Indians at the World Cup 2017: What went wrong and right

21/09/2017 -

Seven Indians went to the World Cup 2017. If you look at the whole picture, we can say that this event was a failure for our players. None of them could go beyond the third round. However, on closer inspection you realize that there are so many positives that can be taken from this event. As one of the officials pointed out at the venue, "You can sense that India is becoming a super power, when you see Anand and Hari right at the top, and these hungry lions Vidit, Adhiban and Sethuraman capable of beating just about any top player on a given day!" We bring you the highlights of Indian performances. 

All about the Dress Code Scandal in Tbilisi

19/09/2017 -

The Chess World Cup was marred by an unfortunate controversy this year. The 25-year-old Canadian-Ukrainian GM, Anton Kovalyov decided to drop out of the event after an argument over his attire with the tournament's organizer, Zurab Azmaiparashvili. Kovalyov later stated in his Facebook post that he had dropped out because Azmaiparashvili had insulted him with racial slurs.The incident attracted a lot of reactions from all corners of the chess community. Organizations like the Canadian Chess Federation, the ACP, etc. openly protested against and condemned the way Azmaiparashvili treated Kovalyov. But Azmaiparashvili stood by his decision of not letting Kovalyov play in shorts while apologizing for inadvertently using a racist slur which he did not intend to use in that connotation. Here's a comprehensive report on the scandal in Tbilisi. 

Nielsen on 10 years of Mexico: No gamble in time scramble! (R04)

19/09/2017 -

Anand and Nielsen had prepared a new idea in the Semi Slav and it worked wonderfully against Morozevich. The Indian champion had a completely winning position in the middlegame. But then he started to play inaccurately and his advantage started to diminish. Yet, in the final position Anand (Black) was clearly better, but he agreed to a draw. Well, some might argue that this was an incorrect decision, but this is just the way that Vishy is. He is not the sort of a person who would gamble away his position in some time scramble. Know what sort of a player Anand is in more depth through this article. 

An hour with the God of chess!

19/09/2017 -

Many people in India started playing chess by listening about the exploits of Vishy Anand. For many Indian chess fans, Viswanathan Anand is the God of chess. To get a glimpse of him is a dream of every chess player. To talk to him would be asking a bit too much. But playing a game against him! Now that's just impossible. Well, not for Prasanna Rao! In the year 2000, this seven-year-old boy from Dombivli, Mumbai, got a chance to not only meet Anand, but also play an hour long game against him! Now Prasanna is 23 years old, an IM with three GM norms and 2464 rating, but that hour spent with Anand still remains the most special memory of his life till date!

Nielsen on 10 years of Mexico 2007: An opening debacle in the Petroff (R03)

18/09/2017 -

Vishy Anand and Peter Heine Nielsen had decided not to pay too much attention from the white side of the Petroff for the tournament. Their strategy was to find an idea one or two days prior to the game and then figure out things during the game. However, this strategy almost backfired when in a normal opening position Anand went wrong and very soon landed in trouble. A pawn down in a rook endgame with white might be a disaster for many, but for Vishy it was a simple draw, and he proved it by making accurate moves. 

The Golden Girl of Indian Chess - Divya Deshmukh

18/09/2017 -

When WFM Divya Deshmukh was asked, "What are your future plans in chess?", she replied, "I have no plans!" The girl just loves playing chess and this is reflected in her performances! She doesn't need any external motivation like Elo, medals or prizes to keep her going. No wonder, she has won 14 gold medals at international level for India at just the tender age of 12 years! Recently she won the gold in world cadets under-12 in Brazil, and ChessBase India's Shahid Ahmed caught up with her for a Skype Interview! We also speak with her father. We hope that through this interview you get to know Divya better, because we are sure you going to hear a lot about her in the near future.

Powerplay 25: No more stress against 1.d4 deviations!

17/09/2017 -

When you play competitive events you will face 1.d4 in almost half of your games as Black. It makes sense to have a firm repertoire against it. With that in mind, famous ChessBase author Daniel King recorded two DVDs Powerplay 23 and 24, the first one dealing with Queen's Gambit Declined and the second with Black's options against the Catalan. However, recently we have people playing so many unorthodox systems with 1.d4 like the London, Colle, Trompowsky, that it is a must to be prepared against them. Powerplay 25 helps you in that respect. And we have Davide Nastasio who reviews this DVD and tells you all about it.

Nielsen on 10 years of Mexico 2007: Beautiful novelty 17...c5 against Aronian! (R02)

14/09/2017 -

Our series on celebrating ten years of Mexico 2007 continues. Game two was an extremely crucial one, mainly because Anand was able to overcome his last move mistake against Gelfand in game one and score a scintillating victory over Aronian in game two. Peter Heine Nielsen who was one of the key elements in the game, tells us how the move 17...c5! surprised Aronian and gave Anand a great position. Vishy made an excellent positional move to turn a volatile situation in his favour. Pictures by Ali Nihat Yazici, videos by Vijay Kumar, video analysis by Peter Heine Nielsen and annotations by Mihail Marin. An article that should not be missed! 

Nielsen on 10 years of Mexico 2007: Anand saved against Gelfand (R01)

13/09/2017 - ChessBase India is celebrating ten years of India getting its first undisputed World Champion. Viswanathan Anand became the World Champion when he won the World Championship tournament in Mexico 2007. It was an eight player double round robin tournament. Anand's second Peter Heine Nielsen met Sagar Shah in Vilnius and Tbilisi and the two broke down the event game by game. On 13th of September 2007, the first game was played by Anand against Gelfand. We bring you Peter Heine Nielsen's thoughts, pictures, videos and detailed analysis.

World Cadets 2017: Indians so near yet so far

13/09/2017 -

The World Cadets has been an event where India has dominated in the past. We have youngsters who are so good that they are able to show their superiority at the world level. However, the World Cadets 2017 at Brazil from 22-31 August turned out to be an exception. India returned with only one medal - Divya Deshmukh won the gold in girls under-12. It was a case of being so near yet so far as two of our boys finished fourth. FI Praful Zaveri was with the team and he sends us a report.

Vidit gives 'Anand' to Indian fans!

13/09/2017 -

Anand means happiness in Hindi. Vidit's qualification to the third round gave Indians plenty of 'Anand' and helped us forget the pain of our hero Vishy Anand getting eliminated from the World Cup 2017. Vidit beat Le Quang Liem 1.5-0.5 while Vishy Anand lost with the same score to Canadian Anton Kovalyov. Harikrishna and Sethuraman are tied at 1:1 and will play the tiebreaks today, and Adhiban will take on Nepomniachtchi in the shorter format. Plenty of action from Indians at hotel Hualing, Tbilisi.

Sethuraman misses a golden opportunity against Anish Giri

13/09/2017 -

In the second game of round three of World Cup 2017 Sethuraman had the white pieces against Anish Giri. He came well prepared to the game and had a winning position for many moves. However, as has happened with Sethu on many occasions in the recent past, he was unable to convert his better position into a full point. Anish Giri who survived this brutal game heaved a sigh of relief. Vidit drew his second game with the black pieces against Ding Liren. Report with pictures and analysis from Tbilisi.

Vidit misses his chance against Ding, Sethu makes a solid draw

13/09/2017 -

We are now into the third round of the World Cup 2017. Our biggest hopes Vishy Anand and Pentala Harikrishna have been eliminated. However, two young guns Vidit Gujrathi and Sethuraman are keeping the Indian flag flying high. In fact Vidit could have made a very strong first game result by beating Ding Liren. However, he was not able to keep his nerves in the winning position and it ended in a draw. Sethuraman played a solid game against Anish Giri and now has the white pieces to press in the second game. We have game analysis as well as videos of the players.

Dibyendu Barua comes out of retirement!

13/09/2017 -

GM Dibyendu Barua comes out of retirement in DBCA Online Blitz Chess Tournament, scheduled to take place on 10th of September 2017 at 6 p.m. on Playchess server. The total count of GMs is 15. 11 IMs and 1 WGM are taking part at this event which has a total prize fund of Rs.50,000 and first prize of Rs.12,500. It's your final chance to play blitz against some of the best players of our country. Don't miss it!

Sethuraman beats Harikrishna at the World Cup 2017

13/09/2017 -

Sethuraman played two excellent rapid games against Harikrishna Pentala to advance to round three of the World Cup 2017. This is the second strong opponent that Sethu has beaten in this event, the first one being Ponomariov. Adhiban gave Nepo a huge scare and was winning the first game comfortably. However, he made an error and finally lost the match. This means that we have only two Indians left at the World Cup 2017. Vidit will face Ding Liren while Sethu will be up against Anish Giri. Report on round two tiebreaks with analysis by 13-year-old Prithu Gupta.