Grief.

When someone asks you how are you these days ..

is it ok to say I am grieving ?

Even if on the outside you seem to be totally fine

Even if the other person's grief maybe more than yours ?

I am just tired. Tired of bad news. Everyday and everywhere.

Feel like I am a part of a war where I see bodies lying around

and cant do anything about it.

Even if this passes, so what ? what about the people who suffered and died ?

their suffering will carry on for years..ages..their whole life.

time heals many things..

but time doesnt heal the loss of a parent

time doesnt heal the loss of a child

time doesnt heal the loss of life.

2.79 Lac Deaths in India so far, due to covid. 

due to mismanagament, due to irresponsibility, due to lack of foresight.

due to the 2nd wave, due to lack of facilities, due to lack of resources.

due to sheer bad luck. 

that is permanent. you never get over it. you just learn to accept it. 

List of NGOs working for COVID Relief in Mumbai

Hey everyone. Putting together a brief list of NGOs working in COVID relief in Mumbai, at the moment - mentioning the exact aid they provide, and a link. I was looking for a city wise list and couldnt find one online, though there were a few posts here and there. So decided to do some research and put this together for anyone who is looking for such a list - for donation / volunteering / reaching out for help. 

The idea of donating to an NGO working in your own city / town / village 1st is to increase the chances of :

1. equitable distribution of resources 

2. efficient utilisation of the donation as one can personally enquire & see the impact of their relief work at a local level.

If you still have resources left after making such a donation, you can help out other cities/ towns / villages. Request you to please make a small research on your end as well before donating anywhere.

MUMBAI :

1. Project Mumbai .

a. Medical supplies and equipment to public hospitals which are already overburdened.

b. Currently providing free oxygen cylinders to BPL ( Below Poverty Line ) Members of society + also Househelps, watchmen, drivers etc.

c. Their project : Khana Chahiye, started in March 2020, distributes meals to migrants, labourers who are out of work, senior citizens living alone, covid positive patients who are home quarantining. 

Their website : https://projectmumbai.org/

Donation link : 

i.   Medical equipment : https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/better-health-infra-for-mumbai

ii.  Khana Chahiye : https://fundraisers.giveindia.org/projects/646

2. Making a Difference 

a. Supplies oxygen cylinders , oxygen concentrators, hospital beds and medical kits to public hospitals and frontline workers

Their website : https://makeadiff.in/

Donation link : https://www.donatekart.com/MTD/Save-Patients/

3. Doctors for you

( pan India organisation, registered office in Mumbai, working mainly in Mumbai, Delhi, Patna & Bangalore ie cities with high population density )

An NGO founded by Doctors & medical students in 2007, works in disaster relief programs. Currently working on setting up Covid Care Centres, & supplying Medical equipment like Oxygen concentrators, cylinders & multiparameter monitors. 

Their website : https://doctorsforyou.org/about-us.php

Fundraiser link   : https://www.donatekart.com/DFY/Help-Doctors-For-You/

4. Hemkunt Foundation 

(based out of Gurgaon, works in NCR, Delhi, Uttarakhand & Mumbai )

Oxygen supply to the needy : concentrators and cylinders. They are also setting up Oxygen centres.  

Their website : https://hemkuntfoundation.com/

Donation link : https://www.donatekart.com/Hemkunt-Foundation/Give-Oxygen-Cylinders/

5. Panvel Gurudwara 

a. Free Oxygen cylinders to the needy

Donation link : https://www.donatekart.com/Panvel/Help-Viky-Thomas/

                        https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/SupportPanvelGurudwara

6. Meds for More 

This is a special campaign started by a Doctor couple in Mumbai, to redistribute leftover / unused, unexpired medicines to the ones who need them. They are looking for Covid relief medicines, and not exactly money as thats not the purpose of this campaign - they have tied up with NGOs to distribute these medicines to rural areas, so as to gap the shortage. 

Read more here :

https://yourstory.com/2021/05/c-camp-receives-mbrdi-csr-grant-oxygen-concentrator-deployment/amp

You can help their cause through this website : https://www.medsformore.org/

( List is not exhaustive )

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1. Fundraisers supporting projects in Mumbai :

 https://fundraisers.giveindia.org/fundraisers/join-my-campaign-to-help-our-healthcare-heroes-face-the-second-wave-of-covid-19

( Fundraisers started by Govind Iyer who is a board member of the crowdfunding platform Give India )

Will raise funds for the NGO - PROJECT MUMBAI which will be working with several public hospitals to provide them with life-saving healthcare equipment and supplies, to cope with the significant stress on the hospital system.

