Alisher Suleymenov wins Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin, Ethan Vaz second, Ameya Audi third

by Devansh Singh - 11/02/2026

Kazakh Grandmaster Alisher Suleymenov is the Champion of the Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin Tournament. Alisher drew against IM Ameya Audi in the final round in a hard-fought battle, sealing the tournament victory with 6/9 points. IM Ethan Vaz secured second place with 5.5/9 points and a better tiebreak score than IM Ameya Audi, who lost his game against Ethan in round 2 of the event. Ameya scored 5.5/9 points to secure third place, but he barely missed his GM norm by half a point as his last game against Alisher ended in a draw. The event was successfully organized at Chola Chess, Chennai, from 3rd to 11th February. Photos: Chola Chess/Himank Ghosh

So Close, Yet So Far

Ameya Audi played some beautiful chess throughout the event; he lost just one game against Ethan Vaz in the second round and had 3 wins and 5 solid draws. In the last round, it was his chance to score a GM norm and clinch the title, but Alisher played some solid chess and held him for a draw. Ameya missed his norm by half a point, but the way he played is definitely going to motivate him for his next events.

The Champion!!

IM Ameya Audi scored 5.5/9 and increased his rating by 18 points | Photo: Chola Chess

Champion of the Event, GM Alisher Suleymenov, lost his only game against Ethan and scored 4 wins and drew 4 games. Alisher increased his rating by 12 points and the prize of ₹1,00,000 | Photo: Chola Chess

Ethan Vaz secured the second place and the prize of ₹75,000 | Photo: Chola Chess

Top 3 Finishers | Photo: Chola Chess

The inaugural move was played by 5-time World Champion, Grandmaster Vishy Anand, who came as the Chief guest for the final day | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Vishy Anand with Kanika Subbiah and GM RB Ramesh | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Beautiful Trophy and Memorabilia

Some moments before the start of the last round | Photo: Himank Ghosh

The team behind the successful completion of the event: Left to right- Mr Narendra Kumar, Mrs Kanika Subbiah, Mr Nitin Shenvi, Mr Bhaskar.v, Mr Viswanathan Anand, Mr Paul, Arokia Raj S, and GM RB Ramesh | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Some fun moments during the closing ceremony | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Chess players and Analysis: 'A never-ending love story.'

Viswanathan Anand in Chola Chess for the inauguration of the last round | Video: Chola Chess

Closing Ceremony Photos by Himank Ghosh: Here

Performance of Indian Players

Ethan secured the 2nd place and increased his rating by 4 points, taking his live rating to 2522 | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Ethan Vaz vs Harsh Suresh Round 9 (1-0)

Ameya Audi secured the third place with 5.5/9, and barely missed his GM norm | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Mayank Chakraborty scored 5/9 points to get the 5th place, and he increased his rating by 5 points | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Aronyak Ghosh lost 1 game, won 2, and drew his other rounds to score 5/9 | Photo: Himank Ghosh

It wasn't Akshay's best performance at this event, as he was not able to win any game, but he's going to come back stronger now. | Photo: Himank Ghosh

IM Harsh Suresh had a tough time at the event as he lost 11 rating points. The lessons learnt from this event are definitely going to help him in the next events

An interview with Supercoaches RB Ramesh and Aarthie | Video: Chessbase India

Watch the live commentary of the last round | Video: Chessbase India

Photos by Himank Ghosh: Here

Replay Last Round Games

Last Round Results

Bo.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	PGN
1	IND	2518	IM	Vaz, Ethan	1 - 0	IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2443	PGN
2	IND	2381	IM	Borgaonkar, Akshay	½ - ½	GM	Boyer, Mahel	FRA	2486	PGN
3	IND	2418	IM	Audi, Ameya	½ - ½	GM	Suleymenov, Alisher	KAZ	2500	PGN
4	IND	2533	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	½ - ½	GM	Delgado Ramirez, Neuris	PAR	2511	PGN
5	IND	2473	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	1 - 0	GM	Girel, Joseph	FRA	2499	PGN

Details

Final Standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	3	GM	Suleymenov, Alisher	KAZ	2500	6	0	24,25	4	1
2	5	IM	Vaz, Ethan	IND	2518	5,5	1	25,25	4	1
3	7	IM	Audi, Ameya	IND	2418	5,5	2	22	3	2
4	2	GM	Delgado Ramirez, Neuris	PAR	2511	5	0	21,75	1	1
5	9	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	IND	2473	5	0	21,5	2	0
6	8	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	IND	2533	5	0	20,5	2	0
7	4	GM	Boyer, Mahel	FRA	2486	3,5	0	14,25	2	0
8	1	GM	Girel, Joseph	FRA	2499	3,5	0	14	1	0
9	6	IM	Borgaonkar, Akshay	IND	2381	3	0	13,75	0	0
	10	IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2443	3	0	13,75	0	0