Canada is perhaps not one of the classic big chess countries, and it may have come as a surprise to some that the Candidates Tournament and the Women's Candidates Tournament, have been awarded to Canada. This has a lot to do with one of the main sponsors of the Candidates, the Scheinberg family, which is based in Toronto, Canada. And Canada has a long and rich chess history.

The Canadian Chess Federation

Organised chess in Canada dates back to 1844, when Canada's first chess club was founded in Montreal. In 1894 Montreal was also one of the venues for the world championship match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Emanuel Lasker. However, most of the games of this match were played in the USA.

A Canadian Chess Association was founded in Hamilton in 1872 to organise Canadian national championships. This was replaced in 1932 by the Canadian Chess Federation (CCF), in which for the first time all the major cities of the country were represented with their clubs. In 1945 the Federation was renamed Chess Federation of Canada. This was to avoid confusion with the "Co-operative Commonwealth Federation" (also CCF). The Canadian Chess Federation is based in Ottawa and has published the bimonthly magazine "En Passant" since 1979.

Tournaments

In addition to the closed Canadian National Championships, there have also been open championships since 1956. The 13-year-old Bobby Fischer was one of the participants in the first of these tournaments, but still had a lot to learn.

Over the years, Canada has hosted some outstanding tournaments and matches. In 1957, the World Junior Championship was held in Toronto. Fischer's friend and mentor Bill Lombardy won. In 1967, to celebrate Canada's centennial, an invitational grandmaster tournament was held in which Bent Larsen and Klaus Darga finished shared first. In 1971, Bobby Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov 6-0 in their legendary candidates' match in Vancouver. An outstanding super tournament was also held in Montreal in 1979, with Anatoly Karpov and Mikhail Tal as the winners. Another major tournament, the World Chess Festival, was held in St John in 1988. During the festival Kevin Spraggett won his Candidates match against Andrei Sokolov. The following year Spraggett was beaten by Artur Yusupov in Quebec.

Players

One of the outstanding personalities in Canadian chess history in the middle of the last century was Daniel Abraham (Abe) Yanofsky (1925 - 2000). Yanofsky was born into a Jewish family in Brody, which at the time of his birth belonged to Poland and is now in western Ukraine. The family emigrated to Canada when Daniel Yanofsky was eight months old and settled in Winnipeg.

Yanofsky learnt chess when he was eight years old. By the age of 12, he had already won the Manitoba provincial championship and participated in the Canadian national championship. In 1939 he was a member of the Canadian national team at the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires - at the age of 14. With 13.5 points, Yanofsky achieved the second-best result behind Miguel Naidorf (Poland) on board 2. But he did not win a medal for this result because Canada had only reached the B final, where the team finished second, 17th overall.

Yanofsky took part in ten more Chess Olympiads until 1980, until 1970 he played on board one. After the 1964 Chess Olympiad he became a Grandmaster. Yanofsky was the first Grandmaster of his country and even the first Grandmaster of the entire British Commonwealth.

Daniel Yanofsky (left) with Edward Lasker (Photo: British Columbia Chess History)

During the war, Yanofsky had won several tournaments in Canada and the USA and after the war was one of the participants in the first major international post-war tournament, the Staunton Memorial in Groningen in 1946.

The Canadian finished tenth and was one of two players to beat tournament winner Botvinnik. The other was Najdorf. Yanofsky received the brilliancy prize for his victory.

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Yanofsky also played in two interzonal tournaments, in 1948 and 1962, and won the British National Championship as a Commonwealth participant in 1953. Yanofsky played most of his tournaments in Canada and some in Israel. In the 1968 Netanya tournament, Yanofsky finished second behind Bobby Fischer. He drew against Fischer. Between 1943 and 1965, Yanofsky won the Canadian National Championship eight times, a record he shares with Maurice Fox. Yanofsky played his last tournament games in 1989.

