chessbase india logo

Why has Radjabov pulled himself out of the Candidates 2020?

06/03/2020 -

With just 10 days to go for the Candidates 2020, Teimour Radjabov has withdrawn his name from the Candidates 2020. For now he has furnished no specifics, citing the reasons are personal. It could well be due to the Coronavirus, but we cannot be sure about it. Teimour's withdrawal meant a last-minute entry for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The Frenchman and his manager had even written to the Russian Chess Federation in December 2019 to consider him for the wild card spot. While it seemed MVL had missed his opportunity this year as well, the fortunes have smiled upon him and he is now getting ready to take part in his first Candidates. Will there be any more twists in the plot before the tournament begins? We'll have to wait and watch!

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

Lausanne GP R4: Harika maintains her lead along with Goryachkina

06/03/2020 -

Harika maintained her lead by winning her second consecutive game at FIDE Lausanne GP 2020 by defeating Georgia no.1 woman Nana Dzagnidze. The Georgian made a huge blunder which forced her to resign after the 27th move. Goryachkina capitalized on her opponent Stefanova's tactical error in the endgame and grabbed a pawn. The former Women's World Champion from Bulgaria lost one pawn too many and eventually the game. IM Zhansaya Abdumalik made the most of her opportunity and beat Kosteniuk. Anna Muzychuk showed staunch defence against reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun to hold a draw. Pia Cramling missed a win against IM Alina Kashlinskaya. Photo: FIDE

Apply for the "Pursue your chess" scholarship of Rs.75,000

06/03/2020 -

At ChessBase India we have always wanted to Power Chess in India. We recognized that one of the main difficulties that chess players face is the lack of financial resources. Hence, in 2018 the ChessBase India Foundation was created. One of the scholarships that was instituted in the second half of 2018 was the Pursue Your Chess scholarship. A kind-hearted person from Bangalore, who wishes to remain anonymous donated Rs.50,000 for this scholarship. Sammed Shete from Kolhapur won the scholarship and within a year managed to score his 2 remaining IM norms and become an IM. The 2nd Pursue Your Scholarship 2020-21 has been instituted once again and this time the amount is Rs.75,000. Players who have achieved something substantial in their chess career till date and are suffering from financial burden should fill out the form given in this article before 20th of March. ChessBase India and the donor will select the most eligible candidate for the scholarship.

Lausanne GP R3: Harika outplays Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun

05/03/2020 -

Harika Dronavalli outplayed the reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun in Round 3 of FIDE Lausanne GP. After an incorrect Queen exchange offer by Ju, Harika seized her opportunity and correctly played the Same Color Bishop ending to be one of the five leaders. Anna Muzychuk crushed Marie Sebag with a beautiful attacking game to take the shared lead. Alina Kashlinskaya survived an early attack and turned things around to beat her compatriot Alexandra Kosteniuk. Nana Dzagnidze had an exciting draw with Antoaneta Stefanova in Modern Benoni. Goryachkina made a quick draw to maintain her lead. Anna, Harika, Nana, Kashlinskaya and Goryachkina lead with 2.0/3. Photo: FIDE

Pranav Anand and Rucha Pujari make norms at Aeroflot Open B

04/03/2020 -

The category A Open of the recently concluded Aeroflot Chess Festival was mainly restricted to players rated 2550 or more, but the organizers encouragingly exempted a select group of talented youngsters from this requirement and welcomed them to contest on equal terms with the strongest Grandmasters in the event. The result of this well-intentioned concession proved a huge success as not only did the tournament see a spurt of promising juniors come to the fore but also a 14-year-old ended up clinching the championship ahead of many an experienced player in the field. However, perhaps not too surprisingly, the competition in B and C Opens as well were dominated by young players. In today's article we bring you the exploits of two young Indians, namely Pranav Anand and Rucha Pujari, who performed commendably well in the open B category and managed to return home with an IM norm and a WGM norm respectively.

And that's how a star is welcomed! WGM Pratyusha Bodda in Tuni

04/03/2020 -

Getting your WGM or GM titles is not at all an easy feat. It takes years of hard work, investment, training and single minded dedication to achieve these titles. When the player reaches the milestone, of course, there is huge sense of achievement and relief, but in terms of recognition very little has been forthcoming from the government or the region where they live in. But things are surely changing in this direction. When Pratyusha Bodda returned home from her European tour after becoming a WGM, she was invited to her home-town in Tuni, Andhra Pradesh. What followed next was akin to what Vishy Anand witnessed when he returned after winning the World Championship title. The people were ecstatic that their daughter had become a WGM and they didn't hold back their celebrations!

Lausanne GP R2: Goryachkina and Dzagnidze take early lead

04/03/2020 -

Georgia no.1 woman Nana Dzagnidze defeated GP debutant IM Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan in an emphatic manner to take the lead with Aleksandra Goryachkina who defeated the former Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. Kosteniuk misplayed in the endgame and landed herself in difficult situation. Anna Muzychuk had the longest game of the day against Pia Cramling which lasted for almost five hours but Anna's advantage was not enough to score a full point. The remaining three games ended in draws in exactly 30 moves. Harika got herself out of difficult situation and managed to salvage a draw. Photo: FIDE

Fat Fritz and the 1200 - Chess Improvement made Easy!

