Page 8 - Chess

45th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024: What has happened in Budapest so far

Indian men's team are currently favorites to win gold in the open section after continuing their unbeaten streak in round 8

Indian chess players great at grabbing opportunities: Viswanathan Anand

"Slowly transitioning" from a world champion competitor to a mentor-cum-sports administrator, chess icon Viswanathan Anand feels the current crop of Indian players, that he has had a role in shaping, has turned out to be "great" in grabbing crucial opportunities. The 54-year-old, among the all-time greats of Indian sports with five world titles to his credit, is set to have a rare competitive outing at the Tech-Mahnindra Global Chess League come next month in London where he will be part of the Ganges Grandmasters team. In an interview to PTI, Anand shared his thoughts on India's chances at the Chess Olympiad starting on Wednesday, his impressions of the country's Olympic and Paralympic performance, the golden generation of young players that he has helped groom and also his own plans going forward. Widely credited for shaping the likes of youngest ever world championship challenger D Gukesh, and R Praggnanandhaa among others, Anand said he played a small part and shared the credit

Grand chess tour: R Praggnanandhaa finishes last in rapid section

Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa had a rare bad in the office, finishing at the bottom of the table in the rapid section of Saint Louis Rapid and blitz chess tournament here. Having lost three and drawn three coming into the third and final day of rapid competition, Praggnanadhaa lost to Lenier Dominguez of the United States in the seventh round. Another American Hikaru Nakamura also proved too stronger for the Indian in the final game. In in the eighth round, the Indian played out a draw with Alireza Firouzja of France to finish his event at a disappointing four points out of a possible 18. Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and French duo of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Firouzja were tied for the top spot on 11 points each in what was one of the closely contested rapid section of the Grand Chess tour. The three leaders at this point are followed by Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian, a full point behind, and USA's Wesley So, Dominguez and Nakamura, who share the fifth on nine poin

Chess scandal: Russian champion caught poisoning opponent with mercury

Russian chess champion Amina Abakarova has been suspended after she poisoned her former rival, Umayganat Osmanova, by lacing chess pieces with toxic mercury during a tournament

IIT Madras introduces plans to make India a global chess powerhouse

IIT Madras Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA) on Saturday unveiled plans to make India a global chess powerhouse using technology-driven tools. The initiative is aimed at enhancing fan engagement, providing solutions for federations to flag cheating and chess training programmes to further grow the sports at the grassroots level, the institute said. This was revealed at the Sports Tech Start Up Conclave' being organised in New Delhi by IIT Madras CESSA, a release here said. The conclave is sponsored by Dream Sports, Vedanta and SFA Play. Addressing the conclave, Sandip Pradhan, Director-General, Sports Authority of India (SAI) said, "we will be very happy to collaborate through IIT Madras CESSA to support products that can be integrated into sports bodies." "We would like to be shown the path to support various stakeholders in the sports ecosystem through this forum," he said and added that the entire country was proud of IIT Madras, especially the way it

Joined by Gujarathi, test of time for Gukesh to excel in faster version

World Championship challenger D Gukesh will look to improve his billing in the faster version as Vidit Gujrathi joins him for the Superunited rapid and blitz chess tournament, a part of the Grand Chess Tour. Set to meet Chinese Ding Liren in Singapore from November 20th to decide the next world champion, Gukesh has repeatedly proved his superior ability in the Classical format. But when it comes to faster version, the Indian is yet to find his place amongst the world elite. The fact remains that in case of a tied result in the World Championship, there will be games under faster time control of rapid and blitz chess to determine the winner and Gukesh would like to set the record straight like American Fabiano Caruana just did a few days back in Bucharest when he won the tiebreaker by a mile winning his games against Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Alireza Firouzja of France. Gujrathi, who has got a wildcard, will be the other Indian in the fray in the USD 175000 prize money tournament

9-yr-old Indian-origin girl chess prodigy to be youngest in England team

Bodhana Sivanandan, a nine-year-old Indian-origin schoolgirl is set to make chess history after she became the youngest person selected to represent England internationally in any sport. Bodhana, from Harrow in north-west London, will join the England Women's Team at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, in September. The others in her team are all in their 20s, 30s or 40s. "I found out yesterday after I came back from school when my dad told me. I was happy. I hope I'll do well and I'll get another title," she told the BBC on Wednesday. Malcolm Pein, manager of the England chess team, described the schoolgirl as one of the most remarkable British chess prodigies he has ever seen. "It's exciting she's on course to be one of the best British players ever," he said. Her father, Siva Sivanandan, says he remains mystified about where his daughter got her talent. "I'm an engineering graduate, as is my wife, but I'm not good at chess, he said. Bodhana first picked up chess during

Gukesh vs Liren: Singapore wins bid for 2024 FIDE World Championships match

Singapore will host the 2024 World Championship match between India's chess sensation D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren from China, FIDE announced on Monday The development means that Gukesh won't compete on home turf as neither Delhi nor Chennai could secure the hosting rights for the much-anticipated event which will be held between November 20 and December 15. "The Singapore Chess Federation, supported by the Government of Singapore, has won the bid to host the FIDE World Championship Match 2024," FIDE said in a release. "After reviewing the bids and inspecting all potential host cities for their venues, amenities, event programs, and opportunities, the International Chess Federation has selected Singapore as the host of the World Championship Match," FIDE added in the release.

Delhi joins Chennai, Singapore in race to host chess World Championship

Delhi has joined Chennai and Singapore in the race to host the World Championship match between D. Gukesh and China's Ding Liren after the All India Chess Federation backed the national capital's bid while accusing the Tamil Nadu government of acting unilaterally by pushing the southern city's name. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) CEO Emil Sutovsky on Saturday said all three cities have submitted their bids and they "meet the criteria". Sutovsky added Chennai was the first to bid for the much-anticipated match in November-December this year, while the New Delhi bid came in last. "Three bids to host the FIDE World Championship Match-2024. Chennai, Singapore, New Delhi (in order of submission). All meet the criteria," Sutovsky wrote on 'X'. The international chess body's council will discuss the issue and announce the winner later this month. "Next week FIDE Council to discuss it -- representatives of the bidders invited to share details and take questions. Final decision

Norway Chess: Praggnanandhaa claims maiden classical win over Carlsen

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa crushed world number one Magnus Carlsen for the first time in Classical format to emerge as the sole leader in the Norway chess tournament here. Having beating him a few times in online and faster versions of the game and after losing to him in the finale of the last World Cup, Praggnanandhaa finally got past the home favourite in what would be known as a clear classical triumph. Following the third-round win, the 18-year-old Indian now leads the men's section with 5.5 points in all, half a point clear of USA's Fabiano Caruana who scored his first victory in classical against reigning world champion Ding Liren of China. Carlsen, on three points, looks like a distant third for now in the updated standings but with each classical win worth three points, this might not hold for too long. Hikaru Nakamura of United States, Firouzja Alireza of France and Liren are all joint fourth currently on 2.5 points in the six-player double round-robin contest. "

Playing Carlsen in his home turf not challenge for me, says Praggnanandhaa

Having beaten Magnus Carlsen several times in the last couple of years, young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa feels he will be under no pressure when he takes on the multiple-time world champion in his home turf during the Norway Chess tournament, which gets underway here on May 27. Praggnanandhaa last beat the 33-year-old Carlsen in the Superbet rapid and blitz tournament, a part of the Grand Chess Tour, in Warsaw earlier this month. "I don't think playing Magnus in his home turf is a challenge for me. Usually, it matters to the player playing in his home but it won't matter so much for me," said Praggnanandhaa, who will also have his sister R. Vaishali playing the Norway Chess Women's Tournament for the first time. The 11-day tournament will see a very strong field including the likes of world champion Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura besides home favourite Carlsen. Reflecting on his contest with Carlsen at last year's FIDE World Cup where Praggnanandhaa gave the Norwegian a .

