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K S Naveen Shines with Perfect Score as 64 Squares Marks 10th Fortnightly Tournament!

03/09/2025 -

The 64 Squares Chess Academy, a renowned hub for chess talent in Chennai under the guidance of Candidate Master S. C. Subramanian, has long been credited with nurturing the careers of Grandmasters like Adhiban Baskaran and M. Shyam Sundar. Staying true to its mission of fostering talent at the grassroots, the Academy recently hosted the 10th edition of its fortnightly Open & Children’s Chess Tournament, a series that has swiftly established itself as a highlight of the city’s chess calendar. What set this milestone event apart from the rest? Read on to discover the highlights.

ChessBase 18 and Mega 2025 are here

ChessBase 18 is an all-new program that helps you manage all your databases as an ambitious player. Mega Database 2025 has 11 million games with over 113,000 games annotated by masters. The cost of ChessBase 18 is Rs.4499/- and the cost of Mega Database 2025 is Rs.6499/- However, if you go for the combo the total amount comes to Rs.8999 (instead of 10,998/-) helping you save Rs. 1999/-.

ChessBase 18 + Mega 2025 Combo

Bristy Mukherjee and Diya Chowdhury clinch three medals at Asian Amateur 2025

03/09/2025 -

India has won a total of three medals at Asian Amateur Chess Championships 2025. WFM Bristy Mukherjee won the sole Gold medal in Rapid Women event. She scored a perfect 9/9, won the tournament with a round to spare and finished 1.5 points ahead of the rest. She also won a Bronze medal in the Classical Under-2300 Women scoring 5.5/9. Diya Chowdhury earned a Bronze in Under-2000 Women Classical. She scored 6/9. The total prize fund of the tournament was HKD 215700. The top three prizes in Under-2000 and Under-2300 Women were HKD 8000, 6500 and 5000 along with a trophy and medal each. For Rapid Women, the top three prizes were HKD 2000, 1000 and 500 each.

Carlos Albornoz Cabrera triumphs at Leça Open 2025, Harikrishnan second

03/09/2025 -

GM Carlos Albornoz Cabrera (CUB) scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win Leça Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. India's 87th Grandmaster, Harikrishnan A Ra scored sole 7.5/9 to secure second place. The fifth round battle between them ended in a draw. Ten players scored 6.5/9 each. Out of them, IM Noe Tutisani (GEO) was placed third according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes were €2000, €1000 and €700 along with a trophy each respectively. The seven-day nine round Rating Open tournament was  organized by Grupo Desportivo Basquete de Leça - Chess Club (GDBL Chess Club) from 31st July to 6th August 2025 at Pavilhão Municipal de Leça da Palmeira in Leça da Palmeira, Porto district, Portugal. Photos: GDBL Official

Can Durak wins 34th "Vasilis Theodoridis" Kavala Open 2025, Aaryan Varshney shares second place

03/09/2025 -

IM Can Durak (TUR) scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win 34th "Vasilis Theodoridis" Kavala Group A (≥2100) 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (GRE) and IM Aaryan Varshney scored 7/9 each. They shared second place. The total prize fund combining all three groups was €12000. The top three prizes in Group A were €2500, €1500 and €1000 along with a trophy each. he eight-day nine round Rating Group A (≥2100) tournament  was organized by Kavala Chess Club - East Macedonia & Thrace Chess Union  at Megali Leschi - Great Club in Kavala, Greece from 28th July to 4th August 2025. Aaryan's fantastic performance earned him his maiden GM-norm. Photo: Laskaris Tsoutsas / Municipality of Kavala

Pranav Venkatesh convincingly clinches Fujairah Global Superstars with a 2843 performance

02/09/2025 -

GM Pranav Venkatesh defeated GM Alan Pichot (ESP) to win Fujairah Global Superstars 2025 convincingly. In an equal rook and many pawns endgame, Pichot misplayed which cost him the half point. The reigning World Junior champion performed at 2843 which is certainly a testament to his dominant show at this event. Starting the event with a win over the top seed, GM Nihal Sarin, it was only fitting that Pranav finished the event with a victory too. GM Aditya Mittal is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish in Superstars. He scored an impressive unbeaten 5.5/9 with a 2701 performance to finish sixth. The first US-born African-American GM Brewington Hardaway won the Masters section scoring 7.5/9. The reigning National champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman is the sole Indian to make a top ten finish in it. He scored 7/9 to claim fourth place. Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

