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Vishy's December #02 - Inspiration, teammate, second!

03/12/2019 -

Sandipan Chanda, the ninth GM of Indian chess, recounts his journey from being a youngster who was amazed by Anand's play to being his team mate at the 2004 Chess Olympiad, to being his second and helping him in various tournaments. Sandipan is one of those few people who know Vishy Anand from close quarters and have spent a lot of time with him. This December, ChessBase India is celebrating the month as Vishy's December in honour of the Indian chess legend Vishy Anand turning 50 years old. If you have a story, experience or an anecdote related to Anand which you would like to share with the chess world, you can send it to us at chessbaseindia@gmail.com.

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Final words of the two chess greats before they bade adieu to the city of joy

02/12/2019 -

Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen were found in pleasantly candid mood on the last day of Tata Steel Chess India 2019. The event ended with an excellent final press conference where both players gave some really generous and compelling answers to the questions they were asked. We published a video of the same on our channel earlier but sadly, owing to unfortunate noise disturbances, many of the interesting responses were hard to understand in it. In this article we therefore try to mitigate this problem by bringing you the transcript along with the video. Hopefully, you will be able to appreciate the revealing press conference with the two chess greats better after going through this write-up.

Praggnanandhaa plays the King's Indian for the first time in his career, moves to 4.0/4 in London

02/12/2019 -

The London Chess Classic FIDE Open is an exciting event for Indian fans because of the presence of few of our young stars. And one of them is leading the event with a score of 4.0/4. Praggnanandhaa played some enterprising chess in round 4 against IM Raymond Song, to win his fourth game in a row. With this win, Pragg's live rating has now reached a massive 2593, very close to breaking the 2600 mark. We bring you detailed annotations of his win in the King's Indian Defence, an opening that he played for the first time in his life! Also in the report we have pictures and updates from the venue sent to us by two chess enthusiasts living in London.

Sriram Jha becomes the first titled Indian player to triumph in Japan

02/12/2019 -

Sriram Jha became the first titled Indian player to compete and win an open tournament in Japan. He scored an unbeaten 6.0/7 and finished a half point ahead of the competition. This was Sriram's first ever visit to Japan and he won a tournament in his very first attempt. The New Delhi resident shares his best game from the tournament with his annotations. We also get to know about his experience in playing there and how easy it was to get everything done to reach in Japan in a short interview with him. Photo: Nagoya Chess Club

Vishy's December #01 - "Anand Viswanathanovich"

01/12/2019 -

On 11th of December 2019, Vishy Anand will turn 50 years old. As a mark of our gratitude to the immense contribution that this legend has made to the field of chess, we are celebrating Vishy's December! Throughout the month we will have stories, articles, anecdotes and wishes put out on Anand by his friends, competitors, peers and well wishers! We kick off the series with the first one by one of his oldest friends in the world of chess - Ravi Abhyankar. Ravi sent us four short stories of Anand which are interesting, humorous and at the same time thought provoking! In case you have an interesting story or anecdote to share about Vishy Anand, you can do so from the google form link that we have provided at the end of the article or email it to us at chessbaseindia@gmail.com!

Aravindh, Praggnanandhaa and Sahaj in the lead at the London Chess Open 2019

01/12/2019 -

National Triple Crown champion GM Aravindh Chithambaram is the top seed of 11th CSC London Chess Classic 2019 Open. He is in the lead with a score of 3.0/3 along with eleven other players including two other Indians, Praggnanandhaa and Sahaj Grover. All three of them are vying for the top spot. The eleventh edition of tournament witnesses a total participation of 165 players including 15 GMs, 14 IMs, a WGM and a WIM from 35 different countries all over the globe. There are various other parallel and side events taking place, apart from this tournament and Grand Chess Tour finals starting on 2nd December 2019. Photo: Lennart Ootes/London Chess Classic and Tata Steel Chess

Boris Chatalbashev dominates Malta Open 2019

01/12/2019 -

Top seed of the tournament GM Boris Chatalbashev of Denmark scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win Malta Open 2019. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. GM Igor Naumkin of Russia scored 7.5/9 to secure the first runner-up place. The champion and the runner-up won 1000 and 600 Euros respectively as their prize. Seven players tied for the third place by scoring 7.0/9. IM Craig Hanley of England was placed third according to his tie-break score. Total 225 players including six GMs and six IMs participated from over 30 different countries across the globe. The annual event was held in Topaz Hotel in the seaside town of Bugibba. A pictorial report of the tournament by the organizer Clarence Psaila.

10 things that made the Tata Steel Chess India 2019 special

30/11/2019 -

The Tata Steel Chess India 2019 was held from the 22nd to the 26th of November 2019 in Kolkata, India. It was truly a path-breaking event being the strongest tournament ever to be organized on not just Indian but Asian soil. What were the things that made the event special? Who are the people who worked day in and out to make this a success? In this article, IM Sagar Shah tells you about the ten things that according to him made the Tata Steel Chess India special - Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand, National Library of India, huge fans, the cricket touch, Grand Chess Tour, Tata Steel and the organizers, the Anand quiz, the ChessBase India coverage and last but not the least the amazing players themselves! 

