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Liam Vrolijk conquers 57th Groningen Chess Festival, Mary magnificent

09/01/2020 -

17-year-old IM Liam Vrolijk of Rotterdam, Netherlands won his maiden Groningen Chess Festival in the 57th edition after finishing tied first, second place in the previous edition. Liam also scored his second GM-norm in the process. Three players Liam Vrolijk, GMs Shant Sargsyan and Hagen Poetsch also finished at the same score. Liam clinched the championship, Shant and Hagen were placed second and third according to their tie-break scores. WGM Mary Ann Gomes with her no-draw approach played some fantastic chess by beating top seed Sergei Tiviakov and Russian GM Evgeny Gleizerov. She finished shared seventh, tenth place with a score of 6.0/9, gaining 13 Elo rating points. Photo: Harry Gielen

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Microsense Kramnik Gelfand Program Day 1: Fire and Ice!

09/01/2020 -

When two world class players are working with talented Indian youngsters in two different groups, the question that naturally comes to mind is - how is one trainer different from the other! On day one of the Microsense Kramnik Gelfand Training Program, IM Sagar Shah spent quite some time in both the sessions of Gelfand and Kramnik and came to the conclusion that it was like Fire and Ice! Gelfand was like Fire and Kramnik like Ice! Why does the author say so? What were the openings and positions discussed on day one of the training camp? Find out in this article! A first hand view of the biggest training camp taking place on Indian soil ever!

Ju's missed opportunity in Game 3 of FIDE Women's World Championship Match 2020

09/01/2020 -

Game 3 was a hard fought draw which lasted for over five and a half hours, but the most important part is Goryachkina got an edge out of QGD Semi-Tarrasch opening. She couldn't manage to capitalize, instead presented Ju with an opportunity to make a comeback. Unlike previous game, this did not require Ju to take any unnecessary risks, it was a simple calculation. It is evident that the pressure of World Championship is making the defending champion miss these. Ju managed to defend well and in the end the game ended up in a drawn Rook and Pawn ending. A draw was agreed after 85 moves. Game 4 will take place on 9th January. Photo: Lewis Liu / FIDE

Sandipan Chanda wins EKA IIFL wealth GM Open 2019-20

08/01/2020 -

The 5th EKA IIFL Investment Managers Grandmaster Chess Tournament ended in a tie between Sandipan Chanda and Deepan Chakkravarthy both of whom finished with a score of 7.5 points at the end of nine rounds. However Sandipan, who managed to remain unbeaten and impressively won all his games in the last six rounds, became the champion overtaking Deepan in the tie-breaks. Vaibhav Suri, Kirill Stupak, and Rishi Sardana scored 7.0/9 each and took the third, fourth, and fifth places respectively. The event therefore came to a conclusion with the Indians dominating as the top three prizes were all clinched by the host country.

Microsense Kramnik Gelfand Program Day 0: The syllabus of the training

08/01/2020 -

Kramnik and Gelfand arrived in Chennai. Vladimir arrived a day earlier on 6th, Boris on the 7th. In the evening on 7th of January a press conference was held where over 20 reputed journalists from all across Chennai visited the venue. Questions were asked to Kramnik and Gelfand about their plans for the camp, what they were going to teach, how were the groups of 14 kids going to be made, what is the potential they see in these kids and much more. We bring you a complete summary of what happened on day zero, one day before the camp is about to begin. A pictorial report by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from the Coastal Paradise, on East Coast Road (ECR) in Chennai.

Suvankar Maity clinches 4th Kharagpur Chess Classic 2019-20

08/01/2020 -

Starting out as the top seed Suvankar Maity scored 8.0/10 to win 4th Kharagpur Classic 2019 and received ₹10000 cash prize along with a trophy. His only loss was against the eventual runner-up Jodunath Biswas of Bangladesh who also finished at the same score. 11-year-old Srihaan Poddar of Philippines also finished at 8.0/10. He was placed third according to tie-break score. Total 137 players from three federations - India, Bangladesh and Philippines took part in this six-day ten-round Swiss league event from 26th December 2019 to 1st January 2020, making the biggest chess tournament in Paschim Medinipur history and also the first international FIDE rated event. Total ₹60000 prize fund was distributed among the prize winners. Photo: Yuva Chess Academy

Your Spanish is Fab! Part 2

07/01/2020 -

Throughout our lives, we humans aim for perfection in whatever field we are good in. However, only a selected few tend to reach anywhere near the levels of the Gods. As far as chess is concerned Fabiano Caruana is one of the exalted minority who have for years given the chess world new ideas and beautiful games. It is wonderful to see Fabiano deciding to take it to the grassroot level this time, with over 16 hours of dedicated coverage of one of the most ancient and classical openings of chess - The Ruy Lopez. Tanmay Srinath reviews the 2nd part, and comes out amazed, yet again! Photo: David Llada

FIDE Women's World Championship 2020 Game 2 - A shorter draw

07/01/2020 -

After a grueling game of 97-moves which nearly lasted for almost six hours, both players were obviously not in the mood for another long fight. Game 2 witnessed Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence where Ju could have taken her chances with aggressive play but she didn't. Thus the game resulted in a relatively shorter draw with a threefold repetition in just 40 moves. As per the event regulations minimum 40 moves must be played before a draw can be agreed, players repeated the moves four times before making a draw.They head to their first rest day on 7th January 2020. The Game 3 will be played on 8th January with Goryachkina having the white pieces. Photo: Zhang Yanhong / FIDE

The Enigmatic Logic of Chess Moms!

07/01/2020 -

We have all had those moments where our parents who only wish the good for us tend to get on our nerves! There's always those infamous 'mom's logic' moments which no one but they will understand! It truly is undecipherable, and one cannot understand the point that is being made. Unfortunately, the law requires that one not question mom's motives, so here are some of those moments that we honestly cannot explain or get behind! Avathanshu Bhat, the ChessBase India Juniors editor-in-chief and the author of this article is just 14 years old, but the lad has some excellent observational and imaginative writing skills. From what he has witnessed in his own life, at chess tournaments, and using his imagination, he has penned down this article! Go on and check if you can spot yourself somewhere in there! 

NEW: A nightmare for the Najdorf

07/01/2020 -

The Najdorf is one of the most dangerous variations of the Sicilian Defence. Fighting against it is always difficult, but GM Sergei Tiviakov demonstrates a very effective way to combat this popular opening. Najdorf is one of the most widely played variations in Sicilian Defence. In the recent times, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is a pioneer of the Najdorf with the black pieces at the top level. Many club level players also play this. To know how to combat this line with white pieces, one must know the intricate details of the ways to land connoisseurs of Najdorf in trouble with the white pieces.

In conversation with the National Senior Champion 2019

06/01/2020 -

Aravindh Chithambaram won the National Senior Championship that took place in Majitar, Sikkim from the 10th to the 19th of December 2019. He dominated the entire field with a score of 9.5/11 and finished ahead of the rest of the field by a full point. Soon after this phenomenal achievement, the 20-year-old travelled to Moscow, Russia to compete in the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz. ChessBase India got in touch with him following his return to India and spoke at length about his performance in Sikkim. In this illustrated article we bring you the detailed interview. 

FIDE Women's World Championship 2020 starts with a draw

06/01/2020 -

FIDE Women's World Championship Match 2020 begins at Shanghai, China on 5th January 2020 between the defending the champion GM Ju Wenjun (China) and the Challenger for the championship GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia). The first match ended in a hard-fought draw, played for over five hours. They will play six games at Shanghai, China and the next six games at Vladivostok, Russia. The first player to score 6.5 points will be declared the winner. In case of a tie, tie-breaker games will be played. In the first game, Goryachkina got the white pieces and she opted for a Closed Catalan system. In game 2, Ju will get the white pieces. Photo: Zhang Yanhong / FIDE 

14 Indian talents to train with Kramnik and Gelfand in Chennai

06/01/2020 -

The Microsense Kramnik Gelfand chess program is here. From the 8th to the 17th of January 2020, 14 of the brightest talents of Indian chess will train with two of the legends in the world of chess - Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand. The camp will be held in Chennai. This is the second training camp, after the successful completion of the first one in August 2019. Apart from the six students who attended the first camp, eight more students have been included in the training camp. These 14 students have been handpicked by Kramnik and Gelfand and will receive intensive training over the next ten days. Microsense Private Limited is the sponsor of the program, while ChessBase India founders Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal will be managers of the event. 

Himal Gusain triumphs in 4th Dalmia Cements All India Open 2019

05/01/2020 -

IM Himal Gusain scored 8.5/9, remained undefeated and finished a full point ahead of the field to become champion in 4th Dalmia Cements All India Open 2019. Local talent Priyanka Kumari and 13-year-old Arya Bhakta both finished at 7.5/9. They were placed second and third according to their tie-break score. While, Himal received a beautiful trophy and got richer by ₹50000 cash, Priyanka and Arya received ₹30000 and ₹20000 cash prize each respectively. Total 239 players participated from eight states across the nation from 26th to 30th December 2019, organized by All Jharkhand Chess Association at Sarala Birla University. A detailed report of the tournament containing photos, games and video. Photo: Ajay Kumar

Mrityunjay Kumar wins Chess for Everyone All India Open Faridabad 2019

04/01/2020 -

Mrityunjay Kumar of Bihar scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win Chess for Everyone FIDE Rated Open 2019. Three players finished with the score of 8.0/9. Local lad Uttam Prakash Sharma of Haryana and unrated Shivam Saxena were placed second and third according to their tie-break score. Total 276 players participated from various states all over the country. Total prize fund ₹63000 and Corfom mattresses and yoga mat worth ₹50000 was distributed among the prize winners. Chess for Everyone tournament is low entry fee event which is to encourage everyone to participate in a FIDE rated event. Photo: Alka Chhikara

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