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Gukesh makes a Golden debut for Prilep at 36th European Chess Club Cup 2021

25/09/2021 -

GM D Gukesh is consistently doing well. Exactly a week after winning his second consecutive tournament, Norway Chess 2021 Masters, Gukesh made a stellar debut at the 36th European Chess Club Cup 2021. He scored 5.5/7, performed at 2815 and gained 18.7 Elo rating points which earned him an individual Gold medal on Board no.1 ahead of Mamedov, Mamedyarov, Donchenko, Grischuk, Korobov, Harikrishna and Svidler. The 15-year-old's impressive debut at the star-studded event, took his live rating to 2640. Prilep finished 14th overall, Gukesh lived up to his billing of top player of the team with a top-notch performance. Harikrishna and Sasikiran won team Silver for AVE Novy Bor for third consecutive year. Photo: C&P Media/Chess Federation of Macedonia

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Joytu Sheikh Hasina GM R4-6: Mitrabha and Sankalp in the lead 5.0/6

25/09/2021 -

IM Sankalp Gupta beat IM Mitrabha Guha in the sixth round to share the lead at 5.0/6 in Joyu Sheikh Hasina International GM 2021. IM Aronyak Ghosh, IM Nubairshah Shaikh and IM Sayantan Das are just a half point behind at 4.5/6 each respectively. Mitrabha went for Sankalp's rook by giving up two minor pieces. Initially at a first glance it may look interesting but in reality it was just the opposite. Aronyak beat Taibur Rahman (BAN) and Sayantan drew with fellow countryman Deep to maintain their chase. Aronyak will face Mitrabha and Sankalp will go against Sayantan in the seventh round. Round 7 starts today at 2:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Bangladesh Chess Federation

TePe Sigeman & Co 2021 R2: Nihal makes a draw with Jorden

25/09/2021 -

The second round of TePe Sigeman & Co Tournament 2021 had all four games drawn. Nigel Short had a good opportunity to gain substantial advantage against Sweden no.1 Nils Grandelius, but he did not seize it. Jonas Buhl Bjerre for the second consecutive game was in a good position, this time against Vincent Keymer. He loosened his grip and allowed the German to escape. Nihal Sarin had a solid draw with Jorden van Foreest. It would have taken him a computer-like precision to gain the upper hand in the rook, bishop and knight endgame. Short, Grandelius, Jorden and Jones are 1.5/2, the remaining four are at 0.5/2 each respectively. Round 3 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Abhimanyu, Varshini and Indian team Golden at Asian University 2021

24/09/2021 -

WGM V Varshini scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win Asian University Women's Championship 2021. She finished a half point ahead of the competition. Her win ensured the Indian Women's team winning a Gold too. The three remaining team members were - WGM Srija Seshadri, WIM Arpita Mukherjee and WIM P Michelle Catherina. GM Abhimanyu Puranik won the Asian University Men's Championship 2021 by scoring 7.5/9 and also finishing a half point ahead of the rest. His triumph also ensured another Gold for the Indian men. The other three members were - GM Arjun Kalyan, GM Karthik Venkataraman and IM Harikrishnan A Ra. Photo: Rupali Mullick and Shahid Ahmed

TePe Sigeman & Co 2021 R1: Short spells endgame magic

24/09/2021 -

TePe Sigeman & Co Tournament 2021 started with all decisive games in the first round. The legendary Nigel Short started the event with a very nice victory against France no.3 Etienne Bacrot. Short might not have played a tournament in almost a year, yet his years of experience was on full display as he played beautifully in a queen vs double bishops endgame. Nihal started his event with a loss against Sweden no.1 Nils Grandelius, after the wunderkind made a mistake in the endgame. Vincent Keymer trapped his own king against Jorden van Foreest, Gawain Jones got the better of Jonas Buhl Bjerre in an interesting finish. Round 2 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Magnus Carlsen signs FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2021 contract

23/09/2021 -

Magnus Carlsen has signed the contract to defend his world title against Ian Nepomniachtchi at FIDE World Chess Championship Match which will take place in Dubai, UAE starting from 24th November. That is not the only announcement there was for the universe this week had about the World no.1. On Tuesday, 21st September, Mastercard announced that the World no.1 has been named Brand Global Ambassador of Mastercard. He joined the all-star lineup of Lionel Messi, Naomi Osaka, Crystal Dunn and Dan Carter. Mastercard also became an official partner of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour at the same time. Photo: Unibet Norway

4th Sharjah Masters 2021 R4-6: Tabatabaei takes sole lead 5.0/6

23/09/2021 -

M Amin Tababtabaei (IRI) has taken sole lead 5.0/6 by winning against the UAE no.1 Salem Saleh in the sixth round of 4th Sharjah Masters 2021. Five players are trailing by a half point at 4.5/6 each. They are - Pavel Eljanov, Arkadij Naiditsch, Rinat Jumabayev, Narayanan S L and Mikheil Mchedlishvili. All six of them have remained unbeaten so far. Arjun Erigaisi is close behind at 4.0/6. Adhiban made fifth consecutive draw to move to 3.5/6. He will face countryman Raunak Sadhwani who is also at 3.5/6 in the seventh round. Round 7 starts today at 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich/Sharjah Chess Club

Vincent Keymer wins Hou Yifan Challenge

22/09/2021 -

Vincent Keymer scored 13.5/17 and won the Hou Yifan Challenge with a round to spare. He beat Tingjie Lei in the final round to win his second consecutive Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour event. Both Christopher Yoo and Praggnanadhaa finished with 11.5/17, since Yoo had beaten Pragg in the tenth round, he was placed second and Pragg had to settle for third place. Leon finished fifth 10.0/17, Aditya was placed sixth 9.5/17 and Vaishali at twelfth position 6.5/17. Both Praggnanandhaa and Leon will play in the Tour Finals next month, as they finished in the top eight in the tour standings. Overall in the tour, Team Kramnik lost to Team Polgar 302.5-324.5. Photo: Champions Chess Tour

