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

Sunday, September 13, 2020

True Story of Chess Kid Tani: I Believe in Miracles!

Excerpted with permission from My Name is Tani by Craig Borlase and Tanitoluwa Adewumi published by HarperCollins.

Prologue 

My name is Tani, and my family says I like to ask a lot of questions. They’re right. I like puzzles. I like riddles. I like trying to figure out why things happen and how things work.

But things have been different lately. Instead of asking the questions, I’ve been the one trying to answer them. A lot of people have wanted to know all kinds of things about me and my life. They want to know what life was like for me and how I feel about the way things have changed. They want me to tell my story, and I want to tell it, but there’s never enough time to say everything that’s in my head.

So this book is going to be my answer.

But if I’m going to tell you my story, I need to start by saying that I don’t remember much about Nigeria. I know that I was six years old when these really bad people called Boko Haram tried to kill my dad and we had to leave — but honestly, I was asleep most of the times they came looking for my dad, so you’d have to ask him about that.

What I do remember about life in Nigeria is playing soccer and my brother, Austin, trying to teach me chess and how one day I was watching the news on the TV and there was this airplane pilot on it who had just done something amazing. He was Nigerian like me, and there must have been a really serious problem with the plane because everyone was excited about the fact that he had landed safely, and everyone survived. From that moment on I wanted to be a pilot. It’s not because of money, though. Being a pilot makes you rich, but I don’t mean money rich. I liked the idea of doing something like that, to help people.

I remember a lot about life in America. Like how when we moved to New York I learned about chess properly this time and discovered that the very best players in the world are called grand masters, and so, from then on, I started to think that it might be good to be a grand master too. And then one day Coach Shawn actually took me to meet Fabiano, who is the number-two chess player in the whole world! He shook my hand and we talked, and from that moment on, I decided that I definitely wanted to be a grandmaster.

And then something happened.

I won a chess competition, and lots and lots and lots of people wanted to talk to me. It wasn’t just people from New York or even America. People from all over the world wanted to know my story. Some of them still do.

A lot of the people I have spoken to ask me about chess. They say things like how has chess changed your life? Or, what do you like most about playing chess? I mostly give them the same answer to both questions, which is chess has taught me how to do deep thinking. 

Sometimes people laugh when they hear me say that, but I don’t see how it’s very funny.

The more I think about all this, the more I know that I can’t answer either of those questions quickly. I 
need a lot more than one minute to be able to explain everything. And I don’t think I can even do it all myself because there’s so much that I don’t remember.

So the best way to tell my story is to have my parents help me. They know all the details of everything 
that’s happened, and they’re also my heroes. None of this would’ve even happened if it hadn’t been for them.

I would have asked Austin to help tell this story, too, but he likes basketball a lot more than he likes 
writing. But he’s still my hero as well.

After I won the chess tournament and spoke to all those people, life changed really quickly for all of us. 
Recently I’ve been thinking again about being a pilot. Since talking to everyone, I now know that there are a lot of places I’ve not been to, and if I was a pilot, maybe I could go see them. I could fly to China, Japan, Arizona, Washington, DC, Kentucky, Turkey, England. I want to go to these places and live there for maybe one whole year or maybe just five months. I read in a book that the average person lives to be seventy-one years old, but I think I’m not going to live the average. I think I’m going to live to be more than one hundred. So maybe I’ll do 
both—be a grand master and a pilot too. I’d like that.

I don’t know what I’m going to be. My dad says that’s okay.

But I do know this much. I believe in miracles.


Saturday, July 25, 2020

Aman Goel Wins CCBW Bruce Lee Memorial on Lichess

Lucknow, July 20, 2020: Aman Goel (Sil3entAman) won the Remembering Bruce Lee Memorial CCBW Global Online Lichess Tournament on July 20.
Shaan Garg (brrrruuuuuhh) came in a creditable second with Enaith Habibullah (Enaith) standing third.  PreciousBansal (preciouschesschd) was the Best Girl (overall third).


