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Off the Board Tales #16 - Himanshu Kumar

06/11/2021 -

'Off the Board Tales' is a series by ChessBase India, where the premise revolves around people who are passionate about chess despite it not being their career. An emotional and short story is what you're up for, so read on for tales of joy, tales of aspirations, tales of sorrows, and tales of success. Himanshu Kumar is the President of Strategy and Key Initiatives at ValueFirst. He played chess competitively till 2004, before pursuing his education. He still plays online and is in touch with the chess world.

ChessBase 18 and Mega 2025 are here

ChessBase 18 is an all-new program that helps you manage all your databases as an ambitious player. Mega Database 2025 has 11 million games with over 113,000 games annotated by masters. The cost of ChessBase 18 is Rs.4499/- and the cost of Mega Database 2025 is Rs.6499/- However, if you go for the combo the total amount comes to Rs.8999 (instead of 10,998/-) helping you save Rs. 1999/-.

ChessBase 18 + Mega 2025 Combo

Srihari L R becomes the latest International Master of India

06/11/2021 -

15-year-old Srihari L R scored his final IM-norm at Vezerkepzo GM Oct-Nov 2021. He scored 5.0/9, performed at 2451 to become India's latest International Master. He scored his first IM-norm in January 2020 and crossed 2400 in the same month. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed him an opportunity to play over-the-board tournaments. However, that did not stop him from getting stronger and improving his game. He played his first over-the-board tournament in almost 18 months. After taking a tournament to get himself adjusted, he scored two IM-norms in consecutive tournaments. The Tamil Nadu lad's quest towards the coveted GM title continues in his next tournament, First Saturday GM November 2021 which starts today. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Grand Swiss R9: Caruana ends Firouzja's unbeaten run, Howell joins the three-way lead

06/11/2021 -

World no.3 Fabiano Caruana (USA) ended Alireza Firouzja's (FRA) undefeated run in the ninth round of FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021. David Howell (ENG) scored his fourth consecutive victory to join the three-way lead along with Caruana and Firouzja at 6.5/9. The former world championship challenger has beaten both Firouzja and Howell. Sasikiran bounced back from his defeat as he defeated Pavel Eljanov (UKR) with a beautiful knight maneuver, punctuated by a nice combination in the end. Raunak also played well to beat Aleksey Dreev (RUS). Harika beat IM Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) to end her five-game draw streak. Round 10 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Grand Swiss R8: Firouzja beats Sasikiran, extends his sole lead and now World no.4

05/11/2021 -

Alireza Firouzja (FRA) continues to play fantastic chess as he got an advantage out of the opening against Krishnan Sasikiran in the eighth round of FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021. The France no.1 became World no.4 in the live ratings after he won his game. He now has a full point lead 6.5/8 over his competition. Ten players are at 5.5/8. Harikrishna, Sasikiran and Nihal are at 5.0/8 each respectively. Harika also has the same score in the Women's event, followed by Vantika and Vaishali at 4.5/8 each. Sethuraman, Vaishali and Padmini were the only three victors among Indians. Round 9 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Arghyadip Das clinches All India Open Rapid Rating at Vijayawada

04/11/2021 -

Top seed of the tournament IM Arghyadip Das scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win All India Open Rapid Rating Tournament at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. He earned ₹21000 cash as the first prize. Untitled Nikhil M also finished with the same score. However, he had to settle for second place due to less tie-break score. He won ₹15000. Eight players finished at 7.5/9. IM Ravi Teja S had an identical score as the eventual champion till the penultimate round. A draw in the final round cost him the championship, and he was placed third as he had the best tie-breaks among the group of eight players. He received ₹10000 as third prize.

Grand Swiss R7: Sasikiran draws with World no.10 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

04/11/2021 -

Krishnan Sasikiran continues his good form as he played solid and drew with world no.10 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA). Both of them along with Alexei Shirov (ESP) are just a half point behind the sole leader Alireza Firoujza (FRA) 5.5/7. Sasikiran will face Firouzja in the next round. Harikrishna beat Maksim Chigaev (RUS) to take his score 4.5/7. Nihal also has the same points. Praggnanandhaa escaped with a draw against Peter Svidler (RUS). Harika drew with Jolanta Zawadzka (POL) 4.5/7. Vantika continues her impressive run as she beat IM Carolina Lujan (ARG) to move to 4.0/7. Round 8 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz 2021 is here!

03/11/2021 -

From 17th to 21st of November 2021, the super strong Tata Steel Chess India 2021 is back. This time 14 players will be taking part. There are 6 players who will take part in both the rapid and blitz segment. This list will be spearheaded by world no.10 and one of the finest players - Levon Aronian. There will be four players for the blitz tournament, and four players for rapid. This event aims to give maximum exposure to the Indian youngsters who are going to make it big in the years to come! Vishy Anand will be present at the tournament as a mentor to the young talents. Check out the article to see who the players are of the Tata Steel Chess India 2021.

