Three-minute games
The ChessBase India online series is a five-tournament event that takes place every Saturday at 20:00 IST (15:30 CET). Each tourney is a nine-round Swiss open with a time control of 3 minutes per game, without increment. Entry is free for all players, however an active ChessBase Premium subscription is mandatory to participate.
The first two contests had 191 and 225 participants, with 43 and 55 titled players respectively. Just to get a gist of how strong the events have been, the second tournament of the series included eight 2600+ players. Although most of the top seeds were Indian representatives, the top two rated participants at the inaugural event were GM Gadir Guseinov from Azerbaijan and GM Zaven Andriasian from Armenia.
With most — if not all — over-the-board official action either postponed or cancelled, this is a chance for strong players to prove their prowess against online-blitz specialists. Some of these experts online grinders left their mark in the second tournament, as three grandmasters did not even make the top-50 in the final crosstable.
The third competition will take place on April 4th, with Adhiban Baskaran (India), Rinat Jumabayev (Kazakhstan), Aravindh Chithambaram (India), Alan Pichot (Argentina) and Gukesh D (India) among the top participants.
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.

GM Diptayan Ghosh is leading the series so far | Photo: Niklesh Jain
First Saturday: "Chessworld" outscores the field
Playing online means you need to create a username. While some choose to use their names or something deriving from their names, others choose a different approach. The winner of the inaugural event, 14-year-old Praggnanandhaa, plays under the pseudonym "Chessworld1", and with it got the first place on March 21st after scoring 8 out 9 points.
Three players tied on a 7½ score, finishing in the following order according to tiebreak criteria: Diptayan Ghosh (Diptayan), S Rohit Krishna (Srohitkrishna) and Aryonak Ghosh (STRANGE).
GM Elshan Moradiabadi both participated (he finished on 7 out of 9) and wrote a report for ChessBase India. He found Pragg's key to success was his consistency, elaborating:
Praggnanandhaa’s level and class in over the board chess is well-established. However, he has not had same online presence in the past. This may be his first of many online tournament victories. His key to success was his consistent play, good time management, and practical decisions.
Highlights from Pragg's games (annotated by GM Moradiabadi)
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nf3 e6 5.0-0 a6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.a3 d6 8.b4 cxb4 9.axb4 Nxb4 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxd7+ Qxd7 12.Ba3 Nc6 13.d4 Nf6 14.d5 Ne5 15.Nxe5 dxe5 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 17.Qb1 exd5 18.exd5 Rc8 19.Qb3 Ke7 20.Na4 Qd6 21.c4 Rfd8 22.Qxb7+ Rc7 23.Qb3 Kf8 24.Rfd1 Nd7 25.Rac1 Rdc8 26.Nb2 Nc5 27.Qa3 Kg8 28.h3 h6 29.Nd3 e4 30.Nxc5 Rxc5 31.Rd4 f5 32.Qb3 Rb8 33.Qc3 a5 34.f3 exf3 35.Qxf3 Qf6 36.Rcd1 a4 37.d6 a3 38.Qxa3 Rc6 39.d7 Rd8 40.Qe3 Re6 41.Qf3 Re1+ 42.Kf2 Re5 43.Kf1 Qe6 44.Qf2 Re4 45.Rxe4 fxe4 46.Qe3 46.Qc5+- 46...Qxc4+ 47.Kg1 Qe6 48.Qd4 e3 49.Re1 Rxd7 50.Rxe3 Rxd4 51.Rxe6 Rd1+ 52.Kh2 Rd7 53.Ra6 Kh7 54.Kg3 Rf7 55.h4 Rf5 56.Kh3 Rd5 57.g3 Rd3 58.Kg4 Rd7 59.Kf4 Rd4+ 60.Kf3 Rd7 61.g4 Rf7+ 62.Kg3 Rc7 63.Rb6 Rc3+ 64.Kf4 Rc4+ 65.Kf5 Rc5+ 66.Kf4 Rc4+ 67.Kf3 Rc3+ 68.Kf2 Rc2+ 69.Ke3 Rc3+ 70.Ke4 Rc4+ 71.Kf5 Rc5+ 72.Ke6 Rc4 73.g5?? hxg5?? 73...Rxh4 74.Kf5 Rh5 75.Rg6 Rh1-+ 74.hxg5?? 74.Kf5! gxh4 75.Kg5 h3 75...Rd4 76.Rb3= 76.Rb3!= 74...Rc5! 75.Rb1 Rxg5 76.Rh1+ Kg6 77.Rh2 Rh5? 77...Rg1! 78.Ke5 Kg5 79.Ke4 Kg4-+ 78.Rg2+ Kh7 79.Kf7 Rf5+ 80.Ke6 Rf6+?? 80...g6 81.Rh2+ Kg7 82.Rg2 Ra5! 83.Rg1 g5 84.Rf1 Kg6-+ 81.Ke5 Rh6 82.Rg1 Rh5+ 83.Kf4 Rh6 84.Kf5 Rf6+ 85.Ke5 Rh6 86.Rg2 Rf6 87.Rh2+ Rh6 88.Rg2 Rh5+ 89.Kf4 Rh6 90.Rg4 Rf6+ 91.Kg3 Rg6 92.Kh4 Rh6+ 93.Kg3 Rg6 94.Rxg6 Kxg6 95.Kg4 Kf6 96.Kf4 g6 97.Kg4 g5 98.Kg3 Kg6 99.Kg4 Kh6 100.Kg3 Kg6 101.Kg4 Kf6 102.Kg3 Kf5 103.Kf3 g4+ 104.Kg3 Kg5 105.Kg2 Kf5 106.Kg3 Kg5 107.Kg2 Kg6 108.Kg3 Kh5 109.Kg2 Kh4 110.Kh2 g3+ 111.Kg2 Kg4 112.Kg1 Kf4 113.Kg2 Kg4 114.Kg1 Kh3 115.Kh1 Kh4 116.Kg2 Kg4 ½–½
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
GGuseinov | 3008 | Chessworld1 | 2487 | ½–½ | 2020 | B30 | ChessBase India 1st Saturday Online Bli | 5 |
Chessworld1 | 2514 | Diptayan | 2624 | ½–½ | 2020 | C90 | ChessBase India 1st Saturday Online Bli | 7 |
Chessworld1 | 2525 | Visakh | 2492 | 1–0 | 2020 | A05 | ChessBase India 1st Saturday Online | 9 |
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Second Saturday: "Indian-Lion" undefeated
On this DVD, well-known Indian WGM Tania Sachdev shows you how to evaluate certain positions and then find the right concepts and plans on the basis of her own games.
Much has been said about the incredible ascent of Indian players in the last years. The winner of the second tournament of the series is yet another example of this sudden surge of strong players. Arjun Erigaisi (Indian-Lion) got his grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 11 months and 13 days, and currently has an official rating of 2559. On March 28th, he finished atop the standings table on 8 out of 9, leaving four players a half point behind.
Some of the top scorers from the previous weekend also excelled in the second event. Second to fifth places went to those who ended up on a 7½ score: Diptayan Ghosh (Diptayan), Aryonak Ghosh (STRANGE), Zaven Andriasian (zaven Grozny) and Praggnanandhaa (Chessworld1).
The "Indian-Lion" showed nerves of steel to get his tournament victory, getting some extra half points by maintaining an acceptable level of precision with seconds on the clock. After getting seven wins in a row, he drew Diptayan and Andriasian to secure first place.
Highlights from Arjun's games (annotated by Shahid Ahmed)
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 c5 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Be3 Nc6 9.a3 Ba5 10.dxc5 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qa5 12.Qb3 Ne4 13.Be2 Nxc5 14.Qc2 e5 15.0-0 f6 16.Rfb1 a6 17.Rd1 Be6 18.Rab1 0-0 19.Rd6 Bf7 20.Nd2 Bg6 21.Qb2 Bxb1 22.Qxb1 Rad8 23.Rd5 b6 24.Bf3 Ne7 25.Nb3 Qxa3 26.Nxc5 Nxd5 27.Bxd5+ Rxd5 28.cxd5 bxc5 29.h3 Qxc3 30.Qb6 Qd3 31.Qe6+ Kh8 32.Bxc5 Rg8 33.d6 h6 34.Bb6 Rb8 35.d7 Kh7 36.Bc7 Ra8 36...Qd2! 37.Bxb8 Qc1+ 38.Kh2 Qf4+= 37.Qe8 Qd1+ 37...Rxe8 38.dxe8Q Qc2 39.Qd7 38.Kh2 Rxe8 39.dxe8Q Qc1?? 40.Qe7 40.Bb6 40...Qf4+ 41.Kg1 Qc1+ 42.Kh2 a5 43.Bxa5 Qf4+ 44.Kg1 Qc1+ 45.Kh2 Qf4+ 46.Kg1 Qa4 47.Kh2 Qxa5 48.Qe6 Kh8 49.Qf5 Qd8 50.Qg6 Qg8 51.f3 Qh7 52.Qg3 Qg8 53.Qg4 Kh7 54.Qf5+ g6 55.Qg4 Qg7 56.Qe4 f5 57.Qd5 e4 58.Qe6 exf3 59.gxf3 Qc7+ 60.Kg2 Qg7 61.Kg3 h5 62.Kg2 Kh6 63.h4 Kh7 64.Qe3 Qh6 65.Qg5 Qg7 66.Qf4 g5 0–1
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Lsr | 2245 | Indian-Lion | 2537 | 0–1 | 2020 | D31 | ChessBase India 2nd Saturday Online | 4 |
Indian-Lion | 2542 | RACEKING | 2195 | 1–0 | 2020 | A09 | ChessBase India 2nd Saturday Online Bli | 5 |
Diptayan | 2621 | Indian-Lion | 2546 | 0–1 | 2020 | D46 | ChessBase India 2nd Saturday Online | 6 |
Indian-Lion | 2567 | Phoenix92 | 2649 | 1–0 | 2020 | D85 | ChessBase India 2nd Saturday Online Bli | 7 |
Indian-Lion | 2588 | ZavenGrozny | 2716 | ½–½ | 2020 | A05 | ChessBase India 2nd Saturday Online | 8 |
STRANGE | 2402 | Indian-Lion | 2594 | ½–½ | 2020 | A11 | ChessBase India 2nd Saturday Online Bli | 9 |
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