8/31/2026 – Chola Chess is building a dedicated space for India's strong chess players to train and improve. It is led by R. B. Ramesh and Aarthie Ramaswamy, and supported by a committed team. With consistent camps and serious training, it has already impacted over 1300 players across the country. In this article, we take a look at some of the positions studied during a Chola Chess camp. Take your time and see if you can solve them. | Pictured: GM Debashis Das | Photo: Chola Chess
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YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before. FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
The Hyper-Accelerated dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
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A space where strong players get stronger
By Rasika Ratnaparkhi
Chola Chess is one of India's most ambitious and structured training initiatives. It was launched in July 2025 with a goal to identify and nurture India's promising chess talents. On 1 April 2026, they conducted their 100th chess camp. Behind this initiative are four driven individuals: GM R.B. Ramesh, WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy (who leads Chess Gurukul), along with Kanika Subbiah and Vellayan Subbiah from Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company. Together, they have built a program that has trained over 1300 players so far.
Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.
How four individuals came together to launch the Chola Chess initiative
The programme provides high-quality training to selected players at no cost. This approach plays a significant role in widening the base of competitive chess in India. Some of India's most familiar names like Tania Sachdev, Soumya Swaminathan, Adhiban Baskaran and many more, have been part of Chola Chess camps. You can read more about it in this article.
So what do they actually study? Below are positions from the Chola Chess training camp. GM Michal Krasenkow, GM Debashis Das and GM Sundarrajan Kidambi were the coaches for this camp. See if you can solve these positions. Solutions to these positions are provided at the end of the article.
Find here problems from the series' first two editions: Part 1 | Part 2
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
Positions
Solutions
Select an entry from the list to switch between positions
The Chola Chess team has also shared three fascinating games with us. Take a look at them and see what you can learn.
ChessBase IndiaChessBase India is currently the biggest chess news portal and chess software distributor in India. We have daily reports about tournaments in India, profiles of the best talents and information about players performing admirably at the international level. Our motto is “Powering Chess in India”. Apart from news, we provide all the services that are required to ease the life of a chess player.
7/12/2026 – Chola Chess is building a dedicated space for India's strong chess players to train and improve. It is led by R. B. Ramesh and Aarthie Ramaswamy, and supported by a committed team. With consistent camps and serious training, it has already impacted over 1300 players across the country. In this article, we take a look at some of the positions studied during a Chola Chess camp. Take your time and see if you can solve them. | Pictured: GM Debashis Das | Photo: Chola Chess
6/23/2026 – Chola Chess is building a dedicated space for India's strong chess players to train and improve. It is led by R. B. Ramesh and Aarthie Ramaswamy, and supported by a committed team. With consistent camps and serious training, it has already impacted over 1300 players across the country. In this article, we take a look at some of the positions studied during a Chola Chess camp. Take your time and see if you can solve them. | Pictured: GM Debashis Das | Photo: Chola Chess
On this 60 mins video we are going to concentrate on a simple, very solid idea in the main line Scandinavian, which even Magnus Carlsen has used to win games. Black focusses on making his life easy in the opening and forces White to work very hard to get advantage – but it is doubtful if White can get an advantage. Club players are always on the lookout for effective, time-saving solutions and here we have just that. Accompany FIDE Senior Trainer and IM Andrew Martin on this 60 mins video. You can learn a new opening system in 60 mins and start to play it with confidence on the very same day!
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
While tactics decide the game in concrete moments, strategy guides the entire battle. Understanding how to improve your pieces, create weaknesses, execute maneuvers, and steer the game toward favorable structures is what defines strong players.
The Italian Four Knights is the ideal choice. It combines the solid foundation of classical openings like the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game with an active, initiative-driven style of play.
IM Andrew Martin shows why this 19th-century opening weapon still is a fantastic choice for club players. The Evans produces exciting chess and teaches the art of attack.
The major part of the material on which the Petroff Defence Powerbook 2026 is based comes from the engine room of playchess.com: 357 000 games. This imposing number is supplemented by another 17 000 from Mega and from correspondence chess.
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