1st Chola Chess GM 2026 R8: 14-Year-Old Aadik Theophane Lenin Becomes India's Latest IM

The fight for norms is getting intense at the 1st Chola Chess GM 2026. On the top board, S.L. Narayanan defeated Pranesh M to gain the sole lead. FM Sarbartho Mani is getting back in shape; he defeated GM Sayantan Das with white pieces. This was Sarbartho's 2nd win against a Grandmaster in classical chess, and with this win he moves to 4/7 points. FM Avirat Chauhan is also playing great chess, and he defeated IM Aradhya Garg in an exciting clash. In other games, most of the favourites won. The penultimate round will start on 6th November at 2 PM IST. Photos: Devansh Singh

India won ten medals across the Rapid and Blitz events at the 4th Asian Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities 2026 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Sharon Rachel Aby won gold in the Girls Under-20 category in both Rapid and Blitz, while Nishan Mondal added a third gold in the Boys Under-20 Rapid. Sarthak Singh, Ezhilarasi G and Durkasri M also won medals in both formats. Read the full report. Photo: Tamizharasan Murugan

A day filled with some heartbreaks and upsets! The biggest news of the day was GM Pranesh M defeating GM Leon Mendonca to gain the sole lead. FM Aarit Kapil was on the verge of defeating GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, but he missed his chance, and the game ended in a draw. It was his 5th draw against a Grandmaster. FM Aadik Theophane Lenin scored his highest-rated classical win, beating GM Dimitris Alexakis. FM Madhesh Kumar S. defeated IM Apoorv Kamble in an exciting battle. With just three rounds to go, the battle for scoring norms is getting intense; stay tuned. Photos: Devansh Singh

Here is a job opening you don't see every day. A chess academy is looking for someone to run the whole show, and that person does not need to know how the knight moves! GM Swapnil Dhopade, India's 40th Grandmaster, is hiring a full-time CEO for Chess Pathshala, at Rs.70,000 to Rs.80,000 per month plus a profit share linked to the academy's growth.

Shah Moxit J scored 8.5/9 to win the 2nd Nihar Seva Foundation International Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. ACM Arvind Iyer and FM Jaiveer Mahendru scored 8/9 to finish second and third, respectively. The one-day event was held on 1 November at Sama Indoor Sports Complex in Vadodara. It featured nine rounds of rapid chess and a prize fund of ₹3,00,000, with ₹32,000 awarded to the winner. Photos: Maulik Raval.

IM Kashish Manoj Jain won the 2nd G. H. Raisoni Memorial Solapur International FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament with 8.5/9 points. Manas Gaikwad finished second with 8/9, while Shriraj Bhosale took third with 7.5/9. Organized by the Kalpana Prakash Welfare Foundation in association with G. H. Raisoni and Champ Chess School, the event drew 247 players from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana. The total prize fund was ₹2,00,000, with ₹31,000 and a trophy for the winner. Photos: Pavan K. Rathi.

More than 200 families and groups have raised around Rs. 2.5 crore to support 20 young Indian chess prodigies, including World Champion Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali. ChessBase India caught up with Satya Prabhakar of Group e4 at the 1st Chola Chess GM Tournament in Chennai. He spoke about how Group e4 began, how it supports young players, and the role of Chola Chess in Indian chess.

Six rounds, six wins! GM V. Pranav leads the FIDE World Junior Rapid Championship 2026 in Al Ain by a full point, with the last three rounds to be played today. GM Prraneeth Vuppala is in the chasing pack on 5/6. Let's have a look at how Pranav got here, including a lovely little idea against the second seed that you can try to solve yourself.

11-year-old Ved Phaur scored 6.5/9 to win bronze at the 13th IBCA World Junior Chess Championship 2026 in Crete, Greece. He joins Darpan Inani, Soundarya Pradhan and Aryan Joshi among India's medallists at the event. His achievement also raises a question: how can India help its visually impaired players continue training and competing internationally? This article looks at Ved's performance and the need for sustained support for blind chess in India.

What an eventful day it was at the 1st Chola Chess GM 2026. 11-year-old FM Aarit Kapil is on a dream run; He held 4 Grandmasters to a draw in the first 4 games. In the 5th round, he defeated GM Shyaam Nikhil with the black pieces. FM Yohan Tarala scored his highest-rated classical win against GM Dimitris Alexakis. FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma defeated IM Apoorv Kamble, FM Adhiraj Mitra defeated IM Suyog Wagh, and FM Madhesh Kumar defeated IM Benjamin Defromont. GM Leon Mendonca has emerged as the Sole leader with 4.5/5 after defeating Samvel Ter-Sahakyan. Photos: Devansh Singh

While watching The Big Bang Theory because it's exam season, Netflix is extra attractive right now. My eyes landed on the 3D chess set, and a question popped into my head: if Sheldon Cooper faced Magnus Carlsen in a chess match, who would win? And would they even get past arguing over the rules?

Chennai has given GM Alisher Suleymenov a title and a reason to return. After winning the 1st Chola Chess International GM Round Robin earlier this year, the Kazakh grandmaster is back for the 1st Chola Chess GM 2026. In this interview with Devansh Singh, he recalls beating a 12-year-old Gukesh and explains why he considers Javokhir Sindarov the favourite in the World Championship match. He also speaks about his ambitions in chess and the importance of staying psychologically strong.

FM Aarav Sarbalia won the Karnataka State Blitz Championship 2026 with a perfect 9 out of 9. He also finished runner-up in the Karnataka State Rapid Championship with 8 out of 9. The events were held in Tumkur on 31 October and 1 November. His father, Yatin Sarbalia, tells the story of how a Halloween night became the best tournament preparation. Photos: Yatin Sarbalia

The tournament is heading towards its halfway mark, and after 4 rounds, five players are co-leading with 3.5/4 points. In 3rd round, GM Karthikeyan Murali and GM Leon Mendonca drew on the 1st board. GM Pranesh M. defeated GM Aswath S. on the third board. In another important result, S.L. Narayanan won an aggressive game against GM Levan Pantsulaia. WIM Sachi Jain is also putting up a great fight and defeated FM Jihan Tejas Shah with black pieces in a long endgame. Check out the Round 4 report. Photos: Devansh Singh

After decades of following Indian chess, Venkat Rangan is supporting the next generation by awarding Daakshin Arun a ₹50,000 scholarship through HelpChess. The award comes as Daakshin builds on his second International Master norm and continues pursuing the title.

At just 10 years old, FM Sarbartho Mani scored his first classical win over a Grandmaster, defeating GM Dimitris Alexakis in round two of the 1st Chola Chess GM 2026 in Chennai. It wasn't a straightforward game. Sarbartho thought he might have to settle for a draw before finding his chances. After the game, he spoke to ChessBase India's senior editor, Devansh Singh, about the key moments of his win. Photo: Devansh Singh

The third day of the 1st Chola Chess Grandmasters 2026 was as exciting as the previous two days. 9 players started on a perfect 2/2, and now there are only 3 players left with a perfect score. On the top board: GM Aravindh Chithambaram and GM Iniyan Panneerselvam played one of the most exciting games of the day. Just to give you a brief idea, it was rook and two bishops against two pawns! The game ended in a draw; how did Aravindh do that? Check out the report of Round 3. Photos: Devansh Singh

It has been quite a while since Gurugram hosted a major FIDE-rated Rapid tournament, but the wait is finally over! 1st CastleMasters International Open Rapid FIDE-rated Chess Tournament 2026 is set to take place on 21st and 22nd November 2026 at the campus of Satya School, Sector 49, Gurugram. The total prize fund is ₹7,00,000. Register Fast!

The November 2026 FIDE rating list is out. Nihal Sarin gained 11 rating points at the European Chess Club Cup and climbed to a career-best World No. 19. India has 13 players in the Open Top 100 and 11 players in the Women's Top 100. Koneru Humpy remains the top Indian woman at World No. 9. Here is a look at the biggest rating and ranking changes among Indian players this month.

FM Sarbartho Mani scored one of the biggest wins of his career. In the 2nd round of the 1st Chola Chess GM 2026, Sarbartho defeated GM Dimitris Alexakis with the white pieces in an exciting game. Sarbartho was in a bad position, but he kept fighting, and Dimitris over-pressed and lost the game. In other important clashes, GM Aravindh Chithambaram defeated GM Sandipan Chanda on the top board. FM Samyak Dharewa scored his second consecutive win after defeating GM Ethan Vaz with white pieces. Read what happened in Round 2 in this report. Photos: Devansh Singh

Twelve years ago, a college student in Charlotte with an economics degree and no business plan asked his local chess community for $10,000 to open a chess club. They gave him $30,000. Today the Charlotte Chess Center teaches 2,500 children a week, runs more rated tournaments than there are days in the year, and hosts Judit Polgar, Peter Leko and Boris Gelfand as camp trainers. Sagar Shah travelled to Charlotte for the Daniel Naroditsky Memorial and sat down with founder Peter Giannatos to understand exactly how it was built.

1st Chola Chess Open International Grandmasters (Above-2250) Chess Tournament 2026 kicked off today at the Welcomhotel by ITC in Chennai. It is one of India's strongest open tournaments, as the average rating of the tournament is 2412. It's a nine-round classical tournament with 34 Grandmasters and 21 International Masters participating. The total number of players is 86, and all of them are titled players, which shows the strength of this tournament. Read what happened in Round 1 in this report. Photos: Devansh Singh

CM Gaurav Zagade, a chess coach and psychologist from Pune, has written a book titled "The Right Way to Support: A Practical Guide to Chess Parenting, Psychology & Child Development." The book explains how parents can support their children through the challenges of competitive chess. In this article, we explore what it has to offer.