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Lucena in Lockdown #1 - WIM Rakshitta Ravi

07/04/2020 -

The word Lucena is of Spanish origin, which means light or illumination. Lockdown can be very boring and lonely, so in this series of articles we will be seeing how Juniors are coping during this time - the light in the dark! This is an especially interesting time to be working on chess, as one is always at home. However, for the most serious chess players who have to travel constantly this is going to be a hindrance. They are exposed to something that they haven't seen all year round: Staying at home and enjoying time with family together! Now they get the opportunity to take a break from the constant tournament grind, albeit they have their long hours of preparation still going. We will be looking at their interests, hobbies, routines, life and of course, their best games, in these series of articles.

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Diptayan dominates 3rd Saturday Online Blitz Open 2020

07/04/2020 -

GM Diptayan Ghosh scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win 3rd Saturday Online Blitz Open. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. Five players finished at 7.5/9, GM Gukesh and GM Visakh were placed second and third according to their tie-break score. The third edition of the weekly tournament witnessed the participation of 207 players comprising of 21 GMs, 27 IMs, 3 WGMs and 5 WIMs from India, Armenia, Bangladesh, Colombia, England, France, Singapore, USA and Uzbekistan. Diptayan took a massive lead in the Circuit standings. He is currently at 28 points, followed by Praggnanandhaa at 16 points and IM Aronyak Ghosh at 15 points. The 4th Saturday Online Blitz Open will take place this Saturday 11th April. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

The grandmaster who sold his Mercedes!

06/04/2020 -

You might be well aware of the best-selling book written by Robin Sharma, named "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari". It is a self-help book derived from the personal experiences of Sharma after he left his litigation career at the age of 25. But do you know about a certain Armenian GM who sold his Mercedes at the age of 23. This is the story of GM Avetik Grigoryan, who tells us about the must-learn skill to skyrocket your growth in chess. Is it improving your endgame play, is it understanding positional chess deeper, is it mastering calculation? Not really. The advice given by Avetik is much deeper. Read more to find out.

Improve your planning and understanding

06/04/2020 -

If you play an opening, it is advisable not just to know the moves, but also the plan that is behind them. The ChessBase 15 Plan Explorer is able to show us these plans. It evaluates the games that have been played in different openings and shows how the players continued their development. Unlike the reference search it is not about next move, but about the further development. The Plan Explorer is a tool that helps us not only to remember the moves, but also to understand them. We will show you some practical examples and explain how it works. Graphic: ChessBase

The Bigg Beast in Bigg Boss - it was an April Fool's Day prank!

05/04/2020 -

The ChessBase tradition of April Fool's Day prank continues! On 1st of April 2020 we published an article of how the Bigg Beast B. Adhiban has been selected as one of the contestants for the popular TV reality show Bigg Boss! Adhiban's bold and carefree attitude made him the perfect candidate for being a participant on the show. Quite a few of our readers instantly caught it as an April Fool's Day prank, while many of them were genuinely fooled. On the next day after the prank, we contacted Adhiban, who said, "I spent the entire evening answering calls and messages and explaining to them that it was a prank. But one thing that was universally agreed by all was that the article was well written."

"Let's fight Corona together" fundraiser online blitz on 9th of April 2020

04/04/2020 -

On 9th of April 2020, ChessBase India is holding the "Let's fight Corona together" fundraiser online blitz. ChessBase India has always tried to bring the chess community together for a good cause. This time as well, we are looking forward to the chess players from all across India coming together and helping the country fight against the Corona virus. There is no entry fee, but to participate, you have to contribute a minimum of Rs.100. There is no upper limit and you can donate whatever amount you are comfortable with. We also have signed DVDs by Carlsen and Anand and India no.2 Vidit Gujrathi will not just play the event, but also do live streaming to support the cause.

The Friedel Chronicles Part II - The bohemian Tal, the courteous Spassky, and the heretic Fischer!

04/04/2020 -

In part II of the Frederic Chronicles, the co-founder of ChessBase, Frederic Friedel, recounts his experiences with Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, and Bobby Fischer. Did you know that Tal won the World Blitz Championship in 1988 while being inebriated for the better part of the tournament? Or that Fischer made plans to challenge Vishy Anand for a match in Fischer Random Chess? These and much more untold stories come to the fore with Frederic's singular accounts. Read this article and enrich yourself with nuggets of priceless chess history.

