Michal Krasenkow Dominates at Chola Chess; Arshpreet Singh Leads IM Group

by Devansh Singh - 24/06/2026

GM Michal Krasenkow is looking in red-hot form at the 2nd Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin Tournament. Krasenkow defeated GM Alexei Fedorov in the 4th round to gain the sole lead with 3.5/4 points. In another decisive result, GM Mihail Nikitenko defeated IM Kushagra Mohan to gain the sole 2nd place. In IM Group, Arshpreet Singh is delivering a dominant performance, having defeated Madhvendra Pratap Sharma to take the sole lead with 3.5/4. The 5th round of IM Group starts at 10:30 IST, while the GM Group starts at 14:00 IST. Photos: Devansh Singh

"I just want to play the way I am playing"

FM Arshpreet Singh is playing some tremendous chess at the Chola Chess IM Norm Round Robin Tournament. In the 1st round, he scored a win over David Gochelashvili, then he drew against Daakshin Arun, and after that, he scored 2 consecutive wins over Devindya Oshini and Madhvendra Pratap Sharma. When we talked with Arshpreet, he was in a great mood and shape! Hoping to see more interesting games by this talented youngster.

FM Arshpreet Singh

Check out the interview with Arshpreet Singh

GM Group

In the GM Group, there were 2 decisive results. Michal Krasenkow defeated Alexei Fedorov, and Mihail Nikiitenko defeated Kushagra Mohan. A long theoretical battle between Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy and Anuj Shrivatri ended in a draw. Harsh Suresh had some practical chances against Harshavardhan GB, but the game ended in a draw. Bala Chandra Prasad and David Antoine also drew their game.

GM Pranesh M made the ceremonial 1st move

Michal Krasenkow vs. Alexei Fedorov

It was a sharp battle where Fedorov got a massive advantage in the middlegame, and he was clearly winning, but Krasenkow kept on fighting and showed resilience, which helped him win the game in great style!

Position after 46....Ng5

White to play and find a beautiful checkmate

Michal Krasenkow vs. Alexei Fedorov

Kushagra Mohan vs. Mihail Nikitenko

Kushagra completely outplayed Nikitenko in the opening and got a clear winning advantage, but then he made some huge mistakes and lost in a great position. Must be a big heartbreak for this young talent as 2 wins slipped away in 2 consecutive rounds for him, hoping to see him back in his best shape.

Kushagra Mohan vs. Mihail Nikitenko

Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla vs. Antoine Bournel (0.5-0.5)

Harsh Suresh drew against Harshavardhan GB

Anuj Shrivatri and Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy drew their complex theoretical battle.

Replay Round 4 Games

GM Round 4 Results

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

Details

GM Round 5 Pairings

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

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.

Tournament Leader Michal Krasenkow

"Beware, I will fight till the end, and I will do my best to prevent them from making GM Norms"- Michal Krasenkow

IM Group

Arshpreet Singh scored a win over Madhvendra Pratap Sharma, while Devindya Oshini scored her 1st win of the tournament against Aleksej Aleksandrov. In another decisive result, De Silva L M S T defeated Pranav KP. Aarit Kapil managed to hold a bad position against David Gochelashvili and Daakshin Arun, and Madhesh Kumar also played a draw.

Tournament leader Arshpreet Singh

Arshpreet Singh defeated Madhvendra Pratap Sharma

De Silva L M S T vs. Pranav K P (1-0)

Oshini scored her 1st win of the tournament

Daakshin Arun vs Madhesh Kumar S (0.5-0.5)

David Gochelashvili vs. Aarit Kapil (0.5-0.5)

Replay Round 4 Games

IM Round 4 Results

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

Details

IM Round 5 Pairings

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

Details

Photo Gallery: Here

Discussions before the round

What should I play today?

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!