From the electrifying victory of the Indian cricket team in the recent T20 series to the rising star power of young badminton sensations, India's sporting landscape is ablaze with action! This week alone saw record-breaking performances in the Pro Kabaddi League, showcasing the nation's unwavering passion for indigenous sports. The upcoming Asian Games are generating immense anticipation, with athletes across disciplines sharpening their skills and aiming for glory on the international stage. We delve into the crucial role of sports sponsorships in nurturing talent and boosting India's sporting infrastructure. Furthermore, debates rage on about the future of cricket's dominance in India's sporting ecosystem, with other sports like hockey and football vying for increased attention and investment. Stay updated on all the latest scores, match analyses, and exclusive interviews with your favorite athletes. Explore the dynamic world of Indian sports—from the bustling stadiums to the quiet dedication of rising stars—right here. Discover the stories that shape the nation’s sporting spirit and witness the unfolding drama of the sporting year.
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 and prevent malpractice among compatriots, forced the face-off. Divya, fresh off a victory with the black pieces against Anna Muzychuk, was asked to defend with Black once again.A complete domination from VaishaliVaishali, wielding the white pieces, opened with the Réti Opening. Divya's ambitious 8...a5 push down the flank failed to yield a concrete advantage, allowing Vaishali to establish her pieces on commanding squares.The game reached a boiling point at move 17; while Divya needed the stabilising 17...c5 to stay afloat, her choice of 17...Nd7 invited disaster. Immediately, Vaishali pounced with a decisive 18. Nxc6.From there, it was a downward spiral for Divya. Under mounting time pressure, the younger Indian blundered with 21...Rg6, fatally weakening her structure.By move 23, Divya had surrendered both knights, and the finality of Vaishali's 31.Rb7 prompted a quick resignation. The win means Vaishali now holds 5.5 points, and she is also the one sharing the summit with China's Zhu Jiner.Praggnanandhaa disappoints againIn the Open section, R Praggnanandhaa's quest for a breakthrough continues to be elusive.Despite early momentum and the advantage of the white pieces against Wei Yi, the 20-year-old Indian was unable to convert his good fortune into a full point.The game followed a sophisticated d4 line where Pragg seemed to hold a slight edge throughout the middle game.Despite penetrating with 24. Qxf7+ and maintaining a persistent initiative, Wei Yi's defensive resilience held firm. After a 56-move struggle, the points were split, marking another frustrating draw for the Indian prodigy.In the Open section, Javokhir Sindarov leads the pack with 7/9 points, while back-to-back wins for Anish Giri mean that the Dutchman is now second on the leaderboard with 5.5/9 points.FIDE Candidates Round 9 Results - April 8, 2026Open SectionWomen's SectionFIDE Candidates Round 10 Pairings - April 9, 2026Open SectionWomen's Section
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 >
New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI): India newly crowned chess grandmaster, Divya Deshmukh, shared her views on the recently concluded FIDE Women Chess World Cup 2025, which took place in Georgia, saying that this tournament has been her most significant test of resilience. Divya, a 19-year-old rising sensation in the world of chess, became the first Indian woman to clinch the Chess World Cup after overwhelming Koneru on Monday evening in the final via tiebreaks. She became just the fourth Indian woman grandmaster and overall the 88th in the nation to clinch that title. Speaking to the media, ...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 >
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 >
India's D. Gukesh is set to face reigning World Chess Champion Ding Liren in Game 3 of the 2024 World Chess Championship at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. After losing the first game, Gukesh managed to hold Ding to a draw in the second round while playing with Black. In Game 3, Gukesh, now with White, aims to reduce Ding's lead and fight for an equal footing in the series. The match will be streamed live on platforms like FIDE's YouTube and Chess.com, with live updates available on Sportstar’s match blog. Fans can follow all the exciting action as it unfolds. ...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], October 15 (ANI): The initiative comes from the organisers of the prestigious Norway Chess tournament, and the official World Championship status agreement was signed with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in early October. The vision of the Total Chess World Championship Tour is to find the player who best masters the disciplines Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz combined. Fast Classic is an innovation of classical chess, featuring a time limit as short as 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move. This will receive a rating as classical chess, as per a release fro ...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 >
Bengaluru, Jun 7 (PTI) A 26-year-old man allegedly beheaded his wife following a heated argument on the outskirts of Bengaluru after he suspected her of having an extra-marital affair, police said on Saturday. After killing Manasa, Shankar travelled with her severed head on his scooter to the nearest police station and confessed to the crime, they said. The man was later arrested, police said, adding that the incident occurred at Heelalige village, near Chandapura, Anekal taluk late on Friday. According to the police, the couple were married for over five years and have a four-year-old daug ...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, June 5 (UNI) The Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament (Delhi GM Open) is set to make a grand return this June with a record prize pool of Rs 1.21 crore. Triveni Sports has come on board as the Associate Sponsor for the 21st edition, marking a major boost for one of India's most prestigious chess events. Organized by the Delhi Chess Association (DCA), the tournament will take place from June 7 to 14 here, drawing over 2,500 players from more than 15 countries, including 20 Grandmasters ,across three rating-based sections. Held under the aegis of the All-India Ch ...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 >
India has found its youngest chess record-holder. Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha, just three years, seven months and 20 days old, has become the youngest player in world chess history to earn an official FIDE rating. The nursery student from Madhya Pradesh has also broken an Indian record that was set only last year. The toddler edged past compatriot Anish Sarkar, who was three years, eight months and 19 days old when he achieved the same feat in November 2024. To earn an official rating from FIDE, th ...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 >
While India cherishes chess, no other city nurtures the game quite like Chennai does, thanks to its idols, investment and deeper socio-cultural penchant for the puzzling adventure. The game of chess has altered the hierarchy of consumption of sport in the nation over the past couple of years, usurping the status quo in the sprawling peninsular nation of India. While cricket remains the top-billed outdoor activity, the chess revolution that has taken the nation by storm, aided by the prolonged i ...Read More >
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday commended R. Vaishali, who has once again become the champion at the FIDE Grand Swiss -- one of the most prestigious events in the chess calendar. In a social media post, Mr. Stalin congratulated Ms. Vaishali on her defending her title with composure and brilliance, securing her place in the prestigious women candidates tournament. "This victory is not just a personal milestone but a celebration for Chennai, for Tamil Nadu, and for countless young girls who now see their dreams reflected on the world ...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 >
New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI): Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand took to social media and shared a photo of him with young D Gukesh recalling the moment when he met him as a young boy. "The boy who would be King @FIDE_chess @WacaChess," Viswanathan Anand wrote on X. Also Read | Big score is just around the corner for Steve Smith, Skipper Pat Cummins Backs Star Batter Ahead of IND vs AUS 3rd Test 2024. https://x.com/vishy64theking/status/1867402859903590525 Earlier the former World Champion congratulated D Gukesh on his phenomenal victory, "Congratulations! It's a prou ...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 >
Chennai, Sep 15 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin tonight greeted chess prodigy R Vaishali for defending the FIDE Grand Swiss crown with composure and brilliance that fetched her a place in Women's Candidate tournament. Her vistory was not jsut a personal milestone, but a celebration for Chennai, for Tamil Nadu, and for countless young girls who now see their dreams reflected on the world stage. In a post on X, Mr Stalin wrote "Congratulations to our Chennai girl Vaishali on defending her FIDE Women's Grand Swiss crown with composure and brilliance, securing her place in the pr ...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 >