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Prague Masters 2020 R2: Technical issues bust imagination in Prague

14/02/2020 -

In Chess, results are one of the most important factors, but what is also interesting to the astute reader is how exactly the result came to be. On a day when all games ended in draws, some point splits can be more interesting than wins, especially if two players of equal strengths engage in a fist-fight to death! Today, that is precisely what happened at the Prague Masters 2020. Nils Grandelius fabulously outplayed Alireza Firouzja out of an Anti Berlin, but when the time came to finish off his opponent just after the time control he faltered. David Anton too endured disappointment, when Vidit Gujarathi suddenly blundered to gift him a winning advantage, which Anton didn't take advantage off. The remaining 3 games featured rather tame draws, with high class opening preparation. Round 2 report from the Prague Masters 2020 by Tanmay Srinath.

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PSPB makes a hat-trick of National Team wins in Open and Women

13/02/2020 -

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board dominated 40th National Team Open and 18th National Team Women's championship 2020 as they won both event with a 100% score. Airports Authority of India secured second position in both Open and Women section with a score of 14.0/18 and 10.0/14 respectively. While RSPB B claimed the third position in Open with 13.0/18, Air India was placed third in the Women's section with a score of 10.0/14. Adhiban and Mary finished first on board #1, Sriram and Bala Kannamma on board #2, Karthikeyan and Sarayu on board #3, Lalith and Srija on board #4, Sai Agni and Arpita on board #5 in Open and Women's section respectively. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

The watch rule strikes again! WGM Swati Ghate loses her game against IM Tania Sachdev

13/02/2020 -

In round three of the National Team Championships 2020, Adhiban lost his game because he was wearing a wrist watch. We had extensively covered this on our newspage to let people know what had happened, but also with the intention that such a thing wouldn't happen again. Just five rounds later, in the final game of the event WGM Swati Ghate lost to IM Tania Sachdev because of the same rule! Swati Ghate representing LIC was found wearing a wrist watch and was given a loss. Once again it was an analog watch, but this time there was a small difference. Swati's opponent Tania Sachdev didn't want to win the game in this manner. What exactly happened? We bring you the full story.

The Czech Wimbledon begins with wins for Duda, Vidit and Vitiugov

13/02/2020 -

It's only the second edition of the Prague Masters 2020, but everyone is already calling it the Czech Wimbledon! Jan Krzysztof Duda is the top seed of the event and with a rating average of 2707, it is one of the strongest round robin events out there. At the last moment Wei Yi was replaced by Alireza Firouzja because the Chinese GM wasn't able to travel due to the Corona virus. Two Indian GMs are also in the fray - Vidit Gujrathi and P. Harikrishna. In first round itself three out of five possible decisive results meant that a lot of blood was spilled. An extensive tournament report by Tanmay Srinath.

A tour of the Netherlands with GM Surya Ganguly!

13/02/2020 -

Chess players have the unique fortune of combining their work with travelling. Tournaments are held in different parts of India and the world, and often lasts for more than a week. It seems absolutely natural to visit the new city/village/town that you are in and get to know more about it. Just that, most of the chess players we know, do not like to explore! They would rather prefer spending their time in the room preparing how to meet the Dutch Defence, rather than go out enjoy the Dutch beauty! Well, Surya Ganguly is an exception in that sense! He was in the Netherlands for the Tata Steel Challengers 2020 with his wife Sudeshna, and after the event spent some time exploring the country! We take you on a tour with the India no.7.

PSPB wins National Teams 2020 Open and Women with a round to spare

12/02/2020 -

PSPB has done it again. For the third consecutive year, PSPB has won National Teams 2020 in both Open and Women's section, with a round to spare. They just need to play the last round as a formality as the result is irrelevant for their championship standings. Delhi A got whitewashed 0-4 by PSPB in Open and LIC lost to the PSPB 1.5-2.5 in Women's. RSPB B is at the second position, followed closely by AAI in Open, four teams AAI, Tamil Nadu B, Air India and Telangana are tied at the second spot in the Women's section. In the final round it will be interesting to see who takes the remaining podium positions after PSPB as has been the case for the past two years. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

Winners of the Vishy's December contest

12/02/2020 -

On 11th of December, Vishy Anand's 50th birthday we kept a special contest - the one who sends the best wish to Anand will get an autographed ChessBase 15 by Vishy Anand himself! As the day passed by we received huge number of comments on our website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. At the end of the day the total count went as high as 673 wishes! And these were not just plain "Happy Birthday" messages. People had spent their time, put in thought and energy to send love to their favourite chess player! Seeing such a wonderful response, we have increased the prizes from just one to 55! Check the article to find all the 55 winners of the Vishy's December contest! 

A fifth round of blood, sweat, and tears at the Cairns cup 2020

12/02/2020 -

In what was a remarkable day at the Cairns Cup 2020, all five of the total five encounters ended decisively. The players summoned every ounce of their strength in the fifth round prior to the rest day of the event and gifted the spectators a truly scintillating show. Nana Dzagnidze was ousted from the lead by Koneru Humpy who clearly came much better prepared today in the Tartakower variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. On the other hand, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Ju Wenjun got the better of Mariya Muzychuk and Kateryna Lagno respectively to climb atop the leaderboard. Harika Dronavalli was convincingly taken down by Valentina Gunina and lady luck finally smiled on Yip Carissa who managed to score her first point in the event by beating compatriot Irina Krush. We bring you a comprehensive and detailed report from St.Louis, Missouri.

