The 2011 World Cup could be an endorsement war between cricketers.

A different battleground

Business Standard

Magnus Carlsen underlined his mental toughness to win the London Chess Classic after starting with two losses in the first three rounds, versus Luke McShane and Anand. He won three of his last four and drew a dead-lost position against Kramnik.

CHESS (#662)

Indian sports bodies need to swept clean of those who continually undermine it.

The politics of sport

Two national championships of contrasting format concluded with two new champions. In Delhi, Parimarjan Negi finished a disappointing year on a strong note by scoring 9.5 points from 13 games (=6,=7) to win the national title for the first time.

CHESS (#665)

Indians love to keep records, and Indian cricketers, outsiders often scoff, love to play for records. Be that as it may, records came thick and fast from the willow of India's little big man, Sachin Tendulkar. He scored the first double-hundred in a limited-over match, and became the first man to complete 50 centuries in test cricket. Still, it was athletes in other disciplines, often from modest backgrounds, who hogged the limelight during the year.

Indian sports made their mark, beyond cricket

He&rsquo;s a player with talent and potential.

The lost action hero

Gata Kamsky retained the US title beating Yury Shulman 1.5-0.5. Anna Zatonskih had a much rougher ride before beating Tatev Abrahamyan 2.5-1.5 In an Armageddon bid game, Zatonskih retained black by bidding the lower amount of 20 minutes. White got the statutory 45 minutes.

Chess (#677)

The first round of the Candidates saw wins from three underdogs. The fourth match had a bizarre technical malfunction that turned it 180 degrees. The first finish came in Topalov (Elo 2775) Vs Kamsky (2732). The Bulgarian GM was heavily favoured due to a more impressive career record and a much higher rating.

Chess (#667)

With his athleticisim and agility, Rafael Nadal looks set to equal Bjorn Borg&rsquo;s record six French Open titles.

Will the King of Clay be dethroned?

The Candidates had a sequence of shocking results. Two of the least-fancied players, Boris Gelfand and Alexander Grischuk, are now battling for the right to challenge Anand. In the semis, Grischuk took out Kramnik 1.5- 0.5 in a blitz tiebreaker after tying the rapids and making short draws in the normal controls. Meanwhile, Gelfand beat Kamsky in the other match, which also went to a blitz tiebreaker.

Chess (#668)

Kolkata football, once the city&rsquo;s religion, is now a pale shadow of its former self.

No joy in this game

Boris Gelfand will meet Viswanathan Anand in 2012 for the world title. The Israeli GM will celebrate his 43rd birthday this June, which makes him 18 months older than the champion - they first played each other in 1989. Although Gelfand's a rock solid, top-level player, nobody expected him to edge ahead of Aronyan, Kramnik and Topalov.

Chess (#669)

The aura of Kapil Dev&rsquo;s 175 against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup lives on.

The ghost hundred

Magnus Carlsen won Nanjing decisively with 7 points from 10 games (+4,=6) for a 2900 level performance. It could have been even bigger if he had put away either of two clear winning chances against the second-placed Anand. Anand ran up 6 (+3,-1, =6) to take clear second with a 2829 performance. Etienne Bacrot was third with 5 points. Gashimov, Topalov (both 4.5) and Wang (3) all landed minus scores.

Chess #638

Runs for their money

After the euphoria of CWG, Indian athletes face an acid test at the Guangzhou Asian Games. BS Weekend takes a look at the medal hopefuls.

Delhi dazzlers to Guangzhou greats?

Magnus Carlsen has delivered a tectonic shock by withdrawing from the current title cycle. The 20-year-old Norwegian who has just dropped to number two in the world rankings, wrote an open letter to Fide explaining his reasons.

Chess #652

It&rsquo;s 12.30 am on a Tuesday. Thirty people dressed in red football jerseys are cheering &lsquo;their&rsquo; team on. The place is Manchester United caf&eacute; in Gurgaon and the team these fans are supporting is, but of course, Manchester United.

Cash for kicks

The other day Brett Lee was in Hyderabad, where India and New Zealand hammered another nail in Test cricket&rsquo;s coffin with a dreary draw. Lee&rsquo;s presence there had nothing to do with the match, or with cricket in general; he was there to perform with his band, White Shoe Theory.

The eternal quest

Levon Aronyan, Sergei Karjakin and Shakhriyar Mamedaryov made it a photo-finish at the Tal Memorial by each scoring 5.5 points from 9 games. Grischuk, Wang Hao and Nakamura all managed 5 points while Kramnik (.4.5) ended at 50 per cent. Gelfand, Shirov and Eljanov had minus scores. It was hard-fought with 17 decisive games from 45. It's noteworthy that every player in the 2757 field scored at least one win.

Chess #654

Two back-to-back centuries and Harbhajan is letting his bat do the talking.

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