Aman, playing strategically, put up some nice ideas in the Sicilian and English. In an interesting Najdorf battle, Aman polished off the runner-up with a back rank mate.
Shan Garg dropped only two games for a creditable second playing totally unlike Aman with tactical mad fire on the chess board.
Enaith Habibullah, home from boarding school, showed remarkable resilience in his 1.e4 games to take the third place.
Precious Bansal, held her own, amidst the strong competition to easily pick up the Best Girl Prize without much difficulty.

Martial Artist legend Bruce Lee's poem, "Be water, my friend" is the philosophy for Chess Club Black and White (CCBW).

"Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."

A nice quora post explains it as, "Water is easy-going. Water doesn't fuss, it doesn't push, or pull. It fills the space allowed, no more, no less. This saying is basically to remind you to just relax, go with the flow, be present and in the moment; let things happen and enjoy that you're there to take it all in. Be water, my friend."
You can find a very nice podcast on the quote on the official Bruce Lee website at this link.

DO like the CCBW FACEBOOK PAGE PLEASE 

Friday, July 17, 2020

800 Years of Chess Art in One Book: Amazing Research by Peter Herel Raabenstein

http://www.chessinart.com
Chess has been a royal discipline for more than 1000 years…

“Chess teaches us that even when everything seems to be going badly for us we should not lose heart, but always hoping for a change for the better, steadfastly continue searching for the solutions to our problems.” Benjamin Franklin

Regardless of whether you consider yourself a very good or an average chess player, or prefer to watch the game from a distance with one of your loved ones who succumbed to the chess game, you still belong to a very prestigious circle of people. Only the initiate knows what such a true and genuine “game” entails.

Like any thing that has stood the test of time, chess has evolved and has influenced many personalities during that time. Chess can be seen as a tool that allows you to penetrate human development - artistic, social, political, industrial and technological. This game has been able to influence society for centuries. 

Peter Herel Raabenstein, a conceptual artist from the Czech Republic, realized the same thing. Chess has been his passion since 2003, when he was looking for a suitable gift for his uncle who loves chess, art and history. Peter decided to buy a special book for his uncle, but later found that no one had ever published any such publication. Finally, he collected 12 portraits on chess and made them a calendar. Uncle was enthusiastic and advised him not to give up his vision of creating a book that would connect the world of chess and art.


In the following years Peter continued his studies and deepened his artistic and chess knowledge. In 2009 he met his friend at the Wijk aan Zee chess tournament and introduced him his project. His friend liked the idea very much and the result was an epilogue for his book, which had not existed at the time. Soon after, both artists had to break up, but Peter was fascinated by the symbolism of chess and was still working on his book. 

“Enthusiastic reactions and support from my surroundings motivated me to complete the project. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I couldn't stop and actually disappoint every lover of chess and art”, explains Peter Herel Raabenstein, author of the publication. 

Now after 10 years, he can finally introduce you to a unique publication “Chess in art” with a collection of chess themes. On 320 pages, the author captured 800 years of development through paintings by more than 700 artists with a detailed description of how they perceived kings' play through art. The book simply delights every chess player, painting and history. In other words, life is composed of various battles and not from just the chess battles. 

The book “Chess in art” will give you a few unforgettable moments when you will feel like a king for at least a moment. The author and the whole team behind the creation of this publication wish you not to get checkmate, not only on the chessboard but also in your life 

Web: 

Friday, May 29, 2020

GM Grivas Message of Hope before World Stars Sharjah Chess June 12-13


GM-FST-IA-IO Efstratios Grivas is living in United Arab Emirates for the past 15 months, operating as the Director of the Sharjah International Chess Academy and General Coordinator of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club. He will also be the Official Commentator of the World Starts tournament.

What do you think about the new reality in the chess world caused by Covid-19?
Some three months ago players were enthusiastic on the new online reality, but they soon understood that the thieves were multiple and unstoppable! There is no point to explain further what has been already seen in various publications, but for nowadays we need to play online as there is no real alternative. But after the end of the pandemic, we will go back to normal life. The online chess platforms weren’t ready for it and although they ‘solved’ somehow the necessity of playing, they created more problems and drove many players to feel disgusted about the online chess - nearly everybody can tell a nasty story! If the online cheating is not ‘cured’ online chess will step back and at the best it will go in a bit worst scale that it was before the pandemic.

