Tag: Chess

10Apr By source belowNo Comments

Sports

Arjun Erigaisi holds Hikaru Nakamura to thrilling draw under time pressure at Freestyle Chess Grand Slam

When Arjun Erigaisi qualified for the quarter-finals of the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour on Tuesday by finishing top eight in the leaderboard after 11 round-robin rapid games, it soon became certain that the player no one likes to face will be paired with him after he finished fourth. Finishing in the top half comes with its own set of benefits in this tournament. The top half gets to choose their opponents which they like to face in the quarters with one more added benefit of deciding the colour they would like to start with. But fourth place meant Arjun had to wait for the other three above him to first make their choice.After Ian Nepomniachtchi went with an audacious choice by picking Weissenhaus leg winner Vincent Keymer, Magnus Carlsen picked Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Ma...

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9Apr By source belowNo Comments

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When Viswanathan Anand won eight rupees as prize money for winning an event

Viswanathan Anand is one of the richest chess players in the country at the moment, having racked up plenty of prize money from his exploits around the world, including winning the coveted World Chess Championship five times. But there was a time when a much younger Anand had won just eight rupees as prize money for winning a junior tournament. Anand revealed this in an interview with The Bombay Journey recently while being driven around his home city of Chennai. Asked about the costs involved in being an elite grandmaster and the prize money top chess players can make, Anand said: “I remember once in my chess club they had a small tournament and first prize was eight rupees. So I thought I can treat myself. I (won and) took this eight rupees. There’s a hotel right behind the chess club, ...

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6Apr By source belowNo Comments

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Hans Niemann withdraws from Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour event at last minute

Hans Niemann has withdrawn from the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour event, the organisers of the event said late on Saturday night on their social media handles. No reason was given by either the player or the organiser. Nodirbek Abdusattarov was named as a replacement for the American grandmaster. The announcement comes barely 48 hours before the start of the event. Four Indians — Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi — are expected to compete at the event. Niemann had stated earlier that he was eagerly looking forward to playing in Paris. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Freestyle Paris edition… No matter what opportunities come my way, I will continue to let my chess speak for itself. Thank you to everyone who has supporte...

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28Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Boris Spassky passes away: Rich tributes and mourning in chess world as 10th world champion, passes away

Boris Spassky, the 10th world champion of chess, has passed away, FIDE announced on Friday. He was 88. He became the world champion after defeating Tigran Petrosian and then famously lost in the Match of the Century against Bobby Fischer in 1972 at Iceland’s Reykjavík. Spassky was a chess prodigy who went on to become a Grandmaster at the age of 18 and was known as one of the most talented players of his generation. He lost his first world championship battle against Petrosian at Moscow 1966. But in the next world championship, he overcame Petrosian to earn the crown. He was a player known for his universal playing style. What was remarkable about him was that he played for France in his latter years. Spassky played seven times at the Chess Olympiad for the Soviet team (between 1962 to 1...

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13Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Freestyle Chess: Gukesh loses to Hikaru Nakamura to remain winless at Weissenhaus

Gukesh Dommaraju remains winless at Weissenhaus after losing to Hikaru Nakamura in the 5-8 classification spot match on Wednesday. The Gukesh vs Nakamura battle had to be decided in the rapid tiebreaks after both the classical time control games (first on Tuesday and second one played on Wednesday) ended in draws. In the two-game rapid tiebreak, the first game ended in a draw after 103 moves, but in the second game, Gukesh lost with white pieces after 33 moves. While the first tiebreak game was played in Position No 5, which was one of the more normal positions with not too much insanity on the starting position, the second game was played in position no 328. Besides the Gukesh versus Nakamura game, Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov also tussled in the tiebreak to figure out who would ...

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11Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Freestyle chess: Gukesh draws with Hikaru Nakamura as challenging opening position tests the best

Gukesh played out a 59-move draw against the reigning World Fischer Random champion Hikaru Nakamura with black pieces as his quest for a win at the first Freestyle Chess tournament of the year continues. Gukesh has so far lost four games in the Weissenhaus tournament and drawn seven games that he has played in classical and rapid time controls. But the draw with black pieces will be particularly heartening for the youngest world champion in the history of the sport.After being eliminated by Fabiano Caruana in the quarter finals, Gukesh is battling to at least finish fifth in the 10-player standings. His first opponent was Nakamura, who he will play with white pieces tomorrow in the second game of their match. Tuesday’s game — played in position no.360 — was tricky for all players. But the ...

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10Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Gukesh’s Freestyle Chess woes continue as world champion loses game 1 of quarters to Fabiano Caruana

Gukesh Dommaraju’s wretched form at the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour continued as the world champion lost the first game of the quarter-final to Fabiano Caruana with white pieces on Sunday. Gukesh will have a chance to level on Monday when the two players play the second game of the quarter-final with colours reversed. Gukesh played nine games in the rapid time control before Sunday — one game each against all the other players in the field — but did not manage to win a single game. Gukesh had just about snuck into the quarter-finals of the Weissenhaus event after finishing ahead of Vladimir Fedoseev and Levon Aronian in the standings. Only eight players out of the 10 made it to the knockout stages after the rapid portion. Story continues below this ad ...

