Around the turn of the century, there was worldwide interest regarding chess confrontations between humans and computers. One of the last top-notch events featuring such a battle was seen in 2005, when three strong grandmasters played a match against three of the best engines in the world. In the end, Hydra, Junior and Fritz defeated Alexander Khalifman, Ruslan Ponomariov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov by an 8-4 score. The match took place in Bilbao, and saw Ponomariov beating Fritz in a memorable encounter.
The Chennai Grand Masters 2023 got off to a splendid start. Just when it seemed like the first round would end up being victorless, Pentala Harikrishna and Pavel Eljanov proved those predictions wrong. Arjun Erigaisi (Harikrishna’s opponent) made a significant mistake early in the game. It made him defend the better part of the battle. Eventually he missed his final opportunity to salvage a half point, which cost him the game. Parham Maghsoodloo (Eljanov’s opponent) made a huge blunder in a rook and two pawns endgame which was seemingly heading towards a draw. | All photos are by Shahid Ahmed unless specified otherwise.
Michael Adams still has a half-point lead at the London Chess Classic after his round-6 opponent, Jules Moussard, blundered the game away from a winning position. Gukesh, Amin Tabatabaei and Andrei Volokitin also scored full points. In the longest game of the day, Nikita Vitiugov failed to make the most of a big advantage against underdog Shreyas Royal. With three rounds to go, Gukesh stands in sole second place. | Photo: John Upham
FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation are organizing a match between top Ukrainian players Mariya and Anna Muzychuk and local stars Nino Batsiashvili and Meri Arabidze. The games will take place at the Hotel Legend in Batumi, Georgia, on June 5-11. Each of the matches will consist of six classical games. | Photos: International Chess Federation
The 2015 World Team Championship saw China winning its first gold medal (out of three) in the tournament. The team was led by Ding Liren on top board, and had its top scorer in 15-year-old Wei Yi, who collected scoring 7/9 points on board 4. Ukraine and Armenia finished second and third, while the clear rating favourites from Russia only managed fourth place. The tournament took place in Tsaghkadzor, a small touristy town in Armenia also known as the ‘valley of flowers’. | Photos: Arman Karakhanyan