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Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open 2023 R3-4: The 1515s stir up trouble for the 2200+

28/05/2023 -

Two 1515 rated players caused trouble for two players rated 2200 and above. 14-year-old Atharva Kale outplayed FM FT Niranjan Navalgund. The 2200's small positional inaccuracy was caught by the teenager who seized his opportunity and went on to win the game. He is now one of the 18 players who has scored 4/4 at Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open Ratng Chess Championship 2023. The other 1515 rated player, Dhrikshu K Vasant drew against the third seeded FM Yashas D. The 2315-rated Yashas definitely had his fair share of chances to win the game, however he missed it. The top three titled players - GM Thej Kumar M S, IM Viani Antonio Dcunha and WIM Isha Sharma have made a perfect start 4/4. Round 5 starts today at 9:30 a.m. IST. All photos in this article are by Shahid Ahmed.

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

Tabatabaei wins Al Ain Spring Chess Festival Blitz 2023, Arjun Erigaisi second and Raunak third

27/05/2023 -

GM Arjun Erigaisi does not plan on slowing down. After winning 6th Sharjah Masters, he went to Al Ain to play in the Al Ain Spring Chess Festival Blitz 2023. Iran no.2 GM M Amin Tabatabaei scored 8.5/11 to finish first. His sole loss of the event was against the eventual second runner-up, GM Raunak Sadhwani. Five players - GM Arjun Erigaisi, Raunak, GM Adham Fawzy (EGY), GM Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI) and GM Viorel Iordachescu (MDA) scored 8/11 each. They were placed second to fifth according to tie-breaks. All top ten finishers lost at least one game each. The total prize fund of the tournament was 20000 AED (approx. ₹449640). The top three prizes were 5000 + trophy, 4000 and 3000 AED along with a medal each respectively. Arjun and Raunak won ₹89928 and ₹67446 approx. The one-day blitz rating tournament was organized by Al-Ain Chess Club & Mind Games. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Magnus Carlsen wins Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2023 in style

27/05/2023 -

Magnus Carlsen scored an unbeaten 7/9 on the final day to win Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2023. He avenged his previous day loss against Wesley So. Jan-Krzysztof Duda suffered three losses in his first five games against - Anish Giri, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. It made things difficult for him to stay in the championship hunt. However, he kept things interesting by winning against Wesley So, Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Radoslaw Wojtaszek before facing Carlsen in the final round. After a 124-moves long grueling battle, Duda could only manage a draw against Carlsen. Thus, Duda finished second scoring 23/36, Carlsen won the event scoring 24/36. So and MVL tied for the third place. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open 2023 R1-2: Co-founder and CEO Shashi Kumar score 2/2

26/05/2023 -

Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open Rating 2023 is off to a flying start. 103 out of 491 players have won their first two games. All top seven seeds have remained unscathed. Shrinidhi G put up a very good fight against FM FT Niranjan Navalgund. However, the much stronger player prevailed when the 12-year-old was unable to maintain the tension in a queek, rook and knight vs queen, rook and bishop endgame. Former National Under-7 Girls champion, Siddhi Rao fought well to hold Sudarshan Bhat to a draw after a 3.5 hours of grueling battle. The CEO and Co-Founder of Akshayakalpa Organic, Shashi Kumar has won his first two games. He took an oath to himself of scoring a minimum of 5/9 at this event. He certainly seems to be on the right track to achieve it. Round 3 starts today Saturday 27th May at 9:30 a.m. IST.  All photos in this article are by Shahid Ahmed unless stated otherwise.

700 people learn Chess at the Big Summer Camp 2023

26/05/2023 -

It's a mall located in the busy city of Mumbai. When you enter it, you will find the mall is huge and quite spectacular, but nothing will really alarm you about it. But take the escalator and go to the Lower Ground floor and the Atrium 5 area and you will see something magical happening! What exactly? The Big Chess Summer Camp was held there by ChessBase India and it was one of the biggest chess camps out there. More than 700 people learned chess and got better at the game. And the best part? The camp was free and open to all. How was this done, check out the article to know more.

Arjun Erigaisi convincingly clinches 6th Sharjah Masters 2023, Gukesh third

26/05/2023 -

Arjun Erigaisi scored a thumping victory against Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) in the final round to win 6th Sharjah Masters 2023. He did not have the best start as he scored only 3/5 in the first five rounds. However, what matters is that, he scored 3.5/4 in the last four games including a hat-trick in the last three rounds. It was certainly not easy to achieve that but he made it look easy. Since the penultimate round, Arjun was playing like the Arjun we have seen since 2020 to 2022, who was absent this year. That is no longer the case as the 44th Olympiad individual Silver medalist has once again returned to his true form. Seven players scored 6/9. D Gukesh was placed third according to tie-breaks. Nihal Sarin is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 5.5/9 to finish ninth. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open Championship 2023 returns with a 10 Lacs prize fund

25/05/2023 -

Akshayakalpa Organic once again presents the Karnataka State Open Chess Championship 2023 in a grand manner. India’s first certified organic dairy enterprise has sponsored many editions of Karnataka State Open championship and other state-level events. This is the second time since 2018, they are offering a first prize of ₹100000 + trophy and a total prize fund of ₹1000000. Total 152 prizes are up for grabs. A grandeur event undoubtedly attracts strong players. Karnataka's first and India's 50th GM Thej Kumar, GM-norm holder IM Viani Antonio Dcunha, Karnataka's first and only WIM Isha Sharma are the top titled players taking part. Round 1 starts tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. IST. All tournament info photos are from tournament circular.

Superbet R&B 2023 Day 4: Carlsen slays sole leader Duda, reduces the gap

25/05/2023 -

When Magnus Carlsen decides that he will wreck through the competition, very few can stop him. The world no.1 started the fourth day of Superbet Rapid and Blitz with a three points gap 10/18. He scored 7/9, to reduce the gap to only a half point, finishing the day by beating the tournament sole leader, Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The rook and opposite color bishop endgame seemed to be heading towards a draw. However, Carlsen is well-known for grinding out these positions and squeezing a win. This was no different at all. After winning the game, he showed a huge sigh of relief as he managed to beat his Kryptonite Duda once in this event. Can he repeat it today and win the tournament? Blitz Round 10 starts today from 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

6th Sharjah Masters 2023 R8: Arjun Erigaisi storms into the title fray, Praggnanandhaa swerves Kuybokarov

25/05/2023 -

D Gukesh had a solid draw against Grigoriy Oparin (USA) to maintain his lead. Arjun Erigaisi played some inspired chess to crush Vladislav Kovalev. He made his intentions very clear as early as move no.6 that he is playing for only one result - win. The India no.5 launched a brutal attack on the stranded king at the center. A desperate bishop sacrifice did not work out for Kovalev. Nihal Sarin had a well-fought draw against Sanan Sjugirov. R Praggnanandhaa made a massive save and completely turned things around against Temur Kuybokarov (AUS). He showed that if you are willing to win, even in a lost position, you have to put up a fight. Gukesh and Arjun are among eight players in the lead at 5.5/8 each. Who do you think will win the tournament? Final Round 9 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Niklesh Jain

Rohith Krishna clinches Ostravský Koník Open A 2023

24/05/2023 -

IM S Rohith Krishna scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to win Ostravský Koník Open A2023. He finished a full point ahead of the field. Four players - FM Mike Ivanov (CAN), GM Lukasz Jarmula (POL), GM Petro Golubko (UKR) and FM Mikkel Manosri Jakobsen (DEN) scored 6.5/9 each. They were placed second to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. Rohith drew against the eventual runner-up, Ivanov in the penultimate round. The total prize fund in Open A (>1900) was CZK 90000. The top three prizes were 30000, 20000 and 10000 respectively. Rohith won ₹112827 approx. This was Rohith's second consecutive tournament victory of the year after he won 19th Malakoff Open last month. Photo: Diana Svobodova/Šachový festival Ostravský koník

Superbet R&B 2023 Day 3: Duda tops Rapid, Carlsen ends win drought

24/05/2023 -

FIDE World Cup 2021 winner, Jan-Krzysztof Duda grabbed sole after the ninth round of rapid. Poland no.1 has scored 13/18 and he is undefeated so far. He defeated the former World Blitz champion, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the eighth round. It was Duda's first win against him since August 2019 in a rated game, which was also a Grand Chess Tour Blitz event in Paris. The world no.24 drew against Levon Aronian in the final round of Rapid. Aronian is currently at second place 12/18, followed by Wesley So and MVL sharing third place with 11/18 each. Magnus Carlsen ended his win drought by winning against Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Kirill Shevchenko consecutively. He moved up to the fifth place 10/18. Blitz Round 1 starts today from 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

6th Sharjah Masters 2023 R7: Gukesh in a six-pack lead

24/05/2023 -

Samuel Sevian drew against D Gukesh and Yangyi Yu also drew his game against Grigoriy Oparin. Thus, it allowed more players to catch up with them. The 44th Chess Olympiad Gold medalist, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Iran no.2 M Amin Tabatabaei and Armenia no.2 Haik Martirosyan joined them in the lead 5/7 each. Yakubboev defeated R Praggnanandhaa after the latter could not make the most out of the upper hand he had gained. Tabatabaei got the better of Manuel Petrosyan and Haik won against Aryan Chopra who blundered in an equal rook and bishop endgame. Nine players are in pursuit including Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi at 4.5/7 each. Round 8 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Niklesh Jain

GCL Invitational Chess tournament in Mumbai!

23/05/2023 -

The Global Chess League (GCL) is a franchise based chess league bringing fans together to witness the game in a never-seen-before avatar. This star-studded tournament with a huge prize fund will kick off from 21st June 2023 at Dubai. Celebrating the occassion and spreading awareness about this wonderful event, GCL has planned an amazing tournament - The GCL Invitational Chess Tournament for chess players in Mumbai on 26th May, at the Bandra Fort. There's a small entry fee, and there are huge prizes. Get to know all about this team tournament taking place in one of the most famous tourist spots of the city.

Superbet R&B 2023 Day 2: A Draw day for Carlsen

23/05/2023 -

When was the last time Magnus Carlsen struggled to win a game at a rated event? It is certainly difficult to recall. The World no.1 lost his number one position in the live ratings of Rapid ranking on the previous day. On the second day of Superbet Rapid and Blitz, Carlsen drew all three of his games against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian and Anish Giri. He is now at the seventh place, same as the previous day, with a score of 5/12. Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated Radoslaw Wojtaszek in an All-Polish battle in the fifth round. He continues his lead with Wesley So 9/12 each, followed by Aronian at 8/12. Round 7 starts today from 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

6th Sharjah Masters 2023 R6: Top class play by Gukesh to climb to the top

23/05/2023 -

The top board had not witnessed a decisive game since the first round of 6th Sharjah Masters 2023. D Gukesh was determined to change that. Trailing by a half point against Haik Martirosyan, Gukesh played out an equal rook and knight endgame. With a perfect play, the game should have ended in a draw. Both players were human, thus errors occurred. First the Armenia no.2 made an incorrect knight exchange offer which his opponent accepted. It gave Gukesh a decisive advantage. He fumbled on his way to finish line but Haik could not find a way to get back and the India no.2 won the game. The Americans - Samuel Sevian and Grigoriy Oparin are currently sharing the lead with Gukesh with a score of 4.5/6 each. Round 7 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Niklesh Jain