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CHENNAI: Divya Deshmukh staged an epic come-from-behind win to upstage tournament leader Anna Muzychuk in the eighth round of the women's Candidates on Tuesday. Deshmukh, losing for much of the game, just wanted to fight; something she has already showed an appetite for in Cyprus over the previous seven rounds. The 20-year-old, who won the women's World Cup last year to qualify for this meet, was, at one point of time, holding her face in her hands as the position she had was precarious. Her opening was a disaster. For a very long time, she was a few moves from losing completely. But in a queen endgame, the Ukrainian made a couple of inaccuracies as she kept over-extending in a dead draw position as she didn't want to make peace with the fact that she had let a clear advantage slip. With Deshmukh up a pawn in the endgame and totally winning, the Ukrainian opted to fight on when she was could have resigned on the spot. In the end, she ran out of time before shaking hands. The Indian's win, coupled with R Vaishali's draw against Bibisara Assaubayeva, meant that as many as five women are tied at 4.5 points for first place, including both Deshmukh and Vaishali. And from an Indian perspective, Wednesday is going to be a must-not-miss day as both the Indians face each other. The stakes cannot be any more higher. But, on the Open side, R Praggnanandhaa's already slim chances of winning the tournament suffered a beating as he was demolished by Anish Giri. But Javokhir Sindarov's tightened his stranglehold on the leaderboard as Fabiano Caruana lost to Hikaru Nakamura. Results: Open: Javokhir Sindarov drew with Andrey Esipenko, Anish Giri bt R Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi drew with Matthias Bluebaum, Hikaru Nakamura bt Fabiano Caruana. Women: Divya Deshmukh bt Anna Muzychuk, Zhu Jiner bt Tan Zhongyi, Kateryna Lagno bt Aleksandra Goryachkina, R Vaishali drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva.
New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) Teenage Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa believes players like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura gradually moving away from classical chess has to do with the mental and physical exhaustion that comes with playing the long format for a long time. Magnus, the five-time world champion, and world No.2 American Grandmaster Nakamura have played fewer classical games, and instead focused on freestyle, rapid and blitz formats. Praggnanandhaa, who has won three major classical titles this year, feels players don't really enjoy the hours of preparations that goes into class ...Read More >
Nagpur: Reigning world junior champion and Nagpur's star chess master, Divya Deshmukh, started her campaign in the FIDE Women's World Cup on a thumping note in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday. As the 15th seed, Divya opened her campaign from the second round, where the world's top 21 women players joined the 43 winners from the first round. In the knock-out format of the World Cup, seven rounds consisting of two-game matches in the classical format will be played, followed by a rapid tie-break round.In the second round, the 2463 Elo IM Divya was paired up against WFM Kesaria Mgeladze of Georgia. ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 20 (ANI): Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury on Sunday expressed concern over the government inaction in bringing to justice the terrorists behind the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 civilians, including a Nepali citizen. As the Parliament Monsoon session begins, Chowdhury stated that the INDIA bloc will raise this issue, demanding answers from the government. Speaking to ANI, Chowdhury said, The Parliament session is starting, so we have reached Delhi. We have not been able to see those who killed our countrymen in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam arrested yet. T ...Read More >
Indian chess prodigy Arjun Erigaisi faces a critical juncture at the World Cup in Goa, needing a medal to qualify for the 2026 Candidates tournament. Despite his high ranking, he's currently outside the qualification spots, with rivals like Nakamura and Giri already securing places.Indian star is yet to secure a spot in The Candidates 2026Make or another heartbreak. Arjun Erigaisi finds himself in a delicate situation once again as he prepares his bid for the knockout World Cup chess that starts ...Read More >
Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa played out a second draw against France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave during their semifinal tie of the Grand Chess Tour Finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday. The result leaves both players tied on 6-6 after the first classical game on Monday also ended in a draw. In contrast to the first game, both players went for a safer approach, and the match was over in 21 moves. "I just wanted to play normal chess. If there's a fight, I will fight, and if I don't get anything, then a draw is not a bad result. I just wanted to play a bit faster today, especially after ...Read More >
Panaji, Oct 21: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday launched the logo and anthem for the 2025 FIDE World Cup Chess Championship to be held in the coastal state from October 31 to November 27. The World Cup winner will not only take home the championship title but also secure one of three coveted spots in the 2026 Candidates Tournament, the penultimate stage leading to the World Chess Championship, the organisers said in a statement released during the event. Among the top contenders are some of the biggest names in world chess, including Gukesh D, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa R, An ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) With two wins from their first two matches, the Maxime Vachier-Lagrave-led upGrad Mumba Masters went top of the table in the third edition of the Global Chess League (GCL) in Mumbai on Monday. The Masters defeated Fyers American Gambits 9-7, before Ganges Grandmasters mounted a stunning comeback to beat Alpine SG Pipers 13-7 with Black for their first win of Season 3. Matchday 2 action kicked off at the Royal Opera House on Monday, where "hosts" upGrad Mumba Masters edged past Fyers American Gambits in a tightly contested tie, with resilience across the boards ...Read More >
Pune: The Indian Gig Workers' Front on Saturday evening suspended the ongoing strike of cabs and autorickshaws operating on applications till Tuesday, after leaving many commuters, including those arriving at the airport on Saturday morning, hassled. Keshav Kshirsagar, the president of the front, said, "We have a meeting on Tuesday with senior officials of the state transport department. If its decisions don't meet our expectations, the strike will resume." Several commuters had a harrowing experience on roads on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday. Cabs and autos were hard to come by. T ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): A last-gasp win on the Prodigy board helped Fyers American Gambits overturn a deficit and seal a dramatic victory against reigning champions Triveni Continental Kings on Matchday 3 of the Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, on Tuesday. The Gambits beat the Kings 10-8, following Ganges Grandmasters' 12-3 win over PBG Alaskan Knights, according to a release. Opening Matchday 3, Ganges Grandmasters continued their strong run with a dominant win over PBG Alaskan Knights, headlined by a generational icon clash between Viswa ...Read More >
Paphos: Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa played out an easy draw as black against Wei Yi of China and stayed in joint lead on 1.5 points after the second round of the FIDE Candidates tournament here on Monday.After a brilliant first round win over Anish Giri, Praggnanadhaa appeared to be in fine fettle for the second day running, putting a bit of pressure on his Chinese counterpart out of a French defense game with black pieces.Wei Yi decided against going for a complicated struggle and the pieces changed hands at regular intervals leading to a drawn opposite coloured Bishops endgame.Praggn ...Read More >
NAGPUR: She found the best move with just four seconds remaining on the clock against compatriot R Vaishali. But Divya Deshmukh missed an idea of queen exchange in the second round of the Women's Candidates chess tournament in Cyprus on Monday.The all-India battle was the lone exciting game of the day after 12 of the 16 Candidates played largely safe and their six games in two sections ended in draws.In the Open section, R Praggnanandhaa had control over his clock and also had an extra pawn. But playing with black pieces, 20-year-old Indian co-leader fell short on material to sign a peace trea ...Read More >
NAGPUR: World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov is four wins and three draws away from winning the Candidates in Cyprus.With five wins, two draws and six points from seven games, Uzbekistan's 20-year-old youngest Candidate has already achieved the best score at the halfway mark of the tournament since the eightplayer double round-robin format was adopted in 2013.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Even if Sindarov splits the points in the next seven games, he will match the best ever score of the tournament, which Ian Nepomni -a c h t c h i achieved to win the 2022 Candid ...Read More >
Nagpur: Vantika Agrawal stunned former world champion Anna Ushenina to become the fifth Indian to advance to the round of 32 in the FIDE Women's World Cup at Batumi, Georgia, on Friday.While Vantika played well with both her white and black pieces in the three tie-break matches played in the rapid and blitz format to join Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali Rameshbabu, and D Harika in the third round, Padmini Rout and Priyanka K suffered losses in contrasting fashion to exit the World Cup.A day after Humpy, Divya, Vaishali, and Harika won their respective second-round contests in the classi ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, felicitated the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 medallists Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy here on Friday. Indian chess prodigy Divya and veteran Grandmaster (GM) Humpy made the nation proud with a dominant performance at the recently concluded tournament in