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ChessBase India
BREAKING NEWS! Harshavardhan G.B. is India's 97th Grandmaster!
A day after Ethan Vaz became India's 96th GM, it is now time for the next one already! Harshavardhan G.B. scored his final Grandmaster norm at the 2nd Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin Tournament, officially securing his GM title. He remained completely unbeaten throughout the tournament, scoring the required 6.5/9 points, and crossing 2500 rating too!
His path to the final norm was an absolute masterclass in clutch performance. After sitting on 3 points from the first 5 rounds, he needed an intense 3.5 points from his final 4 games to cross the finish line.
He did exactly that by defeating IM Kushagra Mohan in the sixth round, taking down the tournament leader GM Michal Krasenkow in the seventh round, and winning a highly complex rook endgame against Alexei Fedorov in the eighth round. Needing just a draw in the final round, he comfortably split the point with the white pieces against Mihail Nikitenko.
Harshavardhan earned his first GM norm by winning the Asian Juniors in 2022, and his second at the Asian Continental in 2025, from which he also qualified for the FIDE World Cup.
Speaking to ChessBase India, Harshavardhan shared how he started playing chess at the tender age of 4 because of his dad, FT Gopalakrishnan K. He is currently working with Grandmaster Deepan Chakkravarthy, having previously trained under the renowned Visweswaran Kameswaran.
Yesterday, Ethan Vaz became the 96th GM, and today Harshavardhan G.B. joins him. It is a truly spectacular sign for Indian chess. A huge congratulations to Harshavardhan for this monumental achievement! 🏆🎉
Read the full report: chessbase.in/news/harshavardhan-gb-becomes-97th-gr…
#ChessBaseIndia #chess #grandmaster #Harshavardhan
2 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 8,267
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ChessBase India
BREAKING NEWS! ETHAN VAZ IS INDIA'S 96th GM
14-year-old Ethan Vaz has become the 96th GM of India today! The youngster from Goa (born on 3rd September 2011) achieved his final GM norm at the Sarajevo GM Mix in Bosnia and Herzegovinia.
Playing the open tournament, Ethan not just achieved his final GM norm with a rating performance of 2643, he remained undefeated, scoring 7.0/9 and also won the tournament ahead of 10 GMs. Ethan's live rating is 2529.
Ethan's first GM norm came at the GM4 Festival Saha Bijeljina 2025 in Bosnia and Herzegovinia in October 2025 where he achieved his norm with a round to spare before going ahead and winning the tournament. His 2nd GM norm was at the GM Mix 11 Fantastico tournament in Senta, Serbia in January 2026. equiring a victory in the final round to achieve the norm, Ethan delivered under pressure by defeating a 2395-rated FIDE Master to secure both the tournament title and his second norm.
Speaking to ChessBase India Ethan's father Edwin says, "I want to thank Ethan's coaches Prakash Vikram Singh sir, Swayams Mishra sir and Srinath Narayanan sir for helping Ethan improve as a player. A big thank you to Chola Chess Academy and through them the Pro Chess Training and all their coaches including RB Ramesh sir for the guidance. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the sponsors who have helped us - Helpchess Foundation, Geno, Quantbox, Group e4, Chola Chess, The King's School and our friends who donated towards Ethan's crowdfunding campaign"
Ethan has become the third GM from the state of Goa after Anurag Mhamal and Leon Mendonca and is one of the brightest young talents of Indian chess and the world right now. It is almost certain that the boy will become a world class player in the years to come. We wish him the best in his journey to becoming a World Class GM!
Photos: From different ChessBase India articles over the years
#chess #chessbaseindia #ethanvaz
2 days ago | [YT] | 3,945
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ChessBase India
ChessBase India is heading towards the Americas.
From 25th to 28th of June is the World Chess Marathon in Lima, Peru. And from there we will be travelling to Charlotte, North Carolina in the USA.
A world class event in the memory of Daniel Naroditsky will take place in Charlotte from 3rd to 5th of July. Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Javokhir Sindarov and many other top players will play there.
There's also a creator blitz tournament that will take place on 5th of July. IM Sagar Shah will play in it as well along with Gotham Chess, Botez sisters and many of the top chess creators!
We will keep you posted about all the happenings on our channel 😍
#chess #chessbaseindia
6 days ago | [YT] | 3,497
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ChessBase India
Just two days after clinching the World Rapid Team Championship, the Chinese squad Dragon Chilling has completed a historic double by securing the World Team Blitz Championship 2026 title. Despite the presence of heavyweights like Magnus Carlsen’s WR Chess and India’s formidable Team MGD1, this Chinese unit maintained its dominance throughout the event to walk away with both trophies. In the Blitz Endgame, AI secured 2nd place while the Uzbekistan team secured 3rd position.
Double Gold of Dragon Chilling: The final was surprisingly one-sided, as Dragon Chilling faced off against Endgame.AI. The Chinese team dominated both Matches in the final, winning 5-1 in both. On the top board, Ding Liren scored 1.5/2 against Hans Niemann. Wang Zihao dominated on the amateur board, winning both of his games.
The most shocking moment of the tournament occurred in the quarterfinals. The defending champions and tournament favorites, WR Chess featuring Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, were knocked out by Uzbekistan.
Read the full report by Devansh Singh: chessbase.in/news/world-team-blitz-2026-day-final-…
#chess #rapidblitzteams #hongkong
1 week ago | [YT] | 3,096
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ChessBase India
Team Dragon Chilling is the champion of the FIDE World Team Rapid Championship 2026. The last day delivered high-stakes drama and action over the board. The champions were not clear till the last round. Still, ultimately, it was the powerhouse Chinese Team Dragon Chilling that clinched the championship title on tiebreaks, with India's MGD1 securing a phenomenal second-place finish, and Hexamind taking third.
One of the most heartwarming yet poignant storylines of the tournament belonged to the team Mr Birdie and Friends. The team name carried a deep personal significance, named in honour of Carissa Yip’s beloved pet bird, Mr Birdie, who recently passed away. The team came together to play as a tribute to his memory. They proved to be a formidable force on the final day, playing exceptionally well to grab the sole lead heading into the final round. Two players of the team performed exceptionally well in their dream run,
It was an exceptional tournament overall for the Indian grandmasters across multiple teams:
1. R Praggnanandhaa put on a masterclass for Chessgurukul, dominating Board 1 with a phenomenal 2851 performance rating, scoring 8.5/11
2. Nihal Sarin put up a consistent, world-class display for MGD1 on Board 2, yielding an elite 2749 performance rating. scoring 8.5/10
3. The legendary Viswanathan Anand rolled back the years with an elegant, highly resilient performance. Showing his characteristic defensive steel, Anand suffered only a single loss over the entire tournament, remaining otherwise unbeaten to post a rock-solid 7 points #chess #chessbaseindia #worldrapidteam
Read the final report by Devansh Singh: chessbase.in/news/world-team-rapid-2026-final-repo…
#hongkong #arjunerigaisi #magnuscarlsen
1 week ago | [YT] | 3,051
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ChessBase India
The FIDE World Rapid Teams 2026 came to an end today!
Team Dragon Chilling from China are the World Rapid Team Champions 2026. The team scored 18.0/24, the same as a few other teams, but thanks to a superior tiebreak are the champions! The top board of the team was former World Champion Ding Liren and the team also had current women's world champion Ju Wenjun! A huge congratulations to the entire team for this amazing achievement!
Team Members and their performance:
1. Ding Liren (2716) - 6/12
2. Wei Yi (2726) - 7.5/12
3. Yu Yangyi (2660) - 8.5/12
4. Lu Shanglei (2601) - 1.5/3
5. Bai Jinshi (2560) - 5/9
6. Ju Wenjun (2481) - 4.5/6
7. Lei Tingjie (2494) - 4/6
8. Wang Zihao (1763) - 9/11
Team MGD1 takes home the silver medal at the FIDE World Rapid Team Championships 2026. All the players of the team are from India including the coach of the team GM Narayanan Srinath. MGD1 was the defending champion as they had won last year. This year they came very close and tied on the same points with Dragon Chilling (18/24) and Hexamind and had to be content with the 2nd place.
Team Members and their performance:
1. Arjun Erigaisi (2741) 8/12
2. Nihal Sarin (2689) 6.5/10
3. Abhimanyu Puranik (2535) 2.5/6
4. Pranav V. (2564) 5/10
5. Leon Mendonca (2544) 6/10
6. D. Harika (2410) 7.5/12
7. Aryan Shah (1932) 10.5/12
Team Hexamind win the bronze medal at the FIDE World Rapid Team Championships 2026. The team had an amazing final day where they won 3 and drew 1 out of their 4 matches to clinch the podium spot. Leading from the front both Firouzja and Aronian played some incredible chess! Volodar Murzin was the star of the team and the tournament.
