Sharjah GP 01: Adams, MVL and Rapport win

19/02/2017 -

The Sharjah Grand Prix took off from the 18th of February 2017. In a very interesting field the top players include MVL, Aronian, Nakamura and four more players above 2750. This is the first of the four legs in the Grand Prix cycle. Each player has to play three events out of the four and qualify for the Candidates. Although Harikrishna isn't playing here, he will be in action in the other three. We have the round one report which had three winners: Adams, MVL and Rapport.

Tehran WWC Rd.3: Harika presses, Padmini survives

18/02/2017 -

Round three was a fighting round for the Indian players. Both the games lasted nearly five hours. In the end Harika and Padmini both drew their games, but quite in contrasting styles. Harika was clearly better and close to winning, while Padmini was under pressure and losing at one point. Although Harika won't be happy with the draw, in the second game both the Indian girls will have white pieces to try for a win. We have detailed analysis by reigning Asian Champion WGM Bhakti Kulkarni.

Tehran WWC TB02: Harika makes it; Padmini risks it all and qualifies!

17/02/2017 -

Harika played a good positional game with the white pieces to beat Dinara Saduakassova and advance to the third round of the championship. It remains to be seen if she sticks to her strategy of drawing the classical games in the next stage as well. Padmini fought bravely with the black pieces but had a bad position until her opponent blundered. Report.

Tehran WWC 2.2: Harika and Padmini to fight tiebreakers

16/02/2017 -

Harika had begun with indecisive play but it seems she has upped the ante in the second mini-match — she drew both her games right out of the opening. Padmini also drew her game, but her's was a Evans Gambit! Both the Indian stars will now fight in the tiebreaker.

The 7-year-old chess prodigy CM Kush Bhagat

16/02/2017 -

At the age of five years when little kids are trying to get to grips with basic stuff that has to be learnt in life, Kush Bhagat was busy winning medals at tournaments like Asian School. The boy is now seven years old and he achieved the title of Candidate Master (CM) thanks to his excellent performance at the 1st Western Asian chess Championship in UAE in December 2016. He is the youngest CM in India and one of the seven in the world. Get to know more about this prodigious young talent.

Circa 2009: Vishy's Best Memories

15/02/2017 -

This article was originally published in 2009, but it still beautifully captures Anand's career until 2009 in a gist. Anand has had several achievements after 2009 as well, and today, 47, he is still at the top of the chess world. But here is an article where he shares his most memorable moments until 2009 when he turned 40.

Tehran WWC 2.1: Afternoon Siesta

15/02/2017 -

It was quite a boring round from the Indian perspective, to be precise. Harika drew in just 15 moves, which is surprising because she had the white pieces. Padmini had to defend against the London System and she did so and drew. Report.

A chess love story on Valentine's day

14/02/2017 -

14th of February is celebrated all over the world as the Valentine's Day. While many of the chess players prefer sitting at the board and enjoying with the tactics and strategy of this royal game, there are the few romantics! In this article, that was sent to us by Praful Zaveri, we acquaint you with a beautiful love story written by Eduard Gufeld. He tells us the tale of how he fell in love with Bellochka. Read on and embark on an emotional journey with the ultimate chess romantic.

Tehran WWC TB01: Harika qualifies

14/02/2017 -

It was close but as Capablanca once said, good players are always lucky. However, in the first rapid tiebreaker, Harika used the legacy and technique of another world champion — Anatoly Karpov. Know what happened and learn some really great methods to handle opposite coloured bishop positions in the middlegame, and also, how to use the computers in our master analysis of the day.

Tehran WWC 1.2: Harika lives to fight another day

13/02/2017 -

The second games of the first knock out matches taking place at Tehran were lip smacking fares. Many who had lost in the previous games made remarkable comebacks, but for India, it was another happy and sad day. Report with master analysis by Nihal Sarin and Sagar Shah.

Nat. Teams 08+09: Was there ever a doubt?

13/02/2017 -

No, there wasn't. The tournament was decided on the fourth day itself when Railways-A bulldozed through Air India and Airport Authority of India mercilessly. In the end, Railways-A won with a perfect score of 18 match points. But there were some surprises in the last round! Also, Air India took the women's' team title. Illustrated report.

ChessBase India Facebook Page has 10,000 likes!

12/02/2017 -

The tag line of ChessBase India is "Powering Chess in India". By regular articles on various tournaments in India and as well as intimate coverage of all the achievers, it has brought forth a positive change in Indian chess. But the website is not the only asset of the company. In fact one of the biggest avenues for spreading news to the chess lovers is the ChessBase India Facebook Page. And today it has more than 10,000 people who like it!

Tehran WWCC 01: Bittersweet Draws

12/02/2017 -

The first round of the Women's World Championship 2017 was off to a controversial start in Iran. For Indians, it was a bittersweet day — Harika Dronavalli was held to a draw by her lower rated Bangladeshi opponent Shamima Akter while Padmini Rout was losing against Elina Danielian but scampered home to safety. Both the Indian girls had the black pieces and will start afresh with white. Check out the report with yet another controversy.

The Black Lion - An aggressive version of the Philidor defence

11/02/2017 -

In the first 10 seconds of the introductory video of one of his latest DVDs, Simon Williams roars like a lion, to pass us that passion which marks his chess, and the aggressive repertoire he wants to teach us. Imagine that happening in front of your eyes! David Nastasio was taken in by Williams' passionate aggression and writes this review on the Black Lion!

Sitges Blitz: An Indian Talent announces his arrival