Overwhelming response for the ChessBase India Power Catalan circuit group tour 2018

by Sagar Shah - 26/04/2018

The Group Tour by ChessBase India Power is a novel concept where players who enroll for it will go to the Catalan circuit 2018 in Spain (a series of six tournaments in Barcelona) with a personal guide. This guide will take care of all your off the board requirements, which will help you to focus entirely on your games. It's been 20 days since we published the initial article and the response has been overwhelming. Almost all of the spots in the ChessBase India group tour have been taken up. In this article we acquaint you with the players who are a part of the group tour and we also answer a few of the FAQs that we have been receiving since the last fortnight.

A few days ago we published an article on how you can play six tournaments in Spain by making ChessBase India Power your personal tour guide. The response to the same was overwhelming. The guided tour with ChessBase Power Head Ankit Dalal had 10 slots and majority of them have been filled up.

The ChessBase India Power guided tour to Barcelona, Spain!

It's a refreshing concept that ChessBase India Power has come up with. Usually, when you plan a tournament you have to figure out everything right from booking tickets to accommodation to visa and so on. ChessBase India Power helps you by doing all of this for you, but for the Catalan Circuit 2018, we have decided to take it a step further. After you reach the place of the tournament, you do not need to figure out where your accommodation is, where the tournament hall is, how are you going travel, where are you going to eat. All of this will be done by ChessBase India Power. We decided to have a special guided tour where Ankit Dalal, who is an extremely competent and well traveled person, will accompany you to the tournaments in Spain. In this way the players can completely focus on the game and pump up their Elo while all the logistical issues can be left to us.

The added incentive here is that parents need not accompany their kids. For parents to come to events is a great expenditure not only in terms of money but also time. The ChessBase India Power guided tour helps the kids to travel on their own, become independent and learn a lot of things in process. At the same time the safety of the kid is our highest priority.

These are the people who have already confirmed and would be part of the group tour.

Saurabh Anand, 2294:

With a rating of 2294 Saurabh will be aiming to complete his IM title requirements at the Catalan circuit | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Kumar Gaurav, 2137

Kumar Gaurav, the former National Junior Champion showed big promise a couple of years ago, but has slowed down a bit. Nothing like making the big leap this European summer! | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Saurabh Anand and Kumar Gaurav are siblings and come from an extremely humble background. They live in Araria, Bihar and chess is their means to fight poverty and move towards a better life.

Harikrishnan A.Ra, 2225

Harikrishnan A.Ra is one of the talented youngsters from Chennai who has shown steady progress in his chess career | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Akshita Gorti, 2252

A wonderful addition to our team is former US girls' junior champion Akshita Gorti with her mother Atmika Gorti. Akshita is just 15 and already boasts of a rating of 2252 and is already a WIM and a FM .She will be gunning for her WGM title| Photo: Austin Fuller/CCSCL

Deepak Katiyar, 2140

The winner of many rating tournaments in India, Deepak is also a fine trainer

Kartavya Anadkat, 1976

Just 13 years of age, Kartavya Anadkat is one of Gujarat's talented youngsters | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Ishaan Bansal, 1759

With a rating of 1759, Ishaan would be looking to cross 2000 Elo on this trip! | Photo: Facebook profile

Raghav Bansal, 1541

Ishaan's younger brother Raghav will also be looking to make the most of the five tournaments that he will play in Spain | Photo: Facebook profile

Kavisha Shah, 1702

Kavisha Shah at the recently concluded Asian Youth Championships 2018 | Photo: Facebook profile

Dhairya Ghelani, 1795

This 12-year-old boy is grossly under-rated. He is sure to rise up to the big stage in his first International trip | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Ankit Dalal, the head of ChessBase India Power and your guide!

Ankit Dalal, the head of ChessBase India Power, will be the tour guide. The 33-year-old is not only a rated chess player but also is a FIDE National Instructor. Bank on him to know a thing or two about high quality chess! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Says Ankit Dalal, "Since the day the article on the Catalan circuit 2018 was published I have received a tremendous number of calls on the ChessBase India Power Hotline Number. Parents and players alike have congratulated ChessBase India Power to have come up with this concept. We often have young chess players who go to events with other experienced chess players. The experienced chess player is also playing the tournament. The difference in ChessBase India Power guided tour is that I will be 100% dedicated to ensure that each and every need of the player is fulfilled."

The guided group tour is quickly filling up. We only have a couple of spots left. You can contact ChessBase India Power and get your doubts clarified if you are interested to play.

