Indian chess grandmaster Koneru Humpy defends her decision to withdraw from the Candidates tournament in Cyprus due to safety concerns amid regional tensions, stating that playing peacefully is impossible when surrounded by warships.
An analysis of the disparities in India's sporting culture, highlighting the challenges faced by non-cricket athletes and the systemic changes needed for India to become a true sporting superpower.
'In terms of format, there are constant shifts which is happening. I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing, but as a player, I think it is sometimes difficult to adjust to each format.'
Historic moment, hails Anand after four Indians reach FIDE WC quarterfinals
Chess960, created by former world champion Bobby Fischer in 1996, has been gaining in popularity after an invitational tournament played last year at the Weissenhaus Luxury Resort, which hosted the G7 Foreign Minister summit in 2022.
Team MGD1, with Grandmaster Arjun Erigiaisi playing on the top board, had earlier made it to the 16-team knockout and beaten Generation XYZA 4-0 in the first round.
Chess governing body FIDE's general assembly agreed to consider lifting parts of a ban on Russian and Belarusian players imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in a vote on Sunday in Budapest.
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.
Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi's decision to share the World Blitz Championship title for the first time in history sparked widespread criticism.
'...There's nothing to say about the chess aspect... One of those places that you don't feel sad about leaving.'
'I was faced with a choice: quit my job or move to where I am valued.'
An eight-year-old Indian-origin boy defeated Polish chess grandmaster Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.
Months after a dress-code controversy involving five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced a new dress code for the FIDE Grand Swiss and FIDE Women's Grand Swiss.
It is going to be a festival of chess in India with the 44th Chess Olympiad taking place at Poonjeri village in Mamallapuram also known as Mahabalipuram -- a UNESCO heritage site, situated around 50 kilometres from Chennai.
Joining the elite 2,800 rated chess players club will get Arjun invites for top chess tournaments as well as better appearance fees.
Caruana kept his slender half point lead going in to the final round in the 10-player round-robin tournament, a part of the Grand Chess tour.
The event is held over 11 rounds in both open and women's categories with likely participation of over 2,000 players.
Defending champion Ding Liren says the in-form Dommaraju Gukesh is the big favourite to win their World Chess title showdown in November.
...'you are 37. It's quite difficult when you get older to keep that motivation and stay sharp when required.'
In the sixth round Gukesh survived another scare before steering the game to a draw with Firouzja.
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.
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.
Dubai witnessed a historic moment as the inaugural edition of the Global Chess League was held on Thursday.
'The Indian Open team was extremely well prepared and motivated to win the gold medal.' 'With two players in the world top 10 club, and four players with over 2,700 ELO points (GMs Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, all below 20) and Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna, it was a solid team.'
If a player is strong in defence then he/she should be given training in attack or vice versa.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 via the sudden death tie-break to enter the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament in Baku on Thursday.
Praggnanandhaa has expressed his determination to approach the World Cup final against Magnus Carlsen with a fresh mindset.
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.
Gukesh won't challenge Liren on home turf; Singapore wins bid for World Championships match
Indian Grandmasters D Gukesh and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi bowed out of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament after losing to Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and Azerbaijan's Nijat Abasov respectively in Baku on Wednesday.
The 16-year-old top seed was in fine form and remained unbeaten through the nine rounds. He finished the tournament with a victory over fellow-Indian V Praneeth, an International Master, late on Friday.
Neither current World Champion D Gukesh nor former world champion Vishy Anand are the top rated Indian chess player.
India's global chess domination was lauded by President Droupadi Murmu in her address to the nation on Thursday
Grandmaster R Vaishali was so crestfallen following seven straight losses in the Chennai Grandmasters that she had made up her mind to pull out of the Grand Swiss tournament, but family support steered her to the event where she won the title to qualify for the Candidates next year.
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.
The forum president IM Varugeese Koshy, in a letter appealed to Rijiju that chess players be recognised by the government.
Eight of the world's best chess players began competing in an international tournament in Russia on Tuesday, but were told by organisers that handshakes would be optional because of the coronavirus that has halted most sports around the world.
In an event completely dominated by the Chinese, Ju Wenjun went on to snare the world title, defeating compatriot Lei Tingjie 3.5-2.5.
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.
