Sunway Sitges International Open Group A Round 1-5: Anwesh in the leaders pack, Savitha holds Alekseenko

18/12/2024 - After 5 rounds of play at the Sunway Sitges International Open Group A, there are 8 players jointly leading with 4.5/5 points. The only Indian in the pack of leaders is IM Anwesh Upadhyaya (2379). GM Ido Gorshtein (2542, ISR) has the best tiebreaks among the 8 co-leaders. The top board clash between Anwesh and Gorshtein ended in a draw in the 5th round. WGM Savitha Shri Baskar (2329) impressed by holding one of the top seeds, GM Kirill Alekseenko (2673) to a draw in the 5th round! 4 more rounds are left in this beautiful 9-round classical swiss tournament held at Hotel Sunway in Sitges, Barcelona, Spain. Photos by Niklesh Jain.

Adarsh Tripathi becomes the latest International Master from Uttar Pradesh

18/12/2024 -

Adarsh Tripathi became the latest International Master of Noida, Uttar Pradesh and India. He achieved the title at IM Swiss Mix Grocka 1 in Novi Sad, Serbia. The first IM-norm was scored at Brno Open IM Round Robin 2023. After eight months, he earned his second IM-norm at Piestany Open 2024 in Piestany, Slovakia. He secured his final IM-norm in the following month and crossed 2400 in the live ratings at the same event. Adarsh also won the tournament where he fulfilled the final criteria to become an IM. His journey towards the GM title continues. Get to know about Adarsh's journey so far. He is third International Master from his Uttar Pradesh after the legendary - Dinesh Kumar Sharma and 45th Olympiad Gold medalist - Vantika Agrawal.

Bhaavan Kolla decimates Dr. Rangala Babu Rao Rating Open 2024

18/12/2024 -

Bhaavan Kolla scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win Dr. Rangala Babu Rao Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. Vinayak Kulkarni and Varun V scored 8/9 each. They also remained undefeated, secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. Bhaavan drew with Vinayak. The total prize fund was ₹500001. The top three prizes were ₹50001, ₹40000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each. The five-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Sri Chess Academy at S3 Sports Arena in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 27th November to 1st December. This is Bhaavan's sixth tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Dr. Rangala Babu Rao / Sri Chess Academy

Pranav Venkatesh clinches double Gold at World Youth Under-18 Open Rapid and Blitz 2024

17/12/2024 -

GM Pranav Venkatesh scored 9.5/11 to clinch Gold at FIDE World Youth Under-18 Open Rapid 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. FM Alexander Khripachenko scored 9/11 to secure Silver. FM Roman Pyrih (UKR) got Bronze scoring 7.5/9. Despite a last round loss, it did not affect Pranav's Gold medal chances. Pranav won the Blitz event with a round to spare. He scored 19.5/22 to claim Gold, finished a staggering four points ahead of the competition. Dmitry Mochalov claimed Silver 15.5/22, Khripachenko Bronze 14.5/22. IM Eline Roebers (NED) was the sole girl to play in the Open event. She scored an impressive 7.5/11 to finish fourth in Rapid. The Dutch teenager was one of the only two players to beat Pranav in Blitz. Photos: FIDE / Luka Rifelj

Nubairshah Shaikh convincingly clinches Federal Bank 3rd Tarabai Shinde Rapid Rating Open 2024

17/12/2024 -

IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win Federal Bank presents 3rd Tarabai Shinde Rapid Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Five players - Jeet Shah, Guru Prakash, FM Mithil Ajgaonkar, Vivaan Sardana and Arnav Mahesh Koli scored 8/9 each. They secured second to sixth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Nubairshah defeated Jeet and drew with Guru. The total prize fund was ₹250000. The top three prizes were ₹20000, ₹15000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each. The one-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Nandakumar T V at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar School and College in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 24th November. This is Nubairshah's second tournament triumph of the year. Photos: Ravindra Potawad

India wins 33 medals at Asian Schools Championships 2024

16/12/2024 -

India has won 33 medals including 15 individual (4 Gold, 2 Silver and 9 Bronze) medals, 18 team (3 Gold, 10 Silver and 5 Bronze) medals at Asian Schools Chess Championships 2024. Divi Bijesh won double Gold in Classical and Blitz scoring a perfect 9/9 each, Bronze in Rapid Under-9 Girls category. She won both Gold with a perfect score of 9/9. Narendra Agarwal won a Gold in Rapid and a Bronze medal in Blitz Under-11 Open. Vedika Pal won Gold in Classical Under-11 Girls. Total 10 Indians have won at least one medal each in this event. China won the best federation by securing seven medals, Kazakhstan second with four medals and India third with six medals. Kazakhstan secured more Silver than India to be placed second. Photo: Asian Chess Federation

Srivardhan Reddy Devareddy dominates 15th KIIT Chess Festival C Below 1700 Rating Tournament 2024

16/12/2024 -

Srivardhan Reddy Devareddy scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 15th KIIT International Chess Festival Category C (Below 1700) Rating Tournament 2024. The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh, finished a half point ahead of the competition. Arijit Ghosh scored 8/9 to secure second place. Seven players made 7.5/9 each. Out of them, the top seed of the event, Sanskar Gaigore secured third place according to tie-breaks. Top three remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the festival was ₹6000000, ₹1500000 for Category C. The top three prizes were ₹100000, ₹75000 and ₹60000 along with a trophy each. The four-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by and at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from 6th to 9th December. This is Srivardhan's first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photo: Swayangsu Satyakam

