Chess · Worth knowing

Indian prodigy FM Aarit Kapil, just 10 years old, has secured his second International Master norm by winning the Rudar XXXVA GM Round Robin in Serbia with an unbeaten 6/9 score and 2527 performance rating. Playing in a field of three grandmasters and three international masters, Aarit clinched the norm with a round to spare, recording wins against GM Momchil Nikolov, GM Radoslav Dimitrov, and IM Kirill Klulin, alongside six draws. This achievement comes only four months after earning his first IM norm at the Menorca Open in April, making him one of the youngest players ever to reach this milestone. With two of three required norms now secured, Aarit still needs a third norm and to reach a 2400 rating to earn his IM title, but his coach GM Srinath Narayanan expects him to become a grandmaster within two to three years given his rapid improvement trajectory.

Song Yuxin (China) won the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2026 in Dortmund with 3.5 points after 5 rounds of a six-round round-robin tournament. The international women's championship, held August 2-9, 2026, featured an average rating of 2409 and included titled players such as IM Buksa Nataliya (Ukraine, 2.5 points), IM Wagner Dinara (Germany, 2 points), and IM Kulon Klaudia (Poland, 2 points).