One definition of a blunder is a move so bad that the player perpetuating it should see the downside instantly. Yet, even the greatest players blunder. Kramnik famously missed mate in one, Anand once dumped a piece on move 7, etc. Often there&rsquo;s no objective explanation for the error, especially when it occurs early in a familiar situation where there&rsquo;s no time trouble.

Chess #666

Business Standard

The government won&rsquo;t allow overseas citizens to represent the country at international events.

Identity crisis

Waiting for a flight at the Delhi airport, India&rsquo;s top shooter Gagan Narang was asked by a fellow passenger where he could send his son for training in shooting. Narang didn&rsquo;t know of any specialised training centre that he could recommend. That&rsquo;s when the idea of setting up a shooting academy occurred to him. And that&rsquo;s how Gun for Glory was launched around a fortnight ago at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.

A shot in the arm

Three rounds from the end, the Tata looks wide open. In the premier, Anand (+4,=6) and Nakamura (+5,-1,=4) share the lead with 7 points each from 10 rounds. Kramnik and Aronyan are tied for 3-4, at 6.5 points each. These four must all fancy their chances. Somewhat behind and out of the running, Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi and Vachier-Lagrave are at 5.5 points each. Anand, Kramnik and Aronyan are unbeaten so far.

Chess (#667)

The London classic which follows closely on the heels of the Tal Memorial features many of the same players. Carlsen, Aronyan, Anand, Kramnik, Nakamura played in Moscow. They&rsquo;re joined by Adams (2734), Short (2698), McShane (2671) and Howell (2633).

Chess (#983)

Flamboyant Indian batsman Virender Sehwag today created history by becoming the highest scorer ever in a one-day innings and the second cricketer after team-mate Sachin Tendulkar to score a double century in the fourth ODI against the West Indies here.

Sehwag creates history, becomes highest scorer in ODIs

Press Trust of India

Hikaru Nakamura leads the London Classic after five rounds. The American GM met four 2800 players in a row for a score of +1 with wins versus Aronyan and Anand, loss to Carlsen, and draw with Kramnik. Under the soccer-scoring system, he has 10 points, (another win against David Howell).

Chess (#984)

Great hopes are pinned on World Series Hockey, a new league for city teams along the lines of cricket&rsquo;s IPL. Will it work? Aabhas Sharma looks at the numbers and talks to the people.

Hockey's IPL moment

Vladimir Kramnik cranked out a clinical first place at the London Classic.

Chess (#985)

As the year closes, the pecking order at the top has undergone significant change. World no:1 Carlsen has opened up a big gap. At a provisional January rating of 2835, he's within touching distance of his sometime-mentor Garry Kasparov's all time high of 2851. The Norwegian GM is a likely shoo-in for the 2011 Chess Oscar.

Chess (#986)

The India-Pakistan World Cup 2011 semi-final match on March 30 was an electrifying affair. In the stands, Surajeet Das Gupta was witness to the hysteria.

Ring side VIEW

There are several traditional tournaments overlapping Christmas&ndash;New Year. Hastings is the oldest &mdash; Harry Nelson Pillsbury won the 1895 edition ahead of two world champions. Reggio Emilia in Italy is another such event. Anand won the 1990-1991 edition ahead of Kasparov, Karpov and Gelfand.

Chess (#987)

Arghya Ganguly tries to shed light on some of the theories about Sachin Tendulkar&rsquo;s unsuccessful stint as the India captain.

Oh Captain, My Captain!

The Corsica Masters always draws a large field due to a combination of generous funding, good organisation and exotic location. The 15th edition featured around 800 players, lured by 124 sponsors (!) and a prize fund of Euro 95,000. There was one unpleasant incident when GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran refused to play against FM Ehud Shachar of Israel in round four.

Chess (#979)

The third round of the Sao Paulo- Bilbao Grand Slam saw a statistical oddity. The world no:1 Magnus Carlsen and no:2 Viswanathan Anand both lost, to Paco Vallejo and Vassily Ivanchuk respectively. Under Bilbao scoring, the Ukrainian GM (+2,=1) leads with 7 points.

Chess (#975)

BCCI&rsquo;s pace academy in Mohali aims to fulfill the eternal quest of finding fast bowlers.

Not so fast, not so furious

Anybody who has ever been mugged can testify PTSD follows. If the victim is playing a tournament, loss of form would be understandable. Mr and Mrs Vassily Ivanchuk were mugged as they left their Sao Paulo hotel to board a cab for the airport. Mrs Ivanchuk&rsquo;s passport was taken, as well as money and personal effects.

Chess (#976)

Over Rs 2,500 crore was spent on Commonwealth Games stadiums. A year later, Aabhas Sharma finds them in a mess.

Common waste

Magnus Carlsen lived upto his aura, winning the Grand Slam to order. In a key ninth round encounter, he scored his second win against leader, Vassily Ivanchuk, to catch up with the Ukrainian GM. Under normal scoring, Carlsen (+3.-1, =6) would have won outright but he and Ivanchuk (+4,-3,=3) were tied under soccer scoring. Carlsen mopped up by winning the tiebreak blitz 1.5-0.5. If Ivanchuk had won the blitz, it would have highlighted a weakness of soccer scoring.

Chess (#977)

&ldquo;If you&rsquo;d have come here 10 days ago, you&rsquo;d have been shocked by what you saw.&rdquo; This piece of information came from the driver who was ferrying us to the racetrack for the inauguration of the Buddh International Circuit.

India's first F1 GP on right track 

Formula One drivers today follow a punishing fitness regime that concentrates largely on one part of their body: the neck.

Following Schumi's neck

Other Sports: Get the latest news headlines of other sports category such as Badminton, Chess, Volleyball, basketball and other Olympic Games with live coverage on Business Standard.

Other Sports News: Latest News from Olympics Games, Volleyball, Badminton | Business Standard

Get the latest news headlines of other sports category such as Badminton, Chess, Volleyball, basketball and other Olympic Games with live coverage on Business Standard.

Page 807 - Other Sports News