Joytu Sheikh Hasina GM R1-3: Mitrabha, Nubairshah and Sayantan in a three-way lead 3.0/3

22/09/2021 -

Three IMs Mitrabha Guha, Nubairshah Shaikh and Sayantan Das are in the lead with a perfect 3.0/3 at the conclusion of round 3 at Joytu Sheikh Hasina International GM 2021. IMs Aronyak Ghosh, Koustav Chatterjee, Sammed Jaykumar Shete along with Bangladesh's legendary Ziaur Rahman, top seed GM Andrey Sumets (UKR) and GM Alexey Kislinsky (CZE) are just a half point behind at 2.5/3 each respectively. A total of 62 players from 9 countries including 9 GMs, 14 IMs and a WIM are taking part in this event. Total prize fund is US$ 15000, first prize US$ 4000. Round 4 starts today at 2:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Bangladesh Chess Federation

MVP of Team India - Harika on her performance at FIDE Online Olympiad 2021

21/09/2021 -

Harika Dronavalli was under the weather during the Pool stage of FIDE Online Olympiad 2021. She played only three games and drew all of them. She wanted rest, which was provided to her. Thanks to her doctor, she managed to recover well in two days and played all her games in the knockout stage. Not only she played them all, she won them too, scoring 6.0/6, the highest individual score for Team India in the Knockout stage. IM Sagar Shah conducted an interview with her after the Indian team won the Bronze medal. This article is a transcript of the interview where Harika breaks down various moments from the game along with what went in her mind before, during and after the game, her mindset and much more. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Hou Yifan Challenge Day 3: Leon does a rare mate with two knights

21/09/2021 -

Praggnanandhaa lost his momentum as he suffered three losses and made a draw on the third day of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour - Hou Yifan Challenge. He started the day with two consecutive losses against Christopher Yoo and Vincent Keymer, then he drew with Abhimanyu, finally lost to Leon to finish the day at 9.5/13. Keymer soared into sole lead 10.0/13. He is followed by Yoo and Pragg at 9.5/13 each respectively. Leon is at the fifth position 7.5/13, followed by Aditya Mittal, Vaishali and Pawel Teclaf at 6.5/13 each respectively. Pragg has only three games left to play which makes it excruciatingly difficult for him to win the event. Round 14 starts today at 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Hou Yifan Challenge Day 2: Praggnanandhaa stays perfect 9.0/9

20/09/2021 -

Praggnanandhaa continued his domination as he won all four games on the second day of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Hou Yifan Challenge. He is now at 9.0/9, a full two points ahead of the competition. He defeated Liang, Murzin, Kiolbasa and Mammadzada on the second day. Vincent Keymer is at sole second place 7.0/9 followed by Christopher Yoo 6.0/9. Both Leon Luke Mendonca and Aditya Mittal are at shared fifth place along with Awonder Liang 5.0/9. Vaishali scored only two draws and took her score to 3.5/9. Pragg will face Keymer in Round 11. Round 10 starts today at 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Amruta Mokal

4th Sharjah Masters 2021 R1-3: Narayanan and Tabatabaei in the lead 3.0/3

20/09/2021 -

Narayanan S L and M Amin Tababtabaei (IRI) are the shared leaders 3.0/3 at the conclusion of the third round at 4th Sharjah Masters ICC 2021. Both played attacking games in round 3 to do a hat-trick. Abhijeet Gupta and Arjun Erigaisi are in a pack of six players at 2.5/3. They will face each other in round 4. Adhiban, Raunak and Ganguly are at 2.0/3 respectively. Sethuraman suffered two consecutive losses, he is at 1.0/3. A total of 60 players from 28 countries including 42 GMs, 13 IMs and 2 WGMs are taking part in this event. Total prize fund is US$ 60000, first prize US$ 10000. Round 4 starts today at 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Sharjah Chess Club

Hou Yifan Challenge Day 1: Praggnanandhaa makes a blazing start 5.0/5

19/09/2021 -

Praggnanandhaa emerged as the early sole leader 5.0/5 at the conclusion of the first day of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Hou Yifan Challenge. He defeated Balaji, Vaishali, Jiner, Sokolovsky and Tingjie. We got an answer of what happens in a tournament when the strongest Indian young siblings face each other. Kramnik Challenge winner Vincent Keymer is a full point behind at 4.0/5, followed by Christopher Yoo and Leon Mendonca at 3.5/5 each respectively. Tour debutants Aditya Mittal made a good start 3.0/5 and Vaishali scored 2.5/5. Although Vaishali played only four games so far. Round 6 starts today at 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Breaking News: Raja Rithvik R becomes the 70th Grandmaster of India

18/09/2021 -

IM Raja Rithvik R started his Europe tour this summer with one GM-norm in his bag. He played three round-robin tournaments in Serbia non-stop for 21 days, performed well, yet the required performance rating was falling short for a GM-norm. After a difficult run at RTU Open, Rithvik had a breakout performance at Skalica Open 2021 where he scored his second GM-norm by winning against Gunina in the last round. With momentum on his side, he won the next event First Saturday GM September to score his third GM-norm and in the following three days he managed to cross the 2500 rating barrier to become India's 70th Grandmaster. A quick look at the 17-year-old boy's journey towards the coveted Grandmaster title.