Candidates 2024 R9: Vidit Gujrathi beats World no.3 Hikaru Nakamura for the second time in ten days

15/04/2024 -

Vidit Gujrathi bounced back well by defeating Hikaru Nakamura (USA) for the second time at FIDE Candidates 2024. The World no.3 started aggressively by pushing his pawn to g5 on sixth move. However, he blundered in the middlegame when he incorrectly attempted to regain the lost pawn. D Gukesh had a well contested draw against R Praggnanandhaa. Alireza Firouzja (FRA) made a lot of attempts to break Ian Nepomniachtchi's defenses. However, he could not find a way. After the game, Firouzja tweeted his displeasure on being told not to walk anymore because his shoe is making noise on the wooden floor. Round 10 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

21st BCC Open 2024 starts at Hua Hin

14/04/2024 -

21st Bangkok Chess Club Open 2024 started yesterday. A total of 223 players including 11 GMs, 22 IMs, 2 WGMs and 7 WIMs are taking part in the Open section. The first round did not witness any major upsets. Only a few draws occurred. The Challengers section has 84 players taking part. Players from a combined total of 40 countries across the world are playing in two sections. GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (UKR) is the top seed of the event. The highest rated Indian in the field is GM Pranesh M. Both players have won their respective first round games. Check out the Round 1 report written by Peter Long. Photos: FM FT IA Peter Long/Bangkok Chess Club

Women's Candidates 2024 R8: Humpy victorious against Vaishali

14/04/2024 -

GM Koneru Humpy scored her first win at FIDE Women's Candidates 2024 in the eighth round. The win occurred against GM Vaishali R. Although Humpy gained an exchange early in the middlegame. A few incorrect decisions almost allowed her opponent to escape with a draw. Vaishali could not find the correct defence and missed a virtual fortress in the end. GM Tingjie Lei (CHN) defeated the sole leader GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) to join Zhongyi and GM Aleksandra Goryachkina at the top 5/8. IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) missed a simple win in the endgame against GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR). Round 9 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photos: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Candidates 2024 R8: Gukesh hunts Vidit's king, rejoins the lead with Nepomniachtchi

14/04/2024 -

D Gukesh made a strong comeback in the eighth round of FIDE Candidates 2024. He outplayed compatriot Vidit Gujrathi, hunted his opponent's king and he had to resign before getting checkmated. The teenager claimed the control of a-file after Vidit gave it up. He invaded with his queen and rook in the backrank, when Vidit went for a desperate break. Gukesh is now in the lead with Ian Nepomniachtchi scoring 5/8 each. Fabiano Caruana (USA) blundered in time trouble in an already unpleasant position against Hikaru Nakamura (USA). R Praggnanandhaa drew with Alireza Firouzja (FRA). Both Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa are trailing the leaders by a half point at 4.5/8 each. Round 9 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Mitrabha Guha wins a double at Melbourne Open 2024

13/04/2024 -

GM Mitrabha Guha scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win the inaugural Melbourne International Open 2024. He finished a full point ahead of the competition. FM Felix Xie scored sole 6.5/9 to secure second place. Six players - IM Zhaoqi Liu (CHN), Yi Ren Daniel Chan (SGP), FM Christopher Wallis (AUS), CM Tri Kien Le (VIE), IM Ikeda Junta (AUS) and IM Arghyadip Das scored 6/9 each. They secured third to eighth place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was AU $15000, $9750 in Major and $5150 in Open. The top three prizes were $3000, $2000 and $1500 each respectively. Apart from Mitrabha and Arghyadip, GM Sriram Jha is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 5.5/9 to be placed ninth. Mitrabha also won the Blitz tournament scoring 8/9. Photo: FA Walter Wolffs / Independent Chess Australia

New: Anish Giri: A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings Vol.1 & 2

13/04/2024 -

When you begin your journey of building an opening repertoire, how nice would it be to get a glimpse of what each opening looks like through the eyes of a super GM. It would help building your opening repertoire and understanding the vast world of chess openings. It is exactly with this thought that "A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings with Anish Giri" was made. So grab this video course, enrich your knowledge and strengthen your opening repertoir by learning from none other than Anish Giri himself. Pre-order now! Delivery on 18th April 2024. Apart from download and stream, you will also be able to go through the video course in Book format. Check out the samples in the article to find out what it is. Photo: ChessBase

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board perfect at 21st National Team Women 2024

13/04/2024 -

PSPB scored a perfect 14/14 to win 21st National Team Chess Championship 2024 Women. PSPB won the tournament with a round to spare. They finished a staggering three points ahead of the competition. Telangana scored sole 11/14 to secure second place. Life Insurance Corporation of India was placed third scoring 10/14. PSPB defeated both runners-up convincingly. They registered whitewash victories in three out of their seven matches. This is PSPB's first National Team Women title since 2020. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. Top three prizes were ₹125000, ₹100000 and ₹75000 each. Photos: Himachal Pradesh State Chess Association

ChessBase India's April Training Camp 2024 Concluded

12/04/2024 - In continuation of the series of ChessBase India Training Camps initiated last year, this year's first training camp was held from April 2nd to April 7th at the ChessBase India Training Academy in Bhopal. For this camp, a total of 8 participants from Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh participated. The camp provided training sessions from morning till evening for the first five days, totaling approximately 40 hours of training for the players. Each day began with focused training divided into three sessions. On the sixth day, as always, a Chess India Rapid Chess Tournament was organized, which saw participation from many talented players from Bhopal and surrounding districts, making it a successful event. The next ChessBase India camp is scheduled for June. So far, ChessBase India has organized a total of four camps. Read this article for more details.

