SYNA Open 2016: It's a team effort!

26/04/2016 -

The tournament with rupees five lakh prize fund, SYNA Open 2016, has already begun in Katni, Madhya Pradesh. After three rounds we have seventeen players with a perfect score of 3.0/3. It will be an intense fight for the top spots as strong players like Swapnil Dhopade, N.Srinath, Himal Gusain, Himanshu Sharma are giving it their all. Thoroughly inspiring is to see the entire staff of the SYNA international school completely dedicated in organizing a top notch event. A pictorial report from Katni.

Giri commits 'Hari'kiri!

25/04/2016 -

In the sixth round of the Norway Chess 2016 Harikrishna did something that not even the best in the business have been able to achieve! He beat the super solid Anish Giri with the black pieces! It's true that the Dutch grandmaster was off colour today, but Harikrishna was in top form taking advantage of every mistake made by his opponent and giving Giri absolutely no scope to create complications. It was smooth victory for Hari in his favourite French Defence. With this win the Indian GM now has +1 and is in joint second position in the tournament behind Magnus Carlsen!

Hari scores his first win at Norway Chess!

25/04/2016 -

Harikrishna played a blinder of a game to beat Li Chao at the fifth round of the Noway Chess 2016. Hari displayed purposeful aggression along with a keen sense of prophylactic thinking in the game. With this victory he powers himself to a 50% score. We also have a very nice video of Hari playing the mindball game on the rest day. A well spent rest day might well be the secret to his success against Li Chao!

Learn Swapnil's favourite line from GM Williams!

24/04/2016 -

One of the secrets of Karjkain's success at the Candidates 2016 in Moscow was his solid preparation in the Queen's Indian with the black pieces. Caruana, Topalov, Nakamura, Giri everyone tried but they couldn't break it. In this DVD GM Simon Williams shows us a way in which we can unsettle the Queen's Indian player by going for sharp and aggressive chess with the white pieces. He suggests a line which is a favourite of GM Swapnil Dhopade. We caught up with Swapnil to know what he thinks about this opening and also give you an idea of what can be expected from the DVD.

A Song of Ice and Fire, and Bobby Fischer

23/04/2016 -

The Game of Thrones is a wildly popular TV-show all across the world, with young and old alike watching the series with the devotion that seems unmatched. The characters, as well as the story itself, has achieved cult status following. Not surprisingly, the TV-show has an army of followers in India as well, and many of the chessplayers here, especially those belonging to the younger generation, are die-hard fans of the story, probably because of the chess-like themes so dominant in it. The TV-show is based on an equally popular series of books named 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. Did you know that George RR Martin, the man who created this whole concept, was a chessplayer? Read on.

Norway Rd.4: Hari misses the 'Grand'elius opportunity

23/04/2016 -

Hari started his fourth round with a score of 1.0/3. His opponent was Nils Grandelius, the last seed at the event, and right after the opening Black had an excellent position. It seemed as if Hari would win this game but a few inaccurate moves and staunch defence by Grandelius meant that almost all of Hari's advantage had evaporated. A good defensive effort by the Swedish GM but Harikrishna would be kicking himself for missing out on the golden opportunity. In-depth game analysis.

Dubai 08+09: Vidit joint second

22/04/2016 -

Indians Sethuraman and Gagare were in close pursuit of the leaders before the eighth round began. However, things did not end positively for them. In the end, after nine rounds of play, Vidit Gujrathi ended joint second with 7.0/9, fifth on the tie-break. Englishman GM Gawain Jones completed a double victory after his win in the blitz event, lifting the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Cup. Report.

Harikrishna consolidates with two draws

22/04/2016 -

After losing to Magnus Carlsen in the first round, Harikrishna consolidated his situation in the tournament with two draws in rounds two and three against Pavel Eljanov and Veselin Topalov respectively. Hari can be happy with his round two encounter with Eljanov where he had his chances in the Saemisch Nimzo, but with the white pieces against Topalov he didn't get even the slightest of advantage. In this article we have a look at both these games.

Stany scores his maiden GM norm

21/04/2016 -

Stany has been one of the strongest International Masters in India for quite some time now. But he never really seemed to be taking the next step towards the GM title. But in the past six months he seems to be in a hurry. The 23-year-old from Karnataka has not only gained 60 Elo points but also achieved his maiden grandmaster norm. In this article Stany describes his journey of how he achieved the GM norm and also shares with us a truly beautiful victory against a Lithuanian GM.

R.B. Ramesh: An Interview

20/04/2016 -

R.B. Ramesh has been a top-class coach in India for a while now and has regularly brought home laurels in various important events with his chess guidance and terrific man-management skills. Today, the Chennai-based grandmaster turned forty! In a freewheeling chat, Ramesh, an astute chess coach, discussed many critical facets of the sport and its development in India.

Norway R01: Hari outplayed by Force Magnus

20/04/2016 -

Playing a super-elite tournament after almost two years is a difficult task in itself. You are definitely not helped by the fact that you have to face the World Champion with black pieces. Magnus played a nearly flawless game and won in smooth positional style. Hari's mistake can be traced all the way back to the eighth move when by not following the theoretical paths he landed in an inferior position. We have detailed analysis as well as a nice a suggestion for you on how to combat the Queen's Indian.

The search for Mumbai's second grandmaster!

19/04/2016 -

How do you go about changing the level of chess players in a city like Mumbai? A city that has a population of nearly 12 million people, is the financial hub of the nation, but has produced only one grandmaster till date. To bring a positive transformation we need dedicated and selfless individuals. Hemangi and Rishi Gupta have the dream of creating champion chess players in the city. And it is with this vision they have started the iLead Chess Academy. As Lao Tzu said,"Every journey of thousand miles begins with a single step." Read on and know more about the fantastic work iLead is involved in.

Dubai 04-07: Shardul and Sethu in pursuit

18/04/2016 -

Dubai is a city known for its energy, optimism and openness to the people from across the globe. The emirate is a place that is constantly in flux and the world has witnessed it mature as a city and as a society. The tournament has established a new record in participation approximately 200 players from 41 countries, including 46 Grandmasters, of which 25 are rated above 2600. 60 competitors are Indians, with many youngsters hunting for norms and points. At the end of seven rounds, Shardul Gagare and S.P. Sethuraman are tied at the second spot with 5.5/7, pursuing four leading grandmasters. A report.

Bangkok 06-09: Ganguly wins the title!

17/04/2016 -

India's Surya Shekhar Ganguly is the 2016 Bangkok Chess Club Open Champion, finishing ahead in the tiebreaker by the narrowest of margins over Spain's Paco Vallejo. We had reported earlier how Dhopade and Ganguly were in the race for a high finish at the 2016 Bangkok Open. Loek van Wely was leading the table at the end of five rounds. Read the first part of our final report chronicling Ganguly's victory march.

Asian Youth Championship 2016