events combining Open and Women. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

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Carlsen and Goryachkina are World Rapid 2025 Open and Women Champions, Bronze for Arjun and Humpy

Magnus Carlsen won his sixth World Rapid title scoring 10.5/13 at FIDE World Rapid Championship 2025 Open. He needed just a draw in the final round to become a clear champion. In the penultimate round, he defeated Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (TUR) whom the World no.1 touted as the strongest 14-year-old he has ever known. Vladislav Artemiev drew all four of his games to finish second 9.5/11. Arjun Erigaisi defeated Aleksandr Shimanov to score 9.5/11 and finish third on tie-breaks. Arjun became the second Indian after Vishy Anand to win a medal at a World Rapid Championship. GM Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) 1.5-0.5 in the Playoffs to win the Women's event. Jiner secured second place. GM Humpy Koneru secured a Bronze medal scoring 8.5/11. She missed a win in the endgame in the last game of the day, for two days in-a-row. This time against IM Savitha Shri B. A total of 13 rounds in Open and 10 rounds in Women Blitz games will be played today. Round 1 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

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Ethan Vaz and Shubhi Gupta are National Junior Open and Girls 2025 Champions

IM Ethan Vaz (Goa) and WFM Shubhi Gupta (UP) are 54th National Junior Open and 41st National Junior Girls 2025 champions. Ethan scored an unbeaten 10.5/11 and finished a whopping 1.5 points ahead of the competition. IM Mayank Chakraborty (ASM) scored 9/11 to secure second place. IM Vignesh Advaith Vemula (TEL) and IM Akshay Borgaonkar (MAH) scored 8.5/11 each. They secured third and fourth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Shubhi scored an unbeaten 9.5/11 and finished ahead of the rest. WFM Nivedita V C (TN) scored sole 9/11 to finish second. WCM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR) claimed third place scoring 8.5/11. The total prize fund combining Open and Girls section was ₹1000000. The top three prizes in both Open and Girls sections were ₹100000, ₹72000 and ₹60000 along with a trophy each respectively. This was Ethan's first and Shubhi's second National Junior tournament triumph. Photo: IA Jayant Kumar Bhuyan

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Deepan Chakkravarthy Wins 5th Athens of East, Fedorov Alexei Second and Srihari L Third

After fighting for 10 rounds and 8 days, the Athens of East Grandmaster tournament is finally over, and Deepan Chakkravarthy of ICF won the 5th Edition of the Athens of East Grandmaster Open Chess tournament, which concluded at Hotel Amika, Madurai. Deepan secured the first place with 8.5 points by drawing his final round against 2nd placed GM Alexei Fedorov of Belarus. He scored 7.5/10, and it was the same as 3rd placed IM Srihari L, but because of better Tie-Breaks, Fedorov secured the second place while Srihari L secured the third place. In the last round, IM L Srihari drew his game against GM Rohith Krishna, and Rohith secured 4th place. Though the top 8 boards all drew their games, most of the games were well fought to the end. The prizes were distributed by Shri Velmurugan, Regional Sports Manager, Shri Raja, District Sports Officer, Shri Arun Vallapan, Correspondent, Vallabha Vidyalaya CBSE School, Madurai, and in the presence of State and District Officials. Photo credit: IA Vijayaraghavan V/Ananthi Chess Academy.

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From the CEO

From a bunch of 8 people, ChessBase India has grown into a group of close to 30 people. It's funny that both our meet ups actually happened in Goa! Back in 2019 it was after the Goa GM International tournament and now in 2025 after the FIDE World Cup. Seeing the smiling faces on both these images is quite a happy feeling for me! Also the fact that each and every person who was part of that picture back in 2019 is still part of the team in 2025! 

ChessBase India is a good representation of how the chess ecosystem in the country has grown. We began back in 2015. I just checked today that 12th of September 2015 is the first article that was written on ChessBase India newspage. That's well over 10 years! :) In these 10 years a lot of things have grown and a lot of possibilities have emerged for the company. Right from running the YouTube channel, to the live commentary, to building an ecommerce business, to covering tournaments, to tech projects, to organizing events, there are many things that bring in the growth for the company. Our Foundation - HelpChess has grown massively and support has flown in from all ends. The year 2024-25 itself we raised Rs.1.6 crores for the young Indian chess players! This is absolutely mind-blowing for me.

While we continue to grow, I have realized one thing - for anything to grow in this world - a lot of factors have to come together. And we have to understand this very deeply. Take for example a tree - it needs first a seed to be sown, for sunlight to fall, for nutrients to be there in the soil, for water to exist in order for it to come to life and grow. ChessBase India today generates revenue and the money get distributed amongst the 30-35 people who are part of the team. And we do need a physical existence of a company to ensure that money is transacted safely. However, the truth of the matter is that thousands of people have contributed are thousands are contributing towards the success of ChessBase India.

For eg. Gukesh became the World Champion and now many more people want to watch his videos! This means that Gukesh is helping ChessBase India grow. The same can be said about Vishy Anand. He was at the top of Indian chess for 30+ years and he paved the way for many talents by means of being an inspiration. A lot of my passion for chess comes from the fact that someone like Anand was dominating the sport when I was growing up. So definitely Anand has contributed to the success of ChessBase India. 

If I try to sit down calmly and think in this manner, I realize that it is not thousands but millions of people who are contributing towards the growth of ChessBase India. In the truest of senses then, it becomes absolutely impossible to take the credit for anything that is happening. This is not humility, this is the fact. When someone comes and tells me I commentate well, I think of the times I sat in front of the TV and watched Tony Greig commentate on Sachin Tendulkar's amazing centuries in Sharjah. I think of the times when I sat inside my room and heard Daniel King talk about pawn structures and how it is important to understand the 4-2 vs 3-3 structure. All of these people have contributed immensely in the journey of me becoming a good commentator. And I am pretty sure there are people who helped Tony Greig and Daniel King become great commentators and trainers as well - this chain is endless! :)

It's when you see the world in this connected fashion, that you understand that not much is achieved by your genius. It could be a slightly depressing feeling for some, but it is also a very liberating one. You no longer have anything left to prove. Every single act of yours starts becoming an act of gratitude. You realize how deeply everything is connected to each other and how someone starting a venture in one corner of the world can impact what you are working upon in another corner. Butterfly effect as they say. And this feeling of connectedness is not at a superficial feeling anymore, it is deeply embedded within you. 

And so if you are a chess player, think about all the trainers, people, books, videos and material that has helped you to become a good player. Yes, you were the one who synthesized this knowledge and applied it in the best possible way, but you are never the sole reason for your success. And so, while ChessBase India grows and move towards the journey of the next 10 years or more, I want to thank each and every person who has contributed towards its growth. Could be the entire world actually. Maybe this is the space from where the well-know saying of "Vasudev Kutumbakkam" or "Gens Una Sumus" comes in - "We are one family"! :) I truly believe we are. - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

19-year-old Javokhir Sindarov becomes the youngest ever FIDE World Cup Champion

Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) has created history by becoming the youngest ever to win a FIDE World Cup. He won it at the age of 19 years. The first tie-break Rapid game ended in a draw after Wei Yi (CHN) blundered in the same color bishop endgame. Sindarov missed his opportunity. However, Sindarov won the second tie-break game after Wei could not capitalize on his chance in the complex major piece endgame. Thus, Sindarov brought the biggest individual glory to Uzbekistan, since Rustam Kasimdzhanov became World Champion in 2004. Fun fact: Both World Cup winners - Divya Deshmukh (Women) and Sindarov, won it at the age of 19 years and they are born just a day apart. Hard work definitely brought them success. Maybe destiny too? One thing is for sure as Sindarov mentioned in the post-tournament Press Conference, India and Uzbekistan players are going to fight for the top honors in the near future - Olympiad and World Cup are just the beginning. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

WHEN CHESSPA MET GUKI!

GUKIPA10

On this day (30th November 2025) exactly 8 years ago, Gukesh gave that iconic interview to Sagar - he told him he wants to become the youngest World Chess Champion. And he did achieve that dream! In "ChessPa meets Guki - the Golden boy", Step into the incredible journey of Guki, a curious 7-year-old from a small Indian town, whose life changes forever when he meets ChessPa, a wise and mysterious mentor. Will Guki’s passion and hard work lead him to become the world’s youngest chess champion? Find out in this heart-warming tale of dreams, dedication, and the joy of learning. Perfect for young readers (6+) and chess enthusiasts alike, Guki – The Golden Boy inspires everyone to believe in their own checkmate moments.

Today, we have a special offer on ChessPa meets Guki - The Golden Boy - use the coupon code "GUKIPA10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 7th December 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

XTX London Chess Classic Open 2025 R4: Pranav Anand holds World no.7 Praggnanandhaa to a draw

The coleaders, GM R Praggnanandhaa and GM Pranav Anand drew their fourth round battle against each other at XTX Markets London Chess Classic Open 2025. The game ended in a calm draw, arising out of Closed Ruy Lopez. Six more players - GM Velimir Ivic (SRB), GM Daniil Yuffa (ESP), GM Vahap Sanal (TUR), GM Sebastian Maze (FRA), GM Tamas Fodor Jr. (HUN) and IM Jonah B Willow (ENG) have also joined them in the lead 3.5/4 each. Today is last double round of the event. Round 5 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

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Commonwealth 2025: Daniel Howard Fernandez clinches Gold, Arjun Adireddy Silver and Lalit Rohit Bronze

GM Daniel Howard Fernandez (ENG) drew against FM Arjun Adireddy to clinch Gold at Commonwealth Chess Championships 2025 Open. He scored 7.5/9 and finished a half point ahead of the rest. Arjun secured a Silver medal scoring 7/9. A'qil A'lauddin Bin Abd Aziz (MAS) lost to GM Lalit Rohit and the latter got Bronze with the same score 7/9. WGM Srija Seshadri, WGM Mary Ann Gomes and IM Nisha Mohota won Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Women's category scoring 5.5/9 each. India won a total of 35 medals (13 Gold, 10 Silver and 12 Bronze) combining both Classical and Blitz events. GM Mitrabha Guha won Gold in Blitz with an unbeaten 8/9. GM Deep Sengupta earned a Silver 7.5/9. GM P Shyaam Nikhil edged past four other players to win Bronze on tie-breaks scoring 7/9. Photo: FIDE

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Isha Sharma becomes Karnataka's first and India's 27th Woman Grandmaster

Isha Sharma became India's 27th Woman Grandmaster at IM RR SahArt in Subotica, Serbia on 14th November 2025. She scored her final norm at that event last week. The first WIM of Karnataka, also became the state's first WGM. She earned her first IM and WGM-norm at Slovakia Open Piestany in July 2022. A little over a year later, she scored her second WGM-norm at 4th S M le Roi Mohammed VI Crown 2023 in Casablanca, Morocco. Two years and almost three months later, she earned her final WGM-norm. Her better half is IM Sharan Rao with whom she got married a few months ago. Thus, Karnataka's strongest chess couple got stronger. Her journey towards the next title - IM, continues. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

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9 young talents receive laptops through the ChessBase India YouTube Members Program 2024-25

For chess players, a good laptop is as important as a good coach. It helps them study, analyse and train without any hurdles slowing them down. To support talents who cannot afford a powerful device, we decided that our ChessBase India YouTube Membership money will go towards this. This initiative aims to ensure that talent is never held back by lack of resources. Every contribution from our members directly strengthens the future of Indian chess. This year’s contributions reached Rs 8,53,622.7. We used the amount to give the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED to nine chess players. This article shares how the program works, why these players were selected and how the laptops are making a difference in their training.

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From the CEO

I was working on a video when I got to know about the shocking news of the demise of Daniel Naroditsky. It came out of the blue. Absolutely no one could have ever imagined that something like this could have happened. I was in the US at the home of GM Magesh Panchanathan and WFM Anuprita Patil in North Carolina. We sat there absolutely shocked. I had first seen Danya in 2016 when we were playing in the same tournament in Porticcio, France. I also played against him in a blitz event and lost that game. I covered it in my tribute video:

Sagar's tribute to Daniel Naroditsky

In the pandemic, we streamed together. I had great regard for the work he was doing and it was very pure. Danya would never clickbait his viewers and adopted a long-term approach towards creating his legacy as a chess trainer, teacher and content creator. At the same time, he was never vocal against anyone who was adopting a method that was different from his. In fact, he accepted that method and always tried to see the positive side of it.

On 23rd of October 2025, I went to San Francisco along with Magesh to attend the funeral of Daniel. The number of people from the chess community who turned up was testament to what an important personality he was in the world of chess. We had Hikaru Nakamura with his father Sunil Weeramantry, Alireza Firouzja had travelled all the way from France with his girlfriend, Robert Hess had travelled from London with his wife, Levy Rozman was there with his wife, Alexandra Botez was there, Danny Rensch, Eric Rosen, Irene Sukandar, Benjamin Bok, Vinay Bhat, Patrick Wolff, and many others. Not to forget the amazing people from the Charlotte Chess Center who were like family to Danya. 

As I sat there at the funeral, I opened my phone and went through my WhatsApp chat with Daniel. The first ever message he wrote to me when I had asked him about appearing on Grandmaster chess was: “Love the work that you're doing and I've referred so many students to your videos. I would be honored to do this collab!” 

Wow! Such warm words. I remember feeling so good reading it back then in 2022. He was a strong grandmaster. One of the best in the world when it came to bullet and blitz. And here he was taking out the time to tell me how much he liked the work we were doing. One of his later messages read, “I love coming on CB India and I think you are just fantastic in every way.” 

When Daniel passed away, Douglas Griffin, a chess historian, shared a message that Danya had written to him, “Hi Douglas, I just wanted to say that I am a huge fan of your Twitter Page and Blog. As a massive (chess) history nerd, the photos are second to none and the text and descriptions are artful and eloquent. I have spent countless hours perusing the posts. As we Americans like to say, You are the Man!” Douglas wrote on Twitter, “In February 2022, Daniel Naroditsky sent me a message to say that he appreciated my blog & my posts on Twitter. I was really touched then that he, already a famous figure in chess broadcasting, should take a moment to encourage an ordinary guy like me, and I still am.” 

When I was about to leave the funeral, I went to give my condolences to Danya’s girlfriend. I told her my name and immediately her face lit up. “Danya always used to say nice things about you and he loved the work you are doing!” I was stunned. What a man Danya was. She continued, “Danya loved deeply and had immense love in his life.” I left the funeral with a heavy heart but at the same time I made a promise to myself. Whenever someone did something good and I saw it, I would take out the time and write to that person with great care, just like how Danya did.

While many would remember Danya as a great teacher, many would remember him as a great player, many would remember him as a speed demon, I will remember him as a kind soul who touched lives of people in a very gentle and honest manner. Rest in Peace Danya, you will be missed. - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

The gentle genius of chess: Daniel Naroditsky (9.11.1995 - 19.10.2025)

It’s been a week since the chess world lost one of its brightest lights. The news of GM Daniel Naroditsky’s passing was shared on 20th October 2025 by Charlotte Chess Center, leaving everyone in deep shock and sorrow. Some knew him as a commentator, some as a player, some as a teacher, but to everyone, he was an inspiration. His detailed insights mixed with humour drew players in from all corners of the world. Daniel was loved by millions! Despite his immense talent, he always stayed humble, curious, and eager to learn from anyone! This article is a tribute to this great soul! Photo: Charlotte Chess Center

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

LEARN TO ATTACK WITH GUKESH!

DGUKESH10

D Gukesh is the World Chess Champion right now. Gukesh became the World Champion by defeating Ding Liren in the 2024 World Chess Championship! Just a year before that, in April 2023, Gukesh visited the ChessBase India studio in Mumbai and recorded a Video course with us - called "Attack like a Super Grandmaster".

While Gukesh is a universal player, there are three qualities of his play that stand out - Attack, Calculation, and Imagination. In this Video course: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all these aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player. Gukesh explains his games in great depth, and questions are asked at the appropriate moment to help you understand the intricacies of the position. At the end of the course, you will find test positions that help you to reinforce the knowledge that you have gained by watching the videos. These test positions include Gukesh's wins over Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. IM Sagar Shah sits together with Gukesh and asks him relevant questions that will help you gain a lot of critical insights!

