Sohum Lohia commented for Chessdom, “My main goal is to keep enjoying chess. I would also like to make improvements in the areas I’m currently struggling in. I would like to thank my family for believing in me and my Coaches for pushing me.” His mother Aarti Lohia noted, “I am very happy for Sohum. It hasn’t been an easy road for him because we moved to the UK when Sohum was 7. It was extremely difficult navigating the chess ecosystem in the UK as there was hardly any information or help available from chess parents or the federation. Despite the ups and downs Sohum stuck to chess and worked hard. His success comes from his focus and determination.”

Sohum Lohia – a rising chess star

Profile: International Master (IM) 
Sohum Lohia
Age: 15 | Nationality: Indian | Title: International Master (2025)

Sohum Lohia is a 15-year-old chess prodigy from England and one of some 35 International Masters under the age of 16 worldwide. With a FIDE rating on the rise and a string of successes to his name, he is fast becoming a name to watch in the world of competitive chess.

Born in Singapore, Sohum began playing chess at the age of 6—learning the game alongside his mother, Aarti Lohia. His natural talent quickly caught the attention of a visiting Indian chess coach, who urged Aarti to invest in formal training. Unfortunately, by the time Sohum turned 7 the family had to move to the UK which resulted in a one year break from chess for young Sohum.  It was difficult for the family to navigate the chess ecosystem in the UK so Aarti reached out to family friend Aruna Anand (5-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand’s wife) for advice and this led to his early mentorship under RB Ramesh, the renowned coach of several Indian chess stars, including GM R. Praggnanandhaa.

By age nine, Sohum was back at the board—and rising fast. In 2019, he made history by winning both the British Under-10 and Under-11 Championships in the same year, a feat not repeated since 1996.  Earlier he had won the British under-8 championships and won 2nd place in the under-9 championships.   

Sohum’s growth continued steadily. By the end of 2021, he had crossed a FIDE ELO rating of 2200, and with the support of his coaches, he kept climbing. Chess columnist Leonard Barden identified Sohum as one of England’s top juniors. 

His training has been shaped by the guidance of world-class mentors, including RB Ramesh and GM Luke McShane. Sohum also draws immense inspiration and guidance from GM Viswanathan Anand and Aruna Anand, close family friends whose counsel has deeply influenced his growth both on and off the board.

Behind his rise is not just talent, but also a family’s dedication. His mother, Aarti, has been his constant companion—traveling across continents, balancing life with two other children, and spending countless hours outside tournament halls. Her advocacy for chess and belief in its power to develop discipline and resilience have been pivotal in shaping Sohum’s journey. Aarti is currently filming her first chess documentary.  

With the International Master title now to his name, Sohum stands at the edge of even greater challenges—with the Grandmaster title in sight. Whether it’s his ability to be calm under pressure, deep strategic insight, or love for the game, one thing is clear: this is just the opening act of a remarkable chess career.

England Open 50+ team: GM Michael Adams (2661), GM John Emms (2411), GM Glenn Flear (2366), GM Nigel Davies (2309)

England Open 65+ team: GM John Nunn (2528), GM Anthony Kosten (2366), GM Jonathan Mestel (2449), IM Peter Large (2342), IM Chris Baker (2151)

England Women 50+ team: IM Susan Lalic (2227), WIM Ingrid Lauterbach (1998), WIM Natasha Regan (2056), WGM Sheila Jackson (2031), WFM Petra Fink-Nunn (1997)

Joining the English chess domination was the England Open 50+ second team, which won the bronze medal.

But England did not stop there! In Open 65+ England won four gold and one silver individual medals, in the Open 50+ (two participating teams) they won four gold, one silver, and four bronze medals, for a total of 14 individual board medals. Scroll down for the full list.

The European Senior Team Chess Championships 2025 will be covered in the Chessdom newsletter, which we are launching soon – with news and more that you get DAILY to your mailbox for FREE. Signup with your mail in the form below

European Senior Team Chess Championships 2025 final ranking

Medalists of the 50+ section:

England 1, 17 match points
Germany, 14 match points
England 2, 13 match points

Medalists of the 65+ section:
England 1, 16 match points (perfect score!)
Poland’s Lower Silesia Team, 12 match points
German Saxony Team, 11 match points

England’s Women’s 50+ team emerged as the European Women’s Senior Team Chess Champions 2025.

Here are the best players by board. As per the ECU rules, tiebreak 1 is Performance, tiebreak 2 is game points, tiebreak 3 is games ascending

Best board awards 50+

Best board awards 65+

Live games of the Hampshire Chess Association Congress Open 2024 brought to you in cooperation with Lichess.

Participants Hampshire Chess Association Congress Open 2024

Organizers are Chessville Ltd and ChessEngland.com and signup for the event continues

Organizers are Milton Keynes Chess and ChessEngland.com

The extensive library contains 19th and 20th century books, journals, pamphlets, and tournament programmes relating to every aspect of chess, from ‘how to play’ manuals, match and tournament books, player biographies and general histories to the art of the chess piece and the rise of chess computer games. The archive papers include files on the administration and management of the ECF, and there are also artefacts including tournament banners, chess sets, timer clocks, badges and even a panel of chess-themed stained glass from Harry Golombek’s front door! The collection also includes a more or less complete set of year books from 1907 onwards produced independently and then by the BCF from the 1920’s onwards and more recently by the ECF. Various chess luminaries have donated their libraries to the ECF and these contributions are marked by bookplates in the volumes.

In addition, the ECF recently accepted a painting by Xavier White which will be displayed alongside the ECF Library. Robert Walks Through Water (3,4) is a portrait of chess player and writer Robert (Bob) Wade, who lived near White and struck up a friendship with him over crosswords in a cafe. White wanted the portrait to be united with Wade’s books, which have been assimilated into the ECF Library.

A light-hearted blog post by David Millns at DMU following the transfer of the library, in which he says —
‘After many lockdown related delays, recently we were able to take in the library and archive of the English Chess Federation – nearly 200 crates of books! The Library is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the history of chess or looking to pick-up some tips for their own game. The books and journals will be catalogued in due course, but for now the collection can be browsed on the open shelves: just make an appointment via archives@dmu.ac.uk …’
A simple catalogue entry from Katharine Short can be found here.

While cataloguing of the books and journals is still in progress, researchers and visitors are welcome to browse the shelves and please feel free to contact the librarians at the link below if you would like to arrange a visit to view the collection.

Kimberlin Library, D
e Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH
Tel: 0116 2078776

Here are some of the recent tweets from the DMU Archives and Special Collections Account on Twitter highlighting some of the historic books within the collection in their #ChessTuesday series of tweets.

Press release of English Chess Federation

After several rapid and blitz games where the difference between the two players hardly ever threatened to become of decisive proportions, in Blitz Game 4 Nakamura repeated a line of a hybrid Grunfeld-English they had played earlier in the match.

Vachier-Lagrave began to suffer after he unwisely moved his queen to the kingside with 15…Qf5, when its lack of safety became a decisive factor.

Thereafter Nakamura took control of the centre and allowed MVL’s queen no respite, with the death-knell for MVL coming with 24 Ng5, when the queen is cornered. The picturesque final blow was delivered by 29 Bg4!, forcing the win of the queen due to a killer knight fork.

Both players’ match strategy appeared to be aimed at surviving with Black and waiting for the Blitz portion of the match. Nakamura’s adoption of the super-solid Berlin Wall defence in London marked a departure from his usual counter-attacking style, but it paid off in the end.

Nakamura takes home $120,000 for winning the Grand Chess Tour, while MVL pockets $80,000 as runner-up.

In the Third Place Playoff match, US World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana managed to salvage some pride, coming out on top in the Rapid and Blitz games against Armenia’s Levon Aronian, winning the second Rapid game and the final two Blitz games to secure victory by the score of 16-12.

(The scoring system awarded 6 points for each Classical game, while the Rapid games are worth 4 points and the Blitz games 2 points.)

Caruana’s payday was $60,000, while Aronian had to be satisfied with $40,000. Caruana’s third place guarantees him a place in the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, the GCT announced today.

In a press release, The Grand Chess Tour announced on Monday it will be expanded to include two new Rapid and Blitz events, in India and Cote D’Ivoire, which will replace the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz, while there will be a new Classical tournament in Croatia. The total prize fund will also be increased, to at least $1.5 million, and Gameplan Sports Pvt. Ltd, one of India’s foremost corporate and sports branding agencies, has been appointed as an official sponsorship and branding partner.

