We have often heard chess players complain - my better half doesn't really understand chess and this has made it extremely difficult for me to have a successful chess career. At the same time we have witnessed numerous couples who understand chess well coming together and achieving extraordinary things. More than achievement it is the harmony which exists between the couple, the subtle understanding of what the other person is indulged in, which is so very precious. In order to ensure that the future talents of Indian chess are able to find their ideal partner, we have launched the ChessBase India matrimony portal. In this article we tell you all about how the portal functions and how you can apply to be a part of the same.

ChessBase India Matrimony Portal

ChessBase India is all about powering chess in India. We indulge in everything that helps to improve the situation of chess and chess players in our country. After the successful launch of ChessBase products, Quality Chess Books, Calendar, ChessBase India Power and Accessories we are now unveiling our grand new idea - The ChessBase India Matrimony Portal.

Over the years we have been doing our research and found that chess players are happier after marrying a fellow chess player. The reason is simple - a chess professional's life is different from the life of a non-chess player. While a common person is stuck in a routine life, chess players have to be travelling all the time to different tournaments across the globe. The amount of time they can spend with their family is minimal. Even when they are home, most of the time their brain is working out the details of a position that was played in an online game or they are trying to find a nuance in the extremely difficult study that they are trying to solve blindfold. Most of the chess players are owls - they like to sleep late and wake up when half of the day is already over! Many days in the life of a professional chess player is spent fine-tuning the nuances of the Berlin or the Queen's Gambit Declined or the Najdorf. There are days when a line which you are studying hits a dead end and all your hours of work is just wasted. It would be futile to explain to a non chess player what just happened, while a chess partner would be awe of how black equalized in every single line.

While all of the above is still possible to adjust, one of the key issues of marrying a non chess player is the phone call after a game in which you are asked, "How did you lose the game?" Of course, the non chess playing spouse would not be able to understand the intricacies of the explanation and hence you keep it simple - "I made a mistake and lost." To which the spouse can just not understand why you do not concentrate or take chess more seriously!

Successful chess couples

India's strongest chess couple for many years - IM Vijayalakshmi and GM Sriram Jha

One of the prime examples of how marriage helps chess players achieve their potential is Vijayalakshmi and Sriram Jha. Within a few years of their marriage Viji managed to score all her three GM norms. Seeing Viji's progress motivated Sriram to work hard on his game as well. Speaking to Manisha Mohite for Mid-day, Sriram said, "While Viji made her three GM norms in 2007, I realised that I have to elevate my game. I am more focused and aggressive now and this has resulted in good performances." Sriram became a GM very soon. Another thing to note about the union of Viji and Sriram is that their caste, religion, region, language nothing mattered when the two came together. Viji hails from south India while Sriram is from north. Chess brought them together - caste, race, religion, language everything else was secondary.

No, they aren't promoting ChessBase 14! That was their wedding gift when Raghavi and Vishnu Prasanna tied the knot to each other on 5th of June 2017

In 2017 WIM N. Raghavi and Vishnu Prasanna married each other and became India's strongest chess couple surpassing the combined Elo average of Sriram and Viji. Raghavi is a WIM, while Vishnu is a GM. While Raghavi is a doctor by profession and is extremely busy, the chess knowledge she has helps her to understand the important role that her husband is playing for improving the chess scene in India. After a long day's work when she returns home and finds Vishnu working on the rook endgame with India's youngest GM (Yes, Vishnu is Gukesh's trainer), Raghavi doesn't get angry or impatient. In fact many times she joins in the analysis session. Vishnu is creating champions like Gukesh, Leon etc. He is also working with Surya Sekhar Ganguly, who recently achieved a 2850 performance at World Teams 2019 and he himself is playing chess at a high level. This is testified by the fact that he beat GM Abhijeet Gupta just a couple days ago at the Sharjah Masters 2019. Raghavi's chess knowledge and skills have surely helped Vishnu keep moving forward in the world of chess.

Harikrishna and Nadezda tying the knot with each other on 3rd March 2018

Harikrishna's achievements need no real introduction. He is India no.2 and one of the best chess players in the world. However, it is important to note that after achieving a rating of 2673 in 2005, Hari struggled in the 2650 - 2700 zone for nearly seven years. He broke free and crossed 2700 in February 2013. Later on he went as high as 2770! A key role in all of this was played by the fact that Hari had relocated his base to Europe. His girlfriend back then, and now his wife Nadzeda Stojanovic was one of the main reasons how Harikrishna could stay in Europe without feeling home-sick. The couple have now shifted to Prague in Czech Republic from Belgrade. Nadezda is a WFM and also a FIDE instructor and a FIDE arbiter. It goes without saying that her knowledge of chess has helped Harikrishna become a world class chess player.

