India's Madhavendra Pratap Sharma and Kazakhstan's Akhilbay Imangali are leading the rapid event of the Asian Junior Chess Championship in Mumbai, both with a perfect score of 4 points after four rounds. While the open section sees clear leaders, the girls' rapid championship is a much closer contest with six players sharing the lead, all unbeaten. With three rounds remaining, the competition for titles and podium finishes remains intense in both categories.
India's Vivaan Vishal and Turkmenistan's Shohradova Lala won the Open and Girls sections, respectively, at the Asian Junior Rapid Chess Championship in Mumbai. Vivaan secured his title with a strong finish, while Shohradova claimed victory after a tie-break against India's Pratitee Bordoloi. The event now moves to the Classical Championship.
Bengaluru is set to host a FIDE-rated Rapid Chess tournament featuring up to 1000 players, serving as a prelude to Season 4 of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL). The tournament offers a Rs 4 lakh prize purse and a chance for participants to experience the build-up to the GCL, which will feature top chess stars like Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa of India secured the top spot in the rapid section of the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, scoring 12 out of 18 points.
Researchers at IIT Indore have developed a groundbreaking method to convert carbon dioxide and glycerol, two common waste materials, into valuable green chemicals like lactic acid and formic acid in just seven minutes. This low-energy process uses a specially designed ruthenium-based catalyst and microwave heating, offering a sustainable solution for waste management and green manufacturing.
Tejaswin Shankar, a two-time Commonwealth Games medalist, is targeting an Asian Games decathlon gold with a personal best, while building towards Olympic-level performances and longevity.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won three matches in a row on the final day to tie for the first place with Firouzja Alireza of France on 12 points as the rapid section of the Croatian leg of the Grand Chess Tour ended in Zagreb, Croatia on Friday.
IIT Bhubaneswar researchers have developed 'ArsenSafe', a portable, low-cost device for rapid, on-site detection of arsenic in drinking water. This innovation aims to address the critical public health challenge of arsenic contamination in groundwater, offering a solution that doesn't require laboratory infrastructure.
Praggnanandhaa squandered a winning advantage against Vincent Keymer in the Grand Chess Tour opener, allowing the resilient German to survive and secure a hard-fought draw.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has secured his spot in the finals of the Grand Chess Tour's last leg, defeating Germany's Vincent Keymer 19-9. He is set to compete against defending champion Fabiano Caruana of the USA for the title.
The second round of the Asian Junior Open and Girls Classical Chess Championships in Mumbai saw significant upsets, with Guru Prakash defeating Asian Junior Rapid champion FM Vivaan Vishal Shah. Several other higher-rated players were also challenged or defeated, while top seeds maintained their winning streaks.
D Gukesh finished tied fourth in the Super Rapid and Blitz Tournament after defeating Fabiano Caruana, marking a return to form after recent struggles.
An American Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft reportedly landed in Moscow on Monday morning, according to online air traffic monitoring systems, Russian news agency TASS reported.
India's Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa finished second in the Sinquefield Cup after losing to American Wesley So in the Armageddon game, but secured his spot in the Grand Chess Tour finale later this year.
R Praggnanandhaa delivered a statement performance in St. Louis, powering his way to his maiden Rapid & Blitz title with a round to spare.
D Gukesh recovered from a shaky start in the blitz section of the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament with a victory over Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Hans Moke Niemann leads the tournament, followed by Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana.
Tero Entertainment Public Co. Ltd. has launched Quest India 2026, marking the official introduction of 3x3 basketball to the country. This fast-paced, urban Olympic sport, backed by BFI and FIBA, will feature its inaugural event in September 2026, blending elite competition with street culture.
Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi discusses D Gukesh's mental strength challenge for his World Championship defence against Javokhir Sindarov, highlighting Gukesh's recent inconsistent form. Vidit also assesses India's strong prospects for the upcoming Chess Olympiad, praising the form of players like Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi, and Sarin, while cautioning against overconfidence. He also reflects on his Arjuna Award and the need for better organisation in chess formats.
The Asian Junior Chess Championships will host 157 players from 10 countries in Mumbai from August 16-26. The tournament, featuring Classical, Rapid, and Blitz formats, offers Grandmaster and International Master norms to winners and showcases top U20 talent, including leading Indian and international players.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the nation from the Red Fort on Independence Day, declared that India is undergoing a rapid transformation across various sectors and is firmly on track to become a developed nation by 2047.
Rising Indian badminton talent Unnati Hooda attributes her rapid progress to her father, Upkar Hooda, who left his job to mentor her full-time.
A working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) reveals a continuous decline in the rate at which foreign-owned firms invest in fixed assets in India since the FY20 peak, contrasting with a steady increase from Indian business groups.
Indian chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, who turned 21, has already amassed a remarkable list of achievements, including becoming a Grandmaster at 12, reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 4, and recently winning the Grand Chess Tour St Louis Rapid and Blitz title.
Hans Moke Niemann of the United States won the Super rapid and blitz in Warsaw, while India's D Gukesh finished sixth. Niemann secured the title with a strong finish, while Gukesh had a mixed performance.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin discusses fellow world champion D Gukesh's recent performance slump, attributing it to a lack of confidence rather than a decline in skill. Sarin expresses hope that the upcoming Chess Olympiad will help Gukesh regain his form. He also shares his views on the increasing role of AI in chess, the evolution towards faster formats, and potential improvements in the chess ecosystem.
India published 929 generative AI patents in 2024 and 2025 alone -- equating to nearly 70 per cent of the 1,350 patents it published over the entire previous decade (2014 to 2023).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address, highlighted technology and innovation as central to India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. He called for India to lead in emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and space, announcing a massive AI skilling initiative for one crore youth. Modi stressed the importance of becoming a global innovation hub, bolstering energy security with nuclear power, and strengthening cybersecurity.
The Indian Coast Guard has launched a major search and rescue operation after a Panama-flagged bulk carrier, MV Ocean Winner, carrying 24 crew members, sank in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast. Two survivors have been rescued so far, with three ICG ships and the Indian Navy involved in the ongoing efforts.
Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan reunite in Priyadarshan's dark thriller Haiwaan where Kumar portrays a psychopathic villain and Khan a visually impaired hero.
The Federation of Indian Pilots has requested the DGCA to increase random drug testing for pilots, aiming to enhance aviation safety.
The Motorola Edge 70 Max is a feature-packed smartphone that combines a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, a 144 Hz AMOLED display and a 7,100 mAh battery claiming to deliver up to 58 hours of battery life.
A significant fire broke out in the basement of the seven-storey Income Tax Office building at Churchgate, South Mumbai, on Monday afternoon, leading to the evacuation of numerous individuals, with no casualties reported so far.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa drew with tournament leader Wesley So in the fifth round of the Sinquefield Cup, maintaining his joint second position with 3 points. This result keeps him on track for a podium finish and a strong chance to qualify for the Grand Chess Tour finale.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has taken a commanding 9-3 lead over Germany's Vincent Keymer, putting him just six points away from qualifying for the finals of the prestigious US$450,000 Grand Chess Tour concluding event.
Arthur Fils and Coco Gauff have both secured significant victories at the Cincinnati Open, with Fils winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title by defeating Frances Tiafoe, and Gauff claiming her second Cincinnati Open title over Jessica Pegula.
Indian-origin chess prodigies Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, and Shreyas Royal, 17, have made history by winning the 2026 British Chess Championships. Bodhana became Britain's youngest-ever Women's chess champion, while Royal scooped the overall British title, establishing their status as emerging world-class talents.
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has described India as his 'second home,' stating he felt more welcomed and supported by Indian cricket fans than in Australia, attributing this strong connection to his IPL career and the country's appreciation for the sport.
World Cup-winning Spanish footballer Gerard Pique has become a strategic shareholder in the Global Chess League franchise American Gambits. Pique, known for his illustrious football career, expressed his long-standing fascination with chess and his ambition to elevate the sport's global appeal. The fourth edition of the Global Chess League, featuring top grandmasters, is scheduled for September 3-13.
Researchers have identified the extracellular matrix, a scaffold-like structure around brain cells, as a key physical mechanism explaining why individuals experience rapid progress in learning new skills followed by plateaus. This matrix loosens and rebuilds during initial learning, then stabilises as skills are mastered, protecting acquired knowledge.
A report by policy think tank The Dialogue reveals that India's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is primarily constrained by a shortage of skilled talent and a lack of data standardisation, rather than market concentration. The study, which surveyed 308 stakeholders, found that talent availability and data usability are major concerns, with a significant reliance on open-source AI models.
