Magnus Carlsen didn't hide behind the veneer of niceties and asserted that he was here to win the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, and that fatherhood or the emergence of youngsters hadn't diminished his hunger for success.
The event comes at a time when tennis is facing criticism over its relentless tour schedule.
Images from the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 Group A action in Switzerland on Wednesday.
The stars competing at the Norway Chess event were in for an authentic Wild West surprise when they had to don cowboy hats, roper boots, well worn-out jeans to indulge in some rodeo activity.
Gukesh suffers crushing loss against Nakamura, Erigaisi wins in Norway Chess
Let's discover the nations with the most single adults, according to World of Statistics.
FDI inflows into India are expected to register robust growth in 2026, supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, big-ticket investment announcements, sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business, and a new generation of investment-linked trade pacts.
A quick look at the 14 names the Neeraj Ghaywan movie is competing with for a spot in the top five nominations.
Four-time World champions Italy now have to battle through the playoffs in March if they are to avoid missing the tournament for a third straight occasion.
Next year's 48-team World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
Reigning World champion Dommaraju Gukesh's roller-coaster ride continues. The Indian Grandmaster suffered defeat in an Armageddon tie-break and slipped to tied-fifth place, while Arjun Erigaisi upset American world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura to maintain fourth position in the Norway Chess tournament.
Meanwhile, Trump said Cambodia and Thailand have started fighting again and "tomorrow", he will make a phone call to those countries.
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
'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.'
Spain cannot meet Argentina and France will not face England before the World Cup final - provided they win their groups - after FIFA on Tuesday announced the draw procedure.
Aishwary, who is a double Olympian, former junior world champion, and reigning Asian champion, has also won a silver in the World Championship last month.
Reigning world champion D Gukesh continued to turn adversity into opportunity as he wriggled out of a virtually intractable position to beat compatriot Arjun Erigaisi for the first time ever in a classical game and jump to sole second position after round 7 of the Norway Chess.
Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is not scheduled to play serious football on the 'G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025'.
Five-time World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway got the better of D Gukesh in the opening round of Norway Chess.
FIDE World Cup: Arjun draws again to reach tiebreaker against Wei Yi
The 2026 World Cup will kick off-on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium - iconic venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals - followed by South Korea against a play-off winner after the complex draw was made on Friday.
India's ace weightlifter Mirabai Chanu stated that she has been competing in the 48-49kg category and will need to move to the 53kg category for the 2028 Olympics due to a change in weight classes. She expressed confidence in her ability to participate in the 2028 event.
'Right now, I'm happy with the game that I played today. Tomorrow (Friday), hopefully, another good game I can play. And whatever the result will be, we'll see later. But yeah, just focusing on playing the game.'
Norway secured a commanding 5-0 win at home to Israel in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday, as Erling Haaland struck a hat-trick to celebrate his 50th international goal and helped move his side to the brink of a place at next year's tournament.
The teams that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, to be hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
FIDE World Cup: Arjun storms into quarterfinals of the World Cup
Grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh caused the biggest upset of the World Chess Cup, ousting former world championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia after winning the second game of the second round, in Panjim, on Wednesday.
Italy beat Israel 3-0 at home on Tuesday thanks to a Mateo Retegui double and a late goal from Gianluca Mancini.
Reigning World champion D Gukesh finally got his revenge on Magnus Carlsen as he pounced on a blunder by the World No 1 to defeat him for the first time in a classical game.
'Most of my birthdays I end up losing the game, so glad it did not repeat in the classical. When I was playing, I felt fine, but when I was losing, I was like, 'ok, not again'.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
India's second major casualty on the day was Aravindh Chithambaram who lost to compatriot K Venkatramanan after the second set of rapid games.
Mirabai Chanu (48kg) clinched a silver medal at the World Championships in the 48kg category in Forde, Norway.
In 2002, she became the first Indian woman to achieve the GM title, securing her place in chess history. Today, she remains India's top ranked women's player in the country.
Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna had another good day as they sent veteran Peter Leko of Hungary and Swede Nils Grandelius packing in the fourth-round tiebreaker at the Chess World Cup, in Panaji on Thursday.
'Following a meeting this afternoon, the SAG have formally written to the club and UEFA to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend Villa Park for this fixture.'
'Instead of one or two families controlling 10% to 15% of GDP, it has to be broad based. Then, the resilience of the economy also will be higher.' 'Then, if something happens to one business, it will not hurt the economy badly.'
This is the one of the strongest line-ups in a chess tournament ever, with four of them with a rating over 2800.
'...then preparing oneself for the long haul is also essential.' 'Identifying and holding onto values gives you strength to withstand the difficulties enroute.' 'Taking care of your physical, mental, and intellectual well-being gives you the strength to stay the path.'
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