Today, we have a special offer on Attack like a Super GM - use the coupon code "DGUKESH10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 4th November 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Clutch Chess 2025 R1-3: World Champion Gukesh makes a great start, beats Caruana twice

The World Champion continues his momentum from 40th European Chess Club Cup 2025 double Gold triumph. Straight from Rhodes, Greece, he travelled to Saint Louis, Missouri in USA for Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025. He played a great game against the World no.1, Magnus Carlsen. However, he could not find the perfect defence in an extremely complex position with only 14 seconds left on the clock. He resigned like a gentleman instead of letting his clock run out. In the second game, Gukesh drew against Carlsen. Then he defeated Hikaru Nakamura in Round 2 with a great display of his positional understanding. Their second game was an uneventful draw. In the third round, Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana in both games to grab an early lead 4/6. Carlsen is breathing down his neck at 3.5/6, followed by Nakamura 3/6 and Caruana 1.5/6. Three more rounds, six games will be played today starting from 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

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SuperChess clinches 40th European Club Cup with a perfect score, Alkaloid second and Novy Bor third

SuperChess won 40th European Club Cup 2025 Open with a perfect score 14/14. Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub lost to the eventual winner by 2.5-3.5. Alkaloid defeated Rishon Le Zion #1 by 4.5-2.5 to finish second for the second consecutive year. The defending champion, Novy Bor won against Vugar Gashimov by 1.5-4.5 to finish third. Cercle d'échecs de Monte-Carlo won 29th European Club Cup Women by splitting the point with Turkish Airlines sports club. They scored 13/14. Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica lost to SuperChess 1.5-2.5, still they secured second place. The reigning champion, Tajfun SK Ljubljana drew against CE Gambit Bonnevoie to finish third. World Champion - GM D Gukesh, GM Nihal Sarin, GM Abhimanyu Puranik and FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 winner - GM Divya Deshmukh won individual Gold on their respective boards. GM Aravindh Chithambaram won individual Bronze on his board. Photo: European Chess Union

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Pranav Venkatesh dominates 8th Salamanca Chess Festival 2025 Cradle of Modern Chess

The reigning World Junior 2025 champion, GM Pranav Venkatesh won 8th Salamanca Chess Festival 2025 with a round to spare. Former World Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) was the only one who had chances of stopping his momentum. However, in their rematch, he could not seize his advantage, allowing Pranav once again to get the upper hand and win the game. Pranav won the next two games to become the champion 9.5/10, finishing a whopping 1.5 points ahead of the runner-up, Ponomariov. WGM Nadya Toncheva (BUL) scored an impressive 5/10 to finish third. Pranav had an eight-game winning streak at this event. Photo: Universidad de Salamanca. Comunicación Alumni - USAL

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Kishan Gangolli wins Gold at 2nd FIDE Olympiad for People with Disabilities 2025

Kishan Gangolli scored an unbeaten 5/6 to win an individual Gold medal on Board no.3 at 2nd FIDE Olympiad for People with Disabilities 2025. In the previous edition in 2023, Kishan won Silver on the same board with the exact same board. This time also he remained undefeated. It was the sole medal for India. Team FIDE 1 became overall champion, scoring an unbeaten 11/12. The defending champion, Poland secured Silver. They scored sole 10/12 and also remained unbeaten. Israel, IBCA and Philippines scored 9/12 each. They were placed third, fourth and fifth respectively. Team India finished twelfth, one above their starting rank. Photo: FIDE

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From the CEO

An extremely eventful week in my life comes to an end in USA. I cannot believe that for 34 years I hadn't travelled to the US, and then in just 1 year I got to travel to the country already 3 times - New York, Las Vegas and Texas! The first stop for me this time was Arlington in Texas. I played the USA vs India match-up for which I had prepared quite a bit. My opponent was Levy Rozman. The event was very well organized and was a very different experience. The crowd was cheering hard and there was so much energy in the esports arena.

I was thrilled to enter into the premises making my way in as the crowd applauded and gave me high fives! The first game between Arjun and Caruana didn't go India's way. Arjun fought hard, but Fabi managed to outwit him. Ethan played an amazing game against Tani, but the US youngster held his nerves better. We were at 0-2 as Divya Deshmukh entered! She was up against Carissa Yip. The opening didn't go Divya's way and Carissa managed to score a powerful win. It was 3-0 already.

At this point USA had already won the match. My game against Levy and Gukesh's game against Nakamura were not important from the final result stand point but for sure held a lot of excitement! Levy and Hikaru played in a way so that the crowd could enjoy. I tried my best and so did Gukesh but it all came down to those final few seconds. The crowd erupted, kings went flying - we discussed some of this in the last newsletter. The scoreline 5-0. We hope that the rematch happens and we get a chance to beat the strong US team. It's been a week since the game and while the amount of practice I am doing has reduced, I am keen to get back to solving tactics, playing online and working on my openings. One thing is for sure I didn't feel the nerves while playing and had an amazing time on the board. 

Sagar breaks down the full India vs USA match

The last 5 days have been extremely magical for me. From Texas, my team member Aditya and I, we went to Saint Louis - the chess capital of USA, arguably also the chess capital of the world. I was curious to see what is it exactly that they have built. And boy, was I impressed! The newly renovated chess club is absolutely stunning. 30,000 square feet, the world chess hall of fame with a museum and shop right opposite the club, the kingside diner - an amazing chess themed restaurant. Everything so tastefully done, I hope something like this can be created in India as well. All the people at the Saint Louis Chess Club were so kind and receptive. We got a studio space to stream the Clutch Chess Legends event between Kasparov vs Anand LIVE. I tried to understand from Rex Sinquefield, the sponsor of the chess club, the secret behind creating such an amazing space. He just gave all of the credit to his amazing team! Maybe this is the secret. Everyone does their job and no one takes the credit for it! 

Full Vlog of the Saint Louis Chess Club

We got to stay in the chess house just a few meters away from the club. It was the same house in which Levon Aronian had stayed for over a year when he came to the US. Such a beautiful place. I would sit in the living room working and also would sleep there! "Chess is Life!" The clash between Garry and Vishy was so exciting. I was just 5 years old when they had faced off against each other in 1995. Chess didn't feature in my life back then. But I had read so much about that match! In 2025, I got a glimpse of how it felt to see these two legends in action.

Vishy lost with a score of 13-11 which was a bit surprising for the chess world as they considered him to be the more active player. Kasparov on the other hand showed flashes of genius and Game 10 was my favourite of the match. The good news for Indian chess fans is that Vishy will be back in action soon and I am pretty sure this result is going to spur him to do well in Jerusalem Rapid and at the Global Chess League.

As I write this, I am now in a cab going to my hotel from the airport in San Francisco. In around 15 hours from now Amruta and I will be doing a meetup in Stanford. We hope to meet people who have been dedicatedly following chess in the US and spend some good time with them!

What's next? I am excited for the European Club Cup in Greece where almost all of the top Indian players will play for different clubs, Clutch chess champions showdown in the US where Magnus, Fabi, Hikaru and Gukesh will fight against each other at the end of October and finally the FIDE World Cup in Goa, India which will have 3 spots in the Candidates! There is so much more to share but for now, I will let this newsletter end. Thank you all for patiently reading through it and I will be back with an update in a week from now! - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Garry Kasparov wins Clutch Chess Legends 2025 by 13-11

Garry Kasparov won Clutch Chess Legends 2025 by 13-11. The final day of the match started with a draw. Kasparov won the second Rapid game after Vishy Anand made an incorrect rook trade offer in the endgame. 'The Lightning Kid' bounced back with two wins in the Blitz game to finish the event on a winning note and reduce the gap. Kasparov won US$ 70000 + bonus, Anand $50000 + $13000 bonus. Starting position of the final day was #294. The loss in the final Rapid game of the event, abandoned Anand's chances of winning the match. Still, he managed to make a comeback in the Blitz games and finish with a good score. Graphic: Saint Louis Chess Club

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POSITION OF THE WEEK

White to play and Mate in 2

Solution can be found in this article!

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

GELFAND TEACHES DECISION MAKING!

GELFAND10

In Dynamic Decision Making in Chess former World Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand continues his investigation into decision-making at the top level, discussing some of his best games as well as his worst slips, giving the reader a unique insight into the mind of a world-class grandmaster.

Grandmaster Boris Gelfand has been an elite player for 30 years, winning the World Cup, Olympiad Gold, Candidates and many other top tournaments. In 2015, Positional Decision Making in Chess won the ECF Book of the Year award. Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard is the only chess writer to win all the major awards for chess writing!

Today, we have a special offer on Dynamic Decision making in Chess - use the coupon code "GELFAND10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 19th October 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

How Sandip Upadhyay is creating chess champions in rural Gujarat

Sandip Upadhyay, a teacher at Ratusinh na Muvada Government School in Mahisagar District, Gujarat, has taught chess to over a hundred students and created six rated chess players, all through his own effort and resources. Yet, very few know his story. His idea was simple: teach his students chess because he knew it. But that simple thought sparked something extraordinary. Today, it has transformed the entire school. His students dominate nearly every tournament they enter, and six of his students are now supported by the state government. After seeing their dedication, we organized a chess camp at their school on 9th–10th September to help them improve and give them an extra push. Check out this article to see what we experienced at this truly unique chess school in Gujarat. Photo: Neeraj Dwivedi

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Kavin Mohan clear first at 20th Dato Arthur Tan Malaysian Open 2025

FM Kavin Mohan (MAS) scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win 20th Dato Arthur Tan Open, part of the 20th Malaysian Chess Festival 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Seven players scored 6.5/9 each. Out of them, IM Chen Zou (CHN) and GM Van Huy Nguyen (VIE) secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes were - US$ 3000, $2000 and $1000. Andrew Ooi (Gila Chess), blogger who covered all 20 editions of this festival, writes about this event along with the photographs shot by him.  Photo: Andrew Ooi

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DreamHack Rapid & Blitz 2025: Play Rapid Chess for a ₹5,00,000 Prize Pool!

