It was a game which became an obsession so consuming that it wrecked the personal and political lives of two noblemen in Munshi Premchand’s short story set in the Indian kingdom of Awadh which Satyajit Ray brilliantly brought to life on celluloid in his film ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’. Chess, or chaturanga as it was known in the ancient times is more than just a mind game. On a metaphorical level chess can capture the power of the human mind and imagination like no other.
Ancient origins of chess remain obscure though there is fair consensus on the claim that it emerged from Persia. Around the 9th century it began its spread towards Europe and by the time the 15th century closed, chess as we know it today had pretty much emerged. In the five subsequent centuries, chess as a game became more and more organised culminating in the establishment of FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) in 1924 which helped it emerge as a professional sport. Initially the Soviet Union, for whom chess and politics would always be intricately strung, refused to join but after the incumbent world champion Alexander Alekhine died in 1946 and with FIDE organising the World Championship to find the replacement, it relented. The new champion was Mikhail Botvinnik who heralded an assembly line of Soviet champions in the sport including the most recognisable ones - Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov.

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VISWANATHAN ANAND'S way to the world crown began in l975. Much of the way he followed from the time he became the Asian Junior Champion in 1984 and the World Junior Champion in l987, is remembered. But few recall how Madras laid the foundations for Anand's march to the top but also for the city becoming the chess capital of India.
Solar K. S. Subramanya Iyer of the Ramani Press in Mylapore and the Chennapuri Andhra Maha Sabha, by the Town Hall (the Victoria Public Hall) in Park Town, may have been the chief centres of the game in the l930s and 40s, but while both tried to increase the numbers playing in their premises, there was little effort to develop it as a major competitive sport. That effectively began with the emergence of one Madras player who was to dominate the Indian chess scene in the Fifties and Sixties. Today, 65-year old Manuel Aaron, nine times National Champion and India's first International Master in l96l, is less known in the wider world than his son Arvind Aaron, who has covered extensively in print Anand's exploits during the last few years. It was the Burma- born, Indian Bank-employed Aaron Senior's achievements that particularly caught the attention of chess fans and his Inter- Zonal match against Purdy of Australia that inspired a generation of chess players in Madras.

Anurag Mhamal is the latest chess sensation of Goa, having won the state championship in 2007. A young lad of barely 12 years, he had achieved much in chess at this young age
Having had an attacking approach to the game right from an early age, he has gained many admirers especially at the National level.
It all started when he was barely six-years-old. After watching a chess championship the young Anurag Mahamal found himself drawn towards the game. His father, a chess player himself, gave him all the encouragement and support needed to enhance his game. Anurag then went on to play in an under-7 tournament and won a medal at the first attempt. He has taken part in tournaments in almost all the age groups in Goa till date, invariably coming first or second. But it is at the nationals that he has made his mark. In the under-8 tournament held at Sangli he won the second place in 2003 and the first place in 2005. His best at the National level however remains the tenth position, which he achieved at Chennai last year.

Game one A very tense game. Topalov repeated the same variation as in the second classical game but Kramnik deviated with 14…Re8 (instead of 10…Bg6). Topalov sensed that he couldn’t play for a kingside attack anymore and play was transferred to the queenside. Veselin sacrificed the a4 pawn for a strong initiative but Kramnik was able to bail out with his excellent 36…Nc4! only move.

It was double joy for newly-crowned World champion Viswanathan Anand this week, as the Indian ace - on the back of his superb performance in Mexico City - broke the 2800 barrier again to retain his No.1 spot with the publication last Monday of the October 1st world ranking list. The latest list, produced by FIDE, the governing body of chess, not only includes Anand's results at Dortmund, but also his recent success in Mexico City. Anand, whose rating over the previous 3-months increased by 9 points to 2801, is one of a small select band of players - the others being Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov - who have broken the magical "2800 barrier".

The first chess book in English was also the first printed book of any type in English. William Caxton's Game and Playe of the Chesse was published in 1474, but it really wasn't about the game of chess; rather, it used chess as a metophor for how to live a good life.
The pawn is the lowest member of the army, but, if it can climb all the way to the far edge of the board, it may be promoted to any higher rank except the king. Anyone can work hard and get the highest rank, which is what we can learn from a pawn. French composer and chess player Philidor, in his book, 'Analyse du Jeu des Echecs (Analysis of Chess)', says: "Pawns are the soul of chess" and has an opening named after him called Philidor's Defence. In his humorous chess dictionary, American master Eliiot Hearst defined the term pawn-grabber: defensive genius.

Chess is a game for people of all ages. You can learn to play chess at any age and unlike in other sports you need never retire. The age is not a factor which prevents you from playing with any opponent. You can play players of any level - against those who are better or equal or weaker. Chess is for those people who have an interest in learning and tactics.
Chess Improves your Memory
The theory of the chess is complicated and many players memorize long variants of the openings of various games. Also you get to train your mind to visually recall the various positions in each game, developing your mind.

If you are a beginner or a good player who wants to further improve your game i would recommend you to have a look at this website. A Field Guide to Chess Tactics is a good web based chess learning site where you can review or practice some of the tactics most commonly used in chess.
You will get a good idea of the various tactics employed by chess players and the various hidden attacks such as discovered check, poisoned pawns , pinning and en passant to name only a few.