Yanofsky was never a professional chess player, but worked first as a research assistant at the University of Winnipeg and then as a lawyer with his brother Harry in their joint law firm. He was also active in politics and held various offices in Winnipeg. Yanofsky received several awards and honours for his achievements in various fields.

Yanofsky's contemporary Frank Andersson (1928-1980) was also a very strong player, but suffered from chronic rheumatism, which severely limited his career as a tournament player. Otherwise he would probably have become a grandmaster.

Canada's second Grandmaster was Duncan Suttles. Born in San Francisco in 1945, he came to Canada at the age of eight when his father took a job as a professor in British Columbia. At the age of 15, Suttles was a participant in the 1961 Canadian Championships. In 1965, he played in the Under-20 World Championships and won the B final, finishing ahead of players such as Raymond Keene and others.

(Photo: British Columbia Chess History)

Between 1964 and 1984 Suttles took part in eight Chess Olympiads with the Canadian team, three of his last four appearances on board one. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1972.

In addition to his professional work as a mathematician, first at university and later in industry, Suttles played in a number of tournaments. He won the Vancouver Open in 1981, beating Anthony Miles and Yasser Seirawan. A follower of Nimzowitsch, Suttles cultivated an eccentric style of play, with a penchant for unusual openings and tactical skirmishes. His last international appearance was at the 1984 Chess Olympiad.

Canada's third grandmaster was Peter Biyiasas, who was born in Athens in 1950 and grew up in Vancouver. He won the Canadian National Championship in 1972 and was a member of the Canadian team at four Chess Olympiads from 1972 to 1978.

Peter Biyiasas(Photo: British Columbia Chess History)

In 1972 he won the individual bronze medal on board 4, in 1976 he won bronze on board 2 and in 1978 silver on board 1. In 1978 he became a Grandmaster. In 1980 Biyiasas changed federations and started to play for the USA.

Legend has it that in 1981 Bobby Fischer, who was in hiding, stayed at Biyiasas' place for a while. During this time they once played a blitz match which Fischer won 17-0. Biyiasas retired from tournament play in 1985.

Kevin Spraggett, born in Montreal in 1954, is the fourth Canadian who became a Grandmaster and the first who was born in Canada. Spraggett is regarded as the best Canadian player in history.

Kevin Spraggett

He began playing tournament chess in the early 1970s and became a professional chess player in 1980. He achieved a number of notable successes, including winning the US Open in 1983 and the Commonwealth Championship in 1985. Between 1984 and 1996, Spraggett won the Canadian National Championship five times and the Canada Open eight times. Between 1986 and 2002 Spraggett represented Canada in eight Chess Olympiads.

Another important player in Canadian chess history was Alexandre Lesiege. Born in Montreal in 1975, he started playing chess at the age of six. At the age of 14 he won the Canadian Junior Championship in 1989 with 10 wins and one draw. In 1992 Lesiege became the second youngest Canadian national champion after Yanofsky.

Alexandre Lesiege

In 1993, he took part in the Interzonal Tournament in Biel. In 1992, 1998, 2002 and 2016, he was a member of the Canadian team at the Chess Olympiads. FIDE awarded him the title of Grandmaster in 1998.

Immigrants, emigrants and streamers

After World War II, several strong players from Eastern Europe emigrated to Canada - the best known names are Fyodor Bohatirchuk, Paul Vaitonis and Geza Fuster - and enriched the Canadian chess landscape.

Fyodor Bohatirchuk

The Ukrainian Bohatirchuk was one of the strongest players in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and came to Canada via West Germany in 1949. He represented Canada at the 1954 Chess Olympiad.

In 1980, Soviet Grandmaster Igor Ivanov used a stopover in Gander on a flight from Havana to Moscow to escape. Within a short time, Ivanov was Canada's top player. He won the Canadian championship in 1981, 1986 and 1987. In the 1981 World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov, Ivanov was one of Viktor Korchnoi's seconds. At the 1982 and 1988 Chess Olympiads, Ivanov played on the first board of the Canadian team. In 1990 he moved to Utah and joined the US federation.