Railway Sports Promotion Board dominates 43rd National Team Open 2024

12/04/2024 -

RSPB A and RSPB scored an unbeaten 17/18 each at 43rd National Team Chess Championship 2024 Open. The unit RSPB secured the top two places with a round to spare. However, their last round result determined which team will the first and second place. RSPB A won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, RSPB B was placed second. Gujarat A scored sole 12/18 to finish third. Both RSPB teams scored four whitewash victories. They faced each other in the fourth round and it ended in a draw. Both RSPB teams defeated the eventual runner-up Gujarat A convincingly. This is RSPB's first National Team title since 2017. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. Top three prizes were ₹125000, ₹100000 and ₹75000 each. Photo: CM IA FT Ravichandran Venkataraman

Women's Candidates 2024 R7: Zhongyi Tan maintains her sole lead

12/04/2024 -

The seventh round of FIDE Women's Candidates 2024 had only one decisive game. GM Tingjie Lei (CHN) won the sole game of the round against GM Vaishali R. Vaishali made a few positional inaccuracies which allowed her opponent to use tactics and win the game. The battle between the top two in the standings ended in a draw. Thus, GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) is still in the sole lead 5/7. She is closely followed by GM Aleksandra Goryachkina at 4.5/7. GM Koneru Humpy drew against GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR). IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) bounced back well with a draw against GM Kateryna Lagno. Today is a rest day. Round 8 starts tomorrow Saturday 13th April at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photos: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Candidates 2024 R7: Praggnanandhaa's French Defence holds well against the World no.2 Fabiano Caruana

12/04/2024 -

D Gukesh suffered his first loss of the event in the seventh round of FIDE Candidates 2024. He made a well timed knight sacrifice to complicate things for his opponent - Alireza Firouzja (FRA). However, in time trouble, the World no.6 prevailed after Gukesh blundered. R Praggnanandhaa employed French Defence against the World no.2 - Fabiano Caruana (USA). It was enough for him to share the point. Vidit Gujrathi's all attempts to score a full point was denied by Nijat Abasov (AZE). Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Ian Nepomniachtchi had an intriguing draw. Hikaru ended up having a rook, knight and undeveloped bishop against Nepo's queen. He was forced to draw the game by perpetual checks. Today is a rest day. Round 8 starts tomorrow Saturday at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

13-year-old Vatsal Singla clinches 6th Holi Cup Rating Open 2024

11/04/2024 -

13-year-old Vatsal Singla scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 6th Holi Cup Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Seven players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, Arpan Das and IM Utsab Chatterjee secured second and third place respectively according to the tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹1501000. The top three prizes in the main category were ₹111000, ₹71000 and ₹41000 along with a trophy each. This is Vatsal's second overall and first rating tournament triumph of the year. The five-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Chess Lakecity at Orbit Resort in Udaipur, Rajasthan from 31st March to 4th April 2024. Photos: IA NI Vikas Sahu/Chess in Lakecity

Women's Candidates 2024 R6: A brutal round

11/04/2024 -

After a relatively quiet day at FIDE Women's Candidates 2024, the sixth round witnessed all decisive games. It was the first time that happened at this event. GM Zhongyi Tan's (CHN) crushing attack proved to be fatal for GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR). However, the tournament sole leader's conversion was not as smooth as she would have liked. Anna had an opportunity to fight back. She missed and the 16th Women's World Champion won the game. IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) and GM Koneru Humpy made incorrect decisions in difficult endgames against GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and GM Tingjie Lei (CHN). They both lost their respective games. GM Vaishali R could not find the correct defense in a sharp position against GM Kateryna Lagno. Round 7 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Candidates 2024 R6: Gukesh defies Nakamura, maintains his lead with Nepomniachtchi

11/04/2024 -

D Gukesh drew with Hikaru Nakamura (USA) in the sixth round of FIDE Candidates 2024. He mentioned that it was a calm game and appreciated his opponent's 14...Nc8 strong idea. After all pieces were traded he felt that if he doesn't do much it should end in a draw. That is what happened. Ian Nepomniachtchi also drew his game against Fabiano Caruana (USA). Thus, Gukesh is still in the lead with Nepomniachtchi 4/6. R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi scored their second win of the event against Nijat Abasov (AZE) and Alireza Firouzja (FRA). Abasov blundered in an already difficult endgame. Firouzja made a mistake early in the game and could not recover. Round 7 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Pranesh M dominates 6th Shaastra Rapid Rating Open 2024

10/04/2024 -

GM Pranesh M scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 6th Shaastra Rapid Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. IM Ajay Krishna S secured sole second place scoring 8/9. Six players - IM Srihari L R, IM Rathanvel V S, GM Laxman R R, Pranav K P, IM Sai Agni Jeevitesh J and IM Avinash Ramesh scored 7.5/9 each. They secured third to eighth place respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. The top three prizes were ₹65000, ₹45000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each respectively. This is Pranesh's first rating tournament triumph of the year. It is fitting that the 25th year of Shaastra IIT Madras witnessed a record participation of 509 players which is the highest out of six editions of this much awaited Rapid Rating tournament. Photos: Sai Teja/Shaastra IIT Madras