€10 Million Funding to Fuel Carlsen's Global Freestyle Chess Revolution

Photo: Free Style Official Website

Chess legend Magnus Carlsen, investor Jan Henric Buettner, VC Left Lane Capital, launch new company to revolutionize professional chess
NEW YORK and HAMBURG, Germany, July 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Freestyle Chess, a groundbreaking new venture founded by Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner, announced today that it is raising €10 million in funding from Left Lane Capital. This significant investment will be used to establish a leading tournament series that aims to revolutionize the world of chess.

The event series will showcase the world's best chess players, each with compelling stories, in a completely new and attractive format for media, spectators, and consumers. The 25 Super Grand Masters currently representing the total of the Freestyle Chess Players Club all have an ELO rating above 2725. The world's top-players will be front and center to this new, mass-market-oriented chess series, where nine Super Grand Masters are handpicked by Magnus Carlsen, who has committed himself to playing Freestyle Chess exclusively at the Grand Slam series. All tournaments will be held in exclusive venues with an aura of luxury and style, with all games played according to chess960 rules. Freestyle Chess already had a tournament in February as a blueprint that set the bar high.

The company will organize six to eight Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tournaments per year across all continents, introducing Freestyle Chess as an exciting new global event series. The prize funding for the tournaments that will be distributed among the players has been set to $750,000 for each of the first three events, and $1 million for every tournament thereafter. Freestyle Chess maintains the core elements of traditional chess but with a twist: the back row is randomized. This setup is Fischer Random and adds new strategic elements and unpredictability to the game, fostering a fresh era of competitive play.

"Chess needs to evolve into a more dynamic and captivating spectacle, one that allows players to showcase their skills from the first move," says Magnus Carlsen, Co-founder of Freestyle Chess, who has been instrumental in shaping the format for Freestyle Chess competitions. "Modern chess variants like Fischer Random will define the future of chess, which needs to evolve to more thrilling gameplay."

Jan Henric Buettner and Magnus Carlsen are opening up a new chapter in the history of chess. Jan Henric Buettner, German Entrepreneur, founded and led AOL Europe in the mid-1990's and started Headline VC where he managed over a billion euros in startup investments, including GoTo Meeting, Groupon, and Sonos. His co-founder, Magnus Carlsen, a chess prodigy, became a grandmaster at the age of 13 and has held the number one spot in the FIDE world chess rankings since 2011. He is considered one of the greatest chess players of all time.

Harley Miller, CEO and Managing Partner of Left Lane Capital, recognizes the immense potential of this innovative chess format and remarked, "Any time you have the best athletes in the world competing at the absolute highest standard of play, coupled with more avant garde storytelling and showmanship, you inherently will build something of great consequence. Freestyle Chess has the potential to become a mainstream sporting spectacle, akin to Formula 1, or ATP Tennis."

This new capital will be used to fuel the development of Freestyle Chess, organize and host the inaugural Grand Slam tournaments across different continents, enhance the digital experience and develop new product features, hire additional team members across various functions, and increase marketing efforts to grow the reach of the game.

Freestyle Chess: www.freestyle-chess.com

ABOUT LEFT LANE CAPITAL

Founded in 2019, Left Lane Capital is a New York and London-based global venture capital and growth equity firm investing in internet and technology companies with a consumer orientation. Left Lane's mission is to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs who create category-defining companies across growth sectors of the economy, including software, healthcare, e-commerce, consumer, fintech, medtech, and other industries. Select investments include Kings League, LOVB, Bilt Rewards, Blank Street, M1 Finance, Wayflyer, Masterworks, Talkiatry, Kittl, and more. For more information, please visit www.leftlane.com.
SOURCE Left Lane Capital

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Chess and Ballet: Jason Kouchak's Creative Quest for Rhythm Divine

Renowned French-British musician Jason Kouchak, pioneer of the "Queen's Journey" in conversation with International Arbiter Naveen Karthikeyan

 

Performing for the 10th anniversary of Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival 2024. (c) Photo: Ray Morris-Hill

 

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière,
(The upside down elephant) (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Take a high-speed train from Paris. Two hours through the scenic French countryside will take you to Lyon — the city founded by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Stand anywhere in the city. Rising against the skyline will be the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. The locals call this 19th century Cathedral the "upside-down elephant” because of its rounded base and four towers. As a Lyon goné (kid in French), Jason Kouchak was to fall in love with another "elephant" — the Rook on the chessboard. That, though, is only one of his two loves. The other is classical music which took him to London.
"Actually," smiles Kouchak, "The knight's my favourite piece. But then, speaking of aesthetics, the Queen works best for a ballet on the chessboard!"

