IM Saravana Krishnan and Md Reyan win the Marvel Chess Academy, Hyderabad twin tournaments

23/11/2021 -

The players’ hunger for the Over The Board tournament after a gap of 20 months was evident from the massive turn-out for the 3rd Hyderabad Open and 4th Hyderabad Below 1600 FIDE Rated Chess Tournaments, organised by Marvel Chess Academy from 6th to 10th and from 11th to 13th November 2021 respectively. Fifth seeded international master Saravana Krishnan P of Karur Vysya Bank Tamil Nadu won the open tournament, scoring 8.5 points, conceding only one draw to IM Himal Gusain of Chandigarh. Check out a beautifully annotated game shared by the winner, IM P Saravana Krishnan. Photo: R Anantharam

Arjun Erigaisi and Levon Aronian are the winners of Tata Steel Chess India 2021 Rapid and Blitz

22/11/2021 -

The final day of the Tata Steel Chess India 2021 Blitz witnessed lots of exciting chess. It was difficult to predict who is going to take the winner's trophy as the leaders kept changing throughout the day between Nihal, Gukesh, Parham, Aronian and Arjun. Nihal had the championship fingertips away as he was the sole leader heading into the final round. A win against Parham would have given him the championship as no one else would have been able to catch him. Raunak played a spoilsport in Gukesh's championship hopes as he beat him in the penultimate round. It was Arjun and Aronian who tied for the first place. When two Blitz games could not decide the winner, it was time for Armageddon which Aronian won and emerged the winner of the Blitz event. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Express Report: Levon Aronian wins Tata Steel Chess Blitz in Armageddon Playoffs

21/11/2021 -

Levon Aronian beat Arjun Erigaisi in the Armageddon Playoffs to win Tata Steel Chess India 2021 Blitz. The second day of the Blitz event saw several players at the top throughout the day between Nihal, Gukesh, Levon, Parham and Arjun. However, in the end it was Aronian and Arjun who tied for the first place at 11.5/18 each. Arjun was completely winning in both Playoff games and Aronian admitted that he should have lost at least one of them. It was absolutely fitting that Arjun and Aronian finished at the top in Blitz and they had to play the tie-break games after their virtual final in the Rapid two days ago. The Aronian-Arjun saga is certainly far from over. It is just getting started. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Tata Steel Chess Blitz: Arjun grabs sole lead, now World no.14 in Blitz

20/11/2021 -

Records keep tumbling when Arjun Erigaisi plays tournaments. The 18-year-old continues his brilliant momentum in Blitz as he scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 to gain sole lead. He is the only player who remained undefeated for nine rounds of Blitz. His total unbeaten streak is at 16 games now at Tata Steel Chess India 2021. That's not all, he has climbed to World no.14 and India no.2 in Blitz in the live ratings. Aronian is once again in pursuit of Arjun as he is just a half point behind him at 6.0/9. They will face each other in the 14th round. The final day of Blitz starts tomorrow, Sunday 21st November from 1 p.m. IST at National Library of India, Kolkata. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Mitrabha Guha clinches Tata Steel Chess Festival 2021 All India Open Blitz

20/11/2021 -

Both GM Mitrabha Guha and IM Aronyak Ghosh scored an unbeaten 6.5/7 at the Tata Steel Chess Festival 2021 All India Blitz Open. The newly crowned Grandmaster edged past Aronyak on tie-breaks and clinched the championship. He won a trophy and ₹10000 cash as a prize for his efforts. Aronyak had to settle for second place. He received ₹6000. Five players finished at 6.0/7, IM Srijit Paul was placed due to better tie-breaks. A total of 134 players including 2 GM, 6 IMs and a WIM took part from various states across the country, in this seven-round Blitz tournament with a time control of 5 mins + 3 seconds each. The total prize fund was ₹35000. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

The 'Age of Arjun Erigaisi' begins with a monumental triumph at Tata Steel Chess India 2021 Rapid

19/11/2021 -

Arjun Erigaisi started hitting the next level at Goldmoney Asian Rapid this past summer when he ended Aronian's undefeated streak at the event. The healthy rivalry with Aronian began since then. The most anticipated match of the event between Aronian and Arjun did not disappoint. It delivered everything one can fathom - action, drama, high stakes, high-tension match which showcased Arjun's another quality which the majority of the Indian youth possess - true grit. No matter how adverse things might get, one needs to have the courage to fight back, even if your opponent is the mighty, only two-time World Cup winner in the history of chess. If you are wondering when are we going to get more Aronian-Arjun, you don't have to wait longer as they will play two blitz games in the next two days, starting tomorrow from 2 p.m. IST at Tata Steel Chess India 2021 Blitz. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Tata Steel Chess Rapid R4-6: The Arjun Erigaisi day

18/11/2021 -

It was not Arjun's birthday, but the way he played, it can easily be called 'The Arjun Erigaisi day' as he scored a hat-trick, gained sole lead and beat former US champion Sam Shankland in just 19 moves. In case you missed it, yesterday he won a game in just 17 moves. This just shows his preparation, strength and consistency. He is now a full point ahead of his competition, 5.0/6. Praggnanandhaa and Aronian are at 4.0/6 each. He will face Adhiban, Vidit and Aronian in the final three games tomorrow. Arjun vs. Aronian is something everyone is waiting for with bated breath. Round 7 starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Deep Dive into Day 1 of Tata Steel Chess India 2021

18/11/2021 -

IM Sagar Shah brings you a few positions from day one that will help you to go deeper into the games. That's why we call the series as Deep Dive. You will be able to understand some of the best moves played by players and also you will get to know which were the great possibilities missed by them. On day 1 of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid, we had 15 games and we have chosen six positions for you. Levon Aronian leads the tournament with 3.0/3 followed by three Indian players - Pragg, Arjun and Vidit.

Tata Steel Chess Rapid R1-3: Arjun bests Karthikeyan in 17 moves

17/11/2021 -

Levon Aronian has taken the sole lead at the end of the first day of Tata Steel Chess India 2021 Rapid. The two-time World Cup winner beat Shankland, Adhiban and Vidit. Although Shankland was not completely lost in their game, it's just his misadventures with the king cost him the full point. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun and Vidit are at 2.0/3 each. Only Praggnanandhaa has remained undefeated. The opening match between the siblings did not disappoint. At one point, Vaishali had the upper hand. However, the younger one, Praggnanandhaa, managed to wriggle out of trouble and save the day. His other draw was against Shankland. Round 4 starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes

Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz 2021 preview

17/11/2021 -

Tata Steel started India's first super tournament in 2018. World champion Magnus Carlsen won it in 2019 which was also a part of Grand Chess Tour. The tournament could not take place last year due to Covid-19 pandemic. As we slowly move towards restoring normalcy, Tata Steel is back to organize India's strongest chess tournament once again. This year there is a good mix of world's best players and talented youngsters. For the first time in Tata Steel Chess India, two women will take part - Vaishali in Rapid and Harika in Blitz. Adhiban got married the day before and flew the next day to take part in this event. Who is your pick to win the Rapid and Blitz event? Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Raahul VS is the latest International Master of India

16/11/2021 -

18-year-old Raahul VS scored his first IM-norm back in March 2017 at Sharjah Open. He scored his second IM-norm at Prague Open 2018 and in the next ten months, he scored his final IM-norm at 1st Goa GM Open. He reached 2381 in December 2018, but a few setbacks moved him further away from 2400. The Chennai lad played his last over-the-board tournament 4th Shaastra Rapid Rating in February 2020. The Covid-19 delayed his opportunity to fulfill the rating criteria. 14-months later he returned to Classical chess tournament. He scored his fourth and fifth IM-norm before crossing 2400 in the live ratings on Children's day, 14th November to become India's latest International Master. Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Pranesh gets a boost for his GM title journey with October 2021 YouTube memberships fund

15/11/2021 -

Pranesh is one of the biggest talents in the country. The reason? The boy was born in 2006 and as on March 2020, he had an Elo of 2437, IM title and 1 GM norm. And this he did by playing most of his tournaments in India. Due to the pandemic its been 20 months since Pranesh played a rated game. Hailing from a humble background where his father is a Javuli worker and mother is an Anganwadi worker, Pranesh's GM dreams (2 GM norms and 63 Elo points left) need financial backing. That's the reason why the October fund of our YouTube memberships of Rs.62,194 goes to Pranesh for his upcoming Europe trip. Rs.45,000 are contributed by Prakhar Gupta and the total amount comes to Rs.1,07,194.

My first ever ‘first’ place (U-1600) in an OTB event

14/11/2021 -

NCS Japan’s official over-the-board event in Tokyo area resumed with the Halloween Rapid Tournament after almost seven months. Full participation and a lot of fun games ensued. It was a one-day rapid tournament which took place on 24th October, a week before Halloween. Mayur Gondhalekar, currently residing in Japan, a chess enthusiast who loves to play chess and follow the sport, writes his experience after winning his first ever over-the-board tournament in under-1600 category. He also shares a picturesque checkmate which he did on the board and shares a few games from the event. For those who are yet to attend an otb event, there is a very nice video made by WCM Natsumi Kojima which shares dos and don'ts of visiting and spectating tournament games.

New: ChessBase Magazine #204

13/11/2021 -

The new ChessBase Magazine #204 dedicates its "Special" to the strongest female chess player of all time: Judit Polgar! The CBM authors annotate their favourite games of the attacking artist, Mihail Marin shows her great strategic skills and Karsten Müller shows her virtuosity in the endgame. The issue also contains the best from the European Championship 2021 - with analyes by the new Champion Anton Demchenko, Viktor Erdos, Daniel Fridman, Nils Grandelius, Maxime Lagarde, Aleksei Sarana, Ivan Saric and others. In his first opening video for the magazine, Austrian GM Markus Ragger presents an idea of World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the 3.Bb5+ Sicilian. Plus 11 opening articles ("A clear attacking plan against the Rubinstein Variation: 7.Be3", "Modern and simple vs. the Najdorf: 7.Nf3/8.Bg5" etc.), as well as training columns on tactics, strategy and endgame. All in a new layout!. Photo: ChessBase

Nur-Sultan will host World Rapid and Blitz 2021

12/11/2021 -

FIDE World Rapid and Blitz championship is back after a yearlong hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic. The eligibility criteria and total prize fund remains the same, however the total number of rounds in the Rapid format gets reduced to 13 in Open and 11 in Women, previously it was 15 and 12 respectively. The total number of rounds in Blitz remain unchanged. Magnus, Humpy and Lagno are the defending champions. They would definitely like to defend their titles. Among the Indians, it would be great to see Anand and Harikrishna return to the event along with Vidit, Adhiban, Narayanan, Nihal, Sasikiran, Ganguly, Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh, Raunak, Harika and others. Photo: Alexey Tarakanov

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