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The Chess Drum Keeps the Beat! - Daaim Shabazz

15/08/2021 -

'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. Daaim Shabazz is the Associate Professor of Business at Florida A&M University, USA. He began The Chess Drum (thechessdrum.net) in 2001, with the motive to diversify chess in less popular regions. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida. Photos: Daaim Shabazz 

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Kramnik Challenge Day 3: Liang remains at the top

15/08/2021 -

Awonder Liang scored 3.5/4 to take the sole lead 9.5/12 heading into the final day of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Kramnik Challenge. Abdusattorov suffered his first defeat of the event in the very first game of the day against WGM Jiner Zhu. Liang is closely followed by Keymer 9.0/12. Yoo and Abdusattorov are tied at third place, 8.5/12. Leon moved his score to 4.5/12. The last three rounds will be played today at 7:30 p.m. IST. The winner of the tournament will earn a spot at the next Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event. Who do you think will win - Liang, Keymer or someone else?

Saint Louis R&B Day 4: Invincible Nakamura extends his lead

15/08/2021 -

Nakamura seems unstoppable as he scored 6.0/9 on the first day of Blitz at Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2021. Liem also scored the same but he lost the final game of the day against the 'Speed King'. The world no.1 in Blitz has extended his lead by 2.5 points, currently leading the points table 18.0/27, followed by Caruana at 15.5/27 and Rapport 14.5/27. Both So and Mamedyarov scored 5.0/9 each in blitz followed by Caruana, Xiong and Leinier scoring 4.5/9 each respectively. Shankland struggled the most as he scored a meagre 2.5/9. Will anyone be able to stop Nakamura? Only time will tell. The last day of Blitz games will be played tonight from 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

RTU Open 2021 R8: Kovalenko, Narayanan and Donchenko in a three-way race

15/08/2021 -

Narayanan S L made a short draw with Latvia no.1 Igor Kovalenko in the penultimate round of Riga Technical University Open 2021. They are joined by the top seed of the tournament, Alexander Donchenko at 6.5/8. The German made quite a comeback, chaining five consecutive victories after making a slow start 1.5/3. Ten players are just a half point behind the three leaders. For Narayanan to win the tournament, he needs to win his final round game against Ilia Smirin and hope the game between Kovalenko and Donchenko ends in a draw or Kovalenko loses as Narayanan's tie-breaks is better than the German but not against the Latvian. Round 9 starts today at 1:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/Riga Technical University Open 2021

Kramnik Challenge Day 2: Abdusattorov remains unbeaten

14/08/2021 -

Awonder Liang and Nodirbek Abdusattorov share the lead 6.0/8 at the conclusion of the second day of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Kramnik Challenge. Abdusattorov continues his great momentum from the FIDE World Cup 2019 as he is yet to lose a single game in the event so far. Both Liang and the Uzbek scored an identical 3.0/4 on the second day. Keymer lost his lead as he tasted his first defeat of the event against Murzin in the final round of the day. Both Keymer and Yoo maintain their chase at 5.5/8, followed by Tingjie and Sara at 4.5/8 each respectively. Leon's woes continued as he made only 2.5/8 so far. Round 9 starts today at 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

Saint Louis R&B Day 3: Nakamura ascends to the top

14/08/2021 -

Nakamura could not have asked for a better way to conclude the Rapid part of the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2021. He scored two victories over compatriots Leinier and Caruana. The second one proved to be significant as that handed the World no.2 his second loss of the day and Nakamura gained the sole lead 12.0/18 before the start of the Blitz. Rapport also had a great day as he beat Caruana and Xiong in consecutive games to tie for the second place with 11.0/18. Shankland's good day was spoiled by Xiong as the former blundered in the final moments of the game which was heading towards a draw. Nine rounds of Blitz games will be played today which starts tonight from 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

RTU Open 2021 R7: Narayanan and Kovalenko in the lead 6.0/7

14/08/2021 -

Narayanan S L beat Budisavljevic and Kovalenko scored a win against Gukesh to share the lead 6.0/7 at the conclusion of the seventh round of Riga Technical University Open 2021. While Narayanan capitalized on his opponent's positional mistakes, the Latvia no.1 took advantage of his opponent's incorrect onslaught on his kingside. They will face each other in the penultimate round, which could possibly have huge implications for the championship. Arjun Kalyan provided staunch defence to make a 120-move long marathon draw against Aram Hakobyan. Round 8 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/Riga Technical University Open 2021

Kramnik Challenge Day 1: Tough start for Leon

13/08/2021 -

Vincent Keymer emerged as the early sole leader 3.5/4 at the conclusion of the first day of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Kramnik Challenge. Three players are trailing by a half point, 3.0/4. They are - Christopher Yoo, Awonder Liang and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Leon lost the first game on time and then made three draws. He is now at 1.5/4 at tied ninth position along with Jonas Bjerre, Volodar Murzin, Carissa Yip and Zhu Jiner. Murzin missed a fantastic combination in a completely winning position against Jonas. Round 5 starts today at 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Niklesh Jain

Saint Louis R&B Day 2: Caruana gains sole lead 9.0/12

13/08/2021 -

Shankland had a fantastic day on the second day of Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2021. He started his day by scoring a win against Caruana, then he won a brilliant game against Mamedyarov, and then he drew with Nakamura to finish the day with 5.0/6. Caruana made a good recovery after starting with a loss, as he won against Leinier and So in consecutive games. Thus, he gained sole lead 9.0/12. Nakamura made three draws which put him in the sole second position 7.0/12. So, Rapport, Mamedyarov, Shankland and Leinier are tied at third place 6.0/12. The Rapid event concludes today. Round 7 starts tonight from 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Bryan Adams/Grand Chess Tour

RTU Open 2021 R5-6: Nihal's missed opportunities

13/08/2021 -

Nihal Sarin played a fantastic game against Aram Hakobyan by sacrificing two minor pieces in the fifth round of Riga Technical University Open 2021. He was on the brink of a win, but he missed it and had to repeat the moves to make a draw. In the following round, he missed a simple tactic against Pultinevicius and that game also led to a draw. Narayanan S L also had Arjun Erigaisi on the ropes, but he let him loose, and he escaped with a draw. With just three rounds to go and seven players sharing the lead, the tournament can be won by anyone. Round 7 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST respectively. Photo: Rupali Mullick

Leon Mendonca stars in Kramnik Challenge starting today

12/08/2021 -

The third event of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour - Kramnik Challenge starts today with a reduced line-up of 16 players from the previous two events, 20. The reason behind the reduction of players and thus the total rounds is many players are playing over-the-board events now. Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh and Nihal will miss this event as they are playing in the ongoing Riga Technical University Open 2021 and Badelka, Mammadzada and Salimova are playing European Individual Women's 2021. Total prize fund for the Kramnik Challenge is US$15,000. Three teeangers make their debut in this event - France's youngest grandmaster Marc Andria Maurizzi, Balaji Daggupati of USA and Yahli Sokolovsky of Israel. The tournament will start at 7:30 p.m. IST every day between 12th and 15th August 2021. Photo: Challengers Chess Tour

Saint Louis R&B Day 1: Caruana and Leinier share the lead 5.0/6

12/08/2021 -

The first day of Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz witnessed a lot of exciting games. Caruana and Leinier has taken an early lead 5.0/6. They both scored two victories and a draw each. So and Nakamura also made an unbeaten start 4.0/6. Rapport, Mamedyarov and Liem suffered a loss each, and they are at 3.0/6 each respectively. Liem scored the fastest victory of the day against Mamedyarov in 23 moves, followed by Caruana's win over Xiong in 24 moves. Both of those wins happened in the third and final round of the day. Svidler and GCT debutants - Xiong and Shankland had a tough start as they scored only 1.0/6. Round 4 starts tonight from 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

RTU Open 2021 R4: Aram Hakobyan takes the sole lead 4.0/4

12/08/2021 -

Aram Hakobyan became the only player with a 100% score as he beat Abhimanyu Puranik in the fourth round of Riga Technical University Open 2021. A total of 15-players are in the pursuit at 3.5/4. The Indian players among them are - Arjun Erigaisi, Narayanan S L, Nihal, Gukesh, Visakh and Praggnanandhaa. Visakh vs. Erigaisi, Karthikeyan vs. Aditya and Arjun Kalyan vs. Rithvik will be some exciting All-Indian battles in the next round. Nihal will face the sole leader Aram Hakobyan. Round 5 and 6 starts today at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. IST respectively. Photo: Anna Shtourman/Riga Technical University Open

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz GCT 2021 starts today

11/08/2021 -

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2021 will be the fourth and penultimate event of Grand Chess Tour 2021. Four full tour participants including three of the world top ten will be seen in action. They are - Caruana, Mamedyarov, So and Rapport. The event will witness the GCT debut of Jeffery Xiong and Sam Shankland. The remaining wild card entrants are - World no.1 in Blitz, Nakamura, eight-time Russia champion, Svidler, Leinier and World Blitz 2013 champion, Liem. The single round-robin Rapid event will be played between 11th and 13th August. The double round-robin Blitz event will take place on 14th and 15th August. Round 1 starts tonight 12th August at 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

RTU Open 2021 R2-3: Nihal, Erigaisi, Narayanan and Puranik among the leaders

11/08/2021 -

The second day of Riga Technical University Open witnessed a lot of exciting games. Nihal, Narayanan and Arjun Erigaisi scored short victories in under 28 moves in the second round. Abhimanyu Puranik swindled his opponent in the final moments of the endgame. In the third, Nihal had to work a lot against India's latest GM Harshit Raja. Erigaisi won an exciting game against Plotkin, Puranik annihilated his opponent Haria. Narayanan took advantage of his opponent's back rank weakness. Arjun Erigaisi will face his good friend Nihal Sarin at the top board in the fourth round and Aravindh will go against one of India's latest GM Arjun Kalyan among All-Indian matches. Round 4 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anna Shtourman/Riga Technical University Open

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