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Goryachkina strikes back and forces tie-break in FIDE Women's World Championship match 2020

23/01/2020 -

Goryachkina was going into the final game in classical time control with a must-win situation. Perhaps her short draw in Game 11 was all part of strategy to save energy and fire all cylinders in Game 12. Apparently that worked. The Challenger employed a sideline 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 to surprise the defending champion. Although black managed to equalize easily out of the opening, but she made an error in critical decision of saving one of her pawns, instead she gave up both and landing in inferior position. The score is now 6-6. The tie-break matches will be played tomorrow 24th January to determine the winner. Since both of them skipped World Rapid and Blitz 2019, it will be interesting to see who comes out at the top in the faster format. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili / FIDE

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Gibraltar R02: Adhiban turns his beast mode on

23/01/2020 -

Vaibhav Suri and Karthikeyan Murali are the two Indians who have scored a perfect 2.0/2 after two rounds of Gibraltar Masters but if there's anyone whose performance absolutely stood out in the second round of the event, it has to be that of Adhiban Baskaran. Adhiban drew his first round game somewhat uneventfully, in round two however he was truly able to channel his inner beast out. Raunak Sadhwani, Gukesh D, Raahil Mullick, Praggnanandhaa R, and other Indian youngsters all came back strongly in the second round after either losing or being held to draws in the first. We bring you a detailed and illustrated report.

K. Priyanka becomes the latest WIM of India and dedicates the title to her mother

23/01/2020 -

She lost her father when she was only 10. Her mother's health was always on the edge. The monthly income of the family was just Rs.8,000. No matter how hard the circumstances were K. Priyanka never gave up on her chess dream. The dream to become a world class chess player. She fought against all the odds and on 7th of January 2020 she became a WIM. It was befitting that she received her final WIM norm at the hands of none other than the legendary Vishy Anand. After the event ChessBase India got in touch with Priyanka and did an interview with her. In it she talks about her journey and also shares two of the most beautiful games of her chess career. The 1st WIM from Coimbatore signs off by saying, "No matter what life throws to you, keep chasing your dreams. Just Don’t Give Up! One day your life will become the most colourful one!" 

Seven-way lead after round 7 of 12th Chennai GM Open 2020

23/01/2020 -

Seven players are in the lead with 6.0/7 at the conclusion of round 7 of 12th Chennai GM Open 2020. Top seed Pavel Ponkratov, second seed Jose Eduardo Martinez, Visakh N R, Sergei Yudin, Aleksey Goganov, Stanislav Bogdanovich and Vishnu Prasanna are in a seven-way lead. Only three rounds left and with seven players in the lead, there is no clear favorite to win the tournament, it is still open for anyone to win. PDS Girinath used element of surprise to beat Karthik Venkataraman, Jubin Jimmy kept his norm hopes alive by beating Sayantan Das. Round 7 report with games, photos and analysis. Photo: R Anantharam  

Tata Steel R10: A pretty easy day for Magnus

22/01/2020 -

Magnus Carlsen started off the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee with seven draws in a row. But now the World Champion has magically entered plus three and is breathing down the leader's neck just half a point behind. First he beat Nikita Vitiugov in round eight, then he crushed Alireza Firouzja yesterday in his hallmark Boa constrictor style, and today he stunned once again by simply outplaying Vladislav Kovalev in a Queen's Gambit Declined. Magnus falters now and then which only shows he is a human. But everytime he falls, he always seems to return twice as stronger. He does this better than anyone else in the world and perhaps that is why he is the Numero uno!

Ju Wenjun - A draw away from retaining her World Championship

22/01/2020 -

Game 11 of FIDE Women's World Championship Match 2020 witnessed the quickest game of the event. The game lasted less than two hours. Perhaps it was Goryachkina's strategy? To draw with black pieces, save energy for the final game with White? Well we will only know for sure after the conclusion of Game 12. Berlin Defence of Ruy Lopez was witnessed for the third time in this event after Game 2 and 6, the result was not different either. While Ju Wenjun needs just a draw in the final game, Goryachkina is in a must-win situation to force tie-breaks. It will be interesting to see what the Challenger brings to the table in the final game. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili / FIDE

The Gibraltar gala is on

22/01/2020 -

The Gibraltar Chess Masters opened with a cracker of a first round. A lot of Indians found themselves paired against world-class opposition and among them quite a few came out with flying colours. Praggnanandhaa R was shocked by Nandhidhaa PV in a tactically sharp game, while the Turkish Grandmaster Can Emre lost his encounter against Pranav Anand from what seemed like a completely winning position. Youngsters like Raahil Mullick and Sankalp Gupta too amassed wealth of experience playing against the titans Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Veselin Topalov respectively, while the veterans Adhiban Baskaran and Krishnan Sasikiran found modest starts. 

