P Harikrishna opted for a quick draw with tournament leader Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan.
Top seeded Shakhriyaz Mamedyarov strengthened his position at the top in the World Jr. chess, maintaining a ghalf point lead.
Grandmaster B Adhiban finished tied third at the Chess.com Isle of Man International tournament after beating the highly-regarded Michael Adams of England in the ninth and final round, in Isle of Man (UK) on Monday.
She couldn't make the cut through qualifiers but star woman boxer M C Mary Kom's Olympic dream is not quite over yet as India has decided to seek a wildcard entry for her in the Games scheduled from August 5 this year. Mary Kom (51kg) had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after bowing out in the second round of last month's World Championships -- the second and final qualifying tournament for women for the Games. The 33-year-old was required to make at least the semifinals to be assured of an Olympic berth in the mega-event in Astana, Kazakhstan. "She has been a phenomenal athlete and looking at her overall contribution to the sport, we have decided to request for a wildcard for her. However, her application will be among the many that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) will examine before taking a final decision," Chairman of the ad-hoc committee currently running boxing in India, Kishen Narsi, told PTI. Mary Kom, who is called 'Magnificent Mary' by AIBA, is a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics. The multiple-time Asian champion could not get an Olympic quota place in either of the two qualifying events for women boxers and is keeping her fingers crossed for a wildcard.
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning in January 2014.
2016 F1 calendar to feature record 21-race campaign
Former Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra will lead the 25-member Indian shooting contingent in the third leg of the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup (Rifle/Pistol), to be held in Munich from May 19 to 26. The Indian team comprises of 17 shooters and eight officials. But with the Rio Games less than three months away, all eyes will be on those shooters, who are selected to represent India at the Olympics. Apart from Abhinav, other Indian shooters in the World Cup team who will also be heading to Rio include the likes of Jitu Rai, Gagan Narang, Chain Singh, Apurvi Chandela and Ayonika Paul, Gurpreet Singh, P N Prakash and Heena Sidhu.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Draws ruled the roost in the 8th round as players were only willing to consolidate their position in the Dubai International Chess Championship.
The England captain will not face disciplinary action after telling a newspaper he deliberately got himself booked in a World Cup qualifier against Wales.
India had a disappointing outing at the 43rd Chess Olympiad with the men's team finishing a poor sixth and the women ending their campaign at a lowly eighth spot, in Batumi, on Friday.
The world junior champion finished sixth following a draw with Lenier Dominguez of Cuba in the ninth and final round of the Dos Hermanas International Chess tournament.
The Liverpool midfielder fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in the Premier League match against Manchester United.
On Wednesday Wayne Rooney will line up alongside Owen as World Cup qualifying Group Six leaders England tackle Azerbaijan in Newcastle.
GMs S S Ganguly and Harikrishna finished eighth and ninth respectively.
India says it cannot accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Yogeshwar Dutt's London Olympics bronze medal will not be upgraded to gold after the United World Wrestling (UWW) on Tuesday made it clear that the top-place finisher in men's 60kg freestyle -- Togrul Asgarov - never tested positive for a banned substance. "Contrary to news reports, 2012 Olympic gold medalist Togrul ASGAROV (AZE) has never been in violation of UWW's anti-doping policy," the world body tweeted from its official Twitter handle.
Rediff.com presents a factbox Antonio Conte who will take over from Guus Hiddink after Euro 2016.
With his third victory in the event, Anand came back within striking distance of the leaders. His tally of six points out of ten is only one point less than Holland's Anish Giri, Norway's Magnus Carlsen and Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, all who have seven points apiece.
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the ninth round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands. Settling for his sixth draw in nine games, Anand took his tally to five points and remains joint-sixth in the 14 players, 13-round tournament.
Kasimdzhanov, playing black, easily split points with the second seed in the first game of the World chess championship final.
Top seed GM Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria drew his first game against GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan in the semi-final of the World Chess championship.
With his third draw in five games, the reigning world rapid champion remained in joint lead on 3.5 points and now shares the lead with Anish Giri of Holland and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan.
On what turned out to be an easy day, Anand had to stretch himself only a little as Karjakin did not attempt any complicated warfare. The result was exchanging of pieces at regular intervals and the players signed peace in an opposite coloured Bishops endgame.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
They thrashed Azerbaijan 8-0 while England, Croatia, Belgium and the Czech Republic easily won their World Cup qualifying matches.
The German, winner of the season's first two races, had been second before coming in for a fresh set of tyres while Hamilton won with one stop from pole position.
The win also set a record, one that Hamilton had previously shared with seven times champion Michael Schumacher, of 41 wins from pole position.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
India's latest GM is hoping to improve on his third placing at the last World championship in Goa.
The explosion hit three military vehicles and a private vehicle in central Ankara, near Turkish parliament buildings, Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu news agency reported, citing Ankara Governor Mehmet Kiliclar. The vehicles were stopped for a traffic light at the time, the military said.
French Formula One rookie Esteban Ocon needs to change his attitude and understand what racing is about, Force India team mate Sergio Perez said on Thursday as tension between the two showed no sign of easing.
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