Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Master Class Vol. 12: Viswanathan Anand
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
As more and more over-the-board tournaments are being organized worldwide, traditional European opens have also made a comeback. The Riga Technical University Festival is no exception, as it has attracted no fewer than 176 players to its main event, including 26 GMs and 24 IMs.
With 38 players representing the host country, the second-largest contingent hails from India, with 27 representatives having made their way to the Latvian capital. Moreover, the top 20 in the starting rank includes 9 Indian grandmasters, headed by Nihal Sarin (aged 17), Sethuraman S.P. (28) and Aravindh Chithambaram (21).
Nihal is the second seed in the 6-day, 9-round open tournament — German GM Alexander Donchenko is the highest-rated player in the field. While Donchenko drew in round 2 and lost his third-round game — against GM Ralf Akesson from Sweden (Elo 2395) — Nihal still has a perfect score going into round 4. The Indian prodigy is not alone atop the standings, though, as 8 other players also have a 3/3 score.
In the fourth round, Nihal will face his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi (also 17 years old), who made a strong impression at the recent Goldmoney Asian Rapid online tournament.
| Name | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name |
| Erigaisi Arjun | 3 | 3 | Nihal Sarin | |
| Pultinevicius Paulius | 3 | 3 | Narayanan.S.L | |
| Hakobyan Aram | 3 | 3 | Puranik Abhimanyu | |
| Grigorov Grigor | 3 | 3 | Smirin Ilia | |
| Kovalenko Igor | 2½ | 3 | Laurusas Tomas |
Donchenko’s loss against Akesson saw both players trading errors in a double-edged position.
This DVD emphasizes the importance of training your calculation skills. Dutch IM Robert Ris made a selection of training material which he uses in lessons with students ranging from 1400 to 2400.
The Swedish grandmaster had just blundered by playing 40.Kh1, as the king move allows 40...Ng3+ 41.hxg3 Qh3+ 42.Kg1 Qxg3+ 43.Kh1 Qxd3 and Black is winning. However, this opportunity was missed by Donchenko, who played 40...Rxb3. Moreover, after 41.Ne5, the German blundered the game away with 41...Qh4.
Klaus Besenthal annotated the game in full.
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | ||
| 1 |
|
GM | Narayanan.S.L | 2624 | 3,0 | 4,0 |
| 2 |
|
GM | Hakobyan Aram | 2612 | 3,0 | 4,0 |
| 3 |
|
GM | Smirin Ilia | 2610 | 3,0 | 4,0 |
| 4 |
|
GM | Puranik Abhimanyu | 2580 | 3,0 | 4,0 |
| 5 |
|
GM | Erigaisi Arjun | 2597 | 3,0 | 4,0 |
| 6 |
|
IM | Laurusas Tomas | 2549 | 3,0 | 4,0 |
| 7 |
|
GM | Nihal Sarin | 2655 | 3,0 | 3,5 |
| 8 |
|
GM | Pultinevicius Paulius | 2528 | 3,0 | 3,5 |
| 9 |
|
GM | Grigorov Grigor | 2507 | 3,0 | 3,5 |
| 10 |
|
GM | Kovalenko Igor | 2644 | 2,5 | 4,5 |
| 11 |
|
Kretainis Kristaps | 2192 | 2,5 | 4,0 | |
| 12 |
|
GM | Akesson Ralf | 2395 | 2,5 | 4,0 |
| 13 |
|
GM | Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. | 2641 | 2,5 | 4,0 |
| 14 |
|
IM | Vignesh N R | 2428 | 2,5 | 4,0 |
| 15 |
|
GM | Ivic Velimir | 2571 | 2,5 | 3,5 |
| 16 |
|
IM | Arjun Kalyan | 2503 | 2,5 | 3,5 |
| 17 |
|
IM | Pavlov Sergey | 2481 | 2,5 | 3,5 |
| 18 |
|
GM | Visakh N R | 2516 | 2,5 | 3,5 |
| 19 |
|
GM | Sanal Vahap | 2557 | 2,5 | 3,0 |
| 20 |
|
IM | Ioannidis Evgenios | 2422 | 2,5 | 3,0 |
