12-Year-Old Amanlal A Stuns IM Jorge Marcos at Chess for Everyone in Kerala

by Devansh Singh - 22/08/2026

The Premier Chess Academy's Classical FIDE Rating Free Chess for Everyone Tournament officially commenced on August 20, 2026, in Trivandrum, Kerala. The defining result of the opening rounds arrived on Board 2 during Round 4, where 12-year-old Amanlal A, who is rated 1894, secured a decisive victory over Cuban International Master Jorge Marcos Gomez Sanchez. Organized with the goal of increasing classical exposure for regional talents, the tournament features zero entry fees and no prize fund, while covering complete travel and hospitality for foreign GMs and IMs. Photos: PCA

The Giant Killer: Amanlal A Takes Down Cuban IM Jorge Marcos

The headline story unfolded on Board 2 in Round 4, where 12-year-old Amanlal A (1894) stunned Cuban International Master Jorge Marcos Gomez Sanchez.

Amanlal's journey began at age 4.5 in Cheriyakolla, a village in Thiruvananthapuram. Now based in Kuzhivelippady, Ernakulam, the Class 8 student of St. Joseph Public School (NAD, Aluva) produced a masterclass to score the full point against the Cuban IM.

Amanlal A is currently on 4/4, and he is increasing his rating by 43.6 points. In the 5th round, he is facing Dissanayake R K T of SriLanka

Check out the amazing game

The Idea and Execution

The Idea behind this tournament was very easy to explain. The CEO of Premier Chess Academy saw a gap where local talents in Kerala are lacking funds to play overseas and get their FIDE rating or increase their rating. He came up with a solution, and it is now clearly visible that it is working. Local players like Amanlal are scoring points and big wins against professional and titled players.

Left to Right: IM Anup Deshmukh (India), IM Jorge Marcos Gomez Sanchez (Cuba), IM Murugan Krishnamoorthy (India), IM Sekhar Chandra Sahu (India) and GM Petr Kiriakov (FIDE) | Standing: Renjith Balakrishnan, CEO PCA

Out of 7 players who are on 4/4. There are 4 players from Kerala itself, which shows that this initiative is helping the local talent. The other 3 players who are on 4/4 are GM Petr Kiriakov, IM Sekhar Chandra Sahu and IM Murugan Krishnamoorthy

Some of the most renowned coaches and players are taking part in this event

"Historically, Kerala has had a shortage of active players rated over 2000 in classical chess because young talents cannot afford constant international trips. By bringing titled foreign players to our home soil for free-entry events, we remove financial barriers and give talents like Amanlal the platform they deserve." — Renjith Balakrishnan, CEO of Premier Chess Academy

Games in action

IM Anup Deshmukh lighting up the lamp

Pairings round 5

Bo.		White	Typ	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Typ	Rtg	Club/City
1	IM	Sahu, Sekhar Chandra	S56	1963	Orissa	4		4	GM	Kiriakov, Petr		2432	Fide
2		Sidharth, Sreekumar	U17	1958	Kerala	4		4	IM	Murugan, Krishnamoorthy	S56	2096	Tamil Nadu
3		Pournami, S D	U17	1783	Kerala	4		4		Albin, Sajan	U15	2015	Kerala
4	AIM	Dissanayake, R K T		1975	Srilanka	3½		4		Amanlal, A	U15	1894	Kerala
5		Sahya, Kailas	U12	1680	Kerala	3½		3½		Muhammad, Ihsan	U12	1841	Kerala
6		Prayag, R G	U15	1570	Kerala	3½		3½		Rohith, S Navneet	U12	1682	Kerala
7	IM	Gomez Sanchez, Jorge Marcos		2244	Cuba	3		3½		Aadinath, S A	U15	1550	Kerala
8	IM	Deshmukh, Anup	S56	2076	Maharashtra	3		3		Dhami, Deepak		1697	Nepal
9		Nilesh, Jishnu	U12	1692	Kerala	3		3		Abel, Sajan	U17	1964	Kerala
10	AFM	Devegk, R	U15	1679	Kerala	3		3	CM	Thapa, Krishna		1923	Nepal

Details

Rank after Round 4

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5	TB6
1	5		Albin, Sajan	U15		2026EKM001379	IND	2015	Kerala	4	11	11	11	4	2
2	13		Amanlal, A	U15		2026EKM000241	IND	1894	Kerala	4	10,5	10,5	10,5	4	2
3	3	IM	Murugan, Krishnamoorthy	S56			IND	2096	Tamil Nadu	4	10,5	10,5	10,5	4	1
4	8	IM	Sahu, Sekhar Chandra	S56			IND	1963	Orissa	4	9,5	9,5	9,5	4	2
5	9		Sidharth, Sreekumar	U17		2026TVM000473	IND	1958	Kerala	4	8,5	8,5	8,5	4	2
6	21		Pournami, S D	U17	w	2026KLM000127	IND	1783	Kerala	4	8,5	8,5	8,5	4	2
7	1	GM	Kiriakov, Petr				FID	2432	Fide	4	8	8	8	4	2
8	44		Prayag, R G	U15		2026TVM000097	IND	1570	Kerala	3,5	9,5	9,5	8,25	3	2
9	6	AIM	Dissanayake, R K T				SRI	1975	Srilanka	3,5	9,5	9,5	7,75	3	2
10	33		Sahya, Kailas	U12	w	2026TVM000165	IND	1680	Kerala	3,5	9	9	7,75	3	2