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James Padua Wins Marikina Rapid Chess Championship

by Marlon Bernardino
James Padua won the Barangka Rapid Chess Tournament held 7th September 2025 at the Barangka Elementary School in Marikina City, Philippines.
Padua, tied for first place with John Narito at 6.0 points apiece. With the higher tiebreak points, Padua took the title while Narito finished second. Time control was 15 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move for each player.

The Rapid chess tournament was organized by the Barangka Chess Club headed by its president Restie Roxas in cooperation with Marikina Chess Association President and Sportsman Johnny “Joel” Gaudia.

Anthony Avellaneda finished the tournament with 5.5 points for solo third place.

Rounding up the top 10 were Magnus Bragais (4th), John Poquiz (5th), James Vito (6th), Anthony Libramonte (7th), Lohan Yauder (8th), Diosado Balanlay (9th) and Warren Pajo (10th).

Adjudged category winners were Simone Esperanza (Top Lady), Diosdado Balanlay (Top Barangka), Magnus Braguis (Top Kiddie), Light Maranan (Top 2 Kiddie), Prince Cuario, (Top 3 Kiddie), Jeremy Esperanza (Top Lady Kiddie) and John Basiya (Top Barangka Kiddie).

Earlier, Marikina Chess Association President and Sportsman Johnny “Joel” Baylon Gaudia and Barangay Barangka SK chairwoman Nyra Alyza Calalin Centeno made the ceremonial moves ushering in the one-day event. Also gracing the tournament was Pastor Ranier Bonoan Pascual. -Marlon Bernardino-

FIDE Grand Swiss Starts in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Round one of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss ended with a high number of draws in the Open section. By contrast, the Women’s Grand Swiss delivered early drama as several top seeds were upset by lower-rated opponents.

The first games of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss started at 3 PM local time in Samarkand. Now in its fourth edition, the event has drawn many of the world’s strongest players – including the world champion, Gukesh D – to compete in what is widely seen as the most gruelling Swiss System tournament of the year.

The round began with the traditional ceremonial first move on the top boards. Alisher Sadullaev – the First Vice-President of Uzbekistan Chess Federation and CEO of the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan – made the ceremonial move on board six, featuring Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Sadullaev was joined by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and Chief Arbiter of the event, Laurent Freyd.

The opening rounds of Swiss System tournaments, especially round one, usually feature a significant number of victories, as the strongest players are pitted against the lower-rated ones. But the Grand Swiss is different: there are no weak opponents and anyone can win – and lose. It is not surprising then that the majority of the games in the Open event ended in draws.

On board one, top-ranked player R Praggnanandhaa drew with Jeffery Xiong in the Exchange line of the French. “Getting Jeffrey [former World Junior Champion] is unlucky, but everyone is strong here, and you don’t really have easy games,” said Praggnanandhaa after the game. The 19-year-old Indian shrugged off suggestions that he felt any pressure as the top-rated player in the tournament.

On board two, Arjun Erigaisi drew with Maksim Chigaev, while rising stars Ediz Gurel and Vincent Keymer split a point in the Ruy Lopez. GM Gabriel Sargissian – a highly successful member of the Armenian chess team – had a winning position against none other than Hans Niemann, but let the advantage slip into a draw.

Among the notable winners in round one are the World Champion Gukesh D who overcame the seasoned French GM Étienne Bacrot on the black side of the Caro-Kann. Anish Giri defeated Armenia’s Robert Hovhannisyan in the Najdorf line of the Sicilian.

The winner of the 2023 Grand Swiss, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, also started with a victory against Alexander Donchenko, following time trouble. Alireza Firouzja managed to score against Bassem Amin after the Egyptian GM made a crucial mistake in an equal endgame late in the round.

Uzbekistan’s biggest hope in this tournament, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, defeated Serbia’s Velimir Ivic. In the Najdorf, Abdusattorov created a passer on the a-file and gradually increased pressure on Black. The opponents traded mistakes in time trouble before the time control, but Velimir was last to err.

The game between the winner of this year’s Women’s World Cup Divya Deshmukh and her Indian compatriot Puranik Abhimanyu brought the first real spark in the tournament.

The Women’s Grand Swiss

The women’s event saw a completely different start, with upsets across the top boards.

On board one, top seed Anna Muzychuk lost on time to 18-year-old Hungarian WGM Zsóka Gaál – despite holding a clearly better position deep into the game.

Former world champions also had a poor start. On board two, Tan lost to Olga Girya. In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tan created a strong position, making an advance on the queenside. However, towards the end, she miscalculated, lost a pawn and ultimately conceded her defeat.

Another former world champion, Mariya Muzychuk, also lost – misplaying an endgame as Black against lower-rated Xeniya Balabayeva.

In another upset, IM Polina Shuvalova lost as White to 100 points lower-rated Azerbaijani player Ulviyya Fataliyeva.

