Aarit Kapil Moves to Joint Lead at 1st Chola Chess IM Norm Round Robin

by Devansh Singh - 25/06/2026

The 5th Day at the Chola Chess IM and GM Norm Tournament saw exciting results. In the IM Group, there were 4 decisive results. Tournament leader Arshpreet Singh suffered a loss against Madhesh Kumar, Aarit Kapil defeated Daakshin Arun, and Madhvendra Pratap Sharma scored a win against Devindya Oshini. In the GM Group, Michal Krasenkow is performing at the highest level. He scored another win to reach 4.5/5 and gained a full 1.5 points lead. Photos: Devansh Singh

Situation for Norms

As discussed in the technical meeting, to score a norm in the IM Group, a player must score 6 points, while in the GM Group, 6.5 points. With 4 rounds to go in the IM Group, the Norm chances look pretty high for Indian players, while in the GM Group, the chances are tougher now, as only 3 Indian players remain in the race, and all of them have to score 3.5 in the next 4 rounds.

FM Aarit Kapil scored an important victory over Daakshin Arun

After the match, we caught up with Aarit, where he discussed the game. Check out this detailed interview

GM Group

It was a peaceful day in the GM Group as 4 games ended in a draw. The only thing that is constant in this group is Michal Krasenkow's domination, as he scored another win and defeated GM Mihail Nikitenko. Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy had some practical chances against Kushagra Mohan, but the game eventually ended in a draw.

Mihail Nikitenko vs. Michal Krasenkow (0-1)

Check out this interview with GM Michal Krasenkow, who was once World No.10. In this interview, he discussed his games, his participation in Chess Olympiads, and much more.

Bala Chandra Prasad drew against Alexei Fedorov

Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy missed some crucial chances against Kushagra Mohan

Harshavardhan GB vs. Anuj Shrivatri (0.5-0.5)

Antoine Bournel vs. Harsh Suresh (0.5-0.5)

Replay Round 5 Games

GM Round 5 Results

Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	3	BLR	2388	GM	Fedorov, Alexei	½ - ½	IM	Dhulipalla, Bala Chandra Prasad	IND	2432	10	PGN
2	4	BLR	2479	GM	Nikitenko, Mihail	0 - 1	GM	Krasenkow, Michal	POL	2483	2	PGN
3	5	IND	2503	IM	Ajay, Santhosh Parvathareddy	½ - ½	IM	Kushagra, Mohan	IND	2456	1	PGN
4	6	IND	2493	IM	Harshavardhan, G B	½ - ½	IM	Anuj, Shrivatri	IND	2483	9	PGN
5	7	FRA	2430	IM	Bournel, Antoine	½ - ½	IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2435	8	PGN

Details

Standings after 5 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2	GM	Krasenkow, Michal	POL	2483	4,5	0	9,75	4
2	8	IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2435	3	1	7,75	1
3	6	IM	Harshavardhan, G B	IND	2493	3	2	5,75	1
4	5	IM	Ajay, Santhosh Parvathareddy	IND	2503	3	2	5,5	1
5	4	GM	Nikitenko, Mihail	BLR	2479	3	4	4	3
6	3	GM	Fedorov, Alexei	BLR	2388	2,5	0	4,75	1
7	10	IM	Dhulipalla, Bala Chandra Prasad	IND	2432	2	0	4	0
8	1	IM	Kushagra, Mohan	IND	2456	1,5	0	4,75	0
9	9	IM	Anuj, Shrivatri	IND	2483	1,5	0	4,25	0
10	7	IM	Bournel, Antoine	FRA	2430	1	0	2,5	0

Details

GM Round 6 Pairings

Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	10	IND	2432	IM	Dhulipalla, Bala Chandra Prasad		IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2435	8
2	9	IND	2483	IM	Anuj, Shrivatri		IM	Bournel, Antoine	FRA	2430	7
3	1	IND	2456	IM	Kushagra, Mohan		IM	Harshavardhan, G B	IND	2493	6
4	2	POL	2483	GM	Krasenkow, Michal		IM	Ajay, Santhosh Parvathareddy	IND	2503	5
5	3	BLR	2388	GM	Fedorov, Alexei		GM	Nikitenko, Mihail	BLR	2479	4

Details

IM Group

The 5th round delivered some of the most crucial results of the round. Arshpreet SIngh, who was leading the tournament, lost to Madhesh Kumar S. Aarit Kapil defeated Daakshin Arun to gain the joint lead. Madhvendra Pratap Sharma scored a win over Devindya Oshini. Aleksej Aleksandrov defeated IM De Silva L M S T. The only game that ended in a draw was between Pranav KP and David Gochelashvili.

Aarit defeated Daakshin in a tactical masterclass

Madhesh Kumar defeated tournament leader Arshpreet Singh

Madhevendra Pratap Sharma defeated Devindya Oshini in a long knight endgame

Aleksej Aleksandrov vs, De Silva L M S T (1-0)

Pranav KP vs. David Gochelashvili (0.5-0.5)

Replay Round 5 Games

IM Round 5 Results

Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	3	IND	2373	FM	Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma	1 - 0	WIM	Gunawardhana, Devindya Oshini	SRI	2340	10	PGN
2	4	IND	2315	FM	Madhesh, Kumar S	1 - 0	FM	Arshpreet, Singh	IND	2337	2	PGN
3	5	IND	2331	FM	Aarit, Kapil	1 - 0	FM	Daakshin, Arun	IND	2308	1	PGN
4	6	IND	2308	FM	Pranav, K P	½ - ½	IM	Gochelashvili, David	RUS	2275	9	PGN
5	7	BLR	2433	GM	Aleksandrov, Aleksej	1 - 0	IM	De Silva, L M S T	SRI	2382	8	PGN

Details

Standings after 5 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	5	FM	Aarit, Kapil	IND	2331	DEL	3,5	1	8,75	2	0
2	7	GM	Aleksandrov, Aleksej	BLR	2433	BLR	3,5	1	7,75	3	2
3	2	FM	Arshpreet, Singh	IND	2337	HAR	3,5	3	7	3	0
4	1	FM	Daakshin, Arun	IND	2308	TN	3	0	5,75	2	1
5	9	IM	Gochelashvili, David	RUS	2275	RUS	2,5	0	5,5	1	1
6	8	IM	De Silva, L M S T	SRI	2382	SRI	2,5	0	5,25	1	0
7	4	FM	Madhesh, Kumar S	IND	2315	PON	2	0	6,25	1	0
8	3	FM	Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma	IND	2373	MP	2	0	3,5	1	0
9	6	FM	Pranav, K P	IND	2308	TN	1,5	0	2,25	1	1
10	10	WIM	Gunawardhana, Devindya Oshini	SRI	2340	SRI	1	0	3,5	1	0

Details

IM Round 6 Pairings

Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	10	SRI	2340	WIM	Gunawardhana, Devindya Oshini		IM	De Silva, L M S T	SRI	2382	8
2	9	RUS	2275	IM	Gochelashvili, David		GM	Aleksandrov, Aleksej	BLR	2433	7
3	1	IND	2308	FM	Daakshin, Arun		FM	Pranav, K P	IND	2308	6
4	2	IND	2337	FM	Arshpreet, Singh		FM	Aarit, Kapil	IND	2331	5
5	3	IND	2373	FM	Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma		FM	Madhesh, Kumar S	IND	2315	4

Details

Player of the day

The Player of the day will be selected by the Author based on the performance of the player in a particular round.

FM Aarit Kapil for his 24-move game against Daakshin Arun

Photo Gallery: Here

Video Gallery

FM Arshpreet Singh played FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma in the 4th round of the 1st Chola Chess IM Norm Round Robin Tournament. Check out the post-match interview and see what happened in the game.

Points Required for Norm

As per the regulations and rating average of the tournament, 6 points are required to score an IM norm, while 6.5 for a GM Norm.

Lineup

GM Norm (L to R): GM Mihail Nikitenko, GM Alexei Fedorov, IM G B Harshavardhan, IM Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla, IM Antoine Bourne, IM Santhosh Parvathareddy Ajay, IM Kushagra Mohan, IM Shrivatri Anuj, IM Suresh Harsh, and GM Michal Krasenkow.

Participants of the GM Round Robin

IM Norm (L to R): GM Aleksej Aleksandrov, IM David Gochelashvili, IM L M S T De Silva, FM Kapil Aarit, FM Singh Arshpreet, FM Pratap Sharma Madhvendra, FM Kumar S Madhesh, FM Arun Daakshin, and FM K P Pranav. WIM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana was on her flight and will catch up soon!