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Anwesh Upadhyaya, the Indian chess IM who is stranded in war-torn Kyiv, has to decide whether to risk traveling to the Polish border through the siege or stay home and await the consequences. His coach, Grandmaster Georgy Timoschenko, has joined the swelling number of Ukraine civilian fighters who've volunteered to take up arms against the invading Russians. For now, he says he is on his own.

The situation on-ground is complicated. There have been several reports of Indians facing a torrid time at the hands of Ukrainian border guards while trying to cross over to neighbouring European Union countries. "It's a bit tricky and emotional for them I believe," Anwesh told ESPN. "When their brothers and sisters are dying, here we are asking them to help us leave. A few people I know have left for smaller cities nearby and some others who were trying to make it to Poland are stranded midway."

The 30-year-old is a resident doctor at city hospital No 8, apprenticing in gastroenterology and has been living in the Ukrainian capital city. He had moving to have better tournament opportunities. Now, he is unsure of his next step.

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In an advisory on Sunday, the Indian Embassy informed its citizens that they would be arranging 10 buses on the Ukraine side of the Polish border from Monday. For Anwesh, the dilemma of how he'd make it to the pick-up points, several blocks away by road through a city that's under siege, remains. "The Indian embassy has asked us to manage our own transportation to the nearest EU borders or to stay home, if we feel unsafe. I have to decide whether to risk it outside trying to cross the border or stay home risk being collateral damage. Right now, it appears that we are on our own."

In an interview to the Associated Press, when asked if there are plans to evacuate citizens if Russian troops manage to take Kyiv, the once heavyweight boxing world champion and current Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko replied - "We can't do that because all ways are blocked. Right now we are encircled."

Back in Bhubaneshwar, Anwesh's father Netaji is an understandably anxious man. A retired Zoology professor, he speaks haltingly, worried when he will be able see his only child. "I'm in constant touch with Anwesh. The Indian embassy's directions haven't been clear, I think," he said.

Before leaving for the battlefront, his coach Timoschenko had a request for his Indian student. "He asked me to take care of myself and check on his wife and kid in the bomb shelter and his daughter who lives in a flat." Not just Anwesh's trainer, national team coach GM Oleksandr Sulypa too has taken up arms and shared a picture of himself from the west Ukrainian city of Lviv, about 70 kms from Polish border, on social media.

For now, part of staying alive involves staying alert. Anwesh sleeps light and keeps his ears pricked to sounds of alarm as Russian air raids pummel Kyiv. He can't get himself to play any chess and re-watching Netflix shows serves as an occasional distraction. He is grateful that the power and heating systems at home are still functional and he spends a large part of his day refreshing news feeds on social media, searching for a sliver of hope. Some of it is pinned on the peace talks that are scheduled to take place on Monday between both sides on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.

Read more here:
Indian chess IM in Ukraine is safe in Kyiv but faces tough call on trek to border - ESPN

Lord Hannan of Kingsclere is a Conservative peer, writer and columnist. He was a Conservative MEP from 1999 to 2020, and is now President of the Initiative for Free Trade.

So much for the idea of Vladimir Putin is some sort of chess grandmaster. Two weeks ago, he had it all. Western leaders were dancing attendance on him in Moscow. China was a staunch ally. The West was divided. There were even hints that, though no one would quite say so in terms, Ukraine might shelve its Nato ambitions.

And now? Now his troops are taking higher casualties than anyone expected. There are anti-war demonstrations across Russias cities. Nato has been jolted into a degree of unity not seen since the end of the Cold War, with Germany sending military aid to Ukraine and Turkey, as I write, preparing to close the Bosphorus to Russian ships.

Putin knows that the only way dictators leave office is through palace coups more often than not riddled with bullets. Sola mors tyrannicida est, as Thomas More put it death is the only way to get rid of tyrants. There must be a corner of his mind now which is starting to fret about a Stauffenberg-style coup attempt; that is, an attempt by Russias military chiefs to replace him before things get worse.

I confess I did not see any of this coming. Two weeks ago, on this website, I predicted that Putin would draw back, content with a limited tactical victory. It is possible that, if I were seeing the intelligence that Joe Biden and Boris Johnson are seeing, I would have a different view, I wrote.

But it seemed to me that Putin had pushed things as far as he realistically could. He doesnt want a win in Ukraine. He could have had that years ago, pulling out of Donbas in exchange for recognition in Crimea. He wants a continuing crisis.

Well, I was wrong. The boys from Langley and from Vauxhall Cross were right. However illogically, however self-woundingly, Putin has decided to stake his leadership on an attempt to hold down a population that has no intention of suffering Kremlin rule again.