Another popular couple of Indian chess is Niklesh Jain and Angela Franco

Niklesh is the editor-in-chief of ChessBase India Hindi, while Angela is a WIM from Colombia. Their love story of how they came together is inspiring. But what is even nicer to know is how they are spending their time after marriage. Says Niklesh Jain, "Angela is fluent in Spanish and I know Hindi and English well. Although we do not know each other's languages, the game of chess has brought us together. Angela's dream is to become a WGM and I am going to do everything to help her to improve her game and reach that goal." Angela has travelled over 10,000 miles to live in India with her love. The union of Angela and Niklesh shows how the synergy between two chess individuals work in the practical world.

Here are a few more examples:

GM R.B. Ramesh is also known as the super coach of Indian chess. WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy is the former World under-18 champion. The two have had an amazing life of helping each other achieve their goals. First Ramesh helped Aarthie become the World Youth Champion, then Aarthie helped Ramesh become a GM and the British Champion and then together the duo built up Chess Gurukul which has changed the chess scenario in the country!

Dibyendu Barua the second GM of India and WIM Saheli Dhar Barua have together created one of the biggest chess academies in our country - the DDDBCA

Bhagyashree Thipsay, even at the age of 57, is working towards her aim of becoming a WGM. And she has full support from her husband Pravin Thipsay, who is the 3rd GM of India

The author of these lines married WIM elect Amruta Mokal in 2014. In the same year I became an IM and in 2015 Amruta and I together launched the biggest chess website of India - ChessBase India

Dubbed as the cutest couple in the world of chess Anish Giri and Sopiko Guramishvili have both created their mark. While Anish is close to challenging World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Sopiko, who is an IM and a very strong player, is now one of world's best commentators

Erwin l'Ami is a 2600+ player and a second of Anish Giri, which means he is quite busy. Alina l'Ami is an IM, a world class chess photographer and a world traveller. Every few days she is in a new continent. playing and covering a different tournament. Erwin and Alina spend very few days with each other, but the bond of chess lets them stay closely connected.

World class player Levon Aronian and his wife WIM Arianne Caoili. While Aronian is a national treasure of Armenia, Arianne is a Ph.D and is involved in multiple social activities which empowers the common people |Photo: Sputnik

We mustn't forget the example of the Ravis. T.S. Ravi a very strong IM married WIM Sai Meera. Their daughter Rakshitta Ravi is now a WIM and together they are the first family in Indian chess who has both the parents as well as the child who are titled players!

We could go on and on about this, but lets come back to the ChessBase India Matrimony Portal. We shared this idea with ChessBase GmbH in Germany. Co-founder of ChessBase Frederic Friedel was impressed with the idea and said, "I was recently in Chennai and met with Vishnu Prasanna and his wife Raghavi. Seeing the two of them together was wonderful. It was clear from the way they spoke that they were much different from other couples owing to the fact that both of them are chess players."

The dinner with Frederic meeting Vishnu and Raghavi along with Saravanan and Srinath

Adding further to it Frederic said, "We are very excited to see how the ChessBase India matrimony portal works in India. Based on the success we may think of rolling out across to the world."

The highest rated eligible bachelors of Indian chess

The highest rated eligible bachelorettes of Indian chess

Please note: The above players are the highest rated unmarried Indian chess players. Their pictures are just meant for representation purpose. These players will become part of the Matrimony portal only when they give explicit permission (by filling the form below) to be a part of it.

How does the ChessBase India Matrimony Portal work?

We could have easily started a ChessBase India relationship portal, or some kind of a social network. But we are very clear about the aim of this project. It has to be marriage. That's the reason why we have restricted the number of people who can enlist their names on the portal. Only those who have FIDE IDs will be allowed to submit their names. India has over 75,000 players registered with FIDE. So the chances that you will find your match here are pretty good. In the google doc below we are asking you for the following details:

1. Name

2. FIDE ID

3. Email ID.

4. Favourite openings as White

5. Favourite openings as Black

6. Do you like to study endgame?

7. Positional or tactical player

8. Favourite chess books

The main idea of asking for favourite openings as White is to make you aware of the playing style of your prospective spouse. Suppose you are a 1.d4 player and he/she opens with 1.e4 you will be able to expand your repertoire in a seamless manner. At the same time a positional player might benefit the most by marrying a tactical player. Knowing your partner's favourite chess books, or whether he/she likes endgames or not is also a way to know more about your future partner.

Once you fill the form and submit the same we will verify it carefully, cross verify it with you and then publish it on the ChessBase India Matrimony portal.

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The Matrimony tab will be added to the top of our website (as can be seen in the image above) once we receive the applications

Please play by the rules and fill in the form only if you are interested to marry a fellow chess player. It is our aim that chess players can build a community which is based on love for the game of chess, based on the love for 64 squares, far away from the worries of religion, caste and other such parameters which currently exist.

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