Adani International School, Shantigram, successfully hosted the ISSO National Games Chess Competition 2025, a two-day event that brought together more than 370 student players from 80+ schools across 10 states. The tournament turned the campus into a hub of strategy and sporting spirit, drawing over 650 attendees including parents, coaches, and supporters.

The competition featured four categories—Under-11, Under-14, Under-17, and Under-19—providing a platform for young players to test their skills in high-pressure games. The opening ceremony was graced by Namrata Adani, Promoter of Adani International School, who encouraged participants with her interaction.

Chess stalwarts Bhavesh Patel, former Secretary of the Gujarat State Chess Association and Vice-President of the All India Chess Federation, and Grandmaster Ankit Rajpara also addressed the gathering, inspiring players with insights from their own journeys. After two days of intense competition, Chatrabhuj Narsee School, Mumbai emerged as the Overall Champion, while Indus International School, Hyderabad secured the Runners-Up title.

Speaking about the significance of such tournaments, school officials emphasised India’s rising stature in global chess, propelled by young stars like R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh, and underscored how grassroots competitions at the school level are shaping the next generation of champions. The closing ceremony celebrated outstanding performances across categories, with medals awarded to the winners.

Results: Under-11 Winners: Boys: 1. Ayaanraj Kottapally (Shreenidhi International School); 2. Anay Agarwal (Indus International School, Hyderabad); 3. Ahaan Kataruka (Nita Mukesh Ambani Junior School) Girls: 1. Amaya Agarwal (Indus International School, Hyderabad); 2. Teesha Byadwal (Jayshree Periwal Global School); 3. Mrunmayee Daware (HVB Global Academy) Under-14 Winners: Boys: 1. Nirvaan Nirav Shah (Don Bosco International School); 2. Amay Jain (Rockwoods International School); 3. Udbhav Sharma (Neerja Modi School) Girls: 1. Naisha Khandelwal (Neerja Modi School); 2. Aadya Reddy Konda (The Gaudium School); 3. Shreya Tirthani (Bharati Vidyapeeth Rabindranath Tagore School of Excellence) Under-17 Winners: Boys: 1. Aman George Thomas (Vidyashilp Academy); 2. Aditya Kunal Patil (Dhirubhai Ambani International School); 3. Devansh Khandelwal (Scottish High International School) Girls: 1. Hasitha Reddy Patelu (Manchester Global School); 2. Ananya Khandelwal (JBCN International School, Parel); 3. Suhaani Lohia (Dhirubhai Ambani International School) Under-19 Winners: Boys: 1. Sparsh Sarawogi (Indus International School, Bangalore); 2. Aayan Singhvi (Jayshree Periwal International School); 3. Kabir Tandon (Indus International School, Bangalore) Girls: 1. Jhalak Byadwal (Jayshree Periwal Global School); 2. Dhyana Doshi (Aditya Birla World Academy); 3. Nibha Manchal (Sanjay Ghodawat International School).

–IANS

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The 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh stunned the chess world by winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025, becoming the first Indian woman to claim the prestigious title.

In the all-Indian final, Divya defeated legendary compatriot Koneru Humpy 1.5–0.5 in the rapid tie-breaks on 28 July 2025 to script a fairytale ending in Baku. The classical games played over the weekend had ended in tense draws, with both players showcasing resilience and elite-level play.

In Saturday’s opening game, Divya, playing with the white pieces, built a commanding position but let Humpy equalise late. The second game on Sunday was more balanced, though Divya admitted she “wandered into trouble for no apparent reason” before holding on. But the tie-breaks were where the young sensation flipped the script.

After the first rapid game ended in a draw, the second saw Humpy crack under time pressure, making critical blunders that Divya pounced on. With nerves of steel, Divya closed out the win to become the 2025 Women’s World Cup champion, the fourth Indian woman to earn the Grandmaster title, and the country’s 88th GM overall. “It was fate,” said an emotional Divya after the final.

“Before the tournament, I was thinking that I could maybe earn a Grandmaster norm here. And at the end, I became a Grandmaster.” Divya’s victory is even more remarkable considering the odds. She came into the tie-breaks as the underdog – Humpy, a two-time World Rapid Champion and currently world No. 5 in classical chess, was widely expected to dominate in the faster format.

In contrast, Divya was ranked No. 18 in classical, No. 22 in rapid, and No. 18 in blitz on the FIDE women’s list. This win crowns a sensational rise for the Nagpur teenager, who just last year clinched the World Junior Championship title. She played a pivotal role in India’s gold medal run at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, also securing individual gold on her board.

-IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met the newly crowned World Chess Champion D Gukesh. During the meeting, he also interacted with the 18-year-old Chennai resident, who made history earlier this month by becoming the youngest-ever World Champion in chess.

Taking to X, PM Modi wrote: “Had an excellent interaction with chess champion and India’s pride, @DGukesh! I have been closely interacting with him for a few years now, and what strikes me most about him is his determination and dedication. His confidence is truly inspiring. “In fact, I recall seeing a video of his few years ago where he had said he would become the youngest world champion — a prediction that has now clearly come true thanks to his own efforts.”

PM Modi also expressed appreciation for the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, saying, “Along with confidence, Gukesh embodies calmness and humility. Upon winning, he was composed, basking in his glory while fully understanding how to process this hard-earned victory. Our conversation today revolved around the transformative potential of yoga and meditation.” The Prime Minister also noted the role of his parents in his success.

He said: “In the success of every athlete, their parents play a pivotal role. I complimented Gukesh’s parents for supporting him through thick and thin. Their dedication will inspire countless parents of young aspirants who dream of pursuing sports as a career.” “I am also delighted to have received from Gukesh the original chessboard from the game he won. The chessboard, autographed by both him and Ding Liren, is a cherished memento,” PM Modi posted on X.

On December 12, D. Gukesh made history by becoming the youngest-ever World Champion in chess, beating Ding Liren of China in the 14-game match in Singapore. Gukesh had capitalised on a blunder by Ding in the winner-takes-all 14th game to dethrone the champion, winning the match 7.5 to 6.5 and becoming only the second Indian to win the World Chess Champion.

By beating Ding, Gukesh became the 18th World Champion in the over century-long history of chess and the youngest after beating Garry Kasparov’s record of winning the title at the age of 22 and heralding the arrival of a new king on the chess horizon. Gukesh is the second Indian to win the World Chess Championship title, claiming the title in just over a decade after five-time Champion Viswanathan Anand had lost the title to Magnus Carlsen of Norway in Chennai in 2013.

Carlsen has abdicated the crown in 2023, paving the way for Ding to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi. In a winner-takes-all 14th and final game of the World Chess Championship match Ding had steered towards a draw after starting with Reversed Grunfeld variation of Zukertort Opening, the 32-year-old from China made a sensational blunder. Having battled it out for 13 games over three weeks, Ding was looking forward to the rapid and blitz tiebreakers as had effectively countered the aggressive tactics of the young Indian challenger to steer the game towards a drawish position.

–IANS

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Tamil Nadu has always been a chess-conscious state. Not many know that the great son of Bharata Mata, Maharishi V V S Aiyer, was a big chess player. He was so prominent that the chess problems he solved were published in chess magazines in England and Holland. It is said that the earliest chess club in Chennai was the Mylapore Solar Chess Club, established around 1920 by K S Subramanya Aiyer. Manuel Aaron became the first Indian FIDE International Master (1961).

He did his best in various capacities for the Tamil Nadu Chess Association and the Indian Chess Federation; he was also a journalist. Not many know that one of the first corporates to support chess in India was also from Tamil Nadu. It was the great philanthropic industrialist from Pollachi, Dr N. Mahalingam of the Sakthi Group. A chance meeting with Aaron in 1966 pushed Dr. N. Mahalingam into the chess scene. He later became the president of the Tamil Nadu Chess Association and partnered with Aaron to promote chess.

Tamil Nadu – The Chess Master Factory

The second FIDE IM, V. Ravikumar (1978), was also from Tamil Nadu. The third IM, Raja Ravi Sekhar (1981), was also from Tamil Nadu. India had to wait for its first Grandmaster until 1988, when Viswanathan Anand stormed into the scene. The Russian Culture Center in Kasuri Rangan Salai was home to the Tal Chess Club, the sanctuary of the chess-crazed Tamil Nadu. There is this very famous story about when Vishy Anand was introduced to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in May 2012. This was before his World Championship match against Boris Gelfand of Israel at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 2012. Anand is said to have told President Putin that he learnt his ropes at the Tal Chess Club at the Russian Culture Center in Chennai. The president is supposed to have quipped, “So we brought this upon ourselves.”

1988, the year Vishwanathan Anand became a FIDE Grandmaster, proved to be a watershed moment. His success further galvanised the Tamil Nadu Chess scene, with many, like GM R. B. Ramesh, crediting their taking up competitive chess after Anand. Today, Tamil Nadu boasts 29 out of the 83 FIDE Grandmasters. We are also home to eight Women Grandmasters. If we take a leaf from the Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell, Vishwanathan Anand was The Tipping Point of not just the Tamil Nadu chess scene but for the whole of India.

Post Tal Chess Club

Tal Chess Club folded with the breakup of the USSR. GM R. B. Ramesh and many other able hands have since filled the vacuum. Ramesh needs a special mention, as he retired as a player very early when he was only 32. Another story is that he became a coach when he was 22, taking charge of the Indian Junior Chess Team that attended the Asian Junior Chess Championships (1998) in Iran. He struck gold right from his first assignment as a coach, returning with winners in both the boy’s and girls’ categories – Tejas Bakre and Vijayalakshmi Subburaman, respectively. 1999 saw Ramesh coaching Aarthie Ramaswamy to a World U-18 Championship. It is another story that Aarthie and Ramesh are married now, and together, they successfully run Chess Gurukul, the academy in Chennai that nurtures and mentors most of the top chess talents from India.

Vishy Anand – The Father Of Indian Chess Boom

Vishy Anand’s role as a mentor and a pillar of support for chess in India cannot be downplayed. Every Indian chess player looks forward to the fabled visit to Vishy Anand’s trophy room when they become a GM, where Anand spends time with the new GM discussing his/ her game. Many have rightly called Anand, the father of the Indian chess boom. His Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) has been at the forefront of making many champions, including the reigning World Chess Champion, D. Gukesh. Gukesh had this to say after his win, “Vishy Sir was never officially a part of the team but we all know he was supporting me. He attended one of the days during the training camp and also helped remotely for a few sessions”.

The other Chennai institution that deserves credit for promoting chess in a big way is Velammal Vidhyalaya. This school nurtures many precious chess talents from India, including Grandmasters, D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, S. P. Sethuraman, Leon Mendonca, K. Priyadharshan, B. Adhiban, Vishnu Prasanna and R. Vaishali and Women Grandmaster, V. Varshini and Women International Master, R. Rakshitta. This school has been the powerhouse of Indian chess since 2005. They have won the World School Chess Championships five times, with D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa being part of the winning team in 2021.

Former TN CM J Jayalalithaa’s Contribution

Amma J Jayalalitha is another person who did her bit to promote chess in Tamil Nadu. Some of us remember Amma using Assembly Rule 110 to announce a series of welfare schemes and policies during her term as the Chief Minister. One of her famous announcements was the school reforms in August 2011. Part of that was a plan called the “7 to 17 program” to take chess to all the government schools in Tamil Nadu among children aged 7 to 17. She also brought the World Chess Championships 2013 to Chennai, where Magnus Carlsen defeated Vishwanathan Anand to win the title.

Amma’s fondness and support for sports in Tamil Nadu is well known. Therefore, her championing of the cause of chess shouldn’t come as a surprise. Then came the 44th Chess Olympiad, which happened in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, in 2022, opened by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India 2, coached by GM R. B. Ramesh, included D. Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, R. Praggnanandhaa, B. Adhiban, and Raunak Sadhwani won the bronze medal in the team championship. D. Gukesh made his mark here winning the gold medal for Board 1. The Indian women, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, R. Vaishali, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni also won the bronze.

Tamil Nadu has always been the chess capital of India. With D. Gukesh winning the World Chess Championships 2024 and great mentors and ambassadors of the game like Vishwanathan Anand, R. B. Ramesh, Aarthie Ramaswamy, etc. propelling the game, we are going to see many champions from the state in the coming years. The following Thirukkural fits the chess scene in Tamil Nadu perfectly.

நிலவரை நீள்புகழ் ஆற்றின் புலவரைப்
போற்றாது புத்தேள் உலகு. (Fame, 234)

“Behold the man that hath won a lasting, worldwide fame: the Gods on high prefer him even before saints.” – The Kural Or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar – V V S Aiyar.

Raja Baradwaj is a marketing communications professional who works with a leading technology multinational company. He is an avid reader, history buff, cricket player, writer, and Sanskrit and Dharma Sastra student.

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In a sport where age is just a number, a nine-year-old can hope to become a Grandmaster and a 50-year-old can aspire to win the biggest title. But the World Champion in the classical format is still a revered deity and usually a player with years behind him. In the history of the World Chess Championship stretching from 1860 till date, chess has had only 17 World Champions in the classical format with Garry Kasparov of Russia being the youngest World Champion at 22 years, four decades back in1985.

On Thursday, 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju broke the glass ceiling and became the 18th World Champion and youngest ever, beating China’s Ding Liren of China in a 14-game World Chess Championship final match in Singapore, capitalising on a blunder from a drawish position by his opponent in the 14th and last game to win the 2024 World Chess Championship match 7.5-6.5.