2. Fundraiser for members of the Indian Chess Community. 

The All India Chess Federation has started a fundraiser to support members of the indian chess community with financial assistance and medical guidance in regard to Covid relief. 

Donation link : https://prs.aicf.in/pay

Details of the fund : https://aicf.in/checkmate-covid-action-plan/

                                 https://aicf.in/donate/

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P. s.  How to decide how much to Donate ? : 

1. 1st of all its completely voluntary and a personal choice - no pressure, no guilt tripping ! :) 

2. The idea is to genuinely help someone so make sure to do your due research while chosing which NGO to donate to.  I did some brief research on all the NGOs mentioned here, though it was all online, and I dint call up anyone ( except for the AICF fund ).

3. I usually set aside a fixed sum to donate - after making sure I have enough to be self sufficient, have savings to help myself and family on a rainy day, and then have some more to help people I personally know and care for in their time of crisis. 

4. Does Donation help ? Yes. Money usually solves a lot of problems. 

5. Isnt the current problem of lack of supply and co - ordination rather than lack of money ? This is a thought that bothered me too, but money will also help fix the supply problem to a great extent. For eg, if there are no oxygen concentrators - money can help set up new oxygen concentrator plants, import them, transport them on a urgent basis to faraway rural areas, etc. So donations do help.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood !

Last week I watched a movie I had never heard of,  & I loved it. " A beautiful day in the neighbourhood ". I sat through the 1st 15 mins in a sense of wonder and bewilderment.. & then I thought to myself..arre, this is an economic way to make a movie ! The 'set' of the living room literally looked like a 'set' ; instead of showing the city, they simply used some toy bridges and toy buildings to create a story ; and it felt like Tom Hanks was directly talking to me ! Not to another actor but directly to me !

                 Photo credit : Sony Pictures

The movie is about a children's tv show , it's host Mr. Rogers - played by the wonderful Tom Hanks , another character of a journalist and..our feelings. Yours, mine, everone's.  Its a beautiful movie which will help all of us..kids / parents / adults / old people. I was so surprised and impressed by the imagination of the creators to have thought of this whole set up - not only the unusual set, but even the unusual character of Mr. Rogers . Its (very) rare to come across such an authentic person. I was so moved by him. By his honesty & kindness. The only other time I have felt this way was when I met Dalai Lama, at Dharamshala.

Turns out - This show did exist for real, Mr. Rogers existed for real ! The movie infact is a semi biopic on the meeting between Mr. Fred Rogers & a cynical, award winning journalist - Tom Junod  - who was given an assignment to profile him.

Photo Credit : Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood / PBS

Mr. Rogers conceptualised his show "Mister Rogers' neighbourhood " with an aim to help children deal with their feelings in a positive manner. Oh how I wish me & my brother had the chance to watch this particular TV show as kids. Not that I have any complaints, infact the 1st 10 years of my life are a perfect example of an absolutely wonderful childhood :):)  But in general I found the concept of this ingenious kid's show a great way to help children understand and handle their emotions better. 

There are a few episodes / snippets on youtube which you can consider watching. 

https://youtu.be/FtsLoA1nBDQ 
( there are many ways to say I love you ) 

https://youtu.be/gEeEEc_djco
(I like you as you are ) 

https://youtu.be/VXlXGxV8Qf8
( a full episode from season 3 of the show )

I also loved watching the few video interviews of Mr. Fred Rogers which I could find, esp his speech to the senator with an appeal to increase govt funding for national public television. 

https://youtu.be/fKy7ljRr0AA

& finally, here is the piece that Tom wrote for the Esquire magazine :

https://classic.esquire.com/article/1998/11/1/can-you-say-hero

The original cover

Mister Rogers' neighbourhood ran on US tv for 33 years, from 1968 to 2001 ! In each episode he showed the kids how various things work, for eg I saw an episode about the postal department, which was shot at - the postal department ! Then there would his puppets, which would speak about different feelings that kids feel. He even covered difficult topics like death, divorce, and recognised that children's mental health needs nourishment too. He used to sing songs and talk  directly to the camera - with the intention of making each kid watching feel that he was speaking directly to him ! 


