4/14/2019 – The 21st Dubai Open witnessed one of the closest finishes that you would see at an open tournament. After nine rounds we had eight players on the same score of 7.0/9. Buchholz was the tiebreak and based on it Maxim Matlakov from Russia finished first and took home USD $13,000 along with the glittering Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup. Other players on 7.0/9 were 14-year-old prodigy Abdusattorov Nodirbek, Le Quang Liem, Yuriy Kuzubov, Eduardo Iturrizaga, Sanal Vahap, Aleksandar Indjic and P. Iniyan. A detailed report from Dubai by NIKLESH JAIN.

4/6/2019 – The Dubai Open has been a source of excellent opportunities for players all across the world to play in a strong open event for 21 years now. Some of the readers may remember Magnus Carlsen getting his final GM norm at one of the earlier editions of this event in 2004. This year we have 163 players with some exciting talents. After four rounds we have two leaders with a perfect 4.0/4: IM Raghunandan KS (2370) and GM Aleksandar Indjic. NIKLESH JAIN, who is present at the venue, brings you detailed report.

4/4/2019 – Wang Hao had been unstoppable in the last couple of tournaments that he played, but at the Sharjah Masters, as the top seed, he had to settle for the second prize. It was Russian Ernesto Inarkiev who took home the winner's cheque of USD $15,000, after a seven way tie at the top. Inarkiev led the tournament right from the start and hence he was the deserving winner. Niklesh Jain sends us an illustrated report from the venue.

3/25/2019 – The Sharjah Masters 2019 is one of the strongest open tournaments in the world. With a total prize fund of $60,000 and the first prize of $15,000, they have been able to attract some of the strongest GMs in the world. There are 35 GMs and 35 IM taking part in this tournament. After three rounds we have five leaders: 14-year-old Nihal Sarin, Alexander Fier, Ernesto Inarkiev, Le Quang Liem and Eduardo Iturrizaga. Niklesh Jain is at the venue and sends us a detailed report.

6/12/2018 – In the first part of our interview with Ju Wenjun we spoke about her World Championship match against Tan Zhongyi. In the second part of the interview, we have much more general questions to ask her. What is a normal day like in the life of Ju Wenjun, what does she think about the World Championship format, what's her opinion about Hou Yifan not playing women's chess and who is the male player she would like to play a match against. Interview of the 17th Women's World Champion by Niklesh Jain and Angela Franco.

6/11/2018 – In May, Ju Wenjun played a fine match against Tan Zhongyi to become the Women's World Champion. She took the lead early on in the match and never let it go. Immediately after the World Championship, Ju Wenjun went to play the Chinese league. Niklesh Jain and Angela Franco sent a few questions to the World Champion and she was kind enough to share her thoughts on the match and much more. | Photo: Gu Xiaobing / china2018.fide.com

3/1/2018 – In the final round of the Aeroflot Open, Belarusian GM Vladislav Kovalev secured a comfortable draw against GM Gabriel Sargissian to clinch the title prize. With his full point lead over the rest of the field, it was no surprise that Kovalev settled for peace just 15 moves into the game. Decisive games were seen on boards four and five where SP Sethuraman and Dmitry Gordievsky defeated Victor Bologan and Amin Tabatabaei respectively. Both were tied for second with a score of 6½ / 9 but Sethuraman, due to a better tiebreak, took the higher spot on the leaderboard. | Pictured: Top three finishers in Group A: (L to R) SP Sethuraman, Vladislav Kovalev & Dmitry Gordievsky | Photo: Niklesh Jain

2/28/2018 – In the penultimate round of the Aeroflot Open, Vladislav Kovalev put himself in sole lead after defeating his co-leader, IM Amin Tabatabaei. With this win, the Belarusian GM has made himself a clear favourite to win the event with a full point lead over his nearest rival. But a league of 9 players will be rooting for his opponent in the final round and if Kovalev loses his final game, as many as five players could catch up with him for shared first. Round 8 report.

