'On one hand, he is efficient, disciplined, and deeply professional, with his entire team working like clockwork.' 'On the other hand, he is approachable, warm, and often light-hearted -- someone who can crack a joke and make you feel at ease.'
In the women's section being held simultaneously, the Indians came back strongly to beat Poland 3-1 aided by victories from D Harika and Tania Sachdev on board two and three. Its surprising that Tania Sachdev was rested in the previous round when the Indian team drew with Serbia, losing on last two boards.
India men's team's medal chances took a hit as Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran lost a crucial match which resulted in Indian men's team shock defeat at the hands of eighth seeded Armenia in the ninth round of the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi.
Gujrathi had won the Azerbaijan event last year after outperforming compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.
Teen prodigy Divya Deshmukh stunned seasoned grandmaster Koneru Humpy in a tense tiebreak to win the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, rewriting Indian chess history at just 19.
Vantika Agrawal, 21, is aiming to become a Grandmaster, which could happen as early as next year.
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.
India is all set to host the world's biggest chess event for the first-time ever in 100-year history of the Olympiad.
AICF officials are in search of the Gaprindashvili Cup that was won by Indian teams at the 44th Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in 2022.
Hans Niemann quite literally made a splash on Wednesday, winning an underwater chess exhibition as festivities opened for the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals in Cape Town, where the world's elite players gathered ahead of the main competition.
At the end of the 10th round, the Indian Open team is leading the pack with 19 points and the Women's team is ranked second with 17 points.
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.
'It will bring the next wave of awareness and pursuit of excellence from people who want to take chess as a game or a competitive sport or even as a career.'
Donning a red kurta, veshti and sunglasses, Gukesh was seen performing the popular song's hook step with a group.
'I have no idea about such a medal. Never got one,' says Surya Shekhar Ganguly, the national chess champion between 2003 and 2008.
'It is truly unfathomable how this kid would come from a country with no chess culture and not only become World Champion, but inspire generations of Indian kids to push chess forward. The legend, @vishy64theking!'
With her family in tow, Humpy met the PM and described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime privilege."
'I like to be challenged by the strongest players on the planet, even though it's going to get more difficult with this young Indian generation coming up. But I am not entirely depressed.'
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.
Playing chess all year round can take a huge toll on the physical and mental aspects of a player and Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa acknowledged that sometimes he has to completely take his mind off the sport to prepare for the upcoming challenges.
Tania Sachdev on Monday lamented the "lack of recognition" from the government of Delhi, prompting chief minister Atishi to reach out to her
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.
'It is not just D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.' 'There are another 20 players just behind them. Nobody imagined this was possible 5 years ago.'
D Gukesh saw the world championship trophy for the first time on Friday after becoming the youngest ever to win it but said he would wait a while before laying his hands on it.
China would have been among the top medal contenders in the Olympiad and their absence would brighten India's chances.
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.
The world governing body of chess, FIDE, has postponed the Olympiad, scheduled for August 5-17 in Moscow, to 2021 owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The global chess body issued a statement saying that the Olympiad and the FIDE Congress, slated to be held in August in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk respectively, are rescheduled to the summer of 2021 at the same locations.
Defending champion Ding Liren says the in-form Dommaraju Gukesh is the big favourite to win their World Chess title showdown in November.
If a player is strong in defence then he/she should be given training in attack or vice versa.
Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi was just another Indian kid who dreamt of becoming a cricketer in his childhood before an accidental initiation to chess, which he feels was a 'very happy accident'.
Anand decided not to participate this time but he will be guiding the Indian team at the showpiece event to be held from July 28 to August 10.
What some of our politicians were up to on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
A lot has been written about Gukesh but have you wondered about how it is to be the parents of a genius and budding World Champion.
Overjoyed by India's remarkable dual triumph at the Chess Olympiad, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said that while this marks a promising beginning, there is still much work to be done for women's chess in the country.
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaise secured the WR Chess masters title after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the Armageddon game following two draws in Classical chess during the final.
Chess icon Viswanathan Anand feels the current crop of Indian players, that he has had a role in shaping, has turned out to be "great" in grabbing crucial opportunities.
Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi and Vaishali have trained at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) that the bespectacled chess wizard set up four years ago in Chennai. The 18-year-old Gukesh and the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa have often stated that they would not be where they are without "Vishy sir".
'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.'
India hosts the event from a position of unprecedented strength with a string of titles under its belt.
Gujrathi, who was a part of India's gold-winning campaign in the Chess Olympiad recently, says the sport's ecosystem needs a major overhaul to ensure players have more balance in life.
