Shyam Sundar wins HCT Rapid in Goa

03/05/2016 -

GM Shyam Sundar is a strong rapid player and he made that fact quite evident by winning the HCT Rapid event held at Goa on 23rd and 24th of April. But it was not an easy victory. Going into the last round Shyam was trailing Karnataka's Gahan M G by half a point. The winner would be decided based on this crucial encounter. And Shyam delivered. He beat Gahan and lifted the winner's trophy and a cheque of Rs. 25,000. Follow this exciting last round game with annotations by the grandmaster himself. A tournament report with GM analysis.

SYNA 07-09: The student and the teacher

02/05/2016 -

The SYNA International Open 2016 turned out to be a double delight for Maharashtra as the leading light from the state IM Anup Deshmukh finished second while GM Swapnil Dhopade was first. The leaders after six rounds — Himal Gusain and Srinath Narayanan — stuck to the top tables throughout the event but missed opportunities finishing third and fourth respectively. The shocking news was the untimely death of the visionary Satyendra Pathak, founder of SYNA group, on the last day of the tournament. SYNA Open 2017 will be held in his memory. An illustrated report with games.

A respectable 50% for Hari in Norway

01/05/2016 -

Harikrishna is just seven points away from Anand in the live Elo list. With a rating of 2763 it was extremely important for Hari to prove that he could fight it out with the absolute elite players in the world. And he did pretty well. 4.5/9 with wins over Anish Giri and Li Chao and draws against Eljanov, Topalov, Aronian, Vachier-Lagrave and Grandelius. Indian fans will be looking for more such appearances by Hari so that his experience of playing at this level can match his undeniable talent.

India sweeps the World and Asian Youth tournaments. What next?

30/04/2016 -

In the Asian Youth Championship 2016 held earlier this month, India earned three golds, two silvers, and three bronzes. Last year in November, at the 2015 World Youth Chess Championship, Indians had bullied to the top with eleven medals. These examples just show the world how talented Indian youth is; however, this is not something new. Come to think of it: over the years, India has been producing an array of champions in youth events at National, Asian and World stages in both the girls and open sections. Do you think we are doing enough for these little champions? Read this opinion piece and share your thoughts.

Hari fails the Kramnik test

29/04/2016 -

With 4.0/7 Harikrishna had chances for an excellent finish at the Norway Chess 2016. However, in the eighth round he came across the positional genius of Vladimir Kramnik. The Russian's subtle ideas and moves were too much for Hari to handle as in a matter of five moves his position went from being equal to nearly lost. With this defeat Hari is back to 50%. But he still has chances for a top finish if he can beat Aronian in the last round. We have the game analysis for you along with critical points where we can learn from the ex-World Champion.

Live Norway Rd.9: Hari faces the leader Aronian

29/04/2016 -

What an event for Indian fans! Norway Chess 2016 is here and Harikrishna is going to rub shoulders with the best in the business. We have set up a live game page which will feature only Harikrishna's game. You can watch it with other features like engine analysis, livebook, PGN download etc. Hari is on 4.0/8 and faces the leader Levon Aronian in the final round with the white pieces. He can still fight for the top spot if he beats Aronian today. Do tune in at 7.30 p.m. IST on 29th of April for all the action!

Fighting chess in Hari versus MVL

28/04/2016 -

Harikrishna against MVL ended in a fighting draw. Magnus Carlsen who was half point ahead won his game against Kramnik and is now a full point ahead of the field. Hari is doing a commendable job of holding his own in such a strong field. However, he has two strong opponents coming up - Kramnik in the eighth round and Aronian in the ninth. We have the analysis of his game against MVL and also the video of an 11-year-old doing some excellent commentary!

SYNA 04-06: Srinath and Gusain share lead

27/04/2016 -

Central India's richest tournament with Rupees five lakh prize fund, SYNA Open 2016, began in Katni, Madhya Pradesh. It promised to be an intense fight as strong players like Swapnil Dhopade, N.Srinath, Himal Gusain, Himanshu Sharma are in contention for the top prizes. At the end of six rounds, IM Srinath Narayanan and Himal Gusain share the lead with 5.5/6. An illustrated report.

11-year-old Nihal Sarin has a plan!

27/04/2016 -

When the third round of Norway Chess 2016 was in progress, the playing hall had more than one World Champion present. Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov were all busy playing their game. However, the media attention was drawn towards the former World under-10 Champion Nihal Sarin. The 11-year-old was in Norway to witness his favourite player Magnus Carlsen in action. We urge more young talents of India and their parents to do something similar to what Nihal has done - visit a super tournament and see the big stars in action. It helps these kids to understand what exactly it takes to be a world class player!

SYNA Open 2016: It's a team effort!

26/04/2016 -

The tournament with rupees five lakh prize fund, SYNA Open 2016, has already begun in Katni, Madhya Pradesh. After three rounds we have seventeen players with a perfect score of 3.0/3. It will be an intense fight for the top spots as strong players like Swapnil Dhopade, N.Srinath, Himal Gusain, Himanshu Sharma are giving it their all. Thoroughly inspiring is to see the entire staff of the SYNA international school completely dedicated in organizing a top notch event. A pictorial report from Katni.

Giri commits 'Hari'kiri!

25/04/2016 -

In the sixth round of the Norway Chess 2016 Harikrishna did something that not even the best in the business have been able to achieve! He beat the super solid Anish Giri with the black pieces! It's true that the Dutch grandmaster was off colour today, but Harikrishna was in top form taking advantage of every mistake made by his opponent and giving Giri absolutely no scope to create complications. It was smooth victory for Hari in his favourite French Defence. With this win the Indian GM now has +1 and is in joint second position in the tournament behind Magnus Carlsen!

Hari scores his first win at Norway Chess!

25/04/2016 -

Harikrishna played a blinder of a game to beat Li Chao at the fifth round of the Noway Chess 2016. Hari displayed purposeful aggression along with a keen sense of prophylactic thinking in the game. With this victory he powers himself to a 50% score. We also have a very nice video of Hari playing the mindball game on the rest day. A well spent rest day might well be the secret to his success against Li Chao!

Learn Swapnil's favourite line from GM Williams!

24/04/2016 -

One of the secrets of Karjkain's success at the Candidates 2016 in Moscow was his solid preparation in the Queen's Indian with the black pieces. Caruana, Topalov, Nakamura, Giri everyone tried but they couldn't break it. In this DVD GM Simon Williams shows us a way in which we can unsettle the Queen's Indian player by going for sharp and aggressive chess with the white pieces. He suggests a line which is a favourite of GM Swapnil Dhopade. We caught up with Swapnil to know what he thinks about this opening and also give you an idea of what can be expected from the DVD.

A Song of Ice and Fire, and Bobby Fischer

23/04/2016 -

The Game of Thrones is a wildly popular TV-show all across the world, with young and old alike watching the series with the devotion that seems unmatched. The characters, as well as the story itself, has achieved cult status following. Not surprisingly, the TV-show has an army of followers in India as well, and many of the chessplayers here, especially those belonging to the younger generation, are die-hard fans of the story, probably because of the chess-like themes so dominant in it. The TV-show is based on an equally popular series of books named 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. Did you know that George RR Martin, the man who created this whole concept, was a chessplayer? Read on.

Norway Rd.4: Hari misses the 'Grand'elius opportunity