8th February 2022 ended on a sweet note for world chess as veteran Russian chess grandmaster Yuri Lvovich Averbakh cut his hundredth birthday cake. Averbakh is the first chess grandmaster in history to become a centenarian. On his hundredth birthday, the grandmaster let the world know that he is fit in body, mind and spirit.
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!
St.Louis in Missouri has often topped the news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Painted in dark undertones of racial disharmony, the midwest city’s transition into the chess capital of the world is both intriguing and inspiring. Once infamous for agitations between the black and the white communities, today St.Louis is drawing a different game with black and white squares.
As curtains drew on the FIDE World Chess Championship 2021, with the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen fixing the crown stronger on his head, challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi had much to regret. It was a blunder - that slipped the game that was closing for a draw - from his hands and handed over the match to Carlsen.
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.
It was yet another stimulus for Indian teen chess as the country’s 15 year old chess prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa clinched the $12,500 worth title in the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour on 17 October 2021. While the victory helped him secure a spot in the Meltwater Champions Tour in 2022, yet another young player retained his title at the Junior Speed Chess Championship.
The year 2021 seems to have held out the jackpot for India’s young GM Arjun Erigiasi as he struck it lucky again with his impressive win at the "Tata Steel Chess India Rapid" in Nov 2021.
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.
In his 1786 essay "The Morals of Chess", Benjamin Franklin, wrote,”The game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions.”
When Netflix replaced HBO with a bang in the 2021 Emmy awards, seldom did the streaming services giant anticipate the smoke that would shroud one of its most popular shows in controversy. Mid-September, Netflix bagged as many as 44 awards in the 2021 Emmy Awards sidelining the reigning title holder HBO. The popular Netflix shows The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit grabbed the most number of awards.
