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Nikhil Dixit wins Varadraj Memorial All India Rapid Rating 2019

11/06/2019 -

Fourth seeded FM Nikhil Dixit scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win Varadraj Memorial All India Open Rapid Rating held at Chhatrapati Shahu Stadium, Satara on 30th and 31st May 2019. Ranveer Mohite also finished with 8.0/9. However due to a lower tie-break score, he had to settle for the runner-up position. Three players scored 7.5/9 and out of them Sammed Jayakumar Shette was placed third, due to his tie-break score. The tournament witnessed 198 players from various states across the country. Total ₹100000 Prize fund was distributed among 124 prizes. Satara District Chess Association and Varadraj Memorial Trust jointly organized this event. Photo: IA Kaviraj Sawant

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12th Mumbai Mayor's Cup brings back the chess fever in the city!

11/06/2019 -

Mumbai Mayor's Cup is back with its 12th edition. This year the prize fund is Rs.36 lakh and the A-group has witnessed the participation of 217 players with an average Elo of 2002. We have 26 GMs and 13 IMs and players from 21 countries. Mumbai has contributed to just one out of the 62 GMs to Indian chess. In this report we tell you why the scenario is changing and how the Mayor's Cup is playing a big role in it. Three rounds have been completed in the A section and we have 14 players on 100% score. The biggest upset of the event until now happened in the second round when top seed Eduardo Iturrizaga lost to Raahul VS. We have the game with annotations and pictures by our ace photographer Amruta Mokal. 

Women's Candidates: Muzychuk sisters win, Goryachkina stays at the top

11/06/2019 -

Kosteniuk missed several winning chances against Lagno and the game eventually ended up in a draw. It was the only draw of the round. Gunina went all-in against Goryachkina but that was not enough as soon her position was a complete mess which Goryachkina had no trouble cleaning up for a full point and stretch her lead by 2.5 points. Anna Muzychuk seemed to be in an uncomfortable queen less middle game, however she swerved her opponent into blundering an exchange which resulted her in scoring the full point in the endgame. Mariya Muzychuk won against Tan Zhongyi without any difficulty resulting in both Muzychuk sisters win again. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Fatigue supersedes brilliance as Carlsen continues to march ahead

11/06/2019 -

On a day where blunders were commonplace, Magnus Carlsen and Yu Yangyi consolidated their positions in the tournament standings with contrasting wins over Ding Liren and Vishy Anand in the armageddons after all the five classical games finished without a winner. Anand was the only one who got some chances in classical chess, but he failed to take them. In the Armageddons, the tiredness showed - Grischuk left a piece en prise, So blundered mate in one, Ding Liren gave up a free rook and Anand lost an exchange to keep his king alive! With Black continuing to dominate the tiebreakers, Caruana and MVL seized their chances to climb up the leaderboard. A comprehensive report from Norway Chess by Tanmay Srinath.

Asian 2019 Round 3-4: Praggnanandhaa pulls off a shocking upset against Vidit, Bhakti is now an IM

10/06/2019 -

Praggnanandhaa R. pulls off a shocking upset by defeating the top-seed and compatriot Vidit Gujrathi. Nihal Sarin cruises through with the King's Indian while Abhijeet Gupta falters against Iranian prodigy Alireza Firouzja. Murali Karthikeyan foils Vishnu Prasanna's ambitious exchange sacrifice and holds Sethuraman to a steady draw. Elsewhere in the Women's section Bhakti Kulkarni draws against higher rated IM Dinara Saduakassova and emerges as the latest International Master of the country. Four rounds have ended in the Asian continental open and women's championships 2019, in this report we bring you the glimpses of the most important moments of rounds 3 and 4. 

Sasikiran's immortal at Poikovsky to beat Artemiev

10/06/2019 -

Krishnan Sasikiran was up against the Russian star Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev in the third round of the ongoing Karpov Poikovsky tournament. Widely hailed to be the successor of the recently retired legend Vladimir Kramnik, the 21 years old Artemiev is undoubtedly the next big thing in chess from Russia. A grandmaster only from 2014, he is already close to being in the top ten of the FIDE rating list. His recent victories include winning the Gibraltar masters in January this year, taking a clear first place and the European Individual Championship title in March. But when your opponent is Krishnan Sasikiran - one of India's finest and most experienced grandmasters - no matter who you are, you better be well prepared. In the present article we look into the brilliant game that Sasikiran played on Saturday to beat Artemiev and try to understand what took the 2761 rated chess prodigy out of his depth.

Women's Candidates: Goryachkina scores her fifth win of the tournament

10/06/2019 -

Tournament leader Aleksandra Goryachkina continued her winning streak when she defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk after the latter blundered a piece in an already difficult situation. Nana Dzagnidze self-destructed when she gave away her Queen for Rook and Bishop against Tan Zhongyi. After which it became almost impossible for her to make a comeback in the game. Anna Muzychuk and Mariya Muzychuk made a quick draw. Valentina Gunina and Kateryna Lagno also ended in an uneventful draw. Round 8 was the second match with the same opponents as round 1 with a reversed color. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Norway 2019 Round 5: Aronian's trickery and Vishy's consecutive Armageddon wins!

10/06/2019 -

The symphony with mathematics continued, as all 5 classical games were drawn in Round 5! Levon Aronian had the best chance to win against Ding Liren, but the Armenian genius couldn't properly assess the winning continuation. The Armageddons though were something else. Ding Liren was completely lost, somehow managed to find himself a queen up, yet could only find perpetual check. Carlsen was suffering against MVL before escaping with a repetition. Yu Yangyi turned the tables on a hapless Caruana after finding his king under a monsterous kingside attack. Grischuk won on time against Mamedyarov, who had White! Anand was the only one who drew his game as black comfortably without much action. An exhaustive report from Norway Chess by Tanmay Srinath.

The Fun of Chess Tactics

09/06/2019 -

Why is it so much fun to solve tactical puzzles? The first reason has nothing to do with chess: Solving an interesting problem brings a sense of achievement. This releases a quantity of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a complex neurotransmitter and constitutes part of the brain’s neurochemical motivation and reward mechanism, often cited in pop culture as the “hormone of happiness”. It is the same substance your head gets overdosed with when you fall in love.

Women's Candidates: Gunina beats Zhongyi, Goryachkina extends her lead

09/06/2019 -

Anna Muzychuk got a winning chance against Alexandra Kosteniuk after the latter's exchange sacrifice was dealt properly, but due to time pressure Anna missed it and the game ended up in a draw. Mariya declined a threefold repetition against Goryachkina in the endgame and it ended up in a draw eventually. Kateryna-Nana's game was a marathon game of 80 moves before a draw was agreed in a rook ending, although Nana had a decent advantage in early endgame. Gunina defeated former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi in Petroff's Defence after the former used her double bishops so well that Zhongyi had to give up the exchange. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Norway 2019 Round 4: The Tiger Roars, while the Mozart of Chess eases through!

09/06/2019 -

Vishy Anand gave the Indian contingent much to cheer for, with a wonderful attacking display against Ding Liren in the Armageddon after a topsy turvy first game. Magnus Carlsen won in another Grunfeld game as White in the tiebreakers after Shak equalised easily in their classical encounter. Caruana played superbly, but missed a chance to make possibly the 'Move of the Year'(!!) against So. Aronian played like Bent Larsen, but couldn't win like the great Dane against MVL. Yu Yangyi regained ground with a thumping win as Black against the tired Grischuk in their classical game. An in-depth report from Norway Chess by Tanmay Srinath

Asian 2019 Round 2: Karthikeyan does a Kramnik

09/06/2019 -

In what was every bit classy chess, Murali Karthikeyan won his second game in a row when he defeated Xu Zhihang of China. India's triple crown champion Aravindh Chithambaram was also in his element when he grabbed the chance to create a demolishing passer against Zhao Yuanhe. Sethuraman S.P. beat Raunak Sadhwani in a Najdorf when the latter made a careless move. In the women's section, Bhakti Kulkarni continued her conquest by beating Hoang Thi Bao Tram. It was round 2 at the Asian continental championships 2019 and in this report we bring you the most important moments of the day's excitement.

Venezuela no.1 Eduardo Iturrizaga wins 12th KIIT International 2019

08/06/2019 -

Top seed of the tournament, Venezuela no.1 GM Eduardo Iturrizaga scored an unbeaten 8.0/10 to win 12th KIIT International 2019. Ukrainian GM Valeriy Neverov and Armenian GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan also finished at 8.0/10, however due to a lower tie-break score, they had to settle for runner-up and second runner-up places. Among the Indians, IM P Shyamnikhil finished the highest by scoring 7.5/9 and secured 6th position. Experienced IM P Konguvel played fantastic after a long time. He scored 7.5/9 and secured 7th position. Undefeated Koustav Chatterjee was the third highest finisher among Indians and he completed his IM title requirements by scoring his final norm. Photo: R Anantharam/KIIT International

From Hollandaise sauce to Salmon, Vishy Anand is unbeatable as a chef!

08/06/2019 -

Rest days in super tournaments have become more and more interesting as sponsors try and make the best use of the time of the world class grandmasters present at their event. Very often we see the GMs giving simultaneous exhibitions or lectures which motivate the youngsters of the place in which the tournament is being held. But the organizers at Norway Chess always have thought outside the box. This was the second year when they made the grandmasters don the cooking hat, and indulge in a cooking contest! Ten players were divided into five teams along with an expert chef to help them. It turned out that Vishy Anand who had won the title in 2018, defended it successfully, this year teamed up with MVL! We bring you some amazing pictures, Vishy's tweet after winning, and Aruna's comments on her husband's cooking abilities.

A Valentine's Day GM chess challenge from Lienz Open 2019 Part 2

08/06/2019 -

IM Nisha Mohota is one of the strongest female chess players of India. Even after three decades of actively playing chess, her love for the game is very much intact. She has won multiple accolades in her career both in the country and internationally. She takes the time to write down her experiences both on and off the board for all chess readers as well as non-chess players too. She wrote one a few days on her experience in playing at Lienz, Austria, how she fell in love with the beautiful city and more. In Part II of her article, she answers the question asked at the end of part I and explains variations in detail, engines' role and how a GM friend of her reacted when the position was given to him and more. Photo: Nisha's blog

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