Shahil Dey clear first at 18th Marseille International Festival 2025, Raghav V second

02/09/2025 -

IM Shahil Dey scored 7.5/9 to win 18th Marseille International Festival 2025 Main (>1950). He finished a full point ahead of the rest. FM Raghav V scored sole 6.5/9 to secure second place. IM Remy Degraeve (FRA), IM Nikola Kanov (BUL) and CM Kumaresh A scored 6/9 each. They secured third, fourth and fifth place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the festival was €7000. The first prize was €1500 + trophy. WFM Shubhi Gupta scored 5.5/9 to finish sixth. Jaidambareesh N R and Rohith S scored 5/9 each to be placed seventh and tenth respectively. Gowtham K K scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win the Accession (<2000) event. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. The first prize was €500. Photo: Mistu Dey

Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Gukesh still World no.4, 5 and 6

02/09/2025 -

R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh maintained their places at World no.4, 5 and 6 respectively. Only R Praggnanandhaa among them gained Elo rating points. He increased his Elo rating point by six points at Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2025. Nihal Sarin, Karthikeyan Murali and Abhimanyu Puranik, all three of them added valuable rating points at Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. They increased 1.2, 10.8 and 4.6 points. Currently, there are six Indians in Top 30. Among the Women, four are in Top 25. GM Divya Deshmukh became India no.2 as GM Harika Dronavalli dropped a bit of rating. IM Vantika Agrawal gained six points in the month of August. FIDE Grand Swiss starts in two days, so a lot of changes may occur in the next month's rating list. Photo: Crystal Fuller / Grand Chess Tour

Nubairshah Shaikh clear first at 29th Creon IM Round-Robin Closed 2025

01/09/2025 -

IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 to win 29th Creon IM Round-Robin Closed 2025. Nubairshah finished a half point ahead of the rest. IM Simon Lamaze (FRA) and FM Ewen Pichon (FRA) scored 6/9 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. The eight day nine-round round-robin rating tournament was organized by Lauron Wesley from 27th July to 3rd August at Ulli Senger Hall in Creon, France. This is Nubairshah's second tournament triumph of the year. Both of them occurred in France. Screenshot: Tele Canal Creonnais

A K Jagadeesh wins 2nd United Educational Institutions and CDCA Below 1800 Rating 2025

01/09/2025 -

A K Jagadeesh and S Paresh scored 8/9 each at 2nd United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association Below 1800 Rating Tournament 2025. The veteran, Jagadeesh won the tournament due to better tie-break score, Paresh was placed second. Half a dozen players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, R Venkatakrishnan was adjudged third according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹35000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The three-day nine round Below 1800 Rating Tournament was organized by United Educational Institutions and Coimbatore District Chess Association at United Educational Institutions in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 1st to 3rd August 2025. This is Jagadeesh's first rating tournament triumph in nearly 15 years. The last rating tournament he won was in August 2010. Photo: IA R Anantharam

Pranav Venkatesh on the verge of winning Fujairah Global Superstars

01/09/2025 -

GM Pranav Venkatesh heads into the final round of Fujairah Global 2025 Superstars with a half point lead. He drew his penultimate round game against GM Abhimanyu Mishra (USA). Pranav has been dominant throughout the event. His final round opponent will be GM Alan Pichot (ESP). The top seed of the event, GM Nihal Sarin ended GM Jiner Zhu's (CHN) unbeaten run with a fantastic display of positional chess. GM S L Narayanan won a 114-move long grueling marathon ending with a bishop and knight checkmate against the UAE no.1, GM Salem Saleh. In the Masters, IM Jubin Jimmy lost an equal rook and knight endgame against GM Brewington Hardaway (USA) who regained his sole lead 7/8. Round 9 starts today at 10 a.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

New: Svitlana Demchenko: Silence the Sicilian - Win with the Alapin Variation (2.c3)

