Latest news with #Chess960
Al Etihad
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Under the patronage of Nahyan bin Zayed, 31st Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival to take place from August 15-24
14 Aug 2025 10:16 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the 31st Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival will take place from August 15-24, by the Abu Dhabi Chess & Mind Games Club under the supervision of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the event will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort, Abu Dhabi Corniche, with total prizes amounting to Dh 500, year's festival will have the largest number of participants in its history, with more than 3,000 players representing 82 countries – an increase of more than 500 participants compared to the previous edition – placing it among the world's leading chess festivals, surpassing many prestigious international festival will feature 27 tournaments covering various age groups and skill levels, led by the Masters Tournament, along with three new mind sports competitions: checkers, dominoes, and Chess960 (Fischer Random Chess) – a step that reflects the diversity and appeal of the activities to a broader audience of mind games Abdullah Al Khouri, Chairman of the Organising Committee, emphasised that the festival has become one of the most important events on the global chess calendar, attracting top-tier players from around the world. He stressed that this sustained success over more than three decades reflects the wise vision and continuous support of the UAE Khouri said: 'We are proud that the Abu Dhabi festival is a global platform that brings together chess champions from all continents, and we see it as an opportunity to enhance the UAE's reputation as a leading hub for sports and cultural events.'He also praised the support of Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the sponsorship of strategic partners, led by e& Group, Nirvana Holding, the Italian International School, Mohammed Rasool Khoory & Sons, Radisson Blu Hotel, and St. Regis Hotel, valuing their contributions to the success of the on the competition, Aref Hamad Al Awani, Secretary General of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, highlighted that the continuous organisation of the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival for over three decades reaffirms its status as one of the world's most prominent chess and mind sports Awani said: 'The strong turnout of elite international players and participants from all over the world reflects the trust and prestige the festival enjoys, reinforcing Abu Dhabi's role as a key destination on the global sports map." He added: "This success is the result of the unlimited support of our wise leadership and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which have enabled the festival to grow into an exceptional platform for discovering talent, honing the skills of local players, and promoting cultural and sporting exchange among nations."'I am also pleased to take this opportunity to commend the great efforts of the Abu Dhabi Chess & Mind Games Club in developing the game of chess through a range of plans, programmes, courses, and hosting initiatives which have fulfilled the club's founding mission.'At the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, we reaffirm our support for this major annual event on Abu Dhabi's sports calendar. We are proud of its global significance and its appeal to international players from across the globe, and we wish everyone success.'Faisal Ahmed Al Shihi, Festival Director, confirmed that the 31st edition of the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival continues to shine by achieving record participation numbers, with more than 3,000 players from 82 countries already confirmed. The fact that the festival has been running for 31 consecutive years is a clear testament to its success and distinction as one of the world's top chess fans can look forward to the participation of the UAE's top players, led by Imran Al Hosani – West Asia Youth Champion, Arab Youth Champion, and UAE Men's Champion –and Roza Issa Al Serkal, alongside an elite lineup of world champions in various age categories, headed by Masters Tournament top seed Sanan Sjugirov and second seed Arkadij Naiditsch. Also representing the UAE in different age categories are national champion Ammar Al Sderani, Arab Girls Champion Ahlam Rashid, Abdulrahman Al Taher, and Hamad Al matches will be broadcast live on the websites of the International, Asian, and Arab Chess Federations, allowing fans worldwide to follow the action moment by panel of international arbiters is chaired by Saeed Ahmed Al Khouri, with the participation of arbiters from the UAE, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Romania, and the Philippines. The festival also serves as a cultural and tourism showcase for Abu Dhabi, offering participating delegations the opportunity to explore the UAE capital's landmarks and cultural heritage through accompanying tourism programmes, further enhancing its status as a global destination for both sport and tourism. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Indian Express
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
When Gukesh played world's best chess streamer Gotham Chess, and destroyed him in 9 moves
Just how good are world champions in chess? One of the most popular chess streamers, Levy Rozman, who goes by the name Gotham Chess, recently found out when he played a three-minute game in the Freestyle Friday tournament against the 18-year-old phenom Gukesh Dommaraju. It must be pointed out that Freestyle Chess is something that Gukesh, who last year became the youngest world champion in chess history, struggles with. Here's how the game went. It was played in the Fischer Random format — or Chess 960 or Freestyle Chess, as it is popularly known where all four bishops were in the corners instead of the rooks, the knights were on c and g files while the rooks were on b and f files. The kings were on the d files while the queens were on the e files at the start of the game. Gukesh started by playing 1.e4 and Rozman responded with an 1…f5. 'It's interesting. I can bring my queen out now,' Rozman said on his livestream of the match, because the queen was on the e8 square. Rather than capture the pawn advanced by Rozman, Gukesh pushed his pawn one more square ahead. On the third move itself, Rozman brought his queen out, looking to attack his opponent. 'Kind of ludicrous position here. But I am going for something,' Rozman said on his stream. On the fifth move, the queen gobbled up defence-less Gukesh's h pawn and threatened to capture Gukesh's bishop too, stationed on the h1 square. What Rozman did not know was that the engine at this point was giving a massive advantage to the teenage world champion. 'I mean I'm up a pawn, bro,' Rozman said on his stream. 'It's not anything to scoff at.' The Indian teenager pushed his g pawn out, the clear a diagonal for his bishop to move. On the 8th move, Gukesh showed his cards, bringing out his knight on f4 to trap Rozman's queen. The streamer almost spat out his drink at the move, exclaiming: 'What the f***.' 'Holy! That's crazy! My queen's just trapped. Oh my God! Well I got slightly destroyed there. I can't do anything,' he added. He managed to capture the square with his pawn, only for Gukesh to reclaim it with his remaining knight. Rozman resigned right away. Later when he learnt who his opponent was, Rozman burst out laughing, saying: 'I got destroyed by Gukesh!' Here are all the nine moves of the short game: 1. e4 f5 2. e5 g5 3. d4 Qh5+ 4. Nge2 b5 5. Nd3 Qxh2 6. g3 h6 7. Bxa8 Rxa8 8. Nef4 gxf4 9. Nxf4
