&ldquo;It was the best of times; it was the worst of times&rdquo; &mdash; the opening words of a tale of two cities are a good summary of the last decade in Indian sports.

High highs, low lows

Business Standard

The metamorphosis of cricket from sport to business in the last decade lands on a relatively flat pitch.

Bat out of hell

Flavoured vodkas may be what you need if you want to add a zing to your party this festive season.

Taste the difference

A few days ago, crystal meth did not mean any thing. Today, it is easily identifiable as a recreational drug that appears very-very tempting.

The Rubicon he crossed

David Shepherd: A tribute to one of the finest umpires cricket ever had.

A true gentleman

BCCI almost doubles base price; stiffer cut-off for bidders.

Cricket sponsorship keeps some biggies in the pavilion

Koneru humpy Vs DV Sundar continues to gather momentum with the Chess Players Association of India has also published an open letter supporting the world no:2 and urging &ldquo;positive and open dialogue&rdquo; between Humpy and the All India Chess Federation.

CHESS #612

Formula One plunges into deeper trouble with big names Toyota and Bridgestone exiting from it.

Another one bites the dust

It&rsquo;s painful to watch Tendulkar&rsquo;s brilliant knocks go in vain.

Heartbreak!

Fifty years ago, opponents used to complain that the young Mikhail Tal&rsquo;s &ldquo;hypnotic&rdquo; gaze added to the psychological pressure caused by his dynamite sacrifices. Hungarian-US GM Pal Benko took to wearing wraparounds when playing Tal. Tal was amused but the shades prompted complaints from others, who were distracted.

CHESS 613

Children, today, seem to have traded playing in open spaces with gaming consoles and spending time on the Internet. Even adults seem to be exercising less and have adopted consoles like Wii fit to engage in some sort of physical activity. While on one level, it does make exercising fun, it still can&rsquo;t replace actual workouts.

Breaking a sweat

Help with your game is available off-course - in your office, in your pocket, in your bag.

Golfing buddies

Many players have talent matching Sachin&rsquo;s, but perish early.

Non-return of the prodigals

Bidders will be offered a choice of eight to 10 cities that can be made their home team venues and they will be allowed to bid for any number of cities. The highest two bids will be chosen and companies will use the name of that city as their home base and team brand.

BCCI expands the field for IPL 2010, adds two teams

When reigning world champion Anatoly Karpov lost to Wolfgang Hartmann in Hanover in 1983, it created shock waves. The 27 year old Hartmann was a lowly 2290-rated player and no prodigy. By those standards, Anand&rsquo;s last round defeat to Levon Aronyan at the Tal Memorial was mundane.

CHESS #614

Admittedly, Nehru was there at the start of things, the end of an age, the awakening of a nation, that tryst with destiny. So he and others of his generation were better placed than we are to think laterally, to explore all of history for models towards which to incline the path of our future. He also spent years in prison, an enforced separation from the bustle and fire of the freedom movement which enabled him to look beyond the constrained present to the past and future, all in the service of his country. In other words, he used his time in prison to think big for India.

Thinking out of the cage

Polo has never had a shortage of luxury names backing it, And the trend continues.

The elite club

Indian cricketers are rarely a hit on the silver screen.

Portrait of the player as an actor

The World Cup started close on the heels of the Tal Memorial. The 128-player tennis-style KO sees the prize money increase in every round and the winner gets a spot in the Candidates. It is a fair system but it is also a lottery since the mini-matches are short. Each match consists of two games at normal controls &ndash; that is, 90 mins for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes till finish and an increment of 30 secs/ move. Tiebreaks consist of paired active games and then, blitz if required. Only the final round features four normal games.

CHESS 615

Celebrate the comeback kid Sreesanth, but it takes nothing away from inconsistency that plagues Indian fast bowling.

Fast come, fast go

Real Madrid&rsquo;s reincarnation of Galacticos face their ultimate test of the season so far - FC Barcelona.

Battle for supremacy

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 817 - Other Sports News