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.
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.
Local star D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi played out a draw in the second round of the Chennai Grand Masters Chess Championship 2023 in Chennai on Saturday.
The 17-year-old Gukesh is in joint lead with Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Having watched the 2013 World Championship match between the legendary Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen, Erigaisi is delighted to get a chance to be on the same as the two veterans.
Donning a red kurta, veshti and sunglasses, Gukesh was seen performing the popular song's hook step with a group.
Carlsen was fined $ 200 for wearing jeans, which are "explicitly prohibited" under tournament regulations
Vantika Agrawal, 21, is aiming to become a Grandmaster, which could happen as early as next year.
Bee Gees' 'Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive' could've been the soundtrack of the night - because Sunil Narine made sure Kolkata Knight Riders were doing just that.
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.
Praggnanandhaa blundered for the second day running and lost to Richard Rapport of Romania in the third round
Gukesh will have to carry with him the tag of world champion and along with it loads of expectations and increased scrutiny. But the 19-year-old is prepared to stand in the limelight.
Teenager Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest chess world champion by beating defending champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday
Pakistan was waiting for an opportunity to bring the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the global agenda and resorted to the terrorism route to provoke India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi pipped Rinat Zumabayev of Kazakhstan in the fifth round to share the top spot.
Ding will face a stern challenge from the 18-year-old Gukesh, who "doesn't make any mistakes at all" and has had a terrific run in 2024.
American Hans Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and Chess.com in October 2022 after the allegations that he had cheated.
While the mind games will go on in the last two games and a potential tiebreaker, American Hikaru Nakamura and world number one Magnus Carlsen feel that the balance had tilted slightly in Ding Liren's favour.
'I'm excited to celebrate with my team and friends. There's a little secret, though.'
'This moment is special not just for me, but for everyone who has supported my journey.'
Three of the four Indian Open team players are in line for gold and silver medals for the individual performance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Chess great Magnus Carlsen beat nemesis Hans Niemann 17.5-12.5 to advance to the Speed Chess Championship final on Friday, in their first face-off since the world number one accused his American rival of cheating two years ago.
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.
On current form, D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship title against his Chinese opponent, Ding Liren, believes Indian teenage Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa.
The Indian teams made winning starts in the Open and women's sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Friday.
Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker and Mirabai Chanu have joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to combat obesity, emphasizing the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.
Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram moved closer to his first major tournament victory after drawing with David Navara in the eighth round of the Prague Masters.
Magnus Carlsen lauds D Gukesh but rules out world title clash with him
Tata group has been a constant in India's sporting landscape and the conglomerate's involvement only grew under Ratan Tata.
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.
'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.'
Star Indian pistol shooter Manu Bhaker was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year, following her outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics.
Starting as second seed, Praggnanandhaa will have his task cut out with the white pieces against Navara, who has been around for a long time as one of the top European players.
'There's something called deterrence by punishment.' 'That means you hit in a manner calculated to raise costs and consequences for Pakistan, so that the next time it attempts a Pahalgam-like attack, it has to think ten times.'
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.