Adhiban, Jumbayev and Aravindh are the top seeds in 3rd Saturday Online Blitz 2020

04/04/2020 -

The 3rd Saturday Online Blitz 2020 will take place on 4th April 2020. So far, we have 19 GMs, 27 IMs, 3 WGMs and 4 WIMs taking part in the third edition. Players from India, Bangladesh, Colombia, England, France, Singapore and USA have already confirmed their participation. The entry fee to the tournament is FREE* for all participants, however you need an active ChessBase Premium subscription. There are prizes worth ₹10000 to be won for the top three finishers. That's not all, the circuit winner at the conclusion of five Saturday Blitz event will win an additional ₹10000. Currently Diptayan is leading the table at 18 points, followed closely by Praggnanandhaa and Aronyak at 16 and 15 points respectively. Photo: Various sources

Kidambi travels back in time

04/04/2020 -

Due to the global pandemic situation, FIDE Candidates was the last over-the-board tournament that was taking place in last month, which got stopped halfway through its completion. Naturally there was a dearth in following chess games across the world. The only way to follow recent games was online games and the other option was to take a look back at the classics. Chess connoisseur GM Sundararajan Kidambi decided to take a deeper look at a game from Zurich 1953 Candidates annotated by none other than David Bronstein. What inspired Kidambi to travel back in time? How long did he take to analyze the games? Kidambi analyzed the game in old notations in his blog, we changed it to algebraic notations for everyone's easy understanding. Photo: zurich-cc.com and Shahid Ahmed

IM Artiom Tsepotan - The man who founded 2700chess.com

03/04/2020 -

Statistics play a major role in any sport. More so in chess where FIDE ratings have their weight in gold. FIDE does publish its rating list every month, but in between those 30 days a lot of action happens when some of the top tournaments are taking place in the world. Where do we keep a track of all the live rating changes of top players? That's where the website 2700chess.com comes into the picture. It is the best resource to stay abreast of all the rating fluctuations of players above the rating of 2700. Who founded this website? What was intention behind it? And how does he manage to keep it so well updated? Here's the interview with the founder of 2700chess.com - IM Artiom Tsepotan. 

Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan wins March Masters Online Blitz 2020

02/04/2020 -

The biggest online event by ChessBase India in March was hosted in Playchess on 29th March 2020 which was won by GM Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan. He scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win the tournament, receive 10000 cash and finished a half point ahead of the competition. Both GM Diptayan Ghosh and GM Harsha Bharathakoti scored 7.5/9 and they were placed second and third to earn ₹8000 and ₹6000 respectively. The tournament witnessed 150 players including 25 GMs, 35 IMs, 2 WGMs and 7 WIMs fighting for total ₹50000 prize fund. Playchess and ChessBase India Blitz regular GM Laxman R R made a generous contribution of ₹15000 to the total prize fund of the tournament. Photo: ChessBase India archives

ChessBase for classroom chess instruction

02/04/2020 -

Although ChessBase is the international standard for top players, it also facilitates teaching chess to groups of children. For the past 15 years, for 10-20 hours per week, US Chess Master Jeff Ashton has taught using ChessBase. Ashton’s Panda Chess Academy transitioned from in-person classes to online instruction, due to his city’s closure of non-essential businesses. WIM Alexey Root interviews Jeff Ashton.

"Hang in there and this will pass soon" - Vishy Anand

02/04/2020 -

Vishy Anand is one of the most prominent personalities of the country who has been locked out of India due to the Corona virus. Vishy was in Germany for a Bundesliga match for his team OSG Baden Baden. The situation of Corona virus started getting serious by the day and flights back to India were cancelled. Anand is currently in Germany, but the good news is that he has his own apartment near Frankfurt to stay in and he is healthy. We ask him about his daily schedule, work regimen and what he thinks about the Candidates 2020 and Radjabov's situation.

"Adhiban - The Beast" to make his debut in reality TV show Bigg Boss

01/04/2020 -

Bigg Boss is one of the most popular TV reality shows in India, followed by millions of people. Usually they have contestants who are TV actors, models or well known celebrities from the world of Bollywood. But in 2020, the show is coming in with a twist! The Beast of India chess, B. Adhiban known for his witty humour and interviews will be one of the contestants and will look to win the prize of Rs. 1 crore (US$ 131000). This is only the second time in the history of Bigg Boss that a sports player has been roped in after wrestler Sangram Singh participated in 2013. We bring you the exciting story.

The Indian-Lion tames all in 2nd Saturday Online Blitz Open 2020

01/04/2020 -

Indian-Lion (GM Arjun Erigiasi) scored 8.0/9, remained undefeated to win 2nd Saturday Online Blitz Open 2020. This is his third ChessBase India Online Blitz event triumph. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. Diptayan, STRANGE, ZavenGrozny and chessworld1 finished at 7.5/9 each and they were placed second to fifth respectively. The second edition of five tournament series witnessed the participation of 225 players comprising of 20 GMs, 29 IMs, 2 WGMs and 4 WIMs from India, Armenia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, England, France, Singapore, USA. There were eight 2600+ players among them. The third edition will take place this Saturday 4th April 2020. Photo: Puneet Jaiswal

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