Jason Kouchak in Holland, London Park 2024. Kouchak shared the cost of the giant chessboard with Kensington and Chelsea council. He says: "I wanted to bring children from various backgrounds together. I wanted people to play each other across the board rather than using their iPhones to play chess."(c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Jason Kouchak and the Royal Ballet. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Kouchak put it all together by pioneering the artistic concept of "Queen's Journey" in 2016 to encourage women to play chess. The French-British composer, pianist and choreographer can speak forever on the subject: Chess and Ballet are gender neutral activities that connect people through time and space. It improves their generic life skills by developing their spatial awareness, logical thinking and generic life with communication skills. A combination to inspire and inform both sexes of the importance of coordinating together and moving forward into the future. These art forms are a profound medium of communication that have no barriers of language, gender, ethnicity,religion, physical ability or social status. Chess and ballet connect in themes of ‘empowerment’ for women as Queens of power and grace move as pieces across a giant chess board.

The Queen’s Journey has toured in the United Kingdom, France, Hungary and the United States.

Website: Queen's Journey

It all began in childhood. Jason Kouchak says, "My earliest memories of chess were watching my Mum and Dad playing chess whilst listening to classical music. I was intrigued by the shapes and movement of the pieces. I saw the game as a dance, a ballet and a battle."

Today, Kouchak has a list of projects lined up. He's collaborating with the Royal Ballet School in Holland Park, rehearsing for a performance for the 10th anniversary of Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival in September 2024 and recording with "my good friend Matt Goss for a new musical in London scheduled for Spring 2025."

Matt Goss (left) and Jason Kouchak (right). (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Where does the fuel for all this creativity come from?

For one, the musician finds inspiration in Nature. He further explains, "One must enjoy the joy of the journey and the spirit within inspiration! One must dare to dream and have the drive and desire to follow those dreams. In essence this sense of fearlessness and fulfilment comes from self-growth and self knowledge.

(Left) With IM Tania Sachdev for whom Kouchak says, "She brings grace and empowerment to chess," and (right) Priyanka Chopra at Kouchak's gaint chess set in Holland Park, London. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

"It’s important to create new projects and always stay curious. You have to find your inner child. Learning, Living, Laughing and Loving Life is the mantra."

That's pretty Indian. And, yes, Kouchak has met the five-time world champion from India, Viswanathan Anand several times in London and discussed a shared passion — astronomy!

Written in the stars
Here are Kouchak's  compositions for the 60th anniversary of the first manned space flight. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin had become the first human to orbit the Earth in a 106-minute flight in a Vostok 1 space capsule. "Music, the stars and chess are magically connected," says Kouchak.

There's more. The Pleiades is a cluster of 1,200 stars in the Milky Way with seven particularly bright stars. In Greek mythology, they became nymphs accompanying the goddess Artemis. On a special request, Kouchak's friend, none other than the great Grandmaster Dr John Nunn, Jason composed a checkmate in three as a chess, astronomy and music project to mark the Royal Astronomical Society’s 2020 bicentenary and the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight. The puzzle reflects the arrangement of the stars in the Pleiades Constellation.

(Left) White to play and checkmate in three (answers at the end) and (right) the Pleiades Constellation. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

 

Each of the seven stars corresponds to a melodic note in Kouchak’s following  musical composition: 

 

 

The Stars are in My Eyes
- By Jason Kouchak

The stars are in my eyes
A thousand lights above me
Journey to a world still unknown
Where I’m never alone

The stars are in my eyes
Heaven’s high above me
Imagine all the wonders of space
The mystery of another place

Once in a moment beyond your destiny
reaching for answers in dreams you still believe

How does Kouchak pack it all in the same 24 hours that the rest of us have?

