From the CEO

There are so many amazing things happening each week in the world of chess! Today I want to share how I feel about them!

1. When Vishy Anand still wins an event like Leon Masters I feel that excellence has no age. That you can keep giving your best at any given point.

Vishy Anand wins Leon Masters 2024

2. When Pragg and Gukesh both become joint winners of Superbet Classic and we feel this is normal, we realize that Indian chess has reached another level.

3. When Narayani Marathe, the 8-year-old girl wins two golds at Asian Youth, I know that the place from where you come doesn't matter.

4. When Ziaur Rahman passes away at the tender age of just 50 years, while playing a game, I know we all don't have much time on this earth and we should live each moment to the fullest.

5. When an organization named Gift of Chess collaborates with us and offers 29000 chess sets (1000 for each state), I know the benevolence can have absolutely no limits.

6. When we launch our first FIDE rating tournament in Mumbai at Phoenix marketcity mall and 315 entries get filled out of 350 possible slots in 3 days, I know that doing the right things with the right mindset from the start always gives good results in the long run.

7. When on 20th July International chess day we have 3 events by ChessBase India across the country - Mumbai, Bhopal and Hyderabad, I feel grateful that my team members align with the vision of powering chess in the country.

8. When Faustino Oro becomes the youngest IM in the world and Bodhana Sivanandan makes it to the English Olympiad team at the age of 9 years, you know that the world will be dominated by players from every single region and there will no one superpower in chess!

9. When HelpChess Foundation raises Rs.54 lakh for Indian chess in one calendar year, I am amazed at the abundance that everyone is showing!

10. The fact that you have opened this mail and read it, knowing that most of the newsletters or emails these days are spam, makes me know that there is still value for good quality work!

I look forward to hearing from you if you have anything to share. Just click on the reply button. I will read all the mails and also respond back personally if you have anything to ask or say! Thank you! - Sagar Shah


HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Fabiano Caruana wins Superbet Classic for the second year in-a-row after a hat-trick in Playoffs

Anish Giri (NED) scored the sole win of the final round against Fabiano Caruana (USA). It forced him to play more games in Playoffs. Alireza Firouzja (FRA) was winning against R Praggnanandhaa. That win would have made him a clear champion. However, the teenager denied him the full point. Caruana won all three of his Playoff games against Gukesh, Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa. That made him clinch Superbet Classic for the second consecutive year. Firouzja won two, Gukesh one and Praggnanandhaa could not manage to score any point. Gukesh won his sole Playoff game against Praggnanandhaa. Caruana won US$ 68750. Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh received $58750 each. All four of them scored 9.25 GCT points. The next GCT event is SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz in Zagreb, Croatia from 9th to 14th July. Photo: Grand Chess Tour/Lennart Ootes

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DELVE INTO THE ANAND FILES!

ANAND10

The Anand Files offers a detailed insight into the strategies Viswanathan Anand used to win three World Championship matches in a row. It takes the reader behind the scenes to show the inner workings of Team Anand, including pre-game planning and preparing opening novelties, some of which have yet to be used.

Meticulously researched over several years, during which FM Michiel Abeln, an experienced chess trainer and leadership coach, conducted numerous interviews with members of Team Anand -  this book follows Anand and his team of seconds for his dramatic matches against Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand. The reader will gain a deep understanding of how top chess players work on their game and deal with the stress of elite competition. Over a hundred colour photographs illustrate the story.

Today, we have a big 10% discount on The Anand Files by Michiel Abeln! Just use the coupon code "ANAND10" to avail the discount. The offer expires on 13th July 2024 - hurry up and get it NOW!


LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

HelpChess Foundation raises Rs.54 lakh in 2023-24 for Indian chess

In 2018, we began the activities of ChessBase India Foundation with our first scholarship of Rs.50,000. Since then the Foundation has grown massively. We now call it the HelpChess Foundation for the last 3 years. It is a Charitable Trust (12A registered), it has a CSR number and it also provides the contributors with tax benefits (80G). In the year 2023-24 (1st of April 2023 to 31st of March 2024) HelpChess has raised Rs.54 lakh for Indian chess. More than 900 people have contributed to this. Each and every penny of this fund received will be utilized to power Indian chess. In the article below we give you all the details of how this fund was raised and who are the players we are supporting. More than 30 players have received support from the amount that was raised.

 

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FIDE World Cup Cadets 2024: Pratitee Bordoloi secures Silver, Bronze for Sattwik Swain

The reigning National Under-11 Girls 2023, National Schools U-11 Girls 2024 and Commonwealth Under-12 Girls 2023-24 Champion, Pratitee Bordoloi won Silver in Unde-12 Girls at the inaugural FIDE World Cup for Cadets. Just days before this event, she won an individual Gold and Silver at the 26th Asian Youth Under-12 Girls Rapid and Classical. Odisha State Under-7 Open 2023, Sattwik Swain defeated Azad Khuduzade (AZE) 1.5-0.5 to secure a Bronze medal in Under-8 Open category. He remained undefeated throughout the tournament. In the group stage, he scored an unbeaten 6.5/7 in Group A. The top three prizes in each group were - Macbook Air 2022, iPhone 15 and iPad along with cup, medal and diploma each respectively. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

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ChessBase India invites you to 1st Phoenix Marketcity Rapid Rating Open on International Chess Day

ChessBase India and Phoenix Marketcity Mumbai is organizing 1st Phoenix Marketcity Rapid Rating Open 2024. The tournament will take place on International Chess Day on 20th July. Thus, it is also part of Guinness World Records official attempt. The inaugural edition of this event is offering a first prize of ₹20000 and a total prize fund of ₹100000. Total 49 prizes, 25 main and 24 special prizes are up for grabs. Entry is FREE for GM, IM, WGM and WIMs. For everyone else, it is ₹300 till 15th July, afterward it will be ₹500. Over 260 players have already registered. So, hurry up and register yourself if you haven't yet. Photos: ChessBase India

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Singapore to host FIDE World Championship 2024 Match

The Singapore Chess Federation, supported by the Government of Singapore, has won the bid to host the FIDE World Championship Match 2024. The Match will feature the defending Champion Ding Liren from China and the Challenger D Gukesh from India and will take place between November 20 and December 15, 2024. Check out the press release by FIDE. The exact venue, match schedule, rules and regulation will be notified later. Total prize fund of the match is US$ 2.5 Million. What are your thoughts on the match and the location of it being Singapore? Photo: FIDE

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