31/08/2025 -

This practical course offers a clean and effective response to the Sicilian Defense. By playing 2.c3, you sidestep heavy theory and gain early central control, logical development, and aggressive yet manageable positions. The course includes structured explanations, model games, and interactive training tools to help you confidently master the Alapin and outplay your opponents. Apart from downloading files and installing on your computer, you can now stream videos and study from ChessBase books on any device - computer, smartphone, tablets etc. The app runs on both Windows and Mac OSX. For Windows device, Windows 10 or higher is required. Get this FritzTrainer and enrich your knowledge in the Alapin by WIM Svitlana Demchenko. Photo: ChessBase

Yeoh Li Tian wins 1st Chess Hub - MCF GM IM Invitational 2025, creates history, Harshavardhan G B second

31/08/2025 -

IM Yeoh Li Tian (MAS) scored 7/9 to win 1st Chess Hub - MCF GM IM Invitational 2025. He not only won the tournament but also became the first Grandmaster of Malaysia by earning his final GM-norm. Former Asian Junior champion, IM Harshavardhan G B scored 6.5/9 to secure second place. His sole loss was against the eventual champion and GM Yeoh in the fifth round. GM Duc Hoa Nguyen (VIE) scored 6/9 to be placed third. The top three prizes were RM 10000 + trophy, 5000 and 3000 each.The seven-day nine round Rating Invitational tournament  was organized by Malaysian Chess Federation and Chess Hub Sdn. Bhd.  at Corus Hotel (KLCC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 28th July to 3rd August 2025. The tournament will forever be etched in the memory of Yeoh and all Malaysians as it witnessed history. Photo: Malaysian Chess Federation

Fujairah Global R7: Pranav Venkatesh outwits Tabatabaei, emerges sole leader

31/08/2025 -

GM Pranav Venkatesh defeated his coleader GM M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) to emerge sole leader at Fujairah Global 2025 Superstars. Pranav played fantastic chess as he punished his opponent's positional mistakes. Pranav moved to 5.5/7, a full point ahead of the rest. Eight players including GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) are at 4.5/7 each. GM Pranesh M, GM Nihal Sarin and GM Aditya Mittal are at 4/7 each. Pranesh played ambitiously against GM Nikolas Thedorou (GRE). The Greece no.1 thwarted Pranesh's all attempts and the game ended in a draw. Aditya had a well contested draw against GM Sam Shankland (USA). In the Masters section, GM Karthik Venkataraman shared the point with GM Brewington Hardaway (USA). IM Jubin Jimmy played a beautiful game to beat GM Vahap Sanal (TUR) and join the lead with Brewington. Round 8 starts today at 5 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

FIDE Trainers Seminar - Madurai 2025

30/08/2025 -

Chess is indubitably the number one sport in India. World Champion, both Olympiad Gold medalists, Women's World Cup winners are currently from India. Players from all over the country are winning accolades at various events from junior to senior events. To ensure the momentum and the legacy continues for a really long time, there needs to be an infusion of quality chess trainers. More chess coaches who are properly trained can help learn budding talents to become strong, work efficiently and effectively. Last month, All India Chess Federation announced ten FIDE Trainers' Seminar. The second one took place in Madurai, Tamil Nadu from 22nd to 24th August. GM FST Srinath Narayanan and GM FT Akash Ganesan were the trainers at that event. Check out Akash's account of the seminar. Photo: Guhan Matriculation Higher Secondary School

Ilia Martinovici wins 2nd Trinakria Festival Open 2025, Bala Chandra Prasad second

30/08/2025 -

IM Ilia Martinovici (MDA) scored 7.5/9 to win 2nd Trinakria Chess Festival Open A (≥1900) 2025. IM Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla and GM Alessio Valsecchi (ITA) scored 7/9 each. They secured second and third place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the festival was €10000. The top three prizes were €2200 + trophy, €1500 + trophy and €1000 each. The eight-day nine round Rating Open A (≥1900) tournament was organized by ASD Matti per gli Scacchi  at Circolo degli Ufficiali dell'Esercito - Piazza Sant'Oliva Palermo in Palermo, Italy from 27th July to 3rd August 2025. FM R Ashwath scored 5/9 to be placed fifth. IM Bhakti Kulkarni was the top female finisher scoring 5/9. Photo: Matti per gli scacchi

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