How many of you play chess? If chess is your go to game, then read on to know more about chess and the reigning chess Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram.
Aravindh Chithambaram was born in Madurai, India on 09th November 1999. One of the brightest Indian chess talents, Aravindh hails from a very modest family background. At the age of 14, with a tilak on his forehead he possessed the kind of energy that did not allow him to sit still at the Mayor?s Cup International Open Chess championship in June 2013. He kept running around the NSCI stadium hall watching the positions on various boards while keeping a tab on his own board. The performance was all the more special because the boy with an FIDE rating of 2335, came up with a performance equivalent to 2728 rating points and defeated four Grandmasters (GMs) and two International Masters (IMs) on his way to score nine points of a possible 11 to clinch his first international tournament title. Aravindh was the winner of the U14 open group at the Asian Youth Championship 2013.
Quick calculations are a habit Aravindh developed while learning the ropes of the game from his maternal grandfather when he was seven. Since he was always finding a way to leave home to play cricket, his grandfather introduced him to chess to keep him still in one position. He took to the sport instantly but was always in a hurry to finish the game and get out. It was simple for him to do that. However, making a career in chess wasn?t. Aravindh lost his father when he was three years old and his mother struggled to manage his career and run the household.
Many of his older opponents complained, "How do we take him seriously? He practices his cricket bowling technique during the game!" Aravindh does not prepare for his opponents during chess tournaments. He prefers to play on his own skills and knowledge. "He is extremely quick at calculations, and relies heavily on his endgame skills to win games,? says GM R.B. Ramesh, who coaches Aravindh.
Aravindh had won the National Open Senior title in December 2018. He etched his name in history books in an emphatic manner as he scored 10.5/11 in Rapid and 10.0/11 in Blitz. His record is similar to what Carlsen had done in 2014 when he became the first male player to become World Triple Crown Champion when he held World title in all three formats Classical, Rapid and Blitz. Susan Polgar was the first ever chess player to hold Triple Crown title in all three formats of the game in 1996.
Internationally, chess is played in three formats i.e. classical, blitz and rapid; the main difference being the time allotted to make a move. Some players are more competent in one format while there are the ones who are equally proficient in all three. The three formats are further explained:
? Blitz: The fastest format of the game. According to FIDE, Blitz is a format, where each player gets a time control of three minutes and two additional seconds to make a move. Magnus Carlsen, of Norway, is currently the World Blitz Champion, having won it in 2014 as well. The first World Blitz Chess Championship was held in 2006 and from 2012 the rapid and blitz format championships are held together.
? Rapid: The rapid format of the game. Rapid is a slower format than blitz. Here, a player has 15 minutes, plus 10 additional seconds to make a move, starting from move 1. The concept made its debut at a FIDE Congress meeting, in 1987, at Seville, Spain. Anatoly Karpov became the first champion of this format in 1988. Viswanathan Anand is the current champion, having won it in 2017.
? Classical: The classical approach to chess. The classical format of the game has no time control but has a total time limit of 10 hours. The first World Chess Championship was held in the year 1886, with Germany's Wilhelm Steinitz as the winner. Magnus Carlsen is the current champion, having won it in 2013 from Vishwanathan Anand. He successfully defended the title in 2014 and 2016.
? Other versions of the game: While FIDE recognized Championships are held for the aforementioned three formats, there are other variations of the game as well, such as:
? Bullet is a 40 move game with each player getting 3 minutes/move.
? Armageddon, where for black, a draw is equal to victory and white has more time on the clock.
? Lightning has 10 seconds per move and is also played as one-minute games.
? Bobby Fischer's version of chess: The legendary Bobby Fischer invented a format of chess called Chess960, where the starting positions for a match are randomized. The name is given 960 because there are 1920 starting positions in total and thus, for each player, there are 960 variations of the same.
" />How many of you play chess? If chess is your go to game, then read on to know more about chess and the reigning chess Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram.
Aravindh Chithambaram was born in Madurai, India on 09th November 1999. One of the brightest Indian chess talents, Aravindh hails from a very modest family background. At the age of 14, with a tilak on his forehead he possessed the kind of energy that did not allow him to sit still at the Mayor?s Cup International Open Chess championship in June 2013. He kept running around the NSCI stadium hall watching the positions on various boards while keeping a tab on his own board. The performance was all the more special because the boy with an FIDE rating of 2335, came up with a performance equivalent to 2728 rating points and defeated four Grandmasters (GMs) and two International Masters (IMs) on his way to score nine points of a possible 11 to clinch his first international tournament title. Aravindh was the winner of the U14 open group at the Asian Youth Championship 2013.
Quick calculations are a habit Aravindh developed while learning the ropes of the game from his maternal grandfather when he was seven. Since he was always finding a way to leave home to play cricket, his grandfather introduced him to chess to keep him still in one position. He took to the sport instantly but was always in a hurry to finish the game and get out. It was simple for him to do that. However, making a career in chess wasn?t. Aravindh lost his father when he was three years old and his mother struggled to manage his career and run the household.
Many of his older opponents complained, "How do we take him seriously? He practices his cricket bowling technique during the game!" Aravindh does not prepare for his opponents during chess tournaments. He prefers to play on his own skills and knowledge. "He is extremely quick at calculations, and relies heavily on his endgame skills to win games,? says GM R.B. Ramesh, who coaches Aravindh.
Aravindh had won the National Open Senior title in December 2018. He etched his name in history books in an emphatic manner as he scored 10.5/11 in Rapid and 10.0/11 in Blitz. His record is similar to what Carlsen had done in 2014 when he became the first male player to become World Triple Crown Champion when he held World title in all three formats Classical, Rapid and Blitz. Susan Polgar was the first ever chess player to hold Triple Crown title in all three formats of the game in 1996.
Internationally, chess is played in three formats i.e. classical, blitz and rapid; the main difference being the time allotted to make a move. Some players are more competent in one format while there are the ones who are equally proficient in all three. The three formats are further explained:
? Blitz: The fastest format of the game. According to FIDE, Blitz is a format, where each player gets a time control of three minutes and two additional seconds to make a move. Magnus Carlsen, of Norway, is currently the World Blitz Champion, having won it in 2014 as well. The first World Blitz Chess Championship was held in 2006 and from 2012 the rapid and blitz format championships are held together.
? Rapid: The rapid format of the game. Rapid is a slower format than blitz. Here, a player has 15 minutes, plus 10 additional seconds to make a move, starting from move 1. The concept made its debut at a FIDE Congress meeting, in 1987, at Seville, Spain. Anatoly Karpov became the first champion of this format in 1988. Viswanathan Anand is the current champion, having won it in 2017.
? Classical: The classical approach to chess. The classical format of the game has no time control but has a total time limit of 10 hours. The first World Chess Championship was held in the year 1886, with Germany's Wilhelm Steinitz as the winner. Magnus Carlsen is the current champion, having won it in 2013 from Vishwanathan Anand. He successfully defended the title in 2014 and 2016.
? Other versions of the game: While FIDE recognized Championships are held for the aforementioned three formats, there are other variations of the game as well, such as:
? Bullet is a 40 move game with each player getting 3 minutes/move.
? Armageddon, where for black, a draw is equal to victory and white has more time on the clock.
? Lightning has 10 seconds per move and is also played as one-minute games.
? Bobby Fischer's version of chess: The legendary Bobby Fischer invented a format of chess called Chess960, where the starting positions for a match are randomized. The name is given 960 because there are 1920 starting positions in total and thus, for each player, there are 960 variations of the same.
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