Hotline and Whatsapp: 09106908500 (10 a.m to 8 p.m.)

Email: accommodations@chessbase.in

"It's a rich mix of players in the ChessBase India guided tour," says Ankit Dalal. We have young talents above the rating of 2200 and we also have players who are grossly under-rated and are going to win a lot of Elo points in the Catalan circuit. I on my part will ensure that I provide them the perfect conditions off the board, so that they can excel over the board." Ankit himself was a talented youngster at chess who aimed to make it big. Lack of guidance led to stagnation and since then Dalal has made it his aim to guide other players achieve their dreams.

If you do not want to be a part of the guided tour, you can of course book your tickets, visa, accommodation through ChessBase India Power. A lot of players including many titled players have done that.

It should be mentioned that three team members from ChessBase India - Niklesh Jain (left), Atul Dahale (centre) and Shahid Ahmed (right) will be travelling to the Catalan circuit as players! They will be happy to help you in any way (unless they have lost a winning game in brutal style!)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

These are the questions we have been asked by a lot of the people and parents who are interested to participate in the Catalan circuit.

1. Why should you play in the Catalan circuit?

The biggest advantage of playing in the Catalan circuit is that you get to play five tournaments in a row. Amruta and I (Sagar Shah) chose to play four, as we took a break after three events, but for the ones who are enthusiastic and have loads of energy, can aim for five or even six!

The most boring part for chess players is to pack their bags after every tournament and move to the next location. Playing in Catalan Circuit helps you avoid that because all the events are in the same city. So you can have a central place to stay and travel to each of these tournaments without having to change your accommodation.

There is only one round taking place each day. Every day at 5 p.m. This helps you to plan your day in a perfect manner. What time do you want to wake up, what time do you want to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, what is the ideal time to prepare for the games and so on. A good schedule often helps you to conserve energy and keep your focus for the entire trip.

The city of Barcelona is one which people visit as a part of their vacations. We as chess players are lucky that we get to stay in the city for more than a month to do something more meaningful (playing chess) than just sight seeing!

Barcelona is beautiful!

Q: At what rating should you play the Catalan circuit?

The tournaments that we are looking at in the Catalan circuit are:

1. Montcada Open: 25th June to 3rd July 2018

2. Barbera Del Valles Open: 4th July to 12 July 2018

3. Sant Marti Open: 13th July to 21st July

4. Sitges Open: 22nd July to 29th July

5. Badalona Open: 1st August to 9th August

6. Sants Open: 17th to 26th August.

Let's have a look at the top 20 seeds of all of these tournaments for the year 2017:

Starting rank for Montcada 2017

No.		Name	FideID	FED	RtgI	RtgN	sex	Typ	Gr	Club/City
1	GM	Vorobiov Evgeny E.	4121341	RUS	2591	0				RUSSIA
2	GM	Peralta Fernando	105309	ARG	2569	2576		2601		CAT - Escola D'escacs De Barcelona
3	IM	Santos Latasa Jaime	2293307	ESP	2567	2564				EXT - Magic C.A.
4	GM	Shyam Sundar M.	5019141	IND	2535	0				INDIA
5	GM	Henriquez Villagra Cristobal	3409350	CHI	2532	0				CHILE
6	GM	Narciso Dublan Marc	2201500	ESP	2516	2529		2578		CAT - Escola D'escacs De Barcelona
7	IM	Asis Gargatagli Hipolito	2260735	ESP	2505	2499		2554		CAT - Lira, La C.E.
8	GM	Burmakin Vladimir	4105109	RUS	2504	0				RUSSIA
9	IM	Oliva Castaneda Kevel	3500799	CUB	2498	0				CUBA
10	GM	Cuartas Jaime Alexander	4401190	COL	2492	2492		2550		CAT - Peona I Peo, C.E.
11	IM	Santos Ruiz Miguel	22291482	ESP	2473	2463				CTL
12	GM	Rizouk Aimen	7900309	ALG	2472	2473		2521		CAT - Barbera C.E.
13	GM	Sundararajan Kidambi	5005370	IND	2447	0				INDIA
14	IM	Salinas Herrera Pablo	3407128	CHI	2438	0				CHILE
15	IM	Vega Gutierrez Sabrina	2219026	ESP	2427	2384	w			CAN - Grandama Santa Lucia
16	IM	Fernandez Fernando	3802299	PER	2416	0				PERU
17	GM	Perez Mitjans Orelvis	3502856	ESP	2413	2419				MAD - 64 Villalba
18	WGM	Cori T. Deysi	3801934	PER	2413	0	w			PERU
19	IM	Iniyan P	25002767	IND	2392	0			AJ	INDIA
20	IM	Konguvel Ponnuswamy	5000548	IND	2391	0			A	INDIA

