Karjakin beats Anand for the first time

15/03/2016 -

They have played 26 games against each other (including blitz, rapid and classical) and Karjakin has never been able to win a single game against Vishy Anand. “I am very happy as today is my first classical win against Anand”, that’s what Sergey said when he was asked how he felt about the game. Anand made a few inaccuracies and the resulting ending was so passive for Black that Karjakin could take his own merry time to deliver the final blow. An impressive victory for Sergey. Analysis by IM Sagar Shah

HD Bank 2016: Diptayan pulls it through

14/03/2016 -

A decade or two back, Vietnam was more of a war than a nation, but not anymore -- today, they are among the fastest growing economies in Asia. The country hosted the 6th HD Bank Cup 2016 this month. Fifteen grandmasters and twenty-nine International Masters led a field of seventy-one players and five Indians were among them. An illustrated report with choice tactics and grandmaster analysis!

Joint lead at 2.0/3 for Anand

14/03/2016 -

With a draw in the third round against Fabiano Caruana, Anand maintains his joint lead at the event. It was truly a fine game by Vishy as he systematically tried to ground down the young American. In fact the Indian ace was better on many occasions but it just didn't prove enough to win. Going into the rest day Anand will have time to relax and prepare for his next encounter with Sergey Karjakin. As of now you can enjoy round three annotations by IM Sagar Shah.

Aronian and Anand split point in a theoretical battle

12/03/2016 -

After a resounding victory in the first round, Vishy Anand faced Levon Aronian in round two. It was a highly theoretical and modern variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, in which both the players were armed to the teeth with excellent home-preparation. Until move twenty they played moves that were already known by them and with some careful manoeuvring Anand was able to easily hold the draw with the black pieces. A fairly successful result for the Indian champion. We have in-depth game analysis from Moscow by IM Sagar Shah.

Candidates R01: Anand beats Topalov!

12/03/2016 -

Just like the Khanty Mansiysk Candidates in 2014, Vishy Anand began his campaign with a win in the Moscow Candidates 2016. He won a topsy turvy battle over Veselin Topalov. With this win Anand is the sole leader of the event as all the other three encounters ended in draws. We have the entire game between Anand and Topalov annotated in great detail by IM Sagar Shah.

Back to back IM norms for Praggnanandhaa!

11/03/2016 -

He is one of the best rising talents of India. After scoring his maiden IM norm at the Cannes festival just a few days ago, Praggnanandhaa followed it up with another brilliant performance at the Aeroflot Open 2016. He is just ten years old and already has two IM norms and a live rating of 2376! Little Praggu annotated two of his best games for our dear readers and also granted us a short video interview following his memorable performance.

Opening ceremony at the Candidates 2016 -- Go Vishy!

11/03/2016 -

The biggest chess extravaganza of 2016, the World Championship Candidates Tournament, is just hours away. The first round will be played at 3 p.m. local time on the 11th of March in the Central Telegraph building in Moscow. After playing the Aeroflot Blitz yesterday, Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal made their way to the opening ceremony and sent us some exclusive material from the Russian capital. A report from Moscow.

Hari wins Bronze at the 2016 IMSA Mind Games Blitz

10/03/2016 -

The IMSA Mindgames, is a bit of an in-between for FIDE, as far as chess is concerned, and the Olympics (the normal one, not the chess specific one). Each year it organizes a series of chess events, with a number of top players, offering medals as well as prizes. In this year's event were rapid, blitz and basque chess and India was represented by our two leading lights -- Harika and Harikrishna. We bring you an illustrated report depicting the Indian performance.

Aeroflot 03-08: Indians stay solid

08/03/2016 -

With an average rating of 2585 in the A-category, higher than even Qatar Masters's 2529, Aeroflot Open 2016 is right there among the handful of chess events to look forward to. A platoon of Indians has made its way through the freezing cold of Moscow to play in this tournament. We bring you an update on India's best performers so far in this illustrated report.

Melbourne Chess Club celebrates 150th anniversary

05/03/2016 -

The world knows that we Indians are a world-class force in chess, but what about non-resident Indians abroad? Chess is a young sport and budding down under in Australia from where our dear friend Anandaram Jothibabu reports the Melbourne Chess Club's 150th-anniversary tournament. An illustrated report with games.

Indians at International des Jeux de Cannes

05/03/2016 -

Have you played a tournament in a perfect setting with excellent conditions and everything that you could have hoped for - with an exception- you just cannot play chess there? Welcome to Cannes! The 30^th Festival International des Jeux de Cannes which was held from 22^nd February to 28^th February. It was a nine round swiss event with 79 titled players out of the total 111 in the A group with 19 Grandmasters. A perfect tournament to play chess one might say! IM Nisha Mohota brings us a richly illustrated report.

Aeroflot 01+02: pilgrimage to Moscow

03/03/2016 -

Aeroflot has been considered as the strongest Open in the world by default for many years now. There are newcomers in the form of Gibraltars and Qatars, but it is unlikely that anybody can really match the heritage of this annual tournament held in the chill of the Russian capital. They say one's chess education is incomplete without a sojourn in Russia and an army of Indians has made a pilgrimage to the holy city of Moscow. An illustrated report.

Vishy in 'Mann ki Baat'

01/03/2016 -

March is the month of examinations in our country and is often a stressful time for many of our friends -- the chess playing students. They have to cope with their usual appetite for our beautiful game and at the same time study hard for that impending examination that scares the living daylights out of some people. India's beloved Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly address to the nation via 'Mann ki Baat', discussed some valuable insights regarding examinations and how to deal with them. The Prime Minister had a special guest in the form of a cerebral olympian who himself was an above average student in his school days -- Vishy!

A visionary's take on Make in India

27/02/2016 -

The IIFLW International tournament was the brainchild of one man - Praful Zaveri. He put his heart and soul into organizing the event and at the end of the day made sure that the highest level of organization was maintained at the tournament. Nagesh Guttula, the CEO of South Mumbai Chess Academy, was thoroughly impressed with the conditions. He sent us this article applauding Praful Zaveri for the humungous efforts taken in organizing this world class event.

Tehran Women GP 2016