Is a draw a legitimate result? Unquestionably. Is an agreed draw legitimate ? Not really. It cheats spectators. The Sofia Rules which ban draw offers is one anti-draw rule. Another method is to ban offers till move 40. Of course, if two players are determined to draw, they can just play out a variation, which ends with triple repetition. There are other nuances. Specific blockaded, drawn positions and endgame fortresses can arise. In such cases, the 50-move rule applies. Players can call in an arbiter to sign them off early.

Chess (#995)

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The exquisite 9-hole Par 3 course set around the three acres of Ike&rsquo;s Pond is among the most picturesque settings in the world. Adoring and appreciative fans sit patiently on sloped banks in their assorted and often colourful couture, keenly watching the easy practised skills of the contestants in this family-picnic-like atmosphere.

The Par 3 contest, essential practice and the development of amateurs

Owing to one and a half inches of heavy rain at 5 pm on the Wednesday, the course was somewhat wet and, therefore, playing long. Anticipating this, the Tournament Committed positioned the pins with Day 4 severity. Some players were troubled by &ldquo;mud balls&rdquo;, which is a chunk of mud adhering to the golf ball on landing on soggy fairways. Most courses have &quot;Lift, Clean and Replace&quot; rules but not Augusta National, not The Masters.

The first day and many holes to go

No doubt that Charles Schwartzl is a worthy defending champion, but he is not the story &mdash; unless he wins this year, too, which seems unlikely. The real story is still Tiger Woods (even when he is nowhere near in contention). On Day 3, Saturday, they were paired and the performance of both was dismal. On Day 2, after a birdie par birdie start, Tiger fizzled out and could do nothing right.

Terrible Tiger takes a tumble

These clear azure blue skies are as good as those are anywhere in the world. At Augusta National, amid the fastidious greenery and the giant loblolly pines, pine-scented ozonic breezes energise the vast army of spectators (called patrons at the Masters), to trek up and down (and it is unbelievably up and down) to keep track of one&rsquo;s favourites.

The Masters, the ultimate temple of golf

After a decade-long wait, India&rsquo;s oldest golf club is set to see the return of big-ticket golf next winter. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) will play host to the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) year-ending championship, with the highest prize purse in the country.

India's oldest golf club to tee off country's richest tournament in Dec

The breezes through the Georgia pines on yet another beautiful day could not presage the drama that was to unfold in the latter stages of the 2012 Masters. The early starters tried to improve their position, although it could not affect the final outcome in any way. Tiger Woods continued to flounder, dropping a couple of shots to par, in a lacklustre performance. He is a great player but being virtually lonely and funless when you are playing a game, no matter at what level, is not easily consistent with winning any more.

Elementary, My dear Watson

Since Chess offers a technically finite, if mind-bogglingly large, number of possibilities, it presents rich scope for the development of better computational search functions. Endgames with few pieces have been solved. The tablebases now have complete solutions for all positions with upto six pieces and some seven piece situations.

Chess (#996)

The Russian teams championship was played in the town of Loo (!) just outside the Black Sea resort of Sochi. As usual, it had generous funding from many oligarchs and featured many foreign stars (a maximum of three non-Russians/ team) along with most of the local big guns. The format was six-board matches in a seven-round Swiss with a total of 18 teams playing the open section.

Chess (#997)

Sitting in his hotel room in Malaysia, golfer Jyoti Randhawa has just come back from a hard day&rsquo;s work on the greens. It has been a lacklustre two years for him, but he has bounced back with two top-20 finishes in his last three tournaments, the Malaysian Open, the Panasonic Open in India and the Thailand Golf Championship. His mind is, however, occupied with something else: come August, Randhawa will take part in the trap event of the pre-national shooting championship.

Widening the range

Levon Aronyan and Vladimir Kramnik are playing an exhibition match at the Zurich chess club. Oddly, this is a record with two players rated above 2,800 in matchplay for the first time. Kramnik-Kasparov, Kramnik-Topalov, Anand-Kramnik and Anand-Topalov have all 2,800-plus players but never both at the time of a given match.

Chess (#998)

Equipment helps athletes hit harder, swim faster, etc. Even more than physical sports, chess has been revolutionised by technology. Engines can routinely beat world champions and the best sell in large volumes though most are free, or low-cost. Chess programming is highly competitive with both academic credibility and money involved. Programmers sweat to develop search, evaluation and pruning functions that work better.

Chess (#992)

Dutch fullback Paul Litjens was a penalty corner specialist. His hockey stick was of the maximum permissible weight. Those who played him in the 1970s and 1980s said that he hit the ball so hard that you couldn&rsquo;t defend it &mdash; you just grounded your stick on the turf, ran towards him at full speed and left the rest to God.

Flickers of hope

The Candidates will be held in London between October 24-Nov 12. The eight-person line-up includes Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk, Vasily Ivanchuk. The seventh spot goes to the loser of the world title match in May between Anand and Boris Gelfand. The remaining spot is a wild card and likely to be Teimour Radjabov.

Chess (#993)

His achievements on the cricket field, his records and statistics are a matter of public record.

The other side of Sachin

The European Championships at Plovdiv sees the European Chess Union's new dress code applied for the first time. This is drafted by some very powerful minds, who have paid great attention to detail. It includes specific injunctions, apart from requesting a &ldquo;pulled together, harmonious look&rdquo;. For example, &ldquo;clothes must show no excessive wear, no holes, and be free of body odour&rdquo;. Also &ldquo;only the top and second from the top button of shirts /blouses may be open&rdquo;. Jewellery, handbags and jackets must be &ldquo;coordinated and crisp&rdquo;.

Chess (#994)

When FC Barcelona came to India in a tie-up with a Gurgaon-based football club, not many noticed. When the FIFA (football&rsquo;s governing body) president visited India this February to kickstart India&rsquo;s campaign to host the under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017, the expected cheers were resoundingly silent.

Two for one

The vagaries of daylight saving time (DST) had a major impact on the Euro Championships at Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Europeans push their clocks forward (0900 becomes 1000). The idea is to have longer hours of evening sunshine.

Mercedes-Benz opens a driving academy and brings its sports cars to the Formula One circuit near Delhi. Aabhas Sharma gets behind the wheel for a first-hand experience.

Right on track

The premier at Reggio Emilia has seen high drama with a situation where any of four out of six participants could win going into the last round. There's been an incredible decision ratio; a nervous collapse by a certain Ukrainian; a big breakthrough performance by a teenager.

Chess (#985)

With the 2012 season of the Australian Open all set to begin in Melbourne on Monday, A Seshan traces the highs and lows of the tournament over the years and speculates on the possible contenders for the title this year.

Extreme tennis

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.

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