The stars competing at the Norway Chess event were in for an authentic Wild West surprise when they had to don cowboy hats, roper boots, well worn-out jeans to indulge in some rodeo activity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded India's young chess players for their historic achievement at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where both the men's and women's teams clinched their maiden gold medals.
As India's remarkable chess revolution gathers momentum, teenagers Rishabh Kumar and Adhiraj Mitra are ensuring that the country's future on the 64 squares remains brighter than ever.
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.
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.
Arjun Erigaisi scored a fine win over speed game specialist Quang Liem Le but his compatriot Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was outplayed by World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the penultimate round of the Meltwater Champions Tour Finals.
World champion D Gukesh's struggles continued as he slumped to a third successive defeat, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday.
R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States.
After scoring their fifth victory on the trot, the Indian men maintained their joint lead with 10 points along with China, Vietnam and Hungary.
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.
'Right now, I'm happy with the game that I played today. Tomorrow (Friday), hopefully, another good game I can play. And whatever the result will be, we'll see later. But yeah, just focusing on playing the game.'
Magnus Carlsen concluded the first nine rounds with an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible 9.
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.
D Gukesh will take on Magnus Carlsen in the opening round in what should be one of the most keenly-contested matches at the Norway Chess tournament.
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.
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.
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.
Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi and Dr Nidhi Kataria's wedding was a spectacular blend of tradition, glamour, and chess royalty.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen underlined his superiority, winning the first two games in the opening match of the final against teenaged Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi.
Gukesh draws with Wei Yi; Praaggnandhaa outwits Caruana
R Praggnanandhaa found himself clubbed with Magnus Carlsen in the same group, while Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi were bunched together in the other pool
R Praggnanandhaa outclassed world champion D Gukesh in sudden death to win Tata Steel Masters chess title.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen recorded a flawless performance, securing victories against S L Narayanan
The likes of Arjun Erigaisi on the top board will be assisted by P Harikrishna on the second board.
India made history as both its men's and women's teams clinched their first-ever gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad. The men's team defeated Slovenia and the women's counterparts overcame Azerbaijan in the final round.
World Junior champion Pranav Venkatesh scored a crushing victory over Grandmaster Alan Pichot of Spain to win the Fujairah Global Superstars chess tournament.
D Gukesh put it across Serbia's Alexandr Predke in the fourth round for his first win in the Chennai Grand Masters chess
Joining the elite 2,800 rated chess players club will get Arjun invites for top chess tournaments as well as better appearance fees.
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.
World champion D Gukesh finally managed to beat the legendary Viswanathan Anand when it mattered the most to help PBG Alaskan Knights finish third.
Praggnanandhaa went down 1.5-2.5 to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, Erigasi lost to Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda 0.5-2.5.
The 20-year-old German, playing white, drew his match against Dutchman Jordan van Foreest, while results elsewhere confirmed his tournament victory.
Defending champion and Grandmaster R Vaishali jumped into sole lead in the women's section
Erigaisi is two points clear of Praggnanandhaa and world champion Carlsen (15 points).
D Gukesh defeated Dutch Grandmaster Max Warmerdam to stay in sole lead on 7.5 points at the end of the 10th round of 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 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.
The victory and a full point took Gukesh to 3.5 points and gave him a clear lead in the eight-man field.
Erigaisi may have had to work harder but the Indian youngster, who is currently World number four, was never quite away from winning his game.
As Gukesh gears up for the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Tour, his latest interaction with the Botez sisters has sparked yet another meme fest online.
