13th National Amateur Chess Championships 2026
Inauguration
The 13th National Amateur Chess Championships 2026, organized by Ananthi Chess Academy, Madurai, and Viyugam Chess Academy, Hosur, was inaugurated at Adhiyaman College of Engineering, Hosur, on 25th February 2026. A total of 999 players from more than 20 states are participating in this five-day, nine-round tournament.
The tournament was inaugurated by Dr. M. Manickam, President, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Chairman, Sakthi Group of Companies, along with Grandmaster Thej Kumar, Secretary of the Karnataka State Chess Association, in the august presence of D. V. Sundar, former Vice President of the FIDE. During the function, P. Stephen Balasamy, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, was felicitated for his outstanding contribution and dedicated service towards the growth of chess in Tamil Nadu. The gathering was welcomed by Mr. P. Pragadesh, Tournament Director. Dr. M. Manickam, Shri. D. V. Sundar, and Shri B. Murugavel jointly honoured Shri Stephen during the ceremony.
The championship is being conducted in six categories – Under 2300, Under 2000, and Under 1700 rating sections for both men and women. Most of the top seeds advanced to the second round without difficulty, with only a couple of upsets reported. In a notable result in the Under 2300 Women’s category, lower-rated Tanvi Borate of Maharashtra defeated second seed Keerthi Shri Reddy of Tamil Nadu. In another closely contested game, eleventh seed A.S. Sri Hari of Tamil Nadu was held to a draw by R. Sarvesh of Tamil Nadu.
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