Yunus Khan of India finished alone with 7.5 points to win the Dasman Classic Chess Championship organized 10-18 September 2025 by the Kuwait Mind Sports Association in Kuwait.
Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and final standings and to download games.
Champion Yunus Khan of India (left)
Runner-up Amani Alazmi of Kuwait (left)
Third place Lodhi Khalid of Pakistan.
The Amicale Notre Dame – Chess Club is glad to invite you to participate in the “12th Beirut International Open – Chess Championship” from 17 to 27 October 2025
The “12th Beirut International Championship” is open to all players regardless of their title or rating.
The application should be returned not later than 12 October 2025 to Mr. Jacques Bedrossian. By mail: jack.bedrossian60@hotmail.com
Download New 12th Beirut Open Regulations
With 8/11, Anish Giri won the Open tournament outright, defeating Hans Niemann in the final round. Just half a point back, Matthias Bluebaum, Alireza Firouzja and Vincent Keymer shared second place. Thanks to a better tiebreak, it was Bluebaum who secured the second qualifying spot for the 2026 Candidates. In the Women’s event, on 8/11, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Kateryna Lagno tied for first and both qualified for the Candidates, but Vaishali took top spot on tiebreak. It was her second consecutive Grand Swiss victory – something never achieved before in either section.
Apart from qualifying for the Candidates for the third time in his career, being the sole winner meant Giri also pocketed $90,000.
In his first reaction to the victory, speaking in FIDE’s live broadcast, Giri said that the previous night he “visualised” a victory against Niemann: “There is this technique and… I saw myself win. Then I went a bit too far and started to think who will be in my team for the Candidates and I said I needed to stop at that point, as it was too far”.
The second place went to European Champion Matthias Bluebaum, who drew a tense game with Alireza Firouzja today. Firouzja finished third. The most unfortunate of the frontrunners was Vincent Keymer, who ended up fourth. He missed a chance to beat Bluebaum in round ten and went into the final day as sole leader only to fail to convert a better position against Erigaisi.
In the Women’s event, leaders Vaishali Rameshbabu and Kateryna Lagno both drew, sharing first place. The bronze went to Bibisara Assaubayeva, who missed a chance to tie for first after spoiling a winning position against Anna Muzychuk. She finished on 7.5/11, alongside Tan Zhongyi and Yuxin Song.
How the last day in Samarkand unfolded
Tension was palpable in the playing hall of the EXPO Centre in Samarkand, as players gathered for the final round of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss. On previous days, players often paused for photos with waiting fans. On the final day, the favourites rushed straight inside, razor-focused on their games.
The games started at 2 PM, an hour earlier than in the previous 10 rounds, to accommodate the closing ceremony and prize giving scheduled for 9 PM local time in Samarkand.
At stake were two places leading to the 2026 Candidates as well as a hefty prize fund of $855,000. In the Open section, with 7/10, five players were in the race for the top two places – Bluebaum, Firouzja, Giri, Niemann and Keymer. In theory, tiebreaks kept three more players in contention on 6.5/10 – Mishra, Erigaisi and Woodward. In the Women’s Grand Swiss – Vaishali and Lagno as the two leaders, as well as Assaubayeva, Tan and Song were in the race to be the winner. Out of the five, Tan – a former Women’s World Champion – has already qualified for the 2026 Candidates, thanks to finishing third in the Grand Prix.
Continuing the tournament’s departure from the tradition of making ceremonial moves only on the top board, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made the first move on board 57 in the Open, in the game between Divya Deshmukh and Ivan Cheparinov.
The full results and standings after the final, 11th Round, can be found here:
Women: grandswiss2025.fide.com/grand-swiss-women/
Open: grandswiss2025.fide.com/open/
Closing ceremony draws curtain on memorable Grand Swiss
The closing ceremony at the Silk Road by Minyoun Hotel conference hall provided a fitting end to what FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich called “a truly magnificent event”.
After the national anthems of Uzbekistan and FIDE were performed, distinguished guests – including the Director of the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan Alisher Saʼdullayev and Samarkand Region Governor Adiz Boboev – delivered congratulatory speeches, followed by the official prize-giving ceremony conducted by Chief Arbiter Laurent Freyd.
Arkady Dvorkovich, who awarded Anish Giri the victory cup, praised the tournament’s strength and drama. “Not only was this the strongest lineup of all the Grand Swiss tournaments so far, but it brought the most drama – with leadership ties and uncertainty well into the last round,” he said, congratulating the four qualifiers Giri, Bluebaum, Vaishali and Lagno before thanking all the participants for “putting on a great chess show which will be remembered in history.”
The FIDE President emphasised chess’s global reach and the symbolic importance of hosting the event in Samarkand, noting the ancient Silk Road city as having “strong roots” in chess history while also representing the game’s future.
With the 2026 Chess Olympiad also scheduled to take place in Samarkand, Dvorkovich expressed optimism about the continued partnership with Uzbekistan.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Michal Walusza
by Ellie Emira
All participants are required to stay at the official hotels on a full-board basis. This includes breakfast at the respective hotels, with lunch and dinner provided via food coupons at the Corus KLCC Hotel.
The Corus KLCC Hotel will serve as both the main accommodation and tournament venue, while the De King Hotel will serve as the secondary option. Both hotels offer a scenic view of modern Kuala Lumpur, surrounded by skyscrapers and a vibrant nightlife. The organizer will provide free accommodation to all Official Representatives.
The registration deadline is 8 October 2025, with a 50% deposit required by this date. Late entries will be accepted until 30 October with a late fee of USD 50, and the deadline for full payment is 31 October 2025. Registration must be completed through the official registration form.
GM Rameshbabu Vaishali of India (left) beat GM Mariya Muzychuk (right) of Ukraine to tie Kateryna Lagno of Russia for the lead after the penultimate round of the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The top two qualify into the Women’s Candidates Tournament.
Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings.
In the FIDE Open Grand Swiss, Asian men are within striking distance to finish in the top two who will qualify into the FIDE Candidates Tournament.
The exciting last round matches are:
Registration for the Asian Schools Chess Championship scheduled 24th October to 2nd November 2025 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is now in full swing. Usernames and passwords have been sent to the official emails of national federations in Asia for the registration link https://ascc2025.chesstournament.org/
Download 19th Asian Schools Chess Championship 2025
Visit Join Asian Schools Chess Championship in Mongolia
The Kazakhstan Chess Federation has registered 24 children to the event together with parents and other accompanying persons. Above is photo of a children’s tournament in Kazakhstan. Their boys and girls participating in Ulaanbaatar are
| Moldagali Akerke | G13 |
| Zhubatkhan Assylym | G7 |
| Nurmukhamet Sara | G7 |
| Yerzhan Bibisara | G13 |
| Zhakisheva Venera | G7 |
| Issatay Aiziya | G9 |
| Mamakova Aknur | G13 |
| Japparbekova Malika | G15 |
| Abdullayeva Rusalina | G17 |
| Zhetpis Symbat | G11 |
| Zharas Aldiyar | B13 |
| Kaliakhmet Elsultan | B13 |
| Zhubatkhan Nuraly | B9 |
| Adilbekuly Altair | B17 |
| Makhsatuly Rakhim | B11 |
| Tulegen Ramazan | B11 |
| Abdikayim Muhammedgali | B9 |
| Omurzakov Altair | B9 |
| Mubarak Yerassyl | B15 |
| Daulet Alikhan | B17 |
| Chernyshov Makar | B7 |
| Nurshin Nurali | B9 |
| Akhmet Suleyman | B13 |
| Kabinazar Nurmukhammed | B15 |
The newly formed Chess Hub concluded its first series of events with tournaments for up-and-coming juniors and veteran players alike over the weekend of 6th and 7th September 2025 at the Sahara Center in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
IM Oliver Dimakiling (third from right), one of the coaches at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club, CM Allayar Shirliyev of Turkmenistan, and Meghan Gabrielle Olandag led the winners of the two-day competitions.
Dimakiling topped the five-round rapid tournament with 4.5 points, while Shirliyev had 6.5 points to rule the blitz event. Olandag also had 4.5 points to win the U16 junior tournament. AIM Reggie Mel Santiago and Marvin Marcos completed the top 3 in the rapid tournament, while Santiago and Dimakiling took the second and third spots in the blitz event. Olandag also received the top lady special awards in both rapid and blitz events.
India’s Udiavar Pragun Pai and Prashant S placed second and third in the junior tournament, respectively. Iran’s Nicky Ebrahimian, on vacation in the UAE with her family, and Sarangi Rakesh of India took the top girl participant and top U12 special awards respectively.
The tournaments were held at The Chess Hub, a new chess centre located at Sahara Centre on the Dubai-Sharjah border. The Chess Hub plans to hold weekly events, including a rapid chess tournament on Saturday (Sept 13) for U1900 player
by Marlon Bernardino
The Barangay 449 squad reigned supreme in the Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso Inter-Barangay Rapid Chess Team Tournament held September 8, 2025 at the Coleseo de Manila, Vistas Street in Tondo, Manila, Philippines.
Playing for Barangay 449 Chess Team were Board 1 GM candidate Ronald Dableo (5.0 points), Board 2 Samson Chhiu Chhin Lim Iii (5.0 points), Board 3 Marco Jay Mabasa (6.0 points) and Board 4 Arnold Dableo (4.5 points). The Barangay 449 Chess Team finished with six wins and one loss for 12.0 match points and 20.5 game points in seven outings to receive the top purse of P150,000.
“I’m very happy about this achievement,” said Dableo, who got his his third and final GM result or norms during the Dato Arthur Tan-Malaysian Open Chess Championship at the Ballroom, Cititel MidValley Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia wayback August 30, 2009.
But to become a full-fledged GM and join 18 others in the elite Filipino grandmasters list, Dableo needs to jack up his Elo rating to at least 2500.
The Barangay 52 (11.0 match points, 22.0 game points) placed second.
They included on Board 1 GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. (5.5 points), Board 2 Robert Cacho (5.5 points), Board 3 Sherwin Gian Romero (5.0 points) and Board 4 Ruel Nisperos (6.0 points).
The 63-year-old former University of Manila standout Antonio said in an interview after the event “I would like to thank Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and the Manila Sports Council (MASCO) headed by Mr. Dale Evangelista for supporting Philippine chess,” added Antonio, the top board best player who is set to represent the country in the upcoming 33rd FIDE World Senior Chess Championships (50+ and 60+) to be held October 20 to November 2 in Gallipoli, Italy, and the III Open Internacional de Ajedrez on November 8 to 16 in Alicante, Spain.
Placing third was the Barangay 410 (11.0 match points, 19.5 game points). The Barangay 410 is composed of Board 1 IM Michael Concio Jr. (5.5 points), Board 2 Genghis Imperial (4.5 points), Board 3 Mark Oliver Ingcad (4.5 points) and Board 4 Princess Nicole Ballete (5.0 points).
GM Antonio’s team received P100,000 while the IM Concio squad earn P70,000.
Rounding up to the top 10 were Barangay 48 (fourth), Barangay 46 (fifth), Barangay 4 (sixth), Barangay 53 (seventh), Barangay 431 (eight), Barangay 265 (ninth) and Barangay 592 (tenth).-Marlon Bernardino-
