Lots to look forward to in Indian sports as packed 2026 calender awaits
Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi bowed out of the World Chess Cup after a 2.5-3.5 loss to Sam Shankland of United States in the second set of tie-break games of third round, in Panjim on Sunday.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated compatriot Pentala Harikrishna, while Arjun Erigaisi settled for a draw in the second round of 87th Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
R Praggnanandhaa, who drew with Wei Yi of China in the sixth round, is the joint leader in the Tata Steel chess tournament.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured a victory over compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the third round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
Interestingly, all of R Praggnanandhaa's victories have come at the expense of the Indians so far in the tournament.
Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov beat China's Wei Yi to win the FIDE World Cup in Panaji on Wednesday, becoming, at 19, the youngest ever player to achieve the feat.
Esipenko becomes third Candidates qualifier; World Cup final to be decided in tiebreak
Harikrishna continued his success story with the seasoned Grandmaster, who famously assisted Gukesh in the World Championship title match, showcasing his skills as a brilliant attacker.
Magnus Carlsen concluded the first nine rounds with an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible 9.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi was knocked out of the FIDE World Cup, losing to Wei Yi of China 1.5-2.5 in the first set of tiebreak games, in Panaji on Wednesday.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced a significantly relaxed dress code for next month's World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha, "allowing classic non-distressed jeans for both men and women", a year after the 'jeansgate' storm involving Magnus Carlsen at the same event.
Uzbekistan's GM Javokhir Sindarov set up a title clash against Chinese GM Wei Yi in the FIDE World Cup in Panaji on Sunday as the two players also confirmed their spots in the Candidates tournament.
Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi was held to a draw by 12-year-old Argentine sensation Oro Faustino in the first game of the second round of the FIDE World Cup in Panjim on Tuesday.
Grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh caused the biggest upset of the World Chess Cup, ousting former world championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia after winning the second game of the second round, in Panjim, on Wednesday.
FIDE World Cup: Gukesh seeded top, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa second and third
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.
India hosts the event from a position of unprecedented strength with a string of titles under its belt.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75, wishes poured in from across the country, with sporting icons Gautam Gambhir, R Praggnanandhaa, and Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker sending their heartfelt messages.
R Praggnanandhaa squandered a winning position against Wesley So of America while World Championship challenger D Gukesh settled for a hard-fought draw
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated the reigning and four-time women's world champion Wenjun Ju from China in the ninth round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
In the open section, Gukesh squandered a winning position against Erdogmus and eventually had to settle for a draw in a dramatic, time-troubled encounter.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated overnight sole leader Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan to stake his claim for the top honours at the Prague Masters chess tournament.
Having lost three and drawn three coming into the third and final day of rapid, Praggnanadhaa lost to Lenier Dominguez of the US in the seventh round.
World Champion D Gukesh went down to world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the US in the fifth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss.
Gukesh, Erigaisi snapped up by PBG Alaskan Knights in GCL draft
Vaishali knew she had to win to remain in contention and her approach right from the start was in sync with the requirement of the tournament situation.
Grandmasters Raunak Sadhwani and S L Narayanan, India's two best hopes, were held to draws by Daniel Barrish of South Africa and Steven Salas Rojas of Peru in the first game of the opening round of World Chess Cup, in Panjim, on Saturday.
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.
D Gukesh and R Praggnanadhaa played out their eighth draw in as many games at the Sinquefield Cup.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin's hopes of making to the Candidates tournament suffered a setback as he lost to Alireza Firouzja of France in the ninth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
D Gukesh put his opening-round blues behind him and scored an excellent victory over former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the second round of the Sinquefield Cup.
Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu Vaishali and men's team captain Srinath Narayanan landed Chennai on Tuesday morning.
The FIDE World Cup 2025 is coming to Goa from October 30 to November 27, 2025!
Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, who has also qualified for the Women's Candidates, has opted out of the women's section to compete with the best in business.
Winning three and drawing the remaining six games, Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the event.
On current form, D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship title against his Chinese opponent, Ding Liren, believes Indian teenage Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa.
With nine rounds still to come in the blitz event, Wei Yi has amassed 20.5 points with seven wins on the first day of blitz. Ending the day with 7.5 out of a possible nine, Yi, seems like a man possessed and unless a hurricane hits him, is poised to win the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour.
Caruana became the sole leader and also got back to number two in live world rankings.
Fabiano Caruana defended his Superbet Classic title by winning all three rapid games in a thrilling four-way tiebreaker
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