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Meet Sandip Upadhyay: The teacher who is creating champions with his own money

31/03/2025 -

He is unrated, yet he is a mentor to nearly 200 kids. His students can’t afford coaching, he teaches them free of cost. They can’t afford to travel to bigger tournaments, he started a fund to support it. This is the story of Sandip Upadhyay, a teacher in a remote village in Gujarat. He pours his day and night, time and money, everything into their chess journey. His dream is to create 50 Grandmasters and 10 World Champions! His students consistently finish in the top 10 of every tournament they enter. Discover how this man is transforming the lives of his students. Photos: Sandip Upadhyay 

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

Saptarshi RoyChowdhury wins 9th Kurukshetra Rating Open 2025

31/03/2025 -

GM Saptarshi RoyChowdhury and Kishan Kumar scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 9th Kurukshetra Rating Open 2025. Saptarshi won the tournament on tie-breaks, Kishan had to settle for second place. 12-year-old Krishay Jain scored 7.5/9 to finish third. Saptarshi defeated him in the final round to become the champion. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹280000. The top three prizes were ₹40000, ₹30000 and ₹24000 along with a trophy each respectively. The five-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Guardians of Greater Dibrugarh Chess Players in association with DHSK College, Dibrugarh and Dibrugarh District Chess Association at DHSK College in Dibrugarh, Assam from 19th to 23rd March 2025. This is Saptarshi's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: SNA Apurba Sonowal

Italy's biggest Chess tournament, Sardinia Chess Festival 2025 to kick off from 26th April

30/03/2025 -

The strongest Chess tournament of Italy, the Sardinia World Chess Festival kicks off from 26th April! Consisting of 3 categories - Open A (2000+ rating), Open B (<1999 rating), and Open C (<1699 rating), the chess festival at Sardinia, Italy boasts a prize fund of 50,100 Euros. The top seed this year is GM Benjamin Gledura, and the top Indian seed is GM Leon Mendonca! The defending champion last year, GM Daniel Dardha is the 2nd seed in the tournament. Registrations for this spectacular event are still ongoing! Read the full article for all the information on the event. Photos: Lennart Ootes, Frans Peeters

Nihal Sarin prevails at 18th Tashkent Open, Abhimanyu Puranik third

30/03/2025 -

GM Nihal Sarin drew against GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) to win 18th Tashkent Open, Agzamov Memorial 2025 Open A (≥1800). He finished a half point ahead of the rest as both GM Abhimanyu Puranik and GM Sanan Sjugirov (HUN) drew their games against GM Aleksandar Indjic (SRB) and GM S L Narayanan respectively. Sanan secured second place and Abhimanyu third according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was US$ 75000. The top three prizes were US$ 20000, 10000 and 7000 along with a trophy each. GM Aditya Mittal is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 7/10 to finish tenth. This was Nihal's first Classical rating tournament in 2025 and he won it convincingly. Photo: Uzbekistan Chess Federation

World School 2025: Pragnika Vaka Lakshmi Golden, Silver for Om Esh Gottumukala and Divi Bijesh

30/03/2025 -

Pragnika Vaka Lakshmi scored a perfect 9/9 to win the Gold medal for India at the World School Under-7 Girls Chess Championship 2025. She defeated both runners-up, Mohinur Azakhujaeva (UZB) and Vera Jintian Xu (NZL) in Round 4 and 5 respectively. Om Esh Gottumukala secured a Silver medal in Under-7 Open. He scored 7.5/9, suffering only one loss against the eventual champion, Abdul-Malik Kairat (KAZ). Om drew with Oskar Fatkhlislamov in the last round. WCM Chinzorig Nandinjiguur (MGL) and WCM Divi Bijesh scored an unbeaten 8/9 each in Under-11 Girls. Chinzorig won Gold and Divi had to settle for Silver. Their sixth round game against each other ended in a draw. Photo: Andrej Jovanovic/Chess Federation of Serbia

Anirudhha Potawad dominates 1st Vidyalankar Institute of Technology Rapid Rating Open 2025

29/03/2025 -

FM Anirudhha Potawad scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 1st Vidyalankar Institute of Technology Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. FM Gaurang Bagwe, Arvind Iyer and WIM Parnali S Dharia scored 8/9. They were placed second to fourth respectively. Only Parnali among them remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹20000 + trophy, ₹10000 and ₹8000 each respectively. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by and at Vidyalankar Institute of Technology in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 9th March 2025. This is Anirudhha's second overall, first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Ravindra Potawad

Can Nihal Sarin win 18th Tashkent Open?

29/03/2025 -

GM Nihal Sarin defeated GM Jingyao Tin (SGP) to gain sole lead 7.5/9 at 18th Tashkent Open, Agzamov Memorial 2025 Open A (≥1800). His coleader GM Abhimanyu Puranik drew with GM Sanan Sjugirov (HUN) to trail by a half point at 7/9 each. IM Saparmyrat Atabayev (TKM) lost his second consecutive game. This time it was against the 44th Olympiad Gold medalist, GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB). Nihal will face Shamsiddin in the final round. A win makes him a clear champion. However, a draw may not be enough to finish first as both Abhimanyu and Sanan have better tie-breaks than him. Round 10 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Uzbekistan Chess Federation

GM Swapnil Dhopade on the art of Paralyzing your opponent's pieces

29/03/2025 -

A very common term we have heard in chess is "Improve your worst placed piece!" But chess is not just a solo battle! You have an opponent sitting in front of you, who is trying to galvanize his pieces as well. And in this regard it might be an excellent idea sometimes to paralyze his pieces. This is what GM Swapnil Dhopade talks about in this article - "The Art of paralyzing your opponent's pieces!" There is also a surprise gift for all of you by Swapnil. Read on to know more.

