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Saint Louis Rapid day two: Battle of world war one veterans!

16/08/2017 -

Day two of the Saint Louis Rapid held special importance. Two old foes Vishy Anand and Garry Kasparov, who had played the World Championship match against each other 22 years ago, were going to be seated opposite each other in the sixth round. It was a complex Sicilian Defence that ended in a draw. Meanwhile, Kasparov lost his first game after making a comeback by spoiling a very promising position against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Nepo is now the sole leader of the tournament. Our author IM V. Saravanan brings you all the action from the Saint Louis Chess Club. 

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A stamp of excellence for Dibyendu Barua

16/08/2017 -

It is a glorious moment for Indian chess. Arjuna Awardee GM Dibyendu Barua's postal stamp was released on 10th of August 2017 by Government of India. From being the youngest (12 years) to participate in Indian National Championship to defeating Viktor Korchnoi at the age of 16, to becoming the second Indian grandmaster, to winning National Championship 3 times. He has done it all. He won the Arjuna award in 1993. And now this postal stamp release. It's not just a feather in his cap, but a moment of pride for the entire Indian chess fraternity.

National Challengers 2017 Round 4: Mary Ann Gomes wins an instructive rook endgame

16/08/2017 -

Perfect scorers were chopped down from seventeen to just six in the fourth round of the 55th National Challengers. The round witnessed some nail-biting action: Mary Ann Gomes won the day with her instructive endgame against GM Deepan Chakravarthy; GM Abhijit Kunte squeezed a win out in a seemingly drawn endgame against Arjun Erigaisi; while players from team Railways showed no mercy beating down their own teammates on the top two boards. A report with pictures and games from Ahmedabad.

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz: Kasparov makes a solid comeback

16/08/2017 -

Saint Louis became the focal point of world attention as the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov, sat on the board, back from his retirement after 12 years! V. Saravanan was at the venue and he tells us about how the playing hall suddenly started looking really small as people rushed to buy tickets to see the great Garry in action. Kasparov managed to remain unbeaten with three draws on day one. Vishy Anand had an off day as he scored just 0.5/3. We have a full report with the biggest blunders, brilliant moves and all the action from the first day of Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz.

Bangladesh's three time sub-junior champion in need of help

15/08/2017 -

He is a three-time national sub-junior champion of Bangladesh, a Candidate Master and has a current rating of 2174. Life was excellent for Ikramul Haq Siam, until a few months ago he was hit by an illness that has degenerated his disc and paralyzed his right leg. His mother recently passed away and Siam is all alone. The doctors have asked him to go for a surgery as soon as possible in order to ensure that he remains alive. Siam is unable to manage the finances for his operation. The 19-year-old boy has asked the chess community to help him come out of this and be back on the chess board.

National Challengers 2017 Round 2+3: Day of underdogs!

15/08/2017 -

They say Indian players are under-rated. Well, this was shown in ample measure at rounds two and three of the National Challengers 2017. Players rated 500 points below their grandmaster opponents were able to draw their games. Especially noteworthy is the performance of Chaitanya Sairam Mogili, rated 1781, and has drawn against a GM, IM and a WFM. We have pictures from Ahmedabad and game analysis. Seventeen players lead with a perfect score after three rounds.

Anand vs Kasparov - Revival of a fascinating rivalry

14/08/2017 -

When Vishy played Kasparov for the World Championship Match in 1995, the Indian youngster was brilliant, but inexperienced. One of Anand's major drawback was lack of high class opening preparation. Fast forward 22 years and the same Anand is feared in elite chess circles as a master of opening preparation! Chess fans always wondered how would Kasparov have fared against this meticulously prepared Anand. Well it remained only a theoretical question as Kasparov had retired in 2005. But now from 14th-18th we will see Garry back on the board in Saint Louis, and the age-old rivalry will be renewed. V. Saravanan takes you down the memory lane.

National Challengers Round 1: 14-year-old holds GM Sriram Jha

14/08/2017 -

The Open National Challengers 2017 has got underway in Ahmedabad from 13th of August. All the grandmasters had a smooth outing in the first round except for one - GM Sriram Jha. The grandmaster from Delhi was held to a draw by 14-year-old Mounika Akshaya. Few more higher rated players faced the heat and were made to split the points. The battles are heating up and ChessBase India brings you the action from Karnavati club.

Komodo 11: A review

13/08/2017 -

When it comes to chess engines, Komodo 11 is bang up to date and is often referred to as the engine that can think like humans! Amazed by this, Davide Nastasio got his hands on this silicon giant to test it out for himself. After spending several hours exploring the various features of Komodo, he was not only convinced that the engine does analyse positions in a human-like manner but also felt it is an extremely useful tool for the modern chess player. Below is his insightful review.

A surprise from India at the scenic Sitges in Barcelona

13/08/2017 -

Our Spanish trip is coming to an end. Nearing its close, this 53-day-long journey of ours took us to Sitges, a coastal town south-west of Barcelona which is renowned for its beauty across the globe. Besides enjoying the town’s sandy beaches, our aim here was to make it big at the 43rd Sitges International Chess Open. As the tournament concluded, the young Peruvian GM Cori Jorge etched his name on the title prize. Unfortunately for the Indian contingent, none of the players was able to finish among the top 10. 50-year-old IM Anup Deshmukh’s scintillating performance outshined all young stars as he finished as the best Indian performer at the event. Anyway, seeing our motherland make its presence felt in a foreign land filled our hearts with respect and pride. In this article, Niklesh Jain takes you on a Spanish journey.

National Challengers 2017 kicks off with Parthiv Patel as the chief guest

13/08/2017 -

One of the most important tournaments in the Indian circuit National Challengers 2017 is about to begin from 13th of August 2017. On 12th August former Indian test cricketer Parthiv Patel attended the opening ceremony and made the inaugural moves against WIM Dhyani Dave. Round one begins at 3 p.m. on 13th. Top seed is GM Aravindh Chithambaram followed by  S.L. Narayanan, Lalith Babu and ten other grandmasters and seventeen International Masters. Pictures from the opening ceremony.

MVL wins Sinquefield Cup 2017, Anand finishes second

12/08/2017 -

Maxime Vachier Lagrave has won many super tournaments in his life. He is also called as Mr. Biel for his excellent performances over the years in the Swiss grandmaster event. However, this Sinquefield victory surely trumps everything else that he has conquered. In the final round he won a smooth game against Nepomniachtchi and won the title with a score of 6.0/9. Vishy Anand drew his game with Wesley and achieved an admirable second spot with 5.5/9. Third place went to Magnus Carlsen. Final report of the event from Saint Louis by V. Saravanan.

Sinquefield Cup 2017 Round 8: In for a tense finish!

12/08/2017 -

The penultimate round at the Sinquefield Cup 2017 kept all the possibilties open. Vishy Anand drew his game against MVL. The duo maintained their lead with 5.0/8 along with Levon Aronian. Magnus Carlsen was unable to win against Nepomniactchi. He is now joined on 4.5/8 by Sergey Karjakin who was able to outplay Wesley So. Five players have a theoretical chance to win the title! We are in for a tense finale! Complete round 8 report from Saint Louis.

On his 12th birthday Praggnanandhaa gifts himself 2500 Elo!

11/08/2017 -

On 10th of August Praggnanandhaa turned 12 years old. Sergey Karjakin achieved the title of grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months. Pragg has seven months left to become world's youngest GM. He made tangible progress in that direction by scoring 6.0/7 at the Hogeschool Zeeland tournament in Vlissingen, Netherlands. With that he has a rating performance of 2653. He is well and truly on his way to making his maiden GM norm. He has also gained 13.7 Elo points and has crossed 2500 mark in the live ratings.

Why did Parimarjan Negi quit chess?

11/08/2017 -

He was a child prodigy, a rising star, the future of chess. He grew up breaking one record after another and was the source of his nation’s pride. He loved the game. Yet, at a certain point he quietly stepped away from the spotlight. He stopped climbing the Mount Everest. With the same pair of hands that used to send pieces flying across 64 squares in one-minute bullet, he pushed open the heavy metallic gates of the Stanford University that stood before him. Why did Parimarjan Negi quit chess? Yuanling Yuan for Chess Life tells you why.

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