Complete list

The Montcada tournament takes place in an auditorium called Kursaal

Starting rank for Barbera 2017:

No.		Name	FED	RtgI	RtgN	sex	Typ	Gr
1	GM	Ortiz Suarez Isan Reynaldo	CUB	2565	2555
2	GM	Grigoryan Karen H.	ARM	2555	0
3	GM	Henriquez Villagra Cristobal	CHI	2532	0
4	GM	Narciso Dublan Marc	ESP	2516	2529			2578
5	GM	Burmakin Vladimir	RUS	2505	0
6	IM	Himanshu Sharma	IND	2498	0
7	IM	Oliva Castaneda Kevel	CUB	2497	0
8	FM	Diaz Camallonga Carles	ESP	2445	2428			2461
9	IM	Salinas Herrera Pablo	CHI	2438	0
10	IM	Fernandez Fernando	PER	2424	0
11	WGM	Cori T. Deysi	PER	2413	0	w
12	GM	Perez Mitjans Orelvis	ESP	2407	2414
13	IM	Smirnov Artem	RUS	2401	0
14	IM	Lorenzo De La Riva Lazaro	ESP	2389	2377		A	2445
15	FM	Pablo Mari Alejandro	ESP	2387	2391		A-S6	2452
16	IM	Iniyan P	IND	2380	0		A-U1
17	FM	Quirhuayo Chumbe German Gonza	PER	2376	0		A-U1
18	FM	Soysal Serkan	TUR	2367	0		A
19	IM	Karim Ismael	MAR	2361	0		A
20	IM	Tissir Mohamed	MAR	2354	0		A

Complete list

Well lit and spacious playing hall at Barbera 2017. I remember that when I played in 2014, barring round 1, I played all of the remaining games on the stage in the top seven boards and it was great fun!

Starting rank for Sant Marti 2017

No.		Name	FideID	FED	RtgI	RtgN	sex	Typ	Gr	Club/City
1	GM	Peralta Fernando	105309	ARG	2564	2576			2601	Escola Escacs de BCN
2	GM	Grigoryan Karen H.	13301004	ARM	2555	0			0	ARMENIA
3	GM	Henriquez Villagra Cristobal	3409350	CHI	2532	0			0	CHILE
4	GM	Narciso Dublan Marc	2201500	ESP	2516	2529			2578	Escola Escacs de BCN
5	GM	Arizmendi Martinez Julen Luis	2205092	ESP	2511	2508			0	Paterna
6	IM	Asis Gargatagli Hipolito	2260735	ESP	2505	2499			2554	La Lira
7	GM	Burmakin Vladimir	4105109	RUS	2505	0			0	RUSSIA
8	GM	Cuartas Jaime Alexander	4401190	COL	2501	2492			2550	Peona i Peó
9	IM	Himanshu Sharma	5007836	IND	2498	0			0	INDIA
10	IM	Oliva Castaneda Kevel	3500799	CUB	2497	0			0	CUBA
11	IM	Rios Cristhian Camilo	4403940	COL	2477	2456			0	COLOMBIA
12	GM	Rizouk Aimen	7900309	ALG	2472	2473			2521	Barberà
13	FM	Arvola Benjamin	1506536	NOR	2469	0			0	NORWAY
14	IM	Zubritskiy Artyom	4181247	RUS	2442	0			0	RUSSIA
15	IM	Salinas Herrera Pablo	3407128	CHI	2438	0			0	CHILE
16	GM	Hansen Torbjorn Ringdal	1501720	NOR	2429	0			0	NORWAY
17	IM	Fernandez Fernando	3802299	PER	2424	0			0	PERÚ
18	GM	Perez Mitjans Orelvis	3502856	ESP	2407	2414			0	64 Villalba
19	IM	Smirnov Artem	4143256	RUS	2401	0			0	RUSSIA
20	GM	Gonzales Jayson	5201080	PHI	2399	0		A	0	PHILIPPINES

