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FIDE Online World Corporate Championship: Nihal Sarin holds Anish Giri to a draw

20/02/2021 -

FIDE Online World Corporate Championship had an exciting start as Akshayakalpa Farms and Foods was paired against Optiver in the very first round. It means Nihal Sarin was up against Anish Giri, something which is yet to happen in an over-the-board tournament yet. Nihal got a good chance but he mistimed it and Giri saved the game and it ended up in a draw. Among Indian teams, Praggnanandhaa's team Tata Consultancy Services Chennai is the only Indian team which has a very good chance of advancing to the Knockout stage as they won all three matches on the first day of Stage 1.

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Get the all new ChessBase 16 + Mega Database 2021. Releases on 17th of November 2020. Available now on the ChessBase India Online shop.

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Shahil Dey scores his second IM-norm in consecutive tournaments

20/02/2021 -

Shahil Dey scored his maiden IM-norm in GM Round Robin "Orbis-1 2021" Paracin on 11th February 2021. He started playing IM Mix Swiss "Orbis-2 2021" Paracin on the following day 12th February. The 14-year-old boy from Assam who moved to Kolkata made a blitzkrieg start with 4.0/4, however two consecutive losses caused a setback to score his maiden GM-norm. He finished 6.0/9, secured third place and in the process scored his second IM-norm in consecutive tournaments within a week. Photo: Domi Dervieux

Sivakasi Chess Club and Covid-19

19/02/2021 -

In spite of the relentless attack by Covid-19, Sivakasi Chess Club was busily engaged in multifarious chess activities like organizing online tournaments, chess awareness program etc. When the pandemic slowly subsided, it organized Chess in Park program, with the support of the Sivakasi Municipality. When it was under control, it organized five practice and friendly over-the-board tournaments, the latest one involving three international masters. Just imagine, all the programs had no entry fee. Lunch and tea were provided to all the players and parents in the OTB tournaments featuring about 70 players each.

LIC will start as the top Indian team in 1st FIDE Online World Corporate Championship

19/02/2021 -

Total 288 teams comprising of 1475 players from 68 federations across the world will take part in the 1st FIDE Online World Corporate Chess Championship. Total 69 Indian teams and a staggering 390 Indian players are slated to take part in this event. Only six rounds will be played in the first stage and only top eight teams out of 288 teams will advance to the knockout stage. It means luck will also play a huge role for a team to advance to the next stage. LIC is the top Indian team which will start as the 33rd seed. Photo: Shahid Ahmed and Niklesh Jain

Master Class with Rustam Kasimdzhanov

18/02/2021 -

Chess can be learned from anywhere, any time and from anyone. When the former world champion and one of Caruana's seconds can be your teacher, you do not want to pass that opportunity. The man of impeccable knowledge will be doing a webinar with World Chess on Sunday 21st of February 2020 at 10.00 p.m. IST. The topic of the session is "How to Spot Tactics". You will be able to ask questions to Kasimdzhanov and also get your doubts answered. Check out the article to find out how you can learn from one of the greats in the world. Photo: World Chess

Grandmaster Chess Ep 14: Humpy's Attacking Masterclass

17/02/2021 -

Koneru Humpy is a legend in her own right, you would think learning chess from a player of her stature would most definitely be daunting for amateurs, wouldn't you? Well then, prepare yourself for a surprise! The fourteenth episode of Grandmaster Chess features none other than the comeback lady of Indian chess, the fiercely strong and equally poised Koneru Humpy. Three out of the four comedians join in with IM Sagar Shah as the host, and what ensues is a thoroughly uplifting experience. The pupils raise relevant questions as they grapple with the positions, while the master walks them through the nuances patiently and with crystal clarity.

Decisions made and committees formed at the first AGM of the new AICF administration

17/02/2021 -

Some very important decisions were made and committees were formed in the first AGM of the newly elected AICF administration. Some of the very positive developments are a league beginning before the end of this year, bidding for the next Olympiad, getting FIDE Women's Grand Prix as well as super tournaments to India. Chess in Schools needs a special boost, a single registration model for AICF will increase transparency and creation of a center of excellence is on the cards. We also have the list of members in different AICF committees and it is heartening to see the huge number of active chess players being a part of it.

