14 Laptops to Young Indian Talents - Thanks to ChessBase India YouTube Members!

I am lucky because chess makes me see miracles in my life. In March 2023 we decided to teach chess in a children's home. I was overloaded with work and had frequent travels to different tournaments. But something within me said that I needed to do this. Every Saturday 3-4 p.m. 1 year ago we began with Gukesh attending the first session. From finding it difficult to make them sit in one place to now all of them simply not letting go off the chess board - the journey has been amazing.

Today just a couple of hours earlier we did something special. A donor came forward and sponsored 3 computers in the premises for the kids. While a computer is a completely normal thing for a person like you and me who grew up seeing one, for many of the kids it was the first time they saw something like this! It was absolute magic!

The joy in their eyes to see pictures loading, music playing and their favourite game of chess in 2d was an overwhelming moment. I feel computers have the power to open up the world to the kids. All of a sudden I could show them where Canada was on the map and how I was travelling to the Candidates event in a week from now and how you have to cross continents to make it there.

With anything that is beneficial in the world, there is also a flip side waiting around the corner. However, I feel with the laptops we will be able to take our training to the next level. The kids will be able to watch videos, train with ChessBase, with ChessRanga, play on online platforms and so much more. It's like we no longer will have to bring a fish for them anymore as we will be teaching them how to fish.

I think true empowerment begins when you are able to be there for the students yet help them find their path and for that you need to have the right devices, equipments and technology in place.

All too often I see trainers trying to impress upon the students their way of thinking, rather than moulding and nourishing the way in which the kids would want to think. In this respect the computer does a commendable job. It's a new chapter in the lives of the Chembur Children's Home and a new chapter in the life of the kids. I am very excited to see how it pans out!

And by the way we finished 2 years of ChessBase India Chess Club at Phoenix Marketcity - a chess club free and open for all and we are celebrating this occasion with the prize money of Rs.2 lakh. The entry fee of this event is just Rs.100. I think the entries (200 of them) were filled within 12 hours of the event being announced.

I am also very happy and proud of the initiative of 14 laptops that we are sponsoring through the YouTube memberships of ChessBase India channel. This is sure to help many young kids. And lastly, please don't miss out on two new language mediums of ChessBase India that have gotten active - ChessBase India Marathi and ChessBase India Bangla. The dream of powering chess in India and finding more grassroot talents through regional languages is slowly becoming a reality. - Sagar Shah.

14 laptops to young Indian talents thanks to ChessBase India YouTube members

ChessBase India YouTube channels is one of the biggest chess channels out there. We have a subscriber base of close to 1.5 million people. In December 2020 we launched the memberships on our platform and pledged that all the amount that we collect via it will be used for Indian chess talents. We did this for close to 1.5 years and a lot of young talents benefitted out of it. And now we have an idea where we will use these funds to sponsor a good quality laptop for the young talents who are in need of it. More of this in the article - about how this idea came about, form to apply for a laptop and details of all the members who have supported us.

OPENING ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2024 IS HERE!

The new Opening Encyclopaedia 2024 is your easy access to opening theory! Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas and high-quality analyses!

Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one DVD and is the ideal start for your opening training.

Salient features: - 75 Videos included in the Encyclopaedia 2024 (total running time: 27 hours)

- High-class annotated opening videos from popular ChessBase Authors as Daniel King, Mihail Marin, Jan Werle, Erwin l’Ami, Nicholas Pert and many others.

- The Games Database with 40,000 games, contains all games from every one of the 1,463 opening articles.

- 350 new & revised Opening Surveys by Grandmaster & opening specialist Lubomir Ftacnik, with 7,679 surveys in total!

Today, we have a big 10% discount on Opening Encyclopaedia 2024! Just use the Coupon code "OPENING10" to avail the discount. The offer is valid only till 30th March 2024 - so hurry up and get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Velammal AICF WGM 2024 R7: Mary wins four in-a-row

WGM Mary Ann Gomes scored her fourth win in-a-row to increase her sole lead by a staggering two points at 6.5/7. She capitalized her opportunity when WIM M Mahalakshmi erred in the endgame. The seventh round of Velammal AICF WGM Round-Robin 2024 had five decisive games just like the first round. WGM Nino Maisuradze (FRA) won her first game of the event against WIM Sakshi Chitlange. Sarayu Velpula bounced back with a win by trapping her opponent, WIM Angela Franco Valencia's (COL) queen. WIM G K Monnisha and WGM Altan-Ulzii Enkhtuul (MGL) are the remaining two victors of the round. Today is the third and last double round of the tournament. Round 8 starts at 10 a.m. IST. Photos: FI Niklesh Jain

Intellion's women's day campaign makes use of chess in a creative way

To inspire inclusion means to celebrate diversity and empowerment on International Women's Day 2024 and beyond. International Women's Day is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Each year, this day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality and highlights the work that still needs to be done. In 2024, the campaign theme Inspire Inclusion emphasizes the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society. Intellion by Tata Realty unveiled a thought-provoking campaign titled, 'Deserved - Reserved'. In this article, we check out the details of the campaign and also the details of the scholarship. Photos: Intellion by Tata Realty

Simple fitness exercises for chess players| ft. top GM Surya Ganguly and physiotherapist Vedika

Chess players are amongst the fittest people out there. That's because most of them are not aware of the exercises that need to be done in order to remain fit. In this video we see the interaction between a top Grandmaster and trainer Surya Ganguly and Physiotherapist who is also the sister of GM Vidit Gujrathi - Vedika. This interaction reveals many deep points about the fitness that is essential for chess players. Surya Ganguly asks pertinent questions and Vedika, who is now an experienced physio therapist answers it to the best of her abilities.

Key Challenges of Trainers - Part 2

It is quite a difficult task to find the right trainer for a chess player. More so, when there are so many lucrative options available. While some prefer to work on their own, others need a chess coach to guide and help them improve their game. FM IA FT Peter Long writes his experiences and thoughts as a trainer, what he faced and the challenges a trainer faces. How important it is to keep scoresheets, maintain database and analyze your own games. Instead of focusing on gain more knowledge, attending camps and playing tournaments incessantly, the necessity to create a structure where a player knows how to work and improve their game, fix their gaps and become a stronger player. Photo: vecteezy