Arjun Erigaisi breathed a sigh of relief after receiving his US visa to compete in the upcoming World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York
India's chess great Viswanathan Anand celebrated International Chess Day on Saturday, with a friendly chess game against his son Akhil.
'Compared to three or four years back, I have cut down on my time as an active chess player. I have long aspired to come into the chess administration and this opportunity as the deputy president will be a huge learning curve for me'.
Playing chess all year round can take a huge toll on the physical and mental aspects of a player and Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa acknowledged that sometimes he has to completely take his mind off the sport to prepare for the upcoming challenges.
The All India Chess Federation has banned Delhi chess player D K Chopra for life after he was found guilty of various misdeeds during the past four years.
'It is not just D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.' 'There are another 20 players just behind them. Nobody imagined this was possible 5 years ago.'
'The championship was well fought this year.' 'Ding played better than expected. Gukesh was below his level, but good enough to beat Ding.'
Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi and Vaishali have trained at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) that the bespectacled chess wizard set up four years ago in Chennai. The 18-year-old Gukesh and the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa have often stated that they would not be where they are without "Vishy sir".
'Chess and cricket are similar, but in cricket, you can show your aggression, but in chess, you can't. It is all about how calm you are in chess.'
The closing ceremony of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad turned out to be a social evening
With the Indian teams doing well so far, they can run into one another in the competition.
In an apparent bid to placate India after Chennai was deprived of the World Chess Championship match between Vishwanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand of Israel next year, the game's governing body has now offered the 2013 edition of the prestigious event to the city.
Teenaged Grandmaster D Gukesh has replaced the legendary Viswanathan Anand as India's top chess player after more than three decades.
Any player with a Chess.com blitz or FIDE standard rating of under 2000 could play with former world champion Anand by donating US$150 and with the other four GMs by paying US$25 as registration amount.
Three of the four Indian Open team players are in line for gold and silver medals for the individual performance.
In an event completely dominated by the Chinese, Ju Wenjun went on to snare the world title, defeating compatriot Lei Tingjie 3.5-2.5.
Parimarjan Negi was only 13, when he became the second-youngest grandmaster. With a World Chess Federation rating of 2641, he recently replaced Andhra Pradesh's Pendyala Harikrishna (25) to become the country's youngest grandmaster.
'There are several talented players like R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, so the future is certainly bright.'
India's woman Grandmaster Priyanka Nutakki was expelled from the World Junior Chess Championship being held in Italy currently for having a pair of ear buds in her jacket pocket.
Chess has applied for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a final decision is expected to come next summer.
China would have been among the top medal contenders in the Olympiad and their absence would brighten India's chances.
The men's team comprises Grandmasters D Gukesh, Gujrathi, Erigaisi, P Harikrishna and R Praggnanandhaa.
The 16-year-old top seed was in fine form and remained unbeaten through the nine rounds. He finished the tournament with a victory over fellow-Indian V Praneeth, an International Master, late on Friday.
The event that was inaugurated by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will have 11 rounds before the best player in the under-20 category can be determined in both sections.
The 18-year-old Gukesh's triumph was celebrated far and wide across the country with the PM joining the sports fraternity and others in lauding his incredible achievement.
The Indian teams made winning starts in the Open and women's sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Friday.
Chess great Magnus Carlsen is launching a world Freestyle Chess tour as the variant of the game, also known as Chess960, is gaining in popularity, the world number one announced on Friday.
Over the past few months, the overall interest in chess is reported to have doubled, with more players than ever coming together to participate in chess events that are being increasingly held through online platforms
India's chess ace Dronavalli Harika was among the several players who were allegedly sent sexually abusive mail during an event in Latvia in November last year.
India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively.
Another game to end through repetition of moves was between Gukesh and Gujrathi.
World Championship challenger D Gukesh on Sunday said he didn't think about his personal achievements and was prepared to do "whatever it takes" to secure India's maiden gold medal at the Chess Olympiad following near-misses in previous editions.
Like Gukesh, Aronian was just able to draw two games and lost one.
The FIDE Presidential Board also awarded the International Woman Master title to 12-year-old Dronavalli Harika.
Viswanathan Anand would become the deputy president of the world chess federation (FIDE) if the incumbent Arkady Dvorkovich is re-elected as the president in the elections scheduled during the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in July-August.
The 23-year-old becomes India's 11 Grandmaster.
FIDE corrected the ranking error to crown the Indian ace as the top ranked player in the world.
'The win will change a lot of things in Praggu... the confidence in his potential will be one of them. The win has ensured a lot of visibility which will give him a lot of opportunities.'
Holder Viswanathan Anand will clash with Boris Gelfand of Israel for the 2012 World Chess Championship title, which will be held in India for the first time.
