Announcements and News:

PRANAV ANAND BECOMES THE LATEST IM OF INDIA

Pranav aged 14 years, 3 months, and 15 days becomes the latest International Master of India and is the Youngest International Master from Karnataka, India. He scored his first IM-norm in Rilton Cup 2019, second norm in Biel 2019 and the final norm in Aeroflot Open 2020. He just needed 19 points to qualify for the IM title, but he could not play from March 2020 due to the pandemic. He travelled to Serbia on Feb 8, 2021 and achieved the required points when he beat GM Stefan Djuric in the third round of Radnickichess - GM Round Robin tournament in Belgrade, Serbia. Pranav made his first IM Norm at Rilton Cup 2019. Rupali Mullick from ChessBase India did an interview with him afterwards at https://youtu.be/Lt0ZuoeVrfI. His second IM-norm came in Biel 2019. He third and final IM norm at Aeroflot Open 2020 B category tournament. He scored 5.0/9 with a performance rating of 2478 and gained 40 Elo rating points in the process. He defeated two GMs Elina Danielian and Maxim Lugovskoy, drew with the following IMs - Platon Galperin, Pavel S Dvalishvili and Alexey Mokshanov in Aeroflot Open 2020 B Category. Pranav Anand has been coached by L Seshadri from Mysore, Jayaram Ramanna from Chess Shoots Academy Bangalore, and IM Vishal Sareen from Delhi. Pranav has had the good fortune of working with GM Konstantin Landa, GM Boris Avrukh and IM Raja Ravisekar. The profusely talented boy from Bengaluru, Karnataka currently is being trained by IM V Saravanan who said “Pranav is an extremely talented boy who works very hard on his chess. More than anything, his level of passion for chess is amazing. I have not seen much among chess players whom I work with even adults. That kind of a passion he has. His completion of IM title is what can I say, I expected it for a long time. He is definitely destined for more." Pranav Anand has the potential and capability to achieve GM title within a year’s time. We hope he becomes a GM soon. TEAM UKCA CONGRATULATES HIS ACHIVEMENT

Covid 19 and Chess tournaments : UKCA Memo

Corona virus has spread all over the world. World health organisation(WHO) has declared it as pandemic. We at United Karnataka State Chess Association always believe in putting players first. As there are few situation in Karnataka we as the administration body has decided to fulfill health and safety measures as per the guidelines by  Union  Government's health department, sports and youth. Hence, please be informed that  all Chess tournaments of District and State selection in Karnataka state till 15 April 2020 and  the tournaments also declared earlier are postponed,  If they do so, the UKCA will not be responsible or accountable for their actions Players, parents, arbiters, coaches,organisers are requested to co-operate. Thanks and Regards,R.Hanumantha, General Secretary,United Karnataka Chess AssociationPh:94485 05303

Covid 19 and Chess tournaments : AICF Memo

As you are well aware the Corona Virus has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. It is likely to have widespread implications in the times to come but instead of panic we need to take adequate precautions. The Govt. Of India has advised to avoid any huge gatherings which means we have to cancel chess tournaments where there is participation of lots of parents, children, other players from various parts and also arbiters and volunteers etc. All the national championships to be held till May 31 stay as postponed and new dates will be notified soon. The State Associations are requested to avoid any state level events till April 15, 2020. If they do so, the AICF will not be responsible or accountable for their actions. Those who have planned FIDE rated events till April 15, 2020 are requested to reschedule their events. The risk becomes highest in FIDE rated opens due to huge participation. For any other queries please get in touch with the undersigned. - Kind regards, Bharat Singh chauhan, Honorary secretary, All India Chess Federation

FM Pranav Anand Completes his Final International Master Norm

FIDE Master Pranav Anand of Bangalore, Karnataka aged 13 years 4 months scored his third and final IM norm at Aeroflot Open 2020 B category tournament. He scored 5.0/9 with a performance rating of 2478 and also gained 40 Elo rating points in the process. He defeated two GMs Elina Danielian and Maxim Lugovskoy, drew with the following IMs - Platon Galperin, Pavel S Dvalishvili and Alexey Mokshanov. UKCA team Congratulate his wonderful performance.