Former U16 world champion Evgeny Bareev emigrated from Russia to Canada in 2006 and lives in Toronto. Bareev also joined the Canadian Federation in 2015 and is number one in the Canadian rankings ahead of grandmaster Eric Hansen. Together with fellow Canadian grandmaster Aman Hambleton, Hansen runs the video streaming channel "Chessbrah".

In women's chess, Zhou Qiyu ("Nemo") and Vancouver-based Alexandra and Andrea Botez have achieved a high profile, particularly through their activities on social media. The Botez family traces its roots to Romania. The sisters were born in Dallas, USA.

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Kevin Spraggett has been mentioned as the strongest Canadian-born Grandmaster. In fact there was a Canadian-born Grandmaster who was probably even better. Joel Lautier was also born in Canada. The family emigrated to France when Lautier was nine years old. Lautier became the best player in France. However, he retired from chess a long time ago.

Paul Keres

Paul Keres plays a special role in Canadian tournament history. He visited Canada several times.

Paul Keres at a simul in Quebec 1975

On his return journey from the 1975 Vancouver Open, which Keres had won, the Estonian and Soviet top player died during a stopover in Helsinki. Since then, a memorial tournament has been held regularly in Canada in Keres' honour.

This is Keres' last tournament game, played at the Vancouver tournament 1975.

The man who was Dr. Zhivago

More about Paul Keres...

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Chess in Canada: Great tournaments, impressive personalities - Chess News | ChessBase

It's "the Indian earthquake in Toronto", said Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov as he lauded teen Grandmaster D. Gukesh for becoming the youngest ever challenger for the world title, a triumph which marks the "shifting tectonic plates" in the game's global order.

The 17-year-old Gukesh bettered the record created by none other than Kasparov 40 years ago. The Russian was 22 when he qualified in 1984 to clash with compatriot Anatoly Karpov, making him the youngest challenger of that time.

Gukesh wins the Candidates Tournament

"Congratulations! The Indian earthquake in Toronto is the culmination of the shifting tectonic plates in the chess world as the 17 year old Gukesh D will face the Chinese champion Ding Liren for the highest title," wrote Kasparov on 'X', obliquely referring to the Russian domination of the past.

Gukesh played out an easy draw with American Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th and final round to finish with nine out of a possible 14 points in the tournament that is held to decide the challenger to the world champion.

The triumph entitles Gukesh a clash against reigning world champion Ding Liren of China in the last quarter of the year.

India's five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has spawned a chess culture in India and the country is reaping the rewards of the Grandmaster's success with thousands of youngsters, mostly in their teens, taking up chess.

Kasparov acknowledged Anand's contribution to Indian chess, saying, "The 'children' of Vishy Anand are on the loose!" Kasparov was responding to a congratulatory tweet by Grand Chess Tour following Gukesh's success here.

"Congratulations to Gukesh D for his victory in the FIDE Candidates, securing his place as a challenger in the World Championship Match! We eagerly anticipate his participation in our grand chess tour events!," wrote Grand Chess Tour on 'X'.

In another social media post Kasparov highlighted the shift in power centre of chess, saying, "Look at the names of many of the top junior players in the USA and England to see that the Chinese and Indian diaspora are just as passionate to achieve at chess.

"The Kasparov Chess Foundation has watched this wave rise and Gukesh's success will raise it further," Kasparov, the undisputed world champion from 1985 till 1993, wrote on 'X'.

Kasparov, following a dispute with the international chess federation (FIDE) set up a rival organisation, the Professional Chess Association. He was ranked world No. 1 for a record 255 months overall, from 1984 until his retirement from regular competitive chess in 2005.

