Monthly Archives: January 2020

The 2020 PRO Chess League is back, ending a 247-day drought since the end of last season. With the new improvements to the league format, fans watched the most competitive week in PRO Chess League history. The stronger competition brought debuts forAlexander Grischuk,Wei Yi,David NavaraandEvgeny Tomashevsky, but also showcased PRO Chess League stars likeFabiano Caruana,Wesley So, Hikaru NakamuraandMaxime Vachier-Lagrave.

1. Saint Louis is still really good.

The Arch Bishops are a favorite to win this year's PRO Chess League, and after dispatching the New York Marshalls last Monday, cemented their status. Even with bothNakamuraandGadir Guseinov headlining the New York lineup, the defending league champions proved too much to handle.

The match started to slip out of reach whenSo beat Nakamura in the second round. Nakamura needed to take some risks to keep the match close, but So's solid play gave Black the endgame advantage:

Saint Louis took the match 10.5-5.5, thanks to strong performances from both So andCaruana. New York faces the Brazil Capybaras on Monday, and the Arch Bishops will take on the UK Lions.

2. Russia stuns China in season opener.

China looked like a serious competitor to Saint Louis in the preseason, butVlad Dobrov's perfect 4/4 will leave the Pandas scrambling for a better strategy next week. A last-minute substitution for Russia, Dobrov opened his day with a strong defensive win againstWen Yang:

In the third round,Weiseemed to have built an edge, but a quick blunder gave Dobrov the point:

Dobrov's performance was crucial to Russia's 9.5-6.5 win, as no other Russian players scored over 2/4. China now enters a must-win match against Armenia next week, while Russia will take on the Turkey Knights.

3. Sweden has the best fans.

After falling short of qualification in past seasons, the Wasabis finally made their PRO Chess League debut against their Scandinavian rival, the Norway Gnomes. Determined to win, the Wasabis putJon Ludvig Hammeron notice a few days before the match:

The Stockholm-based club started slowly and quickly fell behind 3-1 after the first round.Sweden slowly worked their way back into the match, and with the score locked at 7.5-7.5,Bassem Aminbroke the tie, beating Hammer with the black pieces to clinch the match:

Watching from the Wasa SK in Stockholm, Sweden's fans were pumped to see the Wasabis win in their debut. In his interview,GM Erik Blomqvist said that at least 50 fans came to watch him play live.

Sweden will face Spain next week in a match they should be favored to win. If they do, the fan-favorite could face Vachier-Lagrave's Roosters in a clash of unbeaten teams in week three.

With the higher level of competition, this week's Game Of The Week was especially hard to pick, but none is more deserving than the fighting draw betweenYannick Gozzoli andKacper Piorun. While it's rare for a draw to be selected, this game brought a complex endgame where both sides had winning chances. For most of the game, both players were under one minute on the clock, making this draw an exciting affair:

The France Roosters went on to win the match after sweeping the Poland Hussars in the final round. This week's honorable mention goes toSam Sevianof theNew York Marshalls for his win with the black pieces againstCaruana:

Sevian played incredibly well, posting a 98.1 CAPS score against the 2018 world championship challenger.

During this week's Eastern Division broadcast, a fan asked which game deserved Blunder Of The Week. With several strong contenders, the PRO Chess League has decided to select theHungary Hunters' Gergely Antal. After holding a worse position for much of the game, Antal erred with five seconds left on the clock:

Hungary could not quite recover, and theArmenia Eagleswent on to win the match, 11-5. The Hunters play the Croatia Bulldogs next week, a match they should be favored to win.

Stats matter in the PRO Chess League. Here are three stats you may have missed in the season's opening week.

1. The Bird's Opening (1.f4) scored 100% in the opening week. Sure, it was only one game, but Italy'sLorenzo Lodici,well-prepared for his game againstWouter Spoelman, developed quickly and sacrificed pieces as early as move 15. The Bird's Opening is not a likely candidate to get more screen time this season, and new openings are always welcome:

2. Speaking of Lodici, he and just four other players scored a perfect 4/4.Ray Robson (Chicago), Anton Korobov (Germany), Dobrov (Russia) and Shant Sargsyan (Armenia) also completed a perfect day. Of the five players, only twoDobrov and Sargsyannotched performance ratings over 3000. Nearly making the list, Bassem Amin (Sweden) scored three out of three, as his first-round opponent had to forfeit.

3. All four of Argentina's players had performance ratings of 2690 and higher. In their thrashing of the U.K. Lions, each of the Krakens' players scored at least 2.5/4. Considering the performance ratings, the Krakens outperformed the Saint Louis Arch Bishops, asLeinier DominguezandLe Quang Liem both managed a 2666 performance rating. Argentina's best game came fromAlan Pichot, who beatGawain Jonesafter making a long-term sacrifice in the endgame:

This week's power rankings were compiled by Isaac Steincamp (@IsaacSteincamp), who served as a general manager for the Pittsburgh Pawngrabbers for three seasons before working with Chess.com.

Opening week in the PRO Chess League tells us which teams were prepared to play. Managers are still trying to determine their best lineups and adjust to the new format of the league. However, losses are expensive this year. With only seven weeks of regular season to play, each match is critical, and managers need to be smart moving forward.

It's easy to overreact given the small sample size of games, but here are this week's power rankings:

No surprises here. After a dominating performance against the New York Marshalls, the defending PRO Chess League champion looked the part withCaruanaandSo combining for 6.5/8. Except for Canada, it's quite difficult to see another Western Division team beating the Missouri-based squad. Its regular season losses generally stem from significant upsets: Minnesota and Pittsburgh in 2018, and Miami in 2019.

General ManagerArtak Manukyan will tell you his team is not a title contender in 2020, but his team is fun to watch.Sargsyanwas just one of two Eastern Division players to score a perfect 4/4, and Armenia beat a talented Hungary team.Zaven Andriasianis particularly impressive, notching 3.5/4. This team will need to get through Russia, India, and China to win the Eastern Division, but the race to first place just got even more interesting.

While it was not the biggest story in this week's opener, Argentina's crushing upset over the U.K. Lions is one of the big surprises in the season's opening week, although it's hard to read too much into this one result. Argentina has just one player rated over 2600, and while Pichot looks to be a star player for the Krakens, the schedule now gets tougher. For Argentina to make a significant jump in the power rankings, they'll need to upset Canada next week.

Still one of the favorites to win the title this year, China will have to grow quickly from their loss to Russia. Other than conceding a perfect score against Vlad Dobrov, China did everything else right by holding the other three boards to a combined 5.5/12. Based on this week's result, don't be surprised ifLi Di becomes a featured player in the Pandas' lineup. The 20-year old is a proven force in the PRO Chess League with victories over So,Eltaj SafarliandTigran Petrosian in 2019.

Truly impressive opening-week performance, even with a loss to the France Roosters. WithoutJan-Krzysztof DudaandRadoslav Wojtaszek, the Hussars still nearly upset the Central Division favorite last Thursday. While they will need some help to win the division, second place is easily within reach for them. With so many other strong players on the roster, Poland is officially a dark horse to win the PRO Chess League.

This year the PRO Chess League is raising the stakes with its Fantasy Contest that offers weekly cash prizes and even more opportunities to win. Every week will have three contests, one for each division. The first-place finisher in each contest will wina three-month diamond Chess.com membership, and a perfect submissionin any contest will win up to $100, so make sure to complete your three submissions every week.

This past week's winners are:

Make sure to submit your Fantasy lineup for every division each week to win prizes! You can reach the Fantasy portal on the PRO Chess League website by clicking the button below:

Next week the PRO Chess League will bring a critical prime-time match between the California Unicorns and the Chicago Wind. California will be looking to rebound from last week's loss to Canada, while the Wind have a chance to win two straight after beating Brazil. California needs a win to stay in the playoff race, as a second loss before facing Saint Louis and New York can put its postseason hopes in serious jeopardy.

Wednesday will bring the first division doubleheader of the season. The China Pandas face the red-hot Armenia Eagles in a 2018 PRO Chess League Final rematch. China avenged their 2018 defeat by winning in last year's third-place match, so next week's match will be the third edition of the rivalry. TheNorway Gnomeswill face the France Roosters in the Central Division's prime-time match, a key test for both sides.

Have a burning question about next week's matches? Starting Sunday, every weekly preview will answer at least one question from a fan. To submit your question, you can tweet using #prochess or leave a question in the comments of this article. You can ask about your favorite team, player, or anything related to the PRO Chess League!