P.s. : I would be so glad to find all the recorded episodes :) Please let me know in the comments if any of you do locate these episodes on any website / streaming platform. Thank you :) 

A list of uplifting articles + calming books + pleasant movies

Many times when I am feeling low or uncertain I tend to google positive things or simply google the words I am feeling at the moment and read up some article online..

There are a lot of websites, blog & articles which really lift you up, give u a perspective, offer solutions, and motivate u.

But often times I have come across articles which randomly use negative words to describe difficult, but not negative, situations. like failure - to describe a set back, or  defeated - to describe disappointed. Coming across such superficial content is basically unhelpful, and sometimes confuses us and makes us doubt our perspective for no reason. However there surely are a few posts out there which can infact help us lift our spirits up in the most genuine and natural way. 

I have decided to maintain a blog post that includes articles / books / videos which I found extremely helpful while dealing with a low. I will also share some methods which have helped me. I hope to spread some positivity with this post. 

Online articles :

1.  http://blog.iqmatrix.com/overcome-disappointment.

( One of the best ones I have read on this subject )

2.  http://newkings.co/overachivers-treadmill/


Books :

1. 7 Habbits of Highly efficient people

( This is a very motivating book, and something you should read when u r at home and trying to make a plan for urself )

2. Ikigai

 ( This is a one time , one afternoon read. A very calming and feel good book )

3. Feeling Good by Dr. Burns.

( This is a book on cognitive behavioural therapy to deal with anxiety and depression. It helps us improve our behaviour and thinking patterns. I personally found it very very useful )

Pleasant movies :

1. A Beautiful day in the neighbourhood.

A semi - biopic on Mr. Fred Rogers and his television show for children " Mr. Roger's Neighbourhood" and its impact on children & a generation who grew up watching the show. After watching the movie I was sooo touched and full of wonder that such kindness and honesty can exist. The only other time I felt like this was after reading about , and then attending Dalai Lama's lectures.

2. Julie and Julia

3. A Man called Otto

-----------------

I will update this post as and when I come across meaningful articles/books/videos. Feel free to suggest any articles you have read or videos you have watched perhaps, that have helped you pick yourself up , and get going !

Travel blog on Shillong !

Hii ! 

A couple of months ago, I went to Shillong on a solo trip,  to give myself a break from general life! Just felt like sharing some of my experiences and thoughts, so decided to write a semi -  travel blog on it :) My notes about the trip - I recorded them during the trip on my phone - are not continuous, in the sense, they start with Day 3, then jump to Day 5 ! Cause I didn't really do much on the days in between, say Day 1 or Day 4..just wanted to give myself a real vacation and relax, rather than tire myself out and come back home and rest again :)

So I always wanted to visit the North East and felt like going to Shillong even more after watching a couple of episodes of a web series called 'Soulmates' last year 

-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GG1FsvKdQ4

( I dont remember if I liked the series, but the Shillong I visited has a very different ( better, simpler ) vibe from what we see here )

Travelling in and around Shillong was a beautiful , calming experience..the air is so clean, the place so pure, the people so simple. It's a different world. When I was there I wanted to stay there, but now that I am back home, I realise I belong here, and was just a visitor there. 

Shillong Day 3 : Laitlum and Elephant Falls 

( Laitlum - or Grand Canyon - is the hill where the music festival in Rock On 2 was shot, it looks very different in the movie btw. Now that I think about it, everything looks different when seen from other people's perspective. What we experience is only ours, what they experience only theirs. )

Today i went to Laitlum. Its a beautiful place in the outskirts of Shillong, next to smit village. On the way there are lush green wide unending meadows , surrounded by hills that look blue from a distance. Once i reached there the weather turned cold and foggy. A total difference from the weather in the city - which was still pleasant but monsoon pleasant. Going to laitlum was like visiting ooty - the ooty which we see in movies. Full of fog. Cudnt even see 5 steps ahead. I spent some time on the hills, placing each step carefully, careful not to fall off the cliff. I spent a lot of time sitting there, thinking, observing. At one point i cudnt even hear the voices of other tourists - ofcourse i cudnt see them anyway - as i had come further ahead. There i was, standing on a green hill, surrounded by fog on all 4 sides. Not able to see or hear anyone else. It was surreal..magical..unbelievable. i cudnt believe such an effect was possible in real life , just like that, in the course of everyday life. I loved that moment very much , at the same time wanted to come back to the voices, come back to safety. It's funny how we want to stay alone, far from the noise but when we are left all by ourselves we look for company, or just some familiar people or places. We look for a re assurance. Human beings are so paradoxical.