Team UKCA Wishes a Happy New Year to All Chess Fraternity

Bengaluru kids makes Karnataka proud by superlative performance at National Schools Chess Championship 2019

Shashini Puvi won Gold in Under 6 Girls by scoring 8 points of possible 9 rounds Chinmay Kowshik also won Gold (with better tie break score) in Under 8 Open category by scoring 7.5 points in 9 rounds Sathvik Adiga got Bronze(tied to 1st) who also got 7.5 points UKCA team Congratulates the above players for making Karnataka proud by their wonderful performance at National School Chess Championship 2019 which was held in Aurangabad from 27th November to 1st December 2019.

Stany Wins Sautron Open and Ties For 1st In Cap d'Agde Grandprix In France

Stany won back to back tournaments in France recently when he participated in 19th Sautron International Open from 19-23 October and won the tournament by scoring 7.5 out of 9 rounds. He won the tournament for the 3rd time and created a record. The tournament had 3 GMs and 7 IMs and Stany was the top seed and justified his starting rank by winning the tournament with 1 point ahead of his nearest rivals. His next performance was even better when he tied for 1st in Cap d'Agde Grandprix Open which started on 26th October-2nd November, the tournament had 28 Grandmasters and Stany started as 15th seed. He scored 7 out of 9 rounds and had a performance of rating 2623 where he defeated 3 GMs and 2 IMs. Stany was joint winner along with 4 others who scored the same points as well. UKCA team Congratulate his wonderful performance.

International Master Viani Antonio Dcunha wins Liffre Open, France

IM Viani Antonio Dcunha is the Champion of the Liffre Open held at France from October 19-25th 2019. The tournament consisted of 4 Grandmasters and 5 International Masters. Viani started as the 8th seed of the event, but won the championship with 7/9, with clear first. He won the last round in a must win situation against Grandmaster Sundararajan Kidambi with black pieces. Viani Opted for Kings Indian Defense variation and gained an early doubled bishop advantage with slight weakness on the kingside. In a complicated position he went for counter attack, by sacrificing the exchange to convert into a win. UKCA team Congratulate his wonderful performance.

Isha Sharma becomes Karnataka's First Women International Master

Miss Isha Sharma made Karnataka proud by becoming the first Women International Master. Isha sharma is from Belthangady, DK completed her third and final norm at Balatonlelle, Hungary. She played “Summer’s End - Balaton IM tournament” and in this event Isha on the way to norm performance defeated David Murko [Rating 2186] of Slovakia, FM Lenaerts lennert [Rating 2341] of Belgium, FM lyell Mark [Rating 2185] of England and drew with IM To Nhat Minh [Rating 2388] of Hungary, Suta Andraz [Rating 2268] of Slovekia, Csati Oliver [Rating 2223] of Hungary. Isha had earlier had got her First women International Master Norm at Sharjah Masters in 2017 and got her second norm in World Juniors, Turkey 2018.  UKCA team Congratulate her wonderful performance

Aadya Rangnath wins Silver for INDIA in Western Asian Youth and Junior Chess Championship

Aadya Rangnath of Karnataka Won the Silver Medal for INDIA in Western Asian Youth and Junior Chess Championship in Under 6 Girls category which was held in Delhi from 5th Sept to 10th Sept 2019. She won 2 silver medals for India in Classical and Blitz format of the game by scoring 7.5 points and 6 points respectively out of possible 9 rounds.

Pranav Anand Completes his 2nd IM Norm

Pranav Anand of Karnataka completed his 2nd IM Norm at Bile International Open held recently at Switzerland. UKCA Team Congratulates his wonderful Achievement.

Samarth Jagadish Rao secures Silver in 3rd Fide World Junior Chess Championship

Samarth Jagadish Rao secured Silver Medal for India in 3rd Fide World Junior Chess Championship in Cherry Hill, New Jersey USA held during 09/07/2019 to 14/07/2019. In this championship, 16 players from 8 countries participated, almost all the players were fide rated players. UKCA Team Congratulates his wonderful Achievement.

International Master Raghunandan K S Shines at Asian Junior Chess Championship 2019

International Master Raghunandan K S of Karnataka who had a Grand Master norm in 2019(at Dubai) has now clinched the Silver medal in classical and Bronze Medal in rapid format in the Asian Junior Chess Championship 2019 held at Solo, Indonesia from 2nd July to 8th July 2019. He was 4th seed with an ELO rating of 2441. He hails from Bangalore. In Classical format, Raghunandan secured 7 points out of 9. He drew in the first round with FM Pratama Constantius Leonardo (2133) of Indonesia. He also drew with IM Miciano John Marvin (2355) of Philippines in the last round. He suffered the only loss to the top seed and the Champion IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (2516) of Vietnam in the 5th round. In rapid format, Raghunandan scored 5.5 points out of 7. He was seeded eighth with an Elo rapid rating of 2093. He lost to the top seed and the Silver medallist IM Priasmoro Novendra (2263) of Indonesia in the 4th round and drew with 4th seed and the champion IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (2516) of Vietnam in the last round.

Karnataka Kids Achievement in Common Wealth Chess Championship -2019

“Chinmay Kowshik” is the Champion

Chinmay Kowshik of Karnataka is the U 8 Common Wealth Chess Champion 2019 with 6 points out of 7. He remained undefeated in the championship with 2 draws and 5 victories. He has a ELO rating of 1385. Chinmay drew with second seed and the silver medallist Vivaan Vijay Saraogi in the 6th Round and an upset draw in the first round with Bharath Seth. He finally clinched the title by defeating the top seed Rosh Jain in the final Round. The event was held at Leela Palace, New Delhi from 1 July to 7 July.

Amogh Bisth Karnataka National U 7 Champion for the year 2018 won Bronze medal by securing 5.5 points out of 7. He lost Ethan Vaz in the 4th Round and drew with silver medallist Vivaan Vijay Saraogi in the last round and has a ELO rating of 1355. Both are from Bengaluru.

Shefali A N of Karnataka won Bronze medal at the U 10 Commonwealth Chess Championship 2019 by securing 5.5 points out of 7. She has a ELO rating of 1337 and hails from Mandya. She drew with Saparya Ghosh in the second round and lost to top seed and the Champion Sneha Halder in the penultimate round.

UKCA felicitates GM and IMs

UKCA Felicitated G.M.Stany, IM Rghunandan K.S. and IM Viani Antonio Dcunha with an appreciation Award of Rs.1,00,000/- to G.M. Stany, Rs. 25,000/- to IM Rghunandan K.S and Rs. 25,000/- to IM Viani Antonio Dcunha. Felicitation function was held at YMCA, Nrupatung Road Bangalore on 30/06/2019. UKCA Team Congratulates their wonderful Achievements.

Ekalavya Awardee Girish A Koushik becomes 3rd GM of Karnataka

Girish Koushik went to Europe to play in three tournaments in May and June 2019 with a rating of 2444 and 1 GM norm. His first GM norm was scored all the way back at the World Juniors in 2011. Girish's first tournament was the Llucmajor Open where he scored his 2nd GM norm and also gained 25.4 Elo points. In the second event of the Europe trip, which was the First Saturday June edition, Girish scored his final GM norm and also gained 20.3 Elo points. This completed his norm requirements for the GM title and took his live rating to 2489.7. Girish then played at the Balaton International Chess Festival 2019 GM round robin event and gained 11 points, thus reaching a Live rating of 2500.7 The 1997 born Girish Koushik becomes India's 63rd GM and the third from the state of Karnataka after Thejkumar and Stany. Girish is not only a GM but also an electronic engineer! When he was a young kid Girish had become the Asian champion in under-8, 10, 12, 14 and 16! (Yes it's true). He had won multiple national and world titles as well! It was achieved through sheer will power and belief. That same qualities were on show as Girish defied all odds and overcame his long break to achieve his cherished dream of becoming a grandmaster. UKCA Team Congratulates his wonderful Achievement

Balkishan Anand achieves his first IM Norm

Congratulations to Balkishan Anand for completing his first IM norm in the recently concluded 12 Mayor's Cup 2019! Wishing Balkishan all the very best for his upcoming tournaments from team UKCA.