See the original post:

PRO Chess League Week In Review: Season Starts With Surprises And Upsets - Chess.com

Spot registration is allowed for the fourth Edition of The Hindu In School Chess Tournament on Sunday at the Centre for Advanced Learning (CFAL), Bejai.

The tournament is open to students from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu districts.

The tournament starts at 9.30 a.m. and will be conducted for boys and girls separately under three categories under 11, under 13 and under 15 on a Swiss league basis. Entry fee is 150 per participant.

Spot entries will be accepted till 9 a.m. Participants should bring their own boards and clocks. They have to produce the printout of the payment acknowledgement for online registration along with the school identity card at the venue.

The top three winners of each category in boys and girls will get tropies, cash prizes, and a certificate. Those getting the next seven places will receive medals and certificates while all participants would get participation certificates.

SyndicateBank is the associate partner of the event and Corporation Bank, CFAL, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. are the regional partners.

For registration please call, Surendra Shetty-9448279124, M.S. Madhava-9035566695 or The Hindu office -0824-2417575 or email us at mlrcir@thehindu.co.in.

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The Hindu in School Chess contest tomorrow - The Hindu

A lifetime spent poring over chess and the football of Johan Cruyff has prepared the new Barcelona boss for the job at hand at Camp Nou

It's all a game of chess to new Barcelona boss Quique Setien, and Lionel Messi will be his queen at Camp Nou.

The veteran coach, who has previously worked at Real Betis and Las Palmas, loves the board game more than football and has learned from various aspects of the strategic battle, using them to shape his coaching.

[Chess teaches you] patience, the capacity for analysis, control of your emotions, Setien said in an interview with El Periodico in 2018.

He has even faced former world champions Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov.

It was an incredible experience, and in an era in which I was totally hooked on chess, he explained. Did he win? Get out of here! They play against 30 people at once and beat them all.

Perhaps one day he will play Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian grandmaster whose interest in football saw him rise to the top of the Fantasy Premier League rankings earlier this season.

But, for now, Setiens chequered battlefield is Camp Nou and his pieces are some of the most expensive players on the planet.

Yesterday, I was walking around my home town with cows around me and now Im here at Barcelona managing the best players in the world, explained Setien at his presentation, surprised himself that he got the call from Barcelona.

He is delighted to have the opportunity to work with six-time Ballon dOr winner Messi, a player he has repeatedly stated his admiration for. He is the queen; he does it all well, Setien told El Periodico.

Nothing on the 61-year-olds CV suggests he should have been a candidate for an elite club, given he has no honours to his name.

Instead, he has been called to Camp Nou because of something intangible, a feeling that hes right for Barcelona aesthetically and tactically, after the colourless Valverde years in which the club lost their identity as a team that loves the ball.

Setien has signed on until 2022 but there are concerns that he will not be able to handle a dressing room full of big names and egos.

I do not agree that the coach has to adapt to the players, said Setien previously. There was a time when I thought it, but that was because I did not understand football.

On one hand, Barcelona could benefit from a shake-up. On the other, he may upset some players, although the heavyweights appear to be on his side.

Messi has previously given Setien a signed shirt, while Sergio Busquets did the same after his Betis side beat Barcelona 4-3 at Camp Nou in November 2018.

To Quique, with appreciation and admiration for the way you see football, wrote the midfielder.

That dramatic victory was the last time any visiting team has triumphed at Barcelonas home stadium Setien passed his audition with flying colours; he just had to wait a year or so to get the job.

He had long been linked with Barcelona, primarily because he is such an avid follower of Blaugrana legend Johan Cruyff, although he would have liked to get to know the Dutchman better.

I told Cruyff Id have given my little finger to have played for his team, but not just to play at Barcelona but for how they played, because I saw how the players enjoyed themselves, Setien previously admitted.

Bringing delight back to Barcelonas stars will be crucial in getting the best of a bunch who have practically won it all.

With rivals Real Madrid reinvigorated, Barcelona desperately hope Setiens arrival will give their team the impulse they need to hit top form and kickstart their bid for the treble.