There was another surprise earlier in the day when Chinese Woman GM Zhai Mo – the Women’s Chinese Chess Champion in 2018 – was the first to win a full point. She completely outplayed the nearly 100-points-higher-rated Leya Garifullina, forcing her to resign or get checkmated.

On the other hand, the 2023 winner Vaishali Rameshbabu started with a victory, making a good start on her goal to qualify for the Candidates. Among the top boards, Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Estonia’s Mai Narva with the white pieces. Nurgyul Salimova split a point with Kateryna Lagno on board four.

The full results of Round 1 and Round 2 pairings can be found here:

Women – grandswiss2025.fide.com/grand-swiss-women/

Open – grandswiss2025.fide.com/open/

Round 2 starts at 3 PM local time on Friday, 5th September.

Written by Milan Dinic

Photos: Michal Walusza

Official website:  grandswiss2025.fide.com 

University of the Philippines Wins Quezon City Grand Finals

By Marlon Bernardino
The varsity chess team members of the University of the Philippines won the Quezon City -Wide chess team tournament (Grand finals, Battle of the District Champions) held August 30, 2025 at the Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City, Philippines.
Francis Apollo “Kiko” Magpily, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) bannered the Barangay UP campus squad that bagged the title of this prestigious tourney featuring the best athletes in Quezon City.
Joining Magpily in the winning team were Cyrus Vladimir Francisco, Mark Nuella and rookie Daniel Tagufa.
Barangay UP campus, District 4 ended up in the rapid competition with 9 match points, 15.5 game points to clinch the title and take the championship trophy plus the top purse of P50,000, backed up by Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto.
The Barangay UP campus, District 4 squad’s closest competitor was Barangay Holy Spirit, District 2, who finished the tournament with 9 match points, 13.5 game points.
Barangay Bagong Pag-Asa, District 1, placed third with 4 match points, 9.5 game points while Barangay Sta. Lucia, District 5 and Barangay Matandang Balara, District 3, ended up in fourth and fifth place, respectively with similar 4 match points, 8 games points. Barangay Baesa, District 6 placed sixth with 5.5 game points.
The Barangay UP campus squad scored victories over Barangay Matandang Balara (Round 1), Barangay Bagong Pag-Asa (Round 2), Barangay Sta. Lucia (Round 3), and Barangay Bagong Pag-Asa (Round 4).
The Barangay UP campus squad split the points with the Barangay Holy Spirit in the fifth and final round.
“This outstanding accomplishment is a testament to the UP’s long-standing dedication in fostering excellence in the field of mind boggling chess game,” said University of the Philippines coach FIDE Master Leonardo Carlos.
-Marlon Bernardino-

FIDE Arbiters’ Commission Meets in Fujairah, UAE

The FIDE Arbiters Commission, headed by Chairman Ivan Syrovy, held a meeting 1st September 2025 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates during the Fujairah Global Masters tournament there.

Clockwise from left are Fujairah Board Member Ibrahim Jalal, FIDE Management Board COO Sava Stoisavljevic, Fujairah Manager Mohamed Abdulghani, Arbiters Commission Secretary Nebojsa Baralic, Chairman Ivan Syrovy, Fujairah Deputy President Mohamed Abdulla, Fujairah Chess Club president Dr. Abdulla AlBarkat, Counsellor Abdulrahim Mahdi, Counsellors Chanda Nsakanya and Han Yajun.

 

Pranav Venkatesh clinches Fujairah Global Superstars

Top 3 in Superstars: 3rd GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (MEX) 6/9, 1st GM Pranav Venkatesh 7/9 and 2nd GM Brandon Jacobson (USA) 6/9 | Photo: Anna Shtourman

by Shahid Ahmed – 02/09/2025

GM Pranav Venkatesh defeated GM Alan Pichot (ESP) to win Fujairah Global Superstars 2025 convincingly. In an equal rook and many pawns endgame, Pichot misplayed which cost him the half point. The reigning World Junior champion performed at 2843 which is certainly a testament to his dominant show at this event. Starting the event with a win over the top seed, GM Nihal Sarin, it was only fitting that Pranav finished the event with a victory too. GM Aditya Mittal is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish in Superstars. He scored an impressive unbeaten 5.5/9 with a 2701 performance to finish sixth. The first US-born African-American GM Brewington Hardaway won the Masters section scoring 7.5/9. The reigning National champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman is the sole Indian to make a top ten finish in it. He scored 7/9 to claim fourth place. Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

Visit chess-results.com for round by round results, standings and to download games.

