Divya Deshmukh not only became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, she also instantly secured the prestigious Grandmaster title.
Top seed Arjun Erigaisi scored a convincing victory over compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the first round of the Tata Steel Masters.
'In any other sport, this would have been an open and shut case. But with ICC Chairman, CEO, CFO, Commercial chief, and head of Events and Communications being Indians, suspension seems unlikely.'
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Wednesday confirmed India's bid to host the Asian Cup in 2031
Kerala teenager Krishna Goutham shares the lead with World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, top Indian exponent Arjun Erigaisi, and Vladislav Artemiev.
'In terms of format, there are constant shifts which is happening. I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing, but as a player, I think it is sometimes difficult to adjust to each format.'
FIDE World Cup: Gukesh seeded top, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa second and third
Gautam Gambhir praised Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten 84 as a 'masterclass' after India beat the USA by 29 runs in their opening T20 World Cup 2026 match at Wankhede.
Jagreet had recently defeated a Grandmaster Blagojevic Dragisa (ELO 2446) from Montenegro.
This is the most open T20 World Cup in history. The traditional powers are compromised. The new powers have gained strength, observes Faisal Shariff.
Reigning classical World champion D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and world No.1 Magnus Carlsen were among the leaders after the first five rounds on the opening day of the FIDE World Rapid Championships in Doha on Thursday.
FIDE World Cup: Two more draws in the second game of semifinals
The FIDE World Cup will be held at a resort in North Goa from October 31 to November 27, 2025, offering a total prize fund of US$2 million.
Doubles is not a sideshow: Yuki Bhambri on re-invention and right support
'Again this year was not going well, I was working very hard but somehow the results were not going my way, this win is very crucial.'
'...There's nothing to say about the chess aspect... One of those places that you don't feel sad about leaving.'
'Once you are out of the top 32, it becomes very tough to get back. Last year I couldn't really get entries into the 750 tournaments. To start this year with one is a positive step.'
Rajeev Shukla recalled his conversations with Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, revealing that the 'Master Blaster' had expressed confidence that a young Virat Kohli could one day break his major batting records.
Lots to look forward to in Indian sports as packed 2026 calender awaits
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.
Inderjit Bindra, who raised Indian cricket on the world stage in the 1990s and early years of this century, passed into the ages on Sunday. 26 years ago, Mr Bindra spoke at length to Rediff about his vision for Indian cricket, an interview which we republish in his memory.
Divya Deshmukh has been awarded a wild card for the FIDE World Cup 2025 following a last-minute withdrawal of one of the participants.
Meanwhile, the India captain was seen with his wife Devisha at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, where the couple offered prayers on the occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadashi.
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.
With just 16 players out of 206 participants that started the event remaining in the fray, most of the players decided against taking undue risk and decided to wait for the next game.
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.
FIDE World Cup: Arjun storms into quarterfinals of the World Cup
India hosts the event from a position of unprecedented strength with a string of titles under its belt.
Charith Asalanka's tenure as skipper of the Sri Lanka team was thrown into uncertainty after the southpaw came back home from Pakistan in the middle of the triangular series there.
American Abhimanyu Mishra, 16, became the youngest-ever player in the history of chess to beat a reigning World Champion in the classical format.
Praggnanandhaa takes on a strong field at Grand Swiss, eyes Candidates berth
On pure experience of playing big games, Humpy goes in the final as the favourite against compatriot Deshmukh.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Slowly but surely emerging as one of India's key players, International Master Divya Deshmukh stunned higher-ranked compatriot Harika Dronavalli 2-0 in the tiebreaks to enter the semifinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia.
R Praggnanandhaa sealed his spot in the Grand Chess Tour finale after finishing runner-up at the Sinquefield Cup.
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.
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