Kouchak smiles with his deep, philosophical eyes. A busy day starts with music. He says, "I practice piano as soon as I wake up and create new ideas from my dreams the previous night. Then, either I go for a run or play tennis before returning to my first love the piano. 

Jason Kouchak at L’Auditorium de Lyon. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Jason Kouchak at Abbey Rd Studios London. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

I play chess online as a breathing space in between music projects. It helps me to distance myself and create perspective for the day. Recording, rehearsing and the realisation of new projects takes up the remainder of the day. Finally, at the end of the day I try to review my actions and reactions and maybe look forward to a new dream.

Where there's music and chess, can literature go missing?

Kouchak's favourite writer is Vladimir Nabokov. Kouchak adds, "Especially his wonderful masterpiece: "Speak, Memory." He loved chess and butterflies which are also two of my passions. I also enjoy reading Vikram Seth, the Indian novelist and poet who I met once in London. He has not only wonderful literary skills but also an impressive knowledge of classical music. His "An Equal Music" is a romantic novel with a beautiful insight into the world of music."

The Boris Spassky Connection

For Kouchak there was never a disconnection between chess and music even when he lost to former world chess champion Boris Spassky. He could not help composing a song!

Jason Kouchak with former world chess champion Boris Spassky. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Completely and happily overwhelmed by this creative genius' thoughts, as I bid adieu, leaving Kouchak to explore further the realms of creative fulfilment, the Frenchman signs off with his favourite poem by none other than Rabindranath Tagore: 

Poem On Time

The butterfly counts 

not months but moments,

and has time enough.

Time is a wealth of change,

but the clock in its parody

makes it mere change and no wealth.

Let your life lightly dance 

on the edges of Time

like dew on the tip of a leaf.

— Rabindranath Tagore

 

Answer to puzzle by John Nunn (based on an idea by Jason Kouchak and Julian Paix) 1.Bf7! Kf5 2.Bd2! Ke5 3.Rd5#

 ———

Additional Links:

• Jason Kouchak official website
• Chess and Ballet website 

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Ravishanker wins digital detox chess, Samarth Gupta junior champion

Chief Guest 83-year-old senior player and coach RK Gupta from Jhansi with all the prize winners of the two-day digital detox weekend chess hosted by Chess Club Black and White (CCBW) at The Charans Plaza in Lucknow.

Ravishanker scored a perfect 7/7 to win the Two-Day Digital Detox Weekend Chess hosted by Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) at The Charans Plaza in Lucknow. Samarth Gupta scored 6.5/7 to become the under-16 junior champion. CCBW hosted the tournament to create awareness about the benefits of playing chess as a family sport and staying away from screens.

Junior Champion Samarth Gupta

Tournament champion Ravishanker

The veterans +60 section had a remarkable result: 84-year-old Kranti Kumar Gupta from Bareilly scored 4 points to take first place, and 83-year-old R K Gupta from Jhansi scored 3.5 points to take the second place. R. K. Gupta even brought his student's team, who he is coaching himself, at the RNS World School, Jhansi, they were the best overall team from UP.

Sayeed Ahmad with 6 points and Samyak Sagar with 6.5 points were second in the open and junior sections, respectively. Father-sons' team of Ashish Kumar, Ishit, and Ishaan won the best family prize, and Gyan Argal, Shivansh, and Saransh won the second best family prize. The top two unrated players were Nikhar Saxena and Shatrughan Rawat (4.5 points each).

Other top results:

Best Girl: Advika Tiwari, 3 pts; Best Woman: Aaditri Pandey, 2.5 pts;

Under 10: 1st Diara Agarwal 5 pts, 2nd Shahab Murad Alam 4.5 pts, 3-4th Amay Rajendra, Abhigyan Katiyar, 4 pts each.

Under 13: 1-3rd Arjun Garg, Saksham Srivastava, and Tanish Kumar, 4 pts each.

Under 16: 1st Ujjwal Raj Srivastava, 5 pts, 2nd Saransh Argal 3.5 pts, 3rd Karthikeya Chaturvedi 3 pts.

