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Soumick Bandopadhyay triumphs at 2nd Royal Rivals Rating Open 2025

13/01/2026 -

Soumick Bandopadhyay, Debayan Ray, Arpan Das and Shaswata Paul scored 7.5/9 each at 2nd Royal Rivals Rating Open 2025. Soumick won the tourament due to better tie-breaks. The remaining three were placed second to fourth respectively. The top two finishers - Soumick and Debayan remained undefeated among them. The total prize fund combining all three tournaments was ₹750000. The top three prizes were ₹65000, ₹40000 and ₹25000 each. IM Aronyak Ghosh won the Rapid Open scoring an unbeaten 8/9. CM Sarbartho Mani and Saptorshi Gupta scored 7.5/9 each to finish second and third respectively. GM Diptayan Ghosh scored 8.5/9, remained undefeated and won the Blitz Open. Aronyak scored 8/9 to claim second place. IM Kaustuv Kundu edged past three more players on tie-breaks to finish third. This is Soumick's first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photo: Partha Pratim Manna / Classical Chess Academy

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Ilamparthi A R wins Wroclaw Chess Festival 2025, Bharath Subramaniyam second

12/01/2026 -

GM Ilamparthi A R and GM Bharath Subramaniyam H scored 7/9 each at Wroclaw Ches Festival Open A (≥ 2100) 2025. Ilamparthi won the tournament due to better tie-break score.  Bharath secured second place. The total prize fund was 40000 PLN. The top three prizes were 10000, 7000 and 6000 PLN each. GM Prraneeth Vuppala is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 6/9 to finish ninth. FM Priansh Das scored 6/9 to score an IM-norm. The seven-day nine-round Swiss League  Rating Open tournament was organized by Polonia Wrocław Chess Club Foundation at Park Hotel Diamant in Wrocław, Poland from 13th to 19th December 2025. Photo: Klub Szachowy Polonia Wrocław

So and Yip are Tata Steel India Blitz 2026 Champions, Nihal and Vantika second, Arjun Erigaisi third

12/01/2026 -

Wesley So (USA) scored 12/18 to win Tata Steel Chess India Blitz 2026 Men. He won the tournament with a round to spare when he drew against Hans Niemann (USA) in Round 17. Thus, his last round loss against R Praggnanandhaa did not affect the outcome. Despite starting and ending with losses, what So did from Round 2 to 17 made all the difference. He had a five-game winning streak on the previous day and a double hat-trick of draws on the last day. Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi scored 11/18 each to finish at second and third place. Both Nihal and Arjun showed consistency in Rapid and Blitz events. IM Carissa Yip (USA) and IM Vantika Agrawal scored 10.5/18 each in the Women's event. Carissa defeated Vantika 1.5-0.5 in the Playoffs to become the champion. Thus, Vantika finished second. The total prize fund was US$ 41500. The top three prizes in the Rapid were $10000, $6000 and $3000. For Blitz they were $7500, $4000 and $2500. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

Wilson Guillermo Palencia Morales clear first at 39th Tamil Nadu IM-norm Closed Circuit RR 2025

12/01/2026 -

IM Wilson Guillermo Palencia Morales (COL) scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win 39th Tamil Nadu IM-norm Closed Circuit Chess Tournament 2025. He finished a full point ahead of the competition. IM Jorge Marcos Gomez Sanchez (CUB) scored sole 6/9 to secure second place. IM Diasmany Otero Acosta (CUB) and Hari Ganesh T scored 5/9 each. They secured third and fourth place respectively according to tie-breaks. The seven-day ten-player round-robin tournament was organized by Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Hotel Alankar Grande in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 8th to 14th December 2025. Tournament Coordinator - IA R Srivatsan writes the tournament report. Photos: IA R Srivatsan

Tata Steel Blitz 2026 R1-9: So gains sole lead, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin in pursuit

10/01/2026 -

Wesley So (USA) scored 7/9 to emerge sole leader after Round 9 of Tata Steel India Blitz 2026. Despite starting the day with a loss against Vidit Gujrathi, blundering checkmate in a winning position, So bounced back and scored 7/8 in the next eight games. performing at 2908 and having a five-game win streak, including against pursuers - Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin. Arjun is at 6.5/9, followed by Nihal 5.5/9, Vishy Anand and Vidit 5/9 each and R Praggnanandhaa at 4/9. Nine more rounds of Blitz games will be played tomorrow. Anything can happen. Blitz Round 10 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Rithvik Marri - The boy who challenged the world to created his own

10/01/2026 -

Ever wondered what boundaries and challenges are? What does it mean to be not included? Not given a chance to have a fair fight? Some accept it as fate but some go out there and make a difference in their own way. They don’t understand boundaries, they don’t need to included, they create their own path. They challenged the world, their rules, their set notions and opinions they have happily lived with. They created a world of their own. They live a life beyond our understanding and belief and that is the story of Rithvik Marri, the super warrior of chess. 

From Fallout to World Championship: Inside the Landmark Partnership Between FIDE and Freestyle Chess

10/01/2026 -

Jan-Henric Buettner details the historic reconciliation between FIDE and Freestyle Chess, launching the FIDE 2026 Freestyle World Championship. The interview explores the qualification of the top six 2025 tour players, Hans Niemann’s wildcard selection, and the reasoning behind Hikaru Nakamura’s decision to decline his invitation. Buettner also highlights Magnus Carlsen’s influence on the new 25-minute match format, the potential for a future championship in India, and his own plans to transition leadership to a new structure.

Nihal Sarin clinches Tata Steel Rapid 2026 with a 2839 performance, Anand second and Arjun Erigaisi third

09/01/2026 -

Nihal Sarin scored 6.5/9 to clinch Tata Steel Chess India Rapid 2026 with a 2839 and finished a half point ahead of the competition. The 21-year-old from Kerala started the day with a well-contested draw against R Praggnanandhaa. Then, he crushed Wesley So (USA). He finished the event with a draw against Vishy Anand who was the only player who could surpass him in the final round. The maestro started the day with a draw against Vidit Gujrathi, then he drew with Praggnanandhaa. Arjun Erigaisi scored 5/9 to finish third on tie-breaks. He edged past So and Hans Niemann (USA). GM Divya Deshmukh scored 2.5/3 on the final day to finish third scoring 50%, 4.5/9. Nine rounds of Blitz games will be played tomorrow. Blitz Round 1 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Christmas week puzzles solutions 3

09/01/2026 -

In the final sections of our Christmas Puzzle Week we brought you a variety of famous and less well-known puzzles. Among them a mate problem that solves itself – literally. And one that looks deceptively simple, but requires a very subtle strategy to find the win. In no less than 46 moves! Can computers solve it? Photo: ChessBase

Dhruva Thota becomes the latest International Master from Hyderabad

09/01/2026 -

16-year-old Dhruva Thota is the latest International Master from Hyderabad. His first IM norm came at the Six Days Chess Tournament in Budapest in November 2023, followed soon after by his second at the Chessable Sunway Sitges International Festival in Spain. Two years later, he added his third norm at the Annemasse Chess Tournament in France in October 2025 and sealed the title at the RUDAR XLIII IM Round Robin in Serbia in November 2025. He also finished first in the tournament with a score of 7.5/9. His journey now moves toward the Grandmaster title. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Srihari L R and Rohith Krishna share the lead with Aleksandrov and Duc Hoa at 16th Chennai GM

09/01/2026 -

The 16th Chennai Open International Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2026 has reached its final day. Round 9, which concluded on January 8, 2026, has brought the battle for the Sakthi Group Dr. N. Mahalingam Trophy to a photo finish. With four players tied at 7.5 points, the math is simple: a win almost guarantees a share of the first-place, while a draw will leave the title to the tie-breaks. On board 1 in 9th round GM Rohith Krishna S and GM Aleksandrov Aleksej played a draw and both of them are on 7.5/9 now while on board 2 GM Srihari LR won against Dhananjay S to catch the leaders and he is co leading with 7.5/9 points and on board 3 we saw GM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam winning against Vandan Alankar Sawai to reach 7.5/9 points. In the last round, Rohith Krishna S will be playing against Nguyen Duc Hoa, while Srihari LR will be taking on IM Mayank Chakraborty, and Aleksandrov Aleksej will play against Indian GM Deepan Chakkravarthy. The final round, Round 10, takes place today, January 9. Photo Credit: IA S. Paul Arokia Raj

Tata Steel Rapid 2026 R4-6: Nihal Sarin is the new coleader of Vishy Anand

08/01/2026 -

Nihal Sarin joined Vishy Anand in the lead at the conclusion of the sixth round of Tata Steel India Rapid 2026. The maestro, Anand, started the day with a loss against Arjun Erigaisi. Then he won the next two games against Hans Niemann (USA) and Volodar Murzin. Nihal on the other hand scored a hat-trick to move to the top of the standings with 4.5/6. He won against Niemann, Murzin and Vidit Gujrathi. Wesley So (USA) is trailing them by a half point at 4/6 each. Niemann, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun are at 3.5/6 each. Anand or Nihal, who will win the event? Only three rounds are remaining. Round 7 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

The first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship to be hosted in Weissenhaus

08/01/2026 -

FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 has been announced to take place in Weissenhaus, Germany from 13th to 15th February. Six players - Magnus Carlsen (NOR), Levon Aronian (USA), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Vincent Keymer (GER), Arjun Erigaisi and Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) have qualified based on their Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025 results. Two additional participants will be selected separately, one by FIDE and one by Freestyle Chess. Freestyle Chess has already nominated Hans Niemann, due to his outstanding performance in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas. FIDE will hold an Online Qualification Tournament on Chess.com as early as January 14 and 15 to determine the eighth player. Check the press release to know more details. Photos: FIDE

10 things that made Global Chess League 2025 special

08/01/2026 -

Some events stay with you even if you were not physically there. The Global Chess League 2025 was one such experience. Through conversations, stories, photos, and videos, the league felt alive, energetic, and unforgettable. It showed how chess can bring together world-class competition, passionate fans, and a sense of community. There were iconic matchups, interesting games, moments that made people smile, in short, this edition had it all. At the Global Chess League, chess is presented in a way that feels modern, inclusive and full of emotion. In this article, we cover ten things that made this edition of the Global Chess League special. Photo: Global Chess League

Tata Steel Rapid 2026 R1-3: Vishy Anand and Hans Niemann make a great start

08/01/2026 -

Vishy Anand and Hans Niemann (USA) have emerged early coleaders at Tata Steel India Rapid 2026. Both of them scored 2.5/3 on the first day. Anand defeated Wesley So (USA) and Aravindh Chithambaram, drew against Wei Yi (CHN). Hans on the other hand, won against former World Rapid champion, Volodar Murzin and R Praggnanandhaa, drew against Vidit Gujrathi. Arjun Erigaisi started the event with two losses. Vidit Gujrathi scored an unbeaten 2/3. Nihal Sarin and Praggnanandhaa scored 1.5/3 each. In the Women's event, IM Vantika Agrawal scored 2/3 including wins over GM R Vaishali and GM Harika Dronavalli. WGM Rakshitta Ravi drew all three of her games, although she was winning against the new World Rapid Women's 2025 champion, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina. Round 4 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photo: IA NI Vivek Sohani

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