03/03/2020 -

2019 was a landmark year for Chess. World Triple Crown Champion Magnus Carlsen shrugged off his abysmal 2018 to become a Terminator of top class players, Vishy Anand continued to remain relevant at 50, Radjabov banishing the ghosts of London 2013 with a World Cup in his hands- the list goes on. The one development however that shook up the chess world was Fat Fritz, an AI which learnt from self play as well as the very best of human games. The pertinent question however remained unanswered - how does an ordinary club player, or ambitious lower rated players make use of this technology to improve their games. In this comprehensive article, Tanmay Srinath tells us why having a more 'Human' Engine makes all the difference in the world regarding Chess Improvement.

Lausanne GP R1: Zhansaya Abdumalik holds Ju Wenjun to a draw

03/03/2020 -

The Olympic Capital - Lausanne, Switzerland hosts the third leg of FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2019-20. The GP leader Humpy Koneru, Kateryna Lagno, Elisabeth Paehtz and Valentina Gunina skip this event as all GP participants are allowed to choose only three out of four events. 20-year old young Kazakh IM Zhansaya Abdumalik was a last minute replacement for Chinese GM Zhao Xue, she made the most out of her opportunity by holding the reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun to a draw in the very first round of the event. All other games also ended up in draw in round 1. The tournament will have a total of eleven rounds in a Round-Robin format. Photo: FIDE

Lokesh wins GMLs Coimbatore Grand Prix Rapid Rating Open

02/03/2020 -

Fourth seeded Lokesh N scored 6.5/7 to win the final leg GMLs All India Rapid Rating Open, part of All India Chess Grandprix. Two other players Selvamurugan B and Senthil Maran also finished at 6.5/7 each and they were placed second and third respectively. Total 280 players participated in this one-day rapid rating tournament at Hindusthan Arts & Science College, Coimbatore on 23rd February 2020, organized by GMLs Academy. The tournament had a total prize fund of ₹1.25 lacs, Lokesh bagging the first prize of champion's trophy and ₹15000 cash. He will also be one of the top ten finalists of All India Chess Grandprix which will take place next month. Photo: Uma Maheswaran Palanisamy

Ireland's first WIM - Trisha Kanyamarala

02/03/2020 -

The Irish Chess Union has two gems of Indian origin in their fold - the brother and sister duo of Tarun and Trisha Kanyamarala. While 15-year-old Tarun is now an FM with a rating of 2376, 14-year-old Trisha became Ireland's first WIM ever. She even crossed 2300 on the live rating list getting her the FM title. In this article we get to know more about the Kanyamarala family - how they took some bold decisions in their chess career to be where they are right now. We also interview Trisha and ask her about her journey from being a young kid who took up chess following her brother's footsteps, to now becoming Ireland's first WIM.

Test your chess with the Civil Engineer!

01/03/2020 -

Nubairshah Shaikh, 22 years old, is a civil engineer and also pursuing his aim of becoming a GM. He is an IM and scored his second GM norm at the Capelle La Grande 2020 in France. Nubair was rock solid as he won four of his games and drew five to reach a score of 6.5/9. Most probably, he will remember the event for his amazing game against GM Ivaljo Enchev. After just ten moves you already had four queens on the board! This was quite an amazing scene as both players had to be extremely accurate in order to take the game to its logical conclusion. In the end, Nubair managed to come out on top, but it was only after both sides missed quite some brilliant variations. In this article we invite you to test your chess with the Civil Engineer!

The new Chess fiction is here! - ALMA and the Dark Dominion review

29/02/2020 -

If you are into Fantasy, and you are into chess, then this book is exactly right for you! The story is about four friends that are transported to another world, which shares many parallels to chess, and must defeat the ruler by solving all the tricky problems with logic and chess to return home. ALMA perfectly minces both of these together to create a unique and original idea. The two combined abilities of Judit Berg, the award-winning children's author from Hungary and Judit Polgar, the best female chess player of all time, turn these into a fun read on a nice afternoon. Read on for an exciting review on the reason why this book is absolutely incredible!

Upcoming tournaments in March 2020

29/02/2020 -

The month of March features two elite level tournaments. On the very first day, FIDE Women's Grand Prix starts off in Lausanne, Switzerland. Couple of days after it concludes, from 17th March, FIDE Candidates 2020 will start at Yekaterinburg, Russia. It is the tournament which will determine the challenger for the World Champion Magnus Carlsen. World Senior Team Championship will take place from 5th - 15th March at Prague, Czech Republic. There are two open rating tournaments in India which has a huge prize fund - 4th Holi Cup Lakecity Open and 2nd Nitai Ghosh Memorial Open 2020. There are various other state level, national level standard and rapid rating tournaments across the country and all over the world.

14-year-old Aydin Suleymanli is the champion of Aeroflot Open 2020

28/02/2020 -

The Aeroflot Open 2020 ended yesterday in a tie for the first place between four players, namely Aydin Suleymanli, Rinat Jumabayev, Rauf Mamedov, and Aravindh Chithambaram. But of the four the 14-year-old Aydin had the best tie-break score and therefore was declared the rightful champion of the event. The Azerbaijani thus took back home a purse worth €13,875 (approx 11 Lakh rupees). From Aravindh crushing Sanan Sjugirov to Pranesh and Praggnanandhaa scoring nice miniature wins, a lot of action took place on the final day of the tournament. We bring you a comprehensive report from Moscow with games, analyses, photos, and more.

Contact Us