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Stuck on checkmate - the sad reality of chess in Bangladesh

18/02/2019 -

It was Bangladesh that produced the Asian sub-continent's first chess Grandmaster, GM Niaz Murshed, some 31 years ago. But the once-promising discipline of chess has seemingly been stuck in an unsound position since the country got its fifth and last GM in 2008. We know that Bangladesh has some promising upcoming players in M. Fahad Rahman, Tahsin Tajwar Zia and others but they still have a long way to go before they can threaten the most talented youngsters in the world. What is the reason behind this pause? Why is chess in Bangladesh not improving? Read this article by Anisur Rahman to know the answers.

12-year-old Leon Mendonca creates history by scoring three IM norms in 17 days!

17/02/2019 -

12-year-old Leon Mendonca had been close to an IM norm on numerous occasions, missing it by a whisker. The strength was always there, but the results weren't coming. The boy kept working hard and in 17 days everything changed! From 31st January to 16th February, Leon played three events in Serbia and scored three IM norms, pumping his rating to 2446 and becoming India's latest International Master at the age of 12 years, 11 months and 3 days! We tell you all about Leon's three fantastic events and how he managed to pull off this amazing achievement of scoring 18.5 points out of 27 rounds against average Elo opposition of 2320. Leon has also sent us an annotated game which we share with you. Read on and be amazed!

Tripura calling: A fantasy land for nature lovers!

15/02/2019 -

Tripura is one of the least-explored states in India, despite nurturing natural as well as historic beauties. A fantasy land for nature lovers with gorgeous waterfalls, and gigantic mountains make it a dream destination. The state is blessed with beauty which you can witness through its water bodies, palaces, forest and wildlife. Its rich culture reflects through its top attractions especially monuments and heritage sites. And now it welcomes all the chess lovers to explore the state and be a part of the 1st Open Rated Tournament of 2019 in North East which will be kicking off from 26th March 2019 till 30th March 2019. Read this article to find more about this upcoming event. Thumbnail Photo: FPI 

Vintage Vishy - Why do we call him that?

14/02/2019 -

Recently at the Tata Steel Masters 2019 in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands Vishy Anand played some scintillating games. His most striking victory was against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Anand played the opening in a logical manner, and this was followed up by some extremely energetic play to blow Shakh off the board. Even a player of the Shakh's calibre, who was rated 2817 couldn't sustain the "Vintage Vishy." How does Anand do it? V. Saravanan, in this article shares with us some secrets of Vishy's combinative play. This he does by not only showing Anand-Mamedyarov from 2019, but also Anand-Ninov from 1987! It's over three decades since Vishy is India number one. How does he do it over and over again? Read on to know more! 

Chess in Olympics 2024?

14/02/2019 -

On 13th of February FIDE made an important announcement - FIDE President Arkadij Dvorkovich along with French Chess Federation President Bachar Kouatly met with French press to promote the vision of chess as an olympic sport. Chess has become a candidate to join Paris Olympic Games 2024. Whether chess becomes a part of the Olympic games will only be confirmed subsequently by International Olympic Committee (IOC), but at least the first step has been taken. In this article we speak with some of the top Indian chess players Anand, Humpy, Vidit, Sethuraman, Eesha and AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan, on what they feel about this initiative taken by the new administration of FIDE. 

This Valentine's Day gift your loved ones ChessBase 15 hard copy

14/02/2019 -

The only reason why we would like to celebrate Valentine's Day is because it signifies "Love". And Love for the game of chess is what binds us all together. On 14th of February, we are offering you a unique chance to send a ChessBase 15 hard copy to your loved ones at a discount of Rs.590! At the same time you can send them a special message and we will put it down in a card and send it across to them. You can also do so with the books we have! Today 14th of February is also a special day for ChessBase India because the youngest member of the team Avathanshu Bhat, the Juniors editor-in-chief, turns 14 years old. We tell you about some of the work he has done in his journalistic career till date.

Gear up for the Akshayakalpa-BNCF Grand Prix Finale!

13/02/2019 -

The stage is set for Karnataka’s first Chess Grand-Prix Finale! The Akshayakalpa-BNCF Grand Prix Series features seven qualifier tournaments and one Grand Finale tournament. Over the course of seven qualifier tournaments, which began from 29th July 2018 to 20th January 2019, forty players have gained the right to play in the Grand Finale. These 40 players will now fight at the Grand Prix finale on 17th of February 2019. The first prize is Rs.1,00,000, the second prize is Rs.50,000 and the third is Rs.25,000. The excellent prize money has ensured that all the biggest names of the Karnataka state have qualified for the Grand Prix Finale. Read this curtain raiser report by Hinduja Reddy.

