From the CEO
There is a famous saying: "If you can't do something about a situation, then why worry and if you can do something about it, then do it, don't waste your time in worrying!" A very nice quote indeed! However, I have found myself often in situations where I am not so sure if I can do something about the situation, or I cannot do something about it! :) And I think this is what causes the stress to most people!
There is a very nice story on this subject which greatly inspired me when I had read it for the first time. It was shared with me by my very dear friend Srikanth Govindaseshan. There are many versions of it, I picked up one of them from the internet:
"In a small village surrounded by rolling hills, there lived an old farmer named Li. He had a single horse, a beautiful and strong creature that helped him with his daily chores. One day, as the sun was setting, the horse broke through the fence and ran away into the wild. A neighbor, hearing of the misfortune, rushed over and exclaimed, “Oh, Li! Such bad luck you’ve had!”
Li looked up and replied calmly, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.”
A week later, to everyone’s astonishment, the horse returned, and it wasn’t alone. It brought with it a magnificent wild stallion. The same neighbor hurried over, eyes wide, and said, “Li, you were right! It wasn’t bad luck at all. It was a blessing! Now you have two strong horses!”
Li, pausing from his work, responded, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few days later, Li’s son tried to tame the wild stallion. But the stallion was strong and threw the young man off its back, causing him to break his leg. The neighbor, once again, came running, shaking his head, “I was wrong earlier. This stallion is not a blessing but a curse! Your son has broken his leg!”
Li, looking at his injured son, said gently, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.”
As fate would have it, a few weeks later, the emperor’s men arrived at the village. They were drafting young men to join the army for a war that was brewing on the horizon. Seeing Li’s son’s broken leg, they passed him by. Many of the other young men from the village were taken, and sadly, many did not return. The same neighbor, with tears in his eyes, approached Li and said, “Your wisdom is unparalleled, Li. Your son’s injury saved him from a terrible fate.”
Li, gazing into the distance, simply said, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.” End of Story.
I find this story to be very powerful.We do not know what is good for us or what is bad. It is a question of timelines! Something which might be not so pleasant in short term, could become the most wonderful that happened to you in the long term! So then does it make sense to surrender to everything that happens to us? Let me share with you another favourite story of mine. I read this one in Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth":
"Master Hakuin was greatly respected and had many disciples. At one time in his life, he lived in a village hermitage, close to a food shop run by a couple and their beautiful, young daughter. One day the parents discovered that their daughter was pregnant. Angry and distraught, they demanded to know the name of the father. At first, the girl would not confess but after much harassment, she named Hakuin. The furious parents confronted Hakuin, berating him in front of all of his students. He simply replied, “Is that so?”
When the baby was born, the family gave it to Hakuin. By this time, he had lost his reputation and his disciples. But Hakuin was not disturbed. He took delight in caring for the infant child; he was able to obtain milk and other essentials from the villagers. A year later, the young mother of the child was troubled by great remorse. She confessed the truth to her parents – the real father was not Hakuin but rather a young man who worked at the local fish market. The mortified parents went to Hakuin, apologizing, asking his forgiveness for the wrong they did him. They asked Hakuin to return the baby. Although he loved the child as his own, Hakuin was willing to give him up without complaint. All he said was: “Is that so?”
End of Story.
Such intense ability to surrender! "This is crazy" - I can see all of you saying! It's impossible to imbibe this within ourselves. I agree! One should never live this way, until one feels it from within! And to feel it from within you have to work immensely on yourself. When love and compassion become your second nature, then what Master Hakuin did here might not look so impossible.
I want to share a final story that I think about often. This one I read in Om Swami's book of Kindness:
"Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify Him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What has this man done wrong? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have Him whipped and then release Him.”
But they kept up the pressure, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And their voices won out. So Pilate decided to grant their demand and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
(Luke 23:20 – 25)
Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with Him. When as they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His clothes and cast lots.
The people stood watching, and even the leaders kept scoffing:“He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked Him.
(Luke 23:32 – 36)
“Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” This was what Jesus of Nazareth said in response to the excruciating and fatal pain inflicted upon him. This was his reply to the injustice done to him. And, what happened next? “And they divided His clothes and cast lots.”
There, in the same picture, you have the two extremes of our world. On the one hand is the compassion of Christ demonstrating there’s no limit to how high you can rise above what you are subjected to, and on the other hand is the greed, ignorance and cruelty of the soldiers showing there’s no end to how low one can stoop."
End of Story.
I don't know how many of us can be like the wise old man, Master Hakuin or Jesus Christ. But it definitely gives us some food for thought and if you too can think about these 3 stories and see where all it can be applied in your life, then perhaps this newsletter has done its job! - Sagar Shah
HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
Women's World Cup 2025 Round 3.1: Vantika Agrawal upsets Kateryna Lagno
IM Vantika Agrawal is on a huge roll at FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. She defeated GM Kateryna Lagno in Round 3 Game 1. The former World Rapid and three-time World Blitz Women's champion erred in a difficult position. It cost her material and Vantika scored the victory convincingly. IM Divya Deshmukh won against the reigning European Women's champion, IM Teodora Injac (SRB). One tiny inaccuracy in the endgame is all it took for Divya to bag the advantage and point. GM Harika Dronavalli missed a few great chances to win against IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE). GM Koneru Humpy was lost for the better part of the game against IM Klaudia Kulon (POL). Somehow she managed to survive and salvage a draw. GM R Vaishali made a quick 13-move draw against IM Carissa Yip (USA). Round 3 Game 2 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Anna Shtourman
POSITION OF THE WEEK
Proof Game in 8.0
This week’s puzzle is a whodunnit on 64 squares, if you like! The diagram shows a position reached after both sides played exactly eight legal moves. Can you reconstruct the game?