How did the organizers make the decision to organize online tournament of such a high level as the World Stars Sharjah Online International Chess Championship 2020?
The Sharjah Cultural & Chess Club is a historical chess club of nearly 40 years and the biggest in the world. It has organised various and plenty of tournaments from beginners to World Class players, as multiple FIDE Grand Prixes. Earlier this year we had to cancel our annual Sharjah Masters Tournament due to the CV-19, where more than 60 GM had been registered, but we couldn’t do without ‘active’ chess life. Since March middle we have organized various online tournaments as the Ramadan Masters and the Future Stars, as well as seven matches with foreigner clubs and academies. Here I have to note that we are also running a daily 7-hour online training program (via Chess Evolution platform) with top-trainers, for our players and the Arab Chess Federation, all for free! As the Coordinator, I am proud of our motto: Because We Care!

Why do you think people should follow your commentaries during the tournament?
Well, because they will not be in the dark during the games, they will have fun and they can learn something! My CV is a good proof of the above.

Who do you think is a favorite in the tournament with the format 10min+3sec?
Unpredictable. Shorter time controls usually doesn't favour the strongest in rating. This fact promises an interesting and fighting tournament, where everything is possible.

When do you think the Sharjah Masters will be organized? Is there a hope chess will be back to normal?
Chess is related to life; life will come back soon and chess will follow - no alternative to talk about. I have some hopes that we might organize the Sharjah Masters later this year, but we still need some time to check all data and make the necessary procedures. Of course, do not take anything for granted, as this CV-19 is unpredictable as well!

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Escape from Covid to Chess Planet: Play with CCBW

No stopping the chess, but parents must counsel kids to not go overboard and stay safe online, writes Shilpa Mehra

Lucknow: While the world shut down, the chess community went berserk. The world's top chess websites saw traffic treble in just a few hours.

The scene here in Lucknow on first day of lockdown: We quickly created a WhatsApp group, set up an online page, pinged our friends at chess clubs in Dehradun, Chennai, Madrid and London, got zoom meeting app going and life was set.



By 5 pm a serious tournament with Anna Nagar Chess Academy (ANCA) Chennai was on. Right after that at 7 pm the gang headed to the Etlantis Club Dehradun blitz evening practice session and midnight was for show of strength in Mexico City at the Ajedrez en línea event. The gang included 6-70 year olds with Silentman and Lizzyosmond leading the boys and girls charge.

For once, no school, no work and we could play into forever.

While the rest of the world wondered what to do with tension, fear and questions, we had escaped to another planet under the guidance of idiamin100!

Arbiter and professional chess trainer, Naveen Karthikeyan would know: "As a chess trainer I can tell you, every single chess kid is happy right now anywhere in the world. We study chess professionally in Chennai even during school days but this is full steam ahead. We are practicing and studying almost round the clock and with chess players of all strengths across the world."

Karthikeyan says, "The best part is our kids at the ANCA and CCBW are not only competing among themselves and with kids in other cities, but are also getting a chance now to grab games with Grandmasters and International Masters who are all also playing online in lockdown."

The schedule is set.
CCBW friend, journalist and chess player from Chandigarh, Jupinderjit Singh, tunes in via zoom for banter blitz of crazy fun with kids shouting out moves to his opponents on video chat. Banter blitz is when a senior player takes on one opponent at a time and plays while explaining his thought processes aloud as a chess teaching method.


International Master Nubairshah Sheikh tunes in from Mumbai for serious chess study with intermediate students of CCBW even though it's fasting time in Ramzan. Just 21 with GM norms, Nubair is sure to be Grandmaster as soon as mortar-n-brick venue tournaments resume. The children already call him GM!
Tiger201, aka Rohit Rana, holds our place at the evening blitz at Etlantis Chess Club in Dehradun. Our in-house organiser, Resistiré scourges the net for chess events on the hour. There are tournaments of varying time controls happening every minute. We don't want to sleep.

Yet, it's an online world so quick tips to stay safe:
- keep security settings safe in WhatsApp group so as not to be added automatically to random chess groups mushrooming all around
- be careful about playing tournaments with entry fee as online payment gateway needs to be used; plenty of great free tournaments around though
- discuss with your coach how and what chess activities to join in as there's a boom in choices
- discuss time controls and specific events with your trainer lest you catch an online playing addiction
- discuss all privacy issues with your kid about online behaviour including not divulging private and contact details to strangers online
- rationing online time and checking eye strain
- draw up specific schedule for eating, sleeping and exercise otherwise this may get a tad out of hand
- online cheating is a reality, face it without anger. Choose to hang out with the right people as real chess lovers don't cheat. If you suspect someone of cheating, submit their name to the website online moderator for evaluation

Meanwhile, this Sunday 8 pm we are at the Ajedrez con Cabeza Club in Madrid on a special invitation by Pedro M. Vincente to compete with chess teams from Spanish-speaking countries Cuba, Argentina, Spain, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Mexico. After the 5 +2 one hour tourney, we will do a ten minute zoom session to cheer everyone and plan to meet in person when the magic returns to the real world.



Want to join Chess Club Black and White team for the Sunday tournament?

Join here on lichess and send real name to resistire in lichess for approval.
https://lichess.org/team/chess-club-black-and-white-ccbw-lucknow

The tourney link will be sent to you after Id approval.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Moscow Chess Olympiad: Anand, Humpy to Lead India

Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be back to head the Indian team in the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Moscow, Russia in August this year.

World number two in Women and going great guns in her second innings, Grandmaster Koneru Humpy will lead the Indian women team for a maiden medal aspiration in the biennial event that is likely to see participation of around 180 countries.

Anand participated in the last Chess Olympiad at Batumi, Georgia and even though the Indian team remained in the medal hunt for a long time in the 11-round swiss event, we missed out on the medal finally.

This time renewed energy will be put on performance as the plans are to have now-retired former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia as the trainer for the men team for at least two camps.

The trainer for the women team is still being debated but the AICF will ensure that they also get the best of facilities.

Apart from Anand, Grandmasters P Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi remain a certainty for the men team. It’s going to be a close race for the remaining two spots in the five-member team with B Adhiban having the best chance currently to hold the fourth spot. K Sasikiran, S P Sethuraman, Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Aravindh Chithambaram are the remaining four in contention for a spot in the team.

Amongst the Women, Humpy and Harika qualify themselves while for the remaining three slots, Tania Sachdev, Bhakti Kulkarni and R Vaishali have a strong case as on date. However, the finally decision will be based upon how the perform in the coming months. According to rules the final decision on the composition can be taken only on May 1, 2020.

Speaking about the new development, AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said that this will be our best chance. “I think this could be our chance to show the world that we are indeed the new power in Chess, we have a string of young grandmasters waiting to be world class players in the years to come and at the top we have some of the finest players today”, he said adding "and we have to thank Microsense India for agreeing to support the training program with Mr Kramnik."

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Mind Training Chess App: Psychologist Bjarne Eiholt, WFM Louise Fredericia

Improve your chess by mental training 
Introducing the MindMaster App


For decades it has been common practice in physical sports to use mental training as a means to improve performance. In some mental sports as well, like bridge and poker, mental training has become a common training tool. In chess however, the benefits of mental training are uncommon and underestimated.
Until now, a mental training program for chess players hasn´t been available, but with the recent release of the MindMaster App, it is now! Chess players now have the opportunity to use mental training just like other athletes in physical and mental  sport have done for years with good results. The purpose of the MindMaster App is to provide chess players with strategies to feel more at ease, focused, self-confident and motivated when they play chess. In this introduction, we will give you an insight into mental chess training and why we believe you can improve your chess by mental training using the MindMaster App.

Why mental chess training?
A wise man once said: The most dangerous weapon of a chess player is his mind. To this he could have added: The only weapon of a chessplayer is his mind. It follows that the more you work on the mind the better it will work for you, just as a sword must be sharpened before a battle.  No matter how many chess books you read, or how many hours you spend preparing your opening, such work cannot prevent you from losing your confidence and nerves, or help you to rebound after a defeat and focus and concentrate during your game.
In certain situations, a chess player’s mind can trick him to the point where he misses moves that he would easily have seen in a blitz game. In situations where there are high stakes at risk chess players tend to miss mates, give away pieces, lose track of time or lose focus on the board.
Sometimes you can hear statements like these from chess players before a game:
- I always play badly against a lower rated - or higher rated - player.
- When I lose, I cannot motivate myself to move on for the next game, and then I tend to lose that one too.
- I can already see myself mess it up in the middle game because my opponent is such an annoying player.
- I’m so nervous – how can I focus and concentrate?
- I haven’t slept all night because I lost yesterday.
- I gave away a piece yesterday, so I’m an easy victim today

Now the interesting question with regard to mental training is:
Who is surprised when these scenarios actually come true and the one who stated them losses?
The list is – almost – endless on how chess players’ expectations to the game, preparations and sleep can be disturbed and affected. No matter how long the list above may become, the bottom line is the same: in situations where you perform way below your normal level, it is not because you suddenly have become a bad chess player and lost your chess skills. You perform below average level because of your poor mindset.
Now the answer to the question above shouldn’t be that difficult – should it?

What to gain with mental chess training?
When you start mental chess training, the aim is that your average level of performance will increase. The increase in performance is caused by an improved mental condition and mindset.
Our users tell us in feedback that they sleep better, that their loses affect them less and that they are able to focus better on the next game. Others have sensed a good feeling of mental preparation and fewer nerves, which has lasted throughout the game. Others tell us that they have felt in a strong winning mode, which has made them play with more energy and belief in themselves.
The mental training sessions in the MindMaster App have different themes. It is therefore the user’s choice what to focus on, and thereby what to gain. Focus, concentration, increased confidence prior to an event, the proper mental state for competing – there are many different effects of the mental chess training. The effect will depend on how often, how much and how the training is used. The more you use it, the better it will work.

What does the MindMaster App contain?
The MindMaster App is developed for tournament players, regardless of strength. It contains no opening theory, no advice on the latest novelty in Ruy Lopez, no explanation of chess technicalities, strategy or structure. It can be used by any chess player.

The app contains 15 sessions of spoken text, with optional background music, spread over three categories of themes of mental training:



Optimise your thought processes – 6 sessions
Deal with distracting thoughts – 6 sessions
Achieve mental wellness – 3 sessions

Each session has its own specific aim well recognised by tournament players. Examples are:  move on after a defeat, regulate your use of time, control your nervousness,  play your game when it is best, prepare mentally for your game.
The sessions in the first two categories incorporate three elements, each serving their own purpose:
Physicality: Breathing and deep relaxation of body and mind. The relaxation will get you in the right state of mind.
Visualization: You visualize different scenarios, based on the idea that if you can imagine it, you will be able to do it.
Repetition of a statement: You make a statement, based on the idea that if you can tell it to yourself, you can also make it happen.
The sessions in the third category (achieve mental wellness) are mainly about getting your mind to be calm so that you can stress down or get help to fall asleep.

If you are interested in the idea of improving your chess by mental training you can visit our homepage: http://mindmasterapp.com/ Here you can try a free sample of a session Prepare mentally for your game. On the homepage you can also find details and further information.

The MindMaster App has its own FB-page: Mental Chess training. Here you can post questions or commentaries.
The MindMaster App is available on App Store and Google Play and costs 7 Euro.
The authors of the app are Bjarne Eiholt, who is a chess player and psychologist, and WFM Louise Fredericia, who is a chess player and mental trainer.

-- By Bjarne Eiholt and WFM Louise Fredericia

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