Vantika Agrawal delivered when it mattered most as she defeated Grandmaster Irina Krush, helping India secure a 2-2 draw against United States.
Wesley So showed remarkable consistency to clinch the title in the Open category with a round to spare
Young Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin emerged champion at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament on Friday, clinching the Rapid title just a day after the passing of his maternal grandfather, who had introduced him to the sport.
Tata Chess: Wesley So in sole lead, Erigaisi & Nihal not far behind in Blitz
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand recovered from an early setback to register two victories and emerge as joint leader with Nihal Sarin after six rounds of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Tata Steel Chess: Anand, Niemann in joint lead after three rounds of Rapid
Defending champion and Grandmaster R Vaishali jumped into sole lead in the women's section
Looking to assert his supremacy across formats, reigning world champion D Gukesh of India began his campaign in the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with a crushing victory over France's Etienne Bacrot in the first round.
Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, who has also qualified for the Women's Candidates, has opted out of the women's section to compete with the best in business.
Vantika Agrawal humbled former World champion Anna Ushenina in the second round of FIDE Women's World Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Grandmaster Vantika Agrawal outclassed Lela Shohradeva of Turkmenistan in the return game of the first round to progress to the round of 64 of FIDE World Women's Chess Cup.
With Vantika's hard-earned victory there are still five Indians left in the last 32 stage of this US$691,250 prize money event with an additional bonus of making it to the Women's candidates' tournament slated in 2026 for the top three finishers.
While Vantika, Harika and Vaishali have an uphill task in the first set of tie-break games, they can still make it to the round of 16.
R Vaishali also made it to the next round, defeating Ouellet Maili-Jade of Canada in another Indian victory of the day while Divya Deshmukh ousted Kesaria Mgeladze of Georgia.
Grandmaster Nihal Sarin played out a quick and effortless draw with Matthias Bluebaum of Germany to share the lead with the German on six points after the end of the eighth round of FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Vaishali knew she had to win to remain in contention and her approach right from the start was in sync with the requirement of the tournament situation.
Praggnanandhaa takes on a strong field at Grand Swiss, eyes Candidates berth
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin's hopes of making to the Candidates tournament suffered a setback as he lost to Alireza Firouzja of France in the ninth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
While only one place seems assured for the Indians in the men's section, there are already three in the women's category who have made it to the Candidates.
World Champion D Gukesh suffered his second straight defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss, losing to Greece's Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
World Champion D Gukesh went down to world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the US in the fifth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss.
R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States.
Asian chess: Srija Seshadri in joint lead
The Indian women's chess team etched their names in history by securing their maiden Chess Olympiad title, defeating Azerbaijan in a decisive 3.5-0.5 victory in Budapest.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen recorded a flawless performance, securing victories against S L Narayanan
In the open section too the Indian men were poised for an easy victory against Hungary 'B' team. The hero of the day was Arjun Erigaise who played a brilliant attacking game against Peter Prohazska and ended with a checkmate after a queen sacrifice.
Gukesh is currently sharing the 8th spot on 1.5 points along with Abdusattorov and Duda.
Harika Dronavalli, a seasoned player, fulfilled her lifelong dream of winning an Olympiad medal after two decades.
D GukeshGrandmaster R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal put up impressive performances as Indian women defeated Georgia while World Championship challenger D Gukesh led the men to victory over China in the seventh round as both teams continued their unbeaten streak in 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
'There are several talented players like R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, so the future is certainly bright.'
Uzbekistan's young grandmaster Abdusattorov Nodirbek emerged sole leader in the open section of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid tournament in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Magnus Carlsen of Norway delivered a flawless performance on the final day to clinch the title in the Open section
Magnus Carlsen concluded the first nine rounds with an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible 9.
Shooter Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics while Gukesh was crowned the World Chess Champion in Singapore, last month.
India became only the third country to win both the men's and women's gold medals at the same Chess Olympiad.
Vantika Agrawal, 21, is aiming to become a Grandmaster, which could happen as early as next year.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen secured a remarkable double victory at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament, winning both the rapid and blitz titles.
Tania Sachdev on Monday lamented the "lack of recognition" from the government of Delhi, prompting chief minister Atishi to reach out to her
'The championship was well fought this year.' 'Ding played better than expected. Gukesh was below his level, but good enough to beat Ding.'
The Indian men's team got off to another 3-0 start, led by Dommaraju Gukesh's triumph over H Stefansson of Iceland, in the second round.
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