Bangalore gears up for The Big Chess Summer Camp

The Big Chess Summer Camp is coming to more cities and states this year! After announcing its arrival in the city of Nawabs earlier this week, we are all set to witness the camp in its full glory at Bangalore! It looks like it is the best time of year for sports lovers in the city! Bangalore Chess Club is organising the Big Chess Summer Camp 2025 in collaboration with ChessBase India and Teach Chess India, sponsored by CircleChess and Merwans CakeStop at the Garuda Mall. With a unique self-paced learning system, level-wise worksheets, exciting gifts, and a welcoming atmosphere, the camp will ignite or reignite your love for the game. Check out the article for more details.

C R G Krishna wins 2nd Jana Przewoźnika Memorial Rating Open 2025

IM C R G Krishna and FM Taron Shagbazyan (UKR) scored 7.5/9 each at 2nd Jana Przewoźnika Rating Open A 2025. Krishna won the tournament due to better tie-breaks and Taron secured second place. Their final round battle against each other ended in a draw. GM Lukasz Jarmula (POL) scored 7/9, edged past IM Marcin Sieciechowicz (POL) to finish third. Taron remained undefeated and defeated the eventual second runner-up, Jarmula. The top three prizes were PLN 5000 + cup, 3800 and 2800 each. IM Sai Agni Jeevitesh J scored 6.5/9 to finish fifth. They were the only two Indians who took part in this tournament. This is Krishna's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Piotr Koch

Arpith S Bijoy perfect at 20th RCC Blitz Rating Open 2025

Arpith S Bijoy scored a perfect 11/11 to win 20th RCC Blitz Rating Open 2025. He won the tournament with a round to spare and finished 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Sailesh R scored sole 9.5/11 to secure second place. Top seed of the tournament, IM Ratnakaran K finished third scoring 9/11. The total cash prize fund of the tournament was ₹50000. The top three prizes were ₹12000, ₹8000 and ₹5500 along with a trophy each. The one-day nine round Blitz Rating Open tournament was organized by and at Rao's Chess Corner in Mangalore, Karnataka on 7th May 2025. This is Arpith's second overall, first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Rao's Chess Corner

6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial R7: Praggnanandhaa emerges sole leader, now World no.6

R Praggnanandhaa defeated Aram Hakobyan (ARM) in Round 7 of 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial. Aram went wrong in the double rook and minor piece endgame. While trying to save his pawns, he had to give up his knight. Praggnanandhaa converted his advantage into a full point comfortably. This win made him sole leader 5/7 and also World no.6 with a live rating of 2773.1. Aravindh Chithambaram had a well contested draw against Dmitrij Kollars (GER). Aravindh is now the lone pursuer at 4.5/7. Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM) scored the only other victory of the round against Benjamin Gledura (HUN). Round 8 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

"The Catalan Circuit" tour for aspiring chess players by My Chess Trip

My Chess Trip is presenting “The Catalan Circuit” to chess players. It’s a unique chance to play four back-to-back tournaments in Barcelona. With all the events lined up one after another, the players stay in tournament mode and gain rich experience in a short span. But most importantly, they don’t have to worry about the logistics. From flights and visas to accommodation, meals, and tournament registrations, everything is taken care of. This tour is led by Ankit Dalal and he will ensure that players can focus fully on their game without worrying about other things. What does this trip include, how much is the cost, and how can you apply; everything is covered in this article.

A Quick Recap of The Big Chess Inter-School Tournament 2025

The second edition of The Big Chess Inter-School Tournament was held from 16th to 18th May at the Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club. A total of 306 players from various schools across the city participated in this event. There were six categories: U-6, U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14 and Open. The winners were Aksh Shrivastava (U-6), Kathit Shelar (U-8), Neev Bafna (U-10), Vihaan Rao (U-12), Mysha Perwez (U-14), and Vivaan Sardana (Open), who showcased exceptional skills. The top two finishers of all the sections got a chance to play in a simul against GM Harshit Raja. He personally felicitated all the winners and top performers after the simul. Check out the article to see these exciting moments! Photo: Nehal Deshmukh

Tu Thanh Tran dominates Japan Chess Championship 2025

Mayur Gondhalekar and his good friend, Sheldon Donaldson regularly keeps us updated about the Japan chess scene. Sheldon writes a blog about his experience of playing at Japan Chess Championship 2025. The Canadian origin, currently residing in Japan, Sheldon's article is full of high quality photos and some interesting moments from his games. He loves playing, analyzing and making us enjoy various moments from his games. Check out his account of the tournament which took place in Curian, Tokyo, Japan. IM Tu Thanh Tran won the tournament scoring an unbeaten 8/9. He finished 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Seven players scored 6.5/9. Out of them, Muxi Chen (CHN) and IM Ryosuke Nanjo secured second and third place according to tie-breaks. Photo: Sheldon Donaldson

Lokesh Kumar Pulkanti shares first place at Livingston Allegro May Bank Holiday Rapid Rating Major 2025

Lokesh Kumar Pulkanti, Ruslan Dudkin (UKR) and Darima Donitova-Johnstone (SCO) scored 3.5/5 each at Livingston Allegro May Bank Holiday Rapid Rating Major 2025. They shared first place. Lokesh got the better of Ruslan in the third round. His sole loss wasagainst Darima in Round 4. The top two prizes were £100 and £50 each. The one-day five round Rapid  Rating Open tournament was organized by Scottish Chess Tour and at Mercure Livingston Hotel in Livingston, Scotland on 5th May 2025. This is Lokesh's first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photo: Scottish Chess Tour

