India men dropped their first point, but carried enough steam to beat Hungary to maintain a clean slate in the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad.
Starting as second seed, Praggnanandhaa will have his task cut out with the white pieces against Navara, who has been around for a long time as one of the top European players.
Emulates mentor Visvanathan Anand, who had won the tournament back in 1986.
With Georgia likely to post a victory against overnight leader Kazakhstan, it seemed that the Indian eves were likely to regain the top position and become the firm favourites for the gold medal again.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said India may have missed a trick by not playing Kuldeep Yadav at Lord's and Manchester, as quality spinners come to the fore on the last two days of a Test match.
The Indian challenge extends to the Challengers' section, where Divya Deshmukh will compete against some strong Grandmasters.
'...it was an awkward situation for both of us. I was in a hurry that day and really forgot. I want to wish good luck to both of you,'
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.
World champion D Gukesh played out a draw with Jorden van Foreest of Holland, while Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana of Serbia as the two Indians shared the lead after a thrilling day at the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands) on Saturday.
Viswanathan Anand is the third Indian in the top 10, occupying the 10th spot with an ELO rating of 2750.
R Praggnanandhaa split points with Czech hero David Navara while compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram escaped with a draw with another local star Nguyen Thai Dai Van in the first round of the Prague Masters.
'There are several talented players like R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, so the future is certainly bright.'
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.
Tania Sachdev on Monday lamented the "lack of recognition" from the government of Delhi, prompting chief minister Atishi to reach out to her
World number four Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi registered his sixth victory in as many games as the Indian team was poised to score its sixth straight win in the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary on Monday.
R Praggnanandhaa outclassed world champion D Gukesh in sudden death to win Tata Steel Masters chess title.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen recorded a flawless performance, securing victories against S L Narayanan
Rameshbabu Vaishali won the women's qualifier scoring 9.5 points out of 11 to advance to the quarter-finals of the World Blitz Championship.
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.
Vantika Agrawal delivered when it mattered most as she defeated Grandmaster Irina Krush, helping India secure a 2-2 draw against United States.
After scoring their fifth victory on the trot, the Indian men maintained their joint lead with 10 points along with China, Vietnam and Hungary.
Hungary will officially host the 45th edition of the Olympiad for the first time, having hosted the second unofficial Chess Olympiad in 1926.
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 image of a smiling D Gukesh standing with outstretched hands will forever be embossed in the memory of a nation of billions.
S L Narayanan, Harsha Bharathakoti, Karthik Venkataraman and Shamsiddin Vokhidov, the other players who had an outside chance of a shot at the title, missed out after drawn games.
An "embarrassed" All India Chess Federation (AICF) has filed a police complaint after a Chess Olympiad trophy its team won in the last edition of the tournament at home went missing from its office, forcing the sports body to arrange for a replica of the prized possession and tender an apology.
India made history as both its men's and women's teams clinched their first-ever gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad. The men's team defeated Slovenia and the women's counterparts overcame Azerbaijan in the final round.
Vantika Agrawal, 21, is aiming to become a Grandmaster, which could happen as early as next year.
'The championship was well fought this year.' 'Ding played better than expected. Gukesh was below his level, but good enough to beat Ding.'
'It is truly unfathomable how this kid would come from a country with no chess culture and not only become World Champion, but inspire generations of Indian kids to push chess forward. The legend, @vishy64theking!'
Three of the four Indian Open team players are in line for gold and silver medals for the individual performance.
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh scored a crushing victory over Alexander Donchenko in the 10th round of Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands on Thursday.
Indian GM D Gukesh overwhelmed Dutch player Max Warmerdam for his third victory on the trot and elevated himself to a joint lead after the seventh round of the Tata Steel Masters Chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands on Sunday.
Grandmaster R Pragnanandhaa held tournament leader and defending champion Anish Giri of Holland to a draw on the day.
Grandmaster D Gukesh endured a heartbreak in the final tie-breaker against Wei Yi of China and had to be content with a joint second place finish at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
After the draw with Iranian turned French player Firouza, Gukesh has seven points for his sole second spot.
With five points in his kitty from eight games, D Gukesh jointly leads the standings with Anish Giri of Holland.
With seven rounds still to come in the first super tournament of the year, Anish Guru maintained his sole lead on 4.5 points out of a possible six and he is now trailed by Iranian turned Frenchman Firouza Alireza who is on 4 points.
This is Koneru Humpy's second World Rapid title after she had triumphed in the 2019 edition in Moscow.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances