Chess train runs Oct 11-15: Prague - Carlsbad - Cesky Krumlov - Brno - Trencin - Prague

Medieval pearls by Chess Train 2019: Chess train, a unique project of Prague Chess Society and Czech Railways, will take place again! The Chess Train 2019 will run from October 11th to 15th on the route Prague - Carlsbad - Cesky Krumlov - Brno - Trencin - Prague. On the train, a 11round tournament in rapid chess will be played.

As it is clear from the itinerary, this year the real medieval pearls are waiting for the participants of the event - beautiful cities of the Czech Republic and Slovakia with picturesque historical centers. And two of the cities have the extraordinary chess tradition also. Rembember famous tournaments Carslasbad 1907, 1911, 1923 and 1929 or Prague Olympics 1931. In the capital of the Czech Republic was born the 1st World Chess Champion Wilhelm Steinitz and in the present days there live several top-class grandmasters of different chess federations – David Navara (Czech Republic), Pentala Harikrishna (India), Sergey Movsesian (Armenia), Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) or Maxim Rodshtein (Israel).

If you want to attend this extraordinary event of the Chess Train 2019 and meet chess-tourists from around the world, do not hesitate to book a place on prazska.sachova@gmail.com. The number of seats on the train is limited. The ticket to the Chess Train and the tournament fee cost 199 Euro, the ticket for a non-playing partners costs 149 Euro. Accommodation can be booked by the organizers in the selected hotels in 3 categories (3*, 4* and 5*hotels), or you can arrange for it yourself.

Details of the Chess Train 2019 can be found here.

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CCBW u20 Chess: Prithvvi 1st on tiebreak; Himmika best Girl

Lucknow,  seedJune Top23:  and reigning state u13 champion Prithvvi Singh (1669) won the CCBW (Chess Club Black and White) Junior Rapid Chess Championship 2019 on tie-break at a city hotel on Sunday. 

(From left) Tanishq Gupta, Prithvvi Singh, Harshit Amarnani, Himmika Amarnani, Myra Agarwal. (More photos on Facebook)

This was Lucknow's strongest-ever u20 chess championship as it also included current state U15 and U17 champion Tanishq Gupta (1660) as second seed and third strongest rated Lucknow junior Harshit Amarnani (1522) as third seed.

Complete media coverage collated on Facebook.

The three-way tie of six points each occured after a very interesting series of results: Harshit beat Tanishq in round 4,  Prithvvi beat Harshit in round 5 and Tanishq beat Prithvvi in round 6!

Prithvvi grabbed an early centre pawn in a 1.d4 game then followed it up with excellent technique for his win over Harshit.

In the top clash, Tanishq vs Prithvvi, Tanishq played Colle system of Queen pawn opening. In the middle game, Tanishq grabbed a pawn and steered the game into a minor piece ending with pawn majority scoring the crucial win.

In Tanishq vs Harshit, Tanishq playing white opened with the Zukertort variation of the Colle system.
The game was somewhat complicated in the middlegame and then harshit went for a pawn sacrifice,vwhich if accepted by Tanishq would have allow Harshit to gain material with a piece  superiorposition.Tanishq eventually accepted the sacrifice and lost.

The seven-round, 15 0 time control tournament witnessed an even closer finish in the girls' section.

Top-seed Himmika Amarnani (1181) could win best girl prize only on tiebreak. Also a state-level tennis player, Himmika used her attacking 1.e4 games for successive wins.

The four-way tie for first saw unrated Myra Agarwal perform way above her strength to claim second. Simran Sadhwani continued her steady play to score ahead of second seed Jusfica Lilium Lobo (1032) for third place. Simran, is also a state-level player, who has improved considerably over the last year winning district championships in girls. All four scored 4 points each.

Six-year-old Pranav Rastogi surprised everyone by coming first in the u7 category on tiebreak ahead of state level player Aryan Sadhwani and district U7 champion Devaagyh Dixit who stood third. Aryan showed amazing calm to climb back from his losses to nearly snatch first place. Aryan will be representing UP in the Nationals in his section.

The tournament had players come in from Banda and Kanpur as well.

Former state champion, senior international player, Dr Junaid Ahmad was tournament director and senior international player Pawan Batham was the chief arbiter. Participants said they always find chess tournaments organised by those who are players themselves as far better in facilities and fairness of conduct of play as compared to other tournaments.

Chief guest renowned orthopaedic and diet expert Dr Gopal Goel (also felicitated by state government for welfare work in aiding and rehabilitatiom of physically challenged) spoke about nutrition specifically to suit chess players  For improving brain power, he suggested daily intake of at four walnuts twice a day, handful of almonds once (soaked overnight) and curd twice a day along with regular exercise and yogasans like dandawat pranaam for brain power.
He warneda indiscriminate eating of bread, packaged chips and even milk. He mentioned the importance of taking vitamins as required without assuming that "vitamins" are only for senior people.

*Results*

Open Section 1-6th: Prithvi Singh, Tanishq Gupta, Harshit Amarnani (all 6 points), Anupam Dutta, Meetansh Dixit, Atharva Rastogi (all 5 points).

Girls section 1-6th: Himmika Amarnani, Myra Agarwal, Simran Sadhwani, Jusfica Lilium Lobo (all 4 points), Vartika R. Verma 3, Saanvi Mehrotra 2.

U7 1-3: Pranav Rastogi, Aryan Sadhwani 2, Devaagyh Dixit 1.5

U10 1-3: Akshin Srivastava, Vyom Ahuja, 3 points, Arsh Hussain Naqvi 1.5

U13 1-3: Sarthak Singh Basera 3.5, Shaan Garg, Enaith Singh Habibullah 3 points

U15 1-3: Nikhar Saxena 4.5, Adarsh Pal, Aman Goel 4 points

U20 1-3: Anubhav Singh 4.5, Shaishav Srivastava, Tanmay Mishra 4 points

Consolation: Aditi Mohan, Akshat Abhinav, Priyam Khandelwal, Vasav Rastogi, Aniket Mohan, Utkarsh Dixit, ADSV Prasad. 

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French Toast: How India No. 2 Harikrishna fries 1... e6

India's number two chess player, the in-form Super GM Pentala Harikrishna, is offering a unique chance to have training time with him.

The 2730-rated grandmaster has launched a competition to win a place in one of two group lessons focusing on one of his opening systems.