World Championship 2024 diaries Game 14

15/12/2024 -

D Gukesh defeated the defending World Champion, Ding Liren (CHN) to become the 18th and youngest undisputed World Champion. It would go down in history as one of the most important games of the match, simply because of the outcome. How was the game actually? GM Sundararajan Kidambi analyzes Game 14 in detail along with few inputs of Magnus Carlsen. He also takes a look at the interesting moments of the game. Check out the dissection by Kidambi of the 14th game and enrich your understanding of it. If you like his explanations, do mention it in the comments, so that it inspires Kidambi to share more from his fountain of knowledge. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Laxman R R wins 3rd BUDCA Rapid Rating Open 2024

15/12/2024 -

GM Laxman R R, Lokesh N and IM Ajay Karthikeyan scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 3rd BUDCA Rapid Rating Open 2024. Laxman won the tournament due to better tie-break scores, Lokesh and Ajay secured second and third place respectively. The top three finishers did not face each other. The total prize fund was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹29000 + trophy, ₹25000 + trophy and ₹20000 each. The two-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Bengaluru Urban District Chess Association at Nexus Koramangala Mall in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 23rd and 24th November. This is Laxman's sixth tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Soumya M U / BUDCA

Style Report in ChessBase 18

14/12/2024 -

ChessBase 18 now provides insights into players that go beyond mere opening statistics. Evaluating players is a somewhat delicate matter, and mistakes could be embarrassing. However, the Style Report hits the mark surprisingly well. For historical stars whose styles are well-known, all the classic clichés are spot-on. Most importantly, you can learn something about your next opponent—or about the most important player of all: yourself. Check out the details and decide whether you can afford not to have the program. ChessBase 18 and Mega Database 2025 are available now on our shop. Upgrade from previous version is also available. Buy now if you haven't yet. Photo: ChessBase

World Championship 2024 diaries Game 13

14/12/2024 -

The FIDE World Championship Match 2024 presented by Google, has concluded. It crowned the 18th and youngest undisputed World Champion in the form of D Gukesh. Game 13 could have gone Gukesh's way. GM Sundararajan Kidambi analyzes Game 13 in detail along with few inputs of Magnus Carlsen. He also takes a look at the interesting moments of the game. Check out the dissection by Kidambi of the 13th game and enrich your understanding of it. If you like his explanations, do mention it in the comments, so that it inspires Kidambi to share more from his fountain of knowledge. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Chandar Raju wins 1st SPIT Rapid Rating Open 2024

14/12/2024 -

Chandar Raju and FM Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 each at 1st SPIT Rapid Rating Open 2024. Chandar became champion due to better tie-breaks, Aakash secured second place. The penultimate round battle between them ended in a draw. Arvind Iyer scored sole 8/9 to finish third. He also remained undefeated. The total prize fund was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹20000, ₹10000 and ₹8000 each. The one-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by SPIT Sports Committee at Sardar Patel Institute of Technology in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 17th November. This is Chandar's first tournament triumph of the year.

The Hanoi GM/IM/FM Tournaments are back in 2025

14/12/2024 -

From 2022, GM Bui Vinh (VIE) and his team from the Future Grandmasters Club has worked closely with Vietnam Chess Federation and the various national and regional government sports and tourism authorities to organise no less than ten GM/IM/FM tournaments, nine in Hanoi, and one in Quang Ninh. Now, at the start of 2025, there will be two GM, two IM, and two FM tournaments, the first series from 3rd to 9th January 2025 and the second series from 10th to 15th January 2025. Check out the press release of the tournament announcements. Photo: 36pho.com

The Coronation of the 18th World Chess Champion - D Gukesh

13/12/2024 -

D Gukesh etched his name in history a little less than 24 hours ago. He is the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in history. He started the year as a 17-year-old teenager. First he won the Candidates, then he won double Gold and finally he defeated the 17th World Champion - Ding Liren (CHN) by 7.5-6.5, winning three games and losing only two. The World no.5 assembled a star-studded team for his second. A decade long sacrifice of his parents, father - Dr. Rajini Kanth and mother - Padma Kumari's tireless efforts have finally attained the alluring summit. Gukesh dreamt, worked towards it and realized it. Almost 24 years, Vishy Anand became the World Champion for the very first time. It inspired the nation and beyond. Gukesh's triumph is surely going to inspire a lot and the 'Golden era' of Indian chess will continue. Photo: FIDE/Eng Chin An

The reaction of the Universe to Gukesh becoming the 18th World Champion

13/12/2024 -

It has been a little over 18 hours since D Gukesh etched his name in the history. He is the second Indian after Vishy Anand to win the World Championship. Also, the youngest ever undisputed World Champion in a match. The entire universe is delighted with outpouring support and congratulatory messages. Check out a few of the top ones we have compiled. The official crowning of the 18th World Champion will take place at 6 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Don't miss the coronation of the new king of chess. Photo: FIDE/Eng Chin An