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Asian Nations Online R7-9: Indian Women top the Preliminary stage

19/10/2020 -

Indian Women finished at the top of the Preliminary stage with 16.0/18, three points ahead of the next team Philippines. Once again they made a hat-trick by beating Philippines, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. The first win against Philippines was a convincing one 3-1, however the next two victories were in narrowest of margins with 2.5-1.5. Nandhidhaa got her rhythm back as she played more to her attacking style, Padmini scored important points despite missing two wins today and Mary Ann continues her consistent form. Only Bhakti needs to recuperate her form and Vaishali needs to start afresh again because she did not have the best of days today. They will now face Kyrgyzstan on Friday 23rd October in the Quarter-finals in a duel from 11:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed and IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

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Asian Nations Online R7-9: Nihal saves Team India

18/10/2020 -

The wunderkind proved his worth once again as he steered team India to the Knockout stage of Asian Nations Online with an emphatic victory in the final round of the preliminary stage. Both Sasikiran and Nihal played incredibly well so far to make sure the rest of the teammates' shortcomings don't shatter team India's medal hopes. Sasikiran scored 8.5/9 and Nihal scored 4.0/5, only two men who remained unbeaten in the initial stage. With five days to go for Knockout stage to begin, Adhiban and Sethuraman will have to look for a way to get their form back. Captain Ganguly will have to make some tough calls. Indian Men will face Mongolia in the Quarter-Finals on Friday. Tomorrow Friday 19th October, Indian Women's team will resume their tournament against Philippines in Round 7 from 11:30 a.m. IST.

Play the Rossolimo Sicilian with GM Jan Werle

18/10/2020 -

In this day and age, it is not so important to get an opening advantage - it is more important to get a playable position that you understand better than your opponent. With the Sveshnikov all the rage at the top, and the Open Sicilian no longer guaranteeing White his birthright opening advantage, top players have moved on to exploring lesser known but sound systems, and one such opening is the Rossolimo. Almost all the top players play this opening with both colours, its chief advocate being the American No.1 Fabiano Caruana. Jan Werle recently authored a DVD on the subject, and Tanmay Srinath takes a closer look at the Dutch GM's debut offering for ChessBase, along with a brief interview with the author about these DVDs.

Asian Nations Online R4-6: Indian Women make a hat-trick

17/10/2020 -

Indian Women made a strong show on the second day of Asian Online Nations Cup as they won all three matches between Round 4 and 6. Team India defeated Myanmar 0.5-3.5, whitewashed Singapore 4-0 and beat Indonesia 1-3 convincingly. Vaishali played fantastic and won all three games. Captain Mary Ann also led steadily by winning both of her games. Bhakti lost her second game in the event after a tactical error. Nandhidhaa managed to survive a danger and salvage a draw. Padmini is also doing well in the tournament. Only in Round 6 she misplayed in the opening and got into trouble but managed to swerve all threats and walk away with a victory. Team India is currently at the second spot with 10.0/12 after Philippines whom they will face on Monday 19th October from 11:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Various sources

Altibox Norway Chess R10: Aronian beats Carlsen

17/10/2020 -

Aronian handed Carlsen his second defeat in one week as he ended the tournament on a high note by winning against the champion of Altibox Norway Chess 2020. Carlsen played strangely in the middle game and eventually he uncharacteristically misplayed in the endgame which cost him the point. Carlsen finished first with 19.5/30. Firouzja scored a fine victory against Duda to finish at a well-deserved runner-up position with 18.5/30. Aronian was placed third with 17.5/30. Tari held Caruana to a solid draw in the Classical game, however he lost the Armageddon. Caruana finished fourth with 15.5/30. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Asian Nations Online R4-6: Sasikiran anchors through the storm

16/10/2020 -

Indian men did not have a good day as Adhiban, Sethuraman and Ganguly all three fell victim to tactical errors in time pressure. Team India drew with Indonesia and Kazakhstan in Round 4 and 6 respectively. The only win came against Jordan in Round 5. Nihal Sarin made a strong debut at the event and delivered a fantastic 2.5/3. However one must applaud Sasikiran's stellar performance as he anchored through the turbulence by winning all his games and standing at the helm with 6.0/6. Indian Men will resume their final three rounds of the preliminary stage on Sunday, while Indian Women's team resumes their campaign with Round 4 tomorrow, Saturday from 11:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Carlsen wins Altibox Norway Chess 2020 with a round to spare

16/10/2020 -

The world champion wins the Altibox Norway Chess 2020 with a round to spare by beating Firouzja in a dramatic fashion. The final position was a draw which gave us an inkling at the early stage of the game. However, Firouzja faltered and blundered in a completely drawn game. Thus Carlsen wins this event for the third time and second consecutive year with a score of 19.5/27. Firouzja is trailing at the second position with 15.5/27. Aronian beat Tari in the endgame after a wild encounter in their classical game. He maintained his position at third place with 14.5/27. Caruana won against Duda in the Armageddon after a solid draw in their Classical game. Final round games will be played today, Friday 16th October from 8:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Mitrabha Guha wins Samay Raina IMvitational

15/10/2020 -

IM Mitrabha Guha wins Samay Raina IMvitational. He beat IM Rathanvel VS in the Finals by winning both games with black and white pieces respectively to win the highest ever prize fund he has ever won which is ₹100000. Rathanvel won ₹50000. This was not the first time Mitrabha faced Rathanvel for a championship in the final, previously they faced each other in 2016 for National Sub-Junior Under-15 Championship in the final round where Mitrabha was also victorious. Reigning National Sub-Junior champion IM Raja Rithvik R finished third and won ₹20000. The knockout stage of the event witnessed the commentary by the former world champion Kramnik, greatest female chess player of all time Judit Polgar, GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly, GM Srinath Narayanan, IM Sagar Shah, Biswa Kalyan Rath and of course Samay Raina himself. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

New: Chris Ward - Sicilian Dragon: The Real Deal!

