HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
Vidit Gujrathi qualifies to the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025 Paris
Vidit Gujrathi defeated Richard Rapport in the Finals of Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025 Play-in to qualify to the Paris leg. He defeated the 17th world champion Ding Liren (CHN) by 1.5-0.5 in Round of 16. Then he won against compatriot Pranesh M by same score in the Quarterfinals. In the Semifinals, Vidit crushed M Amin Tabatabaei by winning it 2-0. In the Finals, Vidit won the match 1.5-0.5 to secure his place in the Paris leg which will take place from 7th to 14th April next month. The total prize fund for the play-in was US$ 50000. The top three prizes were US$ 10000, 9000 and 8000 each. Vidit joins Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, D Gukesh, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hans Niemann, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vincent Keymer. There will be four Indians for the upcoming Paris leg. Photo: Anmol Bhargav
BORIS SPASSKY'S BEST GAMES!
The 10th World Chess Champion, Grandmaster Boris Spassky passed away on the 28th of February 2025. He was 88 years old, and was the oldest living World Chess Champion. A legendary player of the sport by all means, Spassky became the World Champion in 1969 by defeating Tigran Petrosian. He fought against Bobby Fischer in the iconic 1972 World Championship match! His tournament wins are numerous - just to give you an idea of his strength, Spassky won the Candidates tournament twice and played the Candidates 7 times.
Born in 1937, Spassky barely escaped with his life when evacuating from the Siege of Leningrad as a young boy. This book tells the story of how that boy subsequently learned to play chess and rose through the Soviet ranks to become the strongest player in the world in the late 1960s!
In this two-volume work, biographer extraordinaire Tibor Karolyi puts the focus on Spassky’s brilliant career and life story. Today, we have a very special offer on Volume 1! Just use the coupon code "SPASSKY10" to avail a 10% discount on Boris Spassky’s Best Games 1 (1948-1968): The Rising Star by Tibor Karolyi! This offer is valid till 22nd March 2025 - so hurry up and get your copy now!
LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
Railways Sports Promotion Board wins 44th National Team Open 2025
Railways Sports Promotion Board B and Airports Authority of India scored an unbeaten 16/18 each at 44th National Team Chess Championship 2025 Open. The unit RSPB B won the tournament due to better tie-break scores. AAI had to settle for the second place. The fifth round battle between them ended in a draw. Railways Sports Promotion Board A scored sole 15/18 to finish third. All battles between the top three teams ended in draws. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. Top three prizes were ₹125000, ₹100000 and ₹75000 each. RSPB became champion at National Team for the second consecutive year, though it was the 'A' team last year and this time it was team 'B'. Photo: All India Chess Federation
Harika and Divya set to battle World's top women at FIDE Nicosia GP
The fourth leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-25 will start today in Nicosia, Cyprus. Both GM Harika Dronavalli and IM Divya Deshmukh will play their second GP event of the season. They will clash with each other in the very first round. The ten-player round-robin tournament will also feature GM Aleksandra Goryachkina, GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR), GM Jiner Zhu (CHN), GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO), GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR), IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE), IM Olga Badelka (AUT) and GM Elisabeth Paehtz (GER). The reigning FIDE Women's World Cup winner, Goryachkina is the highest rated player of the event. Round 1 starts today from 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE / Mark Livshitz
S Rohith Krishna wins 1st Hotel Stockholm North GM Round-Robin 2025
IM S Rohith Krishna and FM Bogdan Bilovil (UKR) scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 each at Hotel Stockholm North by First hotels young talents - GM tournament. Rohith won the tournament due to better tie-break scores. That's not all, he also scored his maiden GM-norm. He performed at 2638 and gained 18.8 Elo rating points in the process. Rohith defeated GM Peng Li Min (SUI), GM Normunds Miezis (LAT), drew with GM Valery Kazakouski (LTU) and GM Vitaly Sivuk (SWE). Runner-up, Bogdan also scored a GM-norm. Valery scored sole 6/9 to be placed third. The next tournament in this series will take place from 28th April to 2nd May 2025. Photo: IA IM Vladimir Poley
GM Shyam Sundar's mission to make chess training affordable
When you enter a beautiful garden, you admire the lush greenery, but do you think about the gardener who nurtured it? The same goes for chess champions. Behind every great player is a coach who quietly shapes their journey. This article tells the story of GM Shyam Sundar, who has been coaching students for the past 12 years. He believes that coaching should not be a privilege, which is why he offers training at affordable rates. His academy, Chess Thulir, is home to many aspiring players, some of whom are now on the verge of achieving their titles. Read the article to know how Shyam is shaping our future champions!
Did you enjoy this week's email? If so, share it with your friends and subscribe to our weekly chess newsletter! If you enjoy our work, please review us on Google.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERYou've received this Email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. To make sure this newsletter does not land in your junk/spam folder, select the email and add the sender to your address book.
ChessBase India
301, Damji Shamji, Vidyavihar west, 400086, Mumbai
|
|
|
|
|
|---|