 

5th GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) 5.5/9 | Photo: Anna Shtourman

Superstars: Jiner Zhu and Aditya Mittal impressive, Masters: Brewington Hardaway becomes the champion

GM Brandon Jacobson (USA), GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (MEX) and GM M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) scored 6/9 each. They secured second to fourth place according to tie-breaks. GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) scored an impressive 5.5/9 to finish fifth. GM Aditya Mittal was placed sixth. He also scored 5.5/9. In the Masters section, GM Brewington Hardaway (USA) scored 7.5/9 to win the event. Five players – IM Umut Ata Akbas (TUR), FM Artin Ashraf (IRI), GM Karthik Venkataraman, IM Reza Mahdavi (IRI) and IM Nico Chasin (USA) scored 7/9 each. They were placed second to sixth respectively according to tie-breaks. Karthik was the sole Indian among top ten finishers in Masters. The total prize fund of all events was US$ 125000, $80000 in the Superstars (>2600), $30000 in Masters (2200-2599) and $15000 in Open (<2200). Top three prizes were – US$ 23000, $13000 and $9000 each.

From: Pranav Venkatesh convincingly clinches Fujairah Global Superstars with a 2843 performance – ChessBase India

Join Asian Youth Chess Championships 20-30 Nov 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand

The Bangapi Chess Club in cooperation with the Thailand Chess Association and under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) and the International Chess Federation (FIDE), has the honor of inviting all Asian National Chess Federations to participate in the 27th Asian Youth Chess Championships to be organized in Bangkok, Thailand from 20th (arrival) to 30th November (departure) 2025.

Download Asian Youth Chess Championships Regulations

There shall be 6 categories; namely Under-08, Under-10 Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 with separate events for Open and Girls.

Entitled to participate are players who shall not have reached the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 before 1 January 2025:

Register at https://aycc2025.chesstournament.org/

Usernames and passwords have been emailed to official email addresses of national federations.

Earn Direct FIDE IM/WIM, FM/WFM and CM/WCM titles

Fujairah Global Chess: Pranav V and Sanan Sjugirov share the lead at midpoint

The inaugural Fujairah Global Chess Championship 2025 has passed its midpoint. After five exciting rounds, leaders have emerged in all three groups: Superstars, Masters, and Open.

In the Superstars section, India’s GM Pranav V and Hungary’s GM Sanan Sjugirov are joint leaders with 4 points each. Close behind on 3.5 points are Azerbaijan’s GM Aydin Suleymanli, USA’s GMs Brandon Jacobson and Andrew Hong, China’s GM Zhu Jiner, and Iran’s GM Amin Tabatabaei.

In Round 5, the top board clash between Brandon Jacobson and Amin Tabatabaei in the Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation ended in a draw. Jacobson had the upper hand for most of the game, but a mistake on move 34 in the queen endgame allowed Tabatabaei to equalize. After a series of exchanges, the game concluded in a bare-king draw after 57 moves.

On Board 2, Pranav V scored an impressive victory with White against Mexico’s GM Jose Eduardo Martinez. Playing the Sicilian Rossolimo, Martinez sacrificed a pawn in the opening to damage Pranav’s pawn structure. However, the Indian maintained balance through his knight’s activity. On move 19, Martinez’s decision to open up the kingside with his f-pawn backfired. Later, in an attempt to complicate matters, he sacrificed an exchange, but Pranav demonstrated accuracy and converted the advantage smoothly, winning in 47 moves.

On Board 3, Sanan Sjugirov continued his excellent run by defeating compatriot GM Gleb Dudin. Playing the Vienna Opening with White, Sanan surprised his opponent in the opening and kept a firm grip throughout the game, finally clinching victory after 51 moves.

Meanwhile, on Board 4, the tournament’s only female participant, China’s GM Zhu Jiner, impressed once again. Playing Black against Aydin Suleymanli, she obtained a nearly winning position several times but missed her chances in the endgame, allowing the game to be drawn after 64 moves.

On Board 5, India’s GM Raunak Sadhwani, with White, was unable to convert a winning rook endgame against USA’s GM Andrew Hong (pictured below). A crucial miscalculation by Raunak allowed Hong to escape, and the game ended in a draw.

All games begin daily at 15:00 CET and are broadcast live. The tournament is conducted in full compliance with anti-cheating regulations, with all players thoroughly checked before entering the playing hall.

The inaugural edition of the Fujairah Global Chess Championship attracted enormous attention worldwide — uniting over 530 participants from 70 countries. Thanks to the Fujairah Chess & Culture Club and the event sponsors, the tournament has been organized at the highest level.

Superstars standings after Round 5

Masters standings after Round 5

Open standings after Round 5

Fans can follow the live broadcast of the 1st Fujairah Global Chess Championship 2025 on the Fujairah Chess and ChessBase India Hindi YouTube channels, and also check full results via Chess-Results.

Written by Pavel Dvorkovich & Niklesh Jain

Photos: Anna Shtourman, Vivek Sohani and Aditya Sur Roy

YouTube Fujairah Chess

YouTube ChessBase India Hindi

Photos are available on Flickr: flickr.com/photos/203288106@N04/albums

From Fujairah Global Chess: Pranav V and Sanan Sjugirov share the lead at midpoint – International Chess Federation

2025 Oceania Junior and Youth Chess Championships in Brisbane, Australia

Churchie Chess on behalf of the Oceania Chess Confederation, and FIDE have the honour to invite all Oceania National Chess Federations and associated members to participate in the 2025 Oceania Junior and Youth Chess Championships to be held 13th to the 17th December 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.

Divisions: 14 Divisions in total consisting of 7 in Each of Open & Female in: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, U20

Visit Oceania Youth Chess Championship 2025

Johnny Carzano Wins TBSI FIDE-Rapid Open Chess Tournament

Johnny Wellem Carzano emerged as champion of the TBSI, Inc. FIDE-Rapid Open Chess Tournament held August 25, 2025 at the Tangub City Global  College, Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines.
Carzano finished the 7-round Swiss system competition with 6.5 points from six wins and one draw to clinch the title and the P6,000 cash prize.
Carzano scored victories over Ellianah Arellano in the first round, Dominic Carl Gumisad in the second round, Vivencio Mendoza Jr. in the third round, Paciano Gulle in the fourth round, Julius Dan Augustine Ablin in the fifth round and Nazario Ubanan in the seventh and final round. Carzano split the point with Jones Maghuyop in the sixth round.
Ablin, Teodor Francis Mangubat and Rodney Opada landed second, third and fourth places with similar 6.0 points while Maghuyop, Aljie Cantonjos and Mendoza settled for fifth, sixth and seventh places with 5.5 points each.
Rounding out the top 10 with  5.0 points each were Ubanan (8th), Jezreel Lopez (9th) and Gilbert Baba (10th).
Carzano is set to compete in the Penang Chess Festival scheduled December 18 to 25, 2025 in Penang, Malaysia.
Carzano is fresh from an overall 7th place finish in the Asian Amateur Blitz Chess Championships held August 1 to 9, 2025 in Hongkong, China. -Marlon Bernardino-

FIDE World Cup 2025 heads to Goa, India

The FIDE World Cup 2025 is coming to Goa! From October 30 to November 27, 2025, the world’s top players will gather on India’s west coast for one of the most exciting chess events.

This knockout spectacle brings together 206 players fighting for a share of USD 2,000,000 and three coveted places in the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Every round is win-or-go-home, making the World Cup one of the most dramatic tournaments on the calendar.

Why Goa?

Goa’s stunning beaches, vibrant culture, and warm hospitality makes it an exciting backdrop for this global showdown. Players and fans will experience world-class chess alongside a destination famous for its energy and charm.

India’s connection to chess runs deep, and in recent years the country has become a global force, producing top players and hosting significant tournaments.

Last year, Gukesh Dommaraju became the World Champion, whilst Indian teams won the Chess Olympiad in both Open and Women categories. The momentum continued: this July, the Women’s World Cup saw a standout performance by Divya Deshmukh, who lifted the trophy and captured worldwide attention. Staging the Open World Cup in Goa builds on these successes and gives local fans an opportunity to watch their stars compete against the very best on home soil.

Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President:

“India has become one of the strongest chess nations, with outstanding players and passionate fans. After the success of the FIDE Women’s World Cup held in Georgia earlier this year, we are proud to bring the FIDE World Cup to Goa. It will be a celebration of chess, and a unique experience for players and spectators from around the world. The representatives of 90+ countries are expected to take part, and it will be one of the most followed events in chess history.”

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India:

“India is delighted to be hosting the prestigious FIDE World Cup 2025 and that too after over two decades. Chess is gaining popularity among our youth. I am sure this tournament will witness thrilling matches and showcase the brilliance of top players from around the world.”

Nitin Narang, AICF President:

“This is a proud moment for Indian chess, and we are committed to delivering an event that reflects both the passion of our fans and the professionalism of our federation. The World Cup will not only inspire millions across the country but also showcase India’s growing stature as a global hub for chess. We are deeply thankful to FIDE for granting India the honor of hosting the World Cup 2025 in Goa.”

Key Details

Dates: 31 October to 27 November 2025

Venue: Goa, India

Players: 206

Format: Eight-round knockout

Top 50 seeds enter from Round 2

Matches are two classical games, with rapid and blitz playoffs if tied

Candidates spots: Top three finishers qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament

List of qualified players: worldcup2025.fide.com/participants/

Regulations for FIDE World Cup 2025 (PDF)

With Goa confirmed as the host city, anticipation is building for an unforgettable month of high-stakes chess. Stay tuned for more information. The countdown to the FIDE World Cup 2025 has officially begun!

From FIDE World Cup 2025 heads to Goa, India – International Chess Federation