Siddhi Rao is U-7 33rd National Girl Champion and Apaar Saxena secured Bronze in National U-7 Boys Chess Championship 2019

Siddhi Rao of Karnataka who was Under 7 Karnataka State Girls champion became the National Champion in Under -7 Girls Chess Championship 2019 held at Kolkata which concluded on 6th June2019 by dominating the tournament from first round with the final score of 9.5 from 11 rounds She will be representing India at World, Asian and Commonwealth Chess Championship in 2020. Apaar Saxena of Karnataka secured Bronze medal in National -7 Boys Chess Championship 2019 held at Kolkata which concluded on 6th June2019 by dominating the tournament with the score of 9 Point from 11 rounds. He will be representing India at World, Asian Chess Championship in 2020.

Renganayaki V secures Bronze Medal in 33rd National U-13 Girls Chess Championship 2019

AIM Renganayaki V representing Karnataka State has secured Bronze Medal in 33rd National Under-13 Girls Chess Championship 2019 held at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, from 4th May to 12nd May 2019. The tournament had close to 400 Participants (Boys & Girls) from more than 24 States & 2 Union Territories. She is the only Participant from Karnataka State to secure a podium finish at National Level Under -13 Chess Tournament – Girls in the last 6 years. She has earned the feat of representing India in next year (2020) Asian & World Youth Chess Championships - Under-14 category.

Amogh Bisht of Karnataka Wins 32nd National Under-07 Open Chess Championship 2018

Amogh Bisht of Karnataka emerged as winners of 32nd National Under-07 Open Chess Championship 2018 held at Tumkur, Karnataka between July 16 to July 24, 2018. In 11 rounds, Amogh scored 9.5 points and become a National champion for the under 7 category. The tournament was Organized by Mandya Chess Academy, under the aegis of United Karnataka Chess Association and All India Chess Federation. More than 300 players from 27 states participated in the championship. Amogh was officially selected to participate in Asian & World youth chess championship in 2019.

AICF important decisions made on December 22nd Central Council Meeting

The AICF central council meeting held on 22nd of December 2018 at Hyatt Regency, Chennai made the following important decisions.

Click here to download the details >>

FM Pranav Anand’s Maiden IM Norm at Rilton Cup 2018-19

Master Pranav Anand of Bangalore has achieved his maiden IM norm at strong Rilton Cup 2018-2019 with the average rating of 2320. He achieved a performance rating of 2519 winning 5/9 points in the just Rilton Cup tournament. Pranav played against 3 GMs, 5 IMs and 1 FM in the tournament. The average rating of his opponents was 2476. After a fighting draw in the first round against GM rated 2536, he won against GM rated 2596 in the second round and continued a good streak of draws and wins till round 5. He had a very good position in round 6 against GM Awonder Liang but failed to convert the position and lost his round. Round 7 was lost to an IM with very good preparation. Pranav came back with a win in Round 8 and achieved his IM norm. The final round went for five hours with his opponent winning it. He won the best prize in the rating category. Born on 3rd November 2006, Pranav is a student of The Frank Anthony Public School, Bangalore. He is coached by IM Vishal Sareen from Delhi and also works with Jayaram in ChessShoots Academy, Bangalore.

AICF important decisions made on December 22nd Central Council Meeting

The AICF central council meeting held on 22nd of December 2018 at Hyatt Regency, Chennai made the following important decisions.

