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.
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.
International Master Divya Deshmukh stormed into the final, defeating former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China in the second game of the semifinals and winning the mini-match 1.5-0.5 in the FIDE Women's World Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
The FIDE World Cup for chess will be held between October 30 and November 27, 2025.
R Praggnanandhaa sealed his spot in the Grand Chess Tour finale after finishing runner-up at the Sinquefield Cup.
Without Carlsen, the GCT was announced and this is the culmination point wherein the players would qualify for the grand finale slated later this year.
Apart from Tan, top seed Tingjie Lei of China also made it to the semifinals at the expense of Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia.
Pakistan, led by Fatima Sana, failed to register a single victory in the Women's ODI World Cup -- losing four matches and three games abandoned because of rain in Colombo.
This marks the first time that four players from a single country have reached the quarter-finals of the FIDE Women's World Chess Cup.
The trophy was unveiled during a colourful opening ceremony which was attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich.
World Champion D Gukesh suffered his second straight defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss, losing to Greece's Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
'He was like a sponge. He soaked up everything we taught him -- and when it came time to play, he'd squeeze out exactly what was needed on the board during tournaments.'
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.
Divya Deshmukh came to the star-studded FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, as an underdog, hoping to at least win one Grandmaster norm in her journey to become a GM in the future.
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.
R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States.
International Master Divya Deshmukh, who is waiting to become a Grandmaster, had a tough day in office as she was outplayed by Zhu Jiner of China in the return game of the pre-quarterfinals in the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia 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.
Koneru Humpy edged Chinese GM Lei Tingjie in the tiebreaks in the semis to set up an all-Indian final against compatriot Divya Deshmukh in the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup.
The FIDE World Cup 2025 is coming to Goa from October 30 to November 27, 2025!
Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna had another good day as they sent veteran Peter Leko of Hungary and Swede Nils Grandelius packing in the fourth-round tiebreaker at the Chess World Cup, in Panaji on Thursday.
'Shameful action by the chief arbiter Marghetis towards me during the game. Middle of the game during the most intense moment when I was walking during Ian move... he came to me and told me not to walk anymore because my shoe is making noise on the wooden floor.'
Hundreds of students from the Velammal Vidyalaya, the school where Gukesh studies, lined up at the airport at least one hour before his flight landed to greet the 17-year-old chess prodigy.
Venkatesh Prasad to contest for KSCA president's post, Kumble, Srinath back ex-India pacer's panel
While Vantika, Harika and Vaishali have an uphill task in the first set of tie-break games, they can still make it to the round of 16.
Abundantly talented but more significantly, incredibly cool in crunch situations, that's how India's 88th Grandmaster and World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh was described by her formative coach Srinath Narayanan, who feels the 19-year-old chess wizard's composure is comparable only to cricket great Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
FIDE Women's World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
Indian chess Grandmaster R Vaishali has set her sights on two key objectives this year: delivering consistent performances and securing a spot in the prestigious Candidates Tournament.
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.
International Master Atanu Lahiri, a former joint secretary, AICF, in a complaint to the Registrar of Societies, Tamil Nadu has urged the initiation of a probe on alleged mismanagement or misuse of AICF funds and even dissolve the chess body if gross violation of its objectives and obligations were found.
Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh made a huge stride forward, defeating second seed Jiner Zhu of China in the first game of the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
With Vantika's hard-earned victory there are still five Indians left in the last 32 stage of this US$691,250 prize money event with an additional bonus of making it to the Women's candidates' tournament slated in 2026 for the top three finishers.
Former women's World champion Susan Polgar believes Indian chess is riding a wave of success and predicted a bright future for the sport in the country.
'If they have picked him ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal, and as many felt, Sanju Samson, you can imagine how extremely privileged he is.'
Tickets for the match on September 14 are in huge demand than for any other match. Most journalists are also arriving only in time for this match, even skipping India's opening match against the UAE on September 10.
India's Arjun Erigaisi delivered a commanding performance against American Awonder Liang, while compatriot Nihal Sarin lost to Germany's Vincent Keymer in the opening round of the Chennai Grandmasters Chess tournament on Thursday.
Months after a dress-code controversy involving five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced a new dress code for the FIDE Grand Swiss and FIDE Women's Grand Swiss.
Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi play out draw, Awonder beats Pranav in wonderkid clash
At this year's US Open second-round match against Sorana Cirstea, Muchova broke down mid-match in a scene that was as human as it was unexpected.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with white pieces in the final Blitz play-off game on Friday.