AICF president announces Rs 65 cr budget for 'Bharatiya Chess' ecosystem

The president of the All-India Chess Federation Nitin Narang on Saturday announced a Rs 65 crore budget to bolster the 'Bharatiya Chess' and its ecosystem to unparalleled heights. Following a meeting late Saturday evening, decisions were taken on key initiatives, including financial and institutional support for the professional players, along with the grassroots level players. It would also include the launch of two special programs -- AICF Pro and AICF Popular -- to promote chess on a wider scale across the country. Among the other proposals discussed during the meeting were coming up with a chess development fund, introducing strong financial backing with player contracts and coaching across levels, financially supporting district and state associations, setting up a state-of-the-art National Chess Arena (NCA) for elite-level training and an AICF Rating system. Below are some of the key initiatives set to be introduced by the AICF: One Nation, One Registration' -- An innovative

Hope my joke not seen as expertise: Kasparov after post on Rahul goes viral

Russian chess great Garry Kasparov hoped that his "little joke" on Indian politics does not pass for "advocacy or expertise" after his cheeky social media post on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's love for the game went viral. Within hours of asking Gandhi to "first win Rae Bareli before challenging for the top", the 61-year-old said it was just a joke and should be seen as one. "I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an 'all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes,' as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game!" the former world champion, who retired in 2005, wrote in response to a post by actor Ranvir Shorey. Shorey's comment appeared to be a dig at Gandhi's recent assertion that he was the best chess player among all Indian politicians. Kasparov gave the same reply to a few other accounts which commented on his original post. The Congress recently shared a video of Gandhi playing chess on his ..

FIDE opens bidding process for World Championship, sets budget of $9.6 mn

The All India Chess Federation (AICF) will have to shell out more than Rs 80 crore (USD 9.6 million) if it intends to host the World Championship clash between Indian prodigy D Gukesh and reigning champion Ding Liren of China. The marquee match is tentatively scheduled between November 20 to December 15. Chess' global governing body FIDE on Saturday invited tenders from prospective bidders for the much-anticipated match. AICF's newly-elected secretary Dev Patel on Thursday expressed the national body's willingness to host the grand finale which is garnering a lot of interest due to Gukesh's presence. The 17-year-old Gukesh became the youngest ever challenger for the world title by winning the Candidates Tournament in Toronto on Monday. The basic criteria outlined by FIDE for a prospective bidder is a budget of Rs 8.5 million (Rs 71 crore approx) and a facilitation fee of USD 1.1 million (Rs 9 crore) for the global body. The duration of the tournament is 25 days and approval of ...

Surge in India's chess talent: What it means for the future of the game

Chances are, wherever you live, there is a chess coach in the vicinity. Many schools offer chess as an extra-curricular activity

King at 17, Chennai lad Gukesh sets his sights on chess World Championship

The Toronto win makes D Gukesh the youngest World Championship contender in chess history

Meet D Gukesh: Chess's brightest young star

India's 17-year-old Grandmaster D Gukesh scripted history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament to become the youngest ever challenger to the world title.

Champion nation

Chess ecosystem offers lessons for others sports

FIDE Candidates tournament: Gukesh crushes Abasov to be back in joint lead

Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh produced another fantastic performance to crash through the defences of Azerbaijan's Nijat Abasov and regain a share of the lead but R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi bowed out of contention after the 12th round of the Candidates chess tournament here. With American Hikaru Nakamura scoring a victory over Firouza Alireza of France, it is now a three-way lead at the top. Gukesh and Nakamura joined overnight top-placed Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who drew with Praggnanandhaa, on 7.5 points and these three are now followed by Fabiano Caruana of United States who is on seven points. Praggnanandhaa is still fifth with six points with Gujrathi following him on five points. However, with just two rounds to come in the eight-player double round-robin tournament, it is almost impossible for the duo to finish on the podium. Alireza and Abasov fill up the rear of the table with 4.5 and three points respectively. In the women's section, the Chinese ...

Candidates Chess: Gukesh draws with Nepomniachtchi to stay in joint lead

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh held on to the joint top spot with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi after they played out an easy draw in the 10th round of the Candidates chess tournament here. The all-Indian duel between R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi also ended in a draw while Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura defeated Firouza Alireza and Nijat Abasov respectively to come back within striking distance of the two leaders. With just four rounds to come in the biggest event of the year, Gukesh and Nepomniachtchi have an identical six points each with Praggnanandhaa, Caruana and Nakamura close on their heels half a point behind. Gujrathi, on six points, is sole sixth while for all practical purposes, Alireza and Abasov are out of the race with 3.5 and two points respectively. Nepomniachtchi has not been taking many risks in the event with either colour and his solid play makes him the only player who is unbeaten after 10 rounds. The Ruy Lopez as white gave the Russian just an optical .