14/10/2020 -

English Grandmaster Chris Ward is an expert in the Sicilian Dragon, and wants to share his knowledge, debuting as a Fritztrainer. The British Championship Master's fun, entertaining spirit, and his soothing voice, keeps us hooked to his first part on how to play the Sicilian Dragon with plenty of current variations. The popular opening was recently played by Hikaru Nakamura, but also Veselin Topalov has used the powerful system in his best times with his very own variation. GM Ward doesn't want to dissect the variations too much, but rather give interesting new ideas for strong attacking play, creative moves and solid defending.

Grandmaster at the age of 36 - Kevin Goh Wei Ming

14/10/2020 -

He is a chartered accountant, he is the chief financial officer in a multinational organization. Kevin Goh Wei Ming from Singapore is a man in love with chess, but balanced several other things in his life. Being a child prodigy, he always had a dream of becoming a GM. But education, work life and many other responsibilities came in between his path of achieving the highest chess title. But Kevin never really gave up on his dream. He battled hard, planned meticulously and at the age of 36 years finally managed to achieve his final GM norm and become Singapore's fourth GM, the first one in 21 years! An interview with this genial champion by IM Sagar Shah. 

Altibox Norway Chess R8: Carlsen regains his sole lead

14/10/2020 -

The world champion is back at the top as he beat his compatriot Tari quite comfortably with a beautiful finish. Carlsen takes sole lead heading towards the final rest day of Altibox Norway Chess with a score of 16.5/24. Caruana avenged his loss and beat Firouzja in the Armageddon. Firouzja is at the sole second place with 15.5/24. Carlsen and Firouzja will duke it out in Round 9, seemingly virtual final of the event as the result of that game will almost decide the winner of the event. Who do you think will win the battle between Carlsen and Firouzja? Penultimate round games of Round 9 will resume on Thursday 15th October from 8:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Guess Boris Gelfand's best game moves with the stand-up comedians

13/10/2020 -

Grandmaster Chess is a series by ChessBase India where a top GM in the world of chess shows his best game and four chess loving top stand-up comedians of India guess the moves. These four stand-up comedians are Samay Raina, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Vaibhav Sethia and Anirban Dasgupta. The GMs who have been on the show are Vidit Gujrathi, Tania Sachdev, Surya Ganguly, Parimarjan Negi and Srinath Narayanan. For the sixth episode we have the legendary GM Boris Gelfand joining in. The show will be held at 2 p.m. IST and host of it will be IM Sagar Shah.

Altibox Norway Chess R7: Firouzja maintains his sole lead

13/10/2020 -

Firouzja once again beat Aronian in the Armageddon and maintained his sole lead with 14.5/21 after Round 7 of Altibox Norway Chess. After an uneventful classical game, in the Armageddon, Aronian had a decent chance to gain the upper hand in the endgame but he overlooked it. Carlsen defended well against Caruana in their Classical encounter and managed to save the game. However the world no.2 went wrong early in the middle game and had to pay the price of a full point to the world champion. The young Norway no.2 Tari continues to have a tough tournament as he lost to Duda after making a questionable choice of opening. Can he do a Duda as he faces Carlsen today? Catch all the action of Round 8 today 13th October from 8:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Board of Many Colours - Throwback to World Youth 2019

13/10/2020 -

The ChessBase India team was present at the World Youth 2019 and covered the tournament extensively. One of the members of the team was 14-year-old Avathanshu Bhat. IM Sagar Shah worked on the articles and the videos, Amruta Mokal on the photographers, Supriya Bhat was at the ChessBase India stall. What was Avathanshu going to do? Strolling around the tournament hall, the young journalist hit upon the idea of "Board of Many Colours" - stories from the lives of players from all across the world. And he interviewed players from Morocco, Brazil, Namibia, Finland, the USA and many more. It's been a year since the World Youth 2019 and we bring you a throwback to those intriguing interviews. 

17-year-old Beverly Mendonca composes her first song - "Go Corona Go"

13/10/2020 -

Beverly Mendonca is a chess enthusiast from Goa and well known in the chess world for her creativity. She is a FIDE rated player and chess runs in her family! She is the sister of Leon Mendonca, one of India's most talented youngsters in chess. The family has been going through a very tough time in the Covid-19 situation with Leon and Lyndon (father) stranded in Europe and Beverly and Anita (mother) at their home in Goa. In such a tense and stressful situation your creativity can go for a toss! But Beverly has risen to the occasion and come out with truly something special. Check out her first song which is written, directed and composed by her - "Go Corona Go"!