P.S. Our apologies for sharing the wrong position in the last newsletter - it was an inadvertent error. Hope you enjoy solving this one!
Go to ChessRanga for the complete solution!
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
LEARN TO FIGHT THE QGD WITH INIYAN!
The Queen’s Gambit Declined (QGD), is a highly popular opening for players of all levels, from absolute beginners to World Champions. Known for giving a solid position, many play this opening from the Black side, however, things aren’t as simple as they seem to be. With an emphasis on 4.Bg5, which was the old mainline played at the highest levels since the World Championship match of the 1920s, Grandmaster Iniyan Paneerselvam uncovers a lot of new ideas.
This repertoire provides White with ideas against any of the Black options after the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3. These ideas are both objectively good and highly practical, so as to be easily remembered. By studying this course, you will be able to get a better position against sidelines, and even against the mainlines; confidently achieving a pleasant position, which Black must defend precisely. Study the course and start picking up points against the solid QGD!
Today, we have a special offer on A Repertoire against the Queen's Gambit Declined with 4.Bg5 by Iniyan Panneerselvam - use the coupon code "INIYANQGD10" to avail a 10% discount! This offer is valid until 20th July 2025 - hurry up and get it now!
LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
Magnus Carlsen wins SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2025 with a round to spare, Gukesh third
Magnus Carlsen drew against R Praggnanandhaa in the penultimate round to win Grand Chess Tour SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2025 with one round to go. The World no.1 defeated Ivan Saric (CRO) in the final round to finish with 22.5/36. Wesley So (USA) secured second place 20/36. He scored a half point more 5.5/9 than the champion on the final day of Blitz. The World Champion, D Gukesh recovered well and scored 4/9 in the second half of Blitz to finish third with 19.5/36. Carlsen forced a Berlin draw against Gukesh in their Blitz rematch. The fourth event of the season will be Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz which will take place at Saint Louis Chess Club in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA from 10th to 16th August. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Sourath Biswas wins Gold at Asian Junior 2025, Bronze for Kashish Manoj Jain and Sarayu Velpula
FM Sourath Biswas scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to clinch Gold at Asian Junior 2025 Open. He earned the International Master and also scored a GM-norm. IM L M S T De Silva (SRI) also scored the same. However, Sourath's fifth round victory gave him an edge on tie-breaks. IM Kashish Manoj Jain won Bronze with a score of 7/9. WIM Sarayu Velpula scored 7/9 to secure Bronze in the Girls Classical event. FM Jaiveer Mahendru scored 6/7 to earn Silver in Rapid Open event. WIM Tejaswini G got Bronze in Girls scoring 6/7. Femil Chelladurai clinched Gold in Blitz Girls event. Photo: GM Mitrabha Guha
Sarbartho Mani, Divi Bijesh and Pratitee Bordoloi clinch Gold at FIDE World Cup Cadets 2025
Sarbartho Mani, WCM Divi Bijesh and WCM Pratitee Bordoloi have clinched Gold in Under-10 Open, Under-10 Girls and Under-12 Girls events at FIDE World Cup Cadet 2025. Sarbartho drew both of his Classical games against compatriot Oishik Mondal. Then he won both Rapid tie-break games to win the Gold. Oishik secured Silver medal. CM Aarit Kapil won both of his games against Iman Nabiyev (KAZ) to win Bronze. In Under-10 Girls, Divi scored full points against WCM Zhihan Chen (CHN) to earn Gold. WCM Sharvaanica A S defeated Nadezhda Vlad Volkova twice to claim Bronze. WCM Pratitee Bordoloi won both of her Classical games against compatriot Aadya Gowda to win Gold. Aadya had to settle for Silver medal. Indian kids were guaranteed five medals in Stage 2 and they were eligible for eight. They won seven out of them, which is outstanding. Photo: Georgia Chess Federation
HelpChess Foundation raises Rs. 1.6 crore to support talented Indian chess players in 2024-25
HelpChess Foundation started with only one mission - to support talented Indian chess players who need that extra push. Over the last seven years, the Foundation has grown steadily, both in raising funds and making a meaningful impact on players’ lives. HelpChess is a 12A-registered Charitable Trust with a CSR number that provides benefits to its contributors. Between April 2024 and March 2025, HelpChess Foundation raised Rs. 1,63,48,955. This is the highest amount in any year so far! All of this money goes towards empowering deserving chess players. This year, total 32 players have received support through this initiative. This article will talk about those players and the kind souls who made it all possible.
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