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Prague Masters 2020 Round 3: Vidit's Gargantuan Grunfeld Genius!

15/02/2020 -

After three hard-fought rounds of chess in Prague we finally have a sole leader! Vidit Gujrathi, after surviving a mega-scare against David Anton yesterday, found his rhythm and squeezed Markus Ragger in a Grunfeld Endgame to go to World No.21 and 2.5/3. Alireza Firouzja has found the going tough in the first two rounds, but he seems to have benefited from the close shave yesterday, as he outplayed Harikrishna in a Closed Ruy Lopez structure to score his 1st win of the event. David Anton was seriously worse, but David Navara's struggles continued as he missed numerous chances for an advantage with White to gift the Spaniard the point. Grandelius continued to falter in decisive moments, as Vitiugov escaped by a hair's breadth to maintain a plus score, and Shankland missed out on what could have been a brilliant win over Duda as Black. A comprehensive report by Tanmay Srinath.

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Gukesh's unbelievable fortune in Denmark

14/02/2020 -

Luck is a word we don't like to use when we speak about any result in chess. But if we have to make an exception then it has to be Gukesh's seventh round at the Hillerhoed Chess Festival in Denmark. Gukesh was playing on board no. 2 with a score of 5.5/6. His opponent was a 64-year-old player with rating of 2054. Gukesh had the white pieces. It seemed like he would score an easy win. However, the Danish player showed some great skills and very soon built up a winning position. Very soon he was not just a couple of pawns up, but also a piece up. It seemed like it was time for Gukesh to resign, when the unthinkable happened! You have to see it to believe it!

Dead draw? Not really! Humpy squeezes blood from stone in the sixth round of Cairns Cup 2020

14/02/2020 -

Sometimes Caissa, the goddess of chess, rewards you more for your grit than skill. This was clearly seen in the two decisive games of round six today at the Cairns cup 2020. On one hand Koneru Humpy managed to grind down her opponent Alexandra Kosteniuk from a seemingly dead position, and on the other Carissa Yip took down Valentina Gunina in a long and complex tactical melee. Humpy and Ju Wenjun have now emerged as the new leaders with 4.0/6 points each, while Kosteniuk and Nana Dzagnidze follow at their heels just half a point behind. We bring you a detailed pictorial report from St.Louis, Missouri.

Sriram Sarja wins 3rd Young Masters Rapid Chess Open 2020

14/02/2020 -

Sriram Sarja scored 7.5/8 and finished a full point ahead of the competition to become the champion in 3rd Young Masters Rapid Chess Open 2020. WIM Aakanksha Hagawane, Augustiya Negia and top seed Gaurav Bakliwal finished with the score of 6.5/8. They were placed second, third and fourth respectively. The tournament was organized by Ganga Pant and chess parents of Pune on 2nd February 2020 at Pune, Maharashtra. Their objective is to provide local spaces for the city chess players so that they can save on travel time and get to practice more within home turf. A pictorial report of the tournament. Photo: Ganga Pant

Avathanshu makes us believe that age is no barrier!

14/02/2020 -

14th of February 2020 is a special day for ChessBase India. No, not because of the Valentine's Day, but because it is the birthday of its Junior editor-in-chief Avathanshu Bhat. Avathanshu is the youngest ever serious chess journalist not just in India but all across the world. Today, as he turns 15, we wish to acquaint you with all the work that he has done in the last four years to power chess in India. From an 11-year-old newbie, Avathanshu has evolved into a 15-year-old sophisticated writer, but one thing that has always kept him in good stead is his ability to venture out into the unknown and try new things. Get to know more about this prodigious talent who believes that age is no barrier in whatever you want to achieve in life. 

Prague Masters 2020 R2: Technical issues bust imagination in Prague

14/02/2020 -

In Chess, results are one of the most important factors, but what is also interesting to the astute reader is how exactly the result came to be. On a day when all games ended in draws, some point splits can be more interesting than wins, especially if two players of equal strengths engage in a fist-fight to death! Today, that is precisely what happened at the Prague Masters 2020. Nils Grandelius fabulously outplayed Alireza Firouzja out of an Anti Berlin, but when the time came to finish off his opponent just after the time control he faltered. David Anton too endured disappointment, when Vidit Gujarathi suddenly blundered to gift him a winning advantage, which Anton didn't take advantage off. The remaining 3 games featured rather tame draws, with high class opening preparation. Round 2 report from the Prague Masters 2020 by Tanmay Srinath.

PSPB makes a hat-trick of National Team wins in Open and Women

13/02/2020 -

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board dominated 40th National Team Open and 18th National Team Women's championship 2020 as they won both event with a 100% score. Airports Authority of India secured second position in both Open and Women section with a score of 14.0/18 and 10.0/14 respectively. While RSPB B claimed the third position in Open with 13.0/18, Air India was placed third in the Women's section with a score of 10.0/14. Adhiban and Mary finished first on board #1, Sriram and Bala Kannamma on board #2, Karthikeyan and Sarayu on board #3, Lalith and Srija on board #4, Sai Agni and Arpita on board #5 in Open and Women's section respectively. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

The watch rule strikes again! WGM Swati Ghate loses her game against IM Tania Sachdev

13/02/2020 -

In round three of the National Team Championships 2020, Adhiban lost his game because he was wearing a wrist watch. We had extensively covered this on our newspage to let people know what had happened, but also with the intention that such a thing wouldn't happen again. Just five rounds later, in the final game of the event WGM Swati Ghate lost to IM Tania Sachdev because of the same rule! Swati Ghate representing LIC was found wearing a wrist watch and was given a loss. Once again it was an analog watch, but this time there was a small difference. Swati's opponent Tania Sachdev didn't want to win the game in this manner. What exactly happened? We bring you the full story.

