Himal Gusain prevails at 37th All India Railway Individual Chess Championship 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 18/09/2025

IM Himal Gusain (Western Railway) scored an unbeaten 6/7 to win 37th All India Inter Railway Individual Chess Championship 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. GM P Shyaam Nikhil (Integral Coach Factory), GM Mitrabha Guha (Metro Railway) and IM Aronyak Ghosh (Eastern Railway) scored 5.5/7 each. They secured second, third and fourth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Himal defeated the eventual runner-up Shyaam in the penultimate sixth round and drew against the second runner-up, Mitrabha in the final round to become a clear champion. This is Himal's sixth tournament triumph of the year and the only non-rated victory among them. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Himal's sixth triumph of the year

GM P Shyaam Nikhil (Integral Coach Factory) made a fantastic start by winning five games in-a-row. IM Himal Gusain (Western Railway) defeated him in the sixth round to get himself in sole lead. Himal drew against GM Mitrabha Guha (Metro Railway) to become a clear champion, Mitrabha finished third. Shyaam shared the point with IM Aronyak Ghosh (Eastern Railway) to secure second place. Various players qualified to the upcoming World Railway Championship 2025. Two secret tournaments were followed by one exhibition Blitz Knockout tournament between eight players - only GMs and IMs. That will be mentioned in a separate report.

Champion - IM Himal Gusain (Western Railway) 6/7

Interview with IM Himal Gusain | Video: ChessBase India

Runner-up - GM P Shyaam Nikhil (Integral Coach Factory) 5.5/7

Second Runner-up - GM Mitrabha Guha 5.5/7

Interview with GM Mitrabha Guha | Video: ChessBase India

Round 7: GM Mitrabha Guha (Metro Railway) - IM Himal Gusain (Western Railway): 0.5-0.5

IM Himal Gusain scored an unbeaten 6/7, finished a half point ahead of the rest, defeated the eventual runner-up - GM P Shyaam Nikhil and drew against the second runner-up - GM Mitrabha Guha

Photo Gallery

Players in action

The tournament gate - 37th All India Railway Chess Championship 2025

GM Mitrabha Guha (Metro Railway) vs FM Gurpreet Pal Singh (Northern Railway) piqued a lot of interest

A visually challenged player - Shashidhar K M (South Western Railway) during his fourth round battle against Chalapathi Rao K (East Coast Railway)

Top boards

The tournament hall - Eastern Railway Sports Complex, Majerhat in Kolkata, West Bengal

For more photos, please click here.

Video Gallery

Can FM Gurpreet Pal Singh seize his advantage against GM Mitrabha Guha? | Video: ChessBase India

Is this Pawn down Rook Endgame defendable? FM Abhishek Das vs GM P Shyaam Nikhil | Video: ChessBase India

Interview with Suman Basu after his draw against GM Visakh N R in Round 1 (Bangla audio) | Video: ChessBase India

GM Saptarshi Roy vs GM Diptayan Ghosh, Round 2 | Video: ChessBase India

Interview with Biswajit Chatterjee after his draw against GM Vignesh N R in Round 1 (Bangla audio) | Video: ChessBase India

India's 50th GM Thej Kumar M S made his 17th appearance at All India Inter Railway | Video: ChessBase India

GM Sayantan Das becomes the first India to win a Rating Open tournament in Taiwan | Video: ChessBase India

The support of Indian Railways in the lives and career of GMs and IMs | Video: ChessBase India

The first Indian Railways recruit to become a Grandmaster - Laxman R R | Video: ChessBase India

IM Neelash Saha qualifies for FIDE World Cup and World Railway Championship 2025 | Video: ChessBase India

Interview with IM Ayush Sharma after scoring his final GM-norm | Video: ChessBase India

GM Saptarshi RoyChowdhury wins the first-ever rating tournament in Nagaland | Video: ChessBase India

Venue tour | Video: ChessBase India

A total of 91 players including 13 GMs and 18 IMs represented various railway divisions of Indian Railways across the country. The four-day seven-round Swiss League non-rating individual tournament was organized by Eastern Railway Sports Association at Eastern Railway Sports Academy Complex, Majerhat in Kolkata, West Bengal from 22nd to 25th August 2025. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	6	IM	Gusain Himal	IND	2477	WR	6	26,5	29,5	24,8
2	11	GM	Shyaam Nikhil P	IND	2423	ICF	5,5	28,5	32	23,3
3	4	GM	Mitrabha Guha	IND	2515	METRO	5,5	27	30,5	23,3
4	5	IM	Aronyak Ghosh	IND	2514	ER	5,5	26,5	30,5	23,5
5	10	IM	Ayush Sharma	IND	2432	WR	5	27	30	20
6	3	GM	Vignesh N R	IND	2516	SR	5	26	29	20,8
7	2	GM	Visakh N R	IND	2552	ICF	5	25	28	19,8
8	16	GM	Thejkumar M. S.	IND	2358	SWR	5	23,5	26,5	18,5
9	28	GM	Laxman R.R.	IND	2251	ICF	4,5	28,5	30,5	18,5
10	1	GM	Ghosh Diptayan	IND	2576	ER	4,5	27,5	31,5	19,3