United News of India
20-07-2025
- Sport
- United News of India
Carlsen crushes Arjun, avenges loss to Praggnanandhaa
Las Vegas, July 20 (UNI) World number one Magnus Carlsen and number two Hikaru Nakamura will face off on Sunday in a high-voltage showdown for the third-place prize of $100,000 at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas, after both carved their way through the lower bracket with gritty and dramatic victories. The penultimate day of the tournament saw Carlsen mount a stunning comeback after an early loss, while Nakamura edged past two of his American compatriots to set up what many fans are calling the real final of the event. Carlsen began his day on the back foot, losing his opening match to India's GM R Praggnanandhaa. It was a continuation of his earlier struggles, having lost to the young Indian on the first day of the tournament as well. However, the Norwegian maestro bounced back in characteristic fashion, winning the next three games with precision and flair to take the match 3-1. His clinical execution of strategic themes and a sharp eye for tactics saw him dominate the rest of the encounter, culminating in a must-win game that was later named 'Game of the Day' for its instructive brilliance. Rejuvenated, Carlsen went on to sweep Indian prodigy GM Arjun Erigaisi 2-0 in the next round. The first game saw Carlsen dismantle Arjun's position with a timely exchange sacrifice, while the second game witnessed the Indian falling into an inferior position early on, eventually succumbing to a tactical blow that ended the match. With this, Carlsen secured his place in the third-place clash, collecting four straight wins across two must-win matches. Meanwhile, Nakamura navigated a tough path of his own. He opened with a convincing 1.5-0.5 victory over GM Wesley So. After a quiet draw in the first game, So blundered in the opening of the second, walking into a tactical net that saw his queen trapped and the game lost in just 17 moves. The critical test came in Nakamura's next match against GM Fabiano Caruana, which went all the way to tiebreaks. Caruana missed several winning chances, including a key moment in the first game where he settled for a draw despite having a significant edge. Nakamura, under heavy time pressure, survived multiple scares and capitalized on Caruana's missed opportunities in the blitz segment. In the final game, Nakamura took control early and converted his advantage smoothly, winning the match 3-1 and advancing to the third-place playoff. The much-anticipated Carlsen-Nakamura clash will headline Sunday's final day of the $750,000 tournament, with the winner walking away with $100,000 and the loser receiving $60,000. In the title match, GM Levon Aronian will face GM Hans Niemann, with $200,000 on the line for the champion and $140,000 for the runner-up. Matches for fifth and seventh place will also be held, featuring the remaining four players: Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun, and So. All games in the tournament are being played in the freestyle (Chess960) format. UNI BDN GNK
Indian Express
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
R Praggnanandhaa beats Magnus Carlsen in Las Vegas and helps his side qualify for quarterfinals
India's teen sensation Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated Norway's number one Magnus Carlsen at the Freestyle Grand Slam in Las Vegas last night. Pragg playing with white pieces has dominated the world number one throughout and helped his side to qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament. The emphatic performance from Pragg has come after a disappointing performance at the Paris leg, where he finished in ninth place. Carlsen, on the other hand, leads the overall ranking of the Grand Slam Tour as he won the earlier legs at Karlsruhe and Paris, and he finished third in Weissenhaus, Germany. However, in Vegas, things have taken a bitter turn for Carlsen as he finished only fifth and is out of this leg of the competition. Carlsen has lost back-to-back games, one against Levon Aronian in a tiebreaker and one against Pragg. Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is a series of five chess events, started by Germany's Jan Henric Buettner, which will be held in 2025 in cities like Weissenhaus, Paris, New York, New Delhi, and Cape Town. Freestyle chess is a variant of chess that was popularised by the legendary Bobby Fischer way back in 1996. It's chess with a twist. In regular chess, positions of chess pieces on the back ranks are fixed: the rooks are stationed on the corners, the knights start on the b and g files, the bishops on the c and f files. Both kings are on e file squares while the queens start on d squares. But in freestyle chess, the positions of these pieces are randomised at the start of the game, although the eight pawns in front of these pieces start where they usually do. This format is meant to promote creativity from players. The unique opening position in each game eliminates all the opening theories which players like Fischer and Carlsen say make chess very theoretic and bookish in the first phase. Players are forced to navigate uncharted territory from the first move itself rather than having the luxury of playing out the first series of moves based on preparation cooked by their team. In total, there are 960 possible starting positions on the board when the minor and major pieces at the back ranks are shuffled. It must be noted that the pieces still retain their regular characteristics in action: rooks move in straight lines, bishops cut across the board in sweeping diagonal movements, and the knights make sickle-like veering motions and retain the ability to hop over pieces. Over the years, freestyle chess has earned many names: Fischer Random Chess, Chess 9LX and Chess 960.
Spectator
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Spectator
Rapid & Blitz, Croatia
Before the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz tournament, held in Zagreb earlier this month, Magnus Carlsen spoke frankly: 'Gukesh hasn't done anything to indicate he's going to do well in such a tournament.' That was, in a sense, true. Granted, 19-year old Gukesh Dommaraju has been world champion since December, when he defeated the reigning champion Ding Liren in Singapore. But that match was played in classical chess, the slowest form of the game. Rapid games usually last 30-60 minutes in total, and blitz games less than ten. Success at those faster time limits calls for a well-honed intuition, whereas classical games require more in the way of stamina and an intense attention to detail. Gukesh has focused his efforts almost exclusively on classical chess. He skipped the World Rapid & Blitz Championships in New York in December, and almost a year had passed since he participated in internationally rated rapid or blitz events, while his performances in 'Freestyle' events (aka Chess960) have been underwhelming. But Gukesh proved in Zagreb that his skills are still developing fast. He confounded Carlsen's prediction by taking first place in the rapid event, including a turbulent win against the Norwegian himself (see below). Carlsen got revenge in the blitz event, where Gukesh finished last, so it was still Carlsen who topped the combined standings. Magnus Carlsen-Gukesh Dommaraju SuperUnited Rapid, Zagreb 2025 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Bb4 3 Nf3 Bxc3 4 dxc3 d6 5 e4 Nd7 6 Bd3 Nc5 7 Bc2 Nf6 8 Qe2 a5 9 Nd2 g6 10 Nf1 Be6 11 Bg5 h6 12 Bh4 g5 13 Bg3 Qd7 14 f3 Nh5 15 Ne3 Nf4 16 Qd2 b5 17 Nd5 Bxd5 18 cxd5 Nh5 A strange decision from Gukesh, driving the bishop to a better diagonal. Ke8-f8-g7 would have been better played immediately. 19 Bf2 Kf8 20 g3 Kg7 21 Be3 Qe7 22 Rg1 Nf6 (see above). It is a common misconception that knights are better than bishops in closed positions. That is only valid when the knights enjoy strong outposts. Here, the pawn on g3 sidelines the Nh5, while the Nc5 can be evicted at any moment by b2-b4. Nevertheless, Carlsen's next move backfires, because he has not yet brought his king to safety. Had Carlsen played 22 O-O instead of 22 Rh1-g1, his approach with b2-b4 might well have been successful. 23 b4 axb4 24 cxb4 Na4 25 Bd3 c6! Battling for the initiative, even at the cost of a pawn. 26 dxc6 d5! Forcing more lines open, since after 27 Bxb5 d4! 28 Bf2 Nc3 29 Bd3 g4! White would soon start shedding pawns. 27 exd5 Nxd5 28 a3 Rhd8 29 Rc1 Rd6 30 Bxb5 Ndc3 31 Bc5 Nxb5 32 Bxd6 Nxd6 In this murky position, White's vulnerable king is still the most significant factor. 33 Kf2 Nb6 34 Qd3 Qe6 A subtle move, introducing ideas of Qe6-a2+ and Qe6-h3, as well as bringing a knight to c4 to attack a3. 35 Rc5 35 Rge1 was probably a better choice, restraining e5-e4 but ceding the c6 pawn. After 35…Ndc4 36 Rc3 Qxc6 37 Rec1 Rc8 the game is at an impasse. e4 36 Qd4+ Kg8 37 Rd1 exf3 38 Re5 Now the game is beyond saving. 38 Rc2 was essential, in order to meet Qe6-h3 with Kf2-g1. However, Black retains the upper hand with 38…Nbc4 Qh3 39 Kxf3 Nbc4 There is no good answer to the dual threats of Nxe5+ and Rxa3+. 40 Ra5 Nxa5 41 bxa5 Qf5+ 42 Kg2 Qc2+ 43 Kg1 Nf5 44 Qd7 Ne3 45 Rd2 Qc1+ 46 Kf2 Ng4+ 47 Ke2 Ne5 48 Qe7 Nxc6 49 Qe4 Rxa5 White resigns
