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

Women's Candidates 2024 R5: Four draws

10/04/2024 -

GM R Vaishali made another solid draw in the fifth round of FIDE Women's Candidates 2024. It was against GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) this time. GM Koneru Humpy also had a well contested draw against GM Aleksandra Goryachkina. GM Kateryna Lagno was the only one who had a winning chance against GM Tingjie Lei (CHN). Despite launching the attack correctly, she could not follow through. Tingjie managed to defend correctly and escape with a half point. IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) continues her impressive run. She had a hard fought draw against the tournament leader - GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN). She maintains her sole lead 3.5/5. Round 6 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photos: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Candidates 2024 R5: Who dares wins

10/04/2024 -

It is the FIDE Candidates 2024. Every win could potentially make a huge difference. D Gukesh knew that he is facing the lowest rated player of the event, Nijat Abasov (AZE). He is not 100% and already suffered a loss. Although, Gukesh could have ended things earlier, his advantage evaporated and it liquidated into a queen endgame. He kept trying and eventually his opponent crumbled after a near six-hour long battle. Vidit Gujrathi almost made an epic comeback against the world no.2 Fabiano Caruana (USA). He was unable to run away with the king at the right time and he had to settle for a draw. R Praggnanandhaa's preparation slightly rattled Ian Nepomniachtchi. However, it didn't turn out to be enough to score a full point. Gukesh joined Nepomniachtchi in the lead 3.5/5. Round 6 starts today at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Chess Joke Contest during Candidates 2024!

09/04/2024 -

In every major tournament we cover, we try to have some sort of a giveaway challenge. In most cases, we have prediction contests - the person who correctly predicts the winner of the tournament gets a product from the ChessBase India Online shop! But we have changed things a little during the Candidates Tournament 2024. This time around, we have a Chess Joke Contest going on! People have to use the Hashtag #chessjokecbi and make funny/witty chess memes on various social media platforms. The best ones will receive a brand new ChessBase India product - the 10-inch mini chess set signed by all of the Candidates! Read some of our favorite entries so far in the article below.

Rupam Mukherjee wins Chess for Everyone Rating Open 2024 in West Bengal

09/04/2024 -

Rupam Mukherjee and Aniket Narayan Biswas scored 8.5/9 each at Chess for Everyone Rating Open 2024 in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal. Rupam won the tournament due to better tie-breaks. Aniket was placed second. They finished a full point ahead of the rest. Shankhadeep Maity and Abir Mitra scored 7.5/9 each. They secured third and fourth place respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹46000 + 63 trophies. The top three prizes were ₹10000 + trophy, ₹7000 and ₹5000 each respectively. This is Rupam's first rating, overall second tournament triumph of the year. The objective of Chess for Everyone tournaments is to have a low entry fee barrier of only ₹250, encourage maximum players to take part in rating tournaments and gain rating. Photos: Himank Ghosh

New: Adrian Mikhalchishin: The Sharp Arkhangelsk Variation in the Ruy Lopez

09/04/2024 -

Great players always have their own successful variations in the opening. One of them is the Sharp Arkhangelsk variation which arises after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 followed by Bb7 and/or Bc5. It’s one of the most powerful opening weapons of great players like Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. This variation is very rich, as it is possible to play in three different ways; meaning it’s much more difficult for your opponents to prepare against. The author will show model games to underline the ideas and lines that this variation has to offer. Instead of learning moves by heart, the concepts and ideas will give you the confidence to play the opening against all levels of opponent. Photo: ChessBase

Kumar Gaurav superb at 1st Sakatam Rating Open 2024

09/04/2024 -

Kumar Gaurav scored an unbeaten 9/10 to win 1st Sakatam Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. IM Kaustuv Kundu, Kishan Kumar and Tanmay Rajbongshi scored 8.5/10 each. They secured second to fourth place according to tie-breaks. Kumar defeated Kaustuv in the penultimate round. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹550000. It is the highest ever for a tournament in Northeast India. The top three prizes were ₹100000, ₹70000 and ₹50000 along with a trophy each respectively. The six-day rating tournament was organized by HBM Society and Northeast Chess India from 23rd to 28th March 2024 at Royal Global School in Guwahati, Assam. This is Kumar's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photos: FA Ravi Kant Tiwari/Northeast Chess India

Arjun Erigaisi wins 3rd Menorca Open 2024

08/04/2024 -

GM Arjun Erigaisi made a quick draw against GM Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) to win 3rd Menorca Open 2024. After a 3/5 start, Arjun scored a hat-trick of wins to gain sole lead. A draw in the final round would have been enough to win the event via tie-breaks. That is exactly what he did. GM Kirill Alekseenko (AUT) and GM Maksim Chigaev (ESP) also scored the same. They were placed second and third respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was €20000. The top three prizes were €5000, €3000 and €2000 along with a trophy each. He is now currently World no.7 in the live ratings. GM Aryan Chopra is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 7/9 and secured fifth place. Photo: Menorca Open