Team members and their performance:
1. Alireza Firouzja (2732) 8.5/11
2. Levon Aronian (2730) 8.0/11
3. Anish Giri (2689) 5.5/11
4. Volodar Murzin (2602) 10/12
5. Vidit Gujrathi (2638) 1/3
6. Kateryna Lagno (2435) 3.5/5
7. Divya Deshmukh (2416) 4.5/7
8. Murat Omarov (1883) 4/11
9. Platon Panarin 0/1
The prize money won by the teams:
Dragon Chilling - €110,000
MGD1 - €70,000
Hexamind - €50,000
The big news of the day was Magnus Carlsen losing 2 back to back games - one against Javokhir Sindarov and the other against Aydin Suleymanli. As Magnus had lost 2 games yesterday, this took his loss tally to 4 in a row! No one remembers when was the last time such a thing happened!
Praggnanandhaa performed incredibly well on board 1 for Chess Gurukul. Their team just fell short and finished 5th. Pragg scored 8.5/11 winning the individual gold medal with a 2851 performance, just edging out Firouzja who also scored the same points but had 2850 elo performance! Arjun Erigaisi got the bronze on board 1 with a 2766 performance.
Nihal Sarin was impeccable on board 2 for MGD1 as he won the individual bronze with a 2749 performance. Aravindh Chithambaram clipped the bronze for Chess Gurukul with a 2621 performance on board 3. Leon Mendonca got the gold medal on board 5 while Harika and Vaishali got the silver and bronze medal respectively on board 6. Aryan Shah of MGD1 won the silver medal on the recreation board.
A note must be mentioned about Vishy Anand, who in spite of being 56 years old managed to hold players like Sindarov and Artemiev to a draw and beat strong GMs like Zhao Jun, Nikita Petrov and Maksim Chigaev. Truly evergreen! :)
It's time for blitz to begin on 20th of June! We will have another world champion team crowned in two days! While we end this (rather long) post - a question to all of you - Will Magnus perform well in blitz? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Photos: Michal Walusza/FIDE
#chess #chessbaseindia #hongkong
1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 4,397
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ChessBase India
Arjun Erigaisi beating Magnus Carlsen is the big news of the day from Hong Kong! :)
Here are some more:
We are now heading into the final day of the FIDE World Team Rapid Championships 2026 held at Hong Kong. Who will win it is the big question?
Until now the Chinese team of Dragon Chilling seem very strong. They have had 6 wins and 2 draws taking them to a score of 14.0/16. Right on their heels are the team of MGD1 with a score of 13.0/16.
The thing that can make this event difficult for Dragon Chilling is the fact that they haven't played yet with the top 2 seeds of the tournament - WR Chess and Hexamind.
Magnus Carlsen was unrecognizable today as he played 3 games - drew one against Artemiev and lost 2 against Arjun Erigaisi and Shant Sargsyan. Magnus' performance hasn't been great. At the same time, no one from his team has been firing.
Ding Liren is slowly showing that he belongs at the top as he held Pragg, Arjun and Niemann to a draw. He lost to Rapport, but that was also a drawn endgame. Against Pragg, Ding missed a huge chance.
Praggnanandhaa showed his class today as he beat Shant Sargsyan and Vladislav Artemiev. The Chess Gurukul Team led by Pragg is on 11.0/16 and has chances of a medal if they finish strong.
The team that is on the sole 3rd position is the Kazakh team of Barys. With 4 rounds to go, there is everything to play for. One thing is for sure - the stronger recreational player (below 2000 player) you have - the greater your chances of winning the tournament. One thing that both Dragon Chilling and MGD1 are doing right is this point. Wang, Zihao (Dragon Chilling) is on 6.5/7 and Aryan Shah (MGD1) is on 7.5/8. The only half point they both dropped is against themselves.
