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Kaustuv Kundu wins 1st BNKU Chess Festival Rapid Rating Open 2024

12/11/2024 -

Five players - IM Kaustuv Kundu, IM Kushagra Mohan, GM Venkatesh M R, IM Neelash Saha and IM P Saravana Krishnan scored 8/9 each at 1st Bharatiya Naveena Kreeda Utsav Chess Festival Rapid Rating Open 2024. Kaustuv won the tournament on tie-breaks. The remaining four were placed second to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. Top four remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the festival was ₹1500009, for Rapid rating it was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹20000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each. The one-day rapid rating open was organized by BNKU Foundation at Icon Public School in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh on 27th October 2024. This was Kaustuv's fifth rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: IA Ammineni Uday Kumar Naidu

ChessBase 18 and Mega 2025 are here

ChessBase 18 is an all-new program that helps you manage all your databases as an ambitious player. Mega Database 2025 has 11 million games with over 113,000 games annotated by masters. The cost of ChessBase 18 is Rs.4499/- and the cost of Mega Database 2025 is Rs.6499/- However, if you go for the combo the total amount comes to Rs.8999 (instead of 10,998/-) helping you save Rs. 1999/-.

ChessBase 18 + Mega 2025 Combo

Aravindh Chithambaram ascends 2nd Chennai Grand Masters with a photo finish, Arjun Erigaisi third

11/11/2024 -

Aravindh Chithambaram won 2nd Chennai Grand Masters 2024 in a photo finish. He needed a win in the final round to put himself in the conversation for the first place. Levon Aronian drew his game quickly with M Amin Tabatabaei. Aravindh needed to win and hope for Arjun to draw. It is exactly what happened. Aravindh defeated Parham Maghsoodloo with his sheer will and determination. Arjun could not manage to win against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, despite having two queens on the board. Of course, it was not easy. All three - Aravindh, Aronian and Arjun ended with 4.5/7. Aronian defeated Arjun in Playoffs by winning Armageddon. He drew it with black pieces. However, Aravindh utilized all his experience of playing 14 rounds of Blitz at 10th Gashimov Memorial, vanquished Aronian in both games to become the champion. What an amazing performance by Aravindh. This definitely marks the 'Age of Aravindh Chithambaram'. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy and Anmol Bhargav

Harikrishnan dominates First Move Rapid Rating Open 2024

11/11/2024 -

Top seed IM Harikrishnan A Ra scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win First Move Rapid Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Arpith S Bijoy, IM Hari Madhavan N B, Vinayak Kulkarni and Chinmay Kowshik scored 8/9 each. They were placed second, third and fourth respectively according to tie-breaks. The top three remained undefeated. The total cash prize fund was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹30000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The two-day rapid rating open was organized by First Move Chess Academy at Kautilya Vidyalaya Group of Institutions in Mysore, Karnataka on 26th and 27th October 2024. Harikrishnan also won the Blitz Open. This was his 11th and 12th tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Bharath M / First Move Chess Academy

2nd Chennai GM R6: Aravindh Chithambaram astounds World no.2, Arjun Erigaisi

10/11/2024 -

India's first and only triple crown National champion, Aravindh Chithambaram defeated the infallible, Arjun Erigaisi. Aravindh is known to be a difficult opponent for Arjun in recent times especially in Classical events. After making five draws, Aravindh was determined to break the streak. The World no.2 played the role of aggressor. However, he was unable to find anything substantial. His opponent found a beautiful which involved an optional bishop sacrifice. Arjun declined it and his position fell apart. Vidit Gujrathi missed a winning chance against Levon Aronian. Both Arjun and Aronian are now at 4/6 each, followed by Aravindh and M Amin Tabatabaei at 3.5/6 each. It goes without saying that the 2nd Chennai Grand Masters is going to have an exciting finish. Round 7 starts tomorrow at 11 a.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav and Himank Ghosh

Mitrabha Guha dominates 1st Birsa Munda Rapid and Blitz Rating Open 2024

10/11/2024 -

Top seed GM Mitrabha Guha scored 8.5/9 and 9/9 to win 1st Birsa Munda Rapid and Blitz Rating Open 2024. In Rapid, Mitrabha finished a half point ahead of the competition, whereas in Blitz, his perfect score put him a full point ahead of the rest. Kumar Gaurav scored sole 8/9 to secure second place. Anustoop Biswas, Sudhir Kumar Sinha and Jagdish Barik scored 7.5/9 each. They were placed third, fourth and fifth respectively. Top three remained undefeated. In Blitz, GM Saptarshi RoyChowdhury, Sudhir and Kumar scored 8/9 each. They secured second to fourth place respectively. The total prize fund was ₹300000, ₹200000 in Rapid and ₹100000 in Blitz. The top three prizes in Rapid were ₹31000, ₹21000 and ₹15000. For Blitz they were, ₹15000, ₹10000 and ₹8000. This was Mitrabha's 16th and 17th tournament triumph of the year.

Two Knights Talk: Matthias Wüllenweber on the functions and novelties of ChessBase 18

10/11/2024 -

In the latest episode of their weekly show "Two Knights Talk" Arne Kähler and Johannes Fischer invited Matthias Wüllenweber to talk about the possibilities and new features of ChessBase 18, which will be released in a few days. Then they came back to the topic of cheating, since the Australian grandmaster David Smerdon presented an interesting experiment a few days ago in the C-Squared podcast by Cristian Chirila and Fabiano Caruana: the first 'cheating tournament' in chess history. ChessBase 18 is available to pre-order now. It will release in two days on 12th November 2024. Pre-Order discount of 10% is applicable on all ChessBase 18 and Mega Database 2025 products. Photo: ChessBase

2nd Chennai GM R5: Perfect Parham denies Arjun a hat-trick, Aronian maintains his chase

09/11/2024 -

Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI) played perfect chess to deny Arjun Erigaisi a hat-trick of wins at 2nd Chennai Grand Masters. He is still in the sole lead 4/5. Levon Aronian (USA) played another great game to beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA). The World Blitz 2021 winner made a strange anti-positional knight exchange after which his position went downhill. Aronian positionally outplayed him beautifully. Vidit Gujrathi had a well contested draw against M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI). Aravindh Chithambaram drew his fifth consecutive game at this event. This time against Alexey Sarana (SRB). In the Challenger section, Raunak Sadhwani halted Pranav Venkatesh's winning streak. Leon Luke Mendonca salvaged a draw against Pranesh M. Round 6 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Mayank Chakraborty wins 1st Kingdom of Chess Rating Open 2024

09/11/2024 -

Eight players - IM Mayank Chakraborty, IM Subhayan Kundu, Naitik R Mehta, IM Ameya Audi, FM Arun Kataria, CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma, IM Sanket Chakravarty, IM and Shahil Dey scored 7.5/9 each 1st Kingdom of Chess Rating Open 2024. Mayank won the tournament on tie-breaks. The remaining seven were placed second to eighth respectively according to tie-breaks. They secured second to eighth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Sourabh Mhamane was the only player to beat the eventual winner, Mayank. The total prize fund was ₹1501000. The top three prizes were ₹111000, ₹71000 and ₹51000 along with a trophy each. This was Mayank's seventh tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Kingdom of Chess

New: ChessBase Magazine #222

09/11/2024 -

2024 Chess Olympiad: Double gold for India! Analyses by Abdusattorov, Aronian, Giri, So and many more - ‘Special’: Dorian Rogozenco gets to the bottom of India's dominance at the Olympiad in four video analyses - ‘All in One’ on the modern Evans Gambit: Tanmay Srinath dissects Carlsen's victory over Anand after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4!? - ‘Biting the opening dust’: Oliver Reeh's tactics column with 39 games and four interactive videos is all about early fiascos! - ‘Action in the Spanish Exchange Variation’: Evgeny Postny examines 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 g5!? - and much more! Photo: ChessBase

What happens when Chess and Spirituality meet? Madara Golsta’s life-changing decision

09/11/2024 -

We always hear about making calculated and precise moves on the chessboard. But sometimes, the most important moves are made off the board. These moves get us control over the game of life. They might lead to discoveries that we never anticipated! Madara Golsta, a chess player from Latvia has a story that reveals how powerful these off-board moves can be. From competing in prestigious tournaments to discovering the power of spirituality, her path took an unexpected turn. She stepped away from her chess dreams to embark on a journey of yoga and meditation. This biggest change has brought clarity and strength to her life. Read on to learn how she redefined success by making a big move within. Photo: Madara Golsta