Chess in Schools - Helping Children Make the Right Move in Life

17/02/2021 -

Chess is much more than a sport. It's not just about championships, titles and glory. It can be used to inculcate and improve life skills, decision making ability, differentiation between right and wrong and much more. Wang-Sheng Lee along with Asad Islam and Aaron Nicholas have conducted a randomised field experiment to investigate the benefits of an intensive chess training program undertaken by a primary school students in a developing country context. The research cites a progress made by Chess in Schools program in India and efforts by AICF to promote chess in India. Photo: Asad Islam

FIDE resumes the Candidates Tournament

16/02/2021 -

FIDE Candidates tournament will resume on 19th April 2021. The most important tournament to determine the challenger for the world championship came to an abrupt end last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The second half of the tournament, the remaining seven rounds will resume in a little over two months time. Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi are in the lead with 4.5/7, followed by Caruana, Giri, Hao and Grischuk at 3.5/7 each respectively. Who do you think will win Candidates and challenge Carlsen for the world championship? Photo: FIDE 

Does Wesley So have Magnus Carlsen's number? Sagar and Amruta try to find out!

15/02/2021 -

Wesley So is probably the man who poses the most formidable threat to Magnus Carlsen's throne in the world of chess today. Yet, surprisingly, one hardly suspects that to be the case, when one listens to this 27-year-old Filipino-American champion speak. From his refreshingly unassuming mannerisms and happy demeanour, there's no way one can guess that he is the current World Champion of Fischer Random Chess, a two-time US Champion, and above all, the man who rattles Magnus's domineering presence at the top on a consistent basis. Who can ever forget his massive 13.5-2.5 victory over Carlsen at the first official World Fischer Random Chess Championship in 2019? Not long ago he also beat the Norwegian at the finals of the Skilling Open, and yet again here he is, taming the best chess player on the planet - this time at the Opera Euro Online Rapid. Does Wesley have Magnus's number? Sagar and Amruta try to find out!

Wesley So beats Carlsen in the Finals and wins Opera Euro Rapid

15/02/2021 -

Wesley So wins his second event in Meltwater Champions Chess Tour as he beat Carlsen in the Finals once again to win Opera Euro Rapid. The last time So lost to Carlsen in a serious tournament and got eliminated was at Lindorey Abbey Rapid Online 2020. So remained undefeated in the second set of the Finals and he won the match without the need of tie-breaks. Carlsen is yet to win a tournament ever since he turned 30. This was the third time So has beaten Carlsen in a Final. Check out all the action from the Finals of the tournament. Photo: Champions Chess Tour

Opera Euro Rapid Finals: Carlsen and So poised for a thrilling finish

14/02/2021 -

Wesley So is delivering strong performance at Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Opera Euro Rapid. The first set of the Finals was no different than the Skilling Open Finals. In the fourth game of the first set, So was in a must-win situation to equalize the score. That is exactly what he did. So has beaten Carlsen several times in the finals including the first event of this tour, Skilling Open. Can he repeat that result again? Catch the Finals live stream with IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal on our youtube channel tonight from 9:30 p.m. IST to find out who wins Opera Euro Rapid. Photo: chess24 Live stream

Shahil Dey on track to become North East India's first IM, scores his maiden IM norm

13/02/2021 -

Chess in North East India has been popular, but unfortunately until now we haven't seen a single titled player from the region. This drought quickly seems to be coming to an end as former under-7 and under-9 national champion Shahil Dey has now grown into a very strong player. The youngster from Assam scored his first IM norm at the Orbis GM Round Robin tournament held in Serbia from the 5th to the 11th of February 2021. In this article we acquaint you with Shahil's performance and also bring to you one of his games from the event - his win over the top seed GM Hans Niemann Moke. 

OTB chess tournaments make a comeback in West Bengal

13/02/2021 -

West Bengal is a sports loving state. There is no dearth of either talent or spectator in any sport hosted in this eastern state of India. The year 2019 witnessed six youngsters become an IM and one WIM, all of them being less than 18 years of age at that time. Sonarpur Utsav committee in South 24 Parganas District and Shyama Palli Shyama Sangha in Kolkata organized two open rapid events with restricted number of total participants following Covid-19 protocol and safety precautions in mind. Both of them witnessed a huge interest because everyone is chomping at the bit to get back to over-the-board events. Photo: Shahid Ahmed and Niklesh Jain 

Opera Euro Rapid SF Day 2: Carlsen and So set up a rematch in the Finals

13/02/2021 -

Vachier-Lagrave managed to beat Carlsen three times but it was not enough for him to advance to the Finals of Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Opera Euro Rapid as he lost Armageddon. So took only three games to beat Radjabov as the latter misplayed in the opening in the third game after making two draws. So will face Carlsen in the Finals. It will be interesting to see if Carlsen can redeem his loss against the Fischer Random world champion at Skilling Open. Finals will start tonight from 9:30 p.m. IST. Catch the live stream with IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal on our youtube channel. Photo: chess24 Live stream