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The Pride of Pune: Abhimanyu Puranik

16/06/2021 -

Born on the 11th of February 2000, Abhimanyu Puranik is just 21 years old. However, he boasts of a very healthy Elo of 2589. Coming from the city of Pune, Abhimanyu rose through the ranks of the promising young boy to becoming one of the best in the country. How did he manage to do that? How has he balanced his chess as well as education? And who are the people who have played a role in his sucess story? This is our profile story on one of India's brightest young talents, who is at a critical juncture of his chess career - will he remain a strong 2600+ GM or will be become a world class 2750+ player! Time will tell. For now enjoy this story of Abhimanyu Puranik. Thumbnail Image by Lennart Ootes.

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Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins Superbet Chess Classic 2021

15/06/2021 -

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won the Superbet Chess Classic 2021 with a score of 6.0/9. He remained undefeated and finished a full point ahead of the competition. He also became the first player from Azerbaijan to win a leg of the Grand Chess Tour. Since all games ended up in a draw on the final day, the final standings remain unchanged since the penultimate round. Aronian, So and Grischuk shared the second place 5.0/9. The find of the tournament is definitely Romania no.2 GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac. If India has Gukesh, Pragg, Nihal, Leon, Raunak, Iniyan, Arjuns and more, Romania has Deac who can hold his own against the best in the world. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Gukesh bests Pragg and wins Gelfand Challenge

14/06/2021 -

Gukesh played phenomenal chess in the final day as he won all four of his games convincingly to win Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour - Gelfand Challenge. He earned a place in the next Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event where he will play against the world's best. Both Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa finished at 14.0/19, however Gukesh's win over Pragg in Round 17 turned out to be important for Gukesh winning the tournament. Nihal 12.0/19 finished at shared fifth place with Abdusattorov and Yoo. Leon was placed ninth 10.0/19. Challengers Chess Tour will return next month with Hou Yifan Challenge from 15th to 18th July. Photo: Champions Chess Tour

Mamedyarov is a draw away from winning Superbet Chess Classic 2021

14/06/2021 -

Mamedyarov is well on his way to win Superbet Chess Classic 2021 as he made a short draw with Giri to keep his full point lead 5.5/8. Aronian scored the sole victory of the round against Deac with a picturesque finish in the endgame. Grischuk battled for almost 5.5 hours against Caruana but the American did not budge and the game was drawn eventually. Mamedyarov just needs a draw in the final round to win the event as Aronian, So and Grischuk are at full point behind 4.5/8 each respectively. Round 9 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Billionaire Nikhil Kamath admits to beating Vishy Anand using unfair means

14/06/2021 -

India's youngest Billionaire Nikhil Kamath sat down to take on Vishy Anand in the Checkmate Covid fundraiser that was organized by Chess. com India and AICF. The game began with Vishy playing 1.Nf3 and Nikhil blundering his pawn with 1...e5. It seemed like this encounter wouldn't last long. But unbelievably, Nikhil turned things around, playing one amazing move after another. Before you knew it, Vishy was already lost and the five-time World Champion resigned. In this article we have a closer look at this game and also let you know why beating a legend like Vishy, even in a simul, is never easy.

Gelfand Challenge Day 3: Keymer takes sole lead, Praggnanandhaa still in the hunt

13/06/2021 -

After Praggnanandhaa, it was Nihal's turn to score all five victories in Day 3 of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour - Gelfand Challenge. Nihal beat Mammadzada, Saduakassova, Yoo, Gukesh and Badelka. He finished the day with 10.0/15, tied at the fourth place with Gukesh. Praggnanandhaa's seven-game win streak came to an end in Round 12 as he lost to Abdumalik. He is just a half point behind the sole leader Keymer. Leon is at 8.0/10. Anything can happen on the final day as the last four round starts with Round 16 from 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Champions Chess Tour

Superbet Classic R7: Mamedyarov scores a hat-trick

13/06/2021 -

Mamedyarov seems to be a man on the mission to win the tournament as he beat Caruana in Round 7 of Superbet Chess Classic 2021. He scored a hat-trick of wins, took a sole lead and is now a full point ahead of the competition 5.0/7. Aronian and Giri scored their first victory of the tournament against Grischuk and Vachier-Lagrave respectively. While Aronian launched a devastating attack which the Russian did not respond correctly, Giri made a good use of his opponent's mistake in the opposite color bishop endgame. Round 8 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST and it will be Mamedyarov vs. Giri. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Off the Board Tales #08 – Gopakumar M S

12/06/2021 -

'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. Gopakumar M S is an International Arbiter, serves the Indian Air Force and Services Sports Control Boards, and a member of the FIDE Fair Play Commission.

ChessBase India YouTube Membership update for May 2021

12/06/2021 -

At ChessBase India, we are extremely proud of the chess community that we have built up. The YouTube membership money that we receive is used for the betterment of Indian chess and for the upliftment of the Indian chess players. We have the YouTube memberships of five different tiers, with the only perk that all the money that anyone would contribute will go towards the betterment of our country's chess. We collected Rs.34,588 in April 2021 and Rs.54,931 in May 2021. The April fund will be used for the training of the talented young girl Savitha Shri with GM Shyam Sundar and the May fund will be utilized to support differently abled Karthik Venkata Krishna who will work with N. Ramaraju.

Gelfand Challenge Day 2: Praggnanandhaa makes a brilliant comeback and joins the lead 8.0/10

12/06/2021 -

It would not be an understatement to say Praggnanandhaa stole the show in Day 2 of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour - Gelfand Challenge. Pragg went through all of his opponents and emerged victorious. Thus jumping at the top of the table in a shared lead with Abdusattorov 8.0/10 each respectively. Gukesh earlier in the day shared the news of him getting a Wild Card in the FIDE World Cup 2021, played fantastic and scored 4.0/5, thus moving towards shared third place 7.0/10. Nihal and Leon had a tough day. They are at 5.0/10 and 4.5/10 each, respectively. The tournament continues today with Round 11 starting from 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Niklesh Jain

Superbet Classic R6: Mamedyarov and Grischuk maintain their lead 4.0/6

12/06/2021 -

Both Mamedyarov and Grischuk won their respective games in Round 6 of Superbet Chess Classic 2021. Thus, they maintained their shared lead 4.0/6. So was unable to break Giri's staunch defense and had to settle for a draw after almost 4.5 hour-long battle. He is now at sole third place 3.5/6. However, the most exciting game of the round was played between Vachier-Lagrave and Caruana. It might have ended up in a draw, but there were a lot of great moments. Round 7 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Gelfand Challenge Day 1: Awonder Liang makes a perfect start 5.0/5

11/06/2021 -

Awonder Liang dominated the first day of the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour Gelfand Challenge. He won all five of his games and took sole lead 5.0/5. Abdusattorov is currently at sole second position 4.0/5. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal and Gukesh scored 3.0/5 and Leon made 2.5/5. Pragg had Liang on the ropes in the very first round but somehow he managed to escape his grasp. Both Pragg and Nihal lost against Abdusattorov. Gukesh suffered his sole loss against Yoo in the final round of the day. Round 6 continues today from 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Superbet Classic R5: Mamedyarov wins and joins three-way lead 3.0/5

10/06/2021 -

Mamedyarov scored his first victory of Superbet Chess Classic 2021 in Round 5 against Lupulescu. The Romanian did not anticipate the world no.8's onslaught correctly which caused his kingside to be completely broken and eventually cost the game. So and Grischuk made solid draws with Deac and Radjabov respectively. Aronian made his fifth consecutive draw, in another well contested game with Vachier-Lagrave. Today is a rest day. Round 6 starts tomorrow Friday 11th June from 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Nihal, Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh and Leon will battle in the Gelfand Challenge

10/06/2021 -

The second event of Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour - Gelfand Challenge starts today with the same lineup of 20 players as the previous event. Ten under-18 male and ten under-24 female players are taking part. Apart from the four Indian talents - Nihal Sarin, R Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh D and Leon Luke Mendonca fighting for the top spot, two more Indian players - IM Aditya Mittal and WGM Vaishali R got added as a Reserve player for Team Polgar and Team Kramnik respectively. Total prize fund for the event is US$100,000. Not only that, the participants get to learn from Ju Wenjun, Surya Ganguly and Arthur Kogan, mentored by Judit Polgar. Team Kramnik gets to enrich themselves by Hou Yifan, Boris Gelfand and Anna Muzychuk, mentored by Vladimir Kramnik. Photo: Challengers Chess Tour

Superbet Classic R4: So and Grischuk score wins to share the lead 2.5/4

09/06/2021 -

Wesley So and Alexander Grischuk scored their first victory of Superbet Chess Classic 2021 in Round 4. They won against the previous round leaders Caruana and Deac respectively to claim their own shared lead at 2.5/4. While So showcased his better understanding of the position and pieces, Grischuk grinded a relatively equal endgame by applying correct technique and eventually forcing the 19-year-old to succumb to his masterful play. The Romania no.2 will face So and Grischuk will face Radjabov in the next round. Radjabov explained his quick draws in an interview. The chess universe is still divided about it. Round 5 starts today from 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour