"If You Want a GM Norm, Beat a GM" : Michal Krasenkow

by Jyotsna Bhushan - 16/07/2026

GM Michał Krasenkow sits down after a dramatic comeback win to talk about his turbulent game, his storied career, and why he has no intention of making life easy for the Indian players chasing norms. Michal dominated the 2nd Chola Chess Grandmaster Round Robin Tournament and won the event in style. Check out the interview. Photos and Interview: Devansh Singh

The Grandmaster Who Won't Go Easy: Michal Krasenkow at Chola Chess 2025

Leading with 3.5/4 after four rounds, the Polish grandmaster and former world number 10 reflects on rook endgames, the growth of Indian chess, and what it means to compete at the highest level well into the later years of a career.

GM Michal Krasenkow won the 2nd Chola Chess GM Round Robin

Devansh Singh: Michael, you just finished your game, and you're leading the tournament with 3.5 out of 4. How was the game today?

Michal Krasenkow vs. Alexei Fedorov

Michal Krasenkow: It was actually terrible. I didn't feel well, and I didn't sleep well. I was generally not in good shape. I played very badly and was in a completely lost position. But then my opponent started playing badly too.

DS: When I saw the final position, your king was on h6, your queen on f8, rook on f7. There were so many mating threats. It looked devastating.

MK: Of course, Black should not have allowed that.
DS: Can you walk us through the last three rounds? Round one, you beat Anuj; round two, you had a better position against Kushagra, and yesterday, against Bala Chandra Prasad, you converted a beautiful rook ending.

Krasenkow vs Kushagra in Round 2.

MK: The first two wins were completely normal games. The rook ending yesterday was very interesting. My opponent had a draw, but it was not so easy to find.

DS: Yesterday, I think there was a chance that he could have held a draw
MK: What I remember from the analysis is that at some point, he should have played King e6, allowing my king to g5. But after King g5, he could always attack my g3 pawn. That was the right plan. Black's most important task was not to allow the activation of White's rook.

Round Three: Michal Krasenkow vs. Bala Chandra Prasad (1-0)

DS: And what about the first round against Anuj? I think that Rook maneuvering like that, Rook h4, Rook h5, and then Rook g5 or something like that, you were playing?

MK: Yeah, of course. Again, according to the position, he should not have allowed that. He could have played a bit more accurately; he shouldn't have allowed this maneuver.

Michal Krasenkow vs. Anuj Shrivatri (1-0)

DS: How has your time been here in Chennai? I think you've been here for four or five days now.
MK: I've been to Chennai many times, actually. In 2022, I was here for the Chess Olympiad, but in a completely different role, as a fair play officer. It's generally a nice city. Last time I did some sightseeing. This time, after the tournament, there are plans for a camp at the Chola Chess Academy. We'll see how that goes.

DS: Speaking of the 2022 Olympiad, you could have played in it as a competitor, too, right? You were world number 10 at one point.
MK: Yes, when I was world number 10, I was actively playing in tournaments. I was even the leader of the Polish team, playing on board one. I played five Olympiads for Poland, from 1996 to 2004.

DS: When exactly were you in the top 10?
MK: Around the year 2000, but very briefly. Unfortunately, after that, I had a very bad period and lost a lot of rating.

DS: In the player reveal video for Chola Chess, you said you're not going to make it easy for others to score a GM norm. You're certainly delivering on that with 3.5 out of 4.
MK: If a player wants to make a GM norm, he should play like a GM. Let him beat us first.

DS: That's the competitive spirit this tournament needs. In the last edition, no norm was scored either because I think Alisher Suleymanov won the tournament. Do you think Indian players can break through this time?

Michal Krasenkow dominated the tournament.

MK: Generally, I see that a lot of Indian players score GM norms in open tournaments. And yes, India has a lot of good players, a real boom. What was missing here was the round robin events. Indian players used to have to travel to Europe for closed tournaments. Chola Chess is filling that gap, and this is only the second edition. It's a new experience for India. Theoretically, in closed tournaments, it can be easier to make norms because grandmasters are sometimes less motivated. But generally in Swiss tournaments, they have their own challenge, that when you play a low-rated player, he has the same number of points as you at that stage, so he is in form. It's not easy to beat them.

DS: The Olympiad is coming up in September in Samarkand. Can we expect to see you there?
MK: I'm not sure. I have a chance to be there as a member of the Rules Commission. But honestly, I'm ageing, and travelling has become quite difficult for me now. I don't know yet.