On Saturday, December 13, 2025, Woman chess Grandmaster Nandhidhaa PV has reclaimed her title after defeating Woman International Master Srishti Pandey of Maharashtra in the 11th and final round of the 51st National Women’s Chess Championship held in Durgapur. The Tamil Nadu player scored 9.5/11 points in the final round and finished a half point ahead of other players to successfully defend her title.
Meanwhile, Women Grandmaster Mary Ann Gomes of PSPB defeated WGM Varshini V of Tamil Nadu by scoring 9 points in 11 rounds. On the other hand, 2025 National Sub-Junior Girls champion and Woman FIDE Master Arshiya Das of Tripura defeated former National Junior Girls champion and WFM Shubhi Gupta of Uttar Pradesh. Arshiya finished at No. 3, scoring 8.5 points.
With the victory, Nandhidhaa has secured her second consecutive title of the National Women’s Chess Championship.
Earlier in the championship, defending champion Nandhidhaa kept her lead after defeating Arshiya in the ninth round on Thursday, December 11. On that day, she scored 8.5 points. Meanwhile, Shubhi Gupta defeated G. Shivamshika to take the second spot in the rankings with 8 points. With half a point behind, Gomes secured third place with a 7.5 score.
The young chess prodigy from Sankari in Salem district has four International Master (IM) norms. Following her victory at the Nationals tournament, Nandhidhaa shared a heartfelt post on her Instagram account along with a picture of herself holding the trophy and the medal from the tournament victory. She also credited her win to her coaches and Grandmasters Shyam Sundar and Gavroche Flom.
Her Instagram post read, “Won the 🥇Gold medal in the 51st National Women’s Chess Championship. 🏆🏆Second National title in a row. I thank my coaches GM @shyamsundarmohanraj (@chessthulir camps) and GM @gavroche2626 for their continued guidance. I also thank @sportstn_ for their constant support.”
The National Women’s Chess Championship 2025 had a total prize pool of Rs 30 lakh. The winner and top will receive a cash prize of Rs 7,00,000. Meanwhile, the second and third position chess players will get Rs 5,50,000 and Rs 4,50,000 respectively.
The championship has been organised by the Sara Bangla Daba and Paschim Bardhaman Daba Sangstha.
Top 5 Finish in National Women’s Chess Championship 2025
1. P.V. Nandhidhaa (Tamil Nadu) 9.5 points
2. Mary Ann Gomes (PSPB) 9 points
3. Arshiya Das (Tripura) 8.5 points
4. Shubhi Gupta (Uttar Pradesh) 8 points
5. Kalyani Sirin (Kerala) 8 points