2nd Chennai GM R4: Arjun Erigaisi plays outstanding to trounce Tabatabaei, emerges sole leader

08/11/2024 -

Arjun Erigaisi is not showing any intention of slowing down after becoming World no.2 in live ratings. He played his signature swashbuckling chess, throwing M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) off the track early in the middlegame. He made a very nice practical bishop sacrifice. It did not yield him the point immediately, that's obvious at that level. However, eventually his opponent cracked under pressure in the endgame and lost the game. This win moved Arjun's live rating to 2809.3. Aravindh Chithambaram made a quick 17-move draw against Levon Aronian (USA). Vidit Gujrathi had a well contested draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA). Pranav Venkatesh defeated R Vaishali to maintain perfect score 4/4. He is now a full point ahead of the competition. Round 5 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

Sasikiran wins 5th Maurice David Rapid Rating Open 2024

08/11/2024 -

GM Sasikiran Krishnan and GM Yannick Gozzoli scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 5th Maurice David Rapid Rating Open 2024. Sasikiran won the tournament on tie-breaks, Yannick was placed second. 13-year-old Anuar Tureshbayev (IRL) sole 7.5/9 to finish third. He also remained undefeated. Sasikiran drew with both runners-up. The total prize fund was €1500. The top three prizes were €500, €350 and €250 along with a trophy each. The one-day rapid rating open was organized by Cercle d'Échecs du Bassin Annemassien at Martin Luther-King Complex in Annemasse, France on 26th October 2024. This was Sasikiran's first individual, second overall tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Club d’Échecs du Bassin Annemassien

Neelash Saha triumphs at 1st BNKU Chess Festival Rating Open 2024

08/11/2024 -

Top seed of the tournament - IM Neelash Saha scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 1st Bharatiya Naveena Kreeda Utsav Chess Festival Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. Seven players - IM Kaustuv Kundu, GM Venkatesh M R, Alekhya Mukhopadhyay, Lokesh N, GM Saptarshi Roy, Siddhant Salunke and FM Ayushh Ravikumar scored 7.5/9 each. They secured second to eighth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Neelash drew with both runners-up. The total prize fund of the festival was ₹1500009, for Classical rating it was ₹1000009. The top three prizes were ₹110003, ₹60000 and ₹40000 along with a trophy each. This was Neelash's seventh overall, sixth rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: BNKU Foundation

Sorcery on the Board—3rd Home Solving Tier II

07/11/2024 -

Submissions for the first tier of the 3rd ChessBase India Home Solving Championship are now closed. We have received several promising entries, but the challenge intensifies in phase two. Can our contestants maintain their momentum? For Tier II, we present six additional problems, with the first three featuring the fascinating fairy condition Circe, where captured pieces burst back to life like phoenixes from the flames. In contrast, the final three problems shift gears to helpstalemates, where creative cooperation replaces competition, and both sides work together to achieve stalemates in the stipulated number of moves. All the rules are explained comprehensively, but comprehending them is ultimately up to you. Indeed, among other things, this contest is a test of your comprehension skills—your ability to adapt to novel definitions. Ready to give it a shot?

2nd Chennai GM R3: Arjun Erigaisi swindles Alexey Sarana, now World no.2

07/11/2024 -

Arjun Erigaisi continues to play with fire and avoids getting burned at 2nd Chennai Grand Masters 2024. The India no.1 swindled Alexey Sarana (SRB) who missed a win and eventually lost the game after a terrible blunder. It allowed Arjun to not only stay in the lead with M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) but also become the new World no.2 in live ratings. Vidit Gujrathi had a well contested draw against Aravindh Chithambaram. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) neglected one pawn too many which cost him the game against Tabatabaei. Levon Aronian (USA) squeezed the life out of the uncharacteristic cramped play by Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI). Pranav V defeated Karthikeyan Murali to emerge sole leader in the Challengers by scoring a hat-trick. Round 4 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav

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