Batumi, Georgia. Dr. Mandaviya personally felicitated Divya Deshmukh, who also became the 88th Grandmaster of the country and 4th Indian woman to become a GM, on becoming the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's Wo ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 15 (ANI): With two wins from their first two matches, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave-led upGrad Mumba Masters went top of the Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, on Monday. The Masters defeated Fyers American Gambits 9-7, before Ganges Grandmasters mounted a stunning comeback to beat Alpine SG Pipers 13-7 with Black for their first win of Season 3, according to a press release. Matchday 2 action kicked off at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai, where "hosts" upGrad Mumba Masters edged past Fyers American Gambits in a tightly con ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 17 (ANI): Alpine SG Pipers stormed their way into title contention by registering their second consecutive victory, according to a release.UpGrad Mumba Masters and defending champions Triveni Continental Kings also registered comfortable wins to maintain their advantage in the Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE.The Pipers beat Fyers American Gambits 10-4, upGrad Mumba Masters registered a dominating 18-2 win over PBG Alaskan Knights, while Triveni Continental Kings got the better of Ganges Grandmasters 11-6 at the Roya ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 19 (ANI): The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday. The Prime Minister Office (PMO) handle posted on X, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri @myogiadityanath, met Prime Minister @narendramodi. Sharing an X post about the meeting, CM Yogi wrote, I had the honour of meeting the world most popular leader, the respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, in New Delhi today and received his warm guidance. Heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister ji for granting me his ...Read More >
Also Read: India's Gukesh rises to career-high No. 3, Praggnanandhaa returns to top 10 in FIDE rankings In the highly anticipated showdown between Nakamura and Gukesh, the tension was palpable as the two grandmasters went head-to-head. After a series of intense games, Nakamura emerged victorious in a high-speed bullet match. True to his flamboyant style, Nakamura picked up Gukesh's king and tossed it into the crowd, a dramatic gesture that quickly went viral. While some celebrated the excitement, the act sparked a fierce debate across social media about the appropriateness of his actions. ...Read More >
Srinagar, July 09: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that Jammu & Kashmir's tourism sector is witnessing a strong revival, with a steady rise in the number of tourists visiting the Union Territory each day.Abdullah, while addressing reporters in West Bengal ahead of the Kolkata Tourism Fair, said, "Tourists are coming back to Kashmir in good numbers. The ongoingAmarnathYatra is proceeding smoothly with heavy footfall on both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes, he said."I spoke to several pilgrims, and they are all happy and satisfied with the arrangements. I have come to Kolkata to ta ...Read More >
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 7.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.96 lakh crore in July (for sales in June), data released by the government on Friday showed. Even though the pace of growth in gross GST collections picked up to 7.5 per cent in July from 6.2 per cent, this is the second consecutive month wherein the growth rate has been in single digits and much lower after posting double-digit growth in the first two months of the ongoing financial year. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO Net GST collections, after accounting for refunds, took a hit by growing by just 1.7 per ...Read More >
Samarkand: India's Vaishali Rameshbabu became the third Indian to win the 2026 International Chess Federation (FIDE) Women's Candidates tournament on Monday. She defended her FIDE Grand Swiss title in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday, as per ESPN. She finished with a total of eight points from 11 rounds, equal to Katryna Lagno, but secured a successful title defence on the basis of a tie-break. Vaishali's qualification to the Women's Candidates tournaments comes after Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy made it to the event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated Vaishali Rameshbabu o ...Read More >
Mumbai, Sep 26: Top Indian Grandmasters, world champion D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, will represent PBG Alaskan Knights in the upcoming Global Chess League after the duo was snapped up in a high-stakes player draft by the franchise for the third edition of the lucrative event, here on Friday. A joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, the third edition of GCL featuring six teams will be held here from December 13 to 24. The 'Icon round' set the ball rolling as Alpine SG Pipers snapped up American GM Fabiano Caruana, PBG Alaskan Knights edged out rivals to secure Gukesh, while five-time wo ...Read More >
NAGPUR: World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov sacrificed his knight for two pawns to end the impressive run of Praggnanandhaa R and join Fabiano Caruana in lead. The third round of the Candidates also witnessed a great fall of China in Cyprus on Tuesday as all three Chinese players lost their respective games.Caruana took just 19 moves to break the defensive Chinese wall when Wei Yi made a blunder on the 17th turn and the American world No. 3 jumped to a decisive advantage. Two moves later, Caruana became the first to take the lead.The last game of the open field between archrivals Sindarov and P ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In the zero-sum world of elite chess, the camaraderie between compatriots often has to be set aside at the board. This was evident on Wednesday at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort as India's two sensations, R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh, faced off in a crucial Round 9 encounter at the Women's Candidates.In what can be labelled as an apt amalgam of tactical precision and sheer domination, Vaishali dismantled Divya's defence in just 31 moves to seize the co-lead in the Women's section.Both players entered the day as table-toppers, but FIDE's regulations, designed to ensure fair play ...Read More >
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 13 (ANI): Grand Master (GM) Karthikeyan Murali lit up Round 7 of the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 on Monday with a stunning win over GM Vidit Gujrathi, prevailing with the black pieces after a gritty battle. Meanwhile, German GM Vincent Keymer strengthened his grip on the title race with a clinical win over American GM Awonder Liang, leaving the former 1.5 points ahead of his closest competitors, Liang included, as per a press release from Chennai Grand Masters. Now in its third year, the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025 is India's strongest classical ch ...Read More >
New Delhi, Sep 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu for creating history by winning the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2025 for the second time in a row, calling it an "outstanding accomplishment," while also lauding Anandkumar Velkumar for securing India's first-ever world championship gold in speed skating. Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu etched her name in history on Monday by becoming the first Indian to successfully defend the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss title. She sealed her victory after holding former Women's World Champion ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], September 16 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared an article written by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on how 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas' is visible in daily realities - electricity is no longer a luxury, welfare is delivered directly, and infrastructure is planned with digital coordination. Responding to a post by Mandaviya on X, PM Modi said, "In this article, Union Minister Shri @mansukhmandviya writes that 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas' is visible in daily realities - electricity is no longer a lux ...Read More >
Panaji: The FIDE World Cup returns to India for the first time since 2002. That year, Viswanathan Anand defeated Rustam Kasimdzhanov in the two-game final held in Hyderabad, a victory that helped cement India's emergence as a major force in world chess.Now, as the World Cup returns to Indian soil, this time in Goa, top seed Gukesh D, current World Champion and one of the favourites, will look to create a major impact."I am really excited and looking forward to playing in the World Cup," said Gukesh, seeded straight into round two. "Anywhere in India is great of course, but I have some nice mem ...Read More >
Mumbai, October 29: Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju faced a difficult day at the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown as he dropped to the bottom of the table with no wins, while Magnus Carlsen took the lead with four wins and two losses on the second day. Gukesh, who began the day in the sole lead, suffered two defeats against Carlsen. Afterwards, he drew the first game against Hikaru Nakamura, whom he had previously defeated on the first game day to avenge his Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition match loss. D Gukesh Takes Calm Revenge on Hikaru Nakamura After Controversial King-Throwing G ...Read More >
India's R. Praggnanandhaa will face Germany's Matthias Bluebaum a day after her lost to Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov in the third round of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 in Cyprus on Tuesday. Currently, the Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu sits in joint-third with 1.5 points, sharing the spot with Bluebaum. Praggnanandhaa had beaten Dutch GM Anish Giri in the first round with white pieces, before playing out a draw with China's Wei Yi in the second round with black. LIVE UPDATES FROM THE BOARDWhere to watch Candidates Tournamet 2026 live? Candidates Tournament 2026 will be streamed LIVE ...Read More >