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Women's Candidates: Goryachkina unstoppable, Kosteniuk scores a win

13/06/2019 -

Kosteniuk scored the only win of the round when she defeated Gunina, who again pushed too hard. Gunina exclaimed, " I just want to finish. It's really too long for me, I am not ready for this tournament." All three other games ended up in a draw. Goryachkina was never in trouble against Lagno, who was the closest to have any chance of narrowing the gap but Goryachkina prevailed and maintained her lead by 2.5 points. Anna had an uneventful draw against former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi. Mariya had a half chance against Nana but that also ended up in a draw. Both Anna and Mariya are tied at the third spot at 5.0/10 each after Lagno is who at 5.5/10. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

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2074 rated Balkishan checkmates two opponents, moves to 5.0/6 at the Mayor's Cup 2019

13/06/2019 -

In a GM event where you have 26 grandmasters and 13 IMs taking part, the chances of a 2074 rated player doing well are quite less. But Balkishan from Karnataka is changing this perception. He has 5.0/6 and is already gaining 53 Elo points. He has beaten Rohith Krishna (2347), Subhayan Kundu (2373) and GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (2557). Against Subhayan and Deepan, he was quite lucky, as in both the games his opponents were better but blundered in direct mates! The tournament is being led by GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan with 5.5/6, followed by a group of eleven players on 5.0/6. This group includes two Indians - Balkishan and Niranjan Navalgund. An illustrated report from Mumbai with pictures by Amruta Mokal. 

Kidambi on Karthikeyan's queen sacrifice

12/06/2019 -

India's 19th Grandmaster Sundararajan Kidambi writes on Karthikeyan Murali's latest incredible Queen Sacrifice against Alireza Firouzja in round 5 of the ongoing Asian Continental 2019. Kidambi wrote a post on his blog after more than a year. We all are aware of Kidambi's impeccable knowledge of the game and how meticulous he is with his analysis. In this article, he discusses the game with incredible details, his observation on key elements in an early Queen Sacrifices. He also shares past instances where similar things have happened. He makes the readers think and study the past games by sharing similar Queen sacrifices. Photo: ChessBase India archive/Shahid Ahmed

Srijit Paul wins Saturday Club Youth Rapid Rating 2019

12/06/2019 -

Srijit Paul wins Saturday Club Youth Rapid Rating 2019 by scoring 8.0/9. FM Mitrabha Guha also finished at the same score. However, due to a better tie-break score, Srijit Paul edged ahead and clinched the title and Mitrabha had to settle for first runner-up position. Arya Bhakta scored 7.5/9 and finished at third place. However, due to his phenomenal performance, he won the 'Most Promising Player' - President's Award. The award was adjudged by the arbiters of the tournament. Total ₹150000 Prize fund was distributed among 65 Prize winners. The tournament was jointly organized by Saturday Club and Alekhine Chess Club, sponsored by Ollypop in association with association with The Telegraph. Arjuna Awardee GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly was the Chief Guest in the Prize Distribution Ceremony. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Karthikeyan plays the game of his life, beats Firouzja with a queen sac on move 9!

12/06/2019 -

Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali pulled off a brilliancy by sacrificing his queen as early as move ninth and flabbergasting his young talented opponent Alireza Firouzja. Vidit recovered from his previous round's upset with an emphatic win with the black pieces over CRG Krishna. Adhiban is slowly and steadily coming into the beast mode with three consecutive wins. Elsewhere in the women's section, a resolute Bhakti continued her streak by clinching yet another victory. Eesha Karavade faltered and found herself in a lost ending against her lower rated rival. It was the 5th round at the Asian Continental open and women's championships, in this report we bring you the highlights of the day's action.

Nikhil Dixit wins Varadraj Memorial All India Rapid Rating 2019

11/06/2019 -

Fourth seeded FM Nikhil Dixit scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win Varadraj Memorial All India Open Rapid Rating held at Chhatrapati Shahu Stadium, Satara on 30th and 31st May 2019. Ranveer Mohite also finished with 8.0/9. However due to a lower tie-break score, he had to settle for the runner-up position. Three players scored 7.5/9 and out of them Sammed Jayakumar Shette was placed third, due to his tie-break score. The tournament witnessed 198 players from various states across the country. Total ₹100000 Prize fund was distributed among 124 prizes. Satara District Chess Association and Varadraj Memorial Trust jointly organized this event. Photo: IA Kaviraj Sawant

12th Mumbai Mayor's Cup brings back the chess fever in the city!

11/06/2019 -

Mumbai Mayor's Cup is back with its 12th edition. This year the prize fund is Rs.36 lakh and the A-group has witnessed the participation of 217 players with an average Elo of 2002. We have 26 GMs and 13 IMs and players from 21 countries. Mumbai has contributed to just one out of the 62 GMs to Indian chess. In this report we tell you why the scenario is changing and how the Mayor's Cup is playing a big role in it. Three rounds have been completed in the A section and we have 14 players on 100% score. The biggest upset of the event until now happened in the second round when top seed Eduardo Iturrizaga lost to Raahul VS. We have the game with annotations and pictures by our ace photographer Amruta Mokal. 