On a cliff, cudnt see even a few feet ahead !  

The clouds come down to meet you in Meghalaya

The weather clears out on our way back to Shillong

After Laitlum I visited the elephant falls. Actually they were called 3 step falls originally as the water falls in 3 stages - on 3 steps ! The water falls - then reach a plateau - then falls again, - again reach a plateau - and then falls again :D Its very pretty and i havent gotten a chance to see something like this before. Overall a nice day, at the end of which i was soo tired that i came home and slept immediately !

Some of the unique things abt shillong i have observed so far :

1. Shillong public buses have a speaker, and they usually play english music.
2. Many people smoke here. Yesterday my bus driver was smoking while driving the bus ! He stopped when i asked him abt it.
3. Today i saw a bull fight - bull vs bull !
4. Its like a village with people wearing modern clothes. But the older generation wears the traditional khasi clothes.
5. Women carry their babies on their back , tied with a cloth, like a sack. The babies observe the world around . Its very cute. I guess its also safe as everyone does it.

Shillong Day 5 : Double Decker Bridge, and general happinness.


I went to the double decker bridge today. It was beyond everything I expected. In a way its good that i did not have much idea about it cause i was caught by surprise :)

The way from Shillong to Sohra (local name of cherappunji ) is very beautiful. We stopped at a bridge as my driver was hungry (!!) So i decided to go ahead to the view point..i was pleasantly surprised to.discover that there were steps down to the stream ! Imagine -, they had built steps from the mountain top all the way down to the stream ! It was amazing to go down those stairs and sit by the waterfall..we went a little ahead and stopped again..this time the locals had built steps up a mountain ! So i went up there and sat there and meditated..all by myself ..i was so high up that the clouds were all around me..i now realised that the fog in laitlyum was actually clouds ! There was no need of an artificial white background for a pic taken here haha..

Atop a hill

On the road

Down in the valley

Then we reached the double decker bridge..i was lucky to get a very good guide - Febar - who was young and enthusiastic and even helped me with my bag and took pictures for me and of me :D it was a magical experience to go down those 3000 steps..

Local lime juice - served inside the forest

We 1st went to the longest single root bridge..the tree which had formed the root bridge was 100 years old !! Root bridges are formed naturally , the roots / branches of the banyan tree grown horizontally, intertwining with the roots / branches of another banyan tree opposite this one - in such a way that they form a bridge. Last year the locals decided to place wooden planks over the bridges to make it more convenient for the tourists. It was marvellous to stand on the bridge. And to look around..I was so high above the waterfall / stream..then my guide showed me a path through the roots to go down to the stream..so we went there and were just sitting by the water for a really long time..i felt so happy there..

Single Root Bridge inside the forest

Then we went to the double decker root bridge..on the way we crossed 2 rope bridges ! It was my 1st time on a rope bridge as well ..its amazing to stand on a bridge , through which u can see the stream below..

 The Rope Bridge reminded me of Roja !

I dont have words to describe the double decker root bridge..1 bridge on top of the other and we can use both..its a marvel of nature..the tree is 220 years old..in this case there was no tree in front of this one, and its roots had grown long enough to be buried in the soil on the ground opposite the bridge..febar told me that after 20 years or.so  this will turn into a triple deckar root bridge as the branches above were growing and were already half way there...To my great surprise there was a water fall at the double deckar bridge too..febar encouraged me to go into the water, so i did ! At that moment i felt so free ..i dint care about other people staring at me, about my clothes getting wet, about how will i go back in wet clothes and what if i fall sick :D i was just completely in the moment, enjoying myself.

If you feel like dancing..dance !

     

Double decker root bridge !! What a unique wonder of the world !!

Coming back is tough as we have to climb 3000 steps ! It was tougher than i thought and i took 3 or 4 stops on the way back..but i loved every moment of it. I will surely visit it again and this time maybe i will stay in the forest for a couple of days ! They have homestay arrangements inside the forest and they have electricity too ! I would love to visit again..

Shillong Day 6 : Sacred Forest

Last day in shillong..i woke up really late as i initially i had planned to just take rest today..but after waking up at 10 i thought ..sacred forest jaake aate hai ! So i went to the Mawphlang sacred forest..its like visiting a temple. Not a single tree has been cut in the forest as the land is considered to be a private property owned by the Mawphlang village and ruled by the king of the village ! The khasi tribe considers this forest to be sacred, they believe a deity overlooks the forest and nothing can be taken out of the forest ! U can drink the water, eat the fruits , touch the trees but are not allowed to take a single leaf out of the forest or else u will face the consequences from the deity . Its a fascinating tale. Took me about 2 hours to cover a 1 hour trek through the forest as i had so many questions for my guide !

 

My guide also happened to be an excellent photographer ! :)

About 2 months after my trip : An afterthought, today.

While in Shillong, I realised that the only way to not yearn for these kind of getaways - where you are literally running away from the whole world, atleast the world as you know it, and are living in a new one for that brief time - the only way to not yearn for such moments, is to actually enjoy your daily life. your daily routine. So I thought to myself i should go back home and try to focus on making a daily routine, a life, that I actually enjoy rather than just keep running through it. 

And now, for the past few days , I have had this feeling ki who wants to go to Shillong ? Not me ! I am very happy to be where I am and do what I do.

It's a nice feeling. Hope to maintain it, by not getting stuck in the monotonous, by always surprising myself, by challenging myself & by doing things that make me happy. I think its important to add things in our daily routine that help us be calm, joyous, creative and positive - so that we don't feel the need to get away from our daily life in order to feel all these things. Small, ordinary things like talking to a friend, drawing / colouring / doodling, taking a walk, going to the balcony and getting some fresh air - small things which seem insignificant and ignorable - are in fact an important tool that help us stay mentally healthy & fresh. For me, one such thing is writing. So I took some time out to write about my beautiful trip and conclusions today. :)

Live Chess & Moscow !

How lovely it is to be a spectator at a tournament !

My 1st experience at being a spectator was in the World juniors 2014 at Pune, where I was one of the official commentators..I remember I felt so relaxed and tensed at the same time, similar to how we feel in a tournament, but not in the same degree..no, nowhere close! It was a very enjoyable experience to simply go and watch the games live , without having the burden of the result on my head. Or shoulders. My main job was to comment on the games, but when I was not doing that, I would spend time observing the players, their body language, mannerisms, tournament habits..Evenings after the game were relaxed , and involved talking to other players or simply hanging out with my friends. Dinners were free from unwanted friends like mr. regret who follows a loss or ms. anticipation who comes with the next day's pairing. It made for a good change and gave me a different perspective towards my own attitude during a tournament.

1st time as commentator

Studying player's body language :D

Sometimes I would try and guess how the players were feeling about their position by their reactions ..it made me realise my opponents must be doing the same during a game !

This is one of my favourite playing pictures, and the reason why I like it more than the others is because I seem so confident and in control !

PC : Official tmt website of World Team ch 2013.

                                                 
                           How important it is to look confident, to not give away our real feelings !

Have you noticed, our calculations, evaluations are much quicker when we have to take a decision in somebody else's game ! When there is no clock ticking beside the board or no tournament standings or rating calculations to consider. For me, my involvement is much higher when I am present at the venue & watching the game live, rather than watching a game live online. One of the reasons could be that, at home if I am not sure about a certain move, I tend to check it immediately with the engine provided by the website or the followchess app, rather than forcing myself to calculate (This is actually a very bad habit, the right way to check would be to 1st apply your mind and then check with the engine if necessary ) Also, its just much easier for me to recollect Dominguez - Shirov from Corus 2010 or Nakamura - Sasi from Olympiad 2012, than any game I have studied at home, because I was present at the venue and watched them make the moves on the board at the time.The other day I was solving some positions from Jacob Aagard's exceptional book on calculation, titled... "Calculation"  (duh!) & came across this position

Koneru Humpy - Ushenina, 2011

WHITE TO PLAY

( Chessbase software has this nice feature of saving the position on the board as a picture, which is very very useful. To use it, go to file --> save --> save position. )
Actually, I dint notice the player's names when I saw the position, but I immediately recognised the game. It was played in the World Team Championship 2011, when I was a part of the team and was watching this game Live. I remember this game quite well, Humpy built up the attack move by move & gave the winning blow in exactly this position. She played 1. Qh6 !! The game ended after 1...gh 2. e6 + f6 3. Rf6 Kg8 4. Nf7+ 1-0.

