Prague Chess Festival 2022 Masters R5-6: Liem leads, Harikrishna trails

15/06/2022 -

Pentala Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi drew both of their respective games in Round 5 and 6. Liem Quang Le (VIE) emerged as the sole leader 4.5/6 at Prague International Chess Festival 2022 Masters. He is closely followed by Harikrishna at 4/6. They will face each other today in the seventh round. Vidit is still struggling at 2.5/6. In the Challengers section, Sasikiran lost his fifth round game against the in-form Hans Niemann (USA). He bounced back well by winning against Peter Michalik in the following round. Round 7 starts today at 3 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival

The Praggnanandhaa interview on winning the Norway Chess Open

14/06/2022 -

Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the Norway Chess Open with 7.5/9, gaining 6 elo points in the process. His performance rating was of 2676, and his current live rating is 2648.6. A short interview was conducted with Pragg after his victory. Check out his thoughts on the tournament triumph, and the complete analysis of his most favorite game of the tournament - his round 8 win against GM Victor Mikhalevski. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

FIDE WSCC 2022 Round of 16: Vaishali eliminates World Blitz Women champion Bibisara Assaubayeva

14/06/2022 -

IM Vaishali R defeated the reigning World Blitz Women 2021 champion, IM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ). The Guiness World Record holder was trailing in both 5+1 and 3+1 segments. However, she almost managed to force tie-breaks until Vaishali won the crucial 1+1 game to win the Round of 16 match. The India no.3 has advanced to the Quarterfinals of FIDE Women's Speed Chess Championship 2022. She will face the winner of Nana Dzagnidze and Koneru Humpy in the next stage. The second Round of 16 match is between GM Harika Dronavalli and WGM Deysi Cori (PER) starts today at 7 p.m. IST. Photo: chess.com

New: Herman Grooten: Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol. 1+2

14/06/2022 -

IM Herman Grooten will offer rules-of-thumb and concepts to give club chess players the necessary guidance to try and find the right paths in their own games. In this two-part course the emphasis will be on typical pawn-structures, ones that appear quite often in games and that will be very recognisable to club level chess players. The Vol.1 of the DVD contains the topics of Open, Half-Open and The Pawn Chain. Vol.2 of the DVD discuss the quintessential Isolated Queen's Pawn and The Passed Pawn. Check out these two important DVDs and increase your knowledge of pawn structures from IM FT Herman Grooten. Photo: ChessBase

Harikrishnan wins 9 Sportz All India Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2022

13/06/2022 -

IM Harikrishnan A Ra scored an unbeaten 8/9. IM Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad also scored the same, however Harikrishnan edged past Bala on tie-breaks to win 9 Sportz All India Rapid Rating Open Chess Tournament 2022. Five players scored 7.5/9 each. Among them, IM P Shyam Nikhil was adjudged third. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹240000, ₹200000 for Rapid  Rating and ₹40000 for Blitz Open. Top three prizes in the Rapid Rating were ₹30000, ₹20000 and ₹15000 along with a trophy each. A total of 285 players in the Rapid Rating and 160 in the Blitz Open including a GM and 6 IMs took part in this two-day Rapid Rating and Blitz Open tournament held at Mysore, Karnataka.

3rd Vizag GM Open R1-4: Konguvel makes a perfect start

13/06/2022 -

IM P Konguvel is a revered chess player and gentleman of the game. He is in a three-way lead 4/4 along with the top seed GM Farrukh Amonatov and GM Stupak Kirill at GITAM University 3rd Vizag GM International Open 2022. He scored sublime victories over GM Boris Savchenko and IM Nigmatov Ortik in the third and fourth round respectively. The perfect start by Konguvel does not surprise us. He is former National 'A' champion (1995) and has GM strength. He has all the norms, only the rating requirement is left to be fulfilled. The current rating system might make things difficult to increase by a lot for an adult. However, Konguvel is certainly going to strive for it. Round 5 starts today at 10 a.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Anand's fantastic performance in Norway Chess!

12/06/2022 - Vishy Anand played some fantastic chess in the Norway Chess. He finished 3rd in a very strong field, and defeated Magnus twice- once in Blitz, once in Armageddon! In this article, we talk with Vishy about his overall performance, his games in the event, his resignation against Shakh, and a lot more.

Breaking News: Rahul Srivasthav becomes India's 74th Grandmaster

12/06/2022 -

19-year-old Rahul Srivasthav P crossed 2500 in the live ratings at Cattolica Chess Festival 2022 Open on Friday 10th June. He drew with Georgia no.2 GM Levan Pantsulaia in the penultimate eighth round at Cattolica, Rimini, Italy. He already had five GM-norms before fulfilling the rating criteria. The teenager from Hyderabad, Telangana is currently studying Economics in University of Texas in Dallas, Texas, USA. He becomes Telangana's fourth GM after Arjun Erigaisi, Harsha Bharathakoti and Raja Rithvik R. Let's take a look at Rahul's journey towards the coveted GM title from the man himself in a short live interview.

Play at the Olympiad Torch Run International Open Rapid Chess Tournament 2022

12/06/2022 -

For the first ever in Chess Olympiad history, there will be a torch relay. Next Sunday, on 19th June 2022, Olympiad Torch Run International Rapid Open Chess Tournament will take place at Indira Gandhi International Stadium in New Delhi. Total ₹1000000 prize fund is up for grabs. That's not all. Vishy Anand himself will be present there. Entry fee is only ₹200. Over 500 players have already registered for the event. A maximum of 1500 number of entries will be accepted. It is a one-day non-rating Rapid Chess Tournament. Check out the article for more details about the tournament and do not miss this fantastic opportunity. Photo: Tournament Circular

Prague Chess Festival 2022 Masters R3-4: Harikrishna's beautiful Knightmare

12/06/2022 -

We all know that two knights cannot force a checkmate to a lone king, only helpmate is possible. What if a pawn is added to the position, does that change the equation? Harikrishna showcased a beautiful way to score a victory which was seemingly a draw. Sure his opponent, Parham made a few mistakes. However, it was the India no.3's immaculate technique that earned him a full point. It is well-known that endgame is his forte, and once again he showed it to the world. Today is a rest day. Round 5 starts tomorrow Monday 13th June at 3 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival

Interview with India's 74th GM Rahul Srivatshav

11/06/2022 -

India gets its 74th Grandmaster in the form of Rahul Srivatshav! Rahul achieved his final GM Norm in the Cattolica Open 2022. Check out the story of the 19-year-old GM who manages a degree in Economics and the Grandmaster-level play together- how does he do it? We explore it all in this exclusive interview with the man himself.

Praggnanandhaa wins Norway Chess Open 2022

11/06/2022 -

Tournament favorite and the top seed of the event, GM Praggnanandhaa won Norway Chess Open 2022 convincingly. He scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 and finished a full point ahead of the competition. In the final round, Praggnanandhaa beat fellow countryman, IM Prraneeth Vuppala to win the tournament. He won 32000 NOK (approx. ₹2.57 lacs) cash as his prize. The 16-year-old performed at 2676 and gained 6.4 Elo rating points. Prraneeth was the only other Indian taking part in this event. He scored 6/9, secured sixth place and earned 3000 NOK (approx. ₹24158). Check out Praggnanandhaa's games from the event. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

Magnus Carlsen clinches his fifth Norway Chess title, Vishy Anand third

11/06/2022 -

Magnus Carlsen won 10th Norway Chess 2022 convincingly. He scored 16.5/27 and finished a full point ahead of the field. Despite losing three Armageddon in this event, he still managed to win it. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had a good opportunity to win the tournament, however he was denied glory by his fellow countryman Teimour Radjabov. The upcoming FIDE Candidates participant displayed his defensive skills and beat his opponent in the Armageddon to ensure Mamedyarov finishes second 15.5/27. Vishy Anand beat Aryan Tari in Armageddon to secure third position 14.5/27. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

44th Chess Olympiad Official Logo, Mascot and Hashtag unveil

10/06/2022 -

The 44th Chess Olympiad is less than 50 days away. The official logo, mascot and hashtag were unveiled by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, AICF President Dr. Sanjay Kapoor and AICF Secretary and Olympiad Tournament Director Bharat Singh Chauhan in Chennai. 'Thambi' is the official mascot of this biggest sporting event in India. A day before, it was announced that for the first time in Chess Olympiad history, Torch Relay will take place at each Olympiad starting from the 44th edition. Check out the Official Mascot, Logo, Hashtag and a short video of the unveil event shared by Tamil Nadu CM's twitter. Photo: AICF

Prague Chess Festival 2022 Masters R2: A tough day

10/06/2022 -

Sometimes things do not turn out the way we want it to be. A loved one may not respond the way you expected, words can be misconstrued, and the result on the 64 squares may end up being the undesired one. Vidit was on the unfortunate end of a now common draw in the Petroff's Defence against Spain no.2, David Anton Guijarro. Harikrishna's opponent Spain no.1 Francisco Vallejo Pons did not give him any opportunity. Sasikiran was denied any point by Germany no.1, Vincent Keymer. Overall, it was a tough a day for the Indian players at Prague International Chess Festival 2022 in both Masters and Challengers section. Round 3 starts today at 3 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival