India's first chess features print magazine published quarterly from Lucknow since 2004 by Aspire Welfare Society.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Abhijeet Gupta wins Al Ain Chess Classic, Juniors win 3 Golds for India

Al Ain, Dec 29: Grandmaster and former world junior chess champion Abhijeet Gupta benefitted from the late arrival of Gerogia's Baadur Jobava to win the Al-Ain Classic International Open Chess tournament that concluded here at the UAE university.
 

Best team for India prize as well!

In a bizarre turn of events, top seeded and rating favourite Jobava failed to turn up for the final game in time, giving the points as walkover and the title to Gupta who had kept himself in contention with two victories on the trot prior to the last round.

For the records, Gupta scored seven points out of a possible nine and tied for the top spot along with Vasif Dararbayli of Azerbaijan and Martin Kravitsiv of Georgia but won the title on tie-break with a total of six wins and two draws.

Earlier, after a sedate start, Gupta came back strongly in the event defeating GM Aloyzas Kveinys of Lithuania in the penultimate round.

Gupta's victory added to Indian celebration as a total of eight medals were won by the youngsters in the world youth chess championships that concluded at the same time.

R Praggnanandaah was the pick of the boys winning the gold in the under-8 championship with a tremendous 11 points out of 11 games. The Indian finished two points clear of nearest rivals here.

In the under-10 girls' section, Saina Salonika deservingly won the gold scoring nine points while C Lakshmi won the bronze in this section a half point behind.

The Indian duo of Murali Karthikeyan and Girish Kaushik dominated the under-16 championship scoring nine points in all. Karthikeyan, a former under-12 world champion, however had the better tie-break for the gold while Kaushik won the silver.

Among other Indians in the fray, Raghunandan K Srihari won the silver in under-12 section while Bhagyashree Patil and Grandmaster Vaibhav Suri won bronze medals in under-8 girls and under-18 respectively.

The Indian team also won the best team prize as the maximum medal winning country in the mammoth event that saw participation of over 1700 children from various parts of the globe. -- PTI

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Begin 2014 with Two Fantastic Chess Tournaments in India: Gurgaon, Delhi Chess Opens this January!

2014 Big Chess Start in India: Now you can begin 2014 with great chess at the two back-to-back Grandmaster International Chess Open tournaments in India this January. 

The Gurgaon GM International Chess Open 2014 will be held from January 1 to 8 with a total prize money of Rs. 10,11,000. For more details check out this AICF chess tournament brochure.

Soon after, an hour away from Gurgaon, you can play the
12th Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament from January 9-16 with a prize money of Rs. 23, 00, 000/- + Laptops. Find all the details and even pay online the entry fee at the Delhi Chess Association website: http://delhichess.com/


This is it: The best chess New Year celebration you could gift yourself this 2014 in India!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

2013 and Indian Chess Memories

The Year 2013 for Indian Chess: New Delhi - It started with a great deal of chess excitement and anticipation but year 2013 turned out to be a disappointing one for Indian chess as the legendary Viswanathan Anand got outplayed in his own backyard to surrender the World Chess Championship crown.

It was a chess story of missed opportunities, expected draws and some unexpected losses for Anand as the veteran lost to Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship match held in his home town of Chennai.

There was a sense of enthusiasm in the beginning of the year as India begun its preparation to host the World Chess Championship in Chennai, where the Indian great was scheduled to defend his title, which he had won five times in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012.

Anand started the year with a joint third finish after suffering a shocking last-round defeat against Wang Hao of China at the 75th Tata Steel Chess tournament.

The Indian came back strongly, notching up his first title of the year when he scored an emphatic victory over German Arkadij Naiditsch to lift the Grenke Chess Classic trophy.

Anand then competed in a tough field at the Zurich Chess Challenge and finished second after beating Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the final round.
However, the year went from good to bad for Anand from here on as he finished third in the Alekhine memorial chess tournament after playing out a draw with Boris Gelfand of Israel in the ninth and final round at St. Petersburg, Russia in May.

In Norway Super tournament, Anand faced off with his world championship challenger Magnus Carlsen and the Indian held him to an easy draw.

He crushed Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria but suffered a shocking defeat to Hikaru Nakamura of US next. Despite a couple of draws, he stayed in contention for the title but a heart-breaking loss to Wang Hao of China meant he finished fourth.

Next month, Anand participated in Tal memorial and finished second in blitz tournament but in the main event, he lost to Fabiano Caruana of Italy, drew with Dmitry Andreikin of Russia, won against Russian Alexander Morozevich, and was held to a draw by Gelfand.

However, it was the shock defeat to Carlsen in the fifth round pushed him down the points table to seventh spot. He also lost to American Nakamura before drawing the next three games to finish ninth.

With four months to go for the much-awaited World Chess Championship, Anand started his preparation for the tournament with his seconds at an undisclosed location even as the hype surrounding the match touched a crescendo.

However, the 12-game tournament turned out to be a disappointing affair for Anand as the 22-year-old Carlsen broke the Indian brick by brick and dethroned him of his World Chess title with a draw in the 10th game.

The 44-year-old Indian, who was the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2007 to 2013, lost the title to the world number one with a scoreline of 6.5-3.5 after 10 of the 12 scheduled games.

Anand drew the first four games but then suffered two successive losses. The Indian drew the next two games but in the ninth round, Anand succumbed to another loss to push to the corner. Carlsen then drew the 10th game to complete his coronation as the new king of chess.

Anand took the heart-breaking defeat to Carlsen in his stride and participated in the London Chess Classic. He was in joint lead on seven points at the half-way stage of the preliminaries.

A victory over Luke McShane of England and an easy draw against tailender Andrei Istratescu of France helped him reached the quarters but a loss to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia saw him bows out of London Chess Classic.

While Anand tumbled, the young brigade, including Parimarjan Negi, notched up a few wins in the year to bring some smiles for the Indian fans. -- Amit Kumar Das/PTI

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Holiday chess Shopping: Ultimate Chess Trainer Chess King

Chess King 4 is in stock! With the newest and coolest engine Houdini 4 and Houdini 4 Pro. They have just updated the page http://chess-king.com/products/ . Huge power and very easy to use, just what's needed for 2014. Happy holidays to everyone!



Millionaire Chess Open launched by GM Maurice Ashley: Las Vegas Oct 2014

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - Dec. 19, 2013) - In 1972, Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in 'The Match of the Century,' a battle recounted on television sets and newspaper covers around the world. Next October, the Millionaire Chess Open hopes to garner similar attention by offering competitors the wealthiest prize in Open chess history.
 
The Millionaire Chess Open will be held over Columbus Day weekend October 9-13, 2014 at exciting Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, and boasts a total of a million dollars in prizes - a record payout for an open chess tournament. The tournament is the brainchild of International Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, a world-famous chess commentator often called on to be the voice of some of the biggest chess matches in the world. Mr. Ashley also served as the organizer for HB Global Chess Challenge in 2005, a $500,000 Open that - until now - claimed the record title.

Ashley is excited to finally announce the Millionaire Chess Open after months of preparation, and invites chess players of all levels to join him in Las Vegas for an event that will make chess history. "I am thrilled to be a part of this exhilarating tournament," states Ashley. "To offer players a chance of winning part of our million dollar prize pool in one the most exciting cities in the world has always been a dream of mine to organize."
Mr. Ashley will be assisted by Millionaire Chess Open co-partner Amy Lee, an entrepreneur helping to back the event, and the technological creativity of the MIT Media Lab, where Mr. Ashley serves as a Director's Fellow. The Media Lab will be represented at the tournament by MIT Assistant Professor Kevin Slavin and members of his Playful Systems research group.

"We are inviting up to 3,000 participants to a tournament that will electrify both fans and media around the world," stated Mr. Ashley. "The technological innovativeness that the MIT Media Lab brings will also allow us to present chess in ways never seen before. Hundreds of thousands of fans will be able to witness the top chess players from around the world in action live and online. We fully intend to make this an event like no other."

"The Millionaire Chess Open aims to place competitive chess beneath a global spotlight," stated Ms. Lee. "We want to bring a sense of luxury into the game, and we believe that nothing adds as much excitement as setting record stakes!"

Chess players from all over the world are welcome to register for the tournament on the tournament website MillionaireChess.com.

About Millionaire Chess Open
MCO will take place in Las Vegas Nevada at Planet Hollywood October 9-13, 2014 and boast the record for the highest stakes in chess. Entry is only $1000 with a chance to win up to $100,000 for a total of $1,000,000. Registration: www.millionairechess.com.

ACO World Amateur Chess Championship Rhodes Junes 6-15, 2014

Get, set, go to the ACO World Amateur Chess Championship 2014 on Rhodes (Greece) from June 6-15, 2014. More than 225 participants from over 30 countries: http://www.amateurchess.com/pages/participants-rhodes/
Many side program possibilites (Sight-seeing, aqua park, beach, wellness, sports, spa, blitz tournaments and much more).

New: GM Zigurds Lanka will be doing free training and master classes for all players. You can approach him whenever you want, he is available for free coaching during the whole tournament.
Information at the official website.

Also play online chess for free now on http://www.amateurchess.com

- Play online in your browser, no download

- Chat and interact (Forums, Blogs and much more) with players all over the world!

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