(The flipside of this information was I found no reason to argue with her and wrote down the same move as my answer - which is not the best move ! For 1. Qh6 black can go 1...Qc5+ 2. Kh1 Qc4 ! 3. Bd3 !! gh 4. e6 f6 5. Bc4 , white is still better , though engine only gives a clear plus, the variations are very nice & very difficult for black to defend. But after the right answer 1. Nh7 ! Nh7 2. e6  white wins immediately. Try & figure out the variations after both 1. Qh6 & 1. Nh7  yourself, and later you can check it with the book or engine :) )

But the best part of visiting and watching live games at a tournament is it makes me feel like I am a part of the tournament. It can be a very inspiring experience you know ! You should try it !

This year I decided to stay back at Moscow after the Aeroflot open and watch a few games of the Candidates tournament 2016 ! My very good friends Eesha Karavade & Mary Ann Gomes accompanied me. It was a good holiday cum brief training, I felt so much more relaxed, positive and inspired when I came back home.

                                     
                                                   The venue for the Candidates 2016

I would like to share some brief notes which I took during the candidates tournament

My 'notescoresheets' make for good souvenirs :)

March 2016 : Candidates tournament 2016 :

My observations :

Day 1: Round 3.

V. Anand - Caruana, Candidates 2016, Round 3.

What will you play as black ?

Within a few moves , Fabi has transformed his positon, thanks to excellent re-arrangement!

"Anand drew. Good play by black. Starting from Bd7-Bc6 to h4,Rfe8,a5 ! Controlling b4. Very strong. Anand's Bf3 I dint like very much and if he has gone Bf3 why not follow it up with Bg4 ?! dint understand."

Actually, Bf3 is a good move ! I think the idea of Bf3 is to prevent Nd7 (as Nh5 in any case is ineffective as white goes Nd5 everytime). For eg 1. Bf3 Nd7 (idea Nc5) 2. Bg4 Rh6 3. Bf5, followed by Qg3 or Qg5. My suggestion of going for Bg4 plan, with knight on f6 is never good, as black simply moves his rook & if we take on d6, he takes on e4.

Topalov - Aronian, Candidates 2016. Round 3

White to play

Topalov went for 1. Qh5 here.

"In Topi's game , why not Qd5 instead of Qh5 ?! If Rd8 - Qe4, if Bg2- Kg2.Maybe black plays Qd5 - Qa3 ?! Rc7+ Kh8. But I think white will be able to find a defence here. Lets say Rc7 - Kh8 -Ne1 is very much possible."

1. Qd5 was a better try, though after 1...Rd8 2. Qe4 Rd4 ! 3. Qe7 Ne7 4. Be2 c6 5. bc Nc6, black remains a pawn up.

Day 2 : Round 4.

"Everybody is very well dressed today. Two of them were also very well prepared and quickly made an eventful draw and got up."

Nakamura - Giri, Candidates 2016, 1/2-1/2

The final position of the game with the king on g6 !

Lets move on, shall we !

Karjakin - Anand, Candidates 2016, Game 4. Position after 10...f5. 

White to play. What will be your plan in this position ?

"Plan for white : Be2, 0-0-0, Rdg1, g4. So lets say 1. Be2, Bf6 2. 0-0-0 Bb7"

The plan I suggested is very dangerous for white as well, there are many knight jumps. While we were thinking of a good way to proceed, Karjakin totally surprised us by going for a positional continuation, and playing against the weakened squares thanks to f5. He played 1. Bb5 in this position, followed by Nd5-ed, d4!, dc - bc & shortcastled.

Black to play

Once we saw this position on the board, it was clear how strong his plan ( and understanding ) is.

"Karjakin has a lot of clarity. He goes for specific positions and does not hesitate"

"If 1...f4 works black is surely fine. So lets try to make f4 work."