Upcoming tournaments in December 2019

30/11/2019 -

December is full of strong tournaments. Grand Chess Tour finals start in London on 2nd December. On the very same day, the second event of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix series starts at Monaco and concludes on 14th December. National Senior Open championship will take place from 9th to 19th December at Sikkim and for the first time the tournament will have 11 rounds instead of the usual 13. The final leg of FIDE Grand Prix is slated to take place in Jerusalem, Israel from 11th to 23rd December. King Salman World Rapid and Blitz will be held at Moscow, Russia from 25th-30th December. Bhopal GM Open and IIFL Mumbai GM Open starts from 21st and 30th December 2019 respectively.

Vishy on Vishy gems!

29/11/2019 -

Vishy Anand is a legend and has played many masterpieces throughout his illustrious career spanning across several decades. At the end of Tata Steel Chess India 2019, ChessBase India caught up with the chess virtuoso who is nearing his 50th birthday to discuss nine of his career-best games. Read this interview where Vishy talks of the old times, the untold behind the scenes stories of a pre computer chess era, and much more. You are absolutely in for a nostalgic treat, if you are a chess fan!

Dupit Tabu is the winner of 4th Arunachal Pradesh State level Open Rating

29/11/2019 -

Dupit Tabu scored an unbeaten 7.5/8, finishing a half point ahead of the runner-up to win 4th State level Open Rating in Arunachal Pradesh. His only solitary draw was in round 4 against Raluk Dui. Tadam Dupit scored 7.0/8 to secure sole runner-up position. Rejum Ronya grabbed the sole second runner-up position with a score of 6.5/8. All three of them are from Upper Subansiri district. The tournament witnessed a total participation of 81 players from various districts across the state. All Arunachal Pradesh Chess Association organized this event from 23rd to 27th November 2019 at the capital city Itanagar. A pictorial report of the tournament. Photo: Taba Nam

Vaishali wins Sivakasi Grand Prix Open Rapid

28/11/2019 -

WGM Vaishali R started the tournament as the thirteenth seed. She scored wins in all seven rounds to become champion, finishing ahead of 3 GMs including her brother Praggnanandhaa. IM P Saravana Krishnan also scored 7.0/7, however due to a better tie-break score, Vaishali clinched the championship and Saravana had to settle for second position. They both finished a full point ahead of the competition. IM Harikrishnan A Ra scored 6.0/7 to secure third position, top seed of the tournament, National Triple Crown champion Aravindh Chithambaram was placed fourth and he was the only GM to finish in top fifteen. Total 248 players took part in this second leg of All India Chess Grand Prix. Photo: R Anantharam

Aronyak Ghosh wins Tata Steel Chess Festival 2019 Open Rapid

27/11/2019 -

IM Aronyak Ghosh scored an unbeaten 6.5/7 to win Tata Steel Chess Festival 2019 All Bengal Open Rapid tournament. Sayan Bose also scored 6.5/7, however he had to settle for second position according to the tie-break score. IM Sayantan Das scored 6.0/7 and he was placed third, bettering three other player who also finished the same score. Total 149 players including four IMs and a WIM participated from various parts across the state of West Bengal. This was the third and final tournament part of Tata Steel Chess Festival, where all participants were given free entry to spectate the world's best in action on the respective days. A pictorial report of the tournament. Photo: Shahid Ahmed 

Vishy misses his ticket to London, the biggest ever event on Indian soil comes to an end

27/11/2019 -

The penultimate event of the Grand Chess Tour 2019 - Tata Steel Chess India came to an end with Magnus Carlsen showing his best ever GCT performance, scoring 27 points out of a total 36. The World Champion dominated right from the start, reclaimed his world no. 1 position in rapid ratings and has moved to number two in blitz. Levon Aronian finished last at the event, but it was good enough to qualify for the GCT finals in London starting from 2nd of December. Bitter heartbreak awaited Vishy Anand and his fans where Vishy was close to qualifying for the finals, but a score of just one point out of the last five rounds, pushed him out of the top four. MVL gets the fourth spot. We bring you the detailed report of the action on the final day from Kolkata.

Magnus Carlsen is the winner of Tata Steel Chess India 2019

27/11/2019 -

The Tata Steel Chess India 2019 came to conclusion with yet another stupendous Magnus Carlsen domination. The reigning World Champion proved it once again that he is truly the best in the world by finishing ahead of the rest of the field by as many as four points which included performing at an astronomical 3027 rating in the rapid and scoring an impressive 12.0/18 points in the blitz! In this brief express report we bring you the highlights of the last day, the glimpses from the colourful closing ceremony, and more.