After finishing sixth in his first campaign in Andalusia, things began to sour in the second and Real Betis fans turned on Setien, turned off by his tactics and ideals, but Barcelona supporters are expected to warm quickly to him for his Cruyffian ways.

As a player, Setien made his name with hometown side Racing Santander, helping them get promoted to La Liga in 1992 during his second stint at the club.

He toughened up at Atletico and in the late 80s he faced Cruyffs Barcelona and that was a formative experience, which shaped the rest of his career to date.

From then on, I started to make sense of what I had felt throughout life, through my career, Setien told The Coachs Voice.

"I started to really watch football. To analyse it. To understand what I felt, and what I wanted to put into practice when I became a coach.

Article continues below

Setien admitted he hasnt decided whether Barcelona will play in 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or another formation, but was visibly thrilled as he faced the media with president Josep Maria Bartomeu and sporting director Eric Abidal.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime for him and finding out whether a diet of Cruyff and chess is enough to succeed at a club like Barcelona will make for a fascinating second half of the season.

As Valverde found out, with two La Liga titles in the bank and the team top of the table once more in his third season, it only takes a few wrong moves at Barcelona and its checkmate.

Read the rest here:

Messi will be the 'queen' for chess-obsessive Quique Setien - Goal India

Doncic dished out a career-best 17 assists against the Kings on Thursday. One of those assists serves as a perfect example of his other-worldly vision.

Welcome to "One Possession!" Throughout the 2019-20 NBA season, our NBA.com Staff will break down certain possessions from certain games and peel back the curtains to reveal its bigger meaning.

Today, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic takes the spotlight.

Context: In a win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, Doncic recorded his league-leading 11th triple-double of the season with 25 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes of action. He set a new career-high with those 17 assists, surpassing his previous career-high of 15 assists set earlier this season.

The possession: Of all of Doncic's assists against the Kings, this was by far and away the most impressive:

Breakdown: Doncic brings the ball up the court following a made shot by Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica.

The possession begins with what appears to be a pindown for Tim Hardaway Jr. in the right corner, with Maxi Kleber being the one to set the screen on him. However, rather than running off of the screen, Hardaway returns the favour by setting a screen on Kleber's defender, Bjelica.

Kleber curls to the 3-point line to receive a pass from Doncic. He then passes the ball back to Doncic and sets a screen on his defender, De'Aaron Fox.

Dwight Powell, who has been hanging around the elbow, turns to face Doncic and sets a second screen on Fox, turning the possession into a pick-and-roll while Kleber, who is shooting 40.6 percent from the 3-point line this season, pops to the top of the perimeter to draw Marvin Bagley out of the paint.

Doncic and Powell are two of the best pick-and-roll scorers in the league. According to NBA.com, only three players are scoring more points per game as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls this season than Doncic, and he ranks in the 90th percentile with 1.06 points per possession. Powell, meanwhile, ranks in the 85th percentile with 1.33 points per possession as the roll man.

That's important because Doncic's ability to score at all three levels as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls forces Bjelica to hedge when he comes off of Powell's screen.

And because Powell is one of the best finishers in the league, Buddy Hield has to slide over on the weakside to prevent him from getting all the way to the basket for an uncontested dunk.

That sets Doncic up to make a cross-court pass to Dorian Finney-Smith, who knocks down the open 3-pointer to extend the Mavericks' lead to 13 points.

Why it matters: I mean, goodness gracious.

I've broken down a similar pass from Doncic before, but this one takes it to another level. The timing is impeccable - he always seems to be a step ahead of the defence, knowing where the next rotation is coming from and which passes are available - and the accuracy with which he throws a one-handed pass from one side of the court to the other is, quite frankly, absurd. Finney-Smith has to shuffle over a little bit to receive the pass, but it arrives in his shooting pocket in time for him to get off a clean look before Hield recovers.

The alternative would've been to slip a pass to Powell on the roll for him to make the read - either continue towards the basket for a dunk if Hield rotates back to Finney-Smith or kick the ball out to Finney-Smith if Hield parks himself in the paint to draw a charge. By making the pass to Finney-Smith himself, Doncic cuts out the middle man and makes it harder for Bagley to rotate over to Finney-Smith.

Just look at Bagley here. It's safe to assume he wasn't expecting Doncic to do what he did.