Dreamhack Rapid and Blitz 2025 will take place from 31st Oct to 2nd Nov in Hyderabad, Telangana. Total ₹500000 prize fund is up for grabs, ₹300000 for Rapid and ₹200000 for Blitz. Entry is FREE for GM, IM, WGM and WIM. For everyone else, entry fee is ₹1391 for both events. This tournament is unlike any other as it takes place inside a gaming convention, which means loud music and noise will be there throughout the day. So if you haven't registered yet, do it right away. Whoever can block out the noise, focus on their game, will win big and become the champion.

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Deceptive simplicity

A common mistake, which is often done, is endgame positions are considered simple. The reality is far from it. Pieces get fewer in the endgame, yet the options increase by a lot. One tiny mistake can have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. GM Sundararajan Kidambi explores few rook endgames which at a first glance might look simple but they are deceptive. He saw a position on Critically acclaimed and award-winning author, GM Jacob Aagaard's book, Conceptual Rook Endgames. Check out the detailed analysis by Kidambi and enrich your understanding in these rook endgames. If you like his explanations, do mention in the comments, so that it inspires Kidambi to share more from his fountain of knowledge. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

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From the CEO

I want to start this newsletter with a position that I shared with Arjun Erigaisi. You can also try to solve it. It is Black to play and win. Please Note: Arjun solved it within 10 seconds.

This is your position of the Week for today's newsletter! Black to play, find the win!

Arjun's answer was Qd6!! My answer in this position was not Qd6 but Qd4 because Rxd4 Rf1 is mate but Arjun saw the refutation as well - he saw Qd4 Qxh7+!! Kxh7 Nxf8 comes with check and then you pick up the queen. And so he saw Qd4, found refutation of it and then Qd6. All of this in just 10 seconds! What a beast! It also shows how tactically sharp this youngster is. 

On 4th of October we played the India vs USA match. Kudos to Levy (who beat me) and Team USA for an emphatic 5-0 victory over India. The games were very exciting and I believe team USA played excellent chess! We hope to play them again in the revenge match a few months later in India when all Indians will have white pieces! :) There was a particular episode that took place at the end of the match where Hikaru Nakamura tossed Gukesh's king into the crowd after winning. While for many it came across as surprising and for some disrespectful, I must say that videos online do not do justice to the atmosphere of the esports stadium in Arlington. Also the organizers had encouraged such actions from the players so that people who don't understand chess so well, get attracted to the sport. I can see this happening more and more frequently at chess events, breaking away from traditional roots of the game. 

Watch the full video of the incident

Is this good for the sport? This is surely an open question. For me it is not clear. Are we moving away from the classiness that chess has built all these years? But one can also see the financial implications of this approach. Close to 1000 people bought tickets worth close to USD 100 for a 3 hour show! When I spoke to them after the match, with many of the fans, they mentioned that they would prefer coming back to such an event! So definitely the organizers are doing something right here! A huge congratulations to Checkmate SV, Salim and his team for putting together this concept. 

If you missed it, go watch the full livestream!

I want to thank a few people who helped me make a comeback to the board. My better half Amruta, who travelled all the way to USA as my second! I want to thank Anirudhha Potawad, Soumya Swaminathan and Vedant Panesar who came to the Temple of Chess to play training games with me. I played two rapid rating events in Mumbai and basically tried to get into touch by intensely working on chess in the last 20 days. Vidit Gujrathi also helped me understand the finer nuances of opening theory in chess. Of course, he is an encyclopaedia of chess knowledge! Immense gratitude to Avetik Grigoryan, the founder of ChessMood, who agreed to help me as a coach not just for this event but also if I want to continue my journey in chess in the coming days! For me he is my spiritual brother, and it gave me a lot of strength when he said yes to train me in chess. It basically made me feel, someone believes strongly in my abilities in chess! :) I also solved 777 tactics from his Tactics Ninja course on chessmood - highly recommended! 

I want to thank all the members of ChessBase India who were so supportive of me making a comeback to chess, and raised their game so that I could dedicate time to chess! They have been constantly egging me on to play more and more chess! Thank you dear team! For me making a comeback to the board happened after 7.5 years. I hope to continue this journey and become a stronger chess player and a better human being! - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

FIDE World Cup 2025: Players list and pairings announced

A total of 24 Indians, 14 more than the previous edition in 2023, are set to take part in the upcoming FIDE World Cup 2025. First game of the first round is on 1st November. Eight Indians got a Bye in the first round due to being in the top 50 seeds. The remaining 16 will have to play their first round matches. The players are - D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin, Pentala Harikrishna, Karthikeyan Murali, Pranav Venkatesh, Raunak Sadhwani, Pranesh M, Leon Luke Mendonca, S L Narayanan, Iniyan Pa, Karthik Venkataraman, Diptayan Ghosh, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Raja Rithvik R, Aronyak Ghosh, Lalit Rohit, Divya Deshmukh, Himal Gusain, Harshavardhan G B and Neelash Saha. What are your predictions? Photo: FIDE

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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO CHESS IMPROVEMENT!

SECRET10

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. His previous book, Under the Surface, was the English Chess Federation’s 2018 Book of the Year. David Navara is a ten-time Czech Champion and a world-class grandmaster. He is noted for combining fighting spirit with outstanding sportsmanship!

Today, we have a special offer on The Secret Ingredient - use the coupon code "SECRET10" to avail a 10% discount. This offer is valid until 13th October 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Impressive Iniyan clinches 62nd National Championship 2025, becomes a double champ

The reigning National Rapid champion, GM Iniyan Pa (TN) drew his final round game against GM Abhijeet Gupta (PSPB) to become 62nd National Champion. The last player to win two or more National titles simultaneously was, GM Aravindh Chithambaram back in 2019. He was the first National Triple Crown champion. Iniyan is now a double champion as he won the National Rapid Championship 2025 a few months ago. 15-year-old IM Goutham Krishna (KER) defeated IM Viani Antonio Dcunha (KAR) to finish with the same score as Iniyan 9/11. Goutham secured second place according to tie-breaks. IM Ritviz Parab (Goa) lost to GM Sasikiran Krishnan (PSPB) and the latter finished third. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Read the full report

Sharvaanica A S becomes World Cadet Under-10 Girls 2025 Champion, Bronze for Kiyanna and Sarbartho

WCM Sharvaanica A S won Gold in Under-10 Girls category at World Cadet 2025. Despite starting with a loss, she won her next nine games in-a-row and finished the event with a loss too. She had a better tie-break than WCM Chinzorig Nandinjiguur (MGL) as Sharvaanica defeated her in the eighth round. Kiyanna Parihar scored 8.5/11 to win Bronze in the same category. After a brilliant start 6/6, Sarbartho Mani scored 2.5/5 in the last five rounds to score 8.5/11 and get a Bronze medal in Under-10 Open group. In total, India won three medals at this event - one Gold and two Bronze medals. Photo: Saji Matthew

Read the full article

Narayani Marathe secures Vijay Ranade e4 Scholarship of Rs. 20,000 every month

Former National U-7 Girls Champion and Asian Youth U-8 Girls Champion (Classical & Rapid) Narayani Marathe comes from a small town in Maharashtra, called Nandurbar. But her talent has taken her dreams far beyond its borders. Her achievements stand out even more when you realize the challenges her family faced in supporting her chess journey. Sachin Ranade, a New York-based finance professional, has been financially supporting her since September 2024 through consistent monthly contributions. He even gifted his personal laptop to Narayani this year. With his generous help, Narayani has been able to attend coaching camps, play more tournaments, and focus on her growth. For Sachin, this support represents the most fulfilling chapter of his own chess story. Check out the article to know more.