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Green Earth Chess: Bharti wins title, Ujjwal Jr. champion, Hrothbertina Best Woman

English teacher from Azamgarh, Vishal Bharti, displayed fine endgame technique to win the Green Earth Chess Tournament at Charans Plaza with 6.5/7 points. Ujjwal Raj Srivastava starred in the Junior Section scoring 6/7 points.

Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) organised the tournament to create awareness about the need to protect our environment under the United Nations #GenerationRestoration campaign. All players were also gifted a Holy Basil plant.

Youngsters who impressed with their games but included Udit Gupta, Nikhar Saxena and Shivangi.

A Class VIII student, Ujjwal has Espina Bífida, a spinal problem, that has paralysed him for life. It was only in 2012 that a surgery at AIIMS Delhi helped him move his hands and fingers. His parents carry him to the stage to receive the prize. He started learning chess from his school games teacher, Amit Srivastava. "Ujjwal has great passion for chess and works hard by himself. If he can do this, then any kid can," say his parents Rajneesh and Anamika.

Bharti says, "I hail from the culturally rich town of Azamgarh. As a dedicated teacher and trainer of English, I have a passion for nurturing minds and fostering a love for the English language. Chess is not just a hobby for me; it's a profound passion that I pursue with great dedication. Although, Azamgarh is my home, Lucknow holds a special place in my heart. Many of my family members reside here, and I've been visiting the city regularly since 2013. I embrace every opportunity to immerse myself in the strategic world of chess, constantly seeking to refine my skills and enjoy the intellectual challenge it offers."

Chinmay Vajpayee was tournament runner-up with 5 points. U16 section runner-up was Tanish Kumar with 5.5 points. Veterans KK Khare, Sayeed Ahmad (4 points each) took the top honours in the Veterans +60 section followed by Rajinder Mahana and Mohd Irfan in joint third place with 3 points each. Kamlesh Kumar Kesharwani scored 2.5 in the section.

Hrothbertina Hilton won the women's section followed by Rekha Gaur and Vinky Dixit. The top-3 Best Unrated players were Neeraj Chaurasiya (4.5 points), Aarav Garg and Sanjeev Kumar, 4 points each.

The Best Family prize (introduced by CCBW) went to the Mishra Family from Lakhimpur which included CP Mishra and his kids Yash and Yashasvi. They were followed by Ashish Kumar and his sons Ishit and Ishaan. Chess Club Black & White promotes chess as a family game to help children stay away from screens and instead acquire life skills from chess. As a heat wave sweeps North India, it is the best time to stay indoors and play chess say club members. 

(Above) the Kumar family from Lucknow and the Mishra family from Lucknow. 

Top Results
1. Vishal Bharti (Azamgarh) 6.5 points, 2. Chinmay Vajpayee 5.5 points 3-6. Saurabh Yadav, Sanjay Kumar Bajpai, CP Mishra (Lakhimpur), Prem Singh Mehta 5 points

Junior Section Results

U10 1st Suyash Shukla (Lakhimpur) 5.5 points 2nd Yash Prakash Mishra (Lakhimpur) 5 points 3rd Vardhan Gupta (Lakhimpur) 4.5 points.

U13 1-3rd Ayush Goswami, Ishaan Kumar, Saksham Srivastava 5 points each

U16 Ariz Hussain 5 points, Shaurya Singh Chauhan 4 points.

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Aarav Garg, Sayeed Ahmad tie for First at Lions vs Cubs Chess Tournament

Lucknow: Student and teacher, fourteen-year-old Aarav Garg, and veteran Lucknow player, Saeed Ahmad, of Lucknow Chess Centre displayed a fantastic performance scoring 6.5/7 points to tie for first at the Lions vs Cubs Chess at a Hotel Golden Apple, Mahanagar.

Three people tied for second with 5 points each including Shatrughan Rawat, Shadab Khan (Lakhimpur), and top woman player Vartika R. Verma. Vartika has proved to be Lucknow's strongest woman player consistently making it to the top-10 in the Open category for the last one year. Parth Pande and Nikhar Saxena, both nineteen, excelled in tactical play.

Caption: Chief Guest GMJH Global MD Javed Khan with prize winners of the Lions vs Cubs Chess at a Hotel Golden Apple in Lucknow.

In the under-16 category, ten-year-old Ameya Rajendra and 14-year-old Ujjwal Raj Srivastava impressed with 5.5 points each.

"This was a special-format tournament Lions vs Cubs developed by Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) to help unrated youngsters learn from rated senior citizens," said Fide International Arbiter and chess author Naveen Karthikeyan. He said, "These senior citizens became chess experts before the Internet era. Today, an app on your cellphone plays stronger than the world champion. It's easy to practice. How did our senior citizens play so well? It's pure human ability. We must treasure our senior citizens."

CCBW honorary director, UP champion, Dr Junaid Ahmad said, "We want to create chess opportunities for all levels of players. Some players felt, as an organiser, we would lose out on entry fee but that's never been our purpose. We are a charitable society. The more chess happens and the more the marginalised players get opportunities, we will benefit as a community. The All-India Chess Federation too has many such formats. We will continue with our all-women and all-senior citizen formats also."

Aarav Garg 1st in the Lions vs Cubs Chess.

 

Top results

(Lucknow unless mentioned)
1-2. Aarav Garg, Sayeed Ahmad 6.5 pts 3-4. Shatrughan Rawat, Shadab Khan (Lakhimpur) 5 pts. 5. Neeraj Chaurasiya 4.5 pts, 6-10. Sanjeev Mishra (Kanpur), Ratnesh Shanker Verma, Nikhar Saxena, Zafar Mahboob, Ayush Singh 4 pts.

Senior Citizens
1-2. Sharad Kumar Sharma, Rajendra Mahana 4.5 pts 3-4. RK Gupta (Jhansi), Kamlesh Kumar Kesharwani, 4 pts 5. Sakiluddin 3 pts

Women
1. Vartika R Verma 5 pts,
2. Vinky Dixit 2 pts

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Fide Anthem Writer's Great Grandson wants to Design Chess Trophies

This artist-guitarist has his choices clear: On a carefree evening, he'd rather grab a game of chess than a cup off coffee! However, creative Frenchman Arnaud Berman loves old objects and finds coffee grinders "very pretty and elegant." So, he turns them into chess sets!

Arnaud, as an artist, has focused on creating art works and sculptures, mainly in low relief, with chess as the theme, for more than five years now. His sculptures, particularly in bronze, stand out with a mystical depth and would surely make much-coveted trophies in the chess world! That's what he wants to do next. 

Marcel Berman

Arnaud's love for chess has a genesis. He is the great grandson of Marcel Berman, president of the French Chess Federation 1955-1958. Marcel Berman went on to become vice-president of Fide and also wrote the lyrics of the Fide anthem! 

Arnaud has taken forward the creativity of his ancestor. He says, "I am reaching out to Fide to use my designs for trophies and awards especially in this year of the Century of Fide. I am also looking forward to having my work exhibited across the world in museums and shows. 

That's not all. Arnaud has travelled quite a bit including to India. His polaroids are a treat. He says, "I love India and all my travels there were important in my life. I am an analog photographer and made pictures in Benares and Gokarna mainly."

You can see some photographs of India on his website: https://www.arnaudberman.com/benares#1

Instagram @the.chess.artist

Facebook: Arnaud Berman

Arnaud lives in the countryside in Normandy, near the forest and the sea. There are some chess clubs in the cities nearby. "I am not so far from Rouen, where my great grand father was living. That's where the famous chess club is."

There's more to Arnaud — he's the lead guitarist of a funk band called BIMP. He laughs, "I'm into groovy instrumental music. I like to compose stuff. You can say music that sounds a bit like soundtracks of detectives series from the 70's."

Where does all this creative inspiration come from? The Frenchman has a ready answer: "I get my inspiration by keeping space for it. I believe everyone has art inside. I decided to invest in that potential,to be available for its development in me, to let it grow. It made my finance unsure, my inner peace very strong."

Three cheers for Arnaud Berman and hopefully your next trophy will be a Berman Design!

— Naveen Karthikeyan

Guess who? 

Arnaud Berman presenting one of his art world to Super Grandmaster & Candidate 2024 Alireza Firousja.
All photos (c) Arnaud Berman

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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

* The Czech Tour

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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

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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. 

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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#

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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.

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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.

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