But it doesnt work, as for 1..f4 white simply goes 2. Bd3 h6 3. Bh7+ Kh8 4. Bg7 Kg7 5. Qg6+ Kh8 6. Qh6 wins. Anand played 1...Bf6, & later Ba6 & they exchanged both coloured bishops. But the weakness of having committed both d5 & f5 told; Karjakin won this game.

One of the absolute highlights of my stay was a chance meeting with the legendary Mark Dvoretsky !!

"Spoke to Dvoretsky ! Analysed Svidler - Aronian with him. Told him  I loved his books."

Thank you Mark, for being my teacher. 

When I heard the news of his passing away, I felt a number of things at the same time..
Sadness that such a great legend had passed away..
A sense of gratitude to have got the chance to meet him in Moscow and even talk to him and tell him how grateful I was for his teachings !
I never knew him personally, but from what I have read and observed, I feel he taught chess until the very last days of his life and it makes me feel very happy for him. I think any person passionate about his work would want to spend his last days the same way.
But above all I felt gratitude.. to have been lucky enough to have read his books and learn from them. In my initial years, I dint use a computer for a very long time, and a large part of whatever I knew about chess was thanks to his books. Even today I always carry one Dvoretsky book with me for every tournament, and the thing about a good book is , every time you read it you learn something new. Thank you Mark, for being my teacher.

Hanging around at the Candidates venue :

   Nakamura - Giri : "Well Dressed & Well Prepared "

Thats all about the chess stuff..Now lets talk about Moscow !

We managed to take some time out to go around Moscow as well..Its a beautiful city and luckily for us, the weather more or less cooperated with our plans. We visited the Kremlin palace, and went for a tour of the Armory chamber and Cathedral Square. The Kremlin is majestic and left us spellbound . For eg, The armory chamber has a museum which displays Russian treasury, such as Gold, silver & copper ware & jewellery from the 1700s , thrones used by the Tzars, horses's decorated saddles, dinner & cuttlery sets received as gifts by the Tzars by various kings & monarchs all over the world ( it was a custom to bring an appropriate gift for the Tzar while meeting him ; among other things, there was 120 piece dessert set gifted to the Tzar by Nepolian ) , gowns worn by the King & Queen for their coronation ceremony..it was a real treat. It took us 3 hours to go through it fully and at the end we were like kash moghals aur britishers India nahi aate, to hamare museums me bhi ye sab dekhne milta.  Moscow has an old world charm that has been expressed & preserved so well through its architecture. While walking down the streets in Tverskaya street, our eyes would be hooked on to the buildings around us. Even a bank office would be in this rich heritage building. For me , one of the highlights of my sightseeing was travelling in the Underground metro. It is more than 80 years old. built in the 1930s by the Soviet Union. Its many feet under the ground, so that the public transport system would be safe from any bombings. Going down so many feet in the escalator was an event in itself for a person like me who is not comfortable with heights. I was a bit afraid but also thoroughly enjoyed it ! Some pictures from our trip  :

Moscow architecture is dominated with red bricks, with elements of gold & blue, the colours look beautiful at dusk.

Kremlin at night, with the disneyland- like church at the background. 

                                       
                                                           Its a new day at Moscow :)

                         Cathedral Square, where Ivan the Terrible and his family is buried.
 

                                               The Tzar's Cannon at Ivanovskaya Square.

Space Museum , in the pic above, and The All Russian Exhibition Centre, in the pictures below, are right opposite the Cosmos Hotel, where we stayed for 11 days before the Candidates tmt for the Aeroflot Open - but we never noticed either of these !

I can take heart that my bad result at the Aeroflot open might have been due to several reasons, but surely not lack of focus. ;)

I have always been very fascinated by this city. After all its the mecca of chess. I love going back to Russia again and again, and playing in Russian tournaments. Even 60 year old 2200 veterans can give you an endgame lesson when you have been a decent chess player for 20 years yourself. Their love and respect for chess is reason enough for me to be drawn to this city. I once read a lovely quote which says when we travel we find out how wrong other people are about the places we visit and people we meet ! Its true..I have never really agreed with this general perception of Russians being cold..though the weather in Moscow remained cold as ever everytime ! But this time, that changed too. Thanks to my friends, my meeting with Dvoretsky and my experience at the Candidates, Moscow was warm. Welcoming and warm.