India is all set to host the world's biggest chess event for the first-time ever in 100-year history of the Olympiad.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen secured a remarkable double victory at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament, winning both the rapid and blitz titles.
India's chess legend Viswanathan Anand was on Sunday elected deputy president of FIDE, the international chess federation, while incumbent president Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected for a second term.
First-time challenger D. Gukesh on Tuesday insisted he is not weighed down by the favourite's tag heading into the World Championship clash against China's Ding Liren, having enjoyed a purple patch after overcoming a rough phase.
India's woman Grandmaster Priyanka Nutakki was expelled from the World Junior Chess Championship being held in Italy currently for having a pair of ear buds in her jacket pocket.
The second, fourth, fifth and sixth games had ended in draws.
Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu Vaishali and men's team captain Srinath Narayanan landed Chennai on Tuesday morning.
Gukesh tried his hands at the Ruy Lopez as white but did not get much against Praggnanandhaa. Both the teenagers have been showing great skills here against the world's best and there was nothing to choose between them when pieces flew off the board in tandem. The game was drawn in 41 moves.
By becoming only the second Indian after legendary Vishwanathan Anand to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, Praggnanandhaa booked a spot in the Candidates event in 2024 to determine the challenger to Ding Liren.
Ding, who could become the first Chinese male to win the world title, began the tournament admitting he felt like there was "something wrong" with his mind.
Gukesh won't challenge Liren on home turf; Singapore wins bid for World Championships match
Photos posted by both outlets appeared to show her with no headscarf during the tournament. Khabarvarzeshi also posted a photo of her wearing a headscarf but without saying if it was taken at the same event.
R Praggnanandhaa missed out twice on cashing in on winning positions, ending up at the bottom of the table
It all started as an extra-curricular activity in school, which later became a life-long passion for D Gukesh and led to him becoming one of the best chess exponents in the world.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa opened his campaign in the FTX Crypto Cup, the American finale of Champions Chess Tour, with a 2.5-1.5 win over the world's top junior player Alireza Firouzja in Miami.
Mansukh Mandaviya pitches for kho kho's inclusion in Asian Games, 2036 Olympics
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi scored crushing victories, while D Gukesh held on to the joint top spot with a draw in a brilliant sixth-round outing for the Indian men's team at the Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto.
Defending champion Magnus Carlsen was disqualified from the World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2024 in Wall Street, New York, on Saturday for violating FIDE's dress code.
The Indian teams made winning starts in the Open and women's sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Friday.
Since 2012, 44 Indians have been anointed as grandmasters -- the highest achievement in chess, points out Arvind Subramanian, economist and former chief economic adviser to the government.
'I always cook from my heart,' says New York Chef Vijaya Kumar who won his third Michelin Star recently.
Winning three and drawing the remaining six games, Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the event.
Gujrathi faced a reverse at the hands of his Kazakh opponent.
Facebook turns 21 today, February 4. Most early Facebookers have migrated to other social media platforms, but A Ganesh Nadar continues to live on Facebook as he notes 'Real life friends are really not welcome on Facebook as they know that last summer when you said you were in Belgium you were actually in Belgaum'.
'The win will change a lot of things in Praggu... the confidence in his potential will be one of them. The win has ensured a lot of visibility which will give him a lot of opportunities.'
After the draw with Iranian turned French player Firouza, Gukesh has seven points for his sole second spot.
Harika Dronavalli, a seasoned player, fulfilled her lifelong dream of winning an Olympiad medal after two decades.
D Gukesh held reigning world champion Ding Liren of China to a draw in a highly anticipated contest
World Champion D Gukesh has taken the joint lead at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament after defeating his fellow Indian, P Harikrishna.
Former women's World champion Susan Polgar feels that the rising strength of Indian players makes them favourites to grab three out of the six medals at stake.
World chess champion Magnus Carlsen said on Monday he believed Hans Niemann had "cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted", adding he no longer wanted to play against the American and any rivals who repeatedly cheated in the past.
Gukesh was in control with his white pieces giving nothing away to Keymer, one of his seconds, in a Nimzo-Indian defense game.
World Championship challenger D Gukesh on Sunday said he didn't think about his personal achievements and was prepared to do "whatever it takes" to secure India's maiden gold medal at the Chess Olympiad following near-misses in previous editions.
Young Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh finished fifth while his illustrious compatriot Viswanathan Anand could only manage a tied seventh place in the third leg of the 2023 SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz chess tournament.
From CEOs to RBI governors, cricket's rich imagery and strategy resonate deeply with leadership, uncertainty, and decision-making across industries and global diplomacy, points out Suveen Sinha.
Indian chess players failed to finish on the podium in the individual events
In the women's event, Koneru Humpy and D Harika posted wins in the fifth round after a below par showing on the second day of the competition on Monday.
Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand posted his second win on the trot, defeating Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in the Classical section to take the lead at the Norway Chess tournament.
Indian chess icon Viswanathan Anand placed with nine points from seven rounds of Rapid (involving two mini-matches) and 14 rounds of Blitz.
IDE, for the very first time has instituted the torch relay, which is part of the Olympic tradition but was never done in the Chess Olympiad.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances