Bhakti Kulkarni became Goa's first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) after the World Chess Federation officially cleared her title at 83rd FIDE Congress in Istanbul.
Woman Fide Master Bhakti Kulkarni crushed Rucha Pujari with black pieces, stopping her winning streak in the 26th Junior(U-19) Girls' Chess and 41st National Junior(U-19) Open Championship 2011, played at Indoor Sports Hall, Fatorda, on Saturday.
Woman Grandmaster Bhakti Kulkarni and Grandmaster S P Sethuraman made history, winning the gold medal in the Asian Continental Women's and Open chess championship that concluded in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
With the top spot assured in the pool with a round to go, India was held to a 3-3 draw by a fighting Slovenia.
In the Open section, the India 'B' team, which has been in sparkling form, had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan as the in-form D Gukesh lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the reigning world rapid chess champion.
Gomes, who had beaten her Kazakh opponent in the first round too, continued her impressive form to post a 57-move win in the second.
In the women's event, Padmini Rout, R Vaishali and Bhakti Kulkarni posted wins in the first round. D Harika will be joining them in the second round, courtesy a bye in the first round.
Former women's World champion Susan Polgar feels that the rising strength of Indian players makes them favourites to grab three out of the six medals at stake.
With the Indian teams doing well so far, they can run into one another in the competition.
The Indian teams made winning starts in the Open and women's sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Friday.
After two straight wins, India went down 1-3 to a formidable Russian team in a fourth Pool A match in the FIDE World Women's Team Chess Championship, in Sitges, Spain.
It has bolstered the home team's medal chances at the 14-day event, which is expected to see massive participation from more than 150 countries.
The men's team comprises Grandmasters D Gukesh, Gujrathi, Erigaisi, P Harikrishna and R Praggnanandhaa.
India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively.
Meanwhile in the women's event, Padmini Rout and R Vaishali joined compatriot Bhakti Kulkarni in the second round.
India 'B' blanked Estonia 4-0 in the second round of the Open section in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Saturday while the second-seeded India 'A' team defeated Moldova 3.5-0.5 to make it two wins from as many matches.
Chess champion Koneru Humpy has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
Here are the Indian Super Moms' at the Hangzhou Asian Games beginning on September 23.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday.
India was held to a 3-3 draw by lower-ranked Mongolia in the sixth round as favourites China grabbed the top spot in Pool A in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Saturday.
Indian Grandmasters Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Adhiban Baskaran registered wins in the first game of the two-game mini match in the second round of the FIDE chess World Cup in Sochi on Thursday.
Four draws and two wins on Under-20 boards helped India pull off the victory against the Chinese.
On November 30, President Droupadi Murmu presented the Sports and Adventure Awards 2022.
After the first game against the same opponent ended in a draw, Harika was with black pieces in the second and she employed a French defence and Kosteniuk did not have many answers.
The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on his Twitter page
While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, a total of 25 athletes including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable have been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year.
It's been seven years since a chess player got the Arjuna award and the iconic Viswanathan Anand is hoping that India's triumphant campaign at the online Chess Olympiad will change this when the national sporting honours are announced next year.
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
P V Sindhu opens her campaign in the China Open women's singles against Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia, in Fuzhou, China, on Tuesday.
The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