The Czech Wimbledon begins with wins for Duda, Vidit and Vitiugov

13/02/2020 -

It's only the second edition of the Prague Masters 2020, but everyone is already calling it the Czech Wimbledon! Jan Krzysztof Duda is the top seed of the event and with a rating average of 2707, it is one of the strongest round robin events out there. At the last moment Wei Yi was replaced by Alireza Firouzja because the Chinese GM wasn't able to travel due to the Corona virus. Two Indian GMs are also in the fray - Vidit Gujrathi and P. Harikrishna. In first round itself three out of five possible decisive results meant that a lot of blood was spilled. An extensive tournament report by Tanmay Srinath.

A tour of the Netherlands with GM Surya Ganguly!

13/02/2020 -

Chess players have the unique fortune of combining their work with travelling. Tournaments are held in different parts of India and the world, and often lasts for more than a week. It seems absolutely natural to visit the new city/village/town that you are in and get to know more about it. Just that, most of the chess players we know, do not like to explore! They would rather prefer spending their time in the room preparing how to meet the Dutch Defence, rather than go out enjoy the Dutch beauty! Well, Surya Ganguly is an exception in that sense! He was in the Netherlands for the Tata Steel Challengers 2020 with his wife Sudeshna, and after the event spent some time exploring the country! We take you on a tour with the India no.7.

PSPB wins National Teams 2020 Open and Women with a round to spare

12/02/2020 -

PSPB has done it again. For the third consecutive year, PSPB has won National Teams 2020 in both Open and Women's section, with a round to spare. They just need to play the last round as a formality as the result is irrelevant for their championship standings. Delhi A got whitewashed 0-4 by PSPB in Open and LIC lost to the PSPB 1.5-2.5 in Women's. RSPB B is at the second position, followed closely by AAI in Open, four teams AAI, Tamil Nadu B, Air India and Telangana are tied at the second spot in the Women's section. In the final round it will be interesting to see who takes the remaining podium positions after PSPB as has been the case for the past two years. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

Winners of the Vishy's December contest

12/02/2020 -

On 11th of December, Vishy Anand's 50th birthday we kept a special contest - the one who sends the best wish to Anand will get an autographed ChessBase 15 by Vishy Anand himself! As the day passed by we received huge number of comments on our website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. At the end of the day the total count went as high as 673 wishes! And these were not just plain "Happy Birthday" messages. People had spent their time, put in thought and energy to send love to their favourite chess player! Seeing such a wonderful response, we have increased the prizes from just one to 55! Check the article to find all the 55 winners of the Vishy's December contest! 

A fifth round of blood, sweat, and tears at the Cairns cup 2020

12/02/2020 -

In what was a remarkable day at the Cairns Cup 2020, all five of the total five encounters ended decisively. The players summoned every ounce of their strength in the fifth round prior to the rest day of the event and gifted the spectators a truly scintillating show. Nana Dzagnidze was ousted from the lead by Koneru Humpy who clearly came much better prepared today in the Tartakower variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. On the other hand, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Ju Wenjun got the better of Mariya Muzychuk and Kateryna Lagno respectively to climb atop the leaderboard. Harika Dronavalli was convincingly taken down by Valentina Gunina and lady luck finally smiled on Yip Carissa who managed to score her first point in the event by beating compatriot Irina Krush. We bring you a comprehensive and detailed report from St.Louis, Missouri.

National Teams 2020 Day 5: PSPB maintains sole lead, AAI closes in

11/02/2020 -

Team PSPB maintained their sole lead with a 100% score of 14.0/14 by beating Air India 3-1. Adhiban and Abhijeet scored the wins for their team PSPB against Srinath and Satyapragyan respectively, while Karthikeyan and Deep was held to a draw by Swayams and C S Gokhale respectively. AAI and Telangana are at tied second position with a score of 11.0/14. They drew their match with each other 2-2. Odisha A, RSPB B, RSPB A and Delhi A are tied at 10.0/14 each at fourth place. Among the Women's, PSPB beat Air India 3-1 to maintain their sole lead. Mary and Soumya beat Bhakti and Viji respectively, Padmini drew with Tania and Nisha drew with Meenakshi. AAI defeated Tamil Nadu 2.5-1.5 to get into sole second position. Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

Cairns cup R04: The World Champion deals her first blow

11/02/2020 -

The fourth day of the Cairnes Cup 2020 wasn't as eventful as the first three. Many of the players tended to play it safe and conserve energy for the next round which is scheduled just before the rest day. There were two decisive games in all. On one hand, Ju Wenjun defeated Valentina Gunina in a complex topsy-turvy game and on the other Alexandra Kosteniuk took down Yip Carissa who has been having a really luckless run right from the beginning. Nana Dzagnidze continues to lead the field but now there are as many as five players breathing down her neck just half a point behind. In this comprehensive report we bring you the games, analyses, photos, and more. 

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