Complete list

Starting rank for Sitges 2017

No.		Name	FideID	FED	RtgI	RtgN	sex	Typ	Gr	Club/City
1	GM	Cori Jorge	3802272	PER	2636	0
2	GM	Volkov Sergey	4122763	RUS	2627	0
3	GM	Grigoryan Karen H.	13301004	ARM	2555	0
4	GM	Henriquez Villagra Cristobal	3409350	CHI	2532	0
5	IM	Himanshu Sharma	5007836	IND	2498	0
6	IM	Oliva Castaneda Kevel	3500799	CUB	2497	0
7	IM	Salomon Johan	1509500	NOR	2488	0
8	GM	Movsziszian Karen	13301152	ARM	2485	2558			2521	Sant Andreu C.E.
9	IM	Salinas Herrera Pablo	3407128	CHI	2438	0
10	IM	Fernandez Fernando	3802299	PER	2424	0
11	FM	Von Bahr Oskar	1703250	SWE	2423	0
12	GM	Perez Mitjans Orelvis	3502856	ESP	2407	0			2414
13	IM	Garriga Cazorla Pere	32011601	ESP	2400	2469		A	2390	Mollet, Club D'escacs
14	GM	Gonzales Jayson	5201080	PHI	2399	0		A
15	FM	Aronsson Marten	1724223	SWE	2396	0		A
16	IM	Oblitas Carlomagno	3800156	PER	2395	0		A
17	IM	Lorenzo De La Riva Lazaro	2268809	ESP	2389	2445		A	2377	Colon Sabadell Chessy
18	IM	Beltran Rueda Santiago	2200694	ESP	2362	2428		A	2373	Sitges Prado Suburenc, C.E.
19	FM	Chueca Forcen Alberto	2269902	ESP	2361	2364		A	2352	Escola D'escacs De Barcelona
20	IM	Karim Ismael	625736	MAR	2361	0		A	2364	And

Complete list

The playing hall for Sitges 2017 | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Starting rank for Badalona 2017

No.		Name	ID	FideID	FED	Rtg	RtgN	Typ	Gr	Club/City
1	GM	Grigoryan Karen H.	0	13301004	ARM	2570	0			Armenia
2	GM	Ortiz Suarez Isan Reynaldo	0	3507165	CUB	2556	0			Cuba
3	GM	Peralta Fernando	15065	105309	ARG	2540	2551		2593	Escola Escacs BCN
4	GM	Krysa Leandro	0	116807	ARG	2537	0		2495	Mollet
5	IM	Vera Siguenas Deivy	0	3804623	PER	2525	0			Peru
6	GM	Himanshu Sharma	0	5007836	IND	2514	0			India
7	GM	Gonzalez Garcia Jose	16604	5101174	MEX	2513	2513		2572	SCC Sabadell Chessy
8	IM	Gascon Del Nogal Jose Rafael	33010	3902463	VEN	2498	2500			Venezuela
9	IM	Oliva Castaneda Kevel	0	3500799	CUB	2497	0			Cuba
10	IM	Rios Cristhian Camilo	0	4403940	COL	2475	0			Colombia
11	GM	Narciso Dublan Marc	1386	2201500	ESP	2467	2477		2546	Escola Escacs BCN
12	IM	Fernandez Fernando	0	3802299	PER	2455	0			Peru
13	IM	Fluvia Poyatos Jordi	6277	2214334	ESP	2438	2424		2467	Sant Josep Badalona
14	FM	Diaz Camallonga Carles	22798	22235256	ESP	2437	2422		2471	SCC Sabadell Chessy
15	IM	Petrosyan Tigran S.	0	13303678	ARM	2430	0			Armenia
16	IM	Lorenzo De La Riva Lazaro	15231	2268809	ESP	2415	2404		2465	SCC Sabadell Chessy
17	IM	Salinas Herrera Pablo	0	3407128	CHI	2411	0			Chile
18	IM	Garriga Cazorla Pere	24781	32011601	ESP	2405	2396	20	2469	Mollet
19	IM	Gual Pascual Antonio	347	2200589	ESP	2404	2395		2489	Cerdanyola Valles
20	IM	Iniyan P	0	25002767	IND	2404	0	16		India