Read the Full Article

Nihal Sarin reaches 2700

Nihal Sarin finally reached the coveted 2700 rating in a published FIDE Rating list. He became the tenth Indian to achieve so. The 21-year-old from Kerala, gained 9.9 Elo rating points at FIDE Grand Swiss 2025. Arjun Erigaisi returned to World no.4, after adding 1.5 Elo rating points. R Praggnanandhaa slipped to World no.5. World Champion, D Gukesh moved out of World Top ten for the first time since May 2024. There are still six Indians in Top 30. Among the Women, four are in Top 20. FIDE Women's World Cup winner, GM Divya Deshmukh returned to World no.11 among Women after her stellar performance at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Open. GM R Vaishali gained 19.6 Elo rating points by winning FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Women for the second consecutive edition. Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Read the full report

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

TRAIN CHESS AND HAVE FUN WITH FRITZ 20!

20FRITZ10

FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.

New Features: Playing style simulation at the highest level. FRITZ 20 analyses your next opponent – and plays like them! Use the style analysis in Chess-Base 18 to configure whether Fritz should play aggressively, riskily, positionally or exchange-oriented. This allows you to train specifically for your next game – realistically and practically.

Compete against legends! Compete against the strategies of the greatest players in history: Lasker, Tal, Fischer, Karpov – with ELO ratings tailored to you, but in their authentic style. The unique style engine simulates their playing style as convincingly as only FRITZ can.

The additional playing styles ‘Hypermodern’ and ‘Romantic’. Play better - even under time pressure Perfect your reflexes with the new Bullet Training mode: configure the time limit exactly, and learn to keep your nerves under pressure – ideal for blitz and bullet players on online platforms.

AI that understands chess – and speaks! Experience a new dimension of interaction with AI chat and voice output: polished commentary, amusing analyses and subtle hints – spoken in natural language if desired. Fritz commentary at its best!

Today, we have a special offer on FRITZ 20 - use the coupon code "20FRITZ10" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 20th July 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

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

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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

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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

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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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From the CEO

There is a famous saying: "If you can't do something about a situation, then why worry and if you can do something about it, then do it, don't waste your time in worrying!" A very nice quote indeed! However, I have found myself often in situations where I am not so sure if I can do something about the situation, or I cannot do something about it! :) And I think this is what causes the stress to most people!

There is a very nice story on this subject which greatly inspired me when I had read it for the first time. It was shared with me by my very dear friend Srikanth Govindaseshan. There are many versions of it, I picked up one of them from the internet:

"In a small village surrounded by rolling hills, there lived an old farmer named Li. He had a single horse, a beautiful and strong creature that helped him with his daily chores. One day, as the sun was setting, the horse broke through the fence and ran away into the wild. A neighbor, hearing of the misfortune, rushed over and exclaimed, “Oh, Li! Such bad luck you’ve had!”

Li looked up and replied calmly, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.”

A week later, to everyone’s astonishment, the horse returned, and it wasn’t alone. It brought with it a magnificent wild stallion. The same neighbor hurried over, eyes wide, and said, “Li, you were right! It wasn’t bad luck at all. It was a blessing! Now you have two strong horses!”

Li, pausing from his work, responded, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, Li’s son tried to tame the wild stallion. But the stallion was strong and threw the young man off its back, causing him to break his leg. The neighbor, once again, came running, shaking his head, “I was wrong earlier. This stallion is not a blessing but a curse! Your son has broken his leg!”

Li, looking at his injured son, said gently, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.”

As fate would have it, a few weeks later, the emperor’s men arrived at the village. They were drafting young men to join the army for a war that was brewing on the horizon. Seeing Li’s son’s broken leg, they passed him by. Many of the other young men from the village were taken, and sadly, many did not return. The same neighbor, with tears in his eyes, approached Li and said, “Your wisdom is unparalleled, Li. Your son’s injury saved him from a terrible fate.”

Li, gazing into the distance, simply said, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.” End of Story.

I find this story to be very powerful.We do not know what is good for us or what is bad. It is a question of timelines! Something which might be not so pleasant in short term, could become the most wonderful that happened to you in the long term! So then does it make sense to surrender to everything that happens to us? Let me share with you another favourite story of mine. I read this one in Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth":

"Master Hakuin was greatly respected and had many disciples. At one time in his life, he lived in a village hermitage, close to a food shop run by a couple and their beautiful, young daughter. One day the parents discovered that their daughter was pregnant. Angry and distraught, they demanded to know the name of the father. At first, the girl would not confess but after much harassment, she named Hakuin. The furious parents confronted Hakuin, berating him in front of all of his students. He simply replied, “Is that so?”

When the baby was born, the family gave it to Hakuin.  By this time, he had lost his reputation and his disciples. But Hakuin was not disturbed. He took delight in caring for the infant child; he was able to obtain milk and other essentials from the villagers. A year later, the young mother of the child was troubled by great remorse. She confessed the truth to her parents – the real father was not Hakuin but rather a young man who worked at the local fish market. The mortified parents went to Hakuin, apologizing, asking his forgiveness for the wrong they did him. They asked Hakuin to return the baby. Although he loved the child as his own, Hakuin was willing to give him up without complaint. All he said was: “Is that so?”

End of Story.

Such intense ability to surrender! "This is crazy" - I can see all of you saying! It's impossible to imbibe this within ourselves. I agree! One should never live this way, until one feels it from within! And to feel it from within you have to work immensely on yourself. When love and compassion become your second nature, then what Master Hakuin did here might not look so impossible.

I want to share a final story that I think about often. This one I read in Om Swami's book of Kindness:

"Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify Him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What has this man done wrong? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have Him whipped and then release Him.”

But they kept up the pressure, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And their voices won out. So Pilate decided to grant their demand and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
(Luke 23:20 – 25)

Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with Him. When as they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His clothes and cast lots.

The people stood watching, and even the leaders kept scoffing:“He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked Him.
(Luke 23:32 – 36)

“Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” This was what Jesus of Nazareth said in response to the excruciating and fatal pain inflicted upon him. This was his reply to the injustice done to him. And, what happened next? “And they divided His clothes and cast lots.”

There, in the same picture, you have the two extremes of our world. On the one hand is the compassion of Christ demonstrating there’s no limit to how high you can rise above what you are subjected to, and on the other hand is the greed, ignorance and cruelty of the soldiers showing there’s no end to how low one can stoop."

End of Story.

I don't know how many of us can be like the wise old man, Master Hakuin or Jesus Christ. But it definitely gives us some food for thought and if you too can think about these 3 stories and see where all it can be applied in your life, then perhaps this newsletter has done its job! - Sagar Shah

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Women's World Cup 2025 Round 3.1: Vantika Agrawal upsets Kateryna Lagno

IM Vantika Agrawal is on a huge roll at FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. She defeated GM Kateryna Lagno in Round 3 Game 1. The former World Rapid and three-time World Blitz Women's champion erred in a difficult position. It cost her material and Vantika scored the victory convincingly. IM Divya Deshmukh won against the reigning European Women's champion, IM Teodora Injac (SRB). One tiny inaccuracy in the endgame is all it took for Divya to bag the advantage and point. GM Harika Dronavalli missed a few great chances to win against IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE). GM Koneru Humpy was lost for the better part of the game against IM Klaudia Kulon (POL). Somehow she managed to survive and salvage a draw. GM R Vaishali made a quick 13-move draw against IM Carissa Yip (USA). Round 3 Game 2 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Anna Shtourman

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POSITION OF THE WEEK

Proof Game in 8.0

This week’s puzzle is a whodunnit on 64 squares, if you like! The diagram shows a position reached after both sides played exactly eight legal moves. Can you reconstruct the game?

P.S. Our apologies for sharing the wrong position in the last newsletter - it was an inadvertent error. Hope you enjoy solving this one!

Go to ChessRanga for the complete solution!

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

LEARN TO FIGHT THE QGD WITH INIYAN!

INIYANQGD10

The Queen’s Gambit Declined (QGD), is a highly popular opening for players of all levels, from absolute beginners to World Champions. Known for giving a solid position, many play this opening from the Black side, however, things aren’t as simple as they seem to be. With an emphasis on 4.Bg5, which was the old mainline played at the highest levels since the World Championship match of the 1920s, Grandmaster Iniyan Paneerselvam uncovers a lot of new ideas.

This repertoire provides White with ideas against any of the Black options after the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3. These ideas are both objectively good and highly practical, so as to be easily remembered. By studying this course, you will be able to get a better position against sidelines, and even against the mainlines; confidently achieving a pleasant position, which Black must defend precisely. Study the course and start picking up points against the solid QGD!

Today, we have a special offer on A Repertoire against the Queen's Gambit Declined with 4.Bg5 by Iniyan Panneerselvam - use the coupon code "INIYANQGD10" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 20th July 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Magnus Carlsen wins SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2025 with a round to spare, Gukesh third

Magnus Carlsen drew against R Praggnanandhaa in the penultimate round to win Grand Chess Tour SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2025 with one round to go. The World no.1 defeated Ivan Saric (CRO) in the final round to finish with 22.5/36. Wesley So (USA) secured second place 20/36. He scored a half point more 5.5/9 than the champion on the final day of Blitz. The World Champion, D Gukesh recovered well and scored 4/9 in the second half of Blitz to finish third with 19.5/36. Carlsen forced a Berlin draw against Gukesh in their Blitz rematch. The fourth event of the season will be Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz which will take place at Saint Louis Chess Club in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA from 10th to 16th August. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

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Sourath Biswas wins Gold at Asian Junior 2025, Bronze for Kashish Manoj Jain and Sarayu Velpula

FM Sourath Biswas scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to clinch Gold at Asian Junior 2025 Open. He earned the International Master and also scored a GM-norm. IM L M S T De Silva (SRI) also scored the same. However, Sourath's fifth round victory gave him an edge on tie-breaks. IM Kashish Manoj Jain won Bronze with a score of 7/9. WIM Sarayu Velpula scored 7/9 to secure Bronze in the Girls Classical event. FM Jaiveer Mahendru scored 6/7 to earn Silver in Rapid Open event. WIM Tejaswini G got Bronze in Girls scoring 6/7. Femil Chelladurai clinched Gold in Blitz Girls event. Photo: GM Mitrabha Guha

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Sarbartho Mani, Divi Bijesh and Pratitee Bordoloi clinch Gold at FIDE World Cup Cadets 2025

Sarbartho Mani, WCM Divi Bijesh and WCM Pratitee Bordoloi have clinched Gold in Under-10 Open, Under-10 Girls and Under-12 Girls events at FIDE World Cup Cadet 2025. Sarbartho drew both of his Classical games against compatriot Oishik Mondal. Then he won both Rapid tie-break games to win the Gold. Oishik secured Silver medal. CM Aarit Kapil won both of his games against Iman Nabiyev (KAZ) to win Bronze. In Under-10 Girls, Divi scored full points against WCM Zhihan Chen (CHN) to earn Gold. WCM Sharvaanica A S defeated Nadezhda Vlad Volkova twice to claim Bronze. WCM Pratitee Bordoloi won both of her Classical games against compatriot Aadya Gowda to win Gold. Aadya had to settle for Silver medal. Indian kids were guaranteed five medals in Stage 2 and they were eligible for eight. They won seven out of them, which is outstanding. Photo: Georgia Chess Federation

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HelpChess Foundation raises Rs. 1.6 crore to support talented Indian chess players in 2024-25

HelpChess Foundation started with only one mission - to support talented Indian chess players who need that extra push. Over the last seven years, the Foundation has grown steadily, both in raising funds and making a meaningful impact on players’ lives. HelpChess is a 12A-registered Charitable Trust with a CSR number that provides benefits to its contributors. Between April 2024 and March 2025, HelpChess Foundation raised Rs. 1,63,48,955. This is the highest amount in any year so far! All of this money goes towards empowering deserving chess players. This year, total 32 players have received support through this initiative. This article will talk about those players and the kind souls who made it all possible.

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

MGD1 convincingly clinches World Rapid Team 2025 Championship, Hexamind second and Freedom third

Team MGD1 defeated Malcolm's Mates 3.5-2.5 to win FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2025. They scored 21/24 and finished a full point ahead of the rest. Hexamind Chess Team scored 20/24 to secure second place. Freedom, Uzbekistan and WR Chess scored 17/24 each. Out of them, Freedom was placed third due to better tie-break scores. Hexamind is the only team who managed to beat the eventual champion, MGD1 in Round 8. Freedom drew with MGD1 in Round 5. It is not about remaining unbeaten, it is all about how you take losses and bounce back. MGD1 truly exemplified it. GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM David Anton Guijarro, GM Leon Luke Mendonca, GM Pranav Venkatesh, IM Stavroula Tsolakidou and Atharvaa P Tayade won Team Gold. World Blitz Team Pool Stage starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

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POSITION OF THE WEEK

Proof Game in 8.0

This week’s puzzle is a whodunnit on 64 squares, if you like! The diagram shows a position reached after both sides played exactly eight legal moves. Can you reconstruct the game?

Go to ChessRanga for the complete solution!

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

LEARN CHESS WITH MEGA DATABASE 2025! 

10MEGADB25

The ChessBase Mega Database 2025 is the premiere chess database with over 11 million games from 1475 to 2024 in high quality. Packing more than 120,000 annotated games, Mega 2024 contains the world‘s largest collection of high-class analysed games. Train like a pro! Prepare for your opponents with ChessBase and the Mega Database 2025. Let grandmasters explain how to best handle your favorite variations, improve your repertoire and much more.

Includes Mega Update Service 2025: update your Mega with your ChessBase 18 (or 17/16) program every week with over 5,000 new games.

• Comfortable design with even more top-level tournaments than ever before!

• Direct access to All World Championship matches, Candidates tournaments, famous historical tournaments and all Olympiads!

• Player lexicon for download with over 1.4 million player names and more than 44,000 player photos (only with ChessBase 18/17/16)

And there's a whole lot more where that came from! Today, we have a special offer on Mega Database 2025 - use the coupon code "10MEGADB25" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 29th June 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

WR Chess retains World Blitz Team title, Hexamind third

WR Chess Team successfully defended their World Blitz Team title as they defeated KazChess 4-2 in both matches. Hexamind Chess Team won the third place against Uzbekistan by winning by both matches with the same score 2.5-3.5. Only two out of 27 board prizes were won by Indians. GM Arjun Erigaisi (MGD1) got Bronze on Board no.1 and Sarbartho Mani (Freedom) received on Board no.9. The total prize fund was €500000 combining Rapid and Blitz, €310000 in Rapid and €190000 in Blitz. The top three prizes were: €110000, 70000 and 50000 each respectively. For Blitz, the top three were - €75000, €50000 and €30000 each. Photo: FIDE/Rafal Oleksiewicz

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2nd UzChess Cup R3: Abdusattorov outwits Rapport, emerges early sole leader

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) defeated Richard Rapport (HUN) to emerge early sole leader at 2nd UzChess Cup Masters 2025. Abdusattorov was confident going into the relatively balanced bishop vs knight endgame. The Hungarian's blunder allowed the former World Rapid champion to walk away with victory. R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Aravindh Chithambaram drew their respective battles against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB), Ian Nepomniachtchi and Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI). Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) forced a draw via repetition as his opponent, Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) left without a choice to keep his queen on the board. Round 4 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

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Aurionpro Mumbai International GM+Junior Chess 2025 R4-5: Lalit and Arsen lead masters, Madhesh and Aansh leading Juniors

Aravindh Chithambaram defeated Aram Hakobyan (ARM) to become the winner of 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2025. Aravindh made a nice calculation in the queen and double knight endgame, resulting in a crucial pawn gain after his opponent erred. R Praggnanandhaa also ended up scoring the same as Aravindh 6.5/9. However, Aravindh became the champion due to better tie-break scores, Praggnanandhaa had to settle for second place. They finished 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Dmitrij Kollars (GER) scored 5/9 to finish third. Aravindh is now World no.9 with a live rating 2757.8, Praggnanandhaa is World no.6 with a live rating 2774.2. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

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Abhijeet Gupta clear first at 21st Delhi GM Open, Diptayan Ghosh third

GM Abhijeet Gupta made a quick draw against IM Aronyak Ghosh to win 21st Delhi GM Open 2025. Abhijeet became a clear champion with 8.5/10. He won this event for the fourth time since 2008. Five players - GM Mihail Nikitenko, GM Diptayan Ghosh, IM Aronyak Ghosh, GM Aditya S Samant and GM Duc Hoa Nguyen (VIE) scored 8/10 each. They were placed second to sixth according to tie-breaks. As many as 16 players scored 7.5/10 each. Out of them, top seed of the tournament, GM S L Narayanan was placed seventh according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund was ₹12100000, ₹5100000 in Category A. The top three prizes are ₹700000, ₹600000 and ₹500000 along with a trophy each. This is Abhijeet's first triumph of the year. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

MGD1 convincingly clinches World Rapid Team 2025 Championship, Hexamind second and Freedom third

Team MGD1 defeated Malcolm's Mates 3.5-2.5 to win FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2025. They scored 21/24 and finished a full point ahead of the rest. Hexamind Chess Team scored 20/24 to secure second place. Freedom, Uzbekistan and WR Chess scored 17/24 each. Out of them, Freedom was placed third due to better tie-break scores. Hexamind is the only team who managed to beat the eventual champion, MGD1 in Round 8. Freedom drew with MGD1 in Round 5. It is not about remaining unbeaten, it is all about how you take losses and bounce back. MGD1 truly exemplified it. GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM David Anton Guijarro, GM Leon Luke Mendonca, GM Pranav Venkatesh, IM Stavroula Tsolakidou and Atharvaa P Tayade won Team Gold. World Blitz Team Pool Stage starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

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POSITION OF THE WEEK

White to play and Mate in 3

Fritz Emil Giegold, the Rätselonkel (“Uncle Puzzle”) of the problem world, earned his reputation with devilishly tricky compositions, famed for their deeply hidden and delightfully counterintuitive solutions. Our pick this week is a crisp little three-mover from the master of mischief!

