Reader Kedar Lele spotted chess champion Viswanathan Anand in Sofia.
Viswanathan Anand played out his second straight draw in the Shamkir Chess tournament.
Grandmaster D Harika missed out on some chances to settle for a draw with Georgia's Sopiko Guramishvili, while Padmini Rout survived a scare before enforcing a draw with China's Tan Zhongyi in the first game of the third round of World Women's Chess Championship in Tehran.
With seven games to come in the 12-game World Chess Championship match, Magnus Carlsen leads 3-2, drawing first blood in his trademark style.
Vaishali came back from 2-4 down to oust the experienced Ukrainian by winning the last two bullet games.
The 23-year-old becomes India's 11 Grandmaster.
The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on his Twitter page
This was the second time this month that the Norwegian has surrendered games or pulled out from a tournament which also featured Niemann.
Like Anand, Ilamparthi was half a point ahead of the rest of the field with 9.5 points from 11 rounds. Though he lost to Ukraine's Artem Berin in the fourth round, he won nine games and drew one to claim the top prize.
Humpy was no match for Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia, going down 2-9 while Harika was ousted by world No.1 Hou Yifan of China
Arjun Erigaisi breathed a sigh of relief after receiving his US visa to compete in the upcoming World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York
Vaishali fell behind early and could not catch up against Gunina, who had finished runner-up in the first leg.
Gukesh will have to carry with him the tag of world champion and along with it loads of expectations and increased scrutiny. But the 19-year-old is prepared to stand in the limelight.
R Praggnanandhaa emerged as unconquered king in the World Youth Chess Championship, in Mumbai, claiming the gold in the Under-18 Open category on Saturday.
The 18-year-old Gukesh claimed the title by beating China's Ding Liren in Singapore on Thursday.
The world rapid champion Humpy got the better of Russian 6-5 to set up a last four clash with world No.1 Hou Yifan of China.
Topalov, with his unsurpassable score of 9.5 points from 13 games has emerged the New World Chess Champion, 2005.
Praggnanandhaa on Sunday attributed the change in fortune to increased confidence and ambition
Anand firmly believes that India has enough talent to produce the next Chess World Champion
The Grand Prix consists of four legs, with a total of 21 participants. Each of the 21 players participates in three out of four Grand Prix legs. Each GP is a 16-player knockout event.
Viswanathan Anand replaced Vladimir Kramnik of Russia as champion, when he won the World Chess Championship in Mexico City on Saturday night.
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has a word of advice for World Championship contender D Gukesh ahead of his clash against China's Ding Liren -- just focus on your preparation and don't count yourself as a "huge favourite" going into the title showdown.
Lesser-fancied Indians again stole limelight in the LIC World Junior Chess Championships, being played at Hotel Hyatt, in Pune, on Friday. Nandhidhaa PV created a sensation in the fifth round, upsetting IM Meri Arabidze of Georgia, who is rated and titled higher than her, while 15-year-old Maria Ivana Furtado shocked Nguyen Thi Mai Hung to emerge joint leaders.
Indian ace Viswanathan Anand played out a fighting draw with defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the first game of the World Chess Championship in Sochi on Saturday.
Former Under-14 world champion and Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi won the bronze medal in the World Junior Chess Championship after settling for a quick draw with winner Yu Yangyi of China in the 13th and final round that concluded in Kocaeli, Turkey.
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Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand failed to press hard with his white pieces and had to settle for a draw with Michael Adams of England in the first round of the London Chess Classic that got underway in London.
Woman Grandmaster Bhakti Kulkarni and Grandmaster S P Sethuraman made history, winning the gold medal in the Asian Continental Women's and Open chess championship that concluded in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Garry Kasparov hated losing but in defeat, to an "alien opponent" incapable of fear or the faintest flicker of emotion, the youngest of chess champions and greatest of grandmasters made history. He became a grandmaster at 17 and world champion at 22 in 1985 when the charismatic youngster beat Soviet establishment hero Anatoly Karpov.
Tania Sachdev recaptured her rhythm as the Indian team bounced back into contention after beating Vietnam 3-1 in the sixth round of World Women's Team Chess Championship in Ningbo, China, on Monday.
Former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta give out an impeccable performance to beat compatriot and his BPCL team-mate G N Gopal and jumped to joint lead after the seventh round of the Asian continental chess championship in Subic Bay, Philippines on Wednesday.
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand struck back with vengeance and scored the much-needed equaliser against Boris Gelfand in the eighth game of the World Chess Championship in Moscow on Monday.
Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Canadian Grandmaster Anton Kovalyov to leave the Indian on the verge of an early exit at the FIDE Chess World Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Vaishali, sister of the Indian chess prodigy and GM R Praggnanandhaa, scored impressive victories over Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Russia's Valentina Gunina on the opening day of the Blitz championship.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa went down to World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE Chess World Cup final, in Baku, on Thursday.
Magnus Carlsen on Monday criticised senior FIDE officials, including its deputy president Viswanathan Anand, for mishandling the dress code violation issue
Amid apprehension that the World Chess Championship title contest between reigning champion Magnus Carlsen and former winner Vishwanathan Anand could be postponed, the Indian ace is hoping the rematch would go ahead.
With favourable results under his belt this year, five-time World champion Vishwanathan Anand is approaching the forthcoming World Chess Championship at Sochi with a quiet confidence and a positive frame of mind but termed his opponent Magnus Carlsen as "tenacious".
Second seed Krishnan Sasikiran was held to a draw by Oliver Barbosa of the Philippines in the first round of the ongoing Asian Individual Chess Championship in Mashhad, Iran. Fresh from his exploits in the Dubai International Open, where he finished second, Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi scored a thumping victory over Lou Yiping of China to start on a positive note.
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