This completes a remarkable and magical journey for Gukesh who watched the Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand lose the World Chess Championship in their home town Chennai to Magnus Carlsen of Norway in 2013.

He vowed to one day bring back the World Chess Championship title to India. On Thursday, Gukesh fulfilled that dream by beating Ding Liren in the winner-takes-all 14th and final game at the Resort World Sentosa in Singapore, capping an incredible year in which he became the youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament, helped India win the gold medal in the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest and also won a gold medal at the Olympic, finishing with 9 points in 10 rounds.

He had the highest performance rating of 3056 among all players in the tournament. Born in a Telugu-speaking family in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on May 29, 2006, Gukesh learned chess from his cousins at the age of seven and was soon beating those who taught him the game.

Seeing his potential, his ENT surgeon father Dr. Rajinikanth and mother Dr. Padma, decided to help him pursue his dream of playing chess. One of them started accompanying Gukesh as he started playing the junior and age-group circuit, becoming the World Champion in two categories — U-9 in 2015 and U-12 in 2017.

After initial success as a sub-junior player, Gukesh took up coaching with Grandmaster Vishnu Prassana and his life changed as this student of Velammal Vidyalaya School, Chennai transformed into a champion player and went on to become the second-youngest Grandmaster in the history of the game at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days.

Abhimanyu Mishra has beaten the record, making Gukesh the third-youngest GM ever. Overshadowed initially by the likes of Nihal Sarin and R Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh made history by winning an individual gold medal for India in the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai, finishing with a score of 9 out of 11 as India-2 won a bronze medal.

Since that day, he has shot up in the FIDE rating, moving into the top five in the World, and now has become the youngest World Champion.

Gukesh qualified for the Candidates Tournament, the qualifying event for the World Championship final, with a miraculous victory in the Chennai Grandmaster Tournament and went on to book his ticket from a hopeless position. A player known for his keen sense of positional play who does not like to depend too much on openings, Gukesh has an incredible ability to calculate moves and tries to gain an advantage over his opponents by finding the right move in the position.

Though in the 2024 World Chess Championship match against Ding Liren, Gukesh did fail to capitalise on a few opportunities and faced a tremendous fightback from the Chinese reigning World Champion. But Gukesh eventually proved that dreams do come true if you are ready to work hard and make the most of your opportunities. Gukesh has proved that one can achieve any dream if one has the talent and is ready to work hard to achieve it.

Mostly short on words, Gukesh lives and breathes chess as he does not have any other interests besides it. Now that he has won the title, he said his aim now is the become a great player like Magnus Carlsen, the five-time World Champion and the highest-ranked player the game has ever seen.

–IANS

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In a historic triumph, India’s men’s and women’s teams clinched gold medals for the first time in the 45th Chess Olympiad on Sunday. Led by the stellar performances of D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, the Indian men’s team secured the gold medal after a thrilling final-round victory over Slovenia in Budapest.

The decisive match against Slovenia saw Arjun Erigaisi emerging victorious over Jan Subelj, while Gukesh defeated Vladimir Fedoseev. India needed just one more point to clinch the title, which Gukesh delivered. This victory capped off an impressive tournament for the Indian team, which had previously won bronze medals in the 2014 and 2022 editions. “It was crazy. He surprised me in the opening with his move order, and we reached an initially equal position. His problems started from Ne7. “Arjun was completely winning, so I thought even a draw would be fine, but I kept finding all the good moves. I am glad, but the main thing was to perform as a team!,” said Gukesh D on the FIDE broadcast.

The Indian squad showcased exceptional form throughout the competition, winning eight consecutive matches before being held to a draw by the defending champions, Uzbekistan. However, they bounced back strongly, defeating the top-seeded USA in the penultimate round. They defeated Slovenia in their final encounter and Second-placed China dropped points on two boards against the USA.

India’s success in the men’s event was complemented by a similar achievement from the women’s team. The Indian women’s team, comprising Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and Abhijit Kunte, also secured the gold medal in their respective open section competition. They beat Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 to clinch the title.

–IANS

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Amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) removed Russia from being the host of the prestigious Chess Olympiad in the last week of February.

Soon, FIDE, which was looking for a new host country, received a message from India saying that the country is ready to host any chess event.

Bharat Singh Chauhan, the secreatary of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) had pinged FIDE’s Rresident Arkady Dvorkovich to which the latter responded saying if an ‘Olympiad’ would do.

