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The friendship and rivalry between India's first two GMs - Vishy Anand and Dibyendu Barua

15/04/2019 -

Back in the early 80s the biggest question on the mind of Indian chess fans was - Who would become India's first GM? There were many strong and senior players who were already IMs or close to IM strength and were attempting to break this barrier. But in came two youngsters - Vishy Anand born in 1969 and Dibyendu Barua born in 1966, who took the Indian chess by storm. Their rivalry was intense as they blitzed past all their competitors to become two of India's strongest chess players. In 1987 Vishy Anand ended the drought by becoming India's first GM. Four years later Barua achieved the feat in 1991. Anand and Barua were India's first two GMs. Deputy editor of Hindu Rakesh Rao sat down with both Anand and Barua together at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata and took them back down the memory lane to talk about their friendship, rivalry and more!

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A life for chess - T.K. Joseph Tharappel

14/04/2019 -

Born in 1939, Kerala's former State Champion T.K. Joseph Tharappel passed away on 1st of April at 5 p.m. at the age of 79. Apart from being a strong chess player, he was also an excellent writer and his chess books have been appreciated all across Kerala and India. He was a pleasant personality who was easy to approach and always motivated young talents. In this article we have Dr. Sarin (father of Nihal Sarin) who writes about the contribution of late Mr. Joseph Tharappel towards Nihal's chess career. We also have an eulogy by Ummer Koya, former AICF Secretary, who knew TK Joseph very well. Finally we show an attacking gem from his chess career and tell you about how strong a chess player he was. TK Joseph is no more, but his writings, games and memories live on.

The castling rule was broken, but no one noticed!

14/04/2019 -

When a beginner learns the rules of chess, he/she is first taught how the pieces move. Once that is out of the way, two special moves are taught - En passant and Castling. You would of course imagine a WIM with a rating of 2256 to know all about it. When WIM Maria Gevorgyan touched her king and long castled in the third round of the European Women's Individual Championship currently in progress in Turkey, it was an illegal move. The live broadcasts stopped at that point, but no one noticed at the venue. Not her opponent Deimante Cornette, who is an IM with a rating of 2464, nor the arbiters. It was a unique case and the game ended as a win for the player who made the illegal move! Know more.

Deep beats Short, Gustafsson in the sole lead heading into the final round of 19th BCC Open 2019

13/04/2019 -

Gustafsson halted Duong The Anh's dream run when the latter blundered early in English Opening Flohr-Mikenas system. Duong's misplayed opening put Gustafsson in control and he won with ease in just 25 moves. Short gave up a piece for two pawns in the endgame which backfired as Deep capitalized and eventually scored a full point. Swapnil Dhopade defeated Villamayor Buenaventura to face Jan Gustafsson at the top board in the final round. Lalith Babu suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of IM Pascua Haridas of Philippines. The report contains photos, positions and games from the penultimate round 8. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Short in a three-way lead with Gustafsson and Duong The Anh in 19th BCC Open 2019

13/04/2019 -

Short-Gustafsson ended up being the exciting match as expected, only disappointing was there was no clear victor today. Both still continue their lead at 6.0/7 each heading into the penultimate round. 24th seeded IM Duong The Anh is the underdog who suffered only one loss against GM Karthik Venkataraman in round 4. He didn't look back since then. He went on to defeat two back-to-back GMs in round 6. They are Andrea Stella of Italy and Zhao Zong-Yuan of Australia. He faces his biggest challenge of the tournament in the form of Jan Gustafsson in round 8. We bring you photos, videos, interviews, games from round 7. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Mithun Pranav achieves rapid rating at the age of 5 years and 4 months!

12/04/2019 -

Try and think about what you did as a 5-year-old. Do colouring books come to your mind? Play with toys? Or just running around! Meet Master Mithun Pranav, the 5 years 4 months old champ from Tamil Nadu, who now lives in Singapore. This kindergartener has got his first rapid rating of 1047 published by FIDE on 1st March 2019 making him currently the youngest rapid rated player of the country. Fascinating, isn't it? The achievement didn't happen all of a sudden. Mithun played 45 tournaments over a period of one year in India, Malaysia and Singapore. We wish the youngster a very bright future ahead. 

Indians at halfway mark of the Reykjavik Open 2019

12/04/2019 -

Seven Indians are participating at the Reykjavik Open 2019 in Iceland. We have Abhijeet Gupta, R. Praggnanandhaa, D. Gukesh, Prithu Gupta, Tania Sachdev, R. Vaishali and Savitha Shri. At the halfway mark after five rounds we have three Indians Abhijeet, Praggnanandhaa and Tania on 3.5/5. Gukesh, Prithu and Savitha are on 3.0/5. Vaishali is not having a great event and is on 2.0/5. It is quite unusual that not many Indians are participating at one of the best open events in the world, and also that no one is in the leader's pack or half point behind the ones who are on 4.5/5. 12th of April is a rest day where a Fischer Random tournament will be played. Four rounds remain to be played, and we hope that our youngsters make a strong finish. 

19th BCC Open 2019 Round 6: Short and Gustafsson in joint lead

11/04/2019 -

It's Short vs. Gustafsson in round 7. It will be a battle between the top seed and the second seed which is like almost a virtual final. Short made a quick work of Susilodinata in just 27 moves and Gustafsson was held to a draw by Lalith Babu in just 26 moves. GM Deep Sengupta defeated IM Neelash Saha by showcasing the power of pawns. Viji continue her terrific form when she held GM Karthik Venkataraman to a draw despite being worse in the early endgame. GM Swapnil Dhopade escaped a massive scare when his opponent FM Riste Menkinoski was unable to convert a win and held Swapnil to a draw. FM Sauravh Khherdekar shocked GM Dibyendu Barua. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

India helping its neighbours in chess, signs an MOU with Maldives

11/04/2019 -

It is becoming clear that chess is one of the most popular sports in our country. We have a superstar in Vishy Anand, strong players like Harikrishna, Vidit, Humpy, Harika following him and a young generation of stars like Nihal Sarin, Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Divya and others who will be world class players in the years to come. Apart from this we have a strong national federation that is ensuring the constant flow of tournaments, seminars and workshops taking place in the country. However, the same is not the case with our neighbouring countries, where the situation of chess is in its nascent stages. One such country is the Maldives and the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Maldives Chess Association (MCA) in order to boost chess in their country.

19th BCC Open 2019: Gustafsson takes sole lead, Lalith Babu and Short closes in

11/04/2019 -

Second seeded GM Jan Gustafsson took sole lead at the conclusion of round 5 after Karthik blundered a rook and Gustafsson won the game in just 23 moves. Kunte went for two minor pieces and two pawns for a rook but that did not turn out in his favor as Short utilized his pawns and rooks brilliantly to score a victory. Lalith Babu scored a victory over Villamayor Buenaventura after the latter got a bad pawn structure in Reti and then blundered an exchange. FM Susilodinata Andrean scored a nice victory over GM Ly Moulthun in Ruy Lopez Berlin. GM Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder of Chile won 19th BCC Open Blitz by scoring 12.0/15 . He won a Rolling Trophy and 12000 Baht as prize. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Opening Encyclopaedia 2019 is here!

10/04/2019 -

For years now Opening Encyclopaeida has been a part of an ambitious chess players arsenal. The main reason is that it contains well sorted information that can help you prepare the most complex of openings within hours. This is not just a new edition of our very popular compilation of opening knowledge. Naturally it has been extended to include all the latest lines and trends, but it has also been redesigned to enhance its usability for fast and easy access to your favorite openings. It has hundreds of opening articles by leading experts, and high-class opening videos to enhance your understanding. Is there a better way to keep abreast of openings theory? Check out the all-new Opening Encyclopaedia 2019.

Carlsen turns on God Mode with a 2988 Elo performance at Shamkir 2019

10/04/2019 -

Magnus Carlsen had already won the Shamkir Chess 2019 with a round to spare. With the white pieces he decided to play something safe but not drawish. Within the first 18 moves he got the bishop pair and a position where he had nothing to worry about. This is where Magnus becomes a real beast. It didn't matter that he had won the tournament now, all that mattered was the position in front of him. It was a risk-free edge for him and he had to grind down his opponent Alexander Grischuk. This Magnus did in style as he won the event with two more points than his nearest rival. He also gained 16 Elo points, taking his live rating to a massive 2861! And what was his performance at the event? 2988!! 

2nd edition of Goa GM International is here with a prize fund of Rs.53 lakh!

09/04/2019 -

The first Goa GM International 2018 was a big success. Over 1200 players participated at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium making it the biggest sporting event ever to be held on Goan soil. The good news for the Indian chess community is that the organizers have decided to continue the tournament and the second edition will be held from the 18th to the 25th of June 2019 at the same venue. 10th of April is the last date to avail the early bird discount. So don't miss it. In this article we bring you the experience of Beverly Mendonca, a chess player from Goa and also a talented artist, who played the 1st edition of the event. Check out her brilliant artistic impressions of Goa sprinkled with humour and creativity.

Gustafsson, Venkataraman and Kunte in a three-way lead in 19th BCC Open 2019

09/04/2019 -

Jan Gustafsson, Karthik Venkataraman and Abhijit Kunte are in a three-way lead at the conclusion of round 4. Gustafsson defeated his compatriot Gerhard Schebler in 35 moves. Karthik defeated IM Duong The Anh after the miscalculated an exchange sacrifice. WIM Luong Phuong Hanh declined a threefold repetition and eventually she lost against Kunte. Total 15 rounds of Blitz matches took place in 8 groups of 15 players each. Top two from each group advanced to the next stage where another round-robin match will determine the finalists. This report contains positions, games, photos. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Shamkir 2019 Round 8: Carlsen's Sveshnikov helps him win Shamkir Chess 2019 with one round to spare

09/04/2019 -

When the penultimate round of Shamkir Chess 2019 began, Magnus Carlsen was half a point ahead of Sergey Karjakin. As the two rivals sat opposite each other, it was clear that Karjakin with the white pieces was going to go all out against the World Champion. Second place didn't interest the Russian. Beating the World Champion was his aim. He opened the game with 1.e4 and Carlsen responded with his favourite - the Sicilian Sveshnikov. Once Karjakin had decided to play a full-blooded fight, he had to take some risky decisions. That's when the World Champion showed his class. He sacrificed a pawn, brought his pieces into the attack and with magical play on the light squares, forced Karjakin to resign when the material was still even on the board! With this win Magnus won the Shamkir Chess 2019 with a round to spare!

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