Go to ChessRanga for the complete solution!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

5th Cairns Cup R4: Humpy and Harika score to join the lead with Alice

Two of the best Indian women - GM Koneru Humpy and GM Harika Dronavalli won their respective games in Round 4 of 5th Cairns Cup 2025. Humpy got the better of GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) who played weak according to the former. Humpy exchanged her two minor pieces for a rook and two pawns in the endgame to gain decisive advantage. Harika dominated with her rook and bishop pair against GM Nana Dzagnidze's (GEO) rook, bishop and knight in the endgame. GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) scored her first win of the tournament versus IM Carissa Yip (USA). The sole leader, IM Alice Lee (USA) held the 16th Women's World Champion, GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) to a well contested draw. Round 5 starts today at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club

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Evan Antonio Telles and Shreyanshi Jain dominate 38th National Under-7 Open and Girls Championship 2025

Evan Antonio Telles (Goa) scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 38th National Under-7 Open Championship 2025. He finished a full point ahead of the rest. Duvesh Milan P (PUD), Ansh Dadhich (MAH) and Vivaan Vardhan Sahu (KAR) scored 7.5/9 each to finish second, third and fourth respectively according to tie-breaks. In the Girls event, Shreyanshi Jain (RAJ) scored a perfect 9/9 to become the champion. She finished a staggering 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Anika K (TN) scored sole 7.5/9 to secure second place. Seven players scored 7/9. Among them, the top seed, Saiaastha Singh (WB) was placed third as she had the best tie-break score. The total prize fund combining Open and Girls section was ₹500000. The top three prizes in both Open and Girls sections were ₹50000, ₹36000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each respectively. Photos: Swayangsu Satyakam

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Aravindh Chithambaram wins 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial, Praggnanandhaa second

Aravindh Chithambaram defeated Aram Hakobyan (ARM) to become the winner of 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2025. Aravindh made a nice calculation in the queen and double knight endgame, resulting in a crucial pawn gain after his opponent erred. R Praggnanandhaa also ended up scoring the same as Aravindh 6.5/9. However, Aravindh became the champion due to better tie-break scores, Praggnanandhaa had to settle for second place. They finished 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Dmitrij Kollars (GER) scored 5/9 to finish third. Aravindh is now World no.9 with a live rating 2757.8, Praggnanandhaa is World no.6 with a live rating 2774.2. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

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Magnus Carlsen wins Norway Chess for the seventh time, Gukesh third

Magnus Carlsen (NOR) drew with Arjun Erigaisi in the Classical battle. It was enough for him to win Norway Chess for the seventh time in his career. In Armageddon, the World no.1 got checkmated by Arjun Erigaisi. Fabiano Caruana (USA) defeated the World Champion, D Gukesh to finish second. It was not as smooth as Caruana would have liked. In the final moments, he misplayed which allowed Gukesh to get back in the game and fight for a draw. However, he also missed his opportunity and lost. Gukesh finished third. Carlsen won NOK 700000, Caruana 350000 and Gukesh 200000. Whether it was the last Classical event for Carlsen and Nakamura, is only a speculation at this point. Only time will tell the answer to that. With FIDE World Cup 2025 being just a few months away, it won't be a surprise to see at least one of them back there, if not both. Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Norway Chess 2025 R5: Hikaru Nakamura fumbles in Armageddon against Arjun Erigaisi

Arjun Erigaisi defeated Hikaru Nakamura (USA) in Armageddon at 13th Norway Chess 2025. Nakamura was winning for the better part of the game. However, in a winning position, instead of finding the correct continuation, he blundered terribly and lost the game. Wei Yi (CHN) and D Gukesh drew their Classical game which could have gone either player's way. Wei won the must-win Armageddon with white pieces to win the match. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) won his first Armageddon of the event against Fabiano Caruana (USA) after their Classical game ended in a draw. With this win, Carlsen extended his sole lead by 1.5 points, 9.5/15. Round 6 starts today from 5 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST. Apart from youtube, there is also a live broadcast on Sony Liv. Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

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IMPROVE YOUR CHESS WITH FRITZ 20!

10FRITZ20

Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before. Here are the new features we bring to you:

-Fritz engine now with 3580 ELO – world-class level
-Master players as virtual opponents: Lasker, Tal, Fischer, Karpov
-Opponent simulation through integration of the ChessBase 18 Style Report
-Manual opponent configuration (attack, risk, position, exchange)
-Additional playing styles: ‘Romantic’ and ‘Hypermodern’

And there's a whole lot more where that came from! Today, we have a special offer on FRITZ 20 - use the coupon code "10FRITZ20" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 8th June 2025 - hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Norway Chess Women R5: Humpy emerges sole leader

GM Koneru Humpy defeated GM Tingjie Lei (CHN) in Armageddon to gain sole lead at 2nd Norway Chess Women 2025. After a draw in the Classical battle, the Armageddon was not a smooth game for the victor. Humpy was lost at one point against Tingjie due to her incorrect passive queen retreat. Tingjie could not seize her opportunity, misplayed and blundered her knight in one move to lose the game. GM R Vaishali scored her first three-pointer of the event against IM Sara Khadem (ESP). GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) played two solid draws in both Classical and Armageddon against GM Wenjun Ju (CHN). However, the five-time Women's World Champion had the black pieces in Armageddon, hence she won the match. Round 6 starts today from 5 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST. Apart from youtube, there is also a live broadcast on Sony Liv. Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

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6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial R3: Aravindh outplays Xiangyu, crosses 2750 for the first time

Aravindh Chithambaram outplayed Xiangyu Xu (CHN) in Round 3 of 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2025. Aravindh played bravely and launched a devastating attack on the kingside by exposing his own king. His opponent had no answer to that. This win pushed Aravindh to 2750.8 in live ratings for the first time in his career. His rank is World no.11 in June FIDE rating list. R Praggnanandhaa signed a quick 18-move draw against Samuel Sevian (USA). Aram Hakobyan (ARM) and Dmitrij Kollars (GER) are the only two other victors of the round against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) and Benjamin Gledura (HUN) respectively. Round 4 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

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POSITION OF THE WEEK

Can you crack this Helpmate?

Helpmate in 3 moves

In the curious world of helpmates, Black actually helps White deliver mate. Strange? Perhaps! Beautiful? Definitely! Here’s a twin-set of helpmates by the ever-inventive Chris Feather. First, solve the diagram as a helpmate in 3. Then, give that king a gentle shove from f4 to e4—and solve the new position.

Double the challenge, double the delight! Click the link below for the detailed explanation.

Go to ChessRanga for the breakdown!

Anish Giri convincingly clinches 8th Sharjah Masters

GM Anish Giri (NED) defeated GM Aditya Mittal to win 8th Sharjah Masters 2025 convincingly. In a relatively balanced rook endgame, Anish pushed for a win as he had an extra passed pawn. It turned out in his favor as his opponent eventually faltered. GM Aleksandar Indjic (SRB) defeated the newly crowned Asian Individual 2025 champion, GM Bardiya Daneshvar (IRI) to secure second place. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) drew with GM M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) to finish third. The total prize fund of the tournament is more than $73000, Masters A had $58600. The top three prizes were $15000, $10000 and $7000 each. Aditya is the sole Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 5.5/9 to finish tenth. Photo: Sharjah Chess Club

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25th Dubai Open R5: Grebnev grabs sole lead

GM Muradli Mahammad (AZE) drew against GM Nihal Sarin in Round 5 of 25th Dubai Open 2025. It was a well contested draw and neither player had any real chances. GM Bharath Subramaniyam H lost to GM Aleksey Grebnev who emerged sole leader 4.5/5. IM S Rohith Krishna had a hard-fought draw against GM Ivan Zemlyanskii. Nihal and Rohith are the only two Indians among five pursuers at 4/5 each. The remaining three are - Muradli, GM Shant Sargsyan (ARM) and GM Sina Movahed (IRI). Nihal will face Grebnev in Round 6. It starts today at 5 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Dubai Chess & Culture Club

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Superbet Classic R3: Praggnanandhaa outplays Abdusattorov

R Praggnanandhaa outplayed Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) to get in the lead at Grand Chess Tour Superbet Chess Classic 2025. The former World Rapid champion made an incorrect decision by trading his dark-square bishop. The longterm lingering weakness caused him to concede the game. D Gukesh drew against Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) after both player missed slim chances. Fabiano Caruana (USA) got the better of Alireza Firouzja (FRA) who went wrong in the endgame. Both Praggnanandhaa and Caruana are at 2/3 each. They are closely followed by half a dozen players at 1.5/3 including the World Champion. Round 4 starts today from 3 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

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PUMP UP YOUR RATING!

10RATING

Any man in the street knows how to increase his physical strength, but among most chess players confusion reigns when it comes to improving their playing strength. Axel Smith's training methods have guided his friends, teammates and pupils to grandmaster norms and titles. Hard work will be required, but Axel Smith knows how you can Pump Up Your Rating.

Every area of chess is covered - opening preparation, through middlegame play, to endgame technique. Smith delves into both the technical and psychological sides of chess, and shows how best to practise and improve. International Master Axel Smith from Sweden has had great success as a coach. Using his methods on himself, in the space of two years he boosted his rating from 2093 to 2458! Today we have a special offer on Pump up your Rating - use the coupon code "10RATING" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 17th May 2025 - hurry up and get your copy now.

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Asian Individual 2025 R3: Srija Seshadri makes a perfect start

WGM Srija Seshadri defeated WGM Rakshitta Ravi to score a hat-trick at Asian Individual Women 2025. She is now one of the five women at 3/3. WGM Priyanka Nutakki had a great opportunity to win against GM Valentina Gunina. However, she missed it and eventually lost the game. IM Vantika Agrawal escaped with a draw against WCM Khisigbaatar Bayasgalan (MGL) who missed all of her winning chances. In the Men's event, GM Karthikeyan Murali, GM Prraneeth Vuppala and GM Pranesh M drew with GM Iniyan Pa, GM Xiangyu Xu (CHN) and IM Ilamparthi A R respectively. Top seed, GM Nihal Sarin defeated IM Reza Mahdavi (IRI) to move to 2.5/3. Round 4 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST.

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Grosslobming GP R4: Anna Muzychuk scores a hat-trick, emerges sole leader

GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) defeated GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI) to score a hat-trick at FIDE Grosslobming GP in Austria. Anna has emerged sole leader 3.5/4. GM R Vaishali drew with GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) to maintain her pursuit. She is now at a half point behind the leader 3/4. GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) scored her first win of the event, handing GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) her second consecutive loss of the event. IM Olga Badelka (AUT) and GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) scored the remaining two victories of the round against IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) and IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO). Round 5 starts today at 3 p.m local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Przemysław Nikiel

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India wins 31 medals at Western Asian Youth Chess Championships 2025

India has won a total of 31 medals including 6 Gold, 14 Silver and 11 Bronze medals at Western Asian Youth Chess Championships 2025. A total of 16 medals were won individually and 15 were team medals. R Aaranya won 3 Gold and a Silver medal, and Anvi Deepak Hinge won 2 Gold and 4 Silver medals, and Teesha Byadwal got 2 Gold, a Silver and a Bronze in Under-8 Girls category. Aamuktha Guntaka and Amulya Guruprasad won a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal each in Under-14 and Under-18 Girls category respectively. IM Ethan Vaz won 2 Silver and 3 Bronze in Under-16 Open. FM Jaiveer Mahendru received 2 Silver and 2 Bronze in Under-18 Open. WCM Pratitee Bordoloi won 2 Silver medals in Under-12 Girls category. Photo: asianchess.com

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Last chance to join FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025 in London

The Big Chess Summer Camp 2025 is back! It will be held from 9th May to 14th May, 4-8 PM, at the Atrium 5 of the Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Mumbai. This place will be a wonderland for players of all ages and skill levels. Whether you are just starting out, looking to improve, or just want to play for fun, this camp is for you. And the best part is that it’s completely free! Every edition of the camp has welcomed around 500 enthusiastic participants, and hopefully, this year will be no different. You will have the chance to learn through training sheets of four different levels and games. The camp is all about exploring chess in your own way. Check out the article for more details.

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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Vladimir Fedoseev dominates Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025, Praggnanandhaa third

Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) scored 26.5/36 to win Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2025 with three rounds to spare. He remained undefeated in Rapid, posted one of the highest scores ever in GCT and suffered only one loss against Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) in Blitz Round 12. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) made a strong comeback on the final day by scoring 7/9, total 21.5/36 to secure second place. R Praggnanandhaa scored 5/9 on the second day of Blitz to finish third with a total score of 20.5/36. The top three prizes were US$ 40000, 30000 and 25000. The next event of the series is Superbet Chess Classic which will take place at Grand Hotel Bucharest in Bucharest, Romania from 7th to 16th May. Photo: Lennart Ootes

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WINNING STARTS WITH CHESSBASE 18!

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ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughout the world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

Whether it is preparation for an individual opponent or tournament, administration and analysis of one's own games, development of training material for self-study or for training groups, or publication of games on the web or in print: ChessBase o.ers an incredible wealth of functions for all areas of study and playing levels. Anyone who is seriously involved in chess, plays tournaments or simply wants to understand chess, needs ChessBase: youth players, amateurs, tournament players, coaches, grandmasters, professional players etc. Today we have a special offer on ChessBase 18 - use the coupon code "10CHESSBASE" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 11th May 2025 - hurry up and get your copy now.

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Christopher Yoo is the Champion of Sardinia World Chess Festival Open-A 2025

Grandmaster Christopher Yoo became the Champion of the Sardinia Chess Festival Open-A 2025 scoring 7.5/9 points. He made a solid draw with the White pieces against GM SL Narayanan in the final round to win the tournament! GM Ihor Samuenkov took 2nd place and GM Lorenzo Lodici finished 3rd - both winning their final round games, and scoring 7/9 points. Tigran Soghomonyan won the Open-B scoring 7.5/9 points, and the Open-C was won by Sushruta Reddy scoring 8/9 points! | Photo: Niklesh Jain

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KCA 1st GM R5-6: Aakash and Balkishan best Karthikeyan and Tornike

GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO), GM Karen H Grigoryan (ARM) and GM Marat Dzhumaev (UZB) are the three leaders 5.5/6 at KCA's God's Own Country's 1st GM 2025. WIM Diajeng Theresa Singgih's (INA) winning streak came to an end as she lost both of her games against Levan and GM Karen Movsziszian (ARM). One of the leaders after fourth round, IM Rajesh Vav had a tough day. He lost to Karen and then drew the following game. FM Aakash G had a great day as he defeated GM P Karthikeyan and drew with GM Van Huy Nguyen (VIE). Balkishan A drew with GM Deepan Chakkravarthy before finishing the day with a win over GM Tornike Sanikidze (GEO). Both Aakash and Balkishan are at 5/6 each with IM Mehar Chinna Reddy C H. These three are currently the top Indian performers after Round 6. Round 7 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

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ChessBase India YouTube Members Support Chess Players with Laptops

Laptop is an essential training partner for every chess player. With the right software, players can analyze games and prepare faster. But they can truly benefit from these tools if they have a fast and reliable laptop. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a laptop that meets their needs, which is why we launched this initiative last year. We provided 14 young, aspiring chess players with Lenovo Yoga Slim laptops worth Rs. 1 lakh each. This was funded through YouTube Memberships, to support their training. Seeing its impact, we are thrilled to bring it back for a second edition! This year, we are going to provide the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED to deserving chess players. If you are a chess player in need of a better laptop, check out the article to learn how you can apply.

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Join us at The Big Chess Summer Camp 2025 from 9th May to 14th May

The Big Chess Summer Camp 2025 is back! It will be held from 9th May to 14th May, 4-8 PM, at the Atrium 5 of the Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Mumbai. This place will be a wonderland for players of all ages and skill levels. Whether you are just starting out, looking to improve, or just want to play for fun, this camp is for you. And the best part is that it’s completely free! Every edition of the camp has welcomed around 500 enthusiastic participants, and hopefully, this year will be no different. You will have the chance to learn through training sheets of four different levels and games. The camp is all about exploring chess in your own way. Check out the article for more details.

Read the full report

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