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The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1 and 2
The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.
On 1st August 2020, the biggest ever prize fund event for an Online Blitz Open by ChessBase India will be held on Playchess. The "Knighthood Online Open" Blitz event will have a total prize fund of ₹150,000 with the first prize of ₹40,000. The aim of this tournament is two-fold. The first one is to provide a high quality event for the strong players in this lockdown, and secondly all the money that will be collected via entry fees will be donated for the betterment of specially-abled chess (blind, physically disabled, deaf and mute). And guess what? GM Vidit Gujrathi will play a simul against the age-category winners as well as top five winners of the specially-abled category.
Who is Sujit Varghese and why is he supporting chess in such a big way?
Sujit Varghese is a management professional and a chess lover. He currently lives in the UAE, but grew up in Gujarat. Ever since he was a young boy, he has been interested in chess. Speaking to ChessBase India, Sujit said:
My father and I used to spend several hours playing chess. There were times when we used to be up all night challenging each other into playing several games of chess. However, we were then in a small town in Gujarat and getting coaching wasn't very easy. My interest took a backstage during the initial stages of my career. Later the corporate chess tournaments helped to re-ignite the passion I had for chess.
Although Sujit wasn't able to professionally play chess tournaments, what he learnt from chess has stayed with him forever.
Chess has helped me through several phases in life — teaching me discipline, being persistent and to never give up. I have been involved in several CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs and always wanted to be involved in some initiative on a personal level also. ChessBase India has provided me this opportunity with this tournament that will help in raising funds for specially-abled chess players.
Venue: Vishy Anand Arena in Playchess under ChessBase India room
| 1st | 40000 |
| 2nd | 25000 |
| 3rd | 15000 |
| 4th | 10000 |
| 5th | 5000 |
6th - 10th ₹2500 each
11th -20th ₹1000 each
Best Specially Abled players: Top 5 will get ₹1000 each
Category prizes: Best U-19, U-16, U-14, U-12, Rating 1000-1300, 1301-1600, 1601-1900, 1901-2100 and Best Unrated (Total nine categories) will get the following prizes each
| 1st | 1000 |
| 2nd | 800 |
| 3rd | 700 |
One player will be eligible for one higher prize only and prizes will not be shared. For Rating category prizes, Standard Rating as on 1st July will be considered for prizes. A player without a Standard Rating will be considered as an unrated player. Players without a FIDE ID will have to e-mail their date of birth certificate by 31st July 2020.
From this tournament onwards in all events organized by ChessBase India, 'Draw offer' before the completion of 30th move is not allowed. If a draw is agreed before the completion of 30th move, the player who offered the draw will be given a loss in that round irrespective of tournament situation. This rule has been enforced to see fighting games in all boards.
Special attraction
Age-group and Specially Abled category prize winners will get to play against India no.2 Vidit Gujrathi on Sunday 2nd August at 6 p.m. IST in three separate simuls. Once the tournament ends the players who have won and are selected to play against Vidit will be notified.
Note: Age-group prizes cannot be claimed by titled (CM to GM and WFM to WGM) players.
The entry is FREE for all GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. So register as fast as you can by emailing us mentioning your name, FIDE ID and Playchess ID to teamchessbaseindia@gmail.com
For everyone else the entry fee is ₹500, and for ChessBase Premium Account holders the entry fee is ₹400. For foreigners the entry fee is €10. Entry is free for Specially Abled players. Physically Handicapped, Blind and Deaf players need to produce their disability proof certificate. Entry will close on 31st July at 8 p.m. IST. Organizer reserves the right to reject any entry without assigning any reason.
Non-ChessBase Premium Account users ₹500
ChessBase Premium Account users ₹400
| Sl.no. | Name | Playchess ID | Rating |
| 1 | GM Aravindh Chithambaram | hitter1999 | 2641 |
| 2 | GM Jose Martinez Eduardo | Js3131 | 2620 |
| 3 | GM S L Narayanan | NarayananSL | 2618 |
| 4 | GM Abhimanyu Puranik | Pabh | 2584 |
| 5 | GM D Gukesh | Gk06 | 2563 |
| 6 | GM Raunak Sadhwani | Devil1234 | 2545 |
| 7 | GM Diptayan Ghosh | Diptayan | 2541 |
| 8 | GM Deepan Chakkravarthy | J2d | 2535 |
| 9 | GM Jakhongir Vakhidov | Uzbektiger95 | 2533 |
| 10 | GM Visakh N R | Visakh | 2516 |
| 11 | GM Shardul Gagare | IndianKing97 | 2514 |
| 12 | GM Harsha Bharathakoti | RACEKING | 2509 |
| 13 | GM Debashis Das | Debashisdas | 2501 |
| 14 | GM Girish Koushik | gak_chess | 2498 |
| 15 | IM Krishna CRG | crg | 2478 |
| 16 | IM Harshit Raja | Johncking | 2472 |
| 17 | IM Arghyadip Das | Arghyadip | 2453 |
| 18 | IM Bharath Subramaniyam H | Harishankkar | 2437 |
| 19 | IM Aronyak Ghosh | STRANGE | 2436 |
| 20 | IM Fernando Fernández | altomisayoc | 2435 |
| 21 | GM M S Thejkumar | msthej | 2433 |
| 22 | IM Sayantan Das | Ambitious | 2431 |
| 23 | IM Neelash Saha | Gamechanger | 2413 |
| 24 | GM Laxman R R | LAXMAN | 2411 |
| 25 | IM Raja Rithvik R | MasteredUI | 2408 |
