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What is happening in New Delhi at the FIDE Grand Prix 2023

26/03/2023 -

The FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-23 is into its third leg and it is a huge moment for Indian chess. That's because the first ever Grand Prix is happening in the country. However, the start to the event has been rocky. One of the participants Zhansaya Abdumalik has withdrawn from the tournament after reaching New Delhi and spending a day at the venue. What was the reason for the withdrawal? The players wrote an official letter to the FIDE President. FIDE responded back with an official statement as well. Meanwhile Zhansaya's country mate Bibisara Assaubayeva who is present at the venue wrote a post on social media voicing her opinions. This led to Zhansaya responding back and Elisabeth Paehtz joining in with her statement. It has created a lot of chaos before the start of the tournament. We try to put it all together in this article.

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Iniyan's Endgame Challenge

26/03/2023 -

India's 61st GM Iniyan P loves to calculate. Recently he visited the ChessBase studio in Hamburg to record a DVD. He posed a challenge to those who love to calculate especially in the endgames. It is a complex rook ending which occurred in a tournament game. Try to calculate it deeply and see if you can think like a grandmaster. The thorough analysis will be posted soon. Also, don't try to take help of a computer, it will hamper in improving your analytical skills. Take a guess about the topic of his first ChessBase DVD. Enjoy analyzing this fantastic position till then. Photo: Frederic Friedel

20th Delhi GM Open 2023 R4: Daaevik's defiance against Georgia no.1 Levan Pantsulaia

26/03/2023 -

13-year-old Mukund H Agarwal scored a big win against GM Saptarshi Roy in Round 4 of 20th Delhi GM Open 2023. Another 13-year-old Daaevik Wadhawan shined brightly against Georgia no.1 GM Levan Pantsulaia. The reignin Delhi State Under-17 and Amateur champion's decision to play queenless middlegame almost worked out in his favor. The conversion of his advantage into a full point was not easy. The strong GM managed to avoid disaster by escaping with a draw. A total of 29 players have made a perfect start of 4/4. Today is the last double round of the tournament. The leaderboard is expected to become thinner by the end of the day as the event will cross its halfway mark. Round 5 starts at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

The Personification of Perseverance - GM Sayantan Das

25/03/2023 -

IM Sayantan Das became India's 81st Grandmaster on Sunday 26th February 2022. He defeated GM Alexander Motylev in the final round of 6th Cannes Open 2023 to cross 2500 and become a Grandmaster. He also became a clear champion. The 25-year-old scored his first GM-norm at 22nd Montcada Open 2014. Then he delivered a fantastic performance to secure his second GM-norm at 14th Delhi GM Open 2016. The final GM-norm was scored at Czech Open 2017 Pardubice. It has been a long wait since then. Anyone who has ever seen his game, was well aware of his GM-like strength. However, he had to wait over 5.5 years to fulfil the rating requirements and he finally achieved it in an excellent manner. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Senthil Maran wins 1st Xaverian Rating Open 2023

25/03/2023 -

FM FT Senthil Maran K, Vignesh B, Kunal M, Marthandan K U and 11-year-old Jake Shanty scored 7/8 each at 1st Xaverian Rating Open 2023. Senthil edged past the remaining four on tie-breaks to become champion and the rest secured second to fifth place according to tie-breaks. Apart from Jake, top four remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹541000. The top three prizes were ₹75000, ₹50000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each respectively. This was Senthil's first tournament triumph in almost 4.5 years. The last event he won was in Ernakulam, Kerala in September 2019. Earlier this year, he finished third in tie-breaks in a Rapid Rating tournament. Photo: A Murukaananth

20th Delhi GM Open 2023 R2-3: Sarvani Cheedella stuns Ratnakaran

25/03/2023 -

13-year-old Sarvani Cheedella scored the first big upset of 20th Delhi GM Open 2023 when she defeated IM Ratnakaran K in the second round. Shreya G Hipparagi, Gaurav Sharma and Jeeva A S held GM Aleksej Aleksandrov, IM Anuj Shrivatri and GM Vitaly Teterev to a draw each respectively. In the third round, 14-year-old Jaidambareesh N R had a good opportunity to win against GM Lalit Rohit before the tables turned and it was the GM who could have pushed for a full point in the endgame. Ishan Ghosh drew with GM Alexei Fedorov. As many as 87 players have won all of their first three games in this event. Round 3 starts at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Special Mentorship Program for differently abled chess players

24/03/2023 -

Chess is a powerful social tool. It is perhaps the only sport where the rules are not changed for the differently abled players. This makes chess an excellent way to bring about a sense of confidence in their abilities for the differently abled players. Indian chess is blessed with some of the most brilliant minds in the physically challenged section, visually impaired section and hearing impaired section. If there is one thing that they lack, it is the ability to interact on a regular basis with strong players. Keeping this in mind, we have launched the Special Mentorship Program. It is a way for the differently abled players to be in touch with some of the best titled players in the country. Read on to know more about the program.

Leon Luke Mendonca finishes with an immaculate 9/9 after winning 27th Hit Open 2023

24/03/2023 -

Generally after winning a tournament in a dominating fashion, players tend to relax. That's not what GM Leon Luke Mendonca did. After clinching 27th Hit Open 2023 on the previous day, the teenager went on to defeat FM Domen Tisaj to score a perfect 9/9. It will be very difficult to tie Leon's record let alone break it, unless the future editions get an extra round or two. The top three prizes were €1000, €750 and €500 each respectively. Leon performed at 3196 which earned him 26.4 Elo rating points, inching closer towards the 2600 Elo rating mark. This is Leon's second consecutive tournament triumph of the month where he remained undefeated after winning 38th ChessOrg Festival Bad Woerishofen 2023 on 11th March.

FIDE and Tech Mahindra's Global Chess League to take place from 21st June to 2nd July 2023

24/03/2023 -

India is currently ranked number two in the top chess federations rating list in March 2023. There is a huge talent pool in various categories, be it in terms of experience, strength and youth, all of them are well covered. Indian players are making progress in all front. However, one thing is still lacking - a good chess league. After Maharashtra Chess League, we are yet to see a proper chess league which most of the European countries have and many Indians already participate there. FIDE and Tech Mahindra announced the dates of the first and biggest chess league named as Global Chess League which will last for 12 days from 21st June to 2nd July 2023. Are you excited about it? What would you like to see in this league? Photo: FIDE

20th Delhi GM Open 2023 R1: A smooth start for the top seeds

24/03/2023 -

The 20th edition of Delhi GM Open 2023 had a smooth start for the top seeds. There were no upsets in the first 45 boards. The rating difference being more than double played a key role in it. The top eight boards were decided in 32 moves or less. In a battle of generations, 16-year-old GM Volodar Murzin faced 88-year-old T V Subramanian. The Grandmaster had no trouble scoring a victory. All six Indian GMs scored a victory eachin the first round. Unlike the previous edition, no accelerated pairings are being used this time. Thus, the huge difference of strength between GMs, IMs and their opponents are clearly visible. Today is the first of two double rounds that is scheduled for this event. Round 2 starts at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Madhvendra Pratap Sharma wins the ChessBase India Phoenix Citadel Indore inaugural Blitz Tournament

23/03/2023 -

The second ChessBase India Chess Club was opened on 11th March in the Phoenix Citadel Mall, Indore! To celebrate the occasion, an inaugural Blitz tournament with free entry was arranged in the Chess Club. A total of 65 players took part in this 3+2 Blitz tournament held from 4-7 PM IST at the Phoenix Citadel. One of Madhya Pradesh and India's biggest talents Madhvendra Pratap Sharma bagged the first position with a perfect 6/6! Another tournament will be held this Saturday in the chess club - make sure to join in! 

Arvinder Preet Singh writes "Road to a World Chess Title"

23/03/2023 -

FM FI Arvinder Preet Singh hails from Ludhiana, Punjab. One of the strongest amateur chess players of India as well as an accomplished coach, Arvinder won the National Amateur Championships in 2018. But his biggest achievement came when he won the World Amateur Chess Championship 2018 in the Under-2300 category! He has had many tournament triumphs since, his most recent one being bagging 1st position in the XIX Calvia Amateur Open 2022. Now venturing into Chess literature, Arvinder Preet Singh has written his first chess book named "Road to a world chess title"! Read more about this wonderful book below. 

Leon Luke Mendonca conquers 27th Hit Open 2023 scoring 8/8 and one round to spare

23/03/2023 -

GM Leon Luke Mendonca has won 27th Hit Open 2023 with a perfect score 8/8. He became champion with one round left to be played. In the penultimate round, the teenager made a short work of GM Nigel Davies in just 19 movies. The veteran grandmaster from England neglected the safety of his king and paid a heavy price for it. Leon etched his name in the history by becoming the first Indian to win the tournament in its 27 editions. Leon will face Slovenia's very own FM Domen Tisaj in the final round. The game might be a formality, however, Leon might want to go for 9/9 and set a record which can never be broken but only tied. Round 9 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Missed wins in Osaka

23/03/2023 -

Mayur Gondhalekar and his good friend, Sheldon Donaldson keeps us updated about the Japan chess scene. This time Sheldon writes a blog about Osaka Chess Championship 2023 in which he also participated. The Canadian origin, currently residing in Japan, was making an attempt to qualify for the Japan Chess Championship which is slated to take place later this year. Since the number of participants are less and few players have already qualified, a score of 2.5/4 would be enough to secure a spot. Will Sheldon be able to qualify and return to Tokyo? Check out his experience of playing at Osaka held on 5th March. He also talks about his games with analysis and shared photos of the tournament. All photos in this article: Sheldon Donaldson

Sethuraman is the top seed at 20th Delhi GM Open 2023

23/03/2023 -

20th Delhi GM Open starts today at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Former Asian Continental champion and last month's 9th Cappelle la Grande Open 2023 winner, GM Sethuraman S P will be the top seed of the event. The reigning National Rapid and Blitz champion, GM Aravindh Chithambaram will be the second seed. They will be followed by Georgian GM Levan Pantsulaia who won the 17th edition back in 2019. The total prize fund is ₹4500000. The top three prizes are ₹600000, ₹500000 and ₹400000 each. A total of 1050+ players including 19 GMs and 10 IMs are slated to take part from 15 countries across the world. Round 1 starts today at 2 p.m. IST. Who do you think will win the 20th edition? Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

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