Even if he succeeds in toppling Zelensky and imposing a puppet regime, the conflict will go on, with Ukrainian militiamen operating from bases in Poland and Romania; directed, perhaps, by a recognised government-in-exile in London. The flies, to quote John Steinbeck, will have conquered the flypaper.

What should the West do now? The focus has been on economic sanctions, some of which are extremely severe. But, while these may serve to impoverish Russia, they are unlikely to deter Putin.

Yes, sanctions hurt. The freezing of Russias central bank reserves, in particular, will render the rouble, as it was in Soviet times, an unconvertible currency, useful only for domestic account-keeping. Closing European airspace and cutting off trade will, without question, make Russia poorer.

(As an aside, I cant help noticing that some of the politicians demanding economic embargoes against Russia also argue, in a domestic context, for tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions. In other words, they favour a self-embargo. Whatever the impact of sanctions against Moscow, can we all at least agree that they are not designed to boost its agricultural or steel sectors, or to nurture its infant industries? As the nineteenth-century American economist Henry George put it, What protection teaches us is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war.)

But I digress. The point about sanctions is that, however much they hurt Russia, they wont hurt Putin. Blockading Cuba did not bring down Castro, blockading Iraq did not bring down Saddam, and blockading Iran has not brought down the ayatollahs. Indeed, Putin uses sanctions to build a sense of siege mentality and thereby drive up support for his rotten regime. You havent been sanctioned? one Duma member asked another on air some months ago. What kind of a patriot are you?

Russia, like the USSR before it, puts guns before butter. The joke when the Sputnik satellite was launched was: Now that were in space, maybe well get shoes. Russians know that their economy is small. But, like other peoples, they have their amour-propre. Maybe more than other peoples. Even Westernised Russians often, in my experience, feel the phantom pains of their amputated republics.

But what if they end up with poverty and ignominy? What if Putin delivers both isolation and defeat? Or, if not exactly defeat, at least something that falls well short of the victories that Russia could claim in Georgia and in Crimea? Even dictators depend on a measure of genuine popular support. A strongman needs to stand as the defender of his people against all foes. If he cant win wars then, like Galtieri, he is purposeless.

What has driven Putin to this error? Perhaps he was never as clever as people thought. Perhaps, behind those motionless cheekbones, there is an apparatchik who happened to get lucky by being in position when Boris Yelstin unexpectedly resigned, and whose tactical gains have been those of the bully whom others put up with until he became a real nuisance.

Or perhaps power has turned his mind, as it tends to do to autocrats. We laugh at the satraps of the neighbouring Stans, with their golden statues and eponymous cities. But Putin has been building just as much of a personality cult.

Is it not possible that, after more than two decades of never being gainsaid, he has come to see himself as a Davidic figure, raised to redeem his nation? Is it not likely that his underlings are reluctant to bring him bad news? Is it not conceivable that, having led him into error in Ukraine in the first place, this tendency is still prejudicing his decisions?

It is not sanctions that will stop Putin. It is other Russians who can see that he is losing his grasp, and who fret that he has his finger on the nuclear button. Regime change, almost unthinkable two weeks ago, is now a prospect.

Perhaps Britain should offer Putin asylum, rather as Bonaparte sought it after his defeat. After all, Russia wouldnt assassinate a defector living under the Queens peace with polonium or novichok. Would it?

Read more from the original source:
Daniel Hannan: So much for Putin the chess master. Perhaps its time to offer the tyrant asylum? - ConservativeHome

Chess.com is thrilled to announce the Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship, our most elite event ever. The first "RCC" debuts with a prize fund of $650,000. This 25-week extravaganza begins on February 12 and culminates in a dramatic finale on August 28. Only the best of the best will be playing: the top 100 in the world, the top 10 women, and the top 10 juniors will have a seat at the table.

With only the strongest players comprising the field and the slower time control, fans can expect nothing but high-quality chess. Many top GMs like Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, and more are expected to participate in this event regularly.

Participants will also be allowed to stream this event, under controlled (chat disabled, along with other stringent Fair Play requirements) circumstances. This will provide a unique opportunity to offer viewers rare insights into high-level play, especially thanks to the rapid time format. 10+0 is the most popular time control on Chess.com but is rarely used in top-level events. In this format, players will have more time to strategize their way to victory.

Who doesnt want to hear Nakamura discuss his thought process in a 10-minute game against the worlds best players? Speaking of Nakamura, here is what he had to say about the Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship: "Im hyped to play in this event constructed by Chess.com in a way that seems to meet many of the top 100 chess players needs. Its got a flexible schedule, zero commitment, and yet seems to be a surefire hit with both the top players and the fans. With no additional demands being made by Chess.com on the participants time, it really is an ideal fit for so many schedules."

Im hyped to play in this event ... a surefire hit with both the top players and the fans.

- Hikaru Nakamura

Junior players made big waves in 2021, and we are happy to provide a special opportunity for them to play against the best players in the world. Recently-crowned World Rapid Champion, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and other top junior players will have a chance to shine against the world's elite on a more frequent basis. We look forward to more juniors entering the top 100 in 2022 and qualifying for the event.

The mixture of top-100 players, the best juniors, and the top female players in the world will create some truly exciting match-ups and provide incredible opportunities for the next generation to continue to hone their skills.

The $650,000 prize fund is the biggest that Chess.com has ever offered, and it will be distributed throughout the entirety of the event. The first 25 weeks of the event have $500,000 allocated, which equates to $20,000 on the line per week. The finals have a $150,000 prize fund as well as the title of 2022 Chess.com Rapid Champion.

Chess.com's CEO Erik is thrilled for Chess.com to be able to offer this event:

"As a fan, I cannot wait to see who becomes the first Chess.com Rapid Champion! As a Chess.com team member, I feel proud to be able to offer an opportunity to compete in online chess in a format they enjoy and with conditions they appreciate."

Who are you excited to see in the 2022 Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship? Let us know in the comments below.

Read more:
Announcing The Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship With $650,000 In Prizes - Chess.com

With chess back in this years Hangzhou Asian Games, in China, India has begun its preparations by short-listing 20 probables 10 men and 10 women with an eye on winning maximum out of the 12 medals across four events.

As per the players international ratings, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has prepared the probables list headed by Vidit Gujrathi (men) and K. Humpy (women).

Viswanathan Anand, the mentor of the squad, will hold an online training session for the team members from February 3 to 10.

The individual events for men and women under rapid time control will be from September 11 to 14. The team event, across four boards separately for men and women, under standard time control will be from September 16 to 24.

The probables:

Men: Vidit Gujarathi, P Harikrishna, Nihal Sarin, S. L. Narayanan, K. Sasikiran, B Adhiban, M. Karthikeyan, Arjun Erigaisi, Abhijeet Gupta and Surya Shekhar Ganguly.

Women: K Humpy, D Harika, R. Vaishali, Tania Sachdev, Bhakti Kulkarni, Vantika Agrawal, Mary Ann Gomes, Soumya Swaminathan, Eesha Karavade and Divya Deshmukh.

Read the original here:
Chess | Vidit, Humpy to lead at Hangzhou Asian Games - The Hindu

Have you ever wondered who is the richest female Grand Master in the world? (Sorry, Beth Harmon is not the right answer) We are talking about real-life female chess Grand Masters. Alike any other sport, in chess as well, male players get the maximum attention from fans, and as incredible as female chess players the world has ever witnessed, only a few people know them as they know their male contemporaries.

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The Hungarian Grand Master and the greatest female chess player of all time, Judit Polgar, is the worlds richest female chess player. She was the World No. 1 female chess player from 1989 to her retirement in 2014. The 45-year-old Grand Master has a net worth of $1 million. On the list of the worlds richest chess players, she is on number 5, which makes her even richer than many current male players.

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Most of her income comes from being a player, and in June 2015, she was elected as the captain and head coach of the national Hungarian mens team.

In 1991, when she was 15, she broke the record of Bobby fisher and became the youngest Grand Master ever. She is the only woman to cross 2700 Elo rating and since the age of 12, she has been the best female player in the world. Even after 8 years of her retirement from international chess, her records remain unsurpassed.

She has defeated most of the world champions during her career and she is undisputedly the best female chess player the world has ever seen. The list of her ruins includes Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, Anatoly Karpov, Viswanathan Anand, Boris Spassky, Vladimir Kramnik, Ruslan Ponomariov, and Veselin Topalov.

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She has had an amazing career, and her contribution to chess is unforgettable. Many Grand Masters agree her games were entertaining, and a treat to watch. In 2016, she gave a speech on TED about her career and what shaped her into one of the worlds greatest chess players.

Judit Polgar is the real-life Beth Harmon, the one we should all know about. She is indeed the worlds richest female chess player, but more than that, she is a role model for every chess fan out there.

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Here are some of the most amazing games she played against the male world champions.

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Who is the Richest Female Chess Grandmaster? - EssentiallySports