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Team India at the World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad

01/11/2019 -

The World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad has begun in Corum, Turkey. Consisting of five players, the Indian contingent got off to a good start with clean 4-0 sweeps in the first two rounds of the event but the third and fourth rounds didn't go as desired as the team lost 1.5-2.5 and 0.5-3.5 to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan respectively. After four rounds, India has secured 10 points in all and 4 match points. Belarus is the sole leader with perfect 8.0/8 match points; while four countries, including the top-seeded Azerbaijan, follow them closely with 7 points each. In this illustrated article we bring you an overview of all the important Indian performances, games, analyses, and more.  

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Manuel triumphs in 5th Pampilhosa da Serra and Portuguese Super Cup

01/11/2019 -

GM Manuel Perez Candelário scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win 5th Pampilhosa da Serra International Open which is the most important Rapid tournament in Portugal. GM Jaime Latasa Santos also finished with the same score, however due to lower tie-break score, he was declared the runner-up. GM Karen Grigoryan scored 7.5/9 to finish at third position. 114 players participated from 11 different countries including 10 GMs in this one-day open rapid tournament held on 19th October 2019 at Villa Pampilhosa Hotel in Portugal. On Sunday 20th October, Portuguese Super Cup was held at the Municipal Market in the middle of a Vintage Car exhibition. Montemor-o-Novo became the National champions by winning the Portuguese Super Cup. Photo: GM António Fernandes

Introducing: ChessBase India Elite Pass!

01/11/2019 -

Explore the World of ChessBase India! We would like to thank all our valuable customers for their constant support. Our gratitude towards you is infinite. We would like to return the favor with the latest addition to our services. Presenting the ChessBase India Elite Pass, a premium pass for 1 year containing a range of special services, all designed to fulfill your chess needs. What benefits would you get if you became the owner of a ChessBase India Elite Pass? Check out the article to know all the details. We also have new products for you that you can pre-order which include Fritz 17, Mega Database 2020, Correspondence Database 2020 and much more!

Upcoming tournaments in November 2019

31/10/2019 -

The month of November 2019 is absolutely stacked. It starts with National Junior on the very first day of the month. FIDE Grand Prix makes a return on 5th at Hamburg, Germany. Grand Chess Tour has two events this month - the first one being at Bucharest, Romania from 6th and the second one takes place in Kolkata, India from 22nd where the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen also returns to India, first time in six years. since winning the World Championship in Chennai 2013. That's not all, there is World Senior, National under-11, National Schools, 1st FIDE World Disabled Cadet and Youth championship and many more State, State level, National level Classic, Rapid and Blitz rating tournaments. Total 110 tournaments are listed in November 2019.

A ten-point lead for the hosts as we head to Blitz!

31/10/2019 -

Four rounds of rapid chess each were held on 29th and 30th of October 2019 between the ChessBase India team and Indonesia. After the first two rounds, we mentioned in our day one report that Indonesia had built up a commanding lead with 24-16. However, the Indians fought back and at the end of day two, and six rounds the lead had narrowed down to just two points - ChessBase India-59 and Indonesia-61. On day three, the Indian players managed to play some good chess and the rapid portion of the match has ended with a score of 105-95. A ten point lead for the hosts. But the match isn't over yet. We now move into the blitz section that will be played today (31st of October). There are 100 points at stake. Can the Indonesian team make a comeback? 

Karpov Trophy 2019: Nihal Sarin's emphatic victory against Sara Khadem

30/10/2019 -

Amin Bassem and Alexey Sarana both lost one game each in rounds twelve and thirteen of the ongoing Anatoly Karpov Trophy 2019 to slip down the leaderboard. Nihal Sarin, on the other hand, kept up his steady form and emerged as the sole second with 8.5/13 points. In the twelfth round Nihal registered a crushing victory against the Iranian player Sara Khadem with white pieces and drew his next encounter confidently against Alexey Sarana playing black. Overall, Etienne Bacrot is still leading the field with 9.0/13 points and it remains to be seen if the Indian phenom can catch up with him in the last remaining round before the knockout semi-finals of the event begin. In this illustrated article we show you the critical moments from Nihal's twelfth round victory and also give you the next round pairings.

NEW Simon Williams bundle: The London System with 2.Bf4 Reloaded & Tactic Toolbox

30/10/2019 -

Introducing the all-new London system series from "Ginger GM" Simon Williams (and now available for Mac!)! Why bother learning hundreds of complex variations when you can play a simple yet deadly opening — the London System with 2.Bf4. And to cement your London skills, let Simon show you all the complications in the London System one has to know as White, giving you the tactical tools for a successful practice with the new "Tactic Toolbox" series. After all, the player who knows the typical motifs has an advantage over the board.

Sandipan and Gukesh make a steady start at 23rd OIBM Tegernsee

30/10/2019 -

Witnessing the participation of over 500 players in Indian tournaments is a common happening, however Offene Internationale Bayerische Meisterschaft also known as OIBM at Tegernsee in Germany is witnessing a mammoth 504 participants in the 23rd edition of the tournament. Sandipan Chanda and Gukesh D are just a half point behind the four leaders at 3.5/4 each. The highest rated Indian at the tournament Sethuraman suffered a defeat in round 4. 12-year-old CM Prraneeth Vuppala had a dream start by holding the former World Cup winner Gata Kamsky to a draw in the first round. The Indian women IM Padmini Rout and IM Nisha Mohota both made a steady start without losing a single match. Photo: Amruta Mokal/OIBM Official site

The ingredients that helped Raunak Sadhwani become the 65th GM of India

30/10/2019 -

Raunak Sadhwani became a GM at the age of 13 years, 9 months and 28 days on 19th of October 2019. Becoming a GM at such a tender age made him the ninth youngest GM in the history of chess! How did Raunak achieve this feat? What were the ingredients that came together to create GM Raunak Sadhwani? In this article we bring you Raunak's story towards the GM title. We also have quotes by his trainers, annotated wins of his encounters with Sjugirov, Motylev and Karjakin that helped him gain his third GM norm and 2500 Elo at the Grand Swiss 2019. After reading the article you will realize that a lot of ingredients had to be mixed in appropriate proportions for Raunak to reach where he is today. And as Vishy Anand rightly pointed out, "This is just the beginning!"

Antonio Viani wins double in France

30/10/2019 -

IM Antonio Viani D'cunha scored an unbeaten 7.0/9 to become champion in 5th Liffré International Open in France. He finished a half point ahead of the runner-up IM Pierre Bailet of France. IM P Konguvel also scored 6.5/9 and he finished shared second. GM Sundararajan Kidambi and IM Satyapragyan Swayangsu scored 6.0/9 each to finish at shared seventh position. All four Indians who participated in this tournament finished in top ten. Antonio also won the Blitz event by scoring 8.0/9 and suffering only one loss. He finished a full point ahead of the runner-up Raphael Lemasle of France. A brief report of the tournament with games and photos. Photo: Anne Ruhlmann / Liffré Open 2019

Karpov Trophy 2019: Nihal Sarin catches Hou Yifan in a mating net

29/10/2019 -

Nihal Sarin has a rapid rating of just 2285 but he is already performing at an Elo of 2639 in the 17th edition of Anatoly Karpov Trophy that is taking place in the beautiful mediterranean town of Cap d'agde in Southern France. After eleven rounds Nihal has an impressive score of 7.0/11 points (4 wins, 1 loss, 6 draws) and is placed overall second along with Amin Bassem and Alexey Sarana. In the eleventh round playing the black pieces he registered a fine win against Hou Yifan of China. Hou was the only one who had defeated Nihal earlier in the event. Thus, the Indian phenom not only consolidated his position in the tournament with his last victory but also levelled his score against the Woman World no.1. The top seeded Etienne Bacrot is at the moment the sole leader of the event and is half a point ahead of the rest of the field with 7.5/11 points, while Elisabeth Paehtz and Hou Yifan have slipped down the leaderboard with 5.0/11 each.

Is the Indonesia national team too strong?

29/10/2019 -

The Indonesia team travelled for nearly 12 hours to reach from Jakarta to Chennai on 27th night. They took some rest and were on the chess board on the 28th afternoon for the ChessBase India vs Indonesia friendly match taking place in Chess Gurukul. The 10-member Indonesian national team has a rating average of 2373.6, while the 10-member ChessBase India team has a rating average of 2361.6. It promised to be quite an evenly contested battle, at least on paper. And this was seen in the 1st round as India eked out a win by the nearest of margins 5.5-4.5 But in round two, Indonesians went ahead full throttle and beat the Indians by a whopping 7.5-2.5 score. At the end of day one the score is 24-16 in favour of Indonesia. A detailed report from Chennai. 

Nikolas Stanec dominates 1st Arberia Open 2019

29/10/2019 -

GM Nikolaus Stanec of Austria scored 6.0/7, remained undefeated to win 1st Arberia Open 2019. He received a beautiful trophy and €400 for his efforts. Stanec finished a half point ahead of the remaining podium finishers. Both FM Konstantin Peyrer and Johannes Steindl scored 5.5/7 and they were placed second and third respectively according to their tie-break score. The Blitz event was won by untitled Leopold F Wagner of Germany by scoring 8.5/11. Konstantin Peyrer also scored 8.5/11, however Leopold clinched the title based on his tie-break score. Total 57 players in open and 51 players in blitz participated form thirteen different nations. Photo: Arberia Open 2019

Analysing your openings repertoire with Fat Fritz

28/10/2019 -

While the idea of Fat Fritz as a self-taught chess AI is tantalizing, many players may wonder why this impacts them if they already have a good engine and they are not grandmasters seeking nearly ineffable edges in their preparation. In the following article, we let a strong amateur study with it for some hours and compare notes with analysis he had made from other engines. With the meteoric rise of usage of AI in chess, Fat Fritz is something undeniably useful for any professional chess player. Learning how to maximize its usage and reap benefits from it is definitely worth learning now than procrastinating it.

Nihal Sarin leads Karpov Trophy 2019 with three others

27/10/2019 -

Nihal Sarin is currently playing in the Anatoly Karpov Trophy 2019 which is taking place from the 25th of October to the 1st of November in Cap d'Agde, France. The tournament consists of two parts. It begins as an eight-player rapid double round-robin but after the completion of fourteen rounds the top four go on to play two-game knockout semi-finals and a final. Nihal is incidentally the last seed of the event with a rapid rating of just 2285. Obviously this figure doesn't reflect the true strength of the youngster as he has already displayed some very steady chess to emerge as one of the four leaders at the end of six rounds with 4.0/6 points. Etienne Bacrot, Hou Yifan, and Amin Bassem - all 2600+ rated strong rapid players - are others who share the lead with the same score. In this consolidated report on rounds one to six of the tournament we give you a comprehensive overview of Nihal's performance so far.

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