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UK vs Ukraine solidarity match reaches Parliament

17/03/2023 -

The British chess boom reaches Parliament on Wednesday 22nd March, with two events hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. The first will be the opening ceremony of a UK vs. Ukraine Solidarity Match, with the UK number one, Michael Adams, taking on the Ukrainian champion Andrei Volokitin, who is currently living as a refugee in Poland with his family. In the second contest of the day over the board, the GMs will captain teams of MPs and Peers as they battle for bragging rights in a match between the House of Lords and House of Commons.

ChessBase 17 and Mega 2023 are here

ChessBase 17 is the all-new program that helps you to manage all your databases as an ambitious player. Mega Database 2023 comes with 9.75 million games with over 110,000 games annotated by masters. The cost of ChessBase 17 is Rs.4199/- and the cost of Mega Database 2023 is Rs.5999/- However, if you go for the combo the total amount comes to Rs.8999/- helping you save Rs. 1198.

ChessBase 17 + Mega 2023 Combo

Onward Technologies 16th AICFB National R5-6: Kishan and Soundarya still at the top

17/03/2023 -

Kishan Gangolli and Soundarya Kumar Pradhan maintain their lead at the conclusion of Round 6 of Onward Technologies presents 16th AICFB National Chess Championship for Visually Challenged 2023. The fifth round encounter between them ended in a draw after 17 moves. They are now at 5.5/6 each, a half point ahead of the nearest competition, Somender B L. The 20-year-old from Delhi, Somender is making strong comeback after suffering a loss in the second round against Kishan. He went on to win the next four games including wins over Ashvin Makwana and Swapanil Shah. He will face the defending champion Soundarya in Round 6 which starts today at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photo: IA Manjunatha M

Days after beating Carlsen, Pranav Venkatesh victorious at 5th Shaastra Rapid Rating Open 2023

16/03/2023 -

11 days after beating Magnus Carlsen in a Late Titled Tuesday, GM Pranav Venkatesh won 5th Shaastra Rapid Rating Open 2023. Both Pranav and IM Ravi Teja S scored 8/9 each. However, Pranav won the tournament due to better tie-breaks. This is Pranav's second consecutive tournament triumph of the year after he won Promethean Rapid Rating Open exactly a month ago. IM FT Muthaiah Al edged four more players who scored 7.5/9 to finish third. The reigning National Junior champion and Asian Junior Girls Silver and Bronze medalist, WIM Rakshitta Ravi scored an impressive 7.5/9 to finish fifth. She is the only female player to make a top 20 finish. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. Top three prizes were ₹65000, ₹45000 and ₹30000 along with a trophy each. Check out a huge report of the final day. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

We held a Charity Chess Match at our wedding

16/03/2023 -

Shikhar Saxena is someone who has helped ChessBase India tremendously in developing the HelpChess website. His benevolence towards helping chess players in need is hardly unknown! So when Shikhar decided to get married, it was a known fact that the wedding ceremony will be connected to chess in one way or the other. And what a beautiful concept him and his friends came up with! Check out the article below to read the story of an unique chess wedding.

Shriraj Bhosale is the winner of Khasdar Chashak Rapid Rating Open 2023

16/03/2023 -

Shriraj Bhosale, FM Nikhil Dixit and IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete scored 8/9 each at Khasdar Chashak Rapid Rating Open 2023. All three of them suffered a loss each. They were placed first, second and third respectively according to tie-breaks. The tournament had no entry fee for all players. Sammed defeated the sole leader Omkar Kadhav 7.5/8 in the final round. It allowed Shriraj and Nikhi to catch up as they won their respective games to secure their place at the podium. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹100000. The top three prizes were ₹21000, ₹15000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each respectively. This was Shriraj's second Rapid tournament triumph, first rating event victory of the year. Photo: NA Vijaykumar Mane

Harsha Bharathakoti wins Chessemy Blitz Open 2023, Diptayan second and Sayantan third

15/03/2023 -

GM Harsha Bharathakoti defeated GM Diptayan Ghosh in Armageddon to win Chessemy Blitz Open 2023. Both of them along with India's latest GM Sayantan Das scored 7.5/9. Diptayan had beaten Harsha in the seventh round. As per the tournament regulations, top two with the best tie-breaks had to play tie-break games to determine the winner. Both Harsha and Diptayan traded wins in the tie-break games. Thus, Armageddon was enforced which was won by Harsha. The total prize fund was €1500. Top three prizes were €500, €250 and €150 each respectively. This is Harsha's first tournament triumph of the year. Photo: IM FI Jonathan Carlstedt/Chessemy

16th AICFB National R1-4: Soundarya and Kishan make a perfect start 4/4

15/03/2023 -

Kishan Gangolli and Soundarya Kumar Pradhan are the only two players to have won their first four games at 16th AICFB National Chess Championship for Visually Challenged 2023. The six-time consecutive AICFB National champion, Kishan and defending champion, Soundarya will face each other in the fifth round. Last year they clashed in the fourth round which ended in a draw. Madhya Pradesh's Suryapratap Singh is the only player trailing them by a half point at 3.5/4. They are followed by one less than a dozen at 3/4 each. Round 5 starts today at 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anshu Ahuja

IOC A win the 32nd PSPB Inter Unit Rapid Team Championships

14/03/2023 -

Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa did not have a particularly good tournament at the 32nd PSPB Inter Unit Rapid Team Championships 2023. We are so used to seeing him winning, 2 losses from IM Raahul VS and GM Abhijeet Gupta makes it seem like he was having a bad event! But the Chennai prodigy proved himself at the hour of need. In the finals between IOC A and ONGC A, Praggnanandhaa scored the decisive victory for his team - defeating the India no.2 Vidit Gujrathi! Thus, IOC A became the champions, ONGC A finished 2nd and BPCL stood 3rd. Read the detailed report of the final day below. Photo: Sagar Shah

Gukesh set to battle Carlsen, Nakamura and co. at 11th Norway Chess 2023

14/03/2023 -

GM D Gukesh has played quite a few super tournaments in the faster time control. However, it was less in the Classical format. After 85th Tata Steel Chess and the inaugural WR Chess Masters last month, the 44th Olympiad individual Gold medalist will be seen in action at 11th Norway Chess from Monday 29th May 2023. The tournament as always starts with a Blitz event to determine the seeding for the main event. The most interesting thing about this event remains the same, every game must have a winner. All draws will be decided in Armageddon. Defending champion of the event, Magnus Carlsen will return to fight for his sixth title at his home. Firouzja, Giri, So, Nakamura, Caruana, Mamedyarov, Abdusattorov and Tari. Photo: Norway Chess

Leon Luke Mendonca triumphs at 38th ChessOrg Festival Bad Woerishofen 2023, Visakh second and Shyam third

14/03/2023 -

GM Leon Luke Mendonca and GM Visakh N R scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 each. Leon won 38th ChessOrg Festival Bad Woerishofen 2023 due to better tie-breaks, Visakh had to settle for the second place. They both finished a full point ahead of the field. Eight players scored 6.5/9 each. Four among them are Indians. The reigning Commonwealth 2022 Open Gold medalist, IM P Shyam Nikhil third, GM Iniyan P fourth, IM Nitin S seventh and GM Vignesh N R secured ninth place according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes in Group A (>1850) were €2000, 1400 and 900 along with a trophy each respectively. Leon, Visakh and Shyam create a new record by becoming the first Indians to make a podium finish at this event in its 37+ years of rich history.

Harshavardhan wins Manoir hotel Touquet golf resort Open 2023, Iniyan second and Nitin third

13/03/2023 -

IM Harshavardhan G B, GM Iniyan P and IM Nitin S scored 7/9 each at 1st Manoir hotel Touquet golf resort Open 2023. The reigning Asian Junior Open 2022 Gold medalist, Harshavardhan became champion due to better tie-break score. Iniyan and Nitin were placed second and third respectively. All three of them suffered a loss each. Harshavardhan's sole loss was against the eventual runner-up, Iniyan. The top three prizes were €900, €800 and €300 along with a trophy each respectively. This is Harshavardhan's first tournament victory of the year as well as after becoming Asian Junior champion in November last year. Photo: Iniyan P

Mihir Shah wins the 4th ChessBase India Chess Club tournament on IM Sagar Shah's Birthday!

12/03/2023 -

28th of January is always a very special day for ChessBase India. Do you know why? It's because this is the Birthday of the ChessBase India CEO Sagar Shah! This year, it was even more special as it was Saturday - which means it's the day for a ChessBase India Chess Club session at Phoenix Marketcity! Talented youngster Mihir Shah won the 4th edition of the ChessBase India Chess tournament with a perfect 7/7. Aniruddha Potawad stood 2nd with 6/7, and 12-year-old Ram Vishal Parab bagged the 3rd spot with 6/7. Sagar cut his special Birthday Cake at the Chess Club itself! Check out the full report of this exciting day.

Look within yourself

12/03/2023 -

IM Sagar Shah has been a chess player, coach, journalist, YouTuber, entrepeneur and more. In his journey throughout different countries and tournaments, he has collected lots of valuable experience to share. In this new series From the CEO's Desk, Sagar Shah provides you his musings and thoughts about various different things - sometimes related to chess, and sometimes just life. These articles are part of the ChessBase India Newsletter, which is sent every Saturday. In today's article, Sagar takes a closer look at deep-rooted emotions and fears of a chess player, drawing parallels with his own life.

Osaka Wine Cup

12/03/2023 -

The previous year has been rather tumultuous, which forced me to miss quite a few chess tournament in Japan. One such was an extraordinary event on December 11 where I was hoping to celebrate the birthday of India’s GM Viswanathan Anand, with wine and chess! Come 2023, the tournament has taken up an official standing with the National Chess Society of Japan (NCS Japan). It is the “Osaka Wine Cup” organized by Mr. Leonard Brinkmann of the Kashiwara Chess Club, in Osaka, Japan. Check out a pictorial report written by Mayur Gondhalekar and also few games from the tournament. Photo: Leonard Brinkmann

5th Shaastra Rapid Rating 2023 R1-4: 15 players make a perfect start 4/4

11/03/2023 -

A total of 15 players are in the lead with a score of 4/4 at 5th Shaastra Rapid Rating Open 2023. The top six seeds have won all four of their games on the first day. The defending champion GM Vishnu Prasanna and two former champions of this event - GM Deepan Chakkravarthy and IM Muthaiah Al are in the leader's pack. Will one of them win the event for a second time or are we going to see a new champion? We will know the answer tomorrow. Total Prize fund ₹500000 is up for grabs with the first prize being ₹65000. The tournament is organized by Shaastra IIT Madras, sponsored by Akshayakalpa. Round 5 starts tomorrow at 9:15 a.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed