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Kramnik Microsense India Chess Program Day 4: Learning the art of being

19/08/2019 -

Day four of the Kramnik Microsense India Chess had three elements. Kramnik explained some of his endgame gems, but this time it was right from the start of the game to give the youngsters a feel of how he builds things up. He then shared two of his biggest blunders of his chess career, something that we have asked you in the "question for the day". And lastly he took the last one hour of the class in fresh open air, outside the villa, where he answered some of the questions from the games of the youngsters, addressing specific weaknesses in their play. We talk to you about the art of being in this article and also give you the solution of the mate in six puzzle with gxf8=N which was posed yesterday!

Christian Bauer: The nasty Nimzowitsch Defence 1.e4 Nc6

The Nimzowitsch Defence, 1.e4 Nc6, is a lesser-known and by far less popular branch of opening theory from the great strategist Aron Nimzowitsch. Hence 1...Nc6 as an answer to 1.e4 can be used as a surprise weapon in your games.

Buy The nasty Nimzowitsch Defence 1.e4 Nc6 DVD here

Attacking Monday Mornings with Sohan Phadke Part V - X-Ray Laser Beam

19/08/2019 -

We have reached the final edition of the Attacking Monday Mornings series with FM Sohan Phadke. In the past few weeks Sohan has expounded on several of his self-improvised attacking ideas and principles, to top it all off we have an exciting new theme for this final part which is known as the X-ray Laser Beam! An X-ray is understood to be a beam that is able to pass through many different obstacles unhindered. This is sort of used as an analogy for a chess attacking theme where a linear piece is able to transfer its influence to a particular target passing through many different pieces standing in between. Below there are four positions for you to solve based on this idea and at the end of it there is the solution video where Sohan explains the nuances of the concept in details.  

Diptayan wins All Bengal Open Rapid at Aaykar Bhawan Kolkata

18/08/2019 -

GM Diptayan Ghosh wins All Bengal Open Rapid which started on his birthday at Aaykar Bhawan, organized by Income Tax Sports and Recreation Club to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the club. Starting out as the top seed, Diptayan scored 8.0/9 along with Subhayan Kundu, who also finished at the same points. However, due to a better tie-break score, Diptayn clinched the championship and Subhayan was declared as the runner-up. Eight players tied at the third spot with 7.5/9, but Arpan Das secured the second runner-up position according to the tie-break score. The tournament witnessed a total of 348 players across the state which is the highest for a two-day rapid tournament in the state. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Kramnik Microsense India Chess Program Day 3: Mastering the Grind

18/08/2019 -

What are the ingredients to create a good endgame player? Witnessing three days of heavy endgame lectures of nearly six hours has convinced us that becoming a great endgame player like Kramnik requires many qualities to come together. What are those qualities? IM Sagar Shah explains in this article. We also bring you some of the most interesting pictures from day three of the Kramnik Microsense India Chess Program to give you a feel of what is happening in the Champions house in Chens Sur Leman, France. Lastly we have a puzzle for you to solve. Very interesting and perhaps slightly difficult! It took one participant around 30 minutes to solve, while one of the youngsters has been thinking about it for nearly 3 months, without success! 

Anand starts with a win at Sinquefield Cup 2019

18/08/2019 -

Vishy Anand got lucky against Ian Nepomniachtchi when the latter made a one-move blunder and lost his rook which resulted in his immediate resignation. Anand's win was the only win in round 1 of Sinquefield Cup. All other games ended up in a draw. Carlsen would like to improve on his forgettable Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz. Nakamura, Giri and So who are fresh for this event will definitely look forward to make an impact. Sinquefield Cup 2019 is arguably the strongest close tournament of the year so far as top 9 players of the world are taking part in this event. IM V Saravanan reports from the venue. Photo: Crystal Fuller / Grand Chess Tour

Kramnik Microsense Chess India Program Day 2: Can you solve the mate in two?

17/08/2019 -

On the second day of the Kramnik Microsense Chess India Program, the endgame grind continued. Kramnik showed ten of his endgames where he had beaten some of the best players in the world from slightly better endgame positions. His trick is always to keep improving his pieces and at the right moment strike with accurate calculations. While this is easy to speak about, it is extremely difficult to execute it on the chess board. That's what makes Kramnik one of the greatest endgame players alive on the planet as of today! In the camp he is training the kids on how they can imbibe some of his endgame skills. Before day two began Vlad posed the class with a mate in two position. We ask you to solve it as well, and narrate to you a very interesting story related to it.

Athens of the East Round 8: Abhijeet Gupta goes down against Pavel Smirnov

17/08/2019 -

The Athens of the East International Open 2019 had five players tied for the lead with 6.0/7 points at the end of the seventh round. However, in round eight one of them, the Russian Grandmaster Pavel Smirnov, dashed ahead of the others to emerge as the sole leader. Pavel defeated Abhijeet Gupta in the eighth round to take a half point lead over the entire field with 7.0/8 points. He is closely followed by a pack of six players on 6.5/8 led by West Bengal's Sayantan Das who maintained his solid form to hold GM Adam Tukhaev to a draw in the latest round. Elsewhere, Venkatesh M.R. drew the Chilean GM Rodrigo Vásquez Schroder, while India's Blitz King Rajaram Laxman suffered defeat in the hands of second seed Boris Savchenko. In this report we bring you photos, games, analyses, and more.

Kramnik Microsense India Chess Program Day 1: Meeting Vladimir Kramnik!

16/08/2019 -

The Kramnik Microsense India Chess Program kicked off on the 15th of August 2019 as Vladimir Kramnik came to the champions house in Chens Sur Leman, France. The six youngsters introduced themselves and Kramnik got to know them better in the first couple of hours. After trying some Indian food, an intense endgame session began where Vladimir showed seven of his practical endgames. It was a class where the youngsters learnt a lot and Kramnik's preparation was matched by the boys giving it their 100%. Get to know more about day one of this amazing chess camp, and also the journey of all the youngsters on how they travelled and made it to Chens Sur Leman! 

Vanshika Sachdeva wins Smart Girl Udaipur

16/08/2019 -

14-year-old Vanshika Sachdeva of Jodhpur wins Smart Girl All India FIDE Rated Open at Udaipur, Rajasthan by scoring 8.0/9. Vanshika finished a full point ahead of the group of players who scored 7.0/9. Unrated Heena Kaak and Dakshita Kumawat were placed second and third respectively according to their tie-break score. Total 60 women participated from 5 different states across the country in this five-day nine-round women's only FIDE Rated tournament. Photo: FA Neelesh Kumawat

Athens of the East Round 7: Sayantan and Abhijeet join the lead

16/08/2019 -

Five players lead with 6.0/7 points after seven rounds at the ongoing Athens of the East International Open 2019. Top seed Abhijeet Gupta outplayed compatriot Karthikeyan Pandiyan's King's Indian Defense to finally join the pack of leaders at the end of seventh round. Venkatesh M.R. couldn't keep his winning streak going as he suffered his first defeat of the event in the hands of third seeded Pavel Smirnov. On the other hand, West Bengal's Sayantan Das bounced back by beating IM Shyaamnikhil P in what was a display of scintillating aggressive play. With only three more rounds to go, the fight for the top place is slowly heating up. In this report we bring you photos, analyses, and more.

Meet Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest IM norm maker in the world

15/08/2019 -

10-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra is a very special talent in the world of Chess today. Recently, he scored his first IM norm at the Chess Max Academy GM norm tournament becoming the youngest IM norm maker ever. Prior to this, the record was held by the Indian wunderkind Praggnanandhaa R. which Abhimanyu has bested by 43 days! A participant of the elite Young Stars camp conducted by Kasparov Chess Foundation, Abhimanyu has also held the record of being the highest rated under-9 player in the World and becoming the youngest National master in the history of US Chess at the age of nine. Today in this article we explore the talent of this rising Chess star and try to understand the factors that are in play shaping his genius.

Preparation made easy: the ChessBase 15 Playerbase

15/08/2019 -

The ChessBase 15 Playerbase is a very useful tool. It helps you to find information about other players: the openings he plays and how well he plays them or his rating development. Sometimes this information even comes with one or several photos of the player. And you can search online or offline. Design: ChessBase

Athens of the East Rounds 5-6: Perfect 6.0/6 score for Venkatesh!

15/08/2019 -

Grandmaster Venkatesh M.R. has so far won all his games to attain a perfect score of 6.0/6 after six rounds in the ongoing Athens of the East International Open 2019. His victories in rounds five and six, over International Masters Sayantan Das and Konguvel Ponnuswamy respectively, have put him a full point ahead of the entire field. A pack of seven players follow not very far behind on 5.0/6 which also include the top seed of the event Abhijeet Gupta and third seed Pavel Smirnov. The second seed Boris Savchenko, who was held to a draw with the black pieces by Gupta in the sixth round, has slipped to the tenth place with 4.5/6. The previous day of the event had double rounds and in this report we bring to you the glimpses of the most important moments.    

Subbaraman uncle as I knew him

14/08/2019 -

Back in the 90s Nisha Mohota and S. Vijayalakshmi were arch rivals trying to beat each other to win every national title. However the rivalry existed only over the board. Off the board they were good friends and one of the primary reasons was Vijayalakshmi's father who always used to motivate Nisha and her family. It's been 12 years since A.S. Subbaraman, Viji's father passed away, but his actions and words still live on. In this article Nisha Mohota speaks about Subbaraman uncle and how he was instrumental in giving India's first WGM Viji the confidence that she possesses today. Here's a memoir by Nisha on the eve of the 1st A.S. Subbaraman Memorial Blitz Rating event.

Athens of the East 2019 Round 4: West Bengal's Sayantan Das stuns second seed Boris Savchenko

14/08/2019 -

It was round four at the Athens of the East International Open 2019. IM Sayantan Das of West Bengal shocked the Russian Grandmaster and second seed of the event Boris Savchenko by checkmating him in a mere thirty-eight moves. It was a double-edged Sicilian game where the Indian player managed to heavily punish his opponent's slow and dubious plans. WGM Kiran Manisha Mohanty also created a stir by beating the Tajikistani IM Muhammad Khusenkhojaev. Elsewhere, Rajesh V A V, Konguvel Ponnuswamy, and Raja Rithvik R. held their higher rated adversaries Pavel Smirnov, Adam Tukhaev, and Masoud Mosadeghpour respectively to draws. All in all, after four rounds, three players - Sayantan Das, Venkatesh M R, and Kiran Manisha Mohanty - lead the event with 4.0/4. In this report we bring you photos, games, and more.