Hikaru Nakamura deploys the Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez against Maxime-Vachier Lagrave in Rapid Game 1 of the Grand Chess Tour Final on December 17. (Photo: Lennart Ootes)

The London Chess Classic is the final leg of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour. It is the flagship event of Chess in Schools and Communities and includes a range of amateur and age-grade competitions for 1,000s of children from the charity initiative nationwide.

By Tim Wall

As in Game 1, Black demonstrated full equality in a well-trodden main line of the queenless middlegame, leaving the players to dispute the merits of an ultimately level endgame that had elements of asymmetry, but not enough imbalance to create a serious advantage for either side. MVL’s 22 e6!? effectively led to simplification and further accurate play by both players ensured the draw.

As in the recent World Championship match, draws in Classical play now mean that the London Chess Classic, the concluding event in the Grand Chess Tour 2018, will be decided fully in the Rapid and Blitz portion of the match.

On Monday, there will be 2 Rapid and 4 Blitz games, and if required there will be a playoff of 2 more rapid games and ultimately an Armageddon game. The total prize money for the Final is $200,000.

The Third Place Playoff match between Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian, which has a prize fund of $100,000, also saw a draw in Game 2, with a draw by repetition after 21 moves as Caruana equalised comfortably with his trademark Petroff Defence.

Each Classical game counts for 6 points, while the Rapid games are worth 4 points and the Blitz games 2 points.

Live coverage of the London Chess Classic matches resumes at 14:00 UTC on Monday, December 17.

Joshua John, an England junior international who started playing chess through the Chess in Schools and Communities programme in Newham, plays the ceremonial first move for Maxime-Vachier Lagrave Game 2 of the Grand Chess Tour Final. (Photo: Lennart Ootes)

The London Chess Classic is the final leg of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour. It is the flagship event of Chess in Schools and Communities and includes a range of amateur and age-grade competitions for 1,000s of children from the charity initiative nationwide.

By Tim Wall

• The result ratchets up the tension for Game 2, which will be broadcast live from 14:00 UTC on Sunday, as a win would give a lead of 6 points going into the Rapid and Blitz portion of the match on Monday.

• In the Third Place Playoff match, Levon Aronian challenged Fabiano Caruana strongly in an Italian Game, but the players acquiesced to a draw by repetition as Caruana neutralized Aronian’s initiative.

• Game 1 in the British Knockout Final and Third Place Playoff matches also finished in well-contested draws.

Hikaru Nakamura took on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a main line of his favourite Grunfeld Defence in Game 1 of the London Chess Classic on Saturday but failed to achieve any advantage. After Nakamura’s far advanced passed d-pawn fell, MVL emerged with a small endgame edge, but was unable to convert it and a draw was agreed in 50 moves.

The result leaves the players on 3 points each going into Game 2. In total, the Grand Chess Tour Final will be decided over 2 Classical, 2 Rapid and 4 Blitz games, with a total of 28 points at stake. The winner of the Grand Chess Tour Final will pocket $120,000, while the runner-up will take home $80,000.

In the Third Place Playoff match, Levon Aronian caused Fabiano Caruana some awkward moments with a sharp pawn sacrifice for the initiative in an Italian Game, but Caruana was able to neutralize Aronian’s play and the players opted for a repetition after a series of checks against Caruana’s uncastled king.

In the British Knockout Final, Gawain Jones managed to neutralize Luke McShane’s Italian Game, rounding up an insufficiently defended extra kingside pawn to force a drawn king and pawn ending.

In the British KO Third Place Playoff, Mickey Adams pressed David Howell strongly in an offbeat Two Knights Caro-Kann. The game was drawn in 41 moves, when Adams was the exchange up for a pawn in the ending.

Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime-Vachier Lagrave contest a Main Line Grunfeld in Game 1 of their Grand Chess Tour Final at Olympia Conference Centre in London. The game was drawn in 50 moves. (Photo: Lennart Ootes)

The London Chess Classic is the final leg of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour. It is the flagship event of Chess in Schools and Communities and includes a range of amateur and age-grade competitions for 1,000s of children from the charity initiative nationwide.

By Tim Wall