2/27/2018 – Amin Tabatabaei might have had a bad start to the tournament but ever since his first round loss to IM Eesha Karavade, the teenaged International Master from Iran has been on the rise. Scoring four wins in a row, he is now jointly leading the event with besides having scored a GM norm with two rounds to spare. With just two rounds to go, this young IM is definitely someone to watch out for. | Photo: Niklesh Jain

2/26/2018 – The sixth round of the Aeroflot Open was tactics galore. While Vladimir Fedoseev went for broke to rip open his opponent's king in his game against IM Amin Tabatabaei, Krishnan Sasikiran caught Aryan Tari's king in a mating net after the latter gave up a piece for three pawns. Besides, the tournament saw yet another leader dethroned as Kovaleyev defeated Artemiev on the top board to take the sole lead himself. An illustrated report.

2/25/2018 – The Aeroflot Open 2018 has passed the half-way mark, and Russia's talented young grandmaster Artemiev Vladislav is now the only player with 4½ points at the top of the table. On Saturday, he showed his class to outplay the experienced Moldavian, Victor Bologan, taking advantage of small inaccuracies to convert the full point. It will be exciting to see if Fedoseev, Vidit and Andreikin can make a comeback in the second half of the event. | Photo: Niklesh Jain

2/23/2018 – The A group of Aeroflot Open is one of the most keenly contested open tournaments out there. There are 32 GMs above the rating of 2600 and all of them are vying for the top spot which not only earns them a hefty prize fund, but also a chance to play in the Dortmund super tournament. After three rounds we have only two players on 100% score Viktor Bologan and Tigran Petrosian. Bologan's victory over Korobov was a beautiful game and it is analyzed in great depth in this report. ChessBase India's Niklesh Jain brings you all the updates from Hotel Cosmos in Moscow.

12/8/2017 – Magnus Carlsen single handedly uplifted the chess culture in Norway when the 22-year-old became the World Champion in Chennai in 2013. Thanks to Magnus' achievements a major chess boom has been witnessed in Norway. One of the players who is a product of this boom is GM Aryan Tari, just 18 years old, who has already broken into 2600, and recently won the World Junior Championship. ChessBase India caught up with the young achiever for an interview on his fantastic achievement. | Photo: Regani CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

6/26/2017 – The third and final part of Ramesh's interview with ChessBase India by Niklesh Jain. In this section coach R.B. Ramesh talks about how ChessBase India has made a positive impact in Indian chess, the most memorable and hilarious moments of his life, how fitness is important for chess players and the correct approach of how the children should be taught chess. Ramesh also talks about his hobbies, family and in the end he signs off by singing a wonderful Hindi song! 23 minutes of video and entire transcript.

5/10/2017 – Indian chess is growing at a fervent pace thanks to some of the best chess minds in our country. One of them is India's super coach GM R.B. Ramesh. In the second part of his interview he speaks about the mindset that trainers and parents must have, how to make chess more popular, why having a super tournament in India is important and much more.

3/14/2017 – GM Anish Giri called him the Master Shifu of the Indian team at the Olympiad. There is absolutely no doubt that R.B. Ramesh and his chess Gurukul have transformed the chess scene in India drastically. Ranging from superb performances at the Olympiad, to clean sweeps at the World Youth, to the creation of super talents like R. Praggnanandhaa, R.B.Ramesh has played a huge role. Here is a candid interview with the foremost coach in Indian chess by Niklesh Jain.

1/17/2017 – Ju Wenjun won the tournament in Khanty Mansiysk and with it the overall women's Grand Prix as well. This gives her the right to challenge the World Championship winner in Tehran 2017. ChessBase India's Niklesh Jain got in touch with the women's world number two and asked her questions, not only about her Grand Prix victory, but also about the hijab controversy, Hou Yifan's decision to pull out of the cycle and her personal ambitions in chess.

11/12/2015 – In 1988 Vishy Anand became India's first grandmaster. Now, 27 years later, India has 39 grandmasters and at the World Youth Chess Championship in Porto Carras that just ended, India won more medals than any other nation. This chess boom relies on chess teachers like Niklesh Jain who again and again have new ideas to teach children the game.