National Teams 2020 Day 5: PSPB maintains sole lead, AAI closes in

11/02/2020 -

Team PSPB maintained their sole lead with a 100% score of 14.0/14 by beating Air India 3-1. Adhiban and Abhijeet scored the wins for their team PSPB against Srinath and Satyapragyan respectively, while Karthikeyan and Deep was held to a draw by Swayams and C S Gokhale respectively. AAI and Telangana are at tied second position with a score of 11.0/14. They drew their match with each other 2-2. Odisha A, RSPB B, RSPB A and Delhi A are tied at 10.0/14 each at fourth place. Among the Women's, PSPB beat Air India 3-1 to maintain their sole lead. Mary and Soumya beat Bhakti and Viji respectively, Padmini drew with Tania and Nisha drew with Meenakshi. AAI defeated Tamil Nadu 2.5-1.5 to get into sole second position. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

Cairns cup R04: The World Champion deals her first blow

11/02/2020 -

The fourth day of the Cairnes Cup 2020 wasn't as eventful as the first three. Many of the players tended to play it safe and conserve energy for the next round which is scheduled just before the rest day. There were two decisive games in all. On one hand, Ju Wenjun defeated Valentina Gunina in a complex topsy-turvy game and on the other Alexandra Kosteniuk took down Yip Carissa who has been having a really luckless run right from the beginning. Nana Dzagnidze continues to lead the field but now there are as many as five players breathing down her neck just half a point behind. In this comprehensive report we bring you the games, analyses, photos, and more. 

Adhiban's watch incident - The arbiter's clarification

11/02/2020 -

As an anti-cheating measure FIDE came up with the rule that a player is forbidden to have any electronic device not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue. In its central council meeting in 2018 AICF decided, "AICF has banned the use of Wrist Watches while playing any official National Chess championship and FIDE Rated events henceforth." During the round three of the National Team Championships 2020, when Adhiban lost the game because of wearing an analog wrist watch, the chief arbiter who awarded the point to his opponent was R. Anantharam. In this article we tell you the arbiter's viewpoint and why this decision was made, not just at this event, but also during the AICF Central Council meeting in 2018.

"I talk more frankly" - Vishy Anand

11/02/2020 -

Vishy Anand is a private person at heart. He likes his space and he likes to keep his stories to himself. That's the reason why his book Mind Master is such a fascinating read. Vishy treads the uncomfortable path where he reveals so much more about himself than what he had in the past. Speaking to Rakesh Rao from 'The Hindu', Vishy says, "I talk more frankly. May be, it's just the sense that, now everything's in the past and I can talk about it without the pains and so on.” In this article Anand talks about his experience of promoting his book Mind Master, what are the impressions of the chess community about the book and what the year 2020 looks like in terms of his playing schedule. 

National Teams 2020 Day 4: PSPB takes sole lead in both Open and Women

10/02/2020 -

PSPB took sole lead in both Open and Women section of National Teams 2020 with a 100% score. In the Open, PSPB defeated AAI by 3.5-0.5, after Karthikeyan played a marathon Queen ending and saved a half point, he managed to score the only win in the following round against Deepan of RSPB A. The defending champion PSPB defeated the former champion RSPB A 2.5-1.5 finishing round 6 at the top of the table. In the Women's section, Mary and Padmini scored the decisive victories for their team PSPB against Tamil Nadu B as Soumya lost to Vaishali and Nisha was held to a draw by Mahalaxmi. AAI is trailing behind the leader in the Open section while AAI, Tamil Nadu B, Air India, Kerala are trailing behind the leader in Women's section by a full match point respectively. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

Cairns cup R03: Harika tames the chess queen of Russia

10/02/2020 -

Harika Dronavalli defeated the former Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk with surgeon like precision today in the third round of Cairns cup 2020. In what was a completely one-sided game, the Indian showed some fantastic technique and positional acumen to bring the full point home. Harika is now just half a point behind Georgia's Nana Dzagnidze, who is currently leading the field with 2.5/3 points, and is all set to take on the seven-time US Women's Champion Irina Krush in the next round. We bring you a detailed report with photos, analysis, and more from St. Louis, Missouri.

National Teams 2020 Day 3: AAI, Tamil Nadu B and PSPB in the lead

09/02/2020 -

AAI maintained their lead by beating Air India by 3-1. Only IM Harshit Raja of AAI suffered a loss against GM Srinath Narayanan of AI. PSPB defeated Telangana 3-1 without losing a single game. GM Abhijeet Gupta and GM Lalith Babu were held to a draw by GM Harsha Bharathakoti and IM Rahul Srivatshav P respectively. RSPB A whitewashed Odisha B by 4-0 and Gujarat D lost to RSPB B by 0.5-3.5. In the Women's section, PSPB and Tamil Nadu B are the leaders at the conclusion of Round 3. PSPB defeated AAI by 2.5-1.5, Mary Ann Gomes was held to a draw by Priyanka Nutakki and Rakshitta Ravi lost to Srija Seshadri. Tamil Nadu B defeated Air India. Tania Sachdev was the only victor from her team in Round 3. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

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