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Lucena in Lockdown #3: IM Raahil Mullick

11/04/2020 -

12-year-old IM Raahil Mullick has mostly been on a uniformly positive rating change, and keeps improving by every tournament that finishes. Now, as lockdown approached, you may have expected a break, but Raahil continues to strive every day, giving it his all and pushing through it all! A very serious dedication and determination to keep going and improve at the game has kept Raahil preoccupied over the last month. The routine he follows is fascinating, and in this edition of Lucena in Lockdown, we take a look at an ideal daily routine - for chess players! Also, stick around for some wise words by Rupali, Raahil's mother, on what a chess player needs a lot of these days.

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Test your calculation with Nihal Sarin

11/04/2020 -

Some time ago Nihal Sarin had shared a very interesting position on his social media handles. He was playing a practice blitz game against an unknown opponent. This time it was not an online blitz, but an over the board encounter. After the game ended, he brought back the position to a critical moment and asked his opponent, did you see the complications after Qg6+? What do you think is happening? Nihal and his opponent analyzed the position for quite some time and were naturally enamoured with the variations. Was the move winning? Or was it losing? Or was it just a draw? Well, we will leave it up to you to work out the details.

Aravindh, Narayanan and Gukesh are the top seeds in 4th Saturday Online Blitz Open 2020

10/04/2020 -

The 4th edition of Saturday Online Blitz Tournament Open will take place this Saturday 11th April 2020. So far we have 12 GMs, 22 IMs, 3 WGMs and 5 WIMs confirming their participation among 242 registered players from India, Bangladesh, Colombia, England, France, Romania, Singapore, USA and Uzbekistan. Currently GM Diptayan Ghosh leads the Circuit standings with 28 points after a hat-trick of second place finish, he finally won the 3rd Saturday Online Blitz Open. Praggnanandhaa is trailing behind by 12 points at second place with 16 points followed by IM Aronyak Ghosh at 15 points. Photo: Various sources

New: Opening Encyclopaedia 2020

10/04/2020 -

The new Opening Encyclopaedia 2020 is ideal for your opening training. Whether you want to build a solid opening repertoire or whether you are looking for new ideas for your repertoire: A huge pool of opening ideas and high-quality analyses is waiting for you. The Opening Encyclopadia 2020 includes all (!) opening overviews of the ChessBase Magazines from previous years, as well as more than 6,800 opening surveys with more than 38,000 illustrative games. Plus 40 videos with a total runtime of 14 hours. So what are you waiting for? It's time to increase your opening knowledge. Photo: ChessBase

Rs. 2,43,243 raised at the "Let's fight Corona Together" online blitz

10/04/2020 -

A total of 17 GMs and over 180 players took part in the "Let's fight Corona together" Fundraiser online blitz organized by ChessBase India on 9th of April 2020. India no.2 Vidit Gujrathi was the top seed. GM Nihal Sarin, GM Aravindh Chithambaram and GM Vidit Gujrathi ended at the top with 8.0/9, with the speed king Nihal taking the top spot on tiebreaks. The main aim of the event was to raise money for the PM CARES fund and we were successful in collecting Rs.2,43,243. GM Vidit Gujrathi not only played but also did live streaming of his games and his efforts resulted in a collection of Rs.37,028 in under two hours. ChessBase India thanks each of the contributors and participants for making it such a grand event.

Lucena in Lockdown #2: IM Leon Mendonca

09/04/2020 -

We return with another edition of Lucena in Lockdown, the series where we look at the lives of the juniors under lockdown! Today, we will be looking at the daily life of Leon Mendonca. For those of you who aren't aware, Leon and his father are currently in Budapest and were unable to leave in time for India before the lockdown was announced! It can be very sad to be so far and away from family in this time, but read on to see how Leon spends his time, preparing chess, studying, and listening to his favourite music! Also read on for some wonderful words of wisdom from Lyndon Mendonca, on how perspectives matter a lot in the way we look at the world.

Announcing the Buddhibal Kreeda Trust online blitz on 14th of April 2020

08/04/2020 -

It's a trust that has worked selflessly to promote chess in Maharashtra and India since the last 22 years. Buddhibal Kreeda Trust (BKT) under the mentorship of Prakash Kunte (father of GM Abhijit Kunte and WIM Mrunalini Kunte) has organized over 150 tournaments. So when the chess world is hit by the Corona virus and all tournaments are cancelled, what does BKT do? Of course, it does what is the best for the players and organizes an online event! With a prize fund of Rs.30,000, first prize of Rs.10,000 and special rating category prizes as well as veteran prizes, it's a tournament you cannot afford to miss. It will be held on 14th of April at 8 p.m. IST.

Indian chess community comes together to fight the Corona virus, raises Rs.1,68,000 in 72 hours

08/04/2020 -

We still have close to 24 hours to go for the "Let's Fight Corona Together" online blitz. Three days after the tournament was announced we have managed to raise over Rs.1,25,000 thanks to the benevolence of several Indian grandmasters, International Masters and strong players. All the amount will be donated to the PM CARES fund to fight this disaster. The online blitz tournament will be held on 9th of April 2020 and you too can be a part of the same. This endeavour shows how powerful the chess community is when it comes together. Gens Una Sumus - we are one family!

Listen to the 64 squares

07/04/2020 -

A chess player's prime struggle during a game lies in the constant bid to grasp at and manipulate the two fundamental elements governing geometry and dynamics on the chessboard, namely space and time. Yet these two ideas are not typical just to chess: reality itself that we perceive all around us with our five senses is intimately woven into the fabric of space-time. In this eloquently written article, the author Srikanth Govindaseshan, makes some unlikely connections and delves into the mystical and scientific conceptions of space-time closely in relation to the game of chess. Here, dear readers, is a real opportunity to broaden the horizons of your mind.

New: Kasimdzhanov: The Benoni is back in Business

07/04/2020 -

The Benoni Defense leads to asymmetrical, double-edged positions that give Black good chances to play for a win. On his new DVD, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, coach and second of Fabiano Caruana, shows why the Benoni is much better than it's theoretical reputation and that it is an entirely solid line which offers Black a lot of dynamic possibilities. It is good time to increase one more weapon in the arsenal by learning the Benoni Opening from the former Asian and World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. It goes without saying that his knowledge is impeccable and knowing Benoni can help you to strengthen your preparation from the black's side. Photo: ChessBase

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.

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."

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