Three competing tickets vie for FIDE leadership as the Asian youth circuit crowns new champions
Plus: IM Apoorv Kamble's unbeaten surge in rapid, and ChessBase India hits 3 million YouTube subscribers.
TL;DR
- Jan Henric Buettner and Wadim Rosenstein join Timur Turlov as FIDE presidential candidates; the election runs September 26–27 in Samarkand.
- The 28th Asian Youth Championships crowned 12 champions across age groups from U8 to U18, with Vietnam and China dominating team medals.
- IM Apoorv Kamble won the ChessFusion Rapid Rating unbeaten at 8.5/9, edging the tournament leader in the final round.
Tournaments
Asian youth crown fierce finishes; India's Kamble blazes through rapid
The continent's young talents clinched 12 titles with eight decided by tie-breaks, while an Indian IM swept an all-play-all tournament.
The 28th Asian Youth Chess Championships wrapped in Shenzhen with dramatic tie-breaks across all age categories. Vietnam's Truong Phuc Nhat Nguyen posted the strongest score of 8/9 in the Boys U8 section, while champions emerged in 11 other divisions from Under 8 to Under 18. Vietnam and China each took 11 team medals, with Vietnam's six gold medals carrying the squad to first place overall. (via FIDE)
Apoorv Kamble dominates rapid field. IM Apoorv Kamble claimed the ChessFusion Rapid Rating crown with an unbeaten 8.5/9, storming through a field of 877 players to claim the Bangalore title. In the decisive final round, Kamble defeated the tournament leader Anuj Shrivatri to lock in first. (via ChessBase India)
Vignesh N R posts norm campaign. GM Vignesh N R claimed the GM/IM Round Robin at the 2nd DAV–Go Checkmate International Chess Prix in Singapore with 6/9 points. The six-day festival drew 352 players from 11 countries and crowned champions across multiple categories. (via ChessBase India)
World championship cycle
Three candidacies submitted as FIDE presidency race takes shape
The federation received Buettner and Rosenstein bids alongside Turlov's earlier announcement, setting up a three-way September vote.
FIDE's presidential nomination deadline closed with three competing tickets submitted for the September 26–27 election in Samarkand. Jan Henric Buettner is running with Malcolm Pein as deputy, Wadim Rosenstein's ticket pairs him with Gordon Tang, and Timur Turlov continues his bid with Viswanathan Anand at his side. The Electoral Commission will conduct preliminary examinations before approving the candidacies. The winner will lead the federation into the youngest world championship match ever—Gukesh Dommaraju vs Javokhir Sindarov, set for November 23 to December 17. (via FIDE)
Chess culture
ChessBase India hits 3 million YouTube subscribers
The channel joins an elite tier of chess content creators while logging 3.53 billion total views since its 2015 launch.
ChessBase India reached 3 million YouTube subscribers on July 26, becoming only the third chess channel to hit the milestone after Gotham Chess and Hikaru Nakamura's channel. The platform, which launched in 2015, has accumulated 19,249 videos with 3.53 billion total views and an estimated 13,125 cumulative viewer-years. Nearly 70 percent of viewers are under 35; India accounts for 65.7 percent of views, with substantial international audiences from the US, Indonesia, Germany, and the Philippines. (via ChessBase India)