Indian players experienced mixed fortunes in the second round of the FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament here with two each in the men's and women's sections registering victories.
Booked in two cases for allegedly disturbing communal harmony and committing other electoral offences during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Monday granted bail by a special court for lawmakers in Sultanpur.
Meanwhile in the women's event, Padmini Rout and R Vaishali joined compatriot Bhakti Kulkarni in the second round.
With Viswanathan Anand resting, the Indian team managed to hold their own against the favourites before Yu Yangyi subdued B Adhiban with black pieces to secure another victory in the tournament.
India suffered a double blow, losing its third and fourth round matches to Europe and top-seeded China by similar 1.5-2.5 margins, on the second day of the FIDE-Chess.com Online Nations Cup on Wednesday. Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand came up against a strong opponent in Ding Liren and the two agreed to sign peace in 54 moves. P Harikrishna held higher-rated Yu Yangyi to a draw while long-time rivals Koneru Humpy and Hou Yifan drew their game.
India was held to a 3-3 draw by lower-ranked Mongolia in the sixth round as favourites China grabbed the top spot in Pool A in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The seasoned Anand beat Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in just 17 moves in a fifth round match. But India were held to a 2-2 draw by Russia in the ongoing Online Nations Cup.
World No. 10 Indian, playing with black pieces, had to be at her defensive best to avoid conceding the game.
India and Russia were on Sunday declared joint winners of the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad after the final was marred by internet disconnection and server malfunction. This was the first time FIDE, the international chess federation, was holding the Olympiad in an online format, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Praggnanandhaa plays, he does not allow his confidence to fluctuate, irrespective of who his opponent is, says his father.
Sahara Force India enjoyed a double points finish at the 'home' British Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez finishing eight and ninth to collect six points for the team, in Silverstone, on Sunday.
Vaishali, sister of the Indian chess prodigy and GM R Praggnanandhaa, scored impressive victories over Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Russia's Valentina Gunina on the opening day of the Blitz championship.
Carlsen continued his dominating run as he took his lead to an almost unassailable five points.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on his Twitter page
In the women section being held alongside, Indian women played out a hard-fought draw against experienced Georgia 1 team. All the games were drawn.
Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand will lead India's charge at the online Nations Cup beginning on Tuesday, where some of the world's best players will face off amid the coronavirus pandemic which has thrown the sporting calendars out of gear. The six-team event, touted to the richest online team tournament, features all the big names in the game with World champion Magnus Carlsen being the only big gun missing from the line-up.
Telugu Desam Party Member of Parliament and son of N T Rama Rao, N Harikrishna on Thursday resigned from Rajya Sabha in protest against the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
India's Pentala Harikrishna secured two wins on the last day but could only finish second, half a point behind Japanese-American wizard Hikaru Nakamura who lived up to his top billing to clinch the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid tournament, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Krishnan Sasikiran guided Indian men to a 2.5-1.5 win over Czech Republic but the women's team suffered a shocking 1-3 defeat against Hungary in the eighth round of the 43rd chess Olympiad, in Batumi, on Tuesday.
Reigning world rapid champion Viswanathan Anand drew his sixth straight game of the tournament to stay undefeated and have a mid-table placing at number four with three points.
China won the top prize on the basis of having won the round-robin stage.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
'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.'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand and five other leading Indian players will compete in an online chess exhibition on April 11 to raise funds for country's fight against COVID-19. The event will be streamed live on chess.com/tv, where all donations made will be sent to the PM's CARES Fund.
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.
Arjun Bhati has managed to raise 4.30 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by selling all his trophies, including three world junior golf championship titles and a national championship. Meanwhile, chess players in the country, including the likes of Grandmaster P Harikrishna, are doing their bit in the fight against the Covid-19 by raising more than Rs 3 lakh as their contribution.
At least 18 coronavirus patients died after a fire broke out at a hospital in Gujarat's Bharuch in the early hours on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
World champion Viswanathan Anand played out a quick draw with Hikaru Nakamura of United States while debutant P Harikrishna beat local player Anish Giri in the first round of the 'A' group of Tata Steel Chess tournament that got underway in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands on Sunday.
Former World champion Viswanathan Anand and India cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal among others took part in an online chess charity event, raising Rs 8.8 lakh for the waste pickers' community fighting the coronavirus pandemic. "Chess For Charity", held on Saturday on chess.com, saw India No.1 Anand, No. 2 Vidit Gujrathi, Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, Woman Grandmaster Tania Sachdev and Croatia's Antonio Radic take on a team of comedians comprising Biswa Kalyan Rath, Samay Raina, Abhishek Upamanyu and Aakash Mehta.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Nakamura secured four wins and five draws to stay as the sole leader after nine rounds.
Grandmaster GN Gopal's defeat against Ni Hua cost India dearly as it lost the fourth round match to higher rated China in the men's chess team event to slip to the second position in the Asian Games in Guangzhou on Sunday.
Grandmaster and former national champion B Adhiban crashed through the defences of former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria to remain in joint lead in the Masters section of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival.
Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand set to return to FIDE World Cup after 15 years with an aim to seal a berth at the 2018 Candidates tournament.
The 70-year old first time MP, who was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on August 10 after he tested positive for coronavirus, succumbed to the illness, a party spokesperson said.
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