Goa’s chess sensation Ivana Maria Furtado added yet another feather to her cap as she clinched the team championship gold as well as under-8 (special prize) gold medal at world school chess championship in Greece.
Ivana, a world champion in her age-group, now has a tally of five gold, a silver and a bronze in her kitty at international level.
Ivana’s superb feats have now earned her a place in the much-acclaimed Limca Book of Records 2007 wherein she has been described as India’s youngest world gold medallist in any sport.

It's been a long time since the last post. I will update the blog soon with latest happenings. I have been busy lately, settling down into life at Manipal.

Anand's play today was simply brilliant and deservedly is the sole leader of the tournament. A series of strong and obvious moves (24.Bg5!, 26.Rf1!, 27.Ne6!) exposed the weaknesses in Carlsen's defense. Carlsen put up quiet struggle to free the flanks but failed in his endeavor.
Ivanchuk drew against Svidler and is now placed second along with Carlsen. Topalov's bad performances in this tournament continued and he could manage only a draw against Peter Leko in a rook vs rook ending.
Thus at the end of Round 10 the Standings are as follows:

The first round of the second part Linares-Morelia International Chess Tournament concluded with draws in all games.
With draws in this round, Indian GrandMaster Viswanathan Anand and the Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen maintain their lead, with five points in the eight completed rounds.
The game between Anand and Topalov, was the most interesting game of the day with the number two and number one of the world facing each other. After nearly three hours and twenty five moves they agreed to a draw.

After the first stage of the Morelia-Linares match, Anand and Carlsen are in the lead with 4.5 points each, from the seven rounds played until now in the city of Morelia, Mexico. The second stage will be played in Linares, Spain, from 3rd March.
Anand won with black against Leko in the seventh round while Carlsen could only manage a draw with black against Svidler. Nevertheless, the youthful Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, of 16 years, has been the great figure of the match,consolidating his position in the elite category of chess players.

For recording the games the FIDE rules recognise two systems of notation, namely, the Algebraic notation and the Descriptive notation.
THE ALGEBRAIC NOTATION
Here, the pieces, with the exception of the pawns are represented by their initial letters (the knight generally with 'N'). The pawns are not mentioned.
The eight files from the left to right of White are represented by the letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h. The eight ranks from White's side of the board are numbered: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The combination of letters and figures can now designate every squ are on the board. For example, White's queen rook's square will be "a1" and Black's king rook's square "h8".

The 1st ACP (Association of Professional Chess Players), Rapid chess tournament took place at Odessa, one of the most important cities of Ukraine, from the 4th to 8th of this month. Although some of the sheen of this tournament was lost due to the absence of the 3 top most players, Topalov(former World Champion) , Anand (a specialist in rapid games) and Kramnik (the present World Champion) ; the quality of play from the rest of the participants was excellent.
Of the 16 participants, Grand Masters Ivanchuk, Morozevich, Gelfand, Leko stood out as the favourites to win, so also was the fiery Grand Master Shirov. The young brigade was led by Radjabov , Nakamura , and India’s own Pentala Harikrishna.

Giant chess pieces carved from ice sit on a chessboard in Trafalgar Square in central London on Wednesday. A live chess game was held between London and Moscow to launch the London Russian Winter Festival which is on Saturday.

The first Grand Slam tournament in tennis, The Austalian Open begins on the 15th of this month. All Indians must be eagerly awaiting the moment when Sania Mirza blasts her way through the early rounds and hopefully go farther than any Indian women in tennis history. But most of us would not know that there is another sport in which an Indian would be participating this month with a very good chance of capturing the crown.
I am talking bout the Grand Slam tournament of Chess, the Corus Chess Championship 2007 which will begin in the quaint old town of Wijk aan Zee ( A poem on this town) in Holland, beginning on the 12th. The tournament is held every year in the second week of January and it is the custom that the best chess players of the world take part in this season opener.

In what was one of the biggest stories in chess for the year 2006,Grand Master Gata Kamsky returned to the chess fold after a prolonged hibernation in the field of Medicine.
The Russian-American GM, Kamsky, returned to professional chess after almost ten years of absence. Born on the 2 of June,1974,at the cold Siberian town of Novokusnetsk, he grew up with his father Rustam, an ex-boxer who could not support himself on his sport, but now saw the possibility of becoming rich at the cost of the talent of his son. His Violent methods forced his wife to run away, making Kamsky a child without a mother. He was a young prodigy, who by the age of just 2 years knew to read and to write, and later would show to the world his great talent for music and chess, his greatest passion. At the age of 14 he moved with his father to the United States of America and became a US citizen. He rapidly progressed in the field of chess and at the tender age of 15 became a Grand Master.

In tribute to the recently deceased David Bronstein, I publish a game that marks the chess style of this great one.
The game was played in Interzonal de Petrópolis (Brazil) in 1973.

This is the voice of one of the greatest players of chess, published by BBC of London and that I found it in the
xeque.net site. Those who are interested, might take some time to listen to the voice of one of the greatest players of history.
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