The 2022 Junior Speed Chess Championship that kicked off on 31st March is all set to showcase the brilliance of the radiant stars under 20 in the world of chess. The qualifier rounds took off on March 31 as the prime event and the finals are scheduled for April 11 and May 13 respectively.
Chennai is all set to welcome the international chess community to its sunny settings this July. The city will host the 2022 FIDE Chess Olympiad scheduled between 26th July and 8th August. The decision came from the council members of FIDE who favoured the city for its annual event this year.
The black and white squares with the line-up of miniature battalions have always been the object of artistic curiosity and expression. Exceptional designs and experiments have been part of chessboard innovations. The luminous chessboard, the chessboard with a robotic player, three-dimensional chess pieces, and the digital chessboard are some of the futuristic additions to the brainy sport’s battleground. For the quirkier lot there’s even an edible version of the board game!
Magnus Carlsen has etched his name in gold once again! The 6th game of the world championship match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen spilled over midnight as Carlsen sealed his dominance as the World Champion. Held in Dubai, the match reflected Carlsen's patience over 136 moves. The inspiring victory took 7 hours and 45 minutes. First time in history, Game 6 became the longest game of the world championship carrying a legacy of 135 years.
The pandemic-induced popularity of online chess, surplused by the highly popular Netflix series Queen's Gambit has turned a never-before spotlight on the elite sport. Back home, the streaming sessions by influencers like International Master Sagar Shah and stand-up comedian cum chess enthusiast Samay Raina have further brought Indian youth closer to the good old board game and its intricate gaming techniques.
The chess world celebrated the International Chess Day on the 20th of July. With the newfound glamour and attention the sport received during the past year thanks to the online boom and Netflix’s Queen's Gambit, netizens over the globe hit the social media with chess quotes, funny memes, greetings and messages.
It was a Moment de Gloire for the Netherlands as it got to witness the face-off between two of its brilliant talents at the grand finals of the Tata Steel Chess 2021 at Wijk aan Zee. For the Dutch soil, it ain’t new to celebrate chess.
With grandmasters like Max Euwe, Jim Timman, and the current No.1 Anish Giri, chess is prestigious for the ‘Netherlanders’ which is all the more accentuated by a new wave of “urban chess”. An innovative initiative by Jesus Medina is opening the Dutch schaakwereld (chess world) to urban public spaces in the Netherlands.
The new Julius Baer Challengers Chess that kicked off on April 8 2021 gave India a goosebump as its young prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the maiden event title with eight wins in a row.
Praggnanandhaa isn’t a new name for India or even the chess world to get excited over. The 15 year old prodigy from Chennai has already been rated as “another Anand in the making” by the chess kingdom.
As the pandemic has propelled online chess to newer heights, so has it fuelled cheating online in the game. The latest rumour concerns FIDE’s online University Tournament where 19 players got disqualified including the winner, a former women’s champion from Ukraine.
Thanks to the new Julius Baer Challenger’s Chess Tour from the Play Magnus Group, Women’s chess is getting a much-needed and delayed facelift. With Judit Polgar – a powerful female name in the chessworld - at the helm (along with ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik), the best of the young female talents is sure to emerge out of the mist in 2021.
