Indian Chess Star Wins Tajikistan President’s Cup in Dushanbe

The international chess tournament for the President’s Cup of Tajikistan has wrapped up in Dushanbe after a week of intense competition held at the Istiqlol Hotel conference hall.

Organized by the Chess Federation of Tajikistan with support from FIDE and the Committee for Youth and Sports, the event brought together over 80 international-level masters from 15 countries, The Caspian Post informs via Tajik media.

India’s Anand Pranav emerged as the clear winner, scoring 7 out of 9 points and claiming the tournament’s top prize - $10,000.

Just half a point behind him, eight players shared second to ninth place, including Russian grandmasters Sergey Drygalov, Nikita Afanasiev, Kirill Shubin, Kirill Putrenko, Erdem Khubukshanov, and Artem Uskov, as well as India’s Subramaniyam Bharath and Gupta Sankalp.

The tournament followed a nine-round Swiss system with classic time control: 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment starting from move one - a format that kept the competition tight and ensured players with similar results met throughout the event.

The Chess Federation of Tajikistan highlighted the strong performance of local players: nearly half of the national team finished in the top 50, and Tajik athletes claimed six prize places in Group B.

The prize pool totaled $36,000 in Group A and $10,000 in Group B. Participants praised the high level of organization and noted that the format kept the intrigue alive until the final round, making the event both intense and entertaining.