After two straight wins, India went down 1-3 to a formidable Russian team in a fourth Pool A match in the FIDE World Women's Team Chess Championship, in Sitges, Spain.
From Joe Root vs Jasprit Bumrah's high-stakes chess match to the all-round brilliance of Ben Stokes vs Ravindra Jadeja, and from emerging face-offs like Shubman Gill vs Shoaib Bashir to K L Rahul's test against Chris Woakes, each duel carries weight far beyond statistics.
Star Indian pistol shooter Manu Bhaker was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year, following her outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics.
World No. 4 Indian Arjun Erigaisi beat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi after five hours of end-to-end action in the opening round of the Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024 in Chennai on Monday.
The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.
Viswanathan Anand would become the deputy president of the world chess federation (FIDE) if the incumbent Arkady Dvorkovich is re-elected as the president in the elections scheduled during the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in July-August.
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.
Winning three and drawing the remaining six games, Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the event.
Five-time champion and World No 3 Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand will spearhead a five-man strong Indian challenge at the prestigious Corus Chess Tournament starting in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands, on Monday.
Kachiani-Gersinka, while Mary Ann Gomes accounted for Sarah Hoolt as the Indian women's team beat Germany '1' 3-1 in the fourth round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. However, the Indian men lost narrowly to top seeds Russia in the Open section after P Harikrishna's heroic efforts, that netted him a victory over Peter Svidler, went in vain.
Gujrathi won the match with black pieces as he exploited a tactical oversight from his famous opponent.
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.
India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively.
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.
The extraneous support from the likes of Gary Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik in his World Championship battle has not diminished Viswanathan Anand's faith in his team of seconds. The Indian chess wizard on Tuesday ruled out any change in what he calls a 'band of brothers'.
Indian men won the Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament with a 3-1 victory over Vietnam in the final round as they pushed formidable China down to second place in Vietnam on Wednesday.
Magnus Carlsen lauds D Gukesh but rules out world title clash with him
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.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy maintained her all-win record as Indian girls blanked Vietnam 4-0 to maintain the sole second position after the end of the fifth round of the World Women Tam Chess Championship, in Mardin, Turkey.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy's crucial victory helped last-minute entrant Indian women's team settle for a 2-2 draw with Ukraine in the first round of the ongoing World Women Team Chess Championship in Mardin, Turkey.
Leaving out Tania Sachdev proved a costly mistake as India's medal hopes went up in smoke when the women's team lost to second seed China in the 10th and penultimate round of the Chess Olympiad in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.
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.
The Indian eves could not keep the momentum and lost to Georgia 1-3 in the eighth and penultimate round of World women team chess championship in Mardin, Turkey.
India 'B' blanked Estonia 4-0 in the second round of the Open section in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Saturday while the second-seeded India 'A' team defeated Moldova 3.5-0.5 to make it two wins from as many matches.
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.
The Indian men's and women's teams cruised to identical 4-0 victories over Wales and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia respectively in the first round of the 40th Chess Olympiad at the Wow Hotel and Convention centre in Istanbul.
India 'B' played out a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan in the 9th round of the open section, while India 'A' and 'C' teams registered identical 3-1 wins in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Sunday.
Back to the Olympiad after a gap of 12 years, Anand was precise in calculation and brilliant in judgement giving away nothing to Ragger who was all at sea defending a difficult position out of the opening on Tuesday evening.
Praggnanandhaa said just talking to the Indian chess wizard (Anand) boosts his confidence.
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.
Six-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will be a part of the Indian team for the Chess Olympiad to be held in Georgia later this year after he accepted the request from the All India Chess Federation.
International Master Tania Sachdev led the charge as the Indian women's team crashed through the defenses of Israel and romped to a huge 3.5-0.5 victory in the 10th and penultimate round of the Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
Athletes lauded for their performances on National Sports Day
International Master Tania Sachdev registered her sixth victory in seven games as the Indian women's team cruised to a 3-1 victory over lower-ranked Estonia to take the joint-fourth spot after the seventh round in the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
On a disappointing day for India, the men's team bowed out of medal contention after conceding another draw, while the women were tamed 1-3 by Russia in the ninth round of the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
The coin toss gave the Alaskan Knights the white pieces, with 20 minutes per player on the clock -- 40 minutes are alloted a match.
'We need more support from states to back budding talents from not-so-affluent families.'
It's been seven years since a chess player got the Arjuna award and the iconic Viswanathan Anand is hoping that India's triumphant campaign at the online Chess Olympiad will change this when the national sporting honours are announced next year.
The Indian women's team had a dismal day out in the third round of the World Women's team chess championship in Ningbo, China, on Friday.
The Indian men's hockey team will participate in the special sessions during a week-long camp at SAI, Bengaluru, to be overseen by India's chief coach Craig Fulton.
