World champion D Gukesh climbed to a career-high No 3 ranking, while compatriot R Praggnanandhaa broke back into the top 10 in the latest FIDE classical ratings released on Saturday.
The likes of Arjun Erigaisi on the top board will be assisted by P Harikrishna on the second board.
The youngest-ever world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju will take on Magnus Carlsen, the world's highest-rated player, in a highly-anticipated contest at next year's Norway Chess.
Chess will crown a new world champion when Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren begin their battle on Sunday.
R Vaishali also made it to the next round, defeating Ouellet Maili-Jade of Canada in another Indian victory of the day while Divya Deshmukh ousted Kesaria Mgeladze of Georgia.
World champion D Gukesh finished last after losing to Iranian-French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja in the second game of their seventh place play-off match at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
'This introduction that has now been in place for sometime could well give that additional flavour for the chess players as they will be able to guess the pressure that a certain player is feeling during the course of a game.'
FIDE files formal complaint with ethics commission against former world champion Kramnik
Russians Volodar Murzin and Alexander Grischuk, along with Duda Jan-Kryzstof of Poland, share the lead with Arjun on seven points after the end of the second day and Round 9 of the championship, which will decide the best player of the planet after 13 games.
Magnus Carlsen feels he's still better than the young generation of chess players, but the Norwegian great is ruling out a comeback at the classical world championship.
With her family in tow, Humpy met the PM and described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime privilege."
Speaking to reporters, the CJI said his father and late KG Deshmukh were very close friends.
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand played out another tame draw as challenger Magnus Carlsen retained his two-point lead after the eighth game of the World Chess Championship.
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.
One 'fan' who has been bitten by the Jawan bug is Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.
World champion D Gukesh and compatriot Arjun Erigaisi delivered in a must-win situation to help PBG Alaskan Knights register their first win in the Global Chess League (GCL) in Mumbai on Thursday.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy held China's Tingjie Lei to a comfortable draw with black pieces, while Divya Deshmukh's solid defence frustrated former women's world champion Zhongyi Tan in the first game of the FIDE Women's World Cup semifinals in Batumi, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Top seed Arjun Erigaisi scored a convincing victory over compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the first round of the Tata Steel Masters.
Marcandria Maurizzi registered a last-gasp win over Volodar Murzin on the prodigy board to help defending champions Triveni Continental Kings beat Fyers American Gambits 8-7 and consolidate their position at the top of the leader board in the Global Chess League (GCL) in Mumbai on Saturday.
The third game in the World Chess Championship, between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen on Tuesday ended in a draw after 51 moves. Following are the moves, with analysis and quotes.
Trailing by a full point with just two games remaining, Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand would desperately need a victory to stay afloat against Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in the World Championship match in Sochi on Sunday.
'Most of my birthdays I end up losing the game, so glad it did not repeat in the classical. When I was playing, I felt fine, but when I was losing, I was like, 'ok, not again'.
Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker and Mirabai Chanu have joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to combat obesity, emphasizing the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.
While only one place seems assured for the Indians in the men's section, there are already three in the women's category who have made it to the Candidates.
World No.1 and challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway beat defending champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 6.5-3.5 after Game 10 ended in a draw at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chennai on Friday.
A former school principal of newly crowned chess champion from Nagpur Divya Deshmukh remembers her as a student with calm composure who started playing the board game when she was just five and also excelled in studies.
Defending champion Magnus Carlsen's hopes of retaining his crown he won last year in Chennai got a boost after the tenth game in the World Chess Championship match against challenger Viswanathan Anand ended in a draw after 32 moves in Sochi on Friday. With two rounds to go in the 12-game match, Carlsen, who played with black pieces, leads 5.5-4.5.
The moves in the first game of the FIDE World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen.
Rematch will be primarily enjoyed by chess lovers, but the series is sprinkled with a massive dose of drama and intrigue to keep everyone hooked through all six episodes, observes Norma Godinho.
Former World Rapid Chess champion Koneru Humpy wants the All India Chess Federation to increase women's tournaments.
Two of the greatest football players of the 21st century, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo broke the Internet by posting a picture as part of the promotional campaign for the FIFA World Cup, in which they were portrayed playing chess against each other.
Grandmaster S P Sethuraman continued with his dream run and played out a fighting draw with higher ranked Anish Giri of Holland in the first game of the third round of World Chess Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia.
World Chess champion Vishwanathan Anand talks to Norma Godinho about defending his World crown and supporting and mentoring young sportsmen through Olympic Gold Quest.
Magnus Carlsen lauds D Gukesh but rules out world title clash with him
World junior champion V Pranav of India lost to seasoned Grandmaster Jan Emmanuel Garcia of Philippines in the first round of the Asian Continental Chess Championship.
Team MGD1, with Grandmaster Arjun Erigiaisi playing on the top board, had earlier made it to the 16-team knockout and beaten Generation XYZA 4-0 in the first round.
A clinical performance on the prodigy board by GM Leon Luke Mendonca and a last-gasp victory by Nino Batsiashvili powered Alpine SG Pipers into title contention as they beat Fyers American Gambits 10-4 to register their second consecutive win in the Global Chess League in Mumbai on Wednesday.
While the mind games will go on in the last two games and a potential tiebreaker, American Hikaru Nakamura and world number one Magnus Carlsen feel that the balance had tilted slightly in Ding Liren's favour.
Anna Ushenina of Ukraine claimed the women's World Championship crown, defeating Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in the first set of tie-break games in Khanty Mansiysk.
World champion D Gukesh overcame a loss against Leinier Dominguez Perez to beat the American duo of Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana to stand at fourth spot.
