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Chess Tournament
International chess federation president Arkady Dvorkovich on Monday called India a "modern powerhouse" in the sport and said the upcoming FIDE World Cup was being organised in Goa because the country had become the "central pillar in the global structure of our sport". As many as 206 top chess exponents from 80 countries will be in Goa for the prestigious tournament, scheduled to be held from October 30 to November 27. The players will battle through a knockout format for a share of the USD 2 million prize fund and, more importantly, the three coveted qualification spots for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament the gateway to the next World Championship match. "India is not just the ancient home of chess; it is a global modern powerhouse. This World Cup (in Goa) is being held here because India is now a central pillar in the global structure of our sport. "For the next four weeks, Goa will not just be a coastal paradise; it will be the Colosseum of Chess. This is where legends are
World champion D Gukesh was held to a draw by the lone wild card Samuel Sevian of United States, while fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa also split the point with Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup here. With his second draw in as many days, Praggnanadhaa remained in the leading group of three players that now include Fabiano Caruana of United States besides the overnight co-leader Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian. Caruana handed Alireza Firouzja of France his first loss in the tournament in the lone decisive game of the day. Aronian was held to a draw by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, while another American Wesley So split the point with Duda Jan-Kryzsztof of Poland. With six rounds still to come in the 3,75,000 USD prize money tournament, Praggnanadhaa, Aronian and Caruana share the lead on two points each and they are now followed by Wesley, Firouzja, Vachier-Lagrave, Sevian and Gukesh -- who all stand a half point behind. Duda is
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi defeated Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov to storm into the semifinals but R Praggnanandhaa bowed out of the title race after losing to USA's Fabiano Caruana at the USD 750,000 Freestyle Grand Slam Tour here. Arjun prevailed over Abdusattorov 1.5-0.5 while Praggnanandhaa lost an intense battle 3-4 against Caruana. The American duo of Levon Aronian and Hans Moke Niemann were the other winners in the quarterfinal stage, defeating compatriot Hikaru Nakamura and Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan respectively. While Aronian won by a 2.5-1.5 margin over four games, Niemann took longer in beating Sindarov 4-2. In the semifinals, Arjun will take on Aronian while Niemann will meet Caruana. In the lower bracket, world number one Magnus Carlslen regained his winning touch and ousted Vidit Gujrathi 2-0. American Wesley So won 1.5-0.5 against compatriot Samuel Sevian while Leinier Dominguez Perez had a smooth 1.5-0.5 victory over Bibisara Assaubayeva of ...
International Master Divya Deshmukh, who is waiting to become a Grandmaster, had a tough day in office as she was outplayed by Zhu Jiner of China in the return game of the pre pre-quarterfinals in the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup here on Thursday. Divya, the only Indian up a point and looking to make her maiden entry into the quarterfinals of the prestigious tournament, fell just short of achieving it when she blew up her position in the middle game arising out of a not-so-formal Scotch Opening. Divya, to her credit, tried her best but salvaging the resulting endgame was almost impossible. However, the Indian is still in the fray thanks to her first-round victory against the Chinese. In fact, all the four Indians left in the fray are down to the tie-breaker. Koneru Humpy played another draw against Alexandra Kosteniuk, D. Harika played out a draw with Kateryna Lagno, while Meruert Kamalidenova of Kazakshtan kept R Vaishali in check to force a tiebreaker. Meanwhile, three Chinese
World champion D. Gukesh ended his campaign with a finely-crafted victory over Wesley So of the United States in the ninth and final round of the rapid section of Super United Rapid and Blitz Tournament, a part of the Grand Chess Tour. After five victories in a row on the second day, Gukesh played out a couple of draws on day 3 and eventually defeated Wesley to end on 14 points out of a possible 18. Overall in rapid, he had two draws, a loss against Duda Jan-Kryzsztof of Poland and six wins. With the rapid section ensuring two points for each win, the Indian ace now enjoys a healthy lead over Duda who drew the first two games and was poised to draw the third one too in the day. For Gukesh, the day started with a peaceful result against Dutchman Anish Giri when the players reached a nearly-locked position despite several pieces on the board. The players shook hands as neither side was able to make much progress. The second round was really interesting for Gukesh as he employed the .
Reigning world champion D Gukesh finally got his revenge on Magnus Carlsen, defeating the No.1 player for the first time in a classical game in Round 6 of Norway Chess here on Sunday. Days after Carlsen, the five-time world champion, inflicted a huge blow to Gukesh's chances in the opening round of the tournament, the world champion, who turned 19 only a few days back, struck back, catching the Norwegian by surprise just when it seemed he was on the verge of losing the game to earn three points. The Indian jumped to third spot with 8.5 points and now trails the world No.1 Gukesh and American Fabiano Caruana by just one point. It was a huge comeback for Gukesh, who had looked out of sorts in the opening game against Carlsen. He seemed to be losing Sunday's game as well before he turned things around to win his maiden Classical chess contest in 62 moves and over four hours of nerve-wracking chess. While Gukesh refused to speak to the media, his Polish coach Grzegorz Gajewski said the
World champion D Gukesh's disappointing season continued on Tuesday with the teenager losing his second successive match in Norway Chess -- this time to countrymate Arjun Erigaisi and failing to open his account after two rounds of the prestigious tournament here. A day after he lost to Magnus Carlsen in a thriller, Gukesh found himself being troubled by Erigaisi early and committing mistakes as time ran out. Erigaisi finally defeated Gukesh in 62 moves, forcing his opponent to resign after giving him a check with his knight. This is the second time this year that Gukesh, who will be turning 19 on Thursday, has lost to Erigaisi in a major tournament. Erigaisi, on the other hand, has justified the invitation given to him by the Norway Chess organisers by beating China's No.1 Wei Yi in Armageddon in the opening round and then getting the better of Gukesh in over four hours. Erigaisi, who beat Gukesh in Tata Steel Chess earlier this year in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, to spoil his ..
India's reigning world champion D Gukesh climbed to a career-high number three ranking, while compatriot R Praggnanandhaa broke back into the top 10 in the latest FIDE classical ratings released on Saturday. The 18-year-old Gukesh, who has been in sublime form ever since he beat China's Ding Liren to clinch the world title in Singapore in December, has gained 10 points and now has a 2787 rating. Gukesh, who lost the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee to Praggnanandhaa on tiebreak, is behind second-placed Hikaru Nakamura (2802) while and Norway's Magnus Carlsen (2833) continues to be the top-ranked chess player in the world. The Indian Grandmaster has overtaken compatriot Arjun Erigiasi and USA's Fabiano Caruana. Erigiasi, who was the highest-ranked Indian for a long time, has moved down to fifth with a rating of 2777. Praggnanandhaa, who is currently competing in the Prague Masters, is back in the top 10 for the first time since July last year thanks to his win at the Tata Steel .
World champion D Gukesh bowed out of Freestyle Grand Slam chess after losing his second straight quarterfinal game against Fabiano Caruana of the United States here on Monday. Having lost the first game with white pieces, Gukesh did not last long against the American Grandmaster in a must-win tie with Caruana finishing the contest in a mere 18 moves. Gukesh will now fight for the last-four spots. The freestyle chess is built around 960 random positions, shifting the initial position of the pieces from the base rank while the pawns remain intact. The term came from an idea by former great Bobby Fischer who was the first to advocate it. Given the money that has come in to support the new format, it could well be the future of chess. Gukesh blundered a pawn out of the opening. Caruana is someone who has played this variant for a while, and it took the Italian-turned-American 15 moves to find his way into normal chess position, where he was a pawn plus. Gukesh decided not to challen
World champion D Gukesh will have his task cut out as he looks to stage a comeback against Fabiano Caruana of the USA in the Freestyle Grand Slam chess tournament here. Gukesh suffered a rare setback in normal time control on Sunday, losing to Caruana in the first game of the quarterfinals. The Indian is now under pressure to perform with his black pieces and draw level with Caruana who has been dreaming to be a world champion for a few years now. The freestyle chess is built around 960 random positions shifting the initial position of the pieces from the base rank while the pawns remain intact. The legendary Bobby Fischer was the first to advocate freestyle chess, and given the support the new format has received, it could well be the future of the sport. Gukesh will have to fight hard, as his opening choices have come under scrutiny already while a whole new repertoire needs to be built. Caruana was almost staring at a defeat in the opening game of the quarters but will be looki
World Champion D Gukesh qualified for the knockout stage in the first event of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, despite losing to the world's highest-rated player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, in the ninth and final round of the qualifiers. With a total of 3.5 points, Gukesh finished a rare event without a single win, drawing seven matches and losing two. However, this was enough for him to secure eighth place in the ten-player format, which could be described as one of the strongest chess events, albeit with a twist as the initial piece positions were altered. Playing with white against Carlsen, Gukesh had several opportunities for a draw but, as ambitious as ever, he pushed for more and eventually lost. Carlsen said, He (Gukesh) made seven draws, he was winning some and losing some, and it needs to be studied. Iranian-turned-French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja and Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan topped the table with 6.5 points out of a possible nine in the round-robin rapid format,
The Indian juggernaut in international chess remained unstoppable as Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa fought through exhaustion and nerves to defeat world champion D Gukesh in a clash of compatriots to clinch the Tata Steel Masters title for the first time in his prolific career. The bespectacled 19-year-old from Chennai, a city that has become the cradle of Indian chess, came from behind to upstage the 18-year-old world number three 2-1 in the tiebreaker of the event's 87th edition here on Sunday. This was after both players ended up tied on 8.5 points after losing their 13th-round games. While Gukesh lost to fellow Indian Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa went down to Vincent Keymer of Germany. In the tie-breaker, there was huge drama typical of two young players looking to win each and every game they played in the tournament as they played the tie-break. "I am still shaking, it was such a crazy day. I don't know how to express. I didn't really expect to win. Somehow things went my way
World Champion D Gukesh crashed through the defenses of compatriot Leon Luke Mendonca in the ninth round to jump into sole lead at the Tata Steel Master here. On a day when R Praggnanandhaa lost his first game against Dutch GM Anish Giri, veteran P Harikrishna also found himself under the spotlight, falling to Russian-turned-Slovenian Vladimir Fedoseev. "I'm happy that I played a good game today and there are still four rounds left so I'm not thinking much about the standings. I'm just happy as to how I am playing," Gukesh said after his game. With the win, Gukesh took his tally to 6.5 points out of a possible nine and a half points ahead of Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Russian turned Slovenian Fedoseev, who are both on 6 points. Praggnanadhaa on 5.5 points shares the fourth spot and it remains to be seen if things are going to get better for the Indian. Results round 9 Masters: Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 6.5) beat Leon Luke Mendonca
Grandmaster R Praggnanadhaa played out a solid draw with World champion D Gukesh in the eighth round of the Tata Steel Masters here. Playing the white side of a Berlin defense, Praggnanadhaa had slightly favourable position optically but Gukesh was always on guard to defend. It was in the early middle game that Gukesh sacrificed a pawn to get his counterplay rolling and even though Praggnanadhaa tried to make use of it, the game was always closer to a draw. As the Queens got traded the players arrived at a rook and minor piece endgame wherein Gukesh found the best resources and even got an outside passed pawn. With Praggnanadhaa's rook having the lone task of working against the pawn, the result of the game was never in doubt. The game was drawn after 33 moves. With the draw, it is likely that both Praggananandhaa and Gukesh will continue to share the lead on 5.5 points as the other overnight leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan was also looking poised to share the point with
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated compatriot P Harikrishna, while Arjun Erigaisi settled for a draw in the second round of 87th Tata Steel Chess Tournament here. This was after world champion D Gukesh played out a draw with Russian-turned-Slovenian Vladimir Fedoseev while Leon Luke Mendonca lost another game, this time to Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan. The 19-year-0ld Praggnanandhaa's win over Harikrishna was a master-class on defence and counter-attack. Playing white for the second time in as many days, Harikrishna could not find his magical touch even though he performed slightly better in the middle game. The younger Indian took him to the ropes and eventually the endgame, which should have been drawn. Harikrishna faltered when it was necessary to put up resistance and Praggnanandhaa made the most of it to emerge victorious. Erigaisi pressed hard against local hero Anish Giri, who was almost winning against Gukesh in the opening round. The battle took a steep