Harikrishna, aged 33, recently released his first chess instruction course, an anti-French repertoire titled French Toast: How Harikrishna fries 1... e6, through the online training platform Chessable.com.

The course has a points leaderboard to show who has studied the most, and Harikrishna will host a lesson with the top 5 each week.

Harikrishna, from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, has been in sparkling form this year and narrowly missed out on top spot at the elite Shenzhen Masters earlier this month

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Yugina Chess Art: Chance to Buy Talented WFM's Paintings

Maria Yugina (Mariya Yughina) seduces her fans with bold shapes and vibrant colors weaving her passion for romance, travel and the royal game of chess into her paintings.Maria is a talented artist from St. Petersburg, Russia.  She is also an accomplished chess player with a women’s fide chess master title and elo of 2183. She is married to Romanian chess grandmaster Mihail Marin. The two of them travel the world competing in chess tournaments and showcasing Maria’s chess themed collection of work.

She is quickly taking the world by storm with her flirty and whimsical cubism style. Before now, her paintings have been sold primarily through word of mouth. This alone has resulted in her selling close to 15 pieces of work a month in over 8 countries!

She has now partnered with chess marketing company OFF da ROOK Entertainment to expand her reach and brand YUGINA ART as a household name.  Original art can be found for purchase at  yugina.com.

To kick things off, Jennifer Vallens, founder of OFF da ROOK Entertainment and a huge fan of Yugina’s work, will have a YUGINA ART table set up at the International Chess Festival in Las Vegas June 14 and 15, 2019.  Exclusive YUGINA ART poster art will be available for sale.  Stop by and say hello and get your limited print!

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World Fischer Random Chess Championship okayed by FIDE

Arne Horvei and Jøran Aulin-Jansson received FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich a few weeks ago in Oslo.

Oslo, April 20, 2019—The World Fischer Random Chess Championship is now officially recognized by FIDE and will start on Chess.com.

This historic event will feature an online qualifying phase on Chess.com, beginning April 28, and is open to all non-titled players. Qualifiers for titled players begin June 30. The finals will be held in Norway this fall, with a prize fund of $375,000 USD.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has granted the rights to host the inaugural FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship cycle to Dund AS, in partnership with Chess.com. And, for the first time in history, a chess world championship cycle will combine an online, open qualifier and worldwide participation with physical finals.

“With FIDE’s support for Fischer Random Chess, we are happy to invite you to join the quest to become the first-ever FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Champion” said Arne Horvei, founding partner in Dund AS. “Anyone can participate online, and we are excited to see if there are any diamonds in the rough out there that could excel in this format of chess,” he said.

"It is an unprecedented move that the International Chess Federation recognizes a new variety of chess, so this was a decision that required to be carefully thought out,” said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich, who recently visited Oslo to discuss this agreement. “But we believe that Fischer Random is a positive innovation: It injects new energies an enthusiasm into our game, but at the same time it doesn't mean a rupture with our classical chess and its tradition. It is probably for this reason that Fischer Random chess has won the favor of the chess community, including the top players and the world champion himself. FIDE couldn't be oblivious to that: It was time to embrace and incorporate this modality of chess."

The 2019 FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship features chess superstars such as World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana. Wesley So, Alexander Grischuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Peter Svidler are also confirmed to play. This historic event will feature a qualifying phase open to all players beginning April 28. Players can enter at www.FRChess.com, and the qualifying rounds will be hosted by Chess.com.

"We are thrilled to be the organizing partner for the 2019 FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship," said Daniel Rensch, chief chess officer of Chess.com. "We're excited to be teaming up with Dund AS to provide an accessible path to stardom for players around the world!"

Non-Titled players may register for qualifiers here

Titled players may register for qualifiers here

About Dund AS:
Dund AS organized the 2018 unofficial Fischer Random (FR) world title match between classical chess champion Magnus Carlsen and recognized Fischer Random ace Hikaru Nakamura, who won the final Mainz tournament in the discipline in 2009. The enormous interest generated by the event, which stole nearly two million Norwegian television viewers away from the national obsession of the Winter Olympics, showed that the world was ready for more FR chess.

About Chess.com:
Chess.com is the world’s largest chess site, with a community of more than 27 million members from around the world playing millions of games every day. Launched in 2009, Chess.com is the leader in chess news, lessons, events and live entertainment. Visit Chess.com to play, learn and connect with chess—the world’s most popular game.

About FIDE:
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) is the governing body of international chess competition. Founded in 1924, it was one of the first institutions of its kind and it is now one of the largest, with a total of 190 affiliated national chess federations.

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Aryan Singh wins Speed Chess on Running Lucknow Metro

GIANT LEAP FOR CITY: SPEED CHESS ON LUCKNOW METRO: Lucknow took a giant leap in chess awareness Sunday morning (April 7, 2019) with several chess whizkids in the age-group of 8-15 playing a speed tournament on the Lucknow Metro from the IT station to airport – a revolutionary concept, which is the first in India and only organised in tube rails in Europe.

Fourteen-year-old Aryan Singh of Jaipuria School won the Chess Club Black & White (CCBW) Speed Chess trophy and Himmika Amarnani, city’s top-rated Under-14 player was awarded the Best Girl trophy. Lucknow’s youngest FIDE-rated girl player Sanvi Agarwal also participated in the tournament. The event was supported by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation with CS, PRO, Pushpa Belani accompanying the team through the entire stretch.

Morning Metro commuters were in for a surprise when they saw boys and girls playing speed chess with a three-minute time control in twin Metro coaches. An added draw was the youth members of the Ilyas Khan group playing guitar and playing Bollywood songs to cheer the players on.

The speed of the chess moves on the 64 squares matched the speed of the Metro skimming through the city skyspace. “If you love chess, you can play it anywhere, anytime. And like the Metro, chess resonates in the history, art and culture of Lucknow. We wanted to tell Lucknowites to come out and play,” said Dr Junaid Ahmad, CCBW director and former UP chess champion.

LMRC CS, PRO, Pushpa Bellani said, “I was impressed by the confidence and focus of the children despite the tournament happening in the Metro. LMRC is happy to have supported the tournament.”