Ponkratov, Martinez, Visakh and Yudin lead with 5.5/6 at 12th Chennai GM Open 2020

22/01/2020 -

GM Visakh N R maintained his lead by defeating one of the leaders IM M Khusenkhojaev and then holding GM Jose Eduardo Martinez to a draw. Both Visakh and Martinez are at 5.5/6. They are joined with GM Sergei Yudin and top seed GM Pavel Ponkratov. Harshavardhan scored a 13-move miniature like victory against GM Stanislav Bogdanovich, Priyanka K missed a decisive advantage against GM Vishnu Prasanna and Pranav V defeated GM Valeriy Neverov in round 5. Untitled Aditya Samant defeated GM Hesham Abdelrahman in a marathon Queen ending in round 6. The tournament has only four rounds left and no more double rounds in a day. Photo: R Anantharam 

Magnus Carlsen shows superior understanding of the Ruy Lopez to beat Alireza Firouzja

21/01/2020 -

Alireza Firouzja versus Magnus Carlsen - It was touted as one of the most exciting games of the Tata Steel Masters 2020. However, what happened was nothing short of carnage. Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces showed excellent understanding of the Ruy Lopez structure and took advantage of every small error committed by his opponent. By move no. 14 Carlsen had already equalized, by move 25 he was calling the shots. Before the time control on move 40, the game was already over. With this win Magnus Carlsen is now half a point behind the leader Fabiano Caruana. This victory of Carlsen shows how strong the World Champion is and how comparisons drawn between Firouzja and Carlsen are still quite premature. Complete analysis of this high voltage encounter.

Six players lead with 4.0/4 at 12th Chennai GM Open 2020

21/01/2020 -

Untitled Harshavardhan G B played brilliantly against GM Mchedlishvili to register his fourth victory of the tournament and be among the leaders with a score of 4.0/4. Top seed GM Pavel Ponkratov was held to a draw by former Commonwealth Champion GM Karthikeyan P. IM P Saravana Krishnan suffered a heartbreaking loss against GM Stanislav Bogdanovich after missing quite a few winning opportunities. Jose Eduardo Martinez, Visakh N R, Sayantan Das and M Khusenkhojaev are the other players who are also in the lead with a score of 4.0/4. The tournament heads for the final double round of the tournament on 21st January. Photo: IA Jitendra Choudhary

Ju Wenjun takes the lead after Game 10 of FIDE Women's World Championship Match 2020

21/01/2020 -

The defending champion got into lead for the first time since Game 4 of FIDE Women's World Championship Match 2020. This was the first win of the event where a win was scored with black pieces and also third consecutive game to have a decisive result. Playing with black pieces, Ju found an improvement in QGD Exchange and she deviated from her Game 8 loss. The game reached to a structurally similar position as Ganguly and L'Ami had on the previous day. However Ju got the much needed win after Goryachkina made some inexplicable errors in a seemingly equal Rook and many pawns endgame. Ju seems to have quite an advantage before heading to the last two games. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili / FIDE

Sethuraman wins silver at the 2nd Binhai Open in China

20/01/2020 -

S.P. Sethuraman, the 24th Grandmaster of India, kick-started the new year with an emphatic unbeaten performance at the second Binhai Chess Open in China. The week-long swiss tournament took place from the 13th to the 18th of January in the beautiful coastal metropolis of Tianjin in Northeastern China. Sethuraman was the only Indian in the event which attracted a total of ninety-eight participants, including four GMs and eight IMs, from around the world. Nine rounds were played following classical time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment for every move from move one.  

Tata Steel R08: Fabi joins Alireza in the lead

20/01/2020 -

World no.2 Fabiano Caruana bounced back from a position which was atrociously close to losing and defeated Vishy Anand to catch up with Alireza Firouzja on the leaderboard. Magnus Carlsen registered his very first victory in the tournament by beating Nikita Vitiugov after an extraordinary spell of seven draws. In the Challengers category as many as five out of seven games ended decisively. Pavel Eljanov maintained his lead by holding Nodirbek Abdusattorov to a draw, while Nihal Sarin was ousted from the chasing group by David Anton Guijarro. The eighth round of Tata Steel Chess 2020 was full of action, we bring you the highlights in this illustrated report.

Sanket, Saravana Krishnan and Pranav score major upsets on day 2 of 12th Chennai GM Open 2020

20/01/2020 -

22 players are in the lead with full points at the conclusion of round 3 of 12th Chennai GM Open 2020. Day 2 had double rounds. There were several upsets. Among them the notable ones are, 16-year old Sanket Chakravarty defeated the defending champion GM Levan Pantsulaia in round 2. Pranav V defeated GM Alexei Fedorov and IM P Saravana Krishnan defeated the in-form Delhi Open 2020 runner-up GM Aleksej Aleksandrov. Top seed of the tournament, GM Pavel Ponkratov scored a fantastic win and halted Pranesh's fantastic momentum which he started in Delhi. Second seeded Martinez also picked up two fine victories to stay in the lead. Photo: R Anantharam

Ju bounces back in Game 9 of FIDE Women's World Championship Match 2020

19/01/2020 -

The defending World Champion Ju Wenjun bounced back from her Game 8 loss, just like the Challenger Goryachkina did after suffering a loss in Game 4. Ju employed Reti opening for the first time in this event and it is safe to say that it worked. She might have not gotten an advantage out of the opening but bringing her opponent to uncharted territory definitely helped her gain some early advantage in the middlegame. After Ju was unable to maintain her advantage, she sacrificed an exchange which Goryachkina returned, eventually liquidating into a favorable Queen and minor piece ending for the Champion. Game 10 takes place on 20th January 2020 at 3:30 p.m. local time, 1 p.m. IST. Photo: Michael Friedman / FIDE

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