India's first chess features print magazine published quarterly from Lucknow since 2004 by Aspire Welfare Society.

Monday, February 26, 2024

Lucknow youngster Harshit stars in Prague Chess 2024, ties for 2nd place

Prague: Lucknow youngster Harshit Amarnani played some great chess at the Prague Chess Rapid 2024 to tie for second place with a fantastic score of 6/7 in an international field of more than a hundred strong players. His score included a win over Ukrainian Fide Master Artem Berin and four other wins plus two draws. His rapid rating goes up by 83 points.
That's not all! Harshit played back-to-back classical tournaments including Prague Chess Open 2024, Marienbad Chess Open, 2024, and Rudar FM IV Scheveningen - Pozarevac Serbia for a total gain of 117 rating points. Harshit also picked up 60 blitz rating points in Marienbad. This makes Harshit jump to the top 600 professional active players of India.
Harshit's coaches believe he has way to go considering the resilience and hard work he has displayed going from a ten-year-old kid with a zero in his first tournament. He is an inspiration for all at the club. In a quick chat, here are more words of wisdom from this star set to shine brighter and brighter in the years to come.


Q: Five back-to-back tournaments with no breathing space! Why did you choose to go though this grind?

Harshit: That's because this is what I like. Despite the challenges, there is no other grind I'd rather go through. One has to work hard in any profession.

Q: You've been playing for a decade. What do you feel about professional chess now compared to what you felt as a kid?
Harshit: As a kid, I did not know much about professional chess. As I've grown up, I've come to know more and more about it, the possible ups and downs as well as an idea of the kind of life it brings. I feel that professional chess makes you experience life in a very different way as compared to most other careers. All the travelling, interaction with new people and exploration of new places teaches you amazing things.




Q: Your advice to juniors in the below-teen category starting out on chess?
Harshit: I do not think I am in any position to give advice to pre-teen kids. All I can say to them is to have fun and enjoy the game whilst working hard at the same time. I can only repeat what Grandmaster RB Ramesh said in an online webinar which is that there are three possible results of a chess game - winning, drawing and learning.

Q: You started out when there was very little awareness about professional chess in Lucknow in 2014. You and your family had to navigate the lows of tournaments pretty much alone. How should parents help their children in chess?
Harshit: Parents play a huge role in my opinion. I feel they need to be extremely supportive at the start to let their child go and play pressure-free. Trusting the child and making them feel understood is also important with regard to the child's performance. In chess, one loses a lot. It's the quality and understanding of games that matters. Winnin starts many, many years later. I'm truly blessed in having a supportive family and coaches.



Q: All these years, how have you balanced chess and studies?
Harshit: Balancing chess and studies has been difficult but you gotta do what you gotta do. Till now also, I don't think I'm even decent at balancing both but I am trying to improve every day and I think that's what matters.

Q: What is your general chess training schedule?
Harshit: Generally, my training schedule comprises a good number of tactical positions mixed with practice games along with endgame and opening study. But, obviously, the specifications keep changing depending on the need of the situation.

Q: In chess, one loses a lot, much more than winning, particularly in the early years. How do you get over the lows and what has kept you motivated even now in college?
Harshit: I think you just learn; learn to handle losses and look at them from a different perspective. Initially it was very tough to cope with losses especially as a kid but that is when the support of your coach and parents comes into play. I do not make much of a conscious effort to get over the lows. I let time do the healing. I try and focus on the areas of improvement and how to better my game in every aspect.

Q: Tournaments require extensive travel and what with expensive training, how do you handle the financials?
Harshit: Until now, all financials of chess tournaments and training have been borne majorly by my family especially my parents who I am very grateful to. I can say that I have tried to chime in a bit via some active and passive sources of income that I have set up lately but it's mostly been my parents who've supported me in every way.

Q: What are your current chess plans for the immediate future?
Harshit: Plan is to give my best in whichever situation I am in. I do plan to play more tournaments but have not yet decided which ones.

Harshit is truly a wonderful chess youngster. We request all wishing to sponsor and support Harshit in his chess quest to email sponsor proposals directly. — Team CCBW

Friday, February 9, 2024

Chessable International Research Awards 2024 Entries: Undergraduates, Graduates


The online chess learning platform Chessable (part of Chess.com) is seeking undergraduate and graduate students, along with their faculty research sponsors, to apply for the Chessable Research Awards 2024 cycle. Each winning faculty research sponsor gets $500. Each undergraduate student winner gets $500, and each winning graduate student gets $1,000. The deadline for applications is May 15, 2024.

The Chessable Research Awards are an initiative to promote chess research and develop our understanding of how chess can benefit our lives, how we can improve our knowledge of the game, and how we can understand other phenomena, both within and outside of the chess world.

University students from all fields of study, such as cognitive psychology, education, literature, history, computer science, etc., are invited to apply.

Examples of relevant topics include, but are not limited to, how playing chess impacts society or personal development, methods for improving the memorization of chess theory, the gender gap in chess participation, using ideas from chess to solve real-world problems, etc.

For more information about the Chessable Research Awards, visit
https://www.chessable.com/research awards

For more information about the Chessable science team and its initiatives, visit https://www.chessable.com/science and click on the green banner “View Our Active Scientific Research.”

Blog posts by past Chessable Research Awards winners (their names are linked to their blog posts): Aditya Gupta; Jérôme Genzling; Jordan von Hippel; Michael Martins; Jane Zhang; Adam DeHollander; Sarah Kudron.
Best regards,
Chief Science Officer Alexey Root, alexey.root@chess.com
Science Project Manager Karel van Delft, karel.vandelft@chess.com

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

CCBW felicitates Lucknow Chess Icons

The Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) felicitated chess icons of Lucknow on January 7, 2024. If not for the personal contribution of these people, Lucknow's chess would have been a desert for the last twenty years and city's children would not have got the opportunities they did. We celebrate these chess icons who have kept our beautiful game alive in the city. 

