Delhi International Chess Festival: Rs 1 cr Prize Fund

One Crore prize fund for the first time in the country

29 Grandmasters compete in premier group ‘A’

Local star Vaibhav Suri starts as the highest ranked Indian in the biggest ever Indian open that kickstarts in the National capital on Wednesday.

With 29 Grandmasters in the fray in a field of over 300 participants, the premier event promises all the excitement for the chess buffs. Making it an open event for everyone this year means that the tiny tots will also get a chance to match their wits against much accomplished names.

However, it is not the premier event alone that is generating most of the buzz. The excitement also lies in the B and C group that has a rating cap for below 1899 and 1499 players. With list is growing with over 900 participants in the B group while over 1200 players have already registered for the “C” group that starts after four days.

This means that the Delhi open is actually set to breach the 3000 entry mark and might be referred to as the biggest open festival of the world. There is no other tournament across the globe where so many competitors participate.

The total prize pool that exceeds a 100000 Rupees over the One Crore mark is the biggest attraction this year and clearly the think tank lead by Delhi Chess Association President Bharat Singh Chauhan who also doubles up as the Secretary of Indian Chess Federation have made it the biggest extravaganza of 2019.

Grandmaster Farrukh Amonatov of Turkmenistan, a former winner here, starts as the top seed and rating favourite in the premier section but surely he will face stiff competition from the likes of Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia, Alexandre Predke from Russia and another Indian star Abhijeet Gupta.

There will be host of opportunities for the players seeking their International norms and talented youngster like D Gukesh can hope to become the next Grandmaster from India.

Apart from the main chess tournaments the organisers have planned many extra activities not only for the participants but also for visiting parents and accompanying persons with several players.

There will be sessions on parenting done by some of the best in business and a training camp for wannabe chess coaches is also planned. The lectures on parenting and making your child ready for the future will be done by, among others, Paarth Ashok Narang, a life coach.

The training for coaches will be imparted by super coach R B Ramesh along with FI Praful Zaveri and Vishal Sareen.

The icing on the cake will be of course the simultaneous displays in which the young players will get a chance to compete with India’s youngest ever Grandmaster R Praggnandhaa and former Asian queen Tania Sachdev. In another simul, GM K Priyadharshan will also give an opportunity for the young kids to have a go at him!

“We believe in creating opportunities and that’s what we are trying to do here. I had dreamt of a One Crore Prize Fund Chess festival about 30 Years back and here we are living the dream of every chess player in the country. Hopefully we will see many such events in the future in the country”, said Bharat Singh Chauhan on the eve of the beginning of the mega event. 

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Young Chess Star Nihal Sarin may Write for Chessable!

India's young chess superstar Nihal Sarin is considering turning his hand to writing about the game.

The 14-year-old, who became India’s 53rd grandmaster after bagging his third GM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters on Tuesday, is understood to be talking to Chessable about a possible openings book for youngsters.

Chessable is a learning site designed to help players learn chess openings, chess tactics and chess endgames and several GMs and IMs have written courses specially for its format.

Nihal's current ELO rating is 2556 and he is the twelfth youngest grandmaster in chess history.

He was immediately congratulated by India's top Grandmaster, former world champion Viswanathan Anand, who took to Twitter to congratulate him.

“Congrats and welcome to @NihalSarin ! The boys are on a roll!” he tweeted.

Nihal is part of a cohort of young stars alongside Chennai-born Ramesh Praggnanandhaa. In June, Praggnanandhaa became the world’s second-youngest grandmaster, and India’s 52nd, aged 12 years, 10 months and 13 days.

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Wazir Chess Movie Teaser Video with Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar

"A dangerous game is about to begin."

Remember the last time megastar Amitabh Bachchan played a schemer in Aankhen? It's about to happen again in Bejoy Nambiar's upcoming film Wazir.

The first teaser of the film, which released on December 19, shows Big B and co-star Farhan Akhtar engrossed in a precarious game of chess. However, their game is not limited to the chess board, but spills to real life.

Mr Bachchan, who is wheelchair-bound, takes on the role of a scheming 'wazir,' making moves that have a domino effect on Farhan's life, who is seen grappling with reality.

The film is written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who also co-produces with Rajkumar Hirani. Wazir is scheduled to release in 2015.

Watch:

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Magnus Carlsen Retains World Chess Title with Game 11 Victory

SOCHI: Magnus Carlsen asserted his supremacy over Viswanathan Anand for the second year in running as the Norwegian retained his World Championship title after defeating the Indian Challenger in the 11th game on Sunday. 

The Norwegian world champion closed the 12-game match with a 6.5-4.5 scoreline, courtesy his win in the penultimate game. 

While this may have been closely fought in the eyes of the experts, the fact remains that Anand lasted only one extra game compared to the 2013 match at Chennai when it was all over in the tenth game of the match itself. 

For Anand, there were a lot of lessons to be learnt and it is clear that the five-time world champion will probably like to get another shy at the title during the next Candidates tournament. 

Anand knew that a draw would keep him in the match but expectedly the Indian ace was not hooked to the idea of staying on till the last game of the 12-game match, and tried to complicate when he got the first opportunity. 

When Anand went for the real complications the opinion of the experts was pretty divided out of another Berlin defense game. While the opening discussion continued, Anand was the first to deviate from earlier games in the same opening and in the opinion of Ian Nepomniachtchi, a former second of Carlsen, Anand went for unwarranted complexities. 

In the 11th game too, Anand made fewer mistakes than Calrsen and some even opined that the Indian had better chance. As it happened in the game, Anand came up with an exchange sacrifice when according to Grandmaster Peter Svidler, 'he felt he ought to be doing something'. 

As things became clear, the exchange sacrifice was probably not the best of solutions for Anand in a seemingly equal situation and this was what eventually plotted the downfall for the Indian, Anand however regretted his decision to sacrifice a rook for a minor piece. 

"It was a bad gamble, and I got punished," he said. Carlsen on his part remained the calculation machine he is known to be and his super judgment on the position was the critical factor to seize the initiative. 

Anand was pretty sure that the position was equal before that but while he was playing objectively till a certain point but took a nervous decision in the match. Anand could have drawn this and gone on in the 12th game of the match in a must-win situation. 

Anand conceded after the match that Carlsen's nerves held better in this match. But for the experts, it was clear that Anand had his chances which he did not capitalise. 

"Taking in to account that all things considered he did better. I did not something better and some things worse," Anand concluded at the post-game conference. 

Magnus Carlsen v/s V Anand 11th Game of World Chess Championship 2014: 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Nc3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 c5 13. Rad1 b6 14. Rfe1 Be6 15. Nd5 g5 16. c4 Kb7 17. Kh2 a5 18. a4 Ne7 19. g4 Ng6 20. Kg3 Be7 21. Nd2 Rhd8 22. Ne4 Bf8 23. Nef6 b5 24. Bc3 bxa4 25. bxa4 Kc6 26. Kf3 Rdb8 27. Ke4 Rb4 28. Bxb4 cxb4 29. Nh5 Kb7 30. f4 gxf4 31. Nhxf4 Nxf4 32. Nxf4 Bxc4 33. Rd7 Ra6 34. Nd5 Rc6 35. Rxf7 Bc5 36. Rxc7+ Rxc7 37. Nxc7 Kc6 38. Nb5 Bxb5 39. axb5+ Kxb5 40. e6 b3 41. Kd3 Be7 42. h4 a4 43. g5 hxg5 44. hxg5 a3 45. Kc3 1-0.

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World Chess Match Anand-Carlsen 5.30 pm Live Today in Sochi, Russia

Sochi, Nov 8: World Chess Championship Match 2014 between reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand of India begins today in Russia at 5.30 pm in the city of Sochi. You can watch it live at the official website from 5.30 pm onwards.

 

A glittering ceremony, opening press conference and pre-match 'rituals' took place yesterday in Sochi -- all broadcast live via the high-powered super-sleek official website last evening. 

The took place at the Congress Hall of the Radisson Blu Hotel and was attended by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Russian Chess Federation President Andrey Filatov, the adviser of the Russian President Igor Levitin, former World Champions Boris Spassky, Nona Gaprindashvili, Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Khalifman, Zhu Chen, Antoaneta Stefanova, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian deputy minister of sports Pavel Kolobkov and other officials, chess stars, and eminent guests.

 

Russian People's Artist Sergey Makovetsky and 12th WOmen's World Chess Champion ChessQueen Alexandra Kosteniuk were hosts of the ceremony.

Igor Levitin read out the welcome address of the Russian President Vladimir Putin:“Russia deserves the honour of holding this important and prestigious event. Our country has won wide recognition for its chess school and has extensive experience at holding events of this level, all the more so as this championship match is taking place in Sochi, which hosted the Winter Olympics earlier this year.

I am confident that Sochi’s developed sports, transport and tourism infrastructure and the traditional hospitality of its residents will ensure that this event takes place at the highest standard and will enable the competitors – Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand – to demonstrate the full measure of their skill and ability to find original solutions to the most complex tasks and show that they are worthy rivals in this battle for the chess world’s crown.”

Read full welcome address of the Russian President Vladimir Putin (RUS)

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on behalf of the FIDE Presidential Board (the International Chess Federation unites 181 countries) sent greetings to the guests of the championship. He revealed a rich competitive and cultural agenda during the championship – the Tal Memorial grandmaster blitz tournament, junior Tournament of champions, master-classes, simultaneous displays, etc. In the end Mr. Ilyumzhinov wished good luck to the match participants and expressed hope for brilliant and exciting games.

Igor Levitin awarded the Russian players with state decorations. The order “For Merit to the Fatherland” of the 1st class was given to Alexandra Kosteniuk, Natalia Pogonina received this order of the 2nd class. Olga Girya and Sergey Rublevsky received Honorary Mentions of the Russian President. These players and the Russian women's team coach got their awards for winning the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway as well as for their contribution to chess development in our country. 

 

After the mime show “Dance of chess queens” the Chief Arbiter of the match Andrzej Filipowicz (Poland) called for the drawing of lots. Vishy Anand will have the white pieces in the first game.

The grandmasters will play 12 games with classical time control: 120 minutes for 40 moves, then 60 minutes for 20 moves, and then 15 minutes plus 30 seconds per move for the rest of the game. If the match is tied, the tie-break with quick time controls will take place on November 27th.

The ceremony was concluded with the concert of a singer Tina Kuznetsova and the Jazz Quartet of People's Artist of Russia Igor Butman.

More photos from the opening ceremony

Official website

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Good Luck Vishy, says Modi

World Chess Championship 2014 in Sochi between five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlse: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today extended his good wishes to Indian chess wizard Viswanathan Anand as he prepared to reclaim the World Championships title from Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in Sochi, Russia from tomorrow. 

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. Press photo from the Gujarat Swarnim Chess Mahotsav, 2010.

"Good Luck Vishy! Conveying my best wishes to our pride, Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship in Sochi," Modi tweeted.

The much-awaited clash will conclude on November 28 during which Anand will take on Carlsen in a repeat of the 2013 World Championships.

The Indian had been outwitted on his home turf of Chennai by Carlsen the last time around. Anand earned a shot at the title by winning Candidate's Tournament earlier this year. -- PTI

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