The list of players who can make that sort of pass is ... not long. Without putting too much thought into it, it's basically Doncic, LeBron James, James Harden, Nikola Jokic and maybe Ben Simmons. Chris Paul and Trae Young can be included in that list, but the extra six or so inches Doncic has on them helps him see over defenders in ways they simply can't.

It's passes like this that have Doncic creating 22.8 points per game for his teammates this season, putting him behind only James (26.8) and Ricky Rubio (23.3) for most in the league.

If this is what 20-year-old Doncic is capable of, it's scary to think about what he's going to be doing in his prime.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Link:

One Possession: Luka Doncic is playing chess while the rest of the league is playing checkers - NBA IN

Adam Zampa dismissed Virat Kohli for the second time in the series, and fifth time in the format overall BCCI

A run-up consisting of only a few paces: that is all it takes for a spinner to sow seeds of doubt in the batsman's head. The Virat Kohli-Adam Zampa tussle in the second ODI between India and Australia at Rajkot turned out to be one such keenly-fought contest, where the leg-spinner blended the keys to success in a game of chess - patience and pressure - to outsmart his formidable opponent. When Kohli arrived at the crease with the score reading 81/1, Zampa immediately shifted his line to outside the off-stump.

The plan was quite clear: he wanted Kohli to use his strong bottom-hand and drive through the cover-region. The seasoned campaigner began his innings with a neatly played drive through the covers to open his account. But, Zampa stuck to his tried and tested formula through the course of that spell. On the other hand, Kohli also showed that he was willing to play the waiting game. He was more circumspect against Zampa, and also waited for the legspinner to bowl straighter, as he wristed a few around the corner. The point can be capsulised by how Kohli pulled a short delivery in the 18th over off Zampa to the boundary hoardings behind square on the on-side.

With Australia struggling to break partnerships, Aaron Finch went back to Zampa for the second time, and the legspinner didn't disappoint his captain, picking up Shreyas Iyer's wicket. He also continued his enthralling battle with Kohli.

It is said that the most decisive part of a game of chess is the 'middle game' where the two players keep all the possibilities open and look at skilful maneuvering to attain positional mastery. During the middle overs, the Zampa versus Kohli contest in Rajkot moved along on similar lines. Even though Kohli was still patient, dealing in a diet of singles and twos, there were indicators that he was ready to push the accelerator pedal.

Zampa, though, just didn't waver from his plans - employing tossed up deliveries with a few sliders. The way the legspinner forced Kohli to reach out to crack the drive to the cover fielder in the 35th over illustrates the modus operandi of the legspinner. However, Kohli was able to paddle through this decisive phase of the duel between the duo.

Eventually, when Zampa returned for his final spell, Kohli had no other option but to hit the accelerator pedal in order to take India to a score of around 350. And that also gave Zampa the chance to snare the batting maestro's wicket for the fifth time in his ODI career. Initially, Kohli seemed to be having the upper hand as he swatted the legspinner through midwicket for a boundary. However, Zampa has shown before that he is a spinner ready to take risks by tossing the ball up. In short, he is ready to get smashed to 'buy' a wicket or two.

He was also rewarded for his perseverance when he dismissed Kohli with another flighted delivery in the 44th over. With his strong bottom-hand, Kohli launched one into the downtown territories, but Ashton Agar and Mitchell Starc combined at the boundary to ensure the catch was taken and Kohli had to walk back. Yes, Kohli connected it quite well. Yes, it could have gone for a six on another day. But, Zampa deserves the credit for sticking to his plans. After being slogged for a boundary in the previous over, Zampa could have taken the safer option and bowled with a flatter trajectory. Instead, he showed conviction in his method and was duly rewarded.

Incidentally, before the Rajkot ODI, Zampa had noted: "It's got to be an attacking approach," while asked about a spinner's mindset while bowling to a batsman of the class of Kohli. "I think if you're on the back foot and have a defensive mindset then that's when he can get on top of you."

Coming from the land of leg spin wizardry, there's miles to go for Zampa before he is considered among the pantheon of greats of the game. For now though, when he is bowling, there's a sense of commitment to that one purpose and that one goal - of just trying to outsmart the batsman.

Cricbuzz

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Kohli, Zampa and a game of chess - Cricbuzz - Cricbuzz