ChessBase India

A 14-year-old from Hyderabad just gained 297 rating points in a single month - one of the biggest jumps FIDE would have ever recorded. Deekshitha Modipalli is now India's no. 4 woman at 2454, ahead of Harika.

And she isn't alone. Kalyani Sirin (born 2010) is at 2401, and 13-year-old Pratitee Bordoloi is India no. 8 at 2393. Three girls in India's top ten, all born after 2010.

Yes, these jumps are very recent and ratings take time to settle. But India now has 14 players in the world's girls' top 100. The golden era of Indian women's chess isn't coming - it's already here.

1 day ago | [YT] | 1,262

ChessBase India

The new Temple of Chess Space was launched on the 29th of August 2026 in Mumbai by the current Asian Junior Champion and the first GM from North East India - Mayank Chakraborty. Temple of Chess is an initiative by ChessBase India to provide a free, open space for the chess community to come, practice chess and read books. There are more than 800 books in the premises for people to read and get better at chess!

Temple of Chess as an initiative was started on 15th of August 2024 (it was inaugurated by GM Vidit Gujrathi). It has been 2 years since then and countless people have learnt chess and found a space to call it their own. The temple of chess functions every single day of the week from 1 to 8 p.m. People used to sit on the floor and practice in the older space, but now in the new one, there are tables and chairs!

We have small events that are organized, blitz tournaments, solving sessions and much more. On 29th August GM Mayank Chakraborty delivered a beautiful masterclass on how to prepare chess openings. For more details about the Temple of Chess, you can visit our website: templeofchess.org/

If you are in and around Mumbai, do visit the Temple of Chess! :)

#chess #chessbaseindia #templeofchess

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3 days ago | [YT] | 2,718

ChessBase India

At 3:20 AM in India, history has been written. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is the Champion of Grand Chess Tour 2026 - and he is the first Indian player to do so! Pragg defeated Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the Grand Chess Tour Finals at USA.

Praggnanandhaa's name should be synonymous with perseverence at this point. Its been close to a month since Pragg has been playing at the Saint Louis Chess Club in USA - first winning the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, then finishing 2nd at the Sinquefield, and now winning the GCT finals to win Grand Chess Tour 2026!

The road to the Championship was certainly not easy. Pragg lost the first classical game, and drew the second one - he had to cover a 6 point deficit. And he did - he won both the Rapid games to take back the lead, and kept his nerve in the Blitz. A draw in the final game was enough, and thats what Pragg did to secure the Grand Chess Tour title.

A huge congratulations to Praggnanandhaa, his team and his family for this incredible achievement - Pragg takes home USD 200,000!

Graphic: Anmol Bhargav
#chess #chessbaseindia #praggnanandhaa #grandchesstour

1 week ago | [YT] | 19,699

ChessBase India

The top seed Mayank showed exactly why he was the favourite at Asian Juniors Chess Championship 2026🏆

GM Mayank Chakraborty wins the Asian Junior Chess Championship 2026 and claims his second Asian Junior title! 🇮🇳♟️

Three years ago, Mayank won the Asian Junior Rapid Championship, and now he gets the classical title too.

Huge congratulations to GM Mayank Chakraborty and his family on this fantastic achievement 👏🔥

Graphic: @akshat_chess
#chess #chessbaseindia #mumbai

1 week ago | [YT] | 2,509

ChessBase India

R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Vincent Keymer in the Semifinal Match to reach the 2026 Grand Chess Tour Finals. Praggnanandhaa started the semifinal with a draw in the 1st classical game; in the 2nd classical game, he defeated Keymer to gain the lead. In the Rapid format, Praggnanandhaa won both games and sealed his place in the finals irrespective of the Blitz Games. In the finals, he will face Fabiano Caruana, who defeated Wesley So in the Semis.

Praggnanandhaa showed a dominant performance in the semifinals against Vincent Keymer. In the 1st Classical Game, Pragg outplayed Vincent, but he could not convert it to a win, and the game ended in a draw. In the 2nd Classical Game, Vincent had a better position, but then he blundered, and Pragg managed to win the game.

The Rapid was one-way traffic, as Pragg won both Games and built an unassailable lead to seal the final spot. However, Vincent came back in Blitz, but it was not enough.

The Finals will start on 25th August at 12 PM Local Time/10:30 PM IST. Photos: Lennart Ootes

Read the full report: chessbase.in/news/grand-chess-tour-semifinals-2026

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1 week ago | [YT] | 3,802

ChessBase India

Praggnandhaa takes down Vincent Keymer with the White pieces in their 2nd classical game of the semifinals match at the Grand Chess Tour Finals! It was a rollercoaster battle decided on the final seconds before move 40.

