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Giants of Modern Studies Part I - The Tactical Thaumaturgy of Steffen S. Nielsen

07/06/2020 -

Chess can be many things to many people. For most it is a hunt for perfection in over-the-board play, for some a scientific quest for abstract truths, but for even fewer it is an artform. Steffen Slumstrup Nielsen of Denmark is one of those rare personalities who in recent times has carved out a name for himself as a chess artist par excellence. He is among the brightest and most creative composers active in the world today. The Endgame Study is his field of expertise and in it he has already established himself, in a matter of only a few years, as one of the very best. In this exclusive feature article ChessBase India's author Satanick Mukhuty picks his mind, critiques his works, and tries to bring out a glimpse of his singular creative genius. 

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

Harikrishna features in World Stars Sharjah Online International Championship 2020

06/06/2020 -

Pentala Harikrishna will be seen in action along with five other elite GMs in World Stars Sharjah Online International Championship on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th June 2020, organized by Sharjah Sports Council and Internet Chess Club. It will be the strongest tournament ever in Arab world having the total prize fund of US$ 10000 with the champion's prize being $3000. That's not all Sharjah Masters is hosting a contest on instagram starting from today where you can two invitations to the next Sharjah Masters tournament including entry fee and full board hotel accommodation and there are also two $250 prizes. Harikrishna will be LIVE on the same instagram page today at 8:30 p.m. IST where you can ask him a question or send your best wishes. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

B.S. Shivananda - The Indian Fischer Part 2

06/06/2020 -

Who is the Indian Fischer you might ask? Well, in Part 1 of this interview, we introduced you to one of Indian Chess' gems B S Shivananda. In Part 2 of this interview, we cover Shivananda's life after the year 2005, which marked a dark age in Indian chess because of people who used engine assistance. Having lost confidence and interest in chess, Shivananda faded away from the chess circuit for a long time, but returned triumphantly, making all his IM norms and his GM Norm after 2009, and along with playing chess he transitioned into chess coaching, bringing up talents like Raghunandan, Stany, Yashas, Gahan and many others. Tanmay Srinath brings all this to light in a fascinating and detailed part II of the interview.

A Scientific look at Chess and Gender by Astrid Barbier

05/06/2020 -

Astrid Barbier is a chess player from Belgium and currently pursuing her masters in ‘Gender and Diversity.' For her thesis, she is doing research about chess and gender. Therefore she has set up a survey, which takes about 20 minutes to fill in. The survey is available in English, Spanish, French and Dutch. The survey asks questions on the density of men and women that play chess, and further questions intended to go in depth of the difference in numbers of players. It also asks further questions on who is more likely to influence someone to teach the game. Your contribution can help Astrid do better research, so do fill in the survey.

Sergey Karjakin in the 50th anniversary of Earth vs Space match

04/06/2020 -

When you move upwards from the surface of the earth and travel for 408 kilometres you reach the International Space Station. Cosmonauts at the International Space Station are busy working to make the human civilization on the earth understand more about the space. However, on 9th of June 2020, they will take a break from their work for a few hours to indulge in a Space to Earth Match! Two cosmonauts on the International Space Station will play against 2016 World Championship Challenger Sergey Karjakin. Sergey will represent the earth and it will be interesting to see how these games progress. A big congratulations to CFR, Museum of Cosmonautics and Roscosmos for coming together to put up this grand show. 

29 GMs, 26 IMs have confirmed for Letsup MCA GP Blitz 2

04/06/2020 -

LetsUp presents MCA Grand Prix Blitz 2 will take place on Wednesday 10th June 2020. The first event was won by GM Vugar Rasulov of Azerbaijan. The entire event will have a total prize fund of ₹155000. Each event in the GP will have a total prize fund of ₹25000 and additional top five finishers of the GP will receive a total of ₹30000. The tournament is Open to everyone all across the world. Entry is FREE for GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. Entry fee for each tournament is ₹250. Registration for Blitz 2 is now Open. So far 29 GMs, 26 IMs and 10 WIMs have confirmed their participation for the second event. Even if you missed the first one, you can still win the GP. Find out how in the article. Photo: Various sources

Jose Eduardo Martinez wins KCA 6th Seshamma Memorial Open Blitz 2020

04/06/2020 -

Kings' Chess Academy - Hyderabad presents 6th Seshamma Memorial Online Blitz Open took place on 30th May. What was so unique about the event? The tournament had no entry fee. GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara scored 9.0/10 to win the tournament. He won ₹10000 cash prize for his efforts. Three players finished at 8.5/10. GM Jakhongir Vakhidov, IM Terry Renato and GM D Gukesh finished with 8.5/10. They were placed second, third and fourth respectively according to their tie-break scores. Total 253 players participated including 11 GMs, 12 IMs and 4 WIMs from 13 countries across the world including India. Photo: Niklesh Jain

