Is Chess a Viable Career? Don't Romanticise the Prize Money: Rout

An honest answer to the one question that no one truly tackles in the Indian chess world. Finally, Padmini Rout says it as clear as possible. Here's a must-watch video based on her points of 

- Trajectory beyond rating

- Foundation for finances beyond desperation 

- Hard Work and genuine love for chess beyond the glory

- Can chess ever be wasted

Caption: (R) Asian Women's Champion International Master Padmini Rout's screen grab from Youtube video.  

 

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Madrid Calling: Moratalaz Chess International Open begins Sept 5

The XXIX Open Internacional de Ajedrez Moratalaz is scheduled to take place in September 2026 in Madrid, Spain.The annual Moratalaz Open is a highly anticipated 9-round Swiss system classical tournament regulated by FIDE. The event traditionally welcomes a diverse field of chess players from around the world, famously including Manuel Álvarez (known as "Manolín"), recognized internationally as the world’s oldest active chess player.

The Club de Ajedrez Moratalaz is a historic and highly active chess community. The club was founded in 1973. It is one of Madrid's longest-running and most prestigious chess clubs. It hosts chess lessons for all skill levels, runs local youth tournaments with schools in the neighborhood, and actively competes in the official Madrid Chess League.
The club director and driving force behind the events is Luis Eduardo Mansilla. He serves as both the Tournament Director (Dirección) and a FIDE Arbiter (Chief Arbiter), organizing and overseeing the technical smooth-running of the International Opens.

Official Website

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Kuldeep Shankar wins CCBW Lucknow August Digital Detox Rapid Chess

 

Chief Guest KK Khare sahab with Prize Winners

One of UP’s finest young players Kuldeep Shankar won the CCBW Open Chess Rapid at Classic Banquets with fantastic 6.5/7 points on Sunday. Veterans Pawan Batham, Sayeed Ahmad and Mohd Raisuddin Khan (Prayagraj) were tied for 3rd place with 5.5 points each. Saransh Srivastava and Nakshatra Srivastava were top scorers in Under 16 rated category with 5 points each. 

Champion Kuldeep Shankar

Junior Champion Aditya Kirti Srivastava

Playing Hall Photo

Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) also celebrated World’s Senior Citizens Day. Lucknow’s senior most player KK Khare was the best senior citizen (5 points) who also gave away the prizes as chief guest. Other Senior Citizens who took the top prizes were Mohd Syed Irfan, RP Gupta, Vipul Awasthi and Dwarka Nath (3 points each). Kunwar Prashant Singh was the best unrated player (4.5 points).  The Under 16 Unrated section Champion was Aditya Kirti Srivastava with 6.5 points.

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Ram Prakash from Punjab wins CCBW Lucknow Rs 3 lakh Rapid Chess Open

 

Chief guest renowned city cricketer Priyanka "Shally" Mishra with winners

Ludhiana''s Ram Prakash, of the Indian Railways, played very attacking royal chess to win the two-day Rs three-lakh Chess Maharaja Series #1 with 9.5/10 points at the KD Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday. Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) hosted the biggest tournament of the state capital in 25 years much to the delight of players and fans. Priyanka "Shally" Mishra, UP Women's Cricket Senior Committe Chairperson, gave away the prizes. 

Tournament winner FM Ram Prakash

Runners-up Sudhanshu Ranjan

Third place CM Deepak Katiyar

Ram Prakash, drew only one game with Saurabh Choubey of Satna. Sudhanshu Ranjan of Arrah, lost only one game to Prakash, and scored 8.5 to be in second place. The tournament was so tough that seven people tied for third place with 8 points each — Candidate Master Deepak Katiyar (Kanpur), Saurabh Choubey (Satna), Sparsh Yadav (Prayagraj), Jagreet Misra (Delhi), Arif Ali (Lucknow), Aabhas Kumar Srivastava (Varanasi) and Himanshu Ranjan (Arrah). 

 

Playing hall

Top winners of the senior citizen section were Hari Om Sharma (Delhi), 7.5 points, Anil Bajpai (Kanpur), Pankaj Saxena (Lucknow), both 7 points. Best Woman Player Suman Kumari (Varanasi) with 7 points was followed by Shimon Lata (Kanpur) 5.5 points.