Vincent managed to create a winning position with the Black pieces, but it was quite complex to find the win with very low time - a mistake and Pragg was the one winning! Praggnanandhaa didn't let go of his advantage in the Queen and Knight ending, winning the game after 55 moves. Pragg squandered a winning Rook and Knight ending against Vincent in Game 1, but brings home the win the 2nd classical game!

This classical win nets Praggnanandhaa 6 points - he has a total of 9 points now. Vincent Keymer is on 3 points. Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So drew both their classical games - Fabiano won the bonus Blitz game between them, so Fabi has 8 points whereas Wesley has 6 points.

Up next is 2 Rapid games of 25'+10" followed by 4 Blitz games of 5'+2" seconds, all happening tomorrow. The players with the highest number of the points at the end wins the match! A Rapid win is worth 4 points, and a Blitz win nets you 2 points.

Do you think Praggnanandhaa will defeat Vincent Keymer in the semifinals, and if so, who do you think Pragg will face in the finals - Wesley So or Fabiano Caruana? Let us know in the comments!

Photos: Lennart Ootes, Saint Louis Chess Club Live broadcast

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1 week ago | [YT] | 6,098

ChessBase India

The final four of the Grand Chess Tour 2026 is set! Wesley So, R. Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer will fight it out in the 4-player finals at the Saint Louis Chess Club from 22nd-27th August. The winner will be crowned the Champion of Grand Chess Tour 2026, and will take home USD 200,000!

There will be 2 classical games, 2 Rapid games and 2 Blitz games between the players in a Knockout format. Praggnanandhaa will take on Vincent Keymer, while Wesley So will face Fabiano Caruana. The winners will battle it out for the title, while the losers will fight in the 3rd place match which is also very important- the top 3 players automatically qualify to Grand Chess Tour 2027!

Who do you think will win it all? The tournament kicks off tomorrow from 7 PM IST.

Graphic: Anmol Bhargav
#chess #chessbaseindia #Grandchesstour #praggnanandhaa

1 week ago | [YT] | 2,567

ChessBase India

Wesley So has defended his crown at the 2026 Sinquefield Cup, defeating R Praggnanandhaa in a dramatic playoff finale in Saint Louis. Following a tie at 5.5/9 in the classical section and a 1-1 tie in the rapid tiebreak games, the championship came down to an Armageddon clash.

Under immense pressure, Wesley pulled off a gritty hold with Black from a losing position to claim his back-to-back title and third overall Sinquefield Cup trophy. With this win, Wesley also qualifies for the GCT finals.

After the classical portion, both players finished on 5.5/9. This led to an interesting playoff. The format was simple: 2 Rapid tiebreak games; if the player scored 1.5, they won, but both games ended in a draw, resulting in a final armageddon game. The Rapid games were quick draws, but the Armageddon was very exciting to watch.

Following a thrilling Sinquefield Cup run, India’s R Praggnanandhaa has officially booked his place in the 2026 GCT Finals, finishing atop the overall regular-season standings! Joining him in the season-ending four-player showdown are Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, and Vincent Keymer. The stage is set for an absolute blockbuster finish. Can Pragg go all the way and lift the Grand Chess Tour trophy?

Read the full report: chessbase.in/news/sinquefield-cup-2026-round-final…
Photo: Lennart Ootes

#praggnanandhaa #chessbaseindia

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 3,348

ChessBase India

BREAKING NEWS: Praggnanandhaa defeats Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the Black pieces in the 8th and penultimate round of Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2026! Praggnanandhaa is now the India no.1 Chess player in live ratings, overtaking Arjun Erigaisi and becoming the World no.8 player with a live rating of 2759.5.

With this crucial win over MVL today where Pragg outprepared his opponent, navigated an interesting piece sacrifice in the opening, and won in just 27 moves - Pragg now catches up with the tournament leader Wesley So! Both of them are leading now with 5/8 points going into the final round!

Praggnanandhaa will be playing against Anish Giri with the White pieces in the final round tomorrow, while Wesley So has the White pieces against Javokhir Sindarov. After winning the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, Pragg now is in the race to win Sinquefield Cup as well! Thanks to these performances, Pragg has already sealed his spot at the upcoming Grand Chess Tour Finals from 22nd-27th August.

Send in your best wishes for Pragg as he will be fighting for yet another tournament win!

Photo: Lennart Ootes/ Grand Chess Tour, 2700chess
#chess #chessbaseindia #Praggnanandhaa #grandchesstour #saintlouischessclub

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 9,009

ChessBase India

We have big news coming in - Grandmasters Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh are honored with the Arjuna Award!

The Ministry of Youth affairs and Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2025 today, revealing Women's World Cup Winner GM Divya Deshmukh and Top Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi as the two chess players who will receive the prestigious Arjuna award this year.

Big congratulations to both Vidit and Divya for this amazing achievement!

Graphic: Anmol Bhargav
#chess #chessbaseindia #arjunaaward #viditgujrathi #divyadeshmukh

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6,306