Four rounds into the strong Sharjah Masters, eight players are sharing the lead with 3 points each. Among them are Ju Wenjun and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the only two players who kicked off the tournament with back-to-back wins. Aryan Chopra is also among the co-leaders the 21-year-old, ranked 35th in Sharjah, beat his higher-rated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in round 4. | Pictured: Co-leaders Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin drew their round-4 encounter | Photos: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shjmasters/">Tournament’s Facebook page</a>
GM Sethuraman S P gave himself the best gift on his 30th birthday, as he won the 2023 Cappelle-la-Grande Open. He and GM Harsha Bharathakoti scored an unbeaten 7½/9 each. Sethuraman won the tournament on tie-breaks. The game between them in the penultimate round ended in a draw. WIM Mounika Akshaya Bommini won the Best Woman prize. | Photo: L'Echiquier Cappellois
The newly created FIDE Circuit Leaderboard tracks players’ performances in a number of eligible tournaments. At the end of the year, the top-rated player will get a spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. After obtaining two solid results at the Tata Steel Masters and the WR Chess Masters, Wesley So climbed to first place in this month’s list. Anish Giri and Levon stand second and third respectively. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / WR Chess Masters
ChessBase India hosted its second "Death Match" duel and this time Gukesh D and Arjun Erigaisi played against each other. The show and other chess events, such as a comedian chess tournament, were part of the DreamHack gamers fair in Hyderabad. The match was broadcasted live and attracted about 200,000 viewers: Results and video. | Photos: ChessBase India