PSPB wins National Teams 2019 for the second consecutive year

13/02/2019 -

PSPB wins National Teams 2019 in both Open and Women category and successfully defended their title. While women's team won all seven of their games and finished at a 100% score of 14.0/14, Men's team scored 17.0/18 to win it for the second consecutive year. Airport Authority of India secured 2nd and 3rd position in Open and Women's category, by scoring 14.0/18 and 11.0/14 respectively. Railways SPB-B secured 3rd position in the Open category with a score of 13.0/18. Air India secured 2nd position in the Women's category scoring 11.0/14 points. The tournament was the strongest National ever in Indian chess history as 18 GMs, 17 IMs and 7 WGMs participated in it. Complete report including photos, videos, interviews and games from the final round. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Go for fresh positions with 1.f4

13/02/2019 -

Is the Bird opening an audacious attempt by chess mavericks? Or a slightly offbeat way for White to get an advantage in today's hyper-engine-analyzed opening landscape? Can the Bird's be a way to disorient our opponents using a lesser-known opening? The Bird's is an opening for players who are free spirits, says reviewer Davide Nastasio. IM Lawrence Trent in his latest work addresses this need, covering all of Black's answers, and proudly finding new moves in old lines. If you are a club or a tournament player, searching for a surprise weapon, the Bird's can give a boost to your wins! 

Manu David - From Elo 1970 to 2418 in four months

12/02/2019 -

Back in the summer of 2016 an incredible feat was achieved by a Bangalore based 17-year-old Ojas Kulkarni when he jumped from 2000 to 2405 Elo in mere 37 days! The phenomenal feat was achieved by Ojas by playing in four tournaments, all of them a part of the Catalonian circuit. We want to share with you a similar inspiring story. This time about a 18-year-old from Chennai. Meet Manu David Suthandram, who went from being 1970 in October 2018 to 2418 Elo in February 2019. A phenomenal 448 Elo point jump in just five months. In this article FM R.Manu David shares with us his incredible journey and take us from one tournament to the other with lot of pictures and annotated games for the readers of ChessBase India to enjoy and learn from.

Travel to Vietnam this March for the 9th HDBank 2019

12/02/2019 -

Vietnam Chess Federation will organize the 9th edition of HDBank Cup International from 7th to 13th March 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Former Asian Continental Champion GM Wang Hao of China will be the top seed in the Masters section. GM Ivan Cheparinov will be the second seed. 21 GMs, 31 IMs and 7 WGMs have already confirmed their entry in a star studded strong line-up. Indian challenge is represented by three strong GMs Sandipan Chanda, Gukesh D and Vishnu Prasanna. Total Prize money is USD 60,000 (roughly Rs.42 lakhs). The tournament will be played in a 9-round Swiss League. In this article we not only give you all the information of the tournament but also assist you in planning your trip with the help of ChessBase India Power.

Walking a few steps with a future queen

11/02/2019 -

When it comes to talented girls in Indian chess 2007 born Savitha Shri is one of the most prominent. She is the current under-12 World Champion. But for all those following her journey into the world of chess know that she and her family are facing a tough time to make their ends meet. Savitha's father Baskar left his job as an electrician in Dubai and is now travelling around with Savitha to ensure that his daughter gets to play in more tournaments. Reading about the talent of the young girl, and the dedication of the father on ChessBase India, Deepan Subbiah, an engineer and a chess lover in London, decided to sponsor Savitha's two tournaments in Austria. Not only that, he travelled from London to Lienz to see the girl in action and spend some memorable time with her, which he recounts in this beautiful article.

The Fighter - India's 59th GM Visakh NR

11/02/2019 -

He is a man of few words and lets his moves to do the talking. Visakh NR achieved his first GM norm at the Pardubice Open in Czech Republic in 2016, he scored his 2nd GM norm at the Turkish League in 2018 and the final norm came at the Delhi GM International 2019. Born on 24th of April 1999, Visakh achieved his GM title on 15th of January 2019 at the age of 19 years and 9 months. Coming from a humble background Visakh as well as his brother have faced quite a lot of financial hardships. But in spite of all the difficulties, they have never stopped their chess career. In this article you get to know more about India's 59th GM, his journey to the grandmaster title and his future aims and ambitions. 

PSPB wins National Team Women 2019 and almost Open category

11/02/2019 -

PSPB wins National Team 2019 in both Open and Women category with a round to spare for second consecutive year. However, there is one unlikely scenario where Air India can win the Open category. Everything has to go Air India's way completely to get the title. In an unlikely scenario, if PSPB loses against Alekhine Chess Club-A and Air India wins with a minimum score of 3.5-0.5 against Bengal Red in the final round, only then they can become champion. PSPB dominated Day 4, by derailing both RSPB-A and RSPB-B with a same score of 3-1. Among the women, PSPB Women defeated LIC emphatically in round 5 with a score of 3.5-0.5 and whitewashed Tamil Nadu 4-0 in the penultimate round. This report contains games, photos and positions. The report contains games, positions, photos and video. Photo: Shahid Ahmed and Gopakumar Sudhakaran

National Teams 2019 Day 3: PSPB takes sole lead in both Open and Women section

10/02/2019 -

PSPB defeated AAI in a nail biter finish after all games ended up in a draw. Team PSPB was waiting with baited breath and hoping for Aravindh to convert a long term advantage. Reigning National Champion, GM Aravindh Chithambaram did not disappoint and won a thriller finish which went down to the last seconds in four hour long thrill-ride. In the women section, PSPB women also had an exact same score, however they had three decisive results. Newly crowned Asian Continental Women's Champion IM Padmini Rout picked up the quickest win for her team as she outplayed current National Women's Champion WGM Bhakti Kulkarni. Soumya and Pratyusha were the other two to win for their team whereas Mary Ann lost against Viji which did not make a major impact in the final score. Photo: Gopakumar Sudhakaran/Shahid Ahmed.