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

Friday, August 31, 2012

World Chess Administration: Agon Limited Appoints GM Robert Fontaine!

GM Robert Fontaine
International chess Grandmaster Robert Fontaine has joined Agon Limited, the rights holder to the World Chess Championship cycle, as chief of staff to founder-and-chief executive Andrew Paulson.

GM Fontaine, the six-times under-20 youth champion for France, becomes a principal aide as Mr Paulson implements his strategy to organise and commercialise the ongoing World Chess Championship cycles, starting with the opening Grand Prix for the 2012/2013 cycle at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand in London in September.

GM Fontaine has won a number of international chess tournaments over his playing career, including Las Vegas in 2006, Stockholm in 2007 and Paleohora in 2009. He became a Grandmaster in 2002 and a member of the Olympiad chess team in 2004. He is also known as a presenter for Europe-Echecs, where he interviewed champion players and politicians for video reportage on the world’s leading chess events. 


Agon Founder Andrew Paulson

Istanbul Chess Olympiad R3 - Both Indian Teams Continue Winning Spree

GM P Harikrishana
flying the Indian flag high
Indian teams at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 continued with a steady performance winning the third round in both the open and women's section. GMs P Harikrihsna and Abhijeet Gupta beat former world chess championship candidate Alexander Beliavsky and Malej Sebenik for a 3-1 victory. The other two games were draw. Tania Sachdev scored an important win for India over Lilit Galojan even as other three boards were draw. Both the teams play the fourth round on the top board. Eight more rounds have to be played and the tough part begins now.



Indian pairings for Round 4 are as follows:

United States Of America - India 
1.1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 2778 - GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2707
1.2 GM Kamsky, Gata 2746 - GM Harikrishna, Pentala 2685
1.3 GM Onishuk, Alexander 2666 - GM Negi, Parimarjan 2664
1.4 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2617 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet 2637

India - Serbia 
1.1 GM Dronavalli, Harika 2503 - IM Bojkovic, Natasa 2392
1.2 IM Karavade, Eesha S 2371 - WGM Manakova, Maria 2304
1.3 IM Sachdev, Tania 2379 - WIM Rakic, Marija 2300
1.4 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann 2396 - WGM Benderac, Ana 2266


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Istanbul Chess Olympiad R2: India Men Beat Turkey 3-1; Indian Women Beat Australia 3.5-0.5

Indian star leader
GM Krishnan Sasikiran
Indian chess teams chalked up their second straight wins in the second round at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad on Wednesday in both the open and women's sections. 

On Board 13, India beat Turkey 3-1. GM Krishnan Sasikiran beat IM Burak Firat and GM Abhijeet Gupta beat CM Vahap Sanal. GM Parimarjan Negi picked up a draw against FM Ali Marandi and GM Gopal, Geetha Narayanan drew with CM Dastan Muhammed Batuhan. 

None other than one of
Asia's greatest women
chess players -
WIM Rani Hamid
playing for Bangladesh
On Board 6, in the women's section, India beat Australia 3.5 to 0.5. IM Eesha Sanjay Karawade, IM Tania Sachdev and WGM Mary Ann Gomes picked up wins over WIM Arianne Caoili, Sally Yu and Giang Nguyen. WGM Soumya Swaminathan drew with WIM Bijana Novakovic-Dekic. 

Meanwhile, on the top boards, Ukraine, the defending champion defeated Qatar with a 3-1 score despite the loss by first board GM Vassily Ivanchuk to GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki. Ivanchuk was slightly better with black but he carelessly allowed the enemy queen to sneak into the back rank. Ivanchuk immediately resigned, declining attempts to seek compensation for the piece. The United States beat Lithuania 3.5-0.5 after Hikaru Nakamura finally broke down the stubborn resistance of Grecian GM Vidmantas Malisauskas in a marathon 107-moves long game. Azerbaijan had no difficulty dispatching their Irish opponents, however the young talent FM Ryan Rhys Griffiths managed to steal the only draw for his team in the game against the seasoned Azeri GM Rauf Mamedov.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Istanbul Chess Olympiad R1: Indian Teams Begins with 4-0 Wins in Both Open, Women's Sections