Urdu poet and chess lover Anupam Srivastava, who was the chief guest, said he was impressed by the quality and sharpness of the chess moves by the kids in such an environment. Usually chess tournaments are organised in quiet halls. FIDE arbiter Hemant Sharma pulled off an acrobatic feat by balancing the laptop in one hand and conducting the parings in the moving Metro.

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Delhi Chess: Gukesh becomes World’s 2nd Youngest GM

New Delhi: Chennai's Gukesh D. made his third and final Grandmaster norm in the penultimate round of 17th Delhi International chess tournament now underway here. 

Gukesh has secured 7 points in nine rounds  to become the second youngest grandmaster in chess history, behind Sergey Karjakin of Russia but ahead of Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan. He won his game in the ninth round against Dinesh Sharma rated 2303.

Meanwhile Grandmaster Pantsulaia Levan of Georgia stayed ahead of the field after defeating overnight leader Mosadeghpour Masoud of Iran. Kerala’s Grandmaster S. L Narayanan outwitted Odisha’s Debashis Das to take his tally to 7.5 points. 

The Rs. 35 Lakh tournament will come to an end on Wednesday. The tenth round will witness clash of overnight leaders Pantsulaia Levan and S.L Narayanan. 

Local hopeful GM Abhijeet Gupta has a chance to finish in top five if he can win his last round game against Gukesh D. However, the young Chennai prodigy is in top form here. 

There were norms galore at the tournament.  International Masters Gukesh D and Visakh NR secured GM norms while Aditya Mittal, Saurabh Ananad, Bharat Kumar Reddy and Neelash Saha scored IM Norms respectively.

Pairings for final round: http://chess-results.com/tnr393175.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=10&fed=IND&turdet=YES&flag=30

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Delhi Chess 2019: Masoud pulls ahead

New Delhi: Twenty-two years old Iranian Grandmaster Mosadeghpour Masoud pulled ahead of the field with a finely crafted victory over Tran Tuan Minh of Vietnam in the eighth round of 17th Delhi International Grandmasters Tournament underway here on Monday. 

Playing with white pieces in Sicilian Najdorf Bg5 variation which lasted 33 moves, Masoud, rated 2517  got better of Grandmaster Tran Tuan Minh, rated 2541. Tran obtained a small advantage after making exchange sacrifice of his rook for knight on the 23rd move. Later he landed in a piece-down position, prompting him to resign.  

With his sixth victory in eight games, Masoud took his tally to a whopping 7 points out of a possible eight and emerged as sole leader with a half-point lead over nearest rivals. Just two rounds are remaining in this Rs. 35 Lakhs prize money tournament. 

Among other important games of the day, Indian Grandmasters Debashis Das and Diptayan Ghosh played out a quick draw to inch up to 6.5 points while Grandmasters Erigaisi Arjun and Stupak Kirill signed peace treaty after a tense struggle to also reach 6.5 points. 

Seven players are closely trailing behind the leader.  

Category ‘C’ tournament which boasts participation of more than 1500 players came to the half-way stage with 56 players scoring 4 points out of 4 rounds. Six more rounds are remaining in this 33 lakhs prize money event. Total prize of the 17th Delhi International Grandmasters Tournament is One Crore One Lakh Rupees. 

Pairings for round 09: http://chess-results.com/tnr393175.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=9&fed=IND&turdet=YES&flag=30

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Delhi International Chess Festival: Rs 1 cr Prize Fund

One Crore prize fund for the first time in the country

29 Grandmasters compete in premier group ‘A’

Local star Vaibhav Suri starts as the highest ranked Indian in the biggest ever Indian open that kickstarts in the National capital on Wednesday.

With 29 Grandmasters in the fray in a field of over 300 participants, the premier event promises all the excitement for the chess buffs. Making it an open event for everyone this year means that the tiny tots will also get a chance to match their wits against much accomplished names.

However, it is not the premier event alone that is generating most of the buzz. The excitement also lies in the B and C group that has a rating cap for below 1899 and 1499 players. With list is growing with over 900 participants in the B group while over 1200 players have already registered for the “C” group that starts after four days.

This means that the Delhi open is actually set to breach the 3000 entry mark and might be referred to as the biggest open festival of the world. There is no other tournament across the globe where so many competitors participate.

The total prize pool that exceeds a 100000 Rupees over the One Crore mark is the biggest attraction this year and clearly the think tank lead by Delhi Chess Association President Bharat Singh Chauhan who also doubles up as the Secretary of Indian Chess Federation have made it the biggest extravaganza of 2019.

Grandmaster Farrukh Amonatov of Turkmenistan, a former winner here, starts as the top seed and rating favourite in the premier section but surely he will face stiff competition from the likes of Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia, Alexandre Predke from Russia and another Indian star Abhijeet Gupta.

There will be host of opportunities for the players seeking their International norms and talented youngster like D Gukesh can hope to become the next Grandmaster from India.

Apart from the main chess tournaments the organisers have planned many extra activities not only for the participants but also for visiting parents and accompanying persons with several players.

There will be sessions on parenting done by some of the best in business and a training camp for wannabe chess coaches is also planned. The lectures on parenting and making your child ready for the future will be done by, among others, Paarth Ashok Narang, a life coach.

The training for coaches will be imparted by super coach R B Ramesh along with FI Praful Zaveri and Vishal Sareen.

The icing on the cake will be of course the simultaneous displays in which the young players will get a chance to compete with India’s youngest ever Grandmaster R Praggnandhaa and former Asian queen Tania Sachdev. In another simul, GM K Priyadharshan will also give an opportunity for the young kids to have a go at him!

“We believe in creating opportunities and that’s what we are trying to do here. I had dreamt of a One Crore Prize Fund Chess festival about 30 Years back and here we are living the dream of every chess player in the country. Hopefully we will see many such events in the future in the country”, said Bharat Singh Chauhan on the eve of the beginning of the mega event. 

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Young Chess Star Nihal Sarin may Write for Chessable!

India's young chess superstar Nihal Sarin is considering turning his hand to writing about the game.

The 14-year-old, who became India’s 53rd grandmaster after bagging his third GM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters on Tuesday, is understood to be talking to Chessable about a possible openings book for youngsters.

Chessable is a learning site designed to help players learn chess openings, chess tactics and chess endgames and several GMs and IMs have written courses specially for its format.

Nihal's current ELO rating is 2556 and he is the twelfth youngest grandmaster in chess history.

He was immediately congratulated by India's top Grandmaster, former world champion Viswanathan Anand, who took to Twitter to congratulate him.

“Congrats and welcome to @NihalSarin ! The boys are on a roll!” he tweeted.

Nihal is part of a cohort of young stars alongside Chennai-born Ramesh Praggnanandhaa. In June, Praggnanandhaa became the world’s second-youngest grandmaster, and India’s 52nd, aged 12 years, 10 months and 13 days.

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Wazir Chess Movie Teaser Video with Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar

"A dangerous game is about to begin."

Remember the last time megastar Amitabh Bachchan played a schemer in Aankhen? It's about to happen again in Bejoy Nambiar's upcoming film Wazir.

The first teaser of the film, which released on December 19, shows Big B and co-star Farhan Akhtar engrossed in a precarious game of chess. However, their game is not limited to the chess board, but spills to real life.

Mr Bachchan, who is wheelchair-bound, takes on the role of a scheming 'wazir,' making moves that have a domino effect on Farhan's life, who is seen grappling with reality.

The film is written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who also co-produces with Rajkumar Hirani. Wazir is scheduled to release in 2015.

Watch:

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Magnus Carlsen Retains World Chess Title with Game 11 Victory

SOCHI: Magnus Carlsen asserted his supremacy over Viswanathan Anand for the second year in running as the Norwegian retained his World Championship title after defeating the Indian Challenger in the 11th game on Sunday. 

The Norwegian world champion closed the 12-game match with a 6.5-4.5 scoreline, courtesy his win in the penultimate game. 

While this may have been closely fought in the eyes of the experts, the fact remains that Anand lasted only one extra game compared to the 2013 match at Chennai when it was all over in the tenth game of the match itself. 

For Anand, there were a lot of lessons to be learnt and it is clear that the five-time world champion will probably like to get another shy at the title during the next Candidates tournament. 

Anand knew that a draw would keep him in the match but expectedly the Indian ace was not hooked to the idea of staying on till the last game of the 12-game match, and tried to complicate when he got the first opportunity. 

When Anand went for the real complications the opinion of the experts was pretty divided out of another Berlin defense game. While the opening discussion continued, Anand was the first to deviate from earlier games in the same opening and in the opinion of Ian Nepomniachtchi, a former second of Carlsen, Anand went for unwarranted complexities. 

In the 11th game too, Anand made fewer mistakes than Calrsen and some even opined that the Indian had better chance. As it happened in the game, Anand came up with an exchange sacrifice when according to Grandmaster Peter Svidler, 'he felt he ought to be doing something'. 

As things became clear, the exchange sacrifice was probably not the best of solutions for Anand in a seemingly equal situation and this was what eventually plotted the downfall for the Indian, Anand however regretted his decision to sacrifice a rook for a minor piece. 

"It was a bad gamble, and I got punished," he said. Carlsen on his part remained the calculation machine he is known to be and his super judgment on the position was the critical factor to seize the initiative. 

Anand was pretty sure that the position was equal before that but while he was playing objectively till a certain point but took a nervous decision in the match. Anand could have drawn this and gone on in the 12th game of the match in a must-win situation. 

Anand conceded after the match that Carlsen's nerves held better in this match. But for the experts, it was clear that Anand had his chances which he did not capitalise. 

"Taking in to account that all things considered he did better. I did not something better and some things worse," Anand concluded at the post-game conference. 

Magnus Carlsen v/s V Anand 11th Game of World Chess Championship 2014: 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Nc3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 c5 13. Rad1 b6 14. Rfe1 Be6 15. Nd5 g5 16. c4 Kb7 17. Kh2 a5 18. a4 Ne7 19. g4 Ng6 20. Kg3 Be7 21. Nd2 Rhd8 22. Ne4 Bf8 23. Nef6 b5 24. Bc3 bxa4 25. bxa4 Kc6 26. Kf3 Rdb8 27. Ke4 Rb4 28. Bxb4 cxb4 29. Nh5 Kb7 30. f4 gxf4 31. Nhxf4 Nxf4 32. Nxf4 Bxc4 33. Rd7 Ra6 34. Nd5 Rc6 35. Rxf7 Bc5 36. Rxc7+ Rxc7 37. Nxc7 Kc6 38. Nb5 Bxb5 39. axb5+ Kxb5 40. e6 b3 41. Kd3 Be7 42. h4 a4 43. g5 hxg5 44. hxg5 a3 45. Kc3 1-0.

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World Chess Match Anand-Carlsen 5.30 pm Live Today in Sochi, Russia

Sochi, Nov 8: World Chess Championship Match 2014 between reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand of India begins today in Russia at 5.30 pm in the city of Sochi. You can watch it live at the official website from 5.30 pm onwards.

 

A glittering ceremony, opening press conference and pre-match 'rituals' took place yesterday in Sochi -- all broadcast live via the high-powered super-sleek official website last evening. 

The took place at the Congress Hall of the Radisson Blu Hotel and was attended by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Russian Chess Federation President Andrey Filatov, the adviser of the Russian President Igor Levitin, former World Champions Boris Spassky, Nona Gaprindashvili, Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Khalifman, Zhu Chen, Antoaneta Stefanova, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian deputy minister of sports Pavel Kolobkov and other officials, chess stars, and eminent guests.

 

Russian People's Artist Sergey Makovetsky and 12th WOmen's World Chess Champion ChessQueen Alexandra Kosteniuk were hosts of the ceremony.

Igor Levitin read out the welcome address of the Russian President Vladimir Putin:“Russia deserves the honour of holding this important and prestigious event. Our country has won wide recognition for its chess school and has extensive experience at holding events of this level, all the more so as this championship match is taking place in Sochi, which hosted the Winter Olympics earlier this year.

I am confident that Sochi’s developed sports, transport and tourism infrastructure and the traditional hospitality of its residents will ensure that this event takes place at the highest standard and will enable the competitors – Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand – to demonstrate the full measure of their skill and ability to find original solutions to the most complex tasks and show that they are worthy rivals in this battle for the chess world’s crown.”

Read full welcome address of the Russian President Vladimir Putin (RUS)

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on behalf of the FIDE Presidential Board (the International Chess Federation unites 181 countries) sent greetings to the guests of the championship. He revealed a rich competitive and cultural agenda during the championship – the Tal Memorial grandmaster blitz tournament, junior Tournament of champions, master-classes, simultaneous displays, etc. In the end Mr. Ilyumzhinov wished good luck to the match participants and expressed hope for brilliant and exciting games.

Igor Levitin awarded the Russian players with state decorations. The order “For Merit to the Fatherland” of the 1st class was given to Alexandra Kosteniuk, Natalia Pogonina received this order of the 2nd class. Olga Girya and Sergey Rublevsky received Honorary Mentions of the Russian President. These players and the Russian women's team coach got their awards for winning the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway as well as for their contribution to chess development in our country. 

 

After the mime show “Dance of chess queens” the Chief Arbiter of the match Andrzej Filipowicz (Poland) called for the drawing of lots. Vishy Anand will have the white pieces in the first game.

The grandmasters will play 12 games with classical time control: 120 minutes for 40 moves, then 60 minutes for 20 moves, and then 15 minutes plus 30 seconds per move for the rest of the game. If the match is tied, the tie-break with quick time controls will take place on November 27th.

The ceremony was concluded with the concert of a singer Tina Kuznetsova and the Jazz Quartet of People's Artist of Russia Igor Butman.

More photos from the opening ceremony

Official website

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Good Luck Vishy, says Modi

World Chess Championship 2014 in Sochi between five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlse: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today extended his good wishes to Indian chess wizard Viswanathan Anand as he prepared to reclaim the World Championships title from Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in Sochi, Russia from tomorrow. 

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. Press photo from the Gujarat Swarnim Chess Mahotsav, 2010.

"Good Luck Vishy! Conveying my best wishes to our pride, Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship in Sochi," Modi tweeted.

The much-awaited clash will conclude on November 28 during which Anand will take on Carlsen in a repeat of the 2013 World Championships.

The Indian had been outwitted on his home turf of Chennai by Carlsen the last time around. Anand earned a shot at the title by winning Candidate's Tournament earlier this year. -- PTI

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World Jr Chess: India Starts Well

Pune: India's Vidit Santosh Gujrathi got off to a flying start by quickly winning the first round of the World Junior Chess Championship which commenced at Hotel Hyatt on Monday, defeating compatriot Ritviz Parab.

Second seed Robin Van Kampen also quickly won his game against Jan Rindlisbacher of Switzerland with black pieces in 28 moves after adopting the Sicilian Defence.

FM Rakesh Kumar Jena, rated 2164, created a flutter when he held higher rated and 10th seed GM Grigoryan of Russia to a draw after 30 moves of a Sicilian Defence.

Vidit, the fourth seed, playing with black pieces, opted for a super sharp Sicilian defence against the King Pawn Opening. 

"I had decided to play aggressively and I am happy that my gamble played off as I managed to get an advantageous position early on," said Vidit.

A tentative and timid pawn push in the centre on the 15th turn by Ritviz had Vidit immediately pushing his pawn more boldly in the centre to get advantage.

Another wrong queen move on the next turn had Vidit smelling victory and his queen, rook and knight soon swung into action to decide the game in his favour after 23 moves. 

India's Padmini Rout obtains easy win over Turkova Karolina of Slovakia.

Iranian FM Amir Kousarania (2331) missed his flight and hence was not paired in the first round. He will begin his campaign from the second round. 

The highlight of Day 1

Ten-year old Nihal Sarin, the freshly crowned World-Under 10 champion, stole the limelight with a 94-move victory over higher ranked IM Jonathan Westerberg of Sweden as the LIC-sponsored World Junior Chess championship got underway here Monday.

Nihal said: "Obviously, today's match was a very tough as it lasted so many moves, but there was no tension and I enjoyed it very much."

Interestingly, it was the very first time that Nihal played against a titled player though his handling of two pieces for his opponent's rook in a Bogo Indian Defence defied his age and experience.

Collectively, it was a good day for Indians with GM Sahej Grover, GM Ankit Rajpara, IM Aravindh Chithabamram, IM Diptayan Ghosh and IM Sayantan Das, IM Shardul Gagare scoring victories over their lesser rated opponents.

Top two seeds Vladimir Fedoseev of Russia and Aseed Robin Van Kampen also scored effortless victories even as favourites fumbled in the very first round which is very unusual in a Swiss League tournament of this magnitude

FM Rakesh Kumar Jena, rated 2164, created a flutter when he held higher-rated and 10th seed GM Grigoryan of Russia to a draw after 30 moves of a Sicilian Defence.

Untitled Sai Vishwesh also rose to the occasion and held 14th seed GM Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan to a draw in a Spanish Opening game which lasted 50 moves.

The biggest upset of the day was the loss of 19th seed IM Murali Karthikeyan (2499) who went down to his Tamil Nadu state-mate Siva Mahadevan.

The Girls section was a sedate affair with most of the higher rated players cruising through with victories. Padmini Rout, the highest rated Indian in fray, scored over Karolina Turkova. WIM Zhao Mo of China defeated WFM San Diego Marie Antoinette. -- Agencies

Important Round One results (Indians unless specified):
Boys: Vladimir Fedoseev (Rus) bt M Chakravarthi Reddy; Jan Rindlisbacher (Sui) lost to Robin Van Kampen (Ned); Wei Yi (Chn) bt A Muthaiah; Parab Ritviz lost to Vidit Santosh Gujrathi; Cori Jorge (Per) bt Konstantinos Megalios (Gre); Pranav Shetty lost to Duda Jan-Krzysztof (Pol); Benjamin Bok (Ned) bt Erik Ronka (Fin); Utkal Ranjan Sahoo lost to Karen Grigoryan (Arm); Aleksandar Indjic (Srb) bt Samir Sen (Usa); Rakesh Kumar Jena drew with Grigoriy Oparin (Rus); Vladislav Kovalev (Blr) bt Slaven Pastar (Bih); D Yashas drew with Kamil Dragun (Pol); Lu Shanglei (Chn) bt P Iniyan; C Sai Vishwesh drew with Nijat Abasov (Aze); Mikhail AAntipov (Rus) bt Fong Yit San (Mas); Rodrigo Mendoza (Bol) lost to Idani Pouya (Iri); Ankit R. Rajpara bt Rajdeep Sarkar; Yogesh Gautam lost to Diptayan Ghosh; Murali Karthikeyan lost to Siva Mahadevan; Sammed Jaykumar Shete lost to Ulvi Bajarani (Aze); Sahaj Grover bt A Abhishek.

Girls: Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus) bt Parnali S Dharia; Karina Azimova (Rus) lost to Meri Arabidze (Geo); Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Iri) drew with Gu Tianlu (Chn); Liu Manli Chn (Chn) lost to Daria Pustovoitova A(Rus); Zhai Mo (Chn) bt Marie Antoinette San Diego (Phi); Karolina Turkova (Svk) lost to Padmini Rout; Ni Shiqun (Chn) drew with P Bala Kannamma; Angelina Fransson (Swe) lost to Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vie); Lisa Schut (Ned) lost to Madhurima Shekhar; Ani Krumova (Bul) drew with Anna Iwanow (Pol); Marina Brunello (Ita) bt Solenn Afraoui (Fra); Mitzy Mishe Caballero Quijano (Per) lost to Sabina Ibrahimova (Aze); Klara Varga (Hun) bt Rutuja Bakshi; Larissa Ichimura Barbosa (Bra) lost to Irina Petrukhina (Rus); Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva (Uzb) drew with Jessica Bengtsson (Swe).

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Poker Masters Chess in Isle of Man

Grandmaster and former world junior chess champion Abhijeet Gupta got off to a good start, crushing Kolbus Dietmar of Germany in the first round of Poker Masters Isle of Man International chess tournament here.

Seeded 10th in a very strong line-up that includes world number 12 Michael Adams of England and number 13 Maxime Vachier Lagrave of France, Gupta played out a chanceless game with his black pieces to show signs of good form in the 18000 pound sterling prize money tournament.

The other Indian in the fray, Grandmaster D Harika also made a good beginning as she got full points against Eddie Luiz Sant Anna of Brazil.

Harika, fresh from her bronze medal performance in the last women’s Grand Prix at Sharjah, got the point with black pieces.

The opening day in one of the strongest open tournament in recent UK history was not devoid of upsets as third seeded Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet was held to a draw by Simon Ansell of England.

Fressinet, a member of the 2700 ELO rating club, did not get many chances to convert his slightly superior position in the endgame and seasoned Ansell deserved all credit for pocketing a half point against one of the leading players in the tournament.

Gupta came up with his pet Grunfeld defence to counter the queen pawn opening by Kolbus and the German was out of his book quite early when the Indian decided to give a slightly better position rather than go for a simplified and equal endgame.

The strategy paid off as Kolbus was saddled with the task of handling a complicated position in which Gupta excelled with a timely attack on the white king.

Kolbus lost a pawn while trying to wriggle out of his problem and that was enough for the Indian to transpose to a winning endgame.

“I think he had his chances when I allowed a trick inadvertently, but we both failed to spot it thankfully, it was a nice game for an opening round in the end,” Gupta said after the game.

Adams is not a regular customer in open events but that uneasiness did not show in his clean victory against compatriot Mark Fergusson. The English opening gave England’s highest ranked player an edge and he nurtured it easily to win in 37 moves.

The event is being played under FIDE’s Swiss rules with nine rounds in all. The winner’s purse is 6000 pounds sterling. -- PTI

Important results after round 1: Michael Adams (ENG) beat Mark Ferguson (ENG); Alina L’Ami (ROU) lost to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA); Laurent Fressinet (FRA) drew with Simon Ansell (ENG); Marcel Peek (NED) lost to Gabriel Sargissian (ARM); Julio Granda Zuniga (PER) beat Gerard Welling (NED); Stephen Mannion (SCO) lost to Sergei Tiviakov (NED); Gawain Jones (ENG) beat Christopher Wallis (AUS); Alan Tate (SCO) lost to David Howell (ENG); Nigel Short (ENG) beat Chris Duncan (ENG); Dietmar Kolbus (GER) lost to Abhijeet Gupta; Sant Anna, Eddie Luiz lost to D Harika.

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World Junior Chess begins in Pune

Grandmasters Vidit Santosh Gujarathi and Padmini Rout are among the hot favourites for the title in the World Junior Chess Championships commencing here Monday.

Gujrathi, who has had a phenomenal run for the last one year in International chess, starts as a strong contender and is one of the five super Grandmasters (Rating above 2600) in fray.

Padmini, the most medal-decorated girl in Age Categories, will also be a favourite, especially after a glittering gold medal performance in the recently concluded World Chess Olympiad. Incidentally, Padmini is also amongst the top five highest rated girls in fray.

The organisation is in full gear by now. The Facebook (www.facebook.com/WorldJuniorChess2014) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/MCL_CIS) handles of the event are already busy, creating a buzz before the event, not to forget the official website. An impressive array of titled players of the state of Maharashtra have been lined for live web video commentary during the event - former world junior girls champion WGM Soumya Swaminathan along with IM Sagar Shah, IM Prathamesh Mokal, and WGM Swati Ghate.

The last time that India hosted the championship here in 2008, Abhijeet Gupta and Dronavalli Harika clinched the titles. Incidentally, it was the first and only time in the history of the game that two players from the same country had won the title.

The event is spread over 15 days and will comprise of 13 rounds with more than 200 players from 45 countries confirming their participation.

The Government of Maharashtra and Life Corporation of India (LIC) are the main sponsors while ONGC, Amanora, Jain Irrigation and Everstone are the other sponsors.

Vladimir Fedoseev (2661) of Russia, currently ranked 88th in the World, is the top seed followed by Robin van Kampen (2641) of the Netherlands, Yi Wei (2641) of China, Gujarathi (2635) and Jorge CoriA (2612) of Peru.

It is expected to be a close contest amongst these super GMs. The other Indians to be watched out for in this section are GM Ankit Rajpara, GM Sahej Grover, IM Aravindh Chithambaram, IM Shardul Gagare, IM Murali Karthikeyan and IM R. Prasanna among others.

In the girls section, WGM Alexandra Goryachkina (2430), the defending champion is the highest rated player in fray and is followed by Meri Arabidze (2409).

Interestingly, there is a wide rating gap between these two girls as other strong contenders are rated 2300 plus. Padmini, after an indifferent showing in the National Women's Challenger has lost a few precious points.

Gujarathi has gained around 30 rating points from the recent Rating List released on October 1 which is a clear-cut indication of him gaining strength in the build up to this event.

He recently won a strong Category-16 tournament in Armenia and would be definitely wanting to elevate his performance from bronze at the last edition to a gold.

