Humpy settles for bronze after coming close to World Rapid title; Erigaisi finishes third
Reigning classical World champion D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and world No.1 Magnus Carlsen were among the leaders after the first five rounds on the opening day of the FIDE World Rapid Championships in Doha on Thursday.
Reigning champion Koneru Humpy displayed her trademark composure and tenacity to remain in joint lead in the women's section.
Kerala teenager Krishna Goutham shares the lead with World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, top Indian exponent Arjun Erigaisi, and Vladislav Artemiev.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi for winning a bronze medal at the World Blitz Championships in Doha, saying it mirrored the country's rapid strides in the sport.
The two-day World Blitz Championship in both the Open and Women's categories commences in Doha, on Monday, December 29.
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
Magnus Carlsen pushed away a camera after losing to Vladislav Artemiev at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Qatar.
Tata Steel Chess: Anand, Niemann in joint lead after three rounds of Rapid
Having never missed his home tournament in the last 13 years, Carlsen had cast doubts over his participation this year after expressing a desire to gradually move away from classical chess. Norway Chess is a classical-format event and Carlsen has won it seven times.
World Blitz: Erigaisi stuns Carlsen, Abdusattorov to emerge joint leader after 11 rounds
Magnus Carlsen didn't hide behind the veneer of niceties and asserted that he was here to win the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, and that fatherhood or the emergence of youngsters hadn't diminished his hunger for success.
The likes of Arjun Erigaisi on the top board will be assisted by P Harikrishna on the second board.
Arjun Erigaisi is only the second Indian male player after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win a World Blitz medal in the 'Open category'.
Marcandria Maurizzi registered a last-gasp win over Volodar Murzin on the prodigy board to help defending champions Triveni Continental Kings beat Fyers American Gambits 8-7 and consolidate their position at the top of the leader board in the Global Chess League (GCL) in Mumbai on Saturday.
A supremely confident upGrad Mumba Masters came up with another grand performance, beating Fyers American Gambits 9-7 to make it two wins on the trot and go top of the table in the Global Chess League in Mumbai on Monday.
A clinical performance on the prodigy board by GM Leon Luke Mendonca and a last-gasp victory by Nino Batsiashvili powered Alpine SG Pipers into title contention as they beat Fyers American Gambits 10-4 to register their second consecutive win in the Global Chess League in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Mumba Masters delivered a high-quality performance in front of the 'home' crowd, defeating the Viswanathan Anand-led Ganges Grandmasters
Fyers American Gambits survived some anxious moments before a last-gasp win on the 'Prodigy' board helped them overturn a deficit to seal a dramatic 10-8 victory against reigning champions Triveni Continental Kings on day three of the Global Chess League in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Divya Deshmukh not only became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, she also instantly secured the prestigious Grandmaster title.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced a significantly relaxed dress code for next month's World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha, "allowing classic non-distressed jeans for both men and women", a year after the 'jeansgate' storm involving Magnus Carlsen at the same event.
India's hopes in the FIDE World Cup 2025 will depend solely on second seed GM Arjun Erigaisi after GM P Harikrishna went down in the fifth round tiebreak against GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara in Panaji, Goa, on Sunday, as per a release from FIDE.
This is Koneru Humpy's second World Rapid title after she had triumphed in the 2019 edition in Moscow.
Defending champion Magnus Carlsen was disqualified from the World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2024 in Wall Street, New York, on Saturday for violating FIDE's dress code.
Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa played out solid draws while P Harikrishna wriggled out of a difficult situation to head into a tie-break in the fourth round of the Chess World Cup, in Panjim on Wednesday.
Russians Volodar Murzin and Alexander Grischuk, along with Duda Jan-Kryzstof of Poland, share the lead with Arjun on seven points after the end of the second day and Round 9 of the championship, which will decide the best player of the planet after 13 games.
'...There's nothing to say about the chess aspect... One of those places that you don't feel sad about leaving.'
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi opened his campaign with four victories and a solitary defeat in the World Rapid Chess Championship and was tied fifth, even as defending champion Magnus Carlsen endured a frustrating day, managing to log just one victory in New York.
Months after a dress-code controversy involving five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced a new dress code for the FIDE Grand Swiss and FIDE Women's Grand Swiss.
D Gukesh put his opening-round blues behind him and scored an excellent victory over former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the second round of the Sinquefield Cup.
Team MGD1, with Grandmaster Arjun Erigiaisi playing on the top board, had earlier made it to the 16-team knockout and beaten Generation XYZA 4-0 in the first round.
Divya Deshmukh came to the star-studded FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, as an underdog, hoping to at least win one Grandmaster norm in her journey to become a GM in the future.
Teen prodigy Divya Deshmukh stunned seasoned grandmaster Koneru Humpy in a tense tiebreak to win the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, rewriting Indian chess history at just 19.
FIDE Women's World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
D Gukesh will take on Magnus Carlsen in the opening round in what should be one of the most keenly-contested matches at the Norway Chess tournament.
Abundantly talented but more significantly, incredibly cool in crunch situations, that's how India's 88th Grandmaster and World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh was described by her formative coach Srinath Narayanan, who feels the 19-year-old chess wizard's composure is comparable only to cricket great Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
'I always prefer to just play a single tournament and go back home, spend time with my family and have a one-month break and then take part in another one.'
India has a bright future in chess as we have many players in top 10 rankings: Humpy
The stars competing at the Norway Chess event were in for an authentic Wild West surprise when they had to don cowboy hats, roper boots, well worn-out jeans to indulge in some rodeo activity.
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