Page 3 - Chess

Gukesh attains career-best No 3 ranking, Praggnanandhaa back in top 10

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 .

Boris Spassky, Soviet chess champion who lost to Bobby Fischer, dies at 88

Boris Spassky, a Soviet-era world chess champion who lost his title to American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries, died Thursday in Moscow. He was 88. The death of the one-time chess prodigy was announced by the International Chess Federation, the game's governing body. No cause was given. Spassky was "one of the greatest players of all time," the group said on the social platform X. He left an indelible mark on the game. The televised 1972 match with Fischer, at the height of the Cold War, became an international sensation and was known as the Match of the Century. When Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, the then-29-year-old chess genius from Brooklyn, New York, brought the U.S. its first world chess title. Fischer, known to be testy and difficult, died in 2008. After his victory of Spassky, he later forfeited the title by refusing to defend it. Former world champion Garry Kasparov wrote on X that Spa

Freestyle Grand Slam Chess: D Gukesh knocked out after a loss to Caruna

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

Freestyle Grand Slam: Gukesh eyes comeback against Caruana after shock loss

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

Freestyle Grand Slam: World Champion Gukesh qualified for knockout stage

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,

Will you resign? Carlsen accuses FIDE chief of coercion, broken promises

World number one Magnus Carlsen has demanded that International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich resign for "coercion of players, misuse of power and broken promises" after talks to thrash out an agreement between the world body and the Freestyle Tour co-founded by him collapsed. The 34-year-old Norwegian superstar was reacting to FIDE's statement on Monday in which it declared that efforts to work out a consensus with the Freestyle Chess Tour, co-founded by Carlsen and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, had failed over the use of the term world championship. FIDE also asked players wanting to participate in the Tour's events to sign a waiver to remain eligible for the official World Championship cycle. The Freestyle Tour reacted by lambasting FIDE but at the same time, agreed to postpone the use of term world championship for its grand finale this year. The decision means that players will not be required to sign a FIDE waiver anymore. Sharing a few personal ...

Tata Steel Masters 2025: Praggnanandhaa beats Gukesh to become champion

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

Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh in joint lead at Tata Steel Chess Masters

World Champion D Gukesh played out a draw with Jorden van Foreest of Holland, while Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana of Serbia as the two Indians shared the lead after a thrilling day at the Tata Steel Masters here. Praggnanandhaa notched up his third consecutive win to take his tally to a commendable 8.5 points, same as his compatriot Gukesh after the 12th and penultimate round. The two Indians are now poised for an exciting finish in the prestigious tournament, with the remarkable prospect of one of them potentially clinching the titlea first in Tata Steel Masters history. Eying the top spot after the 11th round, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan was outdone by Arjun Erigaisi and is all but out of title contention on 7.5 points. Praggnanandhaa was involved in another Queen's gambit declined opening. Only this time he was playing with white pieces. It was quite a contrast from his previous round game against Caruana as Sarana went for an early advance of king sid

Praggnanandhaa crushes Sarana in Tata Steel Masters chess tournament

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana of Serbia to register his third straight victory and take his tally to a commendable 8.5 points after the end of the 12th and penultimate round of Tata Steel Masters here on Saturday. On a day when D Gukesh looked poised to retain his sole lead on nine points as he was close to winning against Dutchman Jorden van Foreest, Arjun Erigaisi ended the hopes of Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan by scoring a fine victory with white pieces. If Gukesh wins, he will move to nine points and will stay ahead of Praggnanandhaa while Abdusattorov slipped to third spot on 7.5 points. Praggnanandhaa was involved in another Queen's gambit declined opening. Only this time, he was playing with white pieces. It was quite a contrast from his previous round game against Caruana as Sarana went for an early advance of king side pawns and then castled on the queen side. It was time to launch an attack against the black king and Praggnanandhaa did not

Gukesh draws with Wei Yi; Praggnanandhaa closes gap on top after win

World Champion D Gukesh maintained his half point lead with an easy draw against China's Wei Yi while R Praggnanandhaa outwitted top seed American Fabiano Caruana to come within striking distance of the leader after round 11 of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament here on Friday. Playing the white side of an Italian game, Gukesh went for a relatively new plan by pushing his central pawn in the opening that just helped Wei Yi maintain parity after the trade of queens. The Indian was up a pawn when the endgame surfaced but the position was level and the peace was signed in 30 moves. The draw helped Gukesh jumped to 8 points out of a possible 11 in the first major tournament of the year. Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, stunned Caruana from the black pieces to move to 7.5 points. It was a Queen's gambit declined by Praggnanandhaa and Caruana went for one of the complex variations to show his intent after getting some mediocre results in the tournament thus far. Praggnanandhaa had seldom had .

Tata Steel Masters: Gukesh takes lead in solo event with win over Mendonca

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

Tata Steel Masters: Praggnanandhaa holds world champion Gukesh for a draw

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

Gukesh closes gap to Praggnanandhaa with win in Tata Steel Chess tournament

Gukesh, playing with white pieces, controlled the game from the start against Keymer, opting for the Nimzo-Indian Defense.

Tata Steel Chess 2025: Praggnanandhaa wins; Gukesh, Erigaisi draw in R2

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

Chess world champion D Gukesh opens up about his goals for the year 2025

Gukesh said that he wants to win as many competitions as he can going forward in his career

Erigaisi, Gukesh sit 4th and 5th in the latest world chess rankings

Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigiasi and World Champions D Gukesh retained their fourth and fifth spot respectively in the chess rankings released on Wednesday. Erigiasi, who became the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand and 16th worldwide to reach the gold-standard ELO rating of 2800, continues to have 2801 rating points for the fourth sport. While 18-year-old Gukesh, who defeated Ding Liren of China to win the World Championships title last month, is one place below Erigaisi at fifth with 2783 ratings. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen continued to be at the top spot with 2831 ratings, followed by the American duo of Fabiano Caruana (2803) and Hikaru Nakamura (2802). Anand is the third Indian in the top 10, occupying the 10th spot with an ELO rating of 2750. Apart from Erigaisi, Gukesh and Anand six more Indians, including R Praggnandhaa (13th), Aravindh Chithambaram (23), Vidit Gujarathi (24), Pentala Harikrishna (36), Nihal Sarin (41st) and Raunak Sadhwani (48), feature

For all his good qualities, he is not ready for FIDE job: Carlsen on Anand

World number one Magnus Carlsen on Monday criticised senior FIDE officials, including its deputy president Viswanathan Anand, for mishandling the dress code violation issue, calling them "not grown-ups" and stating that the Indian was "not ready for the job." A couple of days after being disqualified from the Rapid event at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship for refusing to change into formal trousers, Carlsen was confirmed for the Blitz event following FIDE's decision to allow players to compete in jeans. Describing the decision to disqualify him as "draconian," the Norwegian called the officials "robots" who are not capable of making independent decisions. "Well, first of all, let's go back to a couple of days ago. I did have some choice words for FIDE in my interview with you. And I would say that it was a bit imprecise. I definitely mean it when it comes to certain people in FIDE. No question about it," the Norwegian told 'Take Take Take, an app he is co-promoting. "I

World Chess Blitz Championship: Carlsen returns after dispute over jeans

Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans. Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing appropriate jeans with a jacket, and other elegant minor deviations from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday highlighted a need for more discussion to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport. Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play and wear jeans in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side, the .

Didn't want to disqualify him, but Carlsen left us with no choice: Anand

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said FIDE didn't want to disqualify Magnus Carlsen from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship, but the Norwegian left them with no choice after refusing to follow the rules. Defending champion Carlsen was fined USD 200 for wearing jeans, which are "explicitly prohibited" under tournament regulations and when he refused the request by chief arbiter Alex Holowczak to change his attire right after the eighth round, he was disqualified. He was not paired for Round 9 of the Rapid championship, taking place at Wall Street. "He simply refused to follow the rules, left us with little choice. Today this decision seemed emotional. Magnus was not willing to compromise," Anand, the deputy president of chess' global governing body, told Chessbase India. "Obviously, it was not a step we wanted to take. We offered several options (to Magnus). The arbiter said that as long as Magnus changed his jeans before the ninth round, it would be fine. "But

PM Modi calls chess champion Gukesh an embodiment of calmness, humility

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met newly-crowned chess world champion D Gukesh and described him as a confident young player who was an embodiment of calmness and humility. Gukesh, 18, displayed remarkable poise and nerves of steel to defeat China's Ding Liren in Singapore to become the youngest chess world champion, surpassing Russian great Garry Kasparov, who won the crown in 1985 at 22. "Had an excellent interaction with chess champion and India's pride, DGukesh!" the PM posted on 'X' after meeting Gukesh and his parents here. "I have been closely interacting with him for a few years now, and what strikes me most about him is his determination and dedication. His confidence is truly inspiring. "In fact, I recall seeing a video of his few years ago where he had said he would become the youngest world champion - a prediction that has now clearly come true thanks to his own efforts," Modi wrote. Gukesh became only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to cl