Gibraltar GP will decide two spots for the next Women's Candidates

21/05/2021 -

The final leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix will start at Gibraltar from Saturday 22nd May 2021 which will decide two spots for the next Women's Candidates. Currently Aleksandra Goryachkina is leading the table but she has already qualified as she lost in the Women's World Championship match against Ju Wenjun last year. Humpy is currently at 293 points followed by Kosteniuk at 193 but neither of them are playing this event which makes things interesting as it will depend upon how Lausanne GP winner Nana Dzagnidze, Kateryna Lagno, Anna Muzychuk, Alina Kashlinskaya and Mariya Muzychuk perform. Only top two finishers of FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2019-21 will secure their place in the next Women's Candidates event. Photo: FIDE

Off the Board Tales #4 – Patrick D’Souza

20/05/2021 -

Off the Board Tales is a series by ChessBase India, where the premise revolves around people who are passionate about chess despite it not being their career. An emotional and short story is what you're up for, so read on for tales of joy, tales of aspirations, tales of sorrows, and tales of success. Patrick D’Souza is a six-time 100%iler of the CAT Exams, an ardent chess lover with 1600 ELO, and runs the Patrick 100 Academy.

New: The Saemisch Variation against the King's Indian and Benoni by Jan Werle

20/05/2021 -

The centre is stabilised with the move f3, and a possible expansion on the kingside is also prepared. Thus it is usually White who gets the attacking chances against the king. Since Benoni is structurally very similar to the King’s Indian with ...c5, many plans and motifs can be transferred here. You can then test both your theoretical knowledge as well as look at typical ideas in model games in the numerous accompanying interactive videos. The Saemisch variation against King's Indian and Benoni by Jan Werle is a nice opening to learn and add a new weapon to your ever growing arsenal of openings. Photo: ChessBase

Garry Kasparov does a Q&A in a Reddit Ask Me Anything

19/05/2021 -

When it comes to the world chess champions who do not hold back on speaking their mind on any topic one can fathom - Garry Kasparov's name is the first that comes to mind. So naturally a Reddit AMA (Ask me Anything) is something one cannot afford to miss. Surely everyone will not agree to every single opinion he might have, but at least the chess, tech and AI aspects are something which is definitely worth a read. Kasparov shares everything from what he has for breakfast these days to his thoughts on if Carlsen will be able to cross his 20+ long years of domination in the world of chess, how The Queen's Gambit promoted chess among the masses and much more. Photo: Grand Chess Tour

New Komodo Dragon 2 - Neural Network Chess Evaluation

18/05/2021 -

The new iteration of the renowned program belongs to the strongest chess engines in the world, especially now that it draws its strength from the tremendous tactical power of a classic Alpha Beta engine, combined with deep positional play drawn from an advanced neural network. It also has different modes of play which you may find very interesting. For instance in MCTS mode it will show you not which is the objectively best move, but the one that gives the opponent the best chance of going wrong. Larry Kaufman - one of the two authors of Komodo Dragon 2 illustrated how MCTS worked with two games and explained it too. Komodo Dragon 2 is available now. Photo: ChessBase

Venkata Krishna Karthik wins Super Heroes Cup with a photo finish

17/05/2021 -

Venkata Krishna Karthik won Super Heroes Cup in an absolutely photo finish of an Armageddon against Kishan Gangolli. Both of them fought like gladiators who traded blow for blow and did not want to bow down to the other until the very last second of the clock. This Armageddon is definitely one of the greatest finish of a final in a ChessBase India event. The final day of the Super Heroes Cup witnessed live commentaries by Humpy, Harika, Vidit and Harikrishna. The tournament participants also got an opportunity to interact with the one and only Vishy Anand in a Q&A session. Photo: ChessBase India live stream

How did the Tal Chess Club begin in Madras in 1972

17/05/2021 -

Today Vishy Anand is known as the Madras Tiger in the world of chess. But back in the 80s when he was a little cub, he sharpened his claws at the Tal Chess Club. This chess club started in 1972 by IM Manuel Aaron, backed by Soviet funds, was a key reason for Chennai becoming the capital of Indian chess. Today Chennai boasts of 25 grandmasters and there wouldn't be a single one who started playing chess in the 1980s who wouldn't have benefited from the existence of the Tal Chess Club. But how did it all begin? Why was it named the Tal Chess Club and not Botvinnik or Alekhine? Sagar Shah got in touch with India's first IM Manuel Aaron and brings you an important part of Indian chess history.

