OUT NOW: Anish Giri's video course with Sagar Shah for noobs! :)

Anish Giri likes to call it the "Opening Course with Sagar Shah for noobs"! And maybe this explains what the video course is all about! :) When I began streaming heavily in the pandemic, I started to observe what was happening. When someone learnt and got better at chess, the first thing they wanted to do was learn an opening or an opening trap. It was the fastest way to score points. But which one to choose was a natural question on the minds of the beginners. Was there a place where they could find all the openings. Nothing too deep, but where each opening is explained - the basic moves, the basic plans, which kind of player it suits and so on.

We covered all different openings that are possible in chess. What was very cool for me because while the material we spoke was for beginners and club players, the person who was giving the insights had played these games at the highest level! So here we are speaking about the Ruy Lopez and Anish talks about beating Magnus in Norway Blitz! Or we speak about Italian and Anish talks about how he beat Ding Liren.

If you are looking for deep lines and theory, don't go for this. But if you want to understand the chess opening landscape, this one is for you. If you want to understand what is the essence of Queen's Gambit, of Ruy Lopez, of the Italian, of the Grunfeld and different openings, by all means go for this. Once you have watched roughly 8 hours of video content, you will have an idea as to which openings you want to go for!

By the way, my favourite part of this entire series is Anish Giri's story telling. Often he would tell stories where I would be laughing uncontrollably and often he would unload deep points that would make me rethink and question my entire understanding about chess and openings. You can check out the product and buy it from here:

Currently it is on pre-order. It will be released on 18th of April. But for all those who pre-order there are some very interesting offers! :) - Sagar Shah

Arjun Erigaisi wins 3rd Menorca Open 2024

GM Arjun Erigaisi made a quick draw against GM Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) to win 3rd Menorca Open 2024. After a 3/5 start, Arjun scored a hat-trick of wins to gain sole lead. A draw in the final round would have been enough to win the event via tie-breaks. That is exactly what he did. GM Kirill Alekseenko (AUT) and GM Maksim Chigaev (ESP) also scored the same. They were placed second and third respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was €20000. The top three prizes were €5000, €3000 and €2000 along with a trophy each. He is now currently World no.7 in the live ratings. GM Aryan Chopra is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 7/9 and secured fifth place. Photo: Menorca Open

A SUPERGRANDMASTER'S GUIDE TO OPENINGS VOL.1 & 2 BY ANISH GIRI

When you begin your journey of building an opening repertoire, how nice would it be to get a glimpse of what each opening looks like through the eyes of a super GM. It would help building your opening repertoire and understanding the vast world of chess openings. It is exactly with this thought that "A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings with Anish Giri” was made.

This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered. This includes the Ruy Lopez, Italian, Petroff, Scotch, French, Sicilian, Caro Kann, Pirc, Modern and much more. Along with explaining the nuances, each video also has a story, narrated by Anish, on the favourite game he played in that opening and his memories related to it!

The course will be available from 18th April 2024, but there is a huge benefit if you Pre-order it right now. You will get a 1-year ChessBase Premium Account membership worth Rs. 1769 for each pre-order - don't miss this chance, get it now!

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Candidates 2024 R7: Praggnanandhaa's French Defence holds well against the World no.2 Fabiano Caruana

D Gukesh suffered his first loss of the event in the seventh round of FIDE Candidates 2024. He made a well timed knight sacrifice to complicate things for his opponent - Alireza Firouzja (FRA). However, in time trouble, the World no.6 prevailed after Gukesh blundered. R Praggnanandhaa employed French Defence against the World no.2 - Fabiano Caruana (USA). It was enough for him to share the point. Vidit Gujrathi's all attempts to score a full point was denied by Nijat Abasov (AZE). Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Ian Nepomniachtchi had an intriguing draw. Hikaru ended up having a rook, knight and undeveloped bishop against Nepo's queen. He was forced to draw the game by perpetual checks. Yesterday was a rest day. Round 8 starts today, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Women's Candidates 2024 R7: Zhongyi Tan maintains her sole lead

The seventh round of FIDE Women's Candidates 2024 had only one decisive game. GM Tingjie Lei (CHN) won the sole game of the round against GM Vaishali R. Vaishali made a few positional inaccuracies which allowed her opponent to use tactics and win the game. The battle between the top two in the standings ended in a draw. Thus, GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) is still in the sole lead 5/7. She is closely followed by GM Aleksandra Goryachkina at 4.5/7. GM Koneru Humpy drew against GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR). IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) bounced back well with a draw against GM Kateryna Lagno. Tomorrow is a rest day. Round 8 starts today, Saturday 13th April at 2:30 p.m. local time, 12 a.m. IST. Photos: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Railway Sports Promotion Board dominates 43rd National Team Open 2024

RSPB A and RSPB scored an unbeaten 17/18 each at 43rd National Team Chess Championship 2024 Open. The unit RSPB secured the top two places with a round to spare. However, their last round result determined which team will the first and second place. RSPB A won the tournament due to better tie-breaks, RSPB B was placed second. Gujarat A scored sole 12/18 to finish third. Both RSPB teams scored four whitewash victories. They faced each other in the fourth round and it ended in a draw. Both RSPB teams defeated the eventual runner-up Gujarat A convincingly. This is RSPB's first National Team title since 2017. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. Top three prizes were ₹125000, ₹100000 and ₹75000 each. Photo: CM IA FT Ravichandran Venkataraman

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board perfect at 21st National Team Women 2024

PSPB scored a perfect 14/14 to win 21st National Team Chess Championship 2024 Women. PSPB won the tournament with a round to spare. They finished a staggering three points ahead of the competition. Telangana scored sole 11/14 to secure second place. Life Insurance Corporation of India was placed third scoring 10/14. PSPB defeated both runners-up convincingly. They registered whitewash victories in three out of their seven matches. This is PSPB's first National Team Women title since 2020. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. Top three prizes were ₹125000, ₹100000 and ₹75000 each. Photos: Himachal Pradesh State Chess Association