Iniyan P Crowned Indian Chess Champion 2025
Panneerselvam Iniyan is the new Indian Chess Champion of 2025. He won the title after a close race, finishing ahead of Goutham Krishna on tiebreaks to secure his first-ever national title.
A Grand Event in Andhra Pradesh
The 62nd Indian National Chess Championship was held at Vignan University in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, from September 21 to October 1. It was an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control.
Even though not all of India’s top stars participated, the tournament featured a huge field of 394 players, including:
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14 Grandmasters (GMs)
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30 International Masters (IMs)
Iniyan’s Road to Victory
Iniyan was the top seed and one of the favorites, but his journey was not easy. For most of the event, he was trailing the leaders.
The turning point came in the penultimate round when he faced Krishnan Sasikiran, who was the sole leader at that time. In a tense endgame, Sasikiran made a mistake in what should have been a drawn position, and Iniyan took his chance to win.
Final Round Drama
Going into the last round, Iniyan held a half-point lead over four competitors. He played it safe and drew against Abhijeet Gupta, finishing with 9/11 points.
Goutham Krishna also won his final game and caught up, but due to a lower Buchholz score (the first tiebreak rule), he had to settle for second place.
Double National Champion
With this win, Iniyan now holds both the Classical and Rapid National titles, as he had already won the Indian Rapid Championship in March 2025.
Podium Finishers
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🥇 Gold: Iniyan P — 9/11
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🥈 Silver: Goutham Krishna — 9/11 (lost on tiebreak)
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🥉 Bronze: Krishnan Sasikiran — 8.5/11 (best among six tied players)
Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Source: FIDE CHESS NEWS