New: Robert Ris: Mastering Chess Strategy Vol.2 - Take your piece play to the next level!

28/03/2025 -

After laying the foundation in Volume 1, it's time to dive deeper into key strategic concepts that will elevate your middlegame play. But don't expect long theoretical explanations - this course is all about active learning! Get ready to analyse, evaluate, and make real decisions, just like in a practical game.At the heart of this course lies a fundamental yet formidable question: Which pieces are good, which are bad, and what can you do about it? By mastering this principle, you'll learn to solve complex middlegame positions with clarity and confidence. Grab this Fritztrainer and increase your understanding of middlegame chess strategy. You can now stream videos and study from ChessBase books. Photo: ChessBase

18th Tashkent Open R8: Abhimanyu Puranik and Nihal Sarin stay in the lead

28/03/2025 -

GM Abhimanyu Puranik drew with GM Nihal Sarin in the eighth round of 18th Tashkent Open, Agzamov Memorial 2025 Open A (≥1800). GM Sanan Sjugirov (HUN) defeated one of the three leaders, IM Saparmyrat Atabayev (TKM). GM Jingyao Tin (SGP) also scored a win against GM S L Narayanan. Sanan, Abhimanyu, Nihal and Jingyao are the four leaders at 6.5/8. It will be Nihal vs Jingyao and Sanan vs Abhimanyu in the penultimate round. GM Aditya Mittal defeated IM Ethan Vaz to move to 6/8. IM Neelash Saha drew with European Individual 2024 champion, GM Aleksandar Indjic (SRB). Round 9 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anmol Bhargav

Vivaan Vishal Shah perfect at Pilsen Open Blitz 2025 with a 2855 performance

27/03/2025 -

CM Vivaan Vishal Shah scored a perfect 11/11 to win Pilsen Open E Blitz Rating Open at 13th International Chess Festival. He finished a staggering two points ahead of the rest. GM Petr Neuman (CZE) secured second place scoring 9/11. Jonas Eret (CZE) was placed third scoring 8/11. Vivaan defeated both of them in Round 2 and 5 respectively. He performed at 2855. The top three prizes Blitz were CZK 1000, 7000 and 500 each. Neuman won the D Rapid Open scoring an unbeaten 6.5/7. Pavan B N B and Nikolajs Krilovs (LAT) scored 5.5/7 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes in Rapid were CZK 1500, 1000 and 500 each. Photo: Official site

18th Tashkent Open R1-7: Nihal, Abhimanyu and Saparmyrat in a three-way lead

27/03/2025 -

IM Saparmyrat Atabayev (TKM), GM Nihal Sarin and GM Abhimanyu Puranik are in a three-way lead 6/7 at 18th Tashkent Open, Agzamov Memorial 2025 Open A (≥1800). In the seventh round all three of them scored a win each. Saparmyrat, Nihal and Abhimanyu defeated GM Leon Luke Mendonca, GM Sanan Sjugirov (HUN) and GM Prraneeth Vuppala. The total prize fund is US$ 75000. The top three prizes are US$ 20000, 10000 and 7000. The ten day ten-round Swiss league rating tournament is being organized by Uzbekistan Chess Federation at International Chess Academy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 20th to 29th March 2025. Round 8 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Meet Vipin Zamvar: A Cardiac Surgeon Who Thinks Like a Grandmaster

26/03/2025 -

Did you ever think that chess and cardiac surgery have something in common? This article dives into the life of Dr. Vipin Zamvar, a cardiac surgeon in Scotland. He sees striking parallels between these two worlds. He will feature on the latest episode of BBC2’s ‘Surgeons: At the Edge of Life”. He is also a passionate chess lover who has participated in FIDE-rated tournaments. He has an interesting way of bringing his work and hobby together. Discover how his unique approach helps him and what his dream is after achieving tremendous professional success. Photos: Vipin Zamvar

Mitrabha Guha dominates National Blitz Championship 2025

26/03/2025 -

GM Mitrabha Guha (RSPB) scored an unbeaten 10.5/11 to win National Blitz Championship 2025. He finished a full point ahead of the rest. The reigning National champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman (AP) scored 9.5/11 to secure second place. GM Pranesh M (TN) once again scored 9/11. However, his rank became third. Mitrabha's sole draw was against Karthik and he defeated Pranesh in Round 7 and 10 respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹250000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹40000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each. The one-day Blitz rating tournament was organized by Ranchi District Chess Association on 23rd March 2025 at Sarala Birla University in Ranchi, Jharkhand. This is Mitrabha's fifth overall, fourth rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Navjot Alang

Vadim Cernov triumphs at Prague International Chess Festival 2025 J Fischer Random Open

26/03/2025 -

IM Vadim Cernov (ROU) scored an unbeaten 6/7 to win Prague International Chess Festival 2025 J Fischer Random Open. The top seed, Vadim, finished a half point ahead of the rest. 12-year-old Daniel Feigin (KOR) and 15-year-old FM Gustas Morkunas (LTU) scored 5.5/7 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. Vadim drew with both eventual runners-up, Daniel and Gustas in the last two rounds respectively. The top three prizes were CZK 1000, 7000 and 500 each. Check out interview with the champion and a few exciting games. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

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