6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial R6: Praggnanandhaa joins the lead with Aravindh

R Praggnanandhaa defeated Benjamin Gledura (HUN) in the sixth round of 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial. Praggnanandhaa seized his advantage when his opponent dropped pawn in the middlegame and got himself in a worse position. Aravindh Chithambaram made a quick draw in ten moves against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB). Both Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh are now coleaders 4/6 each. The remaining three games ended in draws. Aram Hakobyan (ARM) and Dmitrij Kollars (GER) are the only two players trailing by a half point at 3.5/6 each. Round 7 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia

Norway Chess Women R8: Humpy regains her sole lead, Vaishali beats Wenjun in Armageddon

GM Koneru Humpy bounced back by defeating IM Sara Khadem (ESP) in Round 8 of 2nd Norway Chess Women. This is the second time Humpy won against Sara in Classical at this event. This win moved Humpy to the top of the standings with a score of 13.5/24. GM R Vaishali won Armageddon against the five-time Women's World Champion, GM Wenjun Ju (CHN). GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) defeated GM Tingjie Lei (CHN) in Armageddon again. Both Wenjun and Anna are at 12.5/24 each. Today is the last rest day. Round 9 starts tomorrow Thursday 5th June 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

Karnataka Govt. Funds & Extends Support to CircleChess through Elevate Startup Program 2024-25

CircleChess has made history by becoming the first chess-focused startup in India to win the Elevate 2024 Startup Program under the Education and Ed-Tech category. This milestone highlights the startup’s innovative approach to chess education through technology, mentorship, and community. CircleChess blends AI-driven learning with coach-led programs to create a powerful platform for chess learners. They are transforming how chess is taught and experienced. The startup is supported by GM Vishnu Prasanna and World Champion Gukesh. So far, 70,000 users are already a part of its growing ecosystem, and as they say, this is just the beginning! Photo: CircleChess

Norway Chess 2025 R8: Arjun swerves Caruana, Wei beats Carlsen again

Arjun Erigaisi made a huge turnaround to beat the sole leader, Fabiano Caruana (USA) in Round 8 of 13th Norway Chess. The outcome did not affect the standings as Caruana is still at the top 12.5/24. Arjun made a few incorrect decisions in a difficult queen, rook and opposite color bishop endgame. He arrived at a losing position. However, Caruana could not capitalize and made huge mistakes himself to lose the game. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) lost another Armageddon and match against Wei Yi (CHN) after he blundered his knight by not seeing the entire tactic. Wei is the only player who defeated Carlsen twice at this event. The World Champion, D Gukesh made a huge positional mistake against Hikaru Nakamura (USA). He had to pay a huge price for it. Today is the last rest day. Round 9 starts tomorrow, Thursday 5th June 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

All India Civil Services Chess Tournament 2025 - Chennai Team, Utkal Ranjan Sahoo are Champions

The All India Civil Services Chess Tournament was organized by the Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of Goa, in collaboration with All India Civil Services at the Multipurpose Sports Complex, Pedem, Mapusa, North Goa. The event comprised four events: Individual Men, Individual Women, Team Men & Team Women; Two of which were FIDE-rated. RSB Chennai won the Men's Team event while Kerala won the team event in the Women's Category. Utkal Ranjan Sahoo of RSB Bhubaneswar won the Individual event in Men, remaining unbeaten, while Amrutha S of RSB Mumbai became champion in the Individual Women category.

Viswanathan Anand defeats Faustino Oro 2–0 in the ‘Clash of Generations’ match

In the historic "Clash of Generations" match held at La Versiliana in the beautiful city of Pietrasanta, Italy, India’s five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand defeated Argentina’s 11-year-old prodigy Faustino Oro 2–0. While the match was largely one-sided, Oro displayed composure and focus beyond his age, and in the future, this match will certainly hold historical importance. Anand won the first game with the white pieces and the second with black. In both games, Anand played quickly and maintained pressure on Oro throughout. The opening ceremony was unique, as both players were brought to the match venue in a specially designed horse-drawn carriage. Prior to the match, the grand opening of the Chess Roads Festival included an exhibition of 40 rare and precious chess boards, inaugurated by Anand, Oro, world-famous musician Andrea Bocelli, and Paola Rovellini, President of the La Versiliana Foundation.

Following the match, both players participated in a simultaneous exhibition game, where Anand and Oro each faced 10 invited guests. They both won all of their games, creating a lasting impression on the audience. This historic event will certainly be remembered among the most special in chess history.

6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial R5: Aravindh maintains his sole lead, now World no.10

Aravindh Chithambaram drew against Samuel Sevian (USA) in Round 5 of 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial. In a double rook and minor piece endgame, Sevian could have made a break which would have given him substantial advantage. It is not clear whether it would have been enough for him, but surely it is better than what he opted in the game. Aravindh maintained his sole lead 3.5/5. He is now World no.10 with a live rating 2753.5. This is also the first time when four Indians are in World Top ten in live ratings. R Praggnanandhaa drew his third game in less than 25 moves. This time against Dmitrij Kollars (GER). Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) and Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) are the only two victors of the round. Praggnanandhaa, Kollars and Aram Hakobyan (ARM) are trailing the sole leader by a half point at 3/5 each. Round 6 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia