---

---

FROM THE CEO

It's been some time since I wrote a newsletter last! Since 31st July, I have been travelling extensively - first to Kazakhstan for the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2024. I then came back to Pune for a couple of days to celebrate Amruta's birthday (8th of August) and then left for Chennai for Gukesh's Velammal celebrations, then to Delhi for the GCL draft and finally coming back home and launching the Temple of Chess.

Sagar and Niklesh at the Almaty airport with Roman and Kuyash - the people building an unique app called Chess Legends!

It has been an extremely busy period and through those busy moments, if you are perceptive and aware, you can learn a lot. I want to share a few of the points from these travels:

1. How an ecosystem grows:

When I went to Kazakhstan and on the first day itself at the FIDE's torch ceremony, I saw something quite unique. Almost all of Kazakhstan's GMs were there. Then I met GM Vladimirov and asked him why does he no longer come to India to train the youngsters. And he mentioned, he is now the head coach of the Kazakh youth and he has a lot of work at hand. I also met players like Anuar Ismagembetov, Petr Kostenko and others, who used to come to India to play events, but were now busy with things going on within their nation itself. This is when I understood that the Kazakhstan chess economy is rapidly growing! I was curious to know how they had got all the pieces of the puzzle together in right place.

Turns out, there are very competent people in the national federation. They managed to organize a meet with the President of the country for a few minutes and put forth chess as an ideal way to empower the human resources in the country. The President liked the idea and assured them that he would publicize the growth of chess! Once that happened, many businesses in the country were keen to get associated with the sport. One of them being Freedom holding group run by Timur Turlov. A billionaire and a man with a passion for chess. So now chess in Kazakhstan has the government backing, a competent federation and money flowing in. Timur is now the President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. It doesn't come to me as a surprise that Kazakhstan won the World Junior title with Nogerbek Kazybek and 5 gold medals at Asian Youth 2024, more than India! Watch out for them!

Sagar with GM Darmen Darmen Sadvakasov - a legend in Kazakh chess! He took Sagar to a school to show the Chess in Schools project in Kazakhstan.

2. Life is every moment happening:

Earlier life was bifurcated into two verticals - first when I was travelling and the second was when I was back home. But now I do not bifurcate things this way. I feel travelling is a part of life. This shift in the way I think about travel has made me more at peace with travel. Earlier I used to try and finish all my important work before I would leave home. This would make the day before my travel, extremely hectic as I tried to do 100 things. Now I feel, I can even do things while I travel. Earlier when I would come back from tournaments, I used to completely drained and would have gained weight as I would be staying in some good hotel with some good food options. But now I am aware that I need to exercise even when I travel or eat healthy.

A throwback to June 2019 - Team ChessBase India after covering the Goa International GM Open!

Life is moving by even when I travel. I cannot postpone my healthy decisions to a time when the environment is stable. I need to bring in the stability into the way my mind works. This really helps me live life in a more holistic way. It also does not make me lose time when I am back from a travel, as I feel life is a continuous stream! :)

3. Creating role models:

There are many things that I learnt from my trip to Chennai, where Gukesh was felicitated by the Velammal school with a Mercedes Benz. But if there was one thing that would top the list, it is the way in which Velammal school portrayed Gukesh and his achievements. Because I was present there, I could feel the energy. I could feel that the kids were getting inspired by Gukesh and his conduct. Instead of inviting role models from outside (like Dhoni, or Kohli or any other sports players) they invested in making the program impeccably organized - laser shows, drone shows, amazing dance numbers and at the end of it, I felt Gukesh was nothing less of a rockstar!

Thousands of students cheered for him and I am sure there were several kids who went back home inspired. They will be the next set of achievers for Velammal and this cycle will keep continuing. How does one create a felicitation evening that is inspirational for the kids? It is by doing things with great attention to detail. Mr. Velmohan, the correspondent (head) of the Velammal Nexus Group was personally present to take care of the smallest of things and this translated in what I and many others experienced. It doesn't come to as a surprise that the school has been home to 21 grandmasters of the country!

4. The Global Chess League Draft: When I visited the Global Chess League (GCL) draft (auction), I really liked the vibe there. I think GCL is one of the very few events where competent people outside the chess ecosystem come and think seriously about how to grow chess! That's because their interests are aligned with those of the league. In this regard, I enjoyed my team in Delhi because I got to meet so many new people. The way they perceive chess is always very interesting for me. I really hope that the Global Chess League succeeds. This will ensure that several stakeholders who are present in the ecosystem will be benefited out of it and the sport will grow. 

All about the Global Chess League Draft

5. Temple of Chess:

When someone asks me what is Temple of chess - I say it is a space - a space for chess and a space for humanity. I have realized the importance of creating the right space. Not just physically, like the temple of chess, but also when two people are communicating something important. If the right space doesn't exist, things will simply not be communicated in the most effective way. The way is the thing about chess learning. If the right space is not created, people will never be able to learn in the best possible way. And so Temple of Chess is this endeavour, where we spend a lot of time and energy on creating the right space - by having 1000+ books, by not charging people - Keeping a "Pay as you want" model, keeping the space open for all, keeping it open for long hours 1-8 p.m. so that everyone can be involved and more.

GM Harshit Raja at the Temple of Chess!

I feel the energy of the place is right. Everyone who enters the space comes with a good energy there. That's because no one is being forced to come! This is one of the advantages of not charging a fixed fee. No one feels obliged to come because they have paid before. It's been just 3 days, but I already feel that there are a lot of possibilities in the concept of Temple of chess. I would like to discuss with all of you more on this topic! But for now, I will end this newsletter.

Thank you all for patiently reading my write-up. I am now in Mumbai for another 20 days before I leave for the Chess Olympiad in Budapest! :) - Sagar Shah

---

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

Tbilisi GP Round 3: Vaishali crushes Sara

GM R Vaishali scored her first win of the event in Round 3 of FIDE Tbilisi GP 2024. Vaishali crushed her opponent IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (ESP). The IM got a cramped position out of the opening after choosing an inferior line in the Two-Knights' Defence. She only made things worse in the middlegame, allowing Vaishali to positionally outplay her opponent. GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) missed her second consecutive chance to push for a win. This time against IM Alina Kashlinskaya (POL). IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE) and IM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) are the only two woman at 2/3. They are followed closely by seven women at 1.5/3. Vaishali will face IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO) in Round 4. It starts today from 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Anna Shtourman

Read the full article

---

GM VISHNU PRASANNA TEACHES YOU TO AVOID MISTAKES!

VISHNUPR10

Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again. The first task is to identify these mistakes and label them. Then the next time you sit at the chessboard, you are aware and able to avoid them. With more than 20 examples, you get a firm understanding of each type of mistake. IM Sagar Shah asks pertinent questions, and has also made cards, shown throughout the videos, that ensure you can firmly grasp the nature of the mistakes. Vishnu discusses how to fix these mistakes, and how his students - Gukesh, Leon Mendonca, Surya Ganguly and himself! - all very strong grandmasters, managed to fix the mistakes that they were making - leading to serious improvement in their play.

 GM Vishnu Prasanna is one of the most respected chess trainers in India. He is the coach of the current Indian no.1 player D. Gukesh – his main coach for his journey from 2200 to 2750 Elo. Vishnu has used his immense experience to touch upon the topic of mistakes in chess. 

Today, we have a big 10% discount on How to Avoid Mistakes and Boost Your Winning Rate by Vishnu Prasanna! Just use the coupon code "VISHNUPR10" to avail the discount. The offer expires on 25th August 2024 - hurry up and get it NOW!

---

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

61st National Championship R1: Smooth start for the top seeds

The 61st National Chess Championship 2024 started smoothly for the top seeds. There was no major upset for a change. A few minor ones were - Richard Solomon M (TN) held India's second highest rated IM Himal Gusain (RSPB) to a draw. The other one is Abhinav Anand (KAR) held former National Challenger champion, IM Ravi Teja S (AP) to a draw. Neemay Bhanushali (MAH) defeated WGM Swati Ghate (LIC). All GMs and IMs won their respective first round matches. The total prize fund of the tournament is same as last year ₹3000000. The top three prizes also remain unchanged ₹600000, ₹500000 and ₹400000 each. Round 2 starts today at 3:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Himank Ghosh

 

Read the full report

---

Subhayan Kundu wins DINI GM International Open 2024

Five players - Subhayan Kundu, GM Peng Li Min (SUI), GM Stupak Kirill, GM Boris Savchenko and GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J scored 7.5/10 at DINI GM International Open 2024. Subhayan won the tournament on tie-breaks. The remaining four were placed second to fifth respectively. Top four remained undefeated. Subhayan also scored his final IM-norm and he is now 1 Elo rating point away from becoming India's next International Master. The total prize fund of the tournament was LKR 6000000 (Over US$ 20000). The top three prizes were LKR 900000, 720000 and 540000 along with a trophy and medal each respectively. This was Subhayan's third tournament triumph of the year. GM Diptayan Ghosh, IM Hari Madhavan N B, GM Mitrabha Guha and GM Sayantan Das are the remaining Indians to make a top ten finish. They scored 7/10 each to be placed sixth, eighth, ninth and tenth respectively. Photos: Blue and Gold Chess Club

Read the full article

---

30th Abu Dhabi Masters R2: Goutham Krishna draws with Ivanchuk

13-year-old IM-elect FM Goutham Krishna H held the legend - GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR) to a draw in Round 2 of 30th Abu Dhabi Masters 2024. Five Indians out of 18 players are currently at 2/2. They are - IM Srihari L R, IM Muthaiah Al, IM Harikrishnan A Ra, GM Pranav V and GM-elect IM Rathanvel V S. IM Ayush Sharma drew with GM Leon Luke Mendonca. IM Ameya Audi missed a win against GM Nikolas Theodorou (GRE). IM Harsh Suresh shaed the point with GM Pranav Anand. FM Harshit Pawar held the reigning World Junior Girls champion - IM Divya Deshmukh. Kushal R Jani defended well against the UAE no.1, GM Salem Saleh to share the point. Today is a rest day for the Classical events. Eleven rounds of Blitz will be played from the same time. Round 3 starts tomorrow, 18th August at 5 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

Read the Full Article

---

Who's the strongest team at the Global Chess League 2024 | Draft in Delhi

The Global Chess League features some of the best players in the world (Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Nepo and many more). These top players are divided into 6 teams and in order to distribute the remaining players the draft was held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi on 11th of August 2024. In this article we take you through the teams and tell you all that you need to know about the strengths and weaknesses of each of the teams at the Global Chess League! 

Read the full article

---