"I am happy that the event is being conducted in Pune, as there is nothing better than home advantage and most importantly, food advantage," he said.

Orissa-based Padmini is also very upbeat on the event and confessed: "I really love Pune and am looking forward to putting up a good show here. It has been a lucky venue for me as I won the best woman player award in both editions of the Maharashtra Chess League (MCL) and the organization of chess events in Pune has always been excellent." -- IANS

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Dubai Chess R4: Abhijeet in Sole Lead

Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta, the highest rated Indian in the fray, shot into sole lead, defeating Hatim Al-Hadarani of Yemen in the fourth round of 16th Dubai International open chess tournament on Friday.

 

The victory with black pieces turned out to be fourth in a row for Gupta and his clean slate helped him annex the sole lead on four points. It was a clean effort by the Indian as Hatim Al-Hadarani fell prey to some finely crafted manoeuvres in the endgame.

As many as six players — Axel Bachmann of Paraguay, Eduardo Itturizaga of Venezuela, Zaven Andriasian of Armenia, Constantin Lupulescu of Romania, Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan and Romain Edouard of France — remain on the heels of the leader with 3.5 points apiece. With five rounds still to come in the $50,000 prize money tournament, another 32 players are in close pursuit with three points each.

However, the day belonged to Gupta as he made the most of opportunities against Hatim Al-Hadarani who played an irregular queen pawn game. Playing black, Gupta obtained a complicated middle game and then pounced on a killer stroke that netted him a pawn without any counter play. As the game progressed, Al-Hadarani fell under time pressure and the ensuing rook and pawns endgame was no respite.

Grandmaster M.R. Lalith Babu also came up with a good result although he was not quite satisfied with the draw against highly regarded Vladimir Akopian of Armenia as the Indian felt he held good chances in the middle game and then in the endgame.

For the record, it was a Slav defence wherein Akopian got in to some difficulties and the liquidation also resulted ina worse endgame.

Resourceful as he is, Akopian fought on to get the equality he was looking for and the peace was signed in 54 moves.

Grandmaster Sahaj Grover put his loss against Abhijeet Gupta aside and scored an easy victory over compatriot Harshal Shahi. The Taimanov Sicilian by Shahi did not yield desired results as Grover got an opening advantage that he nurtured well enough to score his third victory in the tournament.

M. Shyam Sundar and Diptayan Ghosh came out with good results drawing with Aleksandr Rakhmanov of Russia and Csaba Balogh of Hungary respectively while Debashish Das and Swapnil Dhopade ended on the losing side. -- PTI

Important and Indian results round 4 (Indians unless specified): Romain Edouard (Fra, 3.5) drew with Axel Bachmann (Par, 3.5): Anuar Ismagambetov (Kaz, 3.5) drew with Eduardo Iturrizaga (Ven, 3.5); Hatim Al—Hadarani (Yem, 3) lost to Abhijeet Gupta (4); Anton Korobov (Ukr, 3) drew with Ghaem Maghami Ehsan (Iri, 3); M R Lalith Babu (3) drew with Vladimir Akopian (Arm, 3); Aleksandr Rakhmanov (Rus, 3) drew with M Shyam Sundar (3); Zaven Andriasian (Arm, 3.5) beat Debashis Das (2.5); Swapnil Dhopade (2) lost to Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukr, 3); Solak Dragan (Tur, 3) beat Sayantan Das (2); Cicak Slavko (3) beat Aniruddha Deshpande (2); Sahaj Grover (3) beat Harshal Shahi (2); V Karthik (2) lost to Jahongir Vakhidov (Uzb, 3); Marina Makropoulou (Gre, 2) lost to Ashwin Jayaram (3); S Ravi Teja (2.5) beat Mayed Al—Rashedi (2); Prince Bajaj (2.5) beat Al Badani Abdu (1.5); Moayed Obied (1.5) lost to Abhishek Kelkar (2.5); N Raghavi (2.5) beat Harikrishnan Samyuktha (1.5); Sultan Ibrahim (2) drew with Ivana Maria Furtado (2); C R G Krishna (2) beat Ahmed Holi Ali Moawia (1); Felix Tuomainen (1) lost to Pratyusha Bodda (2); Assaubayeva Bibissara (Kaz, 1.5) drew with Nishant Malhotra (1.5); Faranka Khaled (1) lost to Nimmy George (2); Marcos Marvin (Phi, 2) beat Akshay Halagannavar (1); A K Elnaami Hashem (1) lost to Siva Mahadevan (2).

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Dubai Chess R3: Gupta Keeps Joint Lead

Dubai Chess Open 2014 Round 3 - Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta got the better of Grandmaster Sahaj Grover to stay in joint lead after the end of the third round of 16th Dubai International Open Chess tournament on Thursday. 

 

It turned out to be another good day for Gupta, who played almost flawless chess to score his third victory in as many rounds in this USD 50000 prize money tournament.

With six rounds to go, its a six-way tie at the top with Eduardo Romain of France, Axel Bachmann of Paraguay, Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan, Eduardo Itturizaga of Venezuela, Hatim Al-Hadarani of Yemen and Gupta sharing the honours with a perfect score.

Indian Grandmasters -- M R Lalith Babu, Debashish Das, M Shyam Sundar -- and International Master Diptayan Ghosh are among those who have 2.5 points and this list is topped by highest ranked Anton Korobov of Ukraine.

In all there are 18 players sharing the seventh spot on 2.5 points each and they are followed by a pack of 43 hopefuls, including Sahaj Grover with two points apiece.

Gupta played a fine game to beat Grover from the white side of a Queen's Indian defense. Grover tempted Gupta in to an exchange sacrifice that was hard to judge and the latter took the bait to reach a tense endgame.

The right defense would have yielded a draw but Grover could not find it with his clock ticking away and ended up losing a handful of pawns that proved decisive.

After a sedate start, Lalith Babu came back in reckoning after scoring over Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakshtan. The Nimzo Indian defense by Lalith Babu came good as he won queen in a favourable position against two rooks.

While Saduakassova tried to work her counter play, the damage was done as Queen and Knight proved to be a lethal combination. The game lasted 52 moves.

Among other Indians in the fray, Debashish put up a perfect defense to hold higher ranked Csaba Balogh of Hungary in a long drawn endgame. Das was down a knight but his two pawns kept him in contention and some fine calculations towards the end saved the day.