Super Heroes Cup QF: Karthik eliminates Shashikant

16/05/2021 -

Krishna Karthik Venkata eliminated top seed of the tournament IM Shashikant Kutwal as the latter ran out of time in a completely winning position in Armageddon. Despite losing the first game, Karthik bounced back and won the second game to level the score and force Armageddon. He will face Ashwin Makwana in the Semi-Finals who has been super solid in the event so far. Ashish Desai blundered his queen in the second game after putting up a good fight against Ashwin in their encounter. Samarth Rao will face Kishan Gangolli in the Semi-Finals who had a grueling battle against Aryan Joshi. Photo: ChessBase India live stream

Super Heroes Cup Pre QF: Shashikant and Kishan make a strong start

15/05/2021 -

The 16 players who are taking part in ChessBase India Super Heroes Cup, each of them is already a winner before the start of the event. While some overcame the motivation to play after many months, others improved their internet connection to facilitate their participation. This event reignited the fire to remind them why they love this cerebral sport. The knockout format of the event made sure only eight players advanced to the Quarter-Finals. They are - Shashikant, Kishan, Ashish, Karthik, Aryan and Ashwin. The remaining two Quarter-Finalists Megha and Samarth won their respective Armageddon to secure their place. Photo: Chessfest 2019

Play No-Castling Chess in Sparkassen Online Open Dortmund 2021

14/05/2021 -

Early this year we announced that Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik will play No-Castling Chess in a four-game match. If you want to test yourself in the same variant of chess against the world but wondering about all travel restrictions amidst the pandemic situation, worry not. The 48th edition of Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2021 will feature an online open tournament of No-Castling Chess which can be participated from the comfort of your home. The best part is, the overall winner of this online event will earn an entry into the 49th International Dortmund Chess Days Open-A along with accommodation and breakfast in the players' hotel. Entry is free for all in each of the the three qualifying events. Photo: Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2021

ChessBase India YouTube Memberships

13/05/2021 -

ChessBase India launched its YouTube memberships during the Super Juniors Cup in December 2020. All the money that has been and will be collected via the memberships goes to Indian chess in the form of sponsorships, scholarships, tournaments, support and more. In this article we want to mention all the people who have supported our endeavour to power chess in India by becoming members. We, at ChessBase India, believe in 100% transparency when it comes to any of our endeavours involving the financial support from our viewers. Keeping up that spirit we will be publishing a report every month on the money raised through YouTube memberships and how it has been used.

FIDE Chess.com Women's Speed Chess Championship: 28th May to 3rd July 2021

13/05/2021 -

Last week FIDE and chess.com announced Women's Speed Chess Championship will take place from 28th May to 3rd July 2021. The qualifiers will take place between 28th May and 6th June, while the main event will take place from 10th June to 3rd July. The qualifiers will comprise of eight swiss events of various time control. The winner of each event will advance to the main event where they will be joined by eight players invited by the organizers. The qualifiers is open to all women titled players (WCM/WFM/WIM/WGM/CM/FM/IM/GM). Photo: FIDE

13-year-old Advika Singh writes a book on health and wellness

12/05/2021 -

Chess is the only sport in the history of mankind which has hundreds of thousands books written on it. While most of them are based on theory, psychological and practical aspect of the game, it is safe to say that very few chess players have written books outside of the domain. 13-year-old Advika Singh from Gurugram, Haryana authored a book on health and wellness after interviewing various professionals. The book is out now on Amazon India in Paperback and also available in digital format in Google Books and Notionpress. We have asked a few questions to the author to find out more about her and what made her write her debut book on health and wellness.

Arjun Erigaisi beats Adhiban to win the Indian Qualifier

11/05/2021 -

Arjun Erigaisi pulled up a massive upset in the finals by handing Adhiban his first defeat of the event which turned out to be decisive for him to win the Indian Qualifier of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Adhiban lost the finals by 2.5-3.5, however both of them qualified to the Champions Chess Tour. Aravindh played some fantastic chess. After missing a win in the first game, he won the next two games and defeated Gukesh 2.5-0.5 to secure the third position. Aravindh was just too strong for Gukesh in this particular match. Gukesh should be happy with his performance because he was the only one to beat the eventual champion Arjun Erigaisi in the very first game of the Semi-Finals. Photo: chess24

Abhimanyu Mishra scores his 2nd GM norm, moves to 2471 on the Live rating list

10/05/2021 -

12-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra scored his 2nd GM norm at the First Saturday GM Round Robin May 2021 with a round to spare. This is the second consecutive event in which Abhimanyu has scored a GM norm. With a dominating 2700+ performance the little boy has managed to pump up his live rating to 2471. He is now just 29 Elo points and 1 GM norm away from becoming the world's youngest GM. Karjakin's record for the youngest GM stands since 2002 at the age of 12 years and 7 months. Abhimanyu has time until 5th of September! Will he manage to break it? We also have Abhimanyu's critical 8th round victory from the event, annotated by the lad himself.

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