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SRM-A And BITS Pilani Hyderabad Lead After Round 4

SRM-A And BITS Pilani Hyderabad Lead After Round 4

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SRM-A and BITS Pilani Hyderabad (Martial Knights-A) are leading the 2025 India College Chess Championship Autumn Season (ICCL). Teams VIT A and SRCC are currently in third and fourth places, respectively. 

Standings after Round 4 | Division 1 


*The standings reflect the current status. Some matches between colleges are yet to be played.

Interesting Tactical Moments

One of the exciting aspects of online chess is the notion that "anything can happen"—reminds me of Anupam Kher's play—Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai! His famous line, "If this can happen, then anything can happen"—hinting at the synchronicities that come up unexpectedly. The twists in this game are hard to predict, but one thing to learn is that Black kept on putting up resistance and was rewarded. 

Srihari got a chance to play a cute checkmate. There are many ways, but I loved the final position. 

After that warmup exercise, here is a puzzle. Can you find the best way for White?

IM Raahul VS forced instant resignation with his move. Do you see it? 

Keeping an eye on unsupported pieces can be useful. Black's previous move ...Nb6 leads to a nice tactical idea. IM Harsh Suresh found it! Can you?

Going with the same theme, can you exploit a hanging piece?

In addition to observing hanging pieces, one of the tools that many coaches recommend is checking for possible drawbacks of your opponent's previous move. In this case, Black played ...e4. Can you spot the drawback and win as White?

Let's end our puzzle session with a cute move played by Black!

Standings after Round 4 | Division 2

Two teams of the Indian Institute of Technology have scored three points along with IIMC Team. St. Joseph's College of Engineering is currently in fourth place with two points. 

Standings after Round 4 | Division 3 

In Division 3, three teams have scored three match victories so far, and it remains to be seen if one of the teams will take the sole lead in the upcoming rounds!

The battle for the top prizes will continue, and we will bring you updates on the next set of rounds soon. You can go to the event's page to follow all the games, results, playing schedule, and more. 

The India College Chess Championship is the premier online chess competition for college students in India. It is a team event starting August 14, 2025, and featuring a $15,000 prize fund.