Women's Candidates: Muzychuk sisters win, Goryachkina stays at the top

11/06/2019 -

Kosteniuk missed several winning chances against Lagno and the game eventually ended up in a draw. It was the only draw of the round. Gunina went all-in against Goryachkina but that was not enough as soon her position was a complete mess which Goryachkina had no trouble cleaning up for a full point and stretch her lead by 2.5 points. Anna Muzychuk seemed to be in an uncomfortable queen less middle game, however she swerved her opponent into blundering an exchange which resulted her in scoring the full point in the endgame. Mariya Muzychuk won against Tan Zhongyi without any difficulty resulting in both Muzychuk sisters win again. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Fatigue supersedes brilliance as Carlsen continues to march ahead

11/06/2019 -

On a day where blunders were commonplace, Magnus Carlsen and Yu Yangyi consolidated their positions in the tournament standings with contrasting wins over Ding Liren and Vishy Anand in the armageddons after all the five classical games finished without a winner. Anand was the only one who got some chances in classical chess, but he failed to take them. In the Armageddons, the tiredness showed - Grischuk left a piece en prise, So blundered mate in one, Ding Liren gave up a free rook and Anand lost an exchange to keep his king alive! With Black continuing to dominate the tiebreakers, Caruana and MVL seized their chances to climb up the leaderboard. A comprehensive report from Norway Chess by Tanmay Srinath.

Asian 2019 Round 3-4: Praggnanandhaa pulls off a shocking upset against Vidit, Bhakti is now an IM

10/06/2019 -

Praggnanandhaa R. pulls off a shocking upset by defeating the top-seed and compatriot Vidit Gujrathi. Nihal Sarin cruises through with the King's Indian while Abhijeet Gupta falters against Iranian prodigy Alireza Firouzja. Murali Karthikeyan foils Vishnu Prasanna's ambitious exchange sacrifice and holds Sethuraman to a steady draw. Elsewhere in the Women's section Bhakti Kulkarni draws against higher rated IM Dinara Saduakassova and emerges as the latest International Master of the country. Four rounds have ended in the Asian continental open and women's championships 2019, in this report we bring you the glimpses of the most important moments of rounds 3 and 4. 

Sasikiran's immortal at Poikovsky to beat Artemiev

10/06/2019 -

Krishnan Sasikiran was up against the Russian star Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev in the third round of the ongoing Karpov Poikovsky tournament. Widely hailed to be the successor of the recently retired legend Vladimir Kramnik, the 21 years old Artemiev is undoubtedly the next big thing in chess from Russia. A grandmaster only from 2014, he is already close to being in the top ten of the FIDE rating list. His recent victories include winning the Gibraltar masters in January this year, taking a clear first place and the European Individual Championship title in March. But when your opponent is Krishnan Sasikiran - one of India's finest and most experienced grandmasters - no matter who you are, you better be well prepared. In the present article we look into the brilliant game that Sasikiran played on Saturday to beat Artemiev and try to understand what took the 2761 rated chess prodigy out of his depth.

Women's Candidates: Goryachkina scores her fifth win of the tournament

10/06/2019 -

Tournament leader Aleksandra Goryachkina continued her winning streak when she defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk after the latter blundered a piece in an already difficult situation. Nana Dzagnidze self-destructed when she gave away her Queen for Rook and Bishop against Tan Zhongyi. After which it became almost impossible for her to make a comeback in the game. Anna Muzychuk and Mariya Muzychuk made a quick draw. Valentina Gunina and Kateryna Lagno also ended in an uneventful draw. Round 8 was the second match with the same opponents as round 1 with a reversed color. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Norway 2019 Round 5: Aronian's trickery and Vishy's consecutive Armageddon wins!

10/06/2019 -

The symphony with mathematics continued, as all 5 classical games were drawn in Round 5! Levon Aronian had the best chance to win against Ding Liren, but the Armenian genius couldn't properly assess the winning continuation. The Armageddons though were something else. Ding Liren was completely lost, somehow managed to find himself a queen up, yet could only find perpetual check. Carlsen was suffering against MVL before escaping with a repetition. Yu Yangyi turned the tables on a hapless Caruana after finding his king under a monsterous kingside attack. Grischuk won on time against Mamedyarov, who had White! Anand was the only one who drew his game as black comfortably without much action. An exhaustive report from Norway Chess by Tanmay Srinath.

The Fun of Chess Tactics

09/06/2019 -

Why is it so much fun to solve tactical puzzles? The first reason has nothing to do with chess: Solving an interesting problem brings a sense of achievement. This releases a quantity of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a complex neurotransmitter and constitutes part of the brain’s neurochemical motivation and reward mechanism, often cited in pop culture as the “hormone of happiness”. It is the same substance your head gets overdosed with when you fall in love.

Women's Candidates: Gunina beats Zhongyi, Goryachkina extends her lead

09/06/2019 -

Anna Muzychuk got a winning chance against Alexandra Kosteniuk after the latter's exchange sacrifice was dealt properly, but due to time pressure Anna missed it and the game ended up in a draw. Mariya declined a threefold repetition against Goryachkina in the endgame and it ended up in a draw eventually. Kateryna-Nana's game was a marathon game of 80 moves before a draw was agreed in a rook ending, although Nana had a decent advantage in early endgame. Gunina defeated former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi in Petroff's Defence after the former used her double bishops so well that Zhongyi had to give up the exchange. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

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