 Opening ceremony dance at Istanbul Chess Olympiad
 
Indian men and women chess teams have begun the Istanbul Olympiad Chess Olympiad with 4-0 victory over Wales and FYROM, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. P Harikrishna, Parimarjan Negi, Abhijeet Gupta and G N Gopal beat Wales' Richard Joneslost, Tim Kett, Richard Dineley and Lolo Jones respectively. 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Give Garry Kasparov Your Best Answer for His Lecture in S. Africa @ The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit

Legendary world chess champion Garry Kasparov will be speaking at The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit event on August 30. The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit showcases brilliant minds, giving the South African business community access to leading-edge leadership thinking."

Venue: Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng, South Africa
Bookings: Telephone +27 (0)86 100-0749


Your comment could be part of Garry Kasparov's speech at the event! On his Facebook page, Kasparov has sought comments: "Speaking here on the 30th. Glad I am able to travel! A question for you: Would you rather work at an established company whose business will be obsolete in 20 years, or in a startup whose business might change the world 20 years (but that might fail)? Be honest! I'll share the best answers with my audience in South Africa." 

Go on, post your answers there.

Istanbul Chess Olympiad: First Round Today Watch Live from 5.30 PM

A record-breaking 158 countries will start off with the first round at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad in Turkey today at 15:00 local time (India time 5.30 pm). You can watch live at the official website. The live video feed is at this link. The drawing of colours took place during the opening ceremony at the WOW Convention center in Istanbul. The ceremony began with the national anthem of Turkey, followed by a tribute to chess players in history, traditional dances and programmes. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Minister of Youth and Sports Suat Kilic, and the Turkish Chess Federation President Ali Nihat Yazici greeted the participants. 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Pak Chess Kid Heads to Istanbul Chess Olympiad at Age 11

It's always a pleasure to have chess news come in from Pakistan that is only beginning to witness chess at the national level. We thank our readers who have pointed out the following videos of 11-year-old Mehak Gul Zahid. It is her father who has inspired her to take chess and she is now going to be one of the youngest participants at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012. Gul has been playing chess since she was six and recently qualified for the national team. A student of the Lahore Garrison School in Township, Gul won school chess championship back in 2010 after which she participated in the Punjab Chess Championship in June this year. She came third in the competition. Enjoy the videos.

Smartphone Chess Updates App for Android/iPhone - Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012

There is lot of excitement in the chess world as soon it is going to be showtime at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 (Aug 27-Sept 10). You can access the official website of the event at this link. Keep track of all the updates, wins, pairings, photos and more with these fantastic smartphone apps. Here are the iPhone and Android apps. The Android application: “World Chess Olympiad 2012” developed for 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, is available in Google Play Store. Use search or the following link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kocakcan.chessOlympiad

For the iPhone application, go to the Appstore and search or use the following link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chess-2012/id553296652?ls=1&mt=8

Livigno Chess Open a Big Draw for Indians!

The 3rd International Livigno Chess Open is going to take place in the beautiful Italian Alps from September 10-17. The host city is the beautiful village of Livigno. In total no less than 17 nations are represented in probably one of the highest located chess competitions in the world.  Livigno is also known as the Little Tibet of Italy and is an enchanting ski resort.  Sergey Volkov (Russia – 2011 winner) has confirmed his participation, as well as 2009 Senior World Champion Miso Cebalo (Croatia) and quite a few players from India. Overall there are 26 players with Elo above 2400; 16 above 2500 and one above 2600, the Luxembourgian-Italian Alberto David.

Indian Chess Teams Set for FIDE Chess Olympiad 2012 in Istanbul Aug 27-Sept 10

The 40th FIDE World Chess Olympiad will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, 27 August - 10 September. A record-breaking 162 nations have registered for the competition with more than 1700 players and captains. The arrival of delegations is underway and the opening ceremony will take place August 27th at 21:30 local time (20:30 CET) in the WOW Convention Center. The ceremony will be broadcasted live in 4 languages simultaneously. The first round begins August 28th at 15:00.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Best Chess Radio Show on the Planet- F.E.B. No. 24

Alibanban, the ACP's adjournment experience, Gordon oh-so close in Brit Champs, true Brit humour, chess and more... Have you tuned in to the best chess radio show on the planet yet? Listen to the NEXT SHOW for details of summer raffle extravapalooza! All donations will be counted!

Yuri Garrett, Gata Kamsky. Credit: Macauley Peterson

Friday, August 17, 2012

Kasparov Released, But...

FB Update: Garry Kasparov has been released, but the police are seriously pursuing this ridiculous charge that he bit a police officer. So he has more protocol to go through tonight with his attorney and must return to the police next week.

Breaking: GARRY KASPAROV ARRESTED IN MOSCOW FOR NOTHING


From the official Garry Kasparov Facebook Page
: Garry Kasparov has just been arrested outside the Moscow courthouse where the Pussy Riot trial is taking place. He was not there to protest, simply to attend, and the police cornered him and dragged him into the police van. This photo shows the police assaulting him inside the van. We hope he is all right and we will provide updates when we have them. (Photo by Olaf Koens).

FB Update (An hour ago): We just spoke to Garry on the phone. He is at the police station. He was beaten but says he is okay. He isn't sure what will happen next. It seems the police are waiting for orders from above. He says he was standing calmly speaking with journalists when police pushed through and grabbed him. Also Read: Kasparov.ru

Thursday, August 16, 2012

TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind Begins in Chennai

The TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind organised by the All India Chess Federation for the blind has begun at the Hotel Le Royal Meridien, Chennai. The 23-country team chess event had a colourful opening ceremony. The tournament arrives in Asia for the first time thanks to the efforts of the All-India Chess Federation. Shri D V Sundar, Vice President, FIDE inaugurated the tournament making the symbolic first move. He extolled the untiring efforts of Charudatta Jadhav in bringing the Olympiad to India. He added, "The sheer grit and determination of Charudatta in ensuring the developement of blind chess is unparalled. He has behind him three decades of selfless service for blind chess and deserves the recommendation to the civilian award of Padma Shree."

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Sponsorship Potential of Chess Untapped: Agon Gets YouGov Survey

Press Release: Chess has been under the radar for the last 40 years since Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky fought the Cold War for us in Reykjavik. But outside the glare of the media spotlight chess players now make up one of the largest communities in the world: 605 million adults play chess regularly – a number comparable to regular users of Facebook.

According to authoritative polling organization YouGov, across varied national demographic profiles (US, UK, Germany, Russia, India), a surprisingly stable 70% of the adult population has played chess at some point during their lives. Even if they played as children but left it behind as they grew up, they still retain a deep admiration for the game.

Across the board, chess players and non-players alike rank chess significantly higher than any other game or sport for attributes such as intelligence, sophistication, strategy, perfection and complexity confirming top branding agency Pentagram’s view: “Chess is about Thinking and Winning.”

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Play Chess With World Champion Vishy Anand in Simul via Chess.com

World Champion Viswanathan Anand will play a match against the World via Chess.com's "Vote Chess" platform on August 13, 2012 at 10:30 AM PST. Chess.com LLC and Metropolitan Chess, Inc have partnered up to make this amazing event possible, according to a press release.

Anand will be the head instructor at the Metro Chess Invitational Chess Camp from August 9th through 13th in Los Angeles. He will conclude his activities by playing a Simultaneous Exhibition the morning of August 13th against a small group of lucky individuals. One of the boards in the Simul will belong to the Chess.com Community as they vote in their suggested move for a relayer to play on the actual board for Anand as he moves from board to board during the Simul.

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