English Grandmaster Daniel Howard Fernandez was crowned Commonwealth Champion as the 2025 Commonwealth Chess Championship concluded on Sunday. Organized by the Malaysian Chess Federation under the auspices of the Commonwealth Chess Association and FIDE, the event brought together 373 players from 17 nations, making it one of the most vibrant editions in recent years. Howard’s steady and confident performance earned him the title with an impressive 7.5/9 points, after he drew his final-round game against India’s FM Adireddy Arjun.
The race for second place was fiercely contested, with four Indian players finishing on 7 points. Tiebreaks awarded FM Adireddy Arjun (pictured below) the silver medal and GM Lalit Babu M R the bronze, followed by IM Neelash Saha and GM Deepan Chakkravarthy in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
In the Women’s category, which was integrated with the Open event, India demonstrated overwhelming dominance by sweeping the podium. Srija Seshadri captured the gold medal with an impressive performance, while Mary Ann Gomes secured silver and Nisha Mohota claimed bronze.
Category highlights
The tournament featured a wide range of categories, each showcasing spirited battles and outstanding performances from emerging talents across the Commonwealth.
Junior categories:
Under-20 (Junior): Singapore’s Goh Zi Han (Gold), Bangladesh’s Tashriq Saihan Shan (Silver), Malaysia’s A’qil A’lauddin Bin Abd Aziz (Bronze).
Junior Girls: Sri Lanka’s Sandula K M Dahamdi (Gold), India’s Mrittika Mallick (Silver), Singapore’s Liew Tze Chi (Bronze).
Senior: Malaysia’s Ismail Ahmad (Gold), Kenya’s John Mukabi (Silver), India’s IM Sekhar Chandra Sahu (Bronze).
Open youth categories:
Under-08: Malaysia’s Muhammad Aariz Daniel Bin Mohd Shah (Gold), India’s Prayank Gaonkar (Silver), Sri Lanka’s Basnayake Kevon Dulkith (Bronze).
Under-10: Sri Lanka’s CM Karunasena A P Chenitha Sihas Dinsara (Gold), India’s Parv H Hakani (Silver), India’s Nidhish Shyamal (Bronze).
Under-12: India’s CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma dominated with a perfect 9/9 points (Gold), Singapore’s AFM Aaradhya Suyog Bagul (Silver), Sri Lanka’s CM Wijerathna Vinuka Dihain (Bronze).
Under-14: India’s AIM Adhiraj Mitra (Gold), Sri Lanka’s Wickramasinghe V W A Vinuda Vidmal (Silver), India’s FM Reyan Md. (Bronze).
Under-16: India’s IM Borgaonkar Akshay (Gold), Sri Lanka’s Induwara T H D Thisarindu (Silver), India’s CM Velavaa Ragavesh (Bronze).
Under-18: India’s IM Sriram Adarsh Uppala delivered a dominant performance with 9 points (Gold), India’s Borkhetariya Devarsh M (Silver), Singapore’s Lee Tsuen Jin Aiesec (Bronze).
Girls’ youth categories:
Under-08: An Indian sweep with Anaya Sharma (Gold), Anvi Deepak Hinge (Silver), and Teesha Byadwal (Bronze).
Under-10: India’s Vanshika Rawat (Gold, 8/9 points), Malaysia’s Maha A/P Nathan (Silver), India’s Kiyanna Parihaar (Bronze).
Under-12: India’s WCM Divi Bijesh (Gold), Singapore’s Liew Tze Yu (Silver), Australia’s Daniel Suria (Bronze).
Under-14: India’s Aditri Shome (Gold, 8.5/9 points), Sri Lanka’s De Silva B P Chanthuli Thanishka (Silver), India’s WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (Bronze).
Under-16: Another Indian sweep with FM Prishita Gupta (Gold), Ananya Raman (Silver), and Aswinika Mani R (Bronze).
Under-18: India’s Sagar Siya (Gold), India’s WCM Anupam M Sreekumar (Silver), Bangladesh’s WCM Omnia Binta Yusuf Lubaba (Bronze).
The championship concluded with a vibrant closing ceremony, where Bharat Singh Chauhan, President of the Commonwealth Chess Association, and Akhramsyah Muammar, President of the Malaysian Chess Federation, presented the awards.
The 2025 edition not only celebrated exceptional individual talent but also highlighted the growing depth and competitive spirit across Commonwealth nations, reaffirming the event’s status as a landmark festival of chess.
Complete results are available on chess-results.com.