Odisha Open R1-7: Neelash Saha in a three-way lead

20/12/2024 -

FM Quoc Hy Nguyen (VIE), IM Neelash Saha and GM Alexei Fedorov are the three leaders with a score 6/7 each at Odisha Open 2024 Category A. Quoc drew with Alexei. Neelash defeated GM Sayantan Das to join the lead. Neelash is now 2.4 Elo rating points away from becoming India's next Grandmaster as gaining those will take his live rating to 2500. Former National School Under-15 Open champion, Vignesh Advaith Vemula is playing fantastic chess. He has scored an unbeaten 5.5/7 so far, including victories over GM Deepan Chakkravarthy and GM Pa Iniyan. Neelash will face Alexei in Round 8 and Vignesh will be up against IM Sambit Panda. Round 8 starts today at 3 p.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

20 ChessBase Premium Accounts Giveaway for emerging chess players

19/12/2024 -

Chess in India is on the rise with many Indian players shining on the national and international platforms. Still, there are certain regions like the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir where players are struggling due to a lack of resources and support. Shivaji Apte and Sidharth Priolkar have decided to donate 20 ChessBase Premium accounts to the emerging players from these regions. Their goal is to bridge the gap and provide players with advanced tools and opportunities. If you are a chess player from these areas, read the article to find out how you can apply.

The inside story: Sagar Shah interviews Gukesh

19/12/2024 -

Chess is booming in India and Sagar Shah, cofounder and driving force behind ChessBase India, has played a major role in this process. ChessBase India has also followed the career of Gukesh, the new world champion, from the very beginning. In an extensive, almost three-hour interview, Sagar Shah and Gukesh now talk about Gukesh's path to the World Championship, the 14 games of the competition and the choice of his seconds, among other things. Gukesh also reveals how and why Vincent Keymer, who is actually a rival of Gukesh, became part of the team in this revealing interview.

Tips and Tricks for ChessBase 18

19/12/2024 -

Every complex piece of software has hidden gems that aren't immediately obvious. For example, the reference search in ChessBase 18 has a new superpower that’s easy to overlook. Do you know the best way to prepare your teammates for a match? What is the crucial innovation that Rasmus Svane brought to the program? And why does Malcolm Pein never walk alone? Check out the details and decide whether you can afford not to have the program. ChessBase 18 and Mega Database 2025 are available now on our shop. Upgrade from previous version is also available. Buy now if you haven't yet. Photo: ChessBase

Saptarshi RoyChowdhury wins 1st New Delhi Rapid Rating Open 2024

19/12/2024 -

Seven players - GM Saptarshi RoyChowdhury, IM Aaryan Varshney, IM Ravi Teja S, IM Sambit Panda, IM Aaditya Dhingra, Jake Shanty and Gaha Narayan scored 8/9 each at 1st New Delhi Rapid Rating Open 2024. Top seed of the tournament, Saptarshi became the champion. The remaining six were placed second to seventh respectively according to tie-breaks. Apart from Aaditya and Gaha, the remaining five were undefeated. The total prize fund was ₹800000. The top three prizes were ₹71000, ₹51000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The two-day nine-round Swiss league rapid rating tournament was organized by Sara Foundation at Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi on 30th November and 1st December. This is Saptarshi's second tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Niklesh Jain

Sunway Sitges International Open Group A Round 1-5: Anwesh in the leaders pack, Savitha holds Alekseenko

18/12/2024 - After 5 rounds of play at the Sunway Sitges International Open Group A, there are 8 players jointly leading with 4.5/5 points. The only Indian in the pack of leaders is IM Anwesh Upadhyaya (2379). GM Ido Gorshtein (2542, ISR) has the best tiebreaks among the 8 co-leaders. The top board clash between Anwesh and Gorshtein ended in a draw in the 5th round. WGM Savitha Shri Baskar (2329) impressed by holding one of the top seeds, GM Kirill Alekseenko (2673) to a draw in the 5th round! 4 more rounds are left in this beautiful 9-round classical swiss tournament held at Hotel Sunway in Sitges, Barcelona, Spain. Photos by Niklesh Jain.

Adarsh Tripathi becomes the latest International Master from Uttar Pradesh

18/12/2024 -

Adarsh Tripathi became the latest International Master of Noida, Uttar Pradesh and India. He achieved the title at IM Swiss Mix Grocka 1 in Novi Sad, Serbia. The first IM-norm was scored at Brno Open IM Round Robin 2023. After eight months, he earned his second IM-norm at Piestany Open 2024 in Piestany, Slovakia. He secured his final IM-norm in the following month and crossed 2400 in the live ratings at the same event. Adarsh also won the tournament where he fulfilled the final criteria to become an IM. His journey towards the GM title continues. Get to know about Adarsh's journey so far. He is third International Master from his Uttar Pradesh after the legendary - Dinesh Kumar Sharma and 45th Olympiad Gold medalist - Vantika Agrawal.

Bhaavan Kolla decimates Dr. Rangala Babu Rao Rating Open 2024

18/12/2024 -

Bhaavan Kolla scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win Dr. Rangala Babu Rao Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. Vinayak Kulkarni and Varun V scored 8/9 each. They also remained undefeated, secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. Bhaavan drew with Vinayak. The total prize fund was ₹500001. The top three prizes were ₹50001, ₹40000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each. The five-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Sri Chess Academy at S3 Sports Arena in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 27th November to 1st December. This is Bhaavan's sixth tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Dr. Rangala Babu Rao / Sri Chess Academy

Pranav Venkatesh clinches double Gold at World Youth Under-18 Open Rapid and Blitz 2024

17/12/2024 -

GM Pranav Venkatesh scored 9.5/11 to clinch Gold at FIDE World Youth Under-18 Open Rapid 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. FM Alexander Khripachenko scored 9/11 to secure Silver. FM Roman Pyrih (UKR) got Bronze scoring 7.5/9. Despite a last round loss, it did not affect Pranav's Gold medal chances. Pranav won the Blitz event with a round to spare. He scored 19.5/22 to claim Gold, finished a staggering four points ahead of the competition. Dmitry Mochalov claimed Silver 15.5/22, Khripachenko Bronze 14.5/22. IM Eline Roebers (NED) was the sole girl to play in the Open event. She scored an impressive 7.5/11 to finish fourth in Rapid. The Dutch teenager was one of the only two players to beat Pranav in Blitz. Photos: FIDE / Luka Rifelj

Nubairshah Shaikh convincingly clinches Federal Bank 3rd Tarabai Shinde Rapid Rating Open 2024

17/12/2024 -

IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win Federal Bank presents 3rd Tarabai Shinde Rapid Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Five players - Jeet Shah, Guru Prakash, FM Mithil Ajgaonkar, Vivaan Sardana and Arnav Mahesh Koli scored 8/9 each. They secured second to sixth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Nubairshah defeated Jeet and drew with Guru. The total prize fund was ₹250000. The top three prizes were ₹20000, ₹15000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each. The one-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Nandakumar T V at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar School and College in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 24th November. This is Nubairshah's second tournament triumph of the year. Photos: Ravindra Potawad

India wins 33 medals at Asian Schools Championships 2024

16/12/2024 -

India has won 33 medals including 15 individual (4 Gold, 2 Silver and 9 Bronze) medals, 18 team (3 Gold, 10 Silver and 5 Bronze) medals at Asian Schools Chess Championships 2024. Divi Bijesh won double Gold in Classical and Blitz scoring a perfect 9/9 each, Bronze in Rapid Under-9 Girls category. She won both Gold with a perfect score of 9/9. Narendra Agarwal won a Gold in Rapid and a Bronze medal in Blitz Under-11 Open. Vedika Pal won Gold in Classical Under-11 Girls. Total 10 Indians have won at least one medal each in this event. China won the best federation by securing seven medals, Kazakhstan second with four medals and India third with six medals. Kazakhstan secured more Silver than India to be placed second. Photo: Asian Chess Federation

Srivardhan Reddy Devareddy dominates 15th KIIT Chess Festival C Below 1700 Rating Tournament 2024

16/12/2024 -

Srivardhan Reddy Devareddy scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 15th KIIT International Chess Festival Category C (Below 1700) Rating Tournament 2024. The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh, finished a half point ahead of the competition. Arijit Ghosh scored 8/9 to secure second place. Seven players made 7.5/9 each. Out of them, the top seed of the event, Sanskar Gaigore secured third place according to tie-breaks. Top three remained undefeated. The total prize fund of the festival was ₹6000000, ₹1500000 for Category C. The top three prizes were ₹100000, ₹75000 and ₹60000 along with a trophy each. The four-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by and at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from 6th to 9th December. This is Srivardhan's first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photo: Swayangsu Satyakam

World Championship 2024 diaries Game 14

15/12/2024 -

D Gukesh defeated the defending World Champion, Ding Liren (CHN) to become the 18th and youngest undisputed World Champion. It would go down in history as one of the most important games of the match, simply because of the outcome. How was the game actually? GM Sundararajan Kidambi analyzes Game 14 in detail along with few inputs of Magnus Carlsen. He also takes a look at the interesting moments of the game. Check out the dissection by Kidambi of the 14th game and enrich your understanding of it. If you like his explanations, do mention it in the comments, so that it inspires Kidambi to share more from his fountain of knowledge. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Laxman R R wins 3rd BUDCA Rapid Rating Open 2024

15/12/2024 -

GM Laxman R R, Lokesh N and IM Ajay Karthikeyan scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 3rd BUDCA Rapid Rating Open 2024. Laxman won the tournament due to better tie-break scores, Lokesh and Ajay secured second and third place respectively. The top three finishers did not face each other. The total prize fund was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹29000 + trophy, ₹25000 + trophy and ₹20000 each. The two-day nine-round Swiss league rating tournament was organized by Bengaluru Urban District Chess Association at Nexus Koramangala Mall in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 23rd and 24th November. This is Laxman's sixth tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Soumya M U / BUDCA

Style Report in ChessBase 18

14/12/2024 -

ChessBase 18 now provides insights into players that go beyond mere opening statistics. Evaluating players is a somewhat delicate matter, and mistakes could be embarrassing. However, the Style Report hits the mark surprisingly well. For historical stars whose styles are well-known, all the classic clichés are spot-on. Most importantly, you can learn something about your next opponent—or about the most important player of all: yourself. Check out the details and decide whether you can afford not to have the program. ChessBase 18 and Mega Database 2025 are available now on our shop. Upgrade from previous version is also available. Buy now if you haven't yet. Photo: ChessBase