From 1758 to 2173! 11-year-old Daakshin Arun gains 415 Elo points in two months

03/11/2021 -

Born in 2009, Daakshin Arun was increasing his chess strength steadily. In 2017, his father Arun left his job as a college lecturer so that he could travel with his son to different tournaments. Trained by GM R.B. Ramesh at the Chess Gurukul Academy, Daakshin had an Elo of 1758 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Suddenly all the plans of the family went for a toss. But Daakshin did not despair. He kept working hard for nearly a year and a half and when things opened up in the second-half of 2021, he planned a few events in Europe. And guess what? The boy passed this test with flying colours, gaining 415 Elo points and pushing his rating to 2173. Know more about this upcoming talent of Indian chess. 

Iniyan wins two consecutive Round Robins in Serbia

03/11/2021 -

GM Iniyan scored 8.5/11 to win GM Ask 1 at Arandjelovac in Serbia. He was unbeaten for the first ten rounds, he lost the final round against IM Nitin S. Immediately after the conclusion of this event, he played GM Rujna Zora 5, and he won that too. This time he made an unbeaten 7.0/9. He lost only one game against IM Nitin S, out of 18 games he played in two events. These two triumph makes it Iniyan's fifth over-the-board triumph of the year, sixth overall. Iniyan will now take a break for a few days and get back to action at elllobregat Open, a strong open tournament, starting at the end of this month in Barcelona, Spain.

Grand Swiss R6: Sasikiran joins the five-way lead

02/11/2021 -

Krishnan Sasikiran once again played sublime chess as he beat Alexandr Predke (RUS) in the sixth round to join the lead in FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021. The remaining four players in the lead are - Alireza Firouzja (FRA), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), Alexei Shirov (ESP) and Evgeniy Najer (RUS). Sasikiran will face MVL in the seventh round. Raunak Sadhwani was the only other victor among the Indians, as he defeated a fellow countryman, D Gukesh. Nihal had good chances against the Czech Republic no.1 David Navara, much to his chagrin, he was unable to capitalize and Navara managed to create a fortress. Today is a rest day. Round 7 starts tomorrow, Wednesday 3rd November at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Aryan Joshi and Darpan Inani win Individual Bronze at IBCA Olympiad 2021

01/11/2021 -

Aryan Joshi and Darpan Inani have secured individual Bronze medal on Board no.1 and Board no.3 respectively at 16th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired 2021. Darpan scored the highest for Team India as he made 6.5/9. Aryan was the second-highest scorer for the team 4.5/9. K Marimuthu and Milind Samant scored 2.5/8 and 2.5/4 each respectively. Soundarya Pradhan had a tough event as he scored only 1.5/6. India secured eight place. Russia won the Gold by winning all their matches 18.0/18, Poland and Serbia scored 14.0/18 each. They secured Silver and Bronze respectively according to the tie-breaks. Photo: Chess in Greece 

Grand Swiss R5: Sasikiran beats Fedoseev

01/11/2021 -

Krishnan Sasikiran scored a fantastic victory over Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS) which can be called a positional Masterclass in French Defense in the fifth round of FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021. It was a good day for the Indian players as Praggnanandhaa, Raunak Sadhwani, Arjun Erigaisi, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, B Adhiban and Divya Deshmukh scored a victory each. Nihal drew with Manuel Petrosyan. Harikrishna showed his true grit as he survived by the skin of his teeth in a completely lost endgame against Darius Swiercz (USA). The endgame specialist believed in himself when others would have given up in a similar situation. Round 6 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Grand Swiss R4: Harikrishna and Vaishali score a win

31/10/2021 -

Harikrishna scored his second consecutive win of the event to move to 2.5/4 at the conclusion of the fourth round of FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021. Nihal, Gukesh and Sasikiran drew their respective games against three strong Russians, Ponkratov, Fedoseev and Artemiev. WGM Jiner held Harika to a draw. Padmini missed a completely winning opportunity against Kashlinskaya. Divya escaped a loss against Sophie. Vaishali scored a comfortable victory. Vantika, Raunak and Sethuraman drew with Anna Sargsyan, Maxim Matlakov and Boris Gelfand respectively. Round 5 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

A chess themed Durga Puja at Panchanantala, West Bengal

30/10/2021 -

Chess is everywhere. A chess player sees chess everywhere from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep. Some even dream about chess games and positions. How far would a chess player go for chess? All chess player and enthusiasts know the answer, to anywhere and everywhere. Arindam Mukherjee, an IM-norm holder and with a wealth of chess experience of over four decades, travelled 80 km in a day to witness an artistic creation of a chess-themed Durga Puja pandal on 15th October 2021, at Panchanantala in Hooghly district of West Bengal. A pictorial report of his experience. Photo: Anirban Chattopadhyay

Grand Swiss R3: Harika squeezes water from stone

30/10/2021 -

Harika grinded an equal endgame against Stefanova until the latter made a grave mistake which cost her the game in the third round of FIDE chess.com Women's Grand Swiss 2021. She is now one of the leader among nine players at 2.5/3. Padmini and Vantika beat compatriots, Vaishali and Divya respectively to move to 2.0/3. Nihal Sarin scored an academic victory against Temur Kuybokarov (AUS). He is among the six players who are just a half point behind the sole leader of the tournament, Alireza Firouzja 3.0/3. Nihal will face Pavel Ponkratov in Round 4 which starts today at 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

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