It would be a battle between Viswanathan Anand's wealth of experience and Magnus Carlsen's ability to play in any position when the two greats of the game face-off in the much-anticipated World Chess Championship beginning this month, feel a majority of Indian Grand Masters.
The image of a smiling D Gukesh standing with outstretched hands will forever be embossed in the memory of a nation of billions.
When Praggnanandhaa plays, he does not allow his confidence to fluctuate, irrespective of who his opponent is, says his father.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen was in stunning form, winning all nine of his games to take a significant lead. He has 20 points out of a possible 27 going into the second half of the blitz on Sunday.
The moves in the first game of the FIDE World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen.
World champion Viswanathan Anand, playing black, was involved in another draw with challenger Magnus Carlsen in the eighth game of the World Chess Championship, in Chennai, on Tuesday. The sharing of points enabled the Norwegian retain the lead at 5-3, with four games still to play in the 12-games match. Following are the moves in the eighth round, with analysis and quotes.
'If Gukesh wins, he has to survive in Game 14.' 'But if Liren wins, then it will be game over for Gukesh.'
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand salvaged a draw after suffering for a long time in the seventh game of the world chess championship against Magnus Carlsen now underway in Sochi.
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.
Indian Grandmaster Gukesh made history on Thursday, becoming the youngest-ever to win the world title defeating Liren in the 14th and final game of the championship in Singapore.
In a surprising turn of events, Mumba Masters defeated tournament leaders PBG Alaskan Knights, denying them direct qualification to the finals of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London on Wednesday.
Gukesh, Liren eye breakthrough after series of draws in the Chess World C'ship.
After a scintillating victory over Fabiano Caruana of United States in the previous round, Anand yet again showed great intent against Nakamura, but the American was up to the task in a keenly contested game.
Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has been roped in by IndianOil and would be receiving all the backing from the PSU major
The second day of the final will also feature four games and the tie-break if required.
Grandmaster D Gukesh will face his first major challenge since becoming world champion when he begins his campaign in the Tata Steel Chess tournament, which starts on Friday in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
Praggnanandhaa is on top of the standings with nine match points along with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen
Gukesh said he wanted to just win the game cleanly but there was excitement as Liren had very little time left.
In a solid start, the Indian ace started off with as many as six drawn games and ended with three decisive games in a row. But for his loss against Fabiano Caruana of United States in the previous round, the Indian ace could have been at the helm in the strongest chess tournament of the year.
Joining the elite 2,800 rated chess players club will get Arjun invites for top chess tournaments as well as better appearance fees.
The stage is set for the inaugural edition of the Global Chess League to get underway in Dubai.
D Gukesh played out a draw with tournament leader and top seed Fabiano Caruana
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has charted his own path to glory and is closer to greatness than ever.
Billed as the most high-profile clash in chess history in more than 40 years, the World Chess Championship match -- between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway -- begins in Chennai on Saturday, with the experts divided over who will walk away with the coveted title.
China's Ding Liren was crowned on Sunday as the 17th world chess champion in a tense match against Russian-born Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the last chapter of an odds-defying sequence of events.
Praggnanandhaa went down 1.5-2.5 to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, Erigasi lost to Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda 0.5-2.5.
With odds staked against him, five times world champion Viswanathan Anand will look forward to make a grand comeback in the Candidates chess tournament that starts.
Despite being down 4-5 with just three more games to go, Viswanathan Anand has said he was fine with an easy draw in the ninth game and insisted that he still has a chance of posting a win in the World Chess Championship match.
The crown slipping away from his hands, defending champion Viswanathan Anand will have to pull himself together and produce a couple of sterling efforts to come back in the World Chess Championship match against Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.
'FIDE had tweeted: "Who better to be a commentator for the upcoming World Championship in Dubai than a person who has fought Carlsen in two matches himself?"'
Gukesh's journey wasn't easy as his family dug into their savings and also turned to crowd-funding to fuel his dream.
After jumping to joint lead following a crushing victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, Anand could not repeat the magic and Caruana deserved all the credit for taking chances.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was accorded a rousing reception upon his arrival at the airport in Chennai on Wednesday.
'I spoke to Paddy, and I made some changes.' 'After that, I slept well in the last two days -- at least eight hours each day.' 'So, I was fresh in the games. Sleep is very important.'
India has submitted its bid to host the much-anticipated World Chess Championship clash between teen sensation D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China in November-December this year.
Viswanathan Anand will defend his World Chess Championship title against World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in his home city as FIDE on Sunday chose Chennai as the venue for the prestigious match.
Viswanathan Anand had to be content with second place in the World Blitz Chess Championship after scoring 28 points, three behind the winner, Magnus Carlsen, of Norway.
D Gukesh struck back after recovering from a sedate start to defeat compatriot R Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer in the Superbet rapid and blitz tournament
The King is wounded, not dead. Defending champion Viswanathan Anand had to be content with a draw but said he was relieved to eke out a draw after two losses on the trot against Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship in Chennai on Monday.
World champion Viswanathan Anand mishandled a winning endgame and drew with former women's world champion Yifan Hou of China in the 11th round of 75th Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands, on Saturday.