Playing hall

Section winners included Gufran of Kanpur  (1400-1550) with 7.5 points, Ravi Shankar of Lucknow 1551-1700) with 7 points, and Prashant Pandey of Kanpur (Unrated) 7.5 points. Lucknow players won all the children's sections including Lakshya Dwivedi (U16), Saransh Shukla (U15), Shourya Chahal (U14), Arun Kumar (U13), Yash Kumar Agrahari (U12), Aadvik Maheshwari (U11), Aarav Singh (U10), and Utkrist Misra (U9).

More photos in Facebook album (including newspaper clippings): 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=ChessCCBW&set=a.1427939686039973 

• https://nationalnewsvision.com/winning-thrilling-matches-ludhianas-ram-prakash-becomes-chess-champion/ 
• https://sportsleak.in/ludhianas-ram-prakash-became-the-champion-after-winning-thrilling-matches/
• https://theindianview.in/news_id/180931

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CCBW Chess Maharaja Series #1 Rapid Open Tournament is here: May 26, 17

Lucknow calling: One of Lucknow's biggest-ever chess tournaments, the CCBW Maharaja Series #1 is being hosted by Chess Club Black and White (CCBW) on May 16, 17 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Multi-Purpose Indoor Hall at the KD Singh Babu Stadium. The chess tournament offers a total prize money of Rs three lakh (usd 3160 approximately) and is open to players with a Fide rating of 2100 and below and all unrated players. However, there is no rating bar for players (senior citizens) born 1966 and before. 

The chess tournament prize structure includes a first prize of Rs 30,000/- and a second prize of Rs 20,000/-. Overall the tournament offers 160 trophies and 86 cash prizes. 

Chess Club Black & White is known for being great chess tournaments to the city with an excellent level of organisation matching international standards. 

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Gukesh Vs Carlsen, Naka, Caruana live today 10 pm

2025 Saint Louis Chess Club hosts Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown. Watch live from 10 pm IST tonight. The invitational event has a total prize fund of $412,000 (about Rs 42 lakh). The invitational event will see Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and D. Gukesh battle it out in a 10 minutes plus a 5-second increment rapid format. The event is part of the month-long programme at the Saint Louis Chess Club as it unveiled its new world-class facility recently. The St Louis Chess Club remains the best chess club on the planet.

Watch live on YouTube!

The 2025 Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, taking place October 27-29 in the newly expanded Saint Louis Chess Club. The lineup features World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana, and World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in what will be the highest-rated chess tournament of the year.

With $412,000 in prize money, including daily win bonuses and a Champion’s Jackpot, the stakes have never been higher. The event’s 18-game rapid double round-robin format (10 minutes plus a 5-second increment) will feature escalating point values each day: Wins are worth 1 point on Day 1, 2 points on Day 2, and 3 points on Day 3…a comeback-friendly format that cultivates increased tension and fan excitement into the very last round.

“Having these four giants of the game here in Saint Louis shows the city’s importance on the world chess stage,” said GM Yasser Seirawan, event commentator and four-time U.S. Champion.

Clutch Chess is a unique type of chess tournament format, the brainchild of Grandmaster Maurice Ashley where the stakes build round by round with ever-increasing points and dollar prizes available each day. Unlike traditional chess tournaments, in Clutch Chess no lead is ever safe and every single game has meaning. Since point values for wins increase each day, players who start off slowly can stage dramatic comebacks all the way to the very end.

On Day 1, each win is worth 1 point and $1,000. For Day 2, each win is worth 2 points and $2,000. And for day 3, each win is worth 3 points and $3,000.

In Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, the prize fund will total $412,000 with each game played at a Rapid time control of 10 min + 5 sec. The four prizes will be split first to fourth at $120K, $90K, $70K and $60K. There will be an additional $72,000 in bonus prizes. The prize from each drawn game will roll over into a Champion’s Jackpot, which only the winner of the tournament will receive. In case of a tie for first, there will be a playoff to determine the winner.

Four titans of the game. One city. High drama. Every move counts.

Whether it’s a match or a tournament, the Clutch Chess format guarantees that each and every game has meaning all the way to the finish line. — St Louis Chess Club

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