Who is the aMSa of chess?

Every fighting game has one. 

That lone wolf that goes their own way with an offbeat style. Everyone thinks they're crazy…until they wield their Excalibur all the way to a championship title. 

In Smash, that’s aMSa with his beloved Yoshi. 

And in the chess world, it’s Adhiban “The Beast” Baskaran.

Adhiban shows that no matter how offbeat your style, you can go far if you have the substance to back it up. 

Watch any chess tournament, and you’ll see grandmasters routinely playing only 1 of 4 opening moves. 

Yes, that measly little pawn push 1 square forward on the side of the board. Known as “1.b3” in chess notation, it had a much more common name in the chess world: garbage. 

Until Adhiban showed that an offbeat, hyper-aggressive style can turn one man’s trash into another man’s treasure. In fact, he used that very opening to demolish 12-time Czech Champion David Navara in just 9 moves. 

And wins like this quickly gained the #1b3cowboy a following. 

Other line items on Adhiban’s resume: 

• 2009 Indian Chess Champion - not an easy feat!
• 2008 World Youth Chess Champion (under 16) - yes, the whole world!
• Winner of the 2018 Reykjavik Open, 2014 Biel Masters, and 2016 Tata Steel Challengers - Wimbledon-like tournaments in the chess world!

So if you think chess is all about learning long, complex strings of theory…well, maybe.

But don’t forget that “Beast Mode” is an underrated weapon, even in chess. 

Start learning Adhiban’s 1.b3 for free today on Chessable. 

And if you’re new to chess entirely, don’t worry - here’s everything you need to know to get started.