Click here to download the details >>

Stany GA becomes 2nd Grand Master of Karnataka

Stany G A became Second and youngest Grand Master of Karnataka and 58th Grand Master of India. Mr. Late Antony Prakash and Mrs. Lizy second son Shimoga lad 25 years old Stany G.A achieved his Third GM norm at National Chess Championship 2018 in Jammu. Stany Started playing Chess at the age of eight with his elder brother Tony. After a year he joined Nalanda Chess Academy in Shimoga, Sri Krishna Udupa was his first coach .Stany won all the age category State Chess Championships during that period, and also became state senior champion, once he crossed 2200 rating he went for higher level coaching to IM Shivananda,IM Saravanan V and attended a camp of GM Jacob Aagard. He is a committed hard worker, At present is working under Coach ,Mentor IM Saravanan V of Tamilnadu. Stany had achieved maiden GM norm in the Lucopen tournament at France 2016. In July 2017 he crossed the 2500 rating points to get GM norm he was playing in abroad many tournaments, he won first place but failed to get norms. In October 2018 he played in Gujarat open Grand master tournament and succeeded to get second GM norm. In National Chess Championship 2018 held at Jammu he achieved his final grandmaster norm by drawing his ninth round game against GM Aravind Chithambaram and became second grandmaster from Karnataka and 58th GM of India. . But he was leading the championship up to 11 rounds unfortunate he last final two games and secured 10th place in one of the strongest event of India where 19 Grand Masters, 24 International Masters, participated . United Karnataka chess Association thank DYES, AAI and government of Karnataka or continued support to Stany for achieving this goal. We also thank print and electronic media for supporting him. We thank DCM and Sports minister of Government of Karnataka, Dr.G .Parameshwara for announcing 10 lakhs for his achievement in chess. UKCA is proud to announce 1 lakh as token of appreciation to Stany for his achievement. On behalf all chess players of Karnataka, United Karnataka Chess Association congratulate Stany G A, His Parents and Coaches.

Kishan Gangolli of Karnataka achieved his Gold medal at Chess at Asian para games Indonesia 2018

Its a proud moment for us as Kishan Gangolli of Karnataka achieved his Gold medal at Chess at Asian para games Indonesia 2018. Team UKCA congratulates him for the accomplishment and wishes him good luck in future tournaments.

Niranjan Navlgund Of Belgum Finished 2nd place Under 25 National Chess Championship 2018

Niranjan Navlgund Of Belgum Finished 2nd place Under 25 National Chess Championship 2018 held at Bhopal Madhya Pradesh Team UKCA congratulates for the accomplishment and wishes him good luck in future tournaments.

Starting January 1, 2018, all the chess events of Karnataka organised under the aegis of UKCA will be assinged with event codes.

In order to take the Karnataka Chess to a whole new level, UKCA is proud to announce that, Starting January 1, 2018, all the chess events of Karnataka organised under the aegis of UKCA will be assinged with event codes. Let us help each other to give chess players a whole new experience by organizing chess tournaments in a much professional way. Please see the intructions on the left hand side of the Home page or under the Events menu. - Team UKCA

Team UKCA to felicitate first ever Karnataka Grand Master Thej Kumar On Dec 15th with 1 Lakh Cash

UKCA will be felicitating Karnataka's first Grand Master Thej Kumar with a cash of INR 100,000 on December 15th at Silicon City School, Bangalore. Team UKCA welcomes all the chess players and parents to witness this historic event. Let's all get together and celebrate Chess!! Look forward to see you all on Dec 15th at the IIFL Fide rated event at Silicon City School. - Team UKCA

Stany wins Sautron Open for the second time

Bangalore: Stany G A of Karnataka played 3 tournaments back to back in Norway and France during October. His 1st Tournament Oslo Chess Festival in Norway didn't turnout to be a successful one since Stany lost the last round to GM Urkedal Frode of Norway(2570) missing the podium finish However his next tournament Stavanger fared well for the Shimoga lad who finished 3rd ahead of many GMs and IMs. He scored 7 out of 9 rounds and drew the last game on top board against the tournament winner GM Quparadze of Georgia. But his best performance of the trip came from his 3rd tournament Sautron Open which he had won last year. In this tournament Stany scored 8 out of 9 with an impressive Performance rating of 2634. He couldn't make the GM norm because he didn't play any GMs But He did manage to defeat 3 IMs Gascon Del Nogal of Spain(2467), Manea Alexandru of Romania(2399 )and Kamran Shirazi of France(2354) consecutively, which helped win the tournament and also gain few rating points as well. Stany's current rating is 2502 and he is next going to play in London Chess Classic Fide Open and Hastings Masters in December.

Thej Kumar becomes first ever Karnataka Grand Master and 50th Indian Grand Master

Thej Kumar of Mysore becomes first ever Karnataka Grand Master and 50th GM of India. Team UKCA congratulates him for the accomplishment and thanks Thej Kumar for making Karnataka proud. UKCA wishes him good luck in his future endeavors.

IM Shivananda wins GOLD in NATIONAL TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP-2017

Bhopal: Captain of the Karnataka team Shivananda B.S. won the Individual Gold by getting the “ Best player of the tournament” Prize in the recently concluded 37th national team chess championship -2017 held at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. In the team events, defending champion Railways won the gold again in the open section while Air India women won the gold in the women’s section. At the conclusion of the seven rounds in this prestigious nine –rounds event, Karnataka was on par with the leaders Railways .The two teams met each other in the crucial eight round. Railways won the match and thus also won the tournament with a round to spare. Due to his superior performances in most of the matches, Shivananda won the “Player of the Tournament “ prize and with it the Individual Gold Medal ahead of the seven Grandmasters and eighteen International Masters. He remained undefeated, winning six games and drawing one. After twenty Years, a Karnataka player has won the Individual Gold medal in the National Team Championship. International Masters Shivananda B.S., Ravi Gopal Hedge,upcoming talents Sameer Ghotane , Shabdik Verma and Sridatta M V were part of the Karnataka team.

Karnataka Kids shines at National Schools Championships 2017

Nagpur: UKCA Congratulates to Ananya Arumbakkam for winning the National Schools 2017 Championships girls Under 11 event, Shriyana S Mallya for winning the girls Under 7 event and Arhan Chethan Anand for coming third in the Under 9 open event at Nagpur.

SWAB Awards UKCA as the Featured Sports Association of the Year 2016

Bangalore, Dec 4, 2016: Sports Writers Association of Bangalore(SWAB), awarded United Karnataka Chess Association as the Featured Sports Association of the Year 2016. The jury was comprised of India's leading newspaper sports editors. It was a suprising and exciting news for us, when Times of India Sports editor called on us couple of days back about this. We dedicated this award to all the District Chess Associations, Academies, Coaches, Players, Organizers, Arbiters and Parents and all those supported us directly and indirectly in this amazing journey. We truly acknowledge all of you. Our President Mr. D.P. Anantha and General Secretary Mr. Arvind Shastry received the award in front of dignitaries such as Criketer B S Chandrashekhar, Javagal Srinath, K L Rahul, International and national athletes and media fraternity in a grand award ceremony held at Hotel Le Meridian on Dec 4th 2016. It was an amazing moment for us!. Cilck on the images to see larger images or Click here to see more pictures >>

Viani Antonio D'Cunha becomes International Master

The Ekalavya Awardee of 2011(Chess) Viani Antonio D'Cunha of South Canara and a student of R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore has achieved the title International Master in Abu Dhabi Chess Festival - International Masters Tournament held from 21st to 29th August 2016. Viani Antonio D’cunha achieved his International Master title by attaining the required rating of 2400 in the last round against International Master Fawzy Adham of Egypt. Thus he is the first and only International Master in Chess from South Canara District. Viani has achieved 5 International Master (required for the title 3) norms out of which 3 norms were achieved in previous Abu Dhabi events. With the rating of 2346, he increased 41 points in Czech Open 2016 and 23 in Abu Dhabi Masters and now has a live rating of 2410.