In the sixth round Gukesh survived another scare before steering the game to a draw with Firouzja.
Grandmaster R Vaishali was so crestfallen following seven straight losses in the Chennai Grandmasters that she had made up her mind to pull out of the Grand Swiss tournament, but family support steered her to the event where she won the title to qualify for the Candidates next year.
World champion D Gukesh will take on Fabiano Caruana of the United States in the two-game quarter-final after the latter picked the Indian in a unique format typical of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, in Hamburg, Germany.
'I have no idea about such a medal. Never got one,' says Surya Shekhar Ganguly, the national chess champion between 2003 and 2008.
'It will bring the next wave of awareness and pursuit of excellence from people who want to take chess as a game or a competitive sport or even as a career.'
Russian athletes have been banned from many sports and largely cannot compete in Europe due to the sanctions and competition complications caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.
Carlsen wins 1st game of World Cup quarterfinal against Gukesh; Erigaisi outwits Praggnanandhaa to take lead
Chess960, created by former world champion Bobby Fischer in 1996, has been gaining in popularity after an invitational tournament played last year at the Weissenhaus Luxury Resort, which hosted the G7 Foreign Minister summit in 2022.
India's global chess domination was lauded by President Droupadi Murmu in her address to the nation on Thursday
'It is surprising that Pakistan has suddenly taken the decision of not participating in the FIDE Chess Olympiad, particularly after the team has already reached India'.
Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi's decision to share the World Blitz Championship title for the first time in history sparked widespread criticism.
'I see an unjust personal attack by some players, probably due to sheer jealousy.'
Neither current World Champion D Gukesh nor former world champion Vishy Anand are the top rated Indian chess player.
Chess governing body FIDE's general assembly agreed to consider lifting parts of a ban on Russian and Belarusian players imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in a vote on Sunday in Budapest.
At the end of the 10th round, the Indian Open team is leading the pack with 19 points and the Women's team is ranked second with 17 points.
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
Historic moment, hails Anand after four Indians reach FIDE WC quarterfinals
...'you are 37. It's quite difficult when you get older to keep that motivation and stay sharp when required.'
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) on Saturday said it will be bidding to host the 44th Chess Olympiad later this year after the prestigious event was moved out of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Joining the elite 2,800 rated chess players club will get Arjun invites for top chess tournaments as well as better appearance fees.
An eight-year-old Indian-origin boy defeated Polish chess grandmaster Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.
Caruana kept his slender half point lead going in to the final round in the 10-player round-robin tournament, a part of the Grand Chess tour.
Defending champion Ding Liren says the in-form Dommaraju Gukesh is the big favourite to win their World Chess title showdown in November.
Gujrathi, who was a part of India's gold-winning campaign in the Chess Olympiad recently, says the sport's ecosystem needs a major overhaul to ensure players have more balance in life.
'The Indian Open team was extremely well prepared and motivated to win the gold medal.' 'With two players in the world top 10 club, and four players with over 2,700 ELO points (GMs Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, all below 20) and Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna, it was a solid team.'
AICF officials are in search of the Gaprindashvili Cup that was won by Indian teams at the 44th Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in 2022.
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.
It is going to be a festival of chess in India with the 44th Chess Olympiad taking place at Poonjeri village in Mamallapuram also known as Mahabalipuram -- a UNESCO heritage site, situated around 50 kilometres from Chennai.
'I was faced with a choice: quit my job or move to where I am valued.'
Gukesh won't challenge Liren on home turf; Singapore wins bid for World Championships match
World no.1 Magnus Carlsen's fiery reaction after losing to D Gukesh in Norway Chess here was probably because he saw his authority in the game being challenged by someone so young
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.
'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.'
Dubai witnessed a historic moment as the inaugural edition of the Global Chess League was held on Thursday.
The event is held over 11 rounds in both open and women's categories with likely participation of over 2,000 players.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 via the sudden death tie-break to enter the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament in Baku on Thursday.
Praggnanandhaa has expressed his determination to approach the World Cup final against Magnus Carlsen with a fresh mindset.
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".
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.
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