Nisha Mohota explores her creative side with her mom

03/06/2020 -

IM and WGM Nisha Mohota is an accomplished chess player. She has won multitude of accolades and represented the country in numerous occasion at Olympiad, Women's World Championship, Asian and World Team events. She has also won the National Women's Premier title in 2005. She was the youngest WIM in the country back in 1995 and held the record till 1999 when Humpy broke it. She is also the first WGM from Kolkata, West Bengal. On 24th of April Nisha conceived the idea to make the video on Chess Basics and released it on her mom's 64th birthday on 29th April, to make sure people utilize this downtime due to Covid-19 in a good way. Learn how Chess Basics with Mom came into fruition in this article. Photo: Nisha Mohota

Monday Memories: Vishy Anand trivia

01/06/2020 -

We are aware of the fact that two days ago Vishy Anand returned back to India, but before that while he was stuck in Germany, the maestro posed a trivia on his facebook on 18th May. The question was, "What was so important about this simul? Can you spot me? And where and when did this happen??" If you were able to find answers to all questions then it's wonderful, if you haven't managed to figure out this challenge shared by the seven-time World Champion, then you should check out this article which reveals all the answers by Anand himself who shared the answers through a video on his fb page on 24th May 2020. Photo: Vishy Anand's fb

Atma-Nirbhar (self-reliant) India - J&K's Anil Kotwal shows the way

01/06/2020 -

The lockdown has proved to be difficult period for everyone across the country. However, some people have made the best use of this time to not just be creative but also help people around them. One such story is of Mr. Anil Kotwal who is a chess lover, a chess dad and a government employee in Jammu Kashmir. Father of Arushi Kotwal, a talented youngster of Indian chess, Anil is very closely attached to the game of chess. So what did he do? He came up with an idea to build his own chess board, which is extremely artistic, sturdy and long lasting. Following the Prime Minister's Aatma Nirbhar (self reliant) slogan, Kotwal managed to come up with something special.

ChessBase India YouTube channel crosses 350,000 subscribers

31/05/2020 -

We started our ChessBase India YouTube channel as a way to interview top players, coaches, parents, organizers, sponsors and all the people connected with the game of chess. Slowly it extended into showcasing games of players, top class analysis, live shows and much more. The main aim of the channel is to enrich and enlighten players and spectators and make chess one of the most followed sports in India and the world. At the beginning of the year we had around 250,000 subs, now after five months we have gained over 100,000 subscribers and reached 350,000. Did you know the channel has 17 videos with over a million views? The top five videos together total up to 100 million views! This is the right time to share with you our top ten videos!

The future of chess books (2)

31/05/2020 -

So I am being pressured to publish a book, a collection of articles that have, in the last twenty years, appeared on our news page – especially those describing encounters with famous players. And the ones that showed entertaining puzzles and games. They were very nice on a computer monitor, where you can replay and analyse everything – but transfering them onto very thin slices of tree? Nobody fetches a chessboard and pieces to replay moves anymore. Ahh, but there's a solution to this problem. Let me show you. And please help me evaluate this approach.

Stranded in Budapest – but rewarded by the world's best! + Anand returns!

30/05/2020 -

Two months ago, just before his 14th birthday, Indian super-talent (Elo 2452) Leon Luke Mendonca played in the 1st Saturday tournament in Budapest, Hungary. He was scheduled to fly back on the 18th of March, but the Indian government closed the country on the 19th. So for over two months now Leon and his father Lyndon have been separated from their family in Goa. Only comfort: they are stranded in what Lyndon called "one of the most beautiful cities in the world." And they got to meet a wonderful lady who inspired the young chess player deeply. Latest: yesterday five-time World Champion Vishy Anand was able to fly back to India after being stranded for over three months in Frankfurt, Germany.

Master Mind's Mind Master: A Poetic Book Review

30/05/2020 -

Upendra Rawat's poem on Vishy Anand titled "TYGER TYGER BURNING BRIGHT" which was published on ChessBase India during the numero uno's 50th birthday was received with great warmth by the readers. People loved it and we also judged it to be the best wish to the legend on his 50th birthday. Now Upendra is back with another poem, this time on Vishy Anand's recently released autobiography named "Mind Master". Through passionately written lines the author tells people what a deep impact the book has made on him and how reading it is a must for every chess and Vishy Anand fan.

Nihal beats Carlsen for the very first time in a Blitz game

29/05/2020 -

Due to Covid-19 pandemic all over-the-board tournaments have either been cancelled or postponed. However Chess is such a sport that can still be played online without huge modifications, in fact slim to none would be the right thing to say. Thanks to various online platforms, players from all over the world can play against their favorites at the champion's convenience. You just have to pick your poison, know who is going to play when and where, if you show enough grit, who knows you might get to play against your favorites from the comfort of your home. On May 27th, Nihal Sarin sent a challenge to the World no.1 during his banter blitz session and guess what? Nihal beat Carlsen for the very first time in an online blitz match. Photo: Amruta Mokal

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