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Gukesh's win tectonic shift in world chess order: Kasparov - The Hindu

CHENNAI: It was 2017 and an 11-year old D Gukesh was still learning the ropes of top-flight chess. But he was clear in his mind: "I want to become the youngest world chess champion," Gukesh had said in an interview. Since then, the Indian GM, full of determination and drive, has been toiling towards his ultimate goal. Thanks to the grind over the years, including "sacrificing childhood" as his coach Vishnu Prasanna would put it Gukesh is now just one step away from realizing his dream. His singular focus on chess and parents' decision to let him do what he does best have also contributed to his meteoric rise. "Gukesh has basically given up his childhood...He does not have anything that a normal kid has, he does not have free time. He has to take more stress than an average child. "It is like a generational thing (achieving chess targets in time), it will happen again only after a few decades. Everybody has goals, but it is very hard to come close to that," GM Prasanna, who has been working with Gukesh for the past seven years, told TOI after his ward emerged triumphant in the prestigious Candidates tournament in Toronto. "Right from the start, he was like that. He wanted to be the world No. 1, that was his main goal. His goal was far away until he qualified for the Candidates late last year. He has come closer to his goal in the last six months to one year. He has been very determined and the final step (World Championship title) remains," Prasanna added.

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Gukesh sacrificed childhood to come this far: Coach - The Times of India

The fearless approach with deep preparation of D Gukesh came out of syllabus for his well-versed opponents in the Candidates Chess tournament in Toronto. The only defeat that Gukesh suffered in the tournament came in the seventh round against French No. 1 Alireza Firouzja and the painful loss pumped the 17-year-old to give his best for the rest of the tourney. Gukesh took a sweet revenge of his defeat to Firouzja in the penultimate round and jumped to sole lead for the first time in the tournament and never looked back. At the press conference, when Gukesh was asked about the moment when he realized he might end up becoming the Candidates winner, he said, "If I had to pinpoint a moment where I really felt this could be my moment, it was probably after the seventh game, after I lost to Firouzja. Even though I just had a painful loss, I was feeling at my absolute best on the rest day. Maybe this loss gave me so much motivation and fired me up." He added, "After the loss I really felt that if I continue doing the right thing, and I am in the right mental state then I can really go for the triumph." He is just a step away from fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming the youngest world champion. Gukesh said, "I never think about the youngest or the first. My aim is to make it big at the world championship. The next goal and big thing is obviously the world title. I will give my absolute best but first I will try to relax. It has been stressful for the last three weeks." "After this much-needed break, I will think about the world championship and how I will plan to take things forward with my team. I will try to do the right things and be in the ideal shape required to play chess," he added.

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Felt I could win the Candidates chess tournament after seventh round loss: Gukesh - The Times of India

Teams Surgut, Tehran, and Tula are in the lead.

The second round of the Asian Cities Team Championship was played at the Ugra Chess Academy on 22 April.

In the Russian derby, the experienced Surgut team defeated the young players from Moscow with a score of 2.5:1.5. Ilia Iljiushenok beat Stanislav Khudyakov, Aleksei Pridorozhni was stronger than Vasilii Titarov, Nikolai Kabanov lost to Marat Gilfanov, and the game I. Bocharov - D. Kirillov ended in a draw.

Grandmaster Ilia Iljiushenok: At first the game was not easy: in the opening the opponent tricked me a little. But, apparently, he mixed up something (as he told me after the game), and I began a decisive attack. Then a combination followed, and after that - victory".

Marat Gilfanov also shared his impressions of the game: I have mixed feelings about todays game. It seemed equal all the time, then in the endgame I had time trouble, but for some reason my opponent started playing quickly and blundered.

The men's team of Tehran, Iran, swept Baghdad, Iraq, with a clean score, despite the Tournaments top-rated player Bardiya Daneshvar not playing for them that day.

The Tula team defeated Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, with a score of 3:1. Daniil Manelyuk and Dmitrij Rodin won their games.

Tehran (8 individual points), Tula (7) and Surgut (6) are leading with 4 match points scored by each.

The women's team of Tehran is in fourth place with 3 match points: in the second round, they beat Kathmandu, Nepal, with a perfect score.