   

The chess icons of Lucknow who have kept alive the game in the city for the last twenty years with chief guest Agnishikha Verma at a special felicitation ceremony on the sidelines of the CCBW Open Chess Tournament.



International player, trainer & organiser: Devendra Bajpai: One of Lucknow's finest senior chess players with deep opening knowledge and a talented musician. He has both an amazing voice and god-gifted ability to play any instrument. He was long associated with Lucknow's traditional annual international open tournament for over fifteen years, the Piloo Modi Chess up to 2012. Bajpai and Hemant Sharma, along with players in Delhi, were the key players to successfully contest a case banning players and restriction upon organising of tournaments thereby benefiting the entire chess community of India.

State champion & trainer Dr Junaid Ahmad: Sports officer at the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, managing editor of India's only chess features magazine printed from 2004 to 2012 is now honorary director of children's club Chess Club Black & White. He has trained several youngsters and organises special tournaments for senior citizens and women. He has been associated with the research work for International Arbiter Naveen Karthikeyan's book "18x64: Chess Class with Bhagavad Gita shlokas*. 

International Arbiter Hemant Sharma: Not just a trainer but Lucknow's first and only International Arbiter. He has brought many chess tournaments to the state capital and has been associated with the Piloo Modi Open Chess Tournament.

Player, trainer Saeed Ahmad: retired from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has brought a professionalism to Lucknow chess with both his playing and training methods. He has set high standards for himself and his online and offline students at his Lucknow Chess Centre. 

Pawan Batham: has been coaching youngsters and playing for several years along with his employment with the Sales Tax Department. He has been playing partner for several kids playing at national level. 

Player, trainer Arif Ali: is one of the strongest senior players in the State Capital and has worked with several rated children in the city. 

Tournament organiser Devendra Nanda: has long organised open tournaments with his own funding to end the drought of tournaments in Lucknow. 

Jalaluddin: Lucknow's finest and National Awardee bone carver keeping alive the hundreds-of-years-old art of bone carving and making some of the finest high-end traditional theme sets in exquisite designs. 

Ravi Shankar: Youth coach with the Delhi Public School in Lucknow leads one of the strongest school teams in the state of Uttar Pradesh. 


Saturday, January 20, 2024

Stunning Chess Novella: Lucknow's Romantic, Historical Legacy of Chess

Chess Club Black & White's Zainab Raza Undulusi caught up with Fide International Arbiter Naveen Karthikeyan to chat about his latest part-fiction, part-historical novella, 2. Zih-e-Lucknow#. Since we last met him two years ago, the twenty-something has not changed. He is still reclusive, still extremely shy and still in love with chess. That love has, however, grown!

Q: So, this is your fourth book and you've covered pretty much four different genres through chess — philosophy, children, fiction and history. What's the strategy?
A: Actually this is my fifth book. The first never got written that I began with in 2020! So much for planning. Just like for the rest of the world, everything has been tumultuous since Covid happened. I ended up in cities I had not thought of and in empty rooms talking to myself. I'm no guru or writer. The books happened as therapy in solitude.

Q: Your latest book has a huge and fascinating canvas. What is it about? Chess, history, love, Lucknow, kids, food, youngsters, humour... Senior citizens, culture...?
A: All. It's all linked through chess people! "Zih" happened specifically because of the chess players I met in Lucknow thanks to my contact with Chess Club Black & White (CCBW). I was surprised to hear about the deep cultural connection that Lucknow has with chess. It just had to be told. I still feel more could be written.

Q: How did you build the narrative? Are the characters real?
A: No author can be totally delinked from his human experience. That said, somewhere in the book, I lost track of all the characters. The fictional, historical, and the imaginary, all became too real. I enjoyed the process. I hope my readers do too. I sought permission from the real people to put them in the book as they are. It was essential to Karthik's journey. Initially, though, I had set out to only create a kind of historical record of chess players in Lucknow. My only intention was to make a website listing the names and a little about them. I just lost control. The book happened. Then, the surprising part is, it all also connects to India's Freedom Struggle. I found that super special and felt every chess player should know about this link.

Q: Both your novellas have women protagonists. Is there a reason for that? Is this a sequel?
A: Only one. Leila is one woman protagonist. In Zih, Karthik and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah are the male protagonists in the two separate timelines. The two books are not related. The numbering is just an idea based on chess notation.

Q: The bridging of 1856 and 2020 timelines — How did that happen?
A: Chess is so much a part of the Lucknow consciousness. Mention the word "shatranj (chess)" to a random stranger on the streets, and even if they have never touched a real chess set, they will immediately remark about Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Premchand's iconic short story and the great Satyajit Ray film based on that. For me, the quirky personal connect happened when I found out that the Nawab was exactly my age when the British took over the Kingdom of Awadh in 1856. Then, back to the present, most of the children were whom I had met online during the lockdown. By some mysterious grace the characters and the novella just came to be.



Q: And, the Urdu poetry?
A: what can I say. That's not just about Urdu. You see, it's about the Lucknow air. The thing is either Lucknow makes everything romantic for you from having tea to meeting people or, it rejects you totally. Lucknow is a living city that embraces you with its passion if you are brave enough. Urdu is part of that passion. This I really cannot explain. (Smiles) Read my book, go to Lucknow and play a CCBW tournament!

Q: Both your novellas — 1. Leila# and 2. Zih-e-Lucknow# have free-spirited characters and you examine love, marriage and relationships in the non-traditional way. You project that love and relationships are not for keeps. Is that your observation of what is happening today?
A: I wouldn't say that's the correct interpretation. (Smiles). I do agree that I have witnessed a lot of fragile relationships around me. After all, relationships and career seem to be the focus in everyone's teens and twenties. However, what I want to say is, true love and committed relationships exist rarely because everyone's confusing physical or material attraction as love. I've tried to reach some kind of a definition for what is true love. I'm not sure I've succeeded. As my mentors say, I need to explore and study more and read more and I don't have any time to waste. I'm only a student. I need to work harder.

Q: Your mentors?
A: One is surely influenced by the people one meets. These can be through books we read, movies we watch or real people. International Master Akshat Khamparia, from Indore, is my teacher on and off the chessboard. Not only did he get me started on my Fide International Arbiter title, but his clarity of vision as an organiser is truly inspiring. No one can lead a team of polar opposite people as dynamically as he does. His Indore GM Open is going to be one of the great tournaments in the years to come like Moscow, London, Havana, St Louis, Hastings etc. His chess reflects that sparkling clarity as well. Then, GM Jonathan Rowson's books have had a profound impact upon me. GM Rowson's 100-year-project, Perspectiva, which is a collective of scholars, artists and activists working on "the pickle" through insight, praxis, realisation, and emergence is mind-boggling for me. I struggle to understand it but he's my modern philosophy hero. I hope I can be somewhat like him in the years to come both in chess and in thought. But, right now, I just have to study.

Q: And, cook?

A: (Laughs) Yes, as I say, in all my books. I think I was born to be a chef. The last letter just turned from "f," to a double "s" somehow. I do want to explore every single cuisine of the world. Again, I feel, I could have written more about the food in Lucknow.

Q: So, what next?
A: Hopefully, more studying, more writing, more chess, more meditation and more cooking.

*The book is available online for purchase in hard copy at all leading book stores for Rs 500. Ebook version coming soon. (Amazon, Flipkart, Clever Fox Publishing. Author website has an additional discount.)

Previous interview of the author. 
All books by the author:
— 18x64: Chess Class with Bhagavad Gita Shlokas
— Just eight pawns: A short story book for children - of all ages
— 1. Leila#
— 2. Zih-e-Lucknow#

Vartika, Deepanjali, Daksha win 2nd edition of CCBW Chess Princess 2024

Lucknow: Vartika R Verma scored a perfect 7/7 to win the 2nd CCBW Chess Princess 2004 title at a city hotel here today in the female-players-only tournament. Deepanjali Mehrotra lost a Rook-Bishop endgame to Vartika but won all other games to stand second with six points. Daksha Singh scored a creditable 4 points to stand third on tiebreak ahead of Pooja Kashyap and Anupama Khare.

Also released on the occasion was Fide International Arbiter Naveen Karthikeyan's second chess novella "2. Zih-e-Lucknow#". The book is a unique research work — part history, part fiction — that encapsulates Lucknow's chess legacy from the 19th century on. As the young author says, "It's a book for lovers of chess, lovers of Lucknow and lovers."

Special guests on the occasion were Uzma Siddiqui-Kidwai and Rocio Perez. Ms Kidwai is principal, Karamat Girls, and has twice received the UP Government District Teacher Award in 2021 and 2023. Educationist Ms Perez, Mexico City, is a Spanish professor promoting Indo-Mexican cultural ties.


Chess Club Black & White honorary director, UP State champion, 2002, Dr Junaid Ahmad said, "As a club we want to create awareness that chess is a life skill sport and children should not be pushed into its professional aspect unless they are truly ready. Also, this all-women tournament was our smallest of efforts to help create a safe and secure environment for more girls to play a close-proximity and emotionally tough sport like chess."

Top results


1st Vartika R Verma 7 points, 2nd. Deepanjali Mehrotra 6 pts, 3-5th Daksha Singh, Pooja Kashyap, Anupama Khare, 4, Pooja Mehrotra, 2.

U10 1st Saanica Sinha, 3.5, 2nd Advika Tiwari, 2 pts (also youngest participant), Aditri S. Baiswar, 1 pt.

U13 1st Aditi Singh 4 pts, Shivangi Sharma 3.5 pt.

U15 1st Anushka Sen 3 pts.

Senior Citizen 1st S. Mahana 4 pts, Indrani Basu 3 pts.

Monday, January 15, 2024

Sumit Kumar Jha wins Charans Plaza Chess Cup 2023 in Lucknow

Lucknow: Former UP champion Sumit Kumar Jha (rated 1935) of Kanpur played a perfect 7/7 to win the Charans Plaza Chess Cup 2023 in Lucknow. Rated 1935, the Indian Bank assistant branch manager, currently posted in Bahraich, returning to professional chess after ten years said, "My best game was Arif Ali's Alekhine in the sixth round. It could have gone either way. It was very close. Ali faltered in time pressure."

Charans Plaza GM Narendra Sharma with prize winners at the Rs 10,000 Charans Plaza Chess Cup 2023 in Lucknow.

Top seed Arif Ali (2039), Lucknow's strongest senior player, was second with five points ahead of UP's top-rated junior Harshit Amarnani (1811) also scoring five. Harshit, currently studying at Asoka University, Sonepat, was playing right after winning the silver medal in the u1800 section at the Phuket Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023.

Senior trainer Saeed Ahmad (5 points) won the +60 section followed by KK Kharey (4 points) and Mohd Irfan (3.5 points). Indrani Basu, grandmother of former state champion Sameer, was first in the +60 women's category.

In the +18 women's category, unrated Vartika R Verma (4 points) was first followed by Aiman Akhtar (3 points).

General Manager, Charans Plaza, Hazratganj, Lucknow, Narendra Sharma, gave away the prizes. Fide International Arbiter PN Naveen Karthikeyan presented his book "18x64 Chess with Bhagavad Gita shlokas" to young participants of the tournament.

Open top-standings: Sumit Kumar Jha 7 points, Arif Ali, Harshit Amarnani, Anchal Rastogi, Arjun Singh 5 pts, Rajendra Kumar, Ravi Shankar 4.5 pts, Anirudh Dwivedi, Aditya Tandon, Tejas Krishna T 4 pts.

Age-group winners:

U9 1st-3rd Vivaan Agarwal 4 points, Akshat Srivastava 3.5, Shahab Mural Alam, Yuvaan Grover 3 pts.

U13 1st-3rd Aarav Garv 6.5 pts, Abhinav Verma, Ujjwal Raj Srivastava, Samyak Sagar, Shubh Sahai, Tahaan Khan 5 pts, Anant Mohan, Aaryav Yogesh, Arjun Garg 4 pts.

U17 1st-3rd Anvitha Verma 6 pts, Aqrab Alam, Ariz Hussain, Aaradhy Gupta 5.5 pts, Arnav Tripathi 5 pts.

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Call to Participate in Chessable Research on Decision-Making by Rated Players

The Chessable Science Project Manager Karel van Delft is seeking participants for in-house research on decision making in chess.

How well do chess players with different ratings solve different types of tactical chess positions? And how long does it take them to do so? The Chessable science team invites chess players to take part in an online test.

The test consists of ten positions which should be solved in a maximum of five minutes each. Before the test begins, there are two sample puzzles. After solving the positions, participants may answer some questions via a link.

Chess players of all levels can participate. The only condition is to have a FIDE Elo rating.

To participate, click on https://chessable.typeform.com/decisionmaking to fill in a short questionnaire (Elo rating, name, etc.). After a few weeks you will get a link to the online test.

Names of participants will be kept confidential. The research results will lead to a research paper and a blog on the Chessable science pages.

Via the questionnaire participants can opt for a one-month free Chessable PRO Account. To get the Chessable PRO account, list your existing Chessable account or create a Chessable account for free at www.chessable.com. After November 21 you will see the PRO status when you open your account.

Links and Contact information

Chessable PRO Account: https://www.chessable.com/pro

Chessable science: https://www.chessable.com/science and click on the green banner “View Our Active Scientific Research”

Chessable science blogs: https://www.chessable.com/blog/chess-science

For questions or remarks, please contact Karel van Delft
Chessable Science Project Manager
karel.vandelft@chess.com.

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Harshit wins Silver in u1800 at Phuket Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open

Phuket: Talented Lucknow youngster, Harshit Amarnani, has won the second place in the u1800 Section at the Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023 in Phuket, Thailand, this last week. The field was a tough one with top players from Australia, the US, Singapore, and several Asian countries. 

Lucknow's Harshit Amarnani receiving the second prize of 3,000 Baht in the u1800 Section at the Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023 in Phuket, Thailand.

However, the youngster put himself through a tough back-to-back tournament schedule from June-end to July. 

First, it was the Prague International Chess Festival 2023 followed by the Sachovy Festival Ceske Budejovice in Czechoslovakia and then Phuket, Thailand. 

His notable games in Prague included a draw with Fide Master Daniel Barrish of South Africa and win over David Hak of Czechoslovakia. After playing in Prague for over a week, Harshit was back to the board right away at the Sachovy Festival Ceske Budejovice Open 2023 with notable games including a draw with Candidate Master Bruno Steiner of Austria and win over Alexander Oliver Mai of Iceland. 

It's tremendous hard work to play 26 rated tournament games within a month and notch up almost 100 Fide rating points. 

Harshit (third from left) with his hard-earned prize at the Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023.

"The schedule was gruelling and I chose it, torturing my family more than myself," laughs Harshit, "But it was the best way to spend my college vacation. Unless one goes through the grind, one cannot expect improvement. I felt the extended international tournament exposure has given me valuable experience that will help me organise my further training. I'm still far from my goals."

Wise words from the humble and hard working youngster who is already one of the top-rated juniors in Uttar Pradesh. His Fide rating now jumps to 1878. 

An alumni of the Lucknow La Martiniere Boys' College, Harshit is currently studying Psychology and Entrepreneurship at the Ashoka University.

Harshit can be contacted for sponsorship via his Facebook page.




Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Protect your Queen Campaign Tournment: Respecting Girls in Chess, Society

Pawan, Ayush star jn CCBW "Protect your Queen" Awareness Campaign Chess Tournament; Aiman Best WomanL

Lucknow: Senior Lucknow player Pawan Batham, and 14-year-old Ayush Saxena from Shahjahanpur, tied for the first place at the "Protect your Queen" chess tournament at Hotel De Global Park, Nirala Nagar, today. Both scored 5.5/6 points and all credit to Ayush for drawing with top seed Pawan. The winner's trophy went to Pawan on tiebreak score. Aiman Akhtar was Best Woman with 4.5 points followed by Pooja Kashyap and Vineeta Agarwal.

Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) organised the tournament as part of a campaign launched by 13-year-old Prisha Garg of Kunskapsskolan School. Prisha says, "Chess is a sport where boys and girls can compete at the same level but, sometimes, boys tease and harass when they lose to a girl." 

Garima Gupta, Educationist and Young Indian Scientist, awarded by late President Abdul Kalam, with prize winners at a chess tournament to promote respect for girls, at Hotel De Global Park, Nirala Nagar.


She added, "Not just in chess, in society as a whole, my campaign is not about punishing errant boys but about creating awareness in society. Chess is a great way to say girls are capable as well." India Women's Chess No. 2, Dronavalli too has reported being harassed at the international level. 

Special prizes at the event included: Best Chess Dad 1st and 2nd Kuldeep Kumar and Kanishka Deva Rastogi. Best Chess Mom was Shweta Bharti. Best chess-theme-royalty dress prize went to Arun Singh who wore a dazzling turban to the tournament. 

Chief guest Garima Gupta, educationist and Young Indian Scientist, awarded by late president Abdul Kalam, gave away the prizes.

*Final Standings*

1st-2nd Pawan Batham, Ayush Saxena 5 pts (on tiebreak) 3rd Arun Singh 5, 4th Sameer Mukherjee 4.5 pts, 5th-8th Krishna Tejas T, Nikhar Saxena, Harshit Arora, Abhishek Srivastava 4 pts 9th Sudhir Verma 3.5 pts 10th-12th Aniket Mohan, Parth Bhalla, Vinay. 

*Best Veteran* 1st Ajit Kumar Srivastava 4 pts, 2nd UB Singh 3.5 pts 

*U15* 1st Arnav Tripathi 4 pts, 2nd Prisha Garg 2 pts

*13* 1st Atharv Thapliyal 4 pts, 2nd Arjun Garg 3.5 pts

*U9* 1st Aja Thapliyal 2.5 pts, 2nd Yuvaan Grover 2 pts.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Anchal wins Maha Shivratri Chess Chess, Kamlesh Kumar Kesharwani Best Veteran

Lucknow: Anchal Rastogi won the Maha Shivratri Chess Open hosted by Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) at a city hotel with 6.5 points in 7 rounds. Sayeed Ahmad, who had been co-leader throughout the tournament lost to Anchal in the sixth round, but won his final round to be second with 6 points.

Kamlesh Kumar Kesharwani scored 4.5 to win the the best veteran +60 category. RP Gupta was second and Ajit Kumar Srivastava was third in the veterans' category. Aiman Akhtar was Best woman with three points ahead of Jusfica Lilium Lobo on tiebreak. Pooja Kashyap was third with 2.5 pts. State Co-ordinator of Sarv Shakthi Peeth Trust, Dr Anup Srivastava, gave away the prizes. All players were hosted to complimentary lunch and received dhoop and gifts on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri.

Chief guest, State Co-ordinator of Sarv Shakthi Peeth Trust, Dr Anup Srivastava, with winners of the Maha Shivratri Chess Open hosted by CCBW at Hotel De Global Park in Nirala Nagar.

*Top standings*
(Lucknow unless stated otherwise)

1st Anchal Rastogi, 6.5 pts; 2nd-3rd Saeed Ahmad, Pawan Batham, 6 pts; 4th Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, 5.5 pts;

U13: 1st Parth Gupta, 5 pts; 2nd-5th Mahir Agarwal, Medhansh Raj, Gaurang Jaiswal, Shubh Srivastava, 4 pts;

U15: 1st-3rd Aarav Gupta, Chinmay Vajpayee, Pranav Rastogi, 4 points; 4th-5th Aadi Chandra, Ujjwal Raj Srivastava, 3 pts

U9: 1st Mohd Ismail Siddiqui, Prayagraj, 4 pts; Akshat Srivastava 3 pts, Yuvaan Grover, 2 pts; 4th Satvik Anand, Prayagraj, 1.5 pts

Saturday, January 21, 2023

FM Arvinder Preet Singh Wins Two-Day MCD Chess Open in Lucknow



Lucknow: Fide Master Arvinder Preet Singh from Ludhiana won the two-day My Chess Dreams (MCD) Rapid Open Chess today. Singh, the 2018 World Amateur Champion, dropped a point only to Anchal Rastogi of Lucknow. Rastogi steered into an endgame two pawns up but, despite the win, was third on tiebreak. Vivek Kumar Shukla from Kanpur beat all other top players to be second.

Among the veterans, KK Khare, Lucknow was first half a point ahead of Qamar Naim, Bahraich and Mohd Aslam, Lucknow.

Among the kids, seven-year-old Mohd Ismail Siddiqui from Allahabad performed way above his level to be first in under-9. The Best Woman prize went to Aiman Akhtar of Lucknow a point ahead of Purnima Saxena and Jusfica Lilium Lobo. Chess Club Black & White CCBW-Lucknow) hosted the all-India prize money tournament.


 

Top standings

1st-4th Arvinder Preet Singh, Vivek Kumar Shukla, Anchal Rastogi, Saeed Ahmad 7.5 pts each;
5th-6th Arif Ali, Pawan Batham 6.5 pts;
7th-12th Ravi Shanker, Shadab Khan, Chandra Prakash, Arun Pratap Singh, Prashant Pandey, Krishna Tejas T 6 pts;
13th-14th Ashfaq Ahmad, Shalabh Agarwal 5.5 pts

U9 Age-group

1st Mohd Ismail Siddiqui, Allahabad 5 pts; 2nd Yuvaan Grover, Lucknow 3 pts; 3rd-4th Akshat Srivastava, Ahaan Khanna Das, Lucknow 2.5 pts

U13 Age-group

1st-2nd Lakshya Nigam, Shubh Srivastava Lucknow, 5 pts each; 3rd Gauransh Jaiswal, Lucknow 4.5 pts

U15 Age-group

1st Arnav Tripathi, Lucknow 4 pts, 2nd Pradyumn Kumar Pandey, Lucknow 3 pts, 3rd Ayush Mishra, Lucknow 2 pt.

Monday, December 19, 2022

KK Khare wins Krishan Baldev Mahana Chess Memorial for Veterans


Lucknow: Seasoned veteran player, KK Khare of Lucknow, won the Krishan Baldev Mahana Memorial Chess for Veterans (those born 1962 and before) with a perfect score here today. Defending champion Qamar Naim was second.

Vinayak Rao, Lucknow, returning to play after many years, dropped a point only to Khare, to be third on tie-break along with Balgovind Awasthi, Kanpur.

The highlight of the tournament was an exciting game between Vimal K Bhatia, Lucknow, playing White vs Qamar Naim. Bhatia was winning all the way in the Rook endgame for the title but blundered.

Ms Rocio Perez from Mexico City was chief guest. Winners received trophies and all players were felicitated with a shawl, pen, framed group photo.

This is the only chess tournament for those aged 60 and above in India hosted regularly by Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) with free entry and lunch. Hopefully, many such tournaments will now start happening. Chess is surely an amazing sport for senior citizens.

The children of the club also got a chance to play with the senior chess players of Lucknow, Kanpur, Bahraich, Bareilly, Jhansi, Allahabad, Orai and Varanasi.




Final results
Kapil Kumar Khare 5pts, Qamar Naim, Vinayak Rao, Bhatia Vimal K, Balgovind Awasthi 4 pts, Mohd. Sabir Siddiqui, Basant Singh 3.5 pts, Shakiluddin, Santosh Kumar Srivastava, Sharad Sharma, Kamlesh Kumar Kesharwani, RK Gupta, KM Shukla, Kranti Kumar Gupta 3 pts, UB Singh, Shaikh Zafar Ullah 2.5 pts, RS Kashyap, Rambabu Sachan, Mool Chand, RP Gupta, Zahid Ali, Harish Srivastava, Ajit Kumar Srivastava, Ambuj Agarwal, Anurag Srivastava, Aslam Ahmad, Jitendra Singh Saxena, Mahana S, Parashuram, Deep Saxena, Dhruv Narayan 2 pts.

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Chandigarh Chess Assn Shocks Chess Players with No Prizes, High Entry Fee

Chandigarh, Nov 15: Chandigarh chess players were in for a shock Wednesday when the Chandigarh Chess Association (CSA) announced a tournament with no prizes yet high entry fee.

Senior local players got together to petition the Chandigarh Chess Association and the All-India Chess Federation against the "step-motherly" treatment. A senior player, on condition of anonymity, said, "Right next door, Punjab organised a similar tournament with prizes. The entry fee was similar. But, the prizes and playing conditions somewhat justified the tournament entry fee."

Another young player's father added, "An association selection tournament is not a privately organised event. We can always skip a private organiser's tournament if we don't like the conditions or are not happy with prizes etc. But this is a bonafide, duly supported by the government and All-India Chess Federation tournament. The purpose of the association is to promote chess in the region. They get federation and government financial support. A local player does not wish to skip this  selection tournament as it's an "official event" and has its own prestige so as to speak. They can hold a separate open tournament to earn money." 


Just justify the entry fee and the very organising of the tournament for professional players with cash prizes and at least trophies and certificates for kids, asks Chandigarh Chess community. Associations have resources why not help players? Players need voting rights and a say. If it's only selection trial then reduce the entry fee to nominal or free as is the norm.

He said, "They must make the event worthwhile for all chess players. What will happen is only children of certain academies will play and get to represent Chandigarh at the Nationals. No professional senior player will attend this tournament. The organisers are possibly happy with no senior chess players turning up to play."

Another player added, "What happens is that no genuine professional player from Chandigarh will find it worth the effort. Children from private academies will be sent here and asked to play. The parents, in fear of being banned or sidelined, will send their kids paying the high entry fee for no returns. Who will gain? Eventually, the top-four players going to the Nationals will not be the true representatives of Chandigarh chess players. It's like India team for Olympiad is selected by bypassing all top Grandmasters."

Senior players added, "More than anything else, we ask why an association exists if not to promote chess? Why elections have not been held for years to allow some chess to happen here? There has not been an open rating chess tournament in Chandigarh by the association for at least several years. Why does this association exist? Just to report to All-India Chess Federation that it has conducted the mandatory selection tournament and then sleep for the entire year?"

"The so-called main academies of the city will go on fleecing some parents with fake promises of building their children's career and insist that the kids go play this tournament. In effect, nothing will happen. Unless real chess promoters are part of the association, the sport cannot be promoted across the country. Any players who do something, succeed without association aid."

The letter sent to the All-India Chess Federation by senior chess players of Chandigarh reads as follows: 

The 32nd Chandigarh Chess Championship, run by the Chandigarh Chess Association for qualifying in the MPL Senior National Chess Championship 2022, is scheduled to take place at Chandigarh Baptist School in Sector-45D, 160047, from November 25 to November 27, 2022.

The cost of the event is INR 700 plus INR 250 for AICF Registration.

Even with appropriate entrance costs, the tournament's lack of any prize money worries us. The lack of monetary incentives for winners considerably reduces the likelihood of recruiting professional chess players who rely on the game for their living.

Chess competition, training, and play all come with their own set of costs. Without prizes, an official AICF chess tournament is unable to draw professional players since it cannot cover the costs of training and participating in the event.

THE PLEA
We kindly request that you look into the situation and take the necessary steps to guarantee that the fair play requirements are adequately followed in the upcoming competition for the benefit of chess.

Comments on this report by our staff writer may be emailed to editor@blackandwhiteindia.com

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Lucknow's Arif Ali wins CCBW Chess Open, Jusfica top Woman Player


Lucknow: Arif Ali won the 2nd CCBW Open Chess here today with a consistent performance in a field of more than 100 top chess players from Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Lucknow.

Vikash Nishad was second with a draw against Ali in an Alekhine-game converting into a French pawn structure. Eleven-year-old Sanyam Srivastava was the kid hero holding rated second seed Pawan Batham to a draw and making it to the main prize list.

Jusfica Lilium Lobo from Lucknow was Best Woman and Dinesh Sinha from Kanpur won the Veteran +60 Section. Among the juniors, u-13 section, Prisha Garg from Lucknow was Best Girl and Arnav Tripathi was Best Boy. Aaryav Yogesh was top scorer in the u-10 category. 

Chess Club Black & White hosted the tournament with free lunch and international-standard playing conditions at a city hotel. Mrs Agni Shikha Verma, Chairperson of the Agni Shikha Karn Educational Charitable Trust and Principal of AWADH ITI, gave away the prizes. 

*Top Prize Winners*

Open 1st-15th: Arif Ali, Vikash Nishad 6.5, Gufran 6, Pawan Batham 5.5, Anchal Rastogi, Sayeed Ahmad, Shashi Prakash, Vishal Bharti, Rajendra Kumar, Mayank Pandey, Vimal Bhatia,  KK Kulhary, Ayush Saxena, Akash Srivastava, Udit Gupta 5.

Women 1st-3rd: Jusfica Lilium Lobo, Aiman Akhtar, Shweta Bharti

Veterans +60 1st-3rd Dinesh Sinha, KK Khare, RK Gupta 5

Under-9 1st-2nd Aaryav Yogesh, Mahir Agarwal 

Rating Categories 1st-2nd

Unrated - 1099: Shubh Srivastava, Suneel Kumar

1100-1299: Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Sanyam Srivastava 

1300-1499: Vinayak Singh Yadav, Shani Kumar Soni

1500-1699: Ravishanker, Sunny Mathew





Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Chessable Research Awards for Varsity Students: Apply before October 1

Chessable, a leading platform in chess improvement and part of the Play Magnus Group, is seeking undergraduate and graduate students to apply for the Chessable Research Awards.

The Chessable Research Awards are an initiative to develop our understanding of how chess can benefit our lives, how we can improve our knowledge of the game, and how we can understand other phenomena, both within and outside of the chess world.

University students from all fields of study, such as cognitive psychology, education, literature, history, computer science, etc., are invited to apply.

Examples of relevant topics include, but are not limited to, how playing chess impacts society or personal development, methods for improving the memorization of chess theory, the gender gap in chess participation, using ideas from chess to solve real-world problems, etc.

Chessable's Chief Science Officer Dr. Alexey Root says, “With the Chessable Research Awards, Chessable hopes to encourage existing chess researchers and to help launch new chess research projects worldwide.”

Winning students and their faculty research sponsors will receive monetary awards and publicity in Chessable blog posts and newsletters. Three cycles of awards per year are planned. Applications for this first cycle are due Saturday, October 1, 2022, for research to be conducted during the spring semester of 2023.

To successfully apply, each student must have a faculty research sponsor, who fills out a separate application.

For more information about the Chessable Research Awards and the link to apply, visit: https://www.chessable.com/blog/chessable-research-awards

Applicant questions and media requests for interview/comment should go to Chessable’s Chief Science Officer or to the Science Project Manager at the addresses below:

Dr. Alexey Root, Chief Science Officer: alexey.root@chessable.com
Karel van Delft, Science Project Manager: karel@chessable.com

For more information about the Chessable science team and its initiatives, visit https://www.chessable.com/science

Bahraich's Qamar Naim wins CCBW +60 Chess for Veterans in Lucknow



Lucknow: Seventy-year-old Qamar Naim, of Bahraich won the CCBW +60 Seniors' Chess Lucknow today with a blazing 6.5/7 performance. In second and third place were sixty-nine-year old Balgovind Awasthi from Kanpur and eighty-one-year old RK Gupta from Jhansi. The oldest player was eighty-two year old Kranti Kumar Gupta who came to play especially from Bareilly. He set the pace in the initial rounds.

"What an inspiring tournament," said Chief Arbiter, Hemant Sharma. "These are the real masters of chess as unlike us they have had no access to computers. Today's kids have an app of double the world champion's strength on their cellphones to learn from."

Winners, players and Team CCBW with chief guest with Chief Guest Mahamilind Lal, Director Finance, State Nutrition Mission, in Lucknow, on Sunday at The Hotel Golden Apple, in Mahanagar.

Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) hosted all senior chess players of the state in the rapid seven-round 10+5 time control event. "Play chess to stay young and fit. At sixty, free from duties, you can now travel and play. The world's oldest Grandmaster was recently 100 years-old Yuri Averbakh of Russia. We want such inspiring seniors in India as well," said UP champion, 2002, Dr Junaid Ahmad, director, CCBW.

Naim's extremely attacking play was matched by top-seed Vimal Bhatia of Lucknow, but the latter missed out several games in time pressure. Lakhimpur's Krishna Murari Verma started very well but stepped back in the second half of the tournament. In the game of Lucknow stalwarts, KK Khare was winning all the way but blundered a full rook and the game to Prabhat Adhaulya.

Final top standings: Qamar Naim 6.5 pts, Balgovind Awasthi 6 pts, RK Gupta, KK Kulhary, KM Verma, KK Khare 5 pts, Prabhat Adhaulya 4.5 pts, Munir Ahmad, MS Siddiqui, Vimal Bhatia, Harish Kumar Srivastava, RS Kashyap, Sharda Prasad Pandey, UB Singh 4 pts, Shamim Ahmad, Kamlesh Kumar Kesharwani, Deep Saxena, RP Gupta, Phoolchand Basore, Anurag Srivastava, Ambuj Agarwal, Moolchand, KK Gupta, Vinayak Rao, S Mahana, Ajit Kumar Srivastava, Rajesh Sharma 3 pts.


DO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE TO CHESS JOURNALIST SHIVANG SHARMA'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Another video from the channel



Find all photos on facebook
Follow us on twitter @chessccbw

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Harshit 1st in u1800 at Belgrade Chess Open, gains 218 fide rating points

Lucknow, July 30: Heartiest Congratulations to CCBW kid Harshit Amarnani, Lucknow, for winning first prize in the u1800 category (Euro 100) and gaining a fantastic 218 fide rating points in Belgrade, Serbia today! He just concluded the Belgrade Open - Vozhdovac Trophy 2022 with a score of 6/9. Harshit definitely has his parents, Prashant and Suvidha, to thank. Sacrificing their own time and work to help him pursue his chess dreams. His sister, Himmika, a tennis player, always the naughty support. Himmika too is a chess player in her own right! 

He has trained with UP Champion Dr Junaid Ahmad, district champion Arif Ali at Chess Club Black & White, Lucknow (CCBW) and WIM Mrunalini Kunte at the Kunte Chess Academy, Pune.

His score includes a draw with Fide Master Nikolic Boban, Women's International Master Rucha Pujari, and International Master Andrijevic Milan. It also includes a win over Fide Master Maric Dragan.

Harshit's rating goes to 1788 in the new FIDE rating list making him the top-rated junior in Uttar Pradesh. He is already in the top-1000 rated juniors in Asia.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Tech Mahindra Hosts Unique Chess Flash Mob in 40 Cities Across the World

New Delhi, July 21, 2022: Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions, today hosted a first-of-its-kind Chess Flash Mob on the occasion of International Chess Day. The Flash Mob was conducted simultaneously across 40 Tech Mahindra campuses including Dallas, USA, Netherlands, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, among others, and in several of Tech Mahindra’s partners and customer campuses worldwide. Tech Mahindra’s employees also got the opportunity to play Chess and won exclusive merchandise signed by Viswanathan Anand.



Viswanathan Anand, five-time world chess champion, said, “As someone who has been playing Chess since the age of six, I have seen the popularity of Chess grow manifold in India and across the world. It has been fascinating to observe the changes through these decades. On the occasion of International Chess Day, it is heartwarming to see stakeholders from different walks of life come together for the first-of-its-kind Chess Flash Mob. I believe this unique initiative will further fuel the popularity of the game in India.”

Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, said, “It is heartening to witness the Indian Chess ecosystem transform through digitalization. The Chess Flash Mob is an interesting initiative to further revive the sport and engage with fans. We thank Tech Mahindra for their continuous efforts in supporting this legacy sport and ensuring the highest sporting, organization, and digital standards are maintained while the event unfolds.”

Tech Mahindra is the first corporate organization that has come on board for the FIDE Chess Olympiad. As part of the partnership, Tech Mahindra will provide digital technology solutions such as Fan Nxt.Now to re-define the experience for Chess fans across the globe.

Dr. Sanjay Kapoor, President, All India Chess Federation, said, “On the occasion of International Chess Day, Tech Mahindra’s initiative will give sports enthusiasts the pleasure of celebrating this bequest to the fullest. The Chess Flash Mob will be a sight to behold as we will witness rational thinking, strategy, fun, and frolic, all unfold against the backdrop of chess.”

The Flash Mob witnessed active employee participation as they came in large numbers to participate in the game.

Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Growth, Tech Mahindra, said, “At Tech Mahindra, we are committed to keeping the legacy of Chess alive by providing a next-generation, immersive digital fan experience by leveraging Fan Nxt.Now. We believe that the rising popularity of chess in India makes this an excellent time to host an event like Chess Flash Mob to engage chess enthusiasts and celebrate this legacy sport in unison. A first-of-its-kind initiative, the Chess Flash Mob would further fuel the popularity of Chess by bringing together chess fans across the country.”

This initiative is part of Tech Mahindra’s commitment to further catalyze the popularity of Chess in India and is a follow-up post the FIDE Olympiad Torch relay that was hosted by the organization at several of its campuses.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Rs 35,000 Prize Money Chess Tournament hosted by CCBW in Lucknow on July 17

The Rs 35,000 prize money open chess tournament will be hosted by Chess Club Black & White in Lucknow on Sunday July 17, 2022 at Hotel The Golden Apple in Mahanagar. Several top players of the region have already registered for the tournament. The first prize is Rs 5,000, second is Rs 4,000, third is Rs 3,000, fourth is Rs 2,000 and fifth is Rs 1,000. There are a total of 30 cash prizes and several other age-group prizes. Request a detailed brochure via whatsapp to +918015116443.







Tuesday, May 17, 2022

IM Nubair, WIM Rucha Stream Vote Team Chess with SquareOff Pro and Fans

Two young stars of Indian chess - International Master (IM) Nubair Shah Sheikh and Women's International Master (WIM) Rucha Pujari - came together to host a novel chess event combining online with over-the-board (OTB) chess as hundreds of their fans tuned in to play as teams!

The two popular Indian chess stars upgraded their home studio acoustic systems and linked their computers to what is the world's first rollable eboard.

Though the two chess masters were connected online from different cities, they were actually making the moves on a board instead of on the screen!
 

"Chess witnessed an online boom during the lockdown and after the initial fizz, we all missed the real otb experience," said WIM Rucha Pujari. IM Nubair Shah added, "Staring at screens in deep thought for hours can really strain your eyes. We decided to get around that." Both IM Nubair and WIM Rucha are top streamers among professional chess players of India on YouTube and Twitch. While IM Rucha brings a modern tech style to her shows, IM Nubair is the one adding all the crazy hilarious comments.

"All our followers joined in from around the world and Indian fans were still awake even as the game continued till 3 am. We called it vote chess. Nubair's team played White versus my followers as Black. According to the majority move suggested by my team, I made the move on the board. No staring at the screen. Similarly, IM Nubair played with his team. The moves got transmitted automatically."

Midway, WIM Rucha Pujari even switched off the lights in her home studio to show the eboard glowing beautifully in the dark even as both the players exchanged in fun banter. Some chess fans tuned in to both the streams and starting voting for moves for both the sides, laughed IM Nubair. He said, "I had to step in to ask that at least don't play traitor. This was our first trial show. We are going to do several with prizes and gifts for our fans in the near future."

Rucha's team set up an exciting trap for White's Queen, but if Rucha's team dared captur the Queen, they would get checkmated. The audience was smart enough to spot everything, said Rucha. The exciting game hung dangerously for both sides for over 20 moves with neither set of fans willing to give up. Finally, the players stepped in to declare a draw around 3.30 am.

IM Nubair Shah Sheikh is awaiting his final norm to be the next Grandmaster from India while WIM Rucha is working on her next title jump. They are both active on social media bringing lots of international players to their shows for Indian chess fans. They also host shows while explaining their thinking patterns during live online tournaments.

.


.
.
.

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | Press Release Distribution