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Kanpur (27 Feb 22) :- IM Koustav Chatterjee of West Bengal continued his impressive show and downed fourth seed and two time national champion Karthikeyan Murali in the fifth round of the ongoing  MPL 58^th Senior National Chess Championship here Ganges Club here on Sunday.

Playing black side of Steinitz Defence of Ruy Lopez opening, Koustav sacrificed his rook for bishop and pawn on 39^th move to garner full point against his fancied rival after 20 more moves. Earlier in the fourth round Koustav stunned fifth seed Sethuraman while in the third round he held top seed B Adhiban.

In other important fifth round encounters, former champion Grandmaster Lalith Babu M R of PSPB defeated Grandmaster Aryan Chopra of Delhi while much anticipated top board battle between young Grandmasters D Gukesh of Tamil Nadu and Arjun Erigaisi of Telangana ended in peace treaty after 46 moves arrived out of Semi Slav- Botvinnik System.

At the end of fifth round matches, second Arjun Erigaisi along with D Gukesh (photo above), Lalith Babu M R, Koustav Chatterjee and Commonwealth champion Abhijeet Gupta, who beat International Master Aditya Mittal are sharing the lead with four and half points. A pack of 14 players including top seed A Adhiban are now trailing behind the leaders with a drift of half point.

Earlier the fifth-round matches were inaugurated by Shri Satyadev Pachauri, Member of Parliament in presence of Dr Sanjay Kapoor, President All India Chess Federation. The sixth round matches of this eleven Swiss System tournament sponsored MPL Sports Foundation will be played on Monday morning.

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA—Laguna Heroes scored twin victory in the 2nd season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All Filipino Conference online chess tournament held at Chess.com Platform Saturday night, February 26, 2022.
The defending champion  toppled Cagayan De Oro-Misamis Oriental Chess Association , 12-9 before surpassing Camarines Soaring Eagle, 12-9.
The team backed up by KALARO, Greatech Philippines, Inc., SDC Global Choice, Jolly Smile Dental Clinic and Rotary Club of Nuvali still ranks third of the Northern Division with 17 wins and four loses.
Against Camarines Soaring Eagle, the foursome of GM Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla Jr. (Board 1), FM Austin Jacob Literatus (Board 2), IM Angelo Young (Board 4) and Richie Jocson (Board 6) orchestrated Laguna’s 5-2 win in the blitz contest.
Barcenilla, a two-time Asian Junior Champion, defeated IM Idelfonso Datu in 53 moves of King’s Indian Defense, Literatus trounced Walt Allen Talan in 37 moves of Benko Gambit Opening, Young dismantled NM Carlo Lorena in 34 moves of Double Finachetto Opening while Jocson subdued Coelleir Graspela in 53 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening.
Board 3 Michella Concio drew with Virgenie Ruaya while Board 5 Vince Angelo Medina split the point with National Master Ronald Llavanes.
Board 7 Virgen Gil Ruaya provided the full point for Camarines after beating Apollo Agapay.
The rapid game between Laguna and Camarines ended in a 7-all deadlock.
“We got a hard-earned victory against Cagayan de Oro and Camarines. It was another lucky win. I am happy that GM Banjo Barcenilla, FM AJ Literatus, IM Angelo Young and Richie Jocson delivered the needed points, ” said Arena GM Dr. Fred Paez, one of the four co-team owners of the Laguna Heroes that include Mr. David Nithyananthan of KALARO, Engr. Benjamin Dy of SDC Global Choice and Engr. Jonathan Mamaril of Oregon, USA.
“I’m happy and honored to play for the Laguna heroes. Its always a great feeling winning my games ,but what is greater is the team winning the match,” added Young, an 8-time Illinois USA Champion.
Still leader in the Northern Division is the Pasig City Kings Pirates  (20-1) as well Iloilo Kisela Knights (19-2) lording the Southern Division.
PCAP, the country’s first and only play-for-pay chess league, is headed by Atty. Paul Elauria as President-Commissioner; Michael Angelo Ong Chua as Chairman; Dr. Ariel Potot as Vice Chairman and Atty. Arnel Batungbakal as Treasurer.
The tournament is sanctioned by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), headed by Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra, and supported by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), led by Chairman/President Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr.

Koustav holds top seed Adhiban

Kanpur (26 Feb 22) :- International Master Koustav Chatterjee of West Bengal held top seed Grandmaster B Adhiban of PSPB to a creditable draw in the third round of the ongoing MPL 58^th Senior National Chess Championship here at Ganges Club on Saturday.

Playing white side of the English Opening, Adhiban agreed to sign the peace treaty with his West Bengal opponent after 73 moves in an opposite colour bishop and rook ending. Meanwhile second seed Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi of Telangana beat International Master Sayantan Das of Railways to occupy the pole position of the point table along with Grandmasters Abhijeet Gupta of PSPB, D Gukesh of Tamil Nadu, Aryan Chopra of Delhi, Harsha Bharathakoti of Telangana, International Master Ravi Teja of Railways, Utsab Chatterjee and Anustoop Biswas of West Bengal with perfect score of three points.

Gupta defeated P Shyaamnikhil of Railways while Gueksh, Aryan and Harsha accounted for Sammed Jaykumar Shete of Maharashtra, Anuj Shrivatri of Madhya Pradesh and Harshad S of Tamil Nadu respectively. Ravi Teja outwitted Suyog Wagh of Maharashtra. Utsab and Anustoop stunned Grandmasters Swapnil Dhopade and Visakh N R of Railways to join top of the point table.

Former champions Karthikeyan Murali, Sethuraman S P, Lalith Babu M R and defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram satisfied with half points in their third-round outing against RR Laxman, Srijit Paul, Srihari L R and Shahil Dey respectively.

Mayor of Kanpur Smt Pramila Pandey inaugurated the third round matches of this 30 lakh prize money championship sponsored by MPL Sports Foundation. Earlier in the second round, Jeet Jain of Gujarat held Grandmaster Abhimanyu Puranik while Grandmaster P Iniyan suffered a shock defeat by the hands of Suyog Wagh of Maharashtra.

The fourth round matches are in progress at the time of report

Important Results (Round-3) :- GM Adhiban B of PSPB (2.5) drew with IM Koustav Chatterjee of West Bengal (2.5); IM Sayantan Das of Railways (2) lost to Arjun Erigaisi of Telangana (3); GM Abhijeet Gupta of PSPB (3) beat IM Shyaamnikhil P of Railways (2); GM Laxman RR of Railways (2.5) drew with GM Karthikeyan Murali of PSPB (2.5); GM Sethuraman SP of PSPB (2.5) drew with IM Srijit Paul of West Bengal (2.5); GM Gukesh D of Tamil Nadu (3) beat IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete (2); IM Shahil Dey of Assam (2.5) drew with GM Aravindh Chithamabram of Tamil Nadu (2.5); GM Aryan Chopra of Delhi (3) beat IM Anuj Shrivatri of Madhya Pradesh (2); IM Srihari L R of Tami Nadu (2.5) drew with GM Lalith Babu M R of PSPB (2.5); Ritviz Parab of Goa (2.5) drew with GM Mitrabha Guha of West Bengal (2.5); FM Harshad S of Tamil Nadu (2) lost to GM Harsha Bharathakoti (3); GM Swapnil Dhopade of Railways (2) lost to Utsab Chatterjee of West Bengal (3); IM Ratnakaran K of Railways (2.5) drew with IM Aditya Mittal of Maharashtra (2.5); FM Jain Kashish Manoj of Maharashtra (2.5) drew with IM Aronyak Ghosh of West Bengal (2.5); Ravi Teja S (3) beat FM Suyog Wagh of Maharashtra (2); GM Visakh N R of Railways (1.5) lost to Anustoop Biswas of West Bengal (3); Anadkat Kartavya of Gujarat (1.5) lost to GM Abhimanyu Puranik of Maharashtra (2.5); GM Sankalp Gupta of Maharashtra (2) drew with IM Saravana Krishnan P of Tamil Nadu (2); Jeet Jain of Gujarat (1.5) lost to GM Deep Sengupta of PSPB (2.5); IM Manish Anto Cristiano of Tamil Nadu (1.5) lost to GM Deepan Chakkravarthy of Railways (2.5).

Round – 2 :- Sai Agni Jeevitesh lost to Adhiban B; Arjun Erigaisi beat Ayush Sharma; Sharan Rao lost to Abhijeet Gupta; Karthikeyan Murali beat Niranjan Navalgund; Rahul Sangma lost to Sethuraman S P; Abhimanyu Puranik drew with Jeet Jain; Ayushh Ravikumar lost to Gukesh D; Aravindh Chithambaram beat Aaryan Varshney; Mohamed Anees lost to Aryan Chopra; Lalith Babu M R beat Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri; Deep Sengupta drew with Anadkat Kartavya; Ravi T S drew with Visakh N R; Deepan Chakkravarthy drew with Aradhya Garg; Suyog Wagh beat Iniyan P; Mitrabha Guha beat Soham Kamotra.

Adhiban gets top billing in MPL 58^th Senior National Chess Championship

Kanpur (24 February 2022) :- Former champion Grandmaster B Adhiban of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board has been handed the top billing in a strong field which included young sensation Arjun Erigaisi in the 58^th edition of Senior National Chess Championship sponsored by MPL Sports Foundation starting on Friday here.

184 players from across the country including 23 Grandmasters and 30 International Masters, will be seen in action in the one-week long tournament, formerly known as National Premier Chess Championship.

Commonwealth champion Abhijeet Gupta, former national champions Karthikeyan Murali, Sethuraman S P, Lalith Babu M R, defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram, young talents Gukesh D, Abhimanyu Puranik and Aryan Chopra are the other top players taking part in the event to be held at Ganges Club, Kanpur.

The championship will be conducted under Swiss System with 11 rounds with a time control of 90 Minutes with 30 second increment from move 1. After roping in MPL Sports Foundation as official sponsor for all the national championships, AICF increased the prize fund of all nationals substantially and top ten players in the event will be awarded with cash prizes amounting to thirty lakh rupees out of which six lakh is reserved for the winner as well as the winner will get a bonus of 25 points while deciding the Indian team for the World Chess Olympiad and Asian Games which are scheduled later this year.

All India Chess Federation National Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan while addressing the press conference at the Ganges Club, the venue of the National Championship said that the way we have developed and taken steps to reach at the district and state level competitions, we are trying to make chess even more popular throughout the country. The All India Chess Federation is searching for talent in Chess through the ‘Chess in Schools’ program. AICF is confident that promising players will come forward and bring laurels to the country. In other sports Kanpur is remembered and referred, then why not in the chess field the mind game. Such competitions in cities will bring out players living in oblivion. Shri Bharat Singh said that it is not the players’ reach out to the Federation, but the Federation will reach to the players from cities, towns and villages and give them better opportunities. These same players will bring laurels to the country in the world of chess. We are interested and keen efforts are on to add the Federation’s Chess in Schools scheme to the curriculum.

Secretary of UP Chess Sports Association Shri AK Raizada stated that for the first time 23 Grand Masters, 30 International Masters are taking part in this event as well as increased prize fund are the main highlights of this edition.

Asian Chess Federation President Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan and General Secretary Hisham Al Taher sent a congratulatory letter welcoming the new president of the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation, Mr. Babur Tolbaev.

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines on behalf of FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation shall organize the 110th Internet based FIDE Arbiters Seminar by FIDE Lecturer IA.IO Casto Abundo from 25-27 February 2022.  Visit fide.com for details.

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA—Defending Champion Laguna Heroes scored back-to-back victories in the 2nd season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All Filipino Conference online chess tournament at Chess.com Platform on Saturday, February 19, 2022.
It kicked off the double header with a 12-9 victory over Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates before following it up with a 13-8 triumph over Tacloban Vikings to climb to 2nd spot in the Northern Division with a 14-3 slate, the same output of San Juan Predators.
“We got hard-earned victories tonight against the vastly-improved Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates and Tacloban Vikings. It’s really not easy to win games this 2nd season. We really have to practice hard if we want to win,” said Arena Grandmaster Dr. Fred Paez, one of the four co-team owners of the Laguna Heroes that include Mr. David Nithyananthan of KALARO, Engr. Benjamin Dy of SDC Global Choice and Engr. Jonathan Mamaril of Oregon, USA.
Against Tacloban, Laguna, backed up by KALARO, Greatech Philippines, Inc., SDC Global Choice, Jolly Smile Dental Clinic and Rotary Club of Nuvali, barely escaped in the blitz game, 4-3, behind wins by FM Austin Jacob Literatus (board 2), Michella Concio (Board 3), FMJose Efren Bagamasbad (Board 4) and Richie Jocson (Board 6).
Literatus defeated Bryle Arellano, Concio beat Athaliah Calades, Bagamasbad nipped Eladio Lim III and Jocson crushed Norman Jasper Montejo.
Laguna also showed its dominance over Tacloban in rapid event,11-3, with two-pointers each from GM Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla Jr. (Board 1), Concio, Kimuel Aaron Lorenzo (Board 5), Jocson and Apollo Agapay (Board 7).
The many-time national champion and Olympiad veteran Barcenilla dealt Jimmy Ty Jr., Concio subdued Catherine Pojas, Lorenzo outclassed Andrew Casiano, Jocson trounced Montejo and Agapay smashed Remegio Galenzoga.
Literatus drew with Arellano while Tacloban Board 4 Player Dr. Leo Lofranco upset Bagamasbad.
On February 23, Laguna will collide with Toledo City Trojans and Zamboanga Sultans.
Meanwhile, Pasig City King Pirates walloped Cagayan De Oro-Misamis Oriental Chess Association, 15-6, and Camarines Soaring Eagle, 16-5,  to remain on top in the Northern Division with a 16-1 win-loss record.
Iloilo Kisela Knights, on the other hand, lording the Southern Division with a 16-1 slate after beating Caloocan Loadmanna Knights, 12-9, and San Juan Predators, 11.5-9.5.

New Delhi (18 Feb 2022) :- The FIDE Trainers’ Seminar organized by All India Chess Federation with the support of Government of India Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and got off to a rousing start at Hotel Solitaire, Shimla on Friday.

FIDE Senior Trainer International Master Sekhar Chandra Sahoo and FIDE Trainer International Master Neeraj Mishra are the lecturers and 29 participants from nine states are taking part in this three-day seminar and examination to get their International Trainers titles from FIDE Trainers’ Commission.

Apart from Shimla, AICF under it’s Chess for Everyone project is organizing four more such seminars at Patna, Bengaluru, Guwahati and Visakhapatnam in the coming weeks for the benefit of coaches to get their Trainers’ title under the banner of International Chess Federation. FIDE Senior Trainers Grandmaster Praveen Thipsay, Grandmaster RB Ramesh and International Master Vishal Sareen are the other lecturers in this trainers’ program.

In similar lines, AICF also organizing FIDE Arbiter Seminar & Examination at Kanpur, Guwahati, Shimla, Bengaluru and Kottayam from next week onwards for National Arbiters to get their FIDE Arbiter Norms to achieve FIDE Arbiter title. FIDE Lecturers and International Arbiters R Anantharam, Dharmendra Kumar, Gopakumar Sudhakaran and Swapnil Bansod will be the Chief Lecturers in the Arbiter Seminar and they will be assisted by International Arbiters Vasanth BH, Nitin Shenvi and Paul Arokiaraj.

India is hosting three International GM events from 13 Mar to 07 Apr 22. Below is a small information on events.

1. Guwahati International: March 13-20 at Guwahati (Assam)…. Prize fund 20000 USD.
2. Delhi International March 22-29 at New Delhi… prize fund 35000 USD
3. Gujarat International March 31 to April 07 AT Ahmedabad, Gujrat. Prize fund 20000 USD

Detailed information you can find here https://aicf.in/regulations-triple-international-grandmasters-tournaments-in-march-2022/

All GMs above 2500 ELO we try to match the ticket cost upto 800 USD for 3 events or suitable conditions. We take care of all travel within India and provide full board on double sharing basis.

For IMs/WGMs/WIMs we provide suitable conditions based upon rating.

The weather at this time in India is usually pleasant and players will have a good time.

You can reach us on +91 9958030007 on whatsapp or delhiinternationalchess2014@gmail.com for quick disbursal of conditions. The number belongs to Vishal Sareen (Foreign players coordinator)

We look forward for your help to send few players from your end.

Esandi wins the Under 18 Girls while Devesh Madani of India wins the Under 10 Open

Esandi Newansa of Dharmasoka College proved that she is the best Youth Girls player when she won the highest Youth Girls event, the under 18 of the International Online Youth Chess Championships which was conducted as the part of the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Chess federation of Sri Lanka, 1972 – 2022. Esandi losing to a lower rated Nethumli Rashmitha in the very first round beat all her other 6 opponents Esha Pallie, Minudi Ranasinghe, Dulinma Rathnayake, Chanindi Attanayake, Yasasi Abeysekara all from Sri Lanka and Alaina Vincent (India) convincingly to reach 6 points out of 7 games and win the Gold Medal.

After a three way tie among Alaina Vincent, Chanindi Attanayake and Desandi Gamage Alaina won the Silver medal with the better tie breaker and Chanindi won the Bronze Medal also in the tie breaking points better than Desandi. Alaina beat Nimansa Sandanayake, Javindi Akuratiya, Oneli Weerawardena, Dulnima Rathnayake and Sayumi Gamage and lost to Yasasi Abeysekara and Esandi newansa to reach 5 points.

Chanindi beat Sinlay Thanujana, Nemindi Ramanayake, Yasasi Abeysekara, Javindi Akuratiea drew with Chanthuli De Silva and Sayumi Gamage with one lost to Esandi, the winner while Desandi losing two game very early to Minudi Ranasinghe and Chanthuli De Silva beat Punsadi Devaraja, Sanuthmi Jayalath, Rashmitha Mulleriawa, Oneli Weerawardena and Chanethma Marasinghe to reach 5 points.

Devesh Madhani of Kolkotta, India scored 8 ½ points, just giving one draw to Dinuga Basnayake to win the title convincingly. He beat all other 8 opponents Dihein Wijeratne, Okitha Kuruppuarachchi, Lasitha Lakmuthu, KG Wimalaratne, Bhagya Samaraweera, Danindu Charutha, Dewdun Senehas and Menuksha Devasurendra to reach the top being unbeaten.

Three players Nilash Kottage, Dewdun Senehas and Sanuk Nanayakkara scored 8 points each and Nilash and Dewdun won the Silver and Bronze Medals respectively on the tie breaking points. Nilash also being unbeaten beat  Yehan Weerakoon, Vinuka Wijeratne, Yesandi Wickramarachchi, Kavinu Weerathunga, Dinuga Basnayake, Anuhas Weligamage and Sasmi Sithumsa with two draws against KG Wimalarathne and Sohan Dinsara to earn the 2^nd place.

Dewdun beat Dulina Jayasinghe, Nulan Hewavitharana, Joel Fernando, Deegayu Hettiarachchi, Ethan De Hoedt, Naaditha Wijerathne, Anuhas Weligamage and Kausara Kodithuwakku, and just lost to the winner Devesh to reach 8 points with the Silver Medal. Though Sanuk also reach 8 points with wins against Aravindi Perera, Evin Cabral, Inura Bopeththa, Dinupa Dihein, Ethan De Hoedt, Oshini Gomes, Basuru Jayarathna and Sohan Dinsara and lost to Menukshan Devasurendra to score 8 points.

 

The event which is conducted by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka in under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years Open and Girls categories is in progress from 22^nd January to 13^th March 2022. A total of 246 in under 10 Open and 25 players in Under 18 girls participated in these two event. The Under 8 (Open and Girls), Under 10 open, Under 16 and 18 Girls and Under 18 Open are already over and the Under 10 Girls and Under 16 Open event will be held in the next weekend. The event is held at the Tornelo Platform with the time control of 15 minutes with 10 second increments from move 1.

 

The organizers have arranged all fair play measures to organize a clean event, All participants are closely observed with a Zoom call and no one is allowed to contact the players while playing in progress. The games are also sent for FIDE experts for checking for fair play.

 

Stay Safe! Enjoy Chess!

 

Luxman