In other matches, Penang, Malaysia, defeated Sukhbaatar, Mongolia, 2.5:1.5, Colombo, Sri Lanka, beat Al Quds, Palestine, 4:0, and the encounter between Al Mahra, Yemen, and Muscat, Oman, ended in a draw.

The Khanty-Mansiysk team had a day off.

Round 3 pairings:

Tehran (men) Surgut Tehran (women) Tula Moscow Penang Pavlodar Baghdad Colombo Muscat Kathmandu Al Mahra Sukhbaatar Khanty-Mansiysk Day off Al Quds

Tournament on Chess-Results

Official website

Photos

Photos: UgraMegaSport

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Round 2 of Asian Cities Chess Team Championship Completed in Khanty-Mansiysk -

The walk may have felt the longest in his life for Dommaraju Gukesh.

After his game with Hikaru Nakamura ended in a draw at the Great Hall in Toronto in the final round of the Candidates chess tournament, and listening to the commentary on the ongoing game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana for a while, he decided to take a walk along with Grzegorz Gajewski, his second (sparring partner).

He hadnt felt so much stress even during the three-week long tournament, in which he had to face the most of the worlds best chess players twice.

He had done his best. But was it enough?

Gukesh was in no position to answer it, though. That answer had to come from the game between Nepomniachtchi, the man who had won the last two editions of the tournament, and Fabiano Caruana, the top seed. The ideal answer would be a draw.

It didnt look like a draw though.

Caruana seemed poised for a win, and that meant Gukesh would have to play a tie-breaker the following day. If Nepominiachtchi and Caruana drew, they would remain on 8.5 points, along with Nakamura, the second seed. That would leave Gukesh, who had nine points, the undisputed champion: no tie-breakers would be required.

Gukesh got what he and a country of one billion that is increasingly becoming fascinated with the mind game wanted.

Beating At 17, he became the youngest-ever challenger for the World chess championship beating the record set by the Russian legend Garry Kasparov, in 1984, at the age of 20.

The news was broken to him by his father Dr. Rajinikanth, an ENT surgeon who has to schedule his surgeries according to Gukeshs tournaments. He ran towards his son and stopped his walk. The doctor managed to do what none of Gukeshs seven rivals could in Toronto.

Five of them were rated above him. He wasnt even the highest-rated Indian. That was R. Praggnanandhaa, nine months older, and a fellow-Chennaiite.

Gukesh wasnt among the favourites. Caruana, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi were.

Among the many he surprised was Magnus Carlsen. The five-time World champion from Norway is no longer part of the World championship cycle he has cited a lack of motivation had predicted how all the eight players would perform at the Candidates.

He had picked Caruana and Nakamura as the likeliest winners, followed by Nepomniachtchi. His prediction for Gukesh: I cannot imagine him winning the Candidates. He is not quite ready yet to make the leap.

Carlsen wasnt the only one who thought so. He hadnt even qualified for the Candidates till the last minute. It took him a Super Grandmaster tournament in Chennai in December that was specifically conducted for the purpose.

For those who had been following his career closely, Gukeshs win may not have come as a complete shock. Two years ago, at the Chennai Chess Olympiad, he had come up with an incredible show, winning his first eight games in a row for India-2 on the top board.

It is regarded as one of the greatest performances in a chess tournament ever. If someone could play like that at 15, there was every possibility that he could deliver in a tougher event when he became older and stronger.

How much stronger he could become is indeed an interesting thought. Given his exceptional talent, the maturity and the ability to make the right judgment his penultimate round game against Alireza Firouzja at Toronto is an example, as he avoided a draw and went for a win he should be among the worlds top players for a long, long time.

He could soon begin preparing for his World title match against Ding Liren. Not many may want to bet against him walking further into record books as the worlds youngest-ever chess champion.

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Chess: D. Gukesh profile | A young knight who has the armoury to reign supreme - The Hindu

Gukesh D won Candidates Chess event PTI

Chess legend Garry Kasparov heaped praise on India's 17-year-old Grandmaster D Gukesh after his victory in FIDE Candidates and said that it was an "Indian earthquake in Toronto". The 17-year-old Indian on Monday created history as he won the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024, becoming the youngest-ever challenger to the world title after an exciting final round in Toronto. Kasparov took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and congratulated Gukesh for winning the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024 on Monday. He added that Gukesh will take on Ding Liren of China in the world championship final.

The 61-year-old concluded by saying that the "children" of Viswanathan Anand are on the "loose".

"Congratulations! The Indian earthquake in Toronto is the culmination of the shifting tectonic plates in the chess world as the 17-year-old Gukesh D will face the Chinese champion Ding Liren for the highest title. The "children" of Vishy Anand are on the loose," Kasparov wrote on X.

In Round 14 of the FIDE Candidates, Gukesh used black pieces to hold rival championship contender Hikaru Nakamura to a draw and secure his victory.

Earlier, speaking to ANI Gukesh said he is now aiming to shine at the World Championships.

"My next goal is to make it big at the World Championship. I am just planning to do my absolute best and try to do the right things. And be in the ideal shape required to play good chess. And I hope things will go my way," Gukesh told ANI.

Gukesh expressed that he wanted to challenge the current champion Ding, saying it has always been his aim to win the crown.

"I haven't really thought about the preparations yet; I did not get much time to. I will soon start thinking about the match. I try to do as well as I can and give my absolute best everywhere possible. I am really eager to start preparing for the final. Going there and giving my best," he added.

Gukesh became only the second Indian player to win the Candidates Tournament, after Viswanathan Anand. Five-time world champion Anand's victory came in 2014.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Chess Legend Garry Kasparov's "Indian Earthquake In Toronto" Post For Gukesh D Breaks The Internet - NDTV Sports

D. Gukesh will play for the World chess championship as the youngest challenger in history. The 17-year-old from Chennai won the qualifying event, the Candidates tournament, in Toronto after drawing his final round encounter with second seed Hikaru Nakamura of the United States on April 21.

There was still the possibility of either top-seeded American Fabiano Caruana or Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won the last two Candidates, catching up with him. The two men were facing each other, and the winner could set up a tie-break match.

But that game, after some fluctuations, was finally drawn. Gukesh will take on the reigning champion Ding Liren of China in the World championship match later in the year.

Gukesh wins the Candidates Tournament

The womens tournament was won by Chinas Tan Zhongyi, who finished with nine points, 1.5 ahead of the competition. The Indian duo of Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali finished with 7.5 points and were placed second and fourth respectively.

Lei Tingjie of China, who was beaten by Humpy, also scored 7.5 points and was third. Vaishali defeated Russian Kateryna Lagno to register her fifth win in a row; that was after losing four in a row.

Tan will meet her compatriot Ju Wenjun for the womens World championship.

Gukesh had black pieces against Nakamura in their Queens Gambit Accepted game which lasted 71 moves; it ended with just the two kings on the board.

I am so relieved and so happy, Gukesh said after he was confirmed as the champion. Following this crazy game (between Caruana and Nepomniachtchi, I was completely emotional. Now I am feeling quite good.

Open: Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 8.5 drew D. Gukesh 9; Fabiano Caruana (USA) 8.5 drew with Ian Nepokniachtchi (FIDE) 8.5; Nijat Abasov (Aze) 3.5 lost to R. Praggnanandhaa 7; Alireza Firouzja (Fra) 5 drew with Vidit Gujrathi 6.

Standings: 1. Gukesh 9; 2-4. Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and Caruana 8.5; 5. Praggnanandhaa 7; 6. Gujrathi 6; 7. Firouzja 5; 8. Abasov 3.5.

Women: Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) 5.5 drew with Tan Zhongyi (Chn) 9; Kateryna Lagno (Ukr) 6.5 lost to R. Vaishali 7.5; Le Tingjie (Chn) 7.5 lost to Koneru Humpy 7.5; Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE) 7 drew with Nurgyul Salimova (Bul) 5.5.

Standings: 1. Tan 9; 2-4. Humpy, Lei and Vaishali 7.5; 5. Goryachkina 7; 6. Lagno 6.5; 7-8. Salimova and Muzychuk 5.5.

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Candidates Chess | Teen prodigy Gukesh earns the right to battle Ding for the World crown - The Hindu

GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Andrew Hong won the first Titled Tuesday events of April 2024. For Hong, it was a milestone, being his first-ever win in Titled Tuesday, and he did it outright with 10 points while Nakamura neededtiebreaks earlier after finishing in a four-way tie for first.

Nakamura also made the top five late, finishing fourth, while IM Meri Arabidze swept the women's prizes.

Joining Nakamura on 9.5 points in the early tournament, out of the original field of 672 players, were GMs Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Levan Pantsulaia, and Gata Kamsky. The group of four only played two games against each other, and Nakamura was a part of both: the round before he and Kamsky made a draw, Nakamura came out ahead of Duda in round nine.

We highly recommend that you not try this opening at home, unless you are absolutely sure you know what you're doing.

If the four tied players that emerged from round nine weren't enough, those players all drew each other in round 10, which helped create a seven-way morass at the top of the standings with one round left. Kamsky was the "lucky" one who faced a player on eight points, but that was only fair; he was the person who toppled GM Magnus Carlsen in round nine.

Kamsky's 11th-round game wasn't easy, either, coming against GM Jose Martinez, but his win was only enough for fourth place after tiebreaks. Elsewhere, Nakamura defeated IM Rudik Makarian, Duda overcame GM Tuan Minh Le, and Pantsulaia won against GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov. Duda took two bishops and a better pawn structure to the house and finished second, leaving us to wonder what would have happened had he held against Nakamura earlier.

April 2 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

Nakamura won the $1,000 first place prize and wasn't quite done earning money yet. Duda won $750 in second place, Pantsulaia claimed $350 in third, and Kamsky won $200 in fourth. GM Denis Lazavik led tiebreaks for the three players on nine points to claim $100, while Arabidze scored 7.5 points to win the $100 women's prize.

Hong had much less difficulty in securing the early tournament out of a field of 483. He began on a perfect 9/9 score, including a win over Nakamura in round seven after things got very interesting right out of the opening.

The Hong train was stopped in its tracks in the 10th round, however, derailed by GM Alexey Sarana, who ultimately rode into second place with the victory.

Hong managed to get back on track in the final round, winning against Duda in a romp after Duda made the mistake of "castling into it." Hong's win secured the tournament after Sarana and GM Aleksandr Shimanov only managed a draw against each other.

Nakamura wasn't able to sweep the day but he did place in both events, recovering from losses in rounds seven and eight with three straight victories, including the final one over GM Matthias Bluebaum.

April 2 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

Hong won the $1,000 first place prize, with Sarana accepting $750 for second, and Shimanov claiming the $350 for third. Nakamura added $200 to his total for the day, making him the big overall earner at $1,200. GM Dmitry Andreikin, who always seems to be lurking somewhere in Titled Tuesday, managed fifth place for $100. Finally, Arabidze tacked on her second $100 women's prize of the day.

The biggest standings change this week came in the junior section, with Lazavik taking the top spot from CM Artem Bardyk. Lazavik still has three tournaments left to reach the cap of 20 qualifying events, so it is difficult to see him falling back behind Bardyk. (GM Pranav Venkatesh, on 120.5 points through 15 tournaments, could potentially be another matter, though.)

Meanwhile, Nakamura continues to accumulate points, his top 20 results now averaging 9.3 points per tournament. The only change in the top five this week was Andreikin reclaiming the fifth spot from GM Jeffery Xiong. There was also a change to fifth place in the women's section this week, with WFM Katarzyna Dwilewicz taking it.

Continuing to lead the seniors and girls are Kamsky (no surprise after his early tournament this week) and WCM Veronika Shubenkova.

Juniors: GM Denis Lazavik (143.0 points)

Seniors: GM Gata Kamsky (159.0 points)

Girls: WCM Veronika Shubenkova (79.5 points)

The new Titled Cup fantasy game Chess Prophet continues as well. Current standings can be found here. (Login required.)

Titled Tuesday is Chess.com's weekly tournament for titled players, with two tournaments held each Tuesday. The first tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, and the second at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).

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Titled Tuesday - April 2, 2024 - Chess.com

Edited on April 2, 2023: Happy April Fools' Day, everyone. Stay safe!

Chess.com is excited to announce a complete overhaul of the chess-playing experience, now especially crafted for the next generation of young talents.

With a swipe-centered approach and multiple new features, playing chess is easier and more fun than ever before. Borrowing from popular apps like TikTok, Chess.com now packs an innovative and modern interface that is more in tune with the current times.

Tried and tested by some of the most prominent players in the world, the new Chess.com interface has proven to be a huge hit.

"We understand clicking is cringe. Tapping lacks rizz. Swiping hits different, and we're ready for it," said IM Danny Rensch. "No cap," he added.

Tapping lacks rizz. Danny Rensch, CCO of Chess.com

Tapping is so 2023. We understand that swiping is a faster and more efficient way to do just about anything in life. With this in mind, our new interface makes playing chess much easier by applying a swipe-centered approach to moving your pieces.

How will it work? Its all very simple: first, youll see one of your pieces appear on your screen. If thats the piece you want to move, all you have to do is swipe right. If it isnt, you should swipe left to see your next piece. You repeat this process until you get to the piece youd like to move.

Next, youll see a square on your screen (ex: the a1-square). Swipe up or down to indicate if thats the square you want your piece to land on. This revolutionary way of moving pieces will ensure that you never have to use the tip of your fingers again!

Weve all played that one player who likes to think about their moves. In olden times, youd have no choice but to sit there and actually think about your own movesbut who wants to do that?

Now, with our new feature, youll never have to be bored again. With a simple swipe of the thumb, you can open other games like Subway Surfers as you wait for your opponent to contemplate their next move. Surf and tag train cars to your delight while swiping into chess victory at the same time!

Now, when youre playing on Chess.com, literally anyone in the world will be able to watch your games live and react to your every move. Watch in amazement as emojis pop up on your screen while youre pre-moving in time scramble to deliver a complicated checkmate.

We understand losing is frustrating and that you deserve a better rating than what you currently have. When you lose a game, you can now share it with your network along with an inspiring caption going over your feelings and what you learned from the game. Other members will be able to engage with your post with nothing but supportive messages, as is common on the internet. If you get enough engagement from the community, well refund all your lost rating points!

"Chess is all about community," said Erik Allebest, Chess.com's CEO. "We want to bring chess closer to the real world of social media, where engagement is all that matters."

We want to bring chess closer to the real world of social media. Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com

Start sharing your games and prove why you are better than what your rating says. With this feature, even if your opponent wins, you can not lose.

Chess.com believes this swipe-centered paradigm will shift the way people engage with the game online forever. This new release is set to make the game even more appealing to the masses, and the stats prove it:

"After 2023's chess craze, the chess-playing demographic has seen a major shift toward younger audiences. Gen Z players are now approximately 80.5% of Chess.com's active member base, while Utah-based Boomers account for 10.4%, and Millennials only 5%, with the rest of the members being Vegan," said Brenan Klain, Chess.com's Utah-based Head of Engagement. "We're excited to have a new and better way to serve this massive chunk of our community."

If youve not received the update yet, dont worry! Within 24 hours, youll be able to join the younger generation of masters like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Denis Lazavik, and Anish Giri, who are already having a blast with the new version of Chess.com.

What do you think of these updates? Let us know in the comment section below!

Read more:

Chess.com Announces Massive Changes To Website: Gameplay, Interface, and More! - Chess.com