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National Women's Championship: Mary Ann Gomes inches closer to the title beating Meenakshi Subbaraman

25/11/2018 -

The penultimate round of the National Women's Championship saw Mary Ann Gomes of PSPB emerge as the clear leader. On the top board, Mary defeated Meenakshi Subbaraman to take sole lead while her co-leader, Mahalakshmi M, tripped and lost with black against Saranya J. After her previous round loss, Bhakti Kulkarni made a strong comeback beating Michelle Catherina and retained her sole second place. As the tournament reaches its final round, Bhakti is hot on Mary's heels, just half a point behind. Round 10 report.

World class chess photographer David Llada turns 40

25/11/2018 -

Chess photography has the power to take our sport to the next level. A good picture shows the emotions, the strain on the mind, the ecstasy of finding a hidden idea, and conveys to the viewer how interesting chess is. One person who has been working ceaselessly to promote the game of chess by capturing fantastic pictures is David Llada. David is considered by everyone in the chess world as one of the best photographers. He has been an official photographer in countless events and his pictures have ensured that the tournaments where he is present reaches millions of people across the world. This article is a dedication to the man who has devoted his life to popularize the game of chess. As David turned 40 a couple of days ago, we asked some of his colleagues, famous photographers in world of chess, what they thought about David's skills and their favourite pictures captured by him. 

National Women's Championship: Mary defeats Bhakti to take over the tournament lead

24/11/2018 -

Leaders changed once again in the ninth round of the Women's National Championship. At the conclusion of the antepenultimate round, Air India's Bhakti Kulkarni was toppled off her top spot by Mary Ann Gomes of PSPB in the premier matchup of the round. Mahalakshmi M was another player to join into the tournament lead as she defeated Michelle Catherina. After her loss, Bhakti has slipped down to the third spot behind Gomes and Mahalakshmi while Michelle shares the fourth place with six others. Round 9 report.

Amonatov, Martirosyan, Idani, Nihal, Pragg! What a mouth watering blitz event!

24/11/2018 -

Triple C Chess Club will organize perhaps the strongest titled online blitz tournament of 2018 on Playchess. The tournament will feature 10 titled players including 7 GMs and 3 IMs. Tajikistan no.1 Farrukh Amonatov will be the top seed, followed by former European Youth Champion GM Haik Martirosyan. Iranian no.3 Idani Pouya will be the 3rd seed. India's very own Nihal Sarin and Praggnanandhaa will also be seen in action. Debashis Das, Lucas van Foreest, Rakesh Kumar Jena and Anwesh Upadhyaya will join the rest. Padmini Rout will be the only female participant of the tournament. The players will engage in a single round robin event.

National Women's Championship: Bhakti Kulkarni takes sole lead

23/11/2018 -

The eighth round of the Women's National Chess Championship saw another sole leader emerge. Of the three overnight leaders, only Bhakti Kulkarni was able to keep her tournament lead going. Defeating WGM Swati Ghate in the eighth round, Bhakti sped past her co-leaders, Mary Ann Gomes and Mahalakshmi M, who agreed to an insipid draw against each other. At the conclusion of the round, Mary and Mahalakshmi were joined in the second place by Michelle Catherina P, who scored a fantastic win over the tournament's top seed, IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman. Bommini Mounika Akshaya also scored an upset on board 8 beating Kiran Manisha Mohanty. Round 8 report.

Wild Wild Game 10 between Caruana and Carlsen

23/11/2018 -

It was a game worthy of a World Championship. There was an opening innovation, there was a dangerous attack, there was some superb defense, there was an interesting endgame. Game 10 of the Caruana Carlsen match had all the ingredients for a decisive result. But when two players who fight so hard and are highly motivated sit opposite each other, it is quite likely that the game would end in a draw. That's what happened. In spite of the balance swinging many times between the players, in the end a draw was agreed and the score in the match stands at 5-5. Carlsen will have a white game on 24th of November and Caruana will have a white game on 26th of November. If the scores are tied even after that we will go into the tiebreaks on 28th of November! 10th game report with analysis by Sagar Shah.

Lalith Babu shares some of his secrets from the win at Shanghai Cooperation Cup 2018

23/11/2018 -

Lalith Babu has had a topsy turvy year 2018. He started the year as the national champion, winning the premier title in 2017 ahead of many strong grandmasters. He won the national rapid championships 2018 and was the runner-up at the national blitz 2018. It seemed 2018 would be the year when he would break into 2600, but then things didn't pan out the way he had imagined. However, Lalith is a class act and can always come up with spirited performances in the strongest of events. AICF decided to send some of the top finishers at National Premier 2017 to the Shanghai Cooperation Cup 2018 in China. Lalith Babu, who started as the sixth seed, showed some superb chess and took home the first prize. In this report we have an interview with the winner where he speaks about his event and also shares with us a secret of why China is progressing at a rapid pace in the world of chess.

National Women's Championship: Bhakti, Mary and Mahalakshmi share tournament lead

22/11/2018 -

The pole position has been extremely volatile at the National Women's Chess Championship in Jaipur, Rajasthan. After seven rounds, three players have managed to reach the top of the leaderboard -- Bhakti Kulkarni, Mary Ann Gomes and Mahalakshmi M. Mary was the sole leader of the tournament after round six. In the seventh round, she managed to defend a tough position against Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman in order to remain in the lead. However, Bhakti and Mahalakshmi had caught up with her. While Mahalakshmi defeated Kiran Manisha Mohanty in the seventh round, Bhakti Kulkarni got the better of Nisha Mohota in the rare Schlechter variation of the French with white.

A visit to the World Championships in London + Game 9 analysis

22/11/2018 -

The World Championship is the biggest spectacle that is out there in the chess world as on today. Very few people are fortunate enough to visit the venue of the tournament in person. Most of us have to follow the Championship online. So how does it feel to watch the match between two of the best chess players in the world LIVE? 12-year-old Yuvraj Kumar visited the playing venue in London and sent us his impressions about the same. Also in this article is the analysis of game nine of the match. ChessBase India did a live show with GM S.P. Sethuraman explaining the intricacies of the game and you can follow them in this report.  

"You can be a cobbler if you want, but be the best cobbler in the world!"

22/11/2018 -

Today, Aarthie Ramaswamy is one of the most renowned chess trainers and managers in the country. Along with her husband, GM RB Ramesh, she runs the Chess Gurukul, an academy known for producing some of the best Grandmasters in the country. But what about Aarthie Ramaswamy, the chess player? At the World Junior Championship, in Gebze, Turkey, IM Sagar Shah spoke to the Chennai-based WGM, about her days as a chess player, how she won the World under-18 title, the amount of discipline she had in order to achieve her goals. You also get to know the role of Ramesh in Aarthie's chess career and why the duo are really an inspiring couple in Indian chess. Interview by Sagar Shah, transcription by Aditya Pai.

Play Simul with GM R R Laxman this Saturday

21/11/2018 -

India's 20th Grandmaster R R Laxman will give a simultaneous exhibition this Saturday at 8 p.m. IST on Playchess server. Anyone with a Playchess ID can play this exhibition match, not only that, each player will be able to personally talk about the game with the Grandmaster himself after it is over. The number of players is restricted to six and the rating restriction is below 2100 Elo. Time control will be 35 mins + 10 seconds increment and entry fee is ₹500. So hurry up and make sure you get to play against the former National Blitz champion and talk about your game against him. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Prantik Roy wins 1st Golf Green Rapid Rating 2018

21/11/2018 -

IM Prantik Roy of Eastern Railways won 1st Golf Green Rapid Rating 2018 in Kolkata, West Bengal on 28th October 2018. Prantik scored 8.0/9 and became champion due to better tie-break score. Four players finished at 8.0/9 at the end of the tournament. Along with the champion, IM Sayantan Das, GM Diptayan Ghosh and Neelash Saha all of them finished at 8.0/9 and they were placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Sayantan's phenomenal run of eight straight wins was stalled in the final round by his childhood friend Diptayan. Despite not losing a single game, Diptayan had to settle for 4th position because of low tie-break score. In this report we bring you photos, videos, interviews and an annotated game by the champion. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Vidit Gujrathi visits the land of Maharajas!

21/11/2018 -

Gone are the days when chess was considered as a niche sport in our country. Indian chess is progressing at a fast pace and this was clear when the first super tournament was held in Kolkata a week ago. Vishy Anand has always been a chess icon and well known chess figure in our country, but now you can see other players coming in the limelight as well. India no.3 Vidit Gujrathi, who is only the fourth Indian to cross 2700 after Anand, Hari and Sasi, is currently in the land of Maharajas - Udaipur, and received a rousing welcome in the city with his posters placed all over the busiest areas of Udaipur. As chess fans it is truly heartening to see that the stars whom we worship, love and adore are becoming a common household name because of dedicated and innovative organizers like Chess in Lakecity.

World Championship 2018 Game 8: Finally an open Sicilian and Caruana misses his chance

20/11/2018 -

After game one, this was the most exciting duel of the match. Caruana went for the open Sicilian and very soon had Magnus out of his preparation. Carlsen tried to play as aggressively as he could in the Sveshnikov, but soon found himself in a completely minus position. All that Fabiano had to do was to find a series of moves that give him a clear advantage. Caruana did that for the next three moves, but on the fourth move he made an error and lost all his advantage. The game ended in a draw, but it was clear that at some point there was a clearly better continuation for Fabi. We check it out in this article. Also we had a guest LIVE commentator for the match yesterday, none other than GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly and he enthralled us with his calculation, knowledge and wit. 

National Women's Championship: Seven players lead after three rounds

20/11/2018 -

The National Women's Chess Championship kicked off on the 17th of November at the Diamond Club, Urbana Jewels in Jaipur Rajasthan. Even though some top women players are missing from the field, the event has attracted as many as 112 participants from all corners of the country. Three rounds have been played so far and each one has been fully action packed. After several upsets and brilliancies, seven players including the top-seeded Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman and -- surprisingly -- two sub-1800 rated women have made it atop the leaderboard with a perfect 3.0/3 score. We bring you all the action.