Immediately, Bharat Singh started moving things to leave to get the opportunity for India. In less than a week since he spoke to Dvorkovich, India’s bid to host the Chess Olympiad was ready. This would be the first time that the country has got the opportunity to host the event.

Mr. Bharat Singh left no stone unturned. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand wrote to FIDE backing India’s bid.

But to secure the bid, a lot needed to be put in place. The place for the event, accommodations for players coming from other countries, and so on. There was also a guarantee of $10 million (around ₹76 crore) that needed to be given.

Bharat Singh had shortlisted three locations – Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – and had been in touch with the state governments there.

However, the proactiveness of the Tamil Nadu government along with its geographic location and strong chess culture tipped the scales in the state’s favour.

Bharat Singh’s friend Srinath Narayanan who is a Grandmaster and coach set up a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai.  CM Stalin immediately furnished the financial guarantee the same day.

As soon as the Tamil Nadu government came on board, Bharat Singh went scouting for rooms and venues on the East Coast Road along wiith five to six IAS officers.

Within a day around 2,000 rooms in 23 hotels were booked of which about 1200 are sea-facing.  A temporary secretariat has been set up in Mahabalipuram. A channel of communication has been opened with players around the world. Translators in four languages have been appointed for coordination.

So in a matter of 2-3 days, a financial guarantee of ₹76 crore, accommodation for players and the venue of the event was a done deal.

Meanwhile, pictures and videos of the hotels with sea-sided views, along with a proper submission of a bid impressed FIDE.

There were few other countries bidding to host but only India managed to submit a proper bid, thanks to the proactiveness of the state administration.

India getting a chance to host the Chess Olympiad gains even more significance with the country boasting of young prodigies putting a challenge even to world champions.

The Chess Olympiad is slated to take place between the end of July and the beginning of August.

Chennai had hosted the World Championship Match in 2013.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over R Praggnanandhaa for winning against the noted champion Magnus Carlsen in online Chess tournament.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;

“We are all rejoicing on the success of the young genius R Praggnanandhaa. Proud of his accomplishment of winning against the noted champion Magnus Carlsen. I wish the talented Praggnanandhaa the very best for his future endeavours.”

We are all rejoicing on the success of the young genius R Praggnanandhaa. Proud of his accomplishment of winning against the noted champion Magnus Carlsen. I wish the talented Praggnanandhaa the very best for his future endeavours. @rpragchess

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 23, 2022

16-yr-old Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won against the world Chess champion Magnus Carlsen, as he stunned him in the 8th round of the Airthings Masters – an online rapid chess competition.

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16-yr-old Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won against the world Chess champion Magnus Carlsen, as he stunned him in the 8th round of the Airthings Masters – an online rapid chess competition.

Praggnanandhaa won with black pieces in just 39 moves in a Tarrasch variation game on Monday, halting Magnus’ chance to bag a hattrick win. The Indian Grandmaster is currently in the 12th spot, after winning 8 points in 8 rounds. His extraordinary win over Carlsen comes after having moderate wins in the previous rounds. He had a solitary victory over Lev Aronian after 2 draws and 4 defeats.

He drew against Anish Giri and Quang Liem Le and lost to Eric Hansen, Ding Liren, Jan-Kryzstof Duda and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. It was Praggnanandhaa’s first win in any form of chess against the Norwegian Carlsen and came after losing three games in a row.

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World no.2 Chess Champion Koneru Hampy, who hails from Vijayawada, beat her Polish opponent Monika Socko to move into the finals of the online Chess Olympiad on Saturday. She played black pieces against Monika, meaning that she had four minutes to play, which is a minute lesser than the latter. Ideally, she had to draw to win. Humpy did more than what was required, winning the Catalan game in 73 moves; she checkmated Socko, promoting her pawn to have two queens.

It wasn’t an easy win, since she had lost in the previous round, and had the score at 2-4. But she bounced right back from it and defeated her Polish counterpart in the Armageddon round, which is the tie-breaker. This launched her into the finals after she had a crushing win at 4.5-1.5 points respectively.  This win is especially significant since today is the National Day for Sports, and also because her other Indian counterparts had lost the first round as well.

The second semifinal is to take place on Sunday, where India is all set to play against Russia and the United States. Hampy has been crowned the queen of Indian Chess for quite some time now, and true to her reputation, she has successfully entered the second semifinal, along with Harika, Vishwanathan Anand, and Captain Vidit Gujarati.

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand came into his own with a much-needed win over Jan-Krzystof Duda in 78 moves in the second round after losing to his opponent in the first round. Sadly, the chess childhood prodigy Pragnanandha lost to Igor Janik.

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