Complete list

Starting list for Sants 2017

No.		Name	FideID	RtgI	RtgN	Typ	Gr	Club/City
1	GM	JUMABAYEV Rinat	13702661	2610	0
2	GM	OPARIN Grigoriy	24125890	2609	0
3	GM	AGDESTEIN Simen	1500015	2604	0			Oslo Schakselskap
4	GM	VOCATURO Daniele	813192	2596	2607		2610	Mollet, Club D'escacs
5	GM	HEIMANN Andreas	24624632	2591	0			OSG Baden-Baden
6	GM	TARI Aryan	1510045	2591	0			Vålerenga
7	GM	DELCHEV Aleksander	2900394	2577	2643
8	GM	MOUSSARD Jules	642908	2571	0		2555	Evry Grand Roque
9	GM	GRIGORYAN Karen H.	13301004	2570	0		2612	Armenia
10	GM	SVETUSHKIN Dmitry	13900463	2558	0
11	GM	ORTIZ SUAREZ Isan Reynaldo	3507165	2556	2537		2373
12	GM	SCHROEDER Jan-Christian	24662259	2539	0			SV 1920 Hofheim
13	GM	NOVIKOV Stanislav	4125371	2538	0			Botvinnik Chess School
14	GM	KRYSA Leandro	116807	2537	0		2495	Mollet, Club D'escacs
15	GM	BLOMQVIST Erik	1709437	2525	0		2423	SK Rockaden
16	IM	VERA SIGUENAS Deivy	3804623	2525	0		2454
17	GM	DOBROV Vladimir	4136594	2510	0		2366	IQ
18	IM	FERREIRA Jorge Viterbo	1910850	2499	2408			Xadrez Ourense
19	IM	GASCON DEL NOGAL Jose Rafael	3902463	2498	2500
20	GM	HERTNECK Gerald	4600088	2498	0			Zugzwang Munich

Complete list

If you look at the lists carefully, you will find that the top 20 seeds in each section are rated above 2350-2400. In fact in the last tournament Sants Open you have the 20th seed with a rating of 2498! I went to the Catalan circuit in 2014 with a rating of 2304, and gained 100 Elo points surpassing 2400 and gaining my final IM norm. Last year we saw players like Iniyan making their GM norms. It is our belief that the Catalan circuit can be a good idea for any player up to 2400 Elo. For those above 2400 should plan the circuit if they would like to focus on improving their game, gain Elo points, or win prize money.

Q: What is the cost of the package?

The cost of the package is conditional to the time you do your bookings with us. The sooner the better. Also the number of tournaments you choose to play will decide the cost. But roughly, the cost of five events would be Rs.1,40,000** for the ChessBase India group tour and Rs.1,28,0000** if you decide to go independently. ( ** = conditions apply)

Group Tour Inclusions:

* Flight Tickets

* Accommodation

* Visa

* Insurance

* Entry Fees

* Management of all candidates

* Airport Transfers

Exclusions:

* Metro Charges

*Food

*Any Excursions

Benefits:

*Flexibility (You can choose any number of tournaments and the package will be accordingly tailored)

* Safety

* Complete Guidance

Non group-tour inclusions:

*Flights

*Accommodation

*Visa

* Insurance

*Entry fees

Q: How far will the venue be from the apartment?

This is where the six tournaments stand on a map:

The apartments will be booked in such a way that the travel time should not be more than 30 to 45 minutes to each of the tournaments. However, as you can see Sitges is a bit far and if you decide to play it, the train journey should take you around one hour fifteen minutes.

Q: How many people in one apartment?

The apartments will be huge and spacious and will host 6-7 people. It will have 2 washrooms. The number of people in an apartment could also be tailored to your needs. So you can let us know your requirements and we will assist you accordingly.

In case of any further questions, just pick up the phone and contact ChessBase India Power and get your queries answered. Alternatively you can also write to us.

Contact ChessBase India Power:

Hotline and Whatsapp: 09106908500 (10 a.m to 8 p.m.)

Email: accommodations@chessbase.in

Note: Players outside India can also avail of the above services. Please write to us at accommodations@chessbase.in and we will get back to you.

A big thanks to Arturo Vidarte Morales (left), the organizer of the Montcada Open 2018 for all his support.

Overwhelming response for the ChessBase India Power Catalan circuit group tour 2018

Saurabh Anand, 2294:

Kumar Gaurav, 2137

Harikrishnan A.Ra, 2225

Akshita Gorti, 2252

Deepak Katiyar, 2140

Kartavya Anadkat, 1976

Ishaan Bansal, 1759

Raghav Bansal, 1541

Kavisha Shah, 1702

Dhairya Ghelani, 1795

Ankit Dalal, the head of ChessBase India Power and your guide!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Starting rank for Montcada 2017

Starting rank for Barbera 2017:

Starting rank for Sant Marti 2017

Starting rank for Sitges 2017

Starting rank for Badalona 2017

Starting list for Sants 2017

Contact ChessBase India Power:

Entire Catalan circuit 2017 covered by ChessBase India:

Hindi:

2014 Catalan circuit on ChessBase: