" I played the Ruy Lopez opening, he played fast... In the Queen endgame, he played ...g6 which is a small mistake!" - GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov after defeating the leader GM Mukhiddin Madaminov in Round 3 of the @UzchessCup Masters 2026.
Interview: Himank Ghosh/ChessBase India
Spotted on the streets of Mysuru, Karnataka - Norway Chess Champion R. Praggnanandhaa is now famous all over India!
Photo: @ram_abhyudaya/ ChessBase India
What did @HansMokeNiemann tell the arbiter during the starting moments of his game against Nodirbek Yakubboev? Watch the starting moments of Round 3 at the @UzchessCup 2026.
Video: Himank Ghosh/ChessBase India
"Sorry, I'm not even following right now" - @HansMokeNiemann after defeating Shamsiddin Vokhidov in a 6-hour battle, when asked about a missed stalemate trick on move 84!
Check out the final moments of Ian @lachesisq Nepomniachtchi taking down Vidit Gujrathi in a wild game in Round 2 of the @UzchessCup Masters - a nice bounceback win after a tough loss in Round 1!
Shortly after their achievements, we received an unexpected letter. We publish this letter in this article for our readers.
Photo: Lennart Ootes
https://t.co/kmKMkZAGfz
. @rpraggnachess wins Norway Chess. @chessvaishali wins the WR Women's Chess Tour in Tokyo. Parents everywhere are impressed. Siblings everywhere are worried. The golden siblings of Indian chess have achieved so much that they have raised the bar for siblings across the world.
Mukhiddin Madaminov shares his impressive understanding of the Rook and Knight ending after defeating Nikolas Theodorou in Round 2 of the @UzchessCup Masters! Mukhiddin is now the sole leader with 2/2 points.
#chess#chessbaseindia#uzchesscup
"You can see lot of qualities of @gmyagizkaan that he took from @Shakhmamedyarov - he's very sharp, very calculative player. I guess Shakhriyar is doing a great job!" - @NodirbekGM Abdusattorov on the transfer of Mamedyarov's skills to Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.
" I didn't mind going for the dragon, I had some new ideas there!" - @NodirbekGM on his win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov at the @UzchessCup Masters Round 2.
We recently got the news of Praggnanandhaa being felicitated by the Tamil Nadu Government for his amazing performance at the Norway Chess 2026. Now, we see another state Government coming forward to support chess!
Bihar's Reyan Md. was felicitated by the Chief Minister of Bihar Samrat Choudhary and Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh for winning two gold medals and one bronze medal at the Commonwealth Chess Championship 2026. 15-year-old Reyan (born in 2011) was presented with a cheque of ₹22.5 lakh (US$ 23,574), a shawl, and a memento in recognition of his achievement.
Speaking to ChessBase India, Reyan's mother Heena mentioned, "We are deeply grateful to Dharmendra Kumar Sir, Secretary of the All Bihar Chess Association, and Ravindran Shankaran Sir, Director General of the Bihar State Sports Authority, for their invaluable support and encouragement, which made this recognition possible."
Reyan is currently rated 2180 Elo. He won the gold in the under-18 section of the Commonwealth Championships in rapid and blitz and the bronze in the classical section. Reyan's highest rating was 2300+ last year. He has dipped a bit in the ratings recently, but is very likely to come back strongly.
Reyan is Bihar's best hope for becoming the first GM from the state. It's wonderful to see the state Government supporting a young talent like him. This amount is sure to help him in his chess training and travel to tournaments. We wish Reyan the best in his journey of becoming an IM and eventually a GM as well!
#chess #chessbaseindia #reyanmd #biharchess
We want to bring to your attention the amazing performances of 14-year-old Aamuktha Guntakka. Born in 2012 (7th October 2012), Aamuktha recently became a WIM. Coming from a small town of Ongole in Andhra Pradesh - Aamuktha is a perfect example of how with focus and determination one can achieve just about anything.
She played three tournaments recently in the month of May - the Sardinia World Chess Festival in Italy, the Lecci Open in France and the Whitsun Open in Germany. Aamuktha gained a massive 215 Elo points to power her rating from 2152 to 2367 Elo on the live ratings. Currently, as on 1st of June 2026 with published ratings - Aamuktha is rated 2334 and her 33 Elo point gain at the Whitsun Open is yet to be added.
With an Elo of 2334, Aamuktha is already ranked no.9 in India. Recently, we reported about 2010 born Shubhi Gupta reaching India no.5. It feels like the next generation of Indian super talents are on their way to the top now! :)
Aamuktha not only has a major rise in her ratings, but she also scored her first WGM norm at the Sardinia Open. A look at her performance shows how strong the girl is. She drew with GMs - Francesco Sonis (2556), Mamikon Gharibyan (2477) and beat IM Rudy Van Wessel (2371).
We wish Aamuktha the best in getting her WGM title and improving further at chess! Her rise is truly a proud moment for the entire Indian chess fraternity.
#chess #chessbaseindia #aamukhtaguntaka
During the FIDE World Cup 2025 in Goa and the FIDE Candidates 2026, we saw a constant person near Javokhir Sindarov. When Sindarov lifted the trophy in both events, his friend and his second, Mukhiddin Madaminov, was there next to him. As Sindarov is not playing any major event, Madaminov decided to play at the Uzchess Cup Masters 2026, and what a guy, he defeated Nepo in 1st round and Nikolas Theodorou in 2nd. @UzchessCup #uzchesscup