Sharing some beautiful photos captured by Michal Walusza/FIDE
Full report on ChessBase India by Devansh Singh: chessbase.in/news/world-team-rapid-2026-day-2-repo…
#chess #chessbaseindia #hongkong
1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 5,161
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ChessBase India
The FIDE World Team Rapid Chess Championship 2026 opened with thrilling action and major upsets at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong. Out of all the competing powerhouses, only Kazchess and Dragon Chilling survived Day 1 undefeated, leading the pack with a perfect 8/8 match points after four intense rounds.
Viswanathan Anand had a grueling test of resilience, narrowly escaping a completely lost position against prodigy Ilamparthi to salvage a vital draw after his team.
Top Seeds WR Chess Toppled: In a massive leaderboard shake-up, the star-studded tournament favorites WR Chess were defeated by Chessnut Nova, blowing the tournament wide open!!
Chessgurukul Bounces Back: Chessgurukul clinically defeated Hexamind. Praggnanandhaa redeemed his previous round's loss by defeating Alireza Firouzja. On the lower boards, Divya Deshmukh defeated R Vaishali, but it wasn't enough to save Hexamind.
World Champion Ding Liren suffered his first defeat of the event in round four, but his teammates rallied together to win the match and maintain their perfect record. #chessbaseindia #chess #FIDERapidBlitzTeams
Read the Round by Round Breakdown of Day 1: chessbase.in/news/world-team-rapid-2026-day-1-repo…
1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,519
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ChessBase India
The young prodigy who looks destined for a bright future in chess.
12 yr old Madhvendra Pratap Sharma continues his remarkable run at the tournament. After the penultimate round, he remains unbeaten on 7.5/8, carrying a full-point lead into the final round of the Junior Masters section at 360 one Chess Tournament 2026.
A draw in the last round would be enough to secure the title, but the job is far from over. Madhvendra is also competing in the Challengers section, playing two classical games every day. With each round lasting around 4-5 hours, he is spending nearly 8-10 hours at the board daily, yet the young prodigy continues to produce high-quality chess.
He now stands just one game away from becoming the Junior Masters champion. The stakes are even higher as the winner earns a direct spot in next year's Masters Category A event.
What makes his performance even more impressive is the relentless schedule he has been maintaining. His mother mentioned that before arriving in Maharashtra, Madhvendra had already played tournaments in KIT Odisha and Gujarat GM and this is his third consecutive event in Jr. Masters and 4th in Challengers Cat.B. Once this event concludes on the 18th, he will barely have any time to rest before heading to Chennai on the 19th June for Chola Chess International Round Robin Tournament.
Despite the demanding travel schedule and endless hours of chess, Madhvendra shows no signs of slowing down which shows The young prodigy is destined for a bright future in chess. 🫶🏻
Photos: Tushar Damor /ChessBase India
#chess #chessbaseindia #chesstournament
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ChessBase India
No rest for Praggnanandhaa R.! Fresh from his success at Norway Chess 2026, Pragg took rest for a week and is back in action - this time at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2026 happening in Hong Kong from 17-21st of June 2026. What makes this event very special for Pragg is that he is playing for the team of Chess Gurukul along with his sister and World Championship Challenger Vaishali R.
The team is like family for both Pragg and Vaishali as we have Aravindh Chithambaram, M. Pranesh, Karthikeyan Murali, B.Adhiban, Rakshitta, Ravi in the team. The coach and manager of the team is WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy (better half of GM R.B. Ramesh). Together Aarthie and Ramesh had started Chess Gurukul 15 years ago! :)
Will Pragg and team manage to win this event? They surely have the firepower to do so, but with teams like WR Chess (Magnus Carlsen), Uzbekistan (Sindarov and Nodirbek), Hexamind (Firouzja and Aronian), and many more this is simply not going to be easy!
We also want to update you about a simul that took place one day before the event. Magnus Carlsen found time from his busy schedule to do a simul with 25 players - some beginners, but some very strong. The highest rated being 2242.
Magnus took 50 minutes on the clock and his opponents each had 20 minutes! It was a clock simul. There were so many people who had gathered to see the GOAT in action. Magnus was in the zone as he finished off one opponent after another. In the end the score was 24/25, with WIM Monica Chelsea from Indonesia scoring the lone point!
This entire simul was organized by Anichess in association with many brands! They also raised money for some good causes.
Photos: Michal Walusza/FIDE
#chess #chessbaseindia #praggnanndhaa #MagnusCarlsen
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