Ghosh also did well to hold Russian GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov to a draw. -- PTI

Important and Indian results of Round 3 (Indians unless specified): Ante Brkic (Cro, 2.5) drew with Anton Korobov (Ukr, 2.5); Pavel Kotsur (Kaz, 2) lost to Romain Edouard (Fra, 3); Debashis Das (2.5) drew with Csaba Balogh (Hun, 2.5); Anuar Ismagambetov (Kaz, 3) beat Amin Bassem (Egy, 2); Eduardo Iturrizaga (Ven, 3) beat Pontus Carlsson (Swe, 2); Abhijeet Gupta (3) beat Sahaj Grover (2); Diptayan Ghosh (2.5) drew with Aleksandr Rakhmanov (Rus, 2.5); Axel Bachmann (Par, 3) beat V Karthik (2); Al-Hadarani Hatim (Yem, 3) beat Rinat Jumabayev (Kaz, 2); Viorel Iordachescu (Mda, 2.5) beat S Ravi Teja (1.5); Dinara Saduakassova (Kaz, 1.5) lost to M R Lalith Babu (2.5); Ziaur Rahman (Ban, 2.5) beat Prince Bajaj (1.5); Nimmy George (1.5) lost to Adrien Demuth (Fra, 2.5); Ashwin Jayaram (2) beat Nishant Malhotra (1); Swapnil Dhopade (2) beat Marvin Marcos (Phi, 1); Siva Mahadevan (1) lost to Amirreza Pourramezanali (Iri, 2); Sayantan Das (2) beat Alattar Rakan (Jor, 1); Harshal Shahi (2) beat C R G Krishna (3); Abhishek Kelkar (1.5) drew with Sultan Ibrahim (Uae, 1.5); Aniruddha Deshpande (2) beat Hamed Mohamed (Sud, 1); Ahmed Fareed (Uae, 1.5) drew with N Raghavi (1.5); Harikrishnan Samyuktha (1.5) drew with E Momeni (Iri, 1.5); Ivana Maria Furtado (1.5) beat Guliyev Gasan Alipasha (Aze, 0.5); Pratyusha Bodda (1) drew with Assaubayeva Bibissara (Kaz, 1); Akshay Halagannavar (1) beat Ahmed Al Khatib (Jor, 0).

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Dubai Chess R2: Abhijeet in Joint Lead

Dubai Chess Open 2014: Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta continued with his winning ways as he defeated Nezad Husein Aziz of Qatar to remain in joint lead with two points after the end of the second round of Dubai International Open chess tournament on Wednesday. 

 

GM Abhijeet Gupta with black versus IM Nezad of Qatar. Jobannie Tabada of the Philippines looks on.

On what turned out to be a tough day, Gupta had to sweat it out with his black pieces against Aziz who had done a good home work. The Grunfeld defense met with an opening surprise and the Indian had his back to the wall and only some deft defense allowed him to stay in the game.

Aziz missed his chances when the endgame arrived and allowed counterplay when he could have avoided that. Gupta, from a pawn less, came up with an extra pawn when the dust subsided and the rest was easy.

Young Indian V Karthik stole the honours in the second round while Siva Mahadevan came out with another fine performance. Karthik defeated Athanasios Mastrovasilis of Greece with white pieces showing depth of understanding in the endgame while Mahadevan drew with Gawain Jones of England in a game with wild complexities.

Another good result was achieved by Prince Bajaj who got a half point against higher ranked Grandmaster Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova.

With seven rounds still to come in the $50000 prize money tournament, as many as 27 players remain in joint lead with a perfect score.

Apart from Gupta, Grandmasters Debashish Das, M Shyam Sundar and Sahaj Grover are among the pack of leaders and other Indians enjoying a clean slate are Karthik and Diptayan Ghosh.

Karthik showed his endgame skills against Mastrovasilis out of a Ruy Lopez opening as white. The Brayer variation by the Greek Grandmaster gave Karthik a small advantage and he posted his knight on the sixth rank to cause the damage once the queens got traded.

Mastrovasilis could only watch as the Knight created havoc and won a couple of pawns without any compensation. The game lasted 58 moves.

Among other Indians in the fray, Sahaj Grover had an easy outing against Swede Gustav Halvarsson. The Four Knights opening by Grover as white led simplifications giving Grover a huge positional advantage and he won a piece with simple play. The game was dragged on but Grover gave no chances. -- PTI

Important and Indian results Round 2 (Indians unless specified): Anton Korobov (Ukr, 2) beat Jahongir Vakhidov (Uzb, 1); Gudmundur Kjartansson (Isl , 1.5) drew with Vladimir Akopian (Arm, 1.5); Romain Edouard (Fra, 2) beat Ashwin Jayaram (1); Constantin Lupulescu (Rou, 2) beat Swapnil Dhopade (1); Csaba Balogh (Hun, 2) beat Sayantan Das (1); Nezad Husein Aziz (Qat, 1) lost to Abhijeet Gupta (2); C R G Krishna (1) lost to Stevic Hrvoje (Cro, 2); Prince Bajaj (1) drew with Viorel Iordachescu (Mda, 1.5); Rinat Jumabayev (Kaz, 2) beat Abhishek Kelkar (1); Alojzije Jankovic (Cro, 2) beat Aniruddha Deshpande (1); V Karthik (2) beat Athanasios Mastrovasilis (Gre, 1); Debashis Das (2) beat Turar (Kaz, 1); Alshaeby Boshra (Jor, 1) lost to Diptayan Ghosh (2); Nandu Gagarin (1) lost to M Shyam Sundar (2); Sahaj Grover (2) beat Gustav Halvarsson (Swe, 1); Gawain Jones (Eng, 1) drew with Siva Mahadevan (1); M R Lalith Babu (1.5) beat Alipasha Guliyev Gasan (Aze, 0.5); S Ravi Teja beat Tarek Altaher Salman (Uae, 0.5); Niusha Afshar (Iri, 0.5) drew with Ivana Maria Furtado (0.5); Rafee Mohd Hayel (Syr, 0.5) drew with Pratyusha Bodda (0.5); Nishant Malhotra (1) beat AkshayHalagannavar (0); Elnaami Hashem (Lba, 0) lost to Nimmy George (1); Abdulla Al-Hamed (0) lost to Harshal Shahi (Uae, 1).

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