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7Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Magnus Carlsen says he’s looking forward to playing Gukesh in Freestyle Chess

After spending the past two months battling against the world governing body of chess, FIDE, Magnus Carlsen said he was looking forward to facing off against the current world champion Gukesh in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, when the Weissenhaus leg starts today at the luxury nature resort. When Carlsen was asked by ChessBase India who he was looking forward to playing at the first event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, he said: “I’m very much looking forward to playing the classical world champion, Gukesh. Obviously, I look forward to playing everybody, but getting a chance to play Hikaru Nakamura here… last year there was a bit of a generational battle. I’ll be trying a little bit harder to beat the youngsters.” The first event of the Freestyle Tour at Weissenhaus will se...

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4Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Arkady Dvorkovich responds to personal texts being leaked: ‘Cannot deal with a partner who has such business culture’

FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich has accused organisers of Freestyle Chess of leaking personal texts sent by him during the terse negotiations over the past few months. Dvorkovich told The Indian Express in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that messages that he had sent Jan Henric Buettner, the man behind the freestyle chess tour, were being shared with players ‘within seconds’ during the negotiations. FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich speaks at an event during the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore last year.(PHOTO: FIDE/Maria Emilianova) After talks between FIDE and organisers of Freestyle Chess collapsed on Monday, Buettner posted a long open letter addressed to the FIDE president where he also made public personal messages sent to him by Dvorkovich. Soon, this was followed ...

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4Feb By source belowNo Comments

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As FIDE vs Freestyle Chess war intensifies, Magnus Carlsen, trainer share private text messages from FIDE president, CEO

The FIDE versus Freestyle Chess war intensified late on Monday after peace talks collapsed between the two parties. In the immediate aftermath of the feud reigniting, there were open letters from both sides with fresh allegations. Members from the Freestyle Chess camp also aired private messages from FIDE officials like president Arkady Dvorkovich and CEO Emil Sutovsky. World No 1 Magnus Carlsen posted a couple of texts that Dvorkovich had sent to his father Henrik Carlsen on his X handle before asking the Russian to resign. Story continues below this ad Carlsen posted on X: “Coercion of players, misuse of power and broken promises. FIDE President Dvorkovich, to convince me to play the Rapid & Blitz in New York, you wrote Dec 19th to my father: ‘Just want to pass a mes...

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3Feb By source belowNo Comments

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FIDE vs Freestyle Chess dispute continues as ‘intensive negotiations’ lead nowhere

The global governing body of chess, FIDE, has announced that talks with the organisers of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour have not yielded much as the impasse continues in chess. “Despite intensive negotiations, the FIDE Council states that there is currently no agreement regarding the Freestyle Tour. This is due to the other party’s refusal to acknowledge FIDE’s status as the sole regulator of World Chess Championships and its authority to award a World Championship title,” FIDE posted on their X handle on Monday afternoon. It went on to add that it would be releasing a “full statement” on the matter later on Monday. Story continues below this ad FIDE and organizers of the upcoming Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour have been at loggerheads for over two months now. This fe...

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3Feb By source belowNo Comments

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‘Most stressful day’: Praggnanandhaa jokes he’ll buy Arjun Erigaisi something after winning Tata Steel chess title ahead of Gukesh

Praggnanandhaa defeated world champion Gukesh in a tense tiebreak that went into sudden death to emerge as the champion of the Tata Steel chess tournament 2025. It was a moment he called the highlight and the most stressful day of his career. After defeating Gukesh in the tiebreak, Praggnanandhaa was asked by commentator Fiona Steil-Antoni if winning the Tata Steel title was the “highlight of his young career”. “Yeah, for sure. When I came here, I wanted to win the event. But the field was very strong. I didn’t really think about it much until yesterday. Can’t really express… I’m really happy,” said Praggnanandhaa. Story continues below this ad Praggnanandhaa, asked if this was the most intense day of chess in his career, compared Sunday’s action with the sudden death batt...

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2Feb By source belowNo Comments

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Gukesh vs Praggnanandhaa in hunt for Tata Steel chess title after night of glorious sacs, dramatic draws, and Arjun Erigaisi’s turnaround

The race for the Tata Steel chess tournament is now down to a two-horse race between Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa after a dramatic day at the prestigious event in Wijk aan Zee. All three members of India’s golden generation — Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun Erigaisi — made some glorious moves in Round 12, the penultimate day of the tournament, involving sacrifices that made jaws drop. Gukesh was held to a draw by Jorden van Foreest. It was a game where Gukesh, playing with black pieces, had refused a draw by repetition, then had held an overwhelming edge, and then allowed the Dutchman the chance to claw his way back to parity on the board. In the middle of the game, he had courted severe time trouble, sacrificing his rook on move 39 (39… Rxe5) with just three seconds left on the clock, in one of the...

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31Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Exclusive: FIDE and freestyle chess organisers close to amicable agreement after 2-month-long dispute

The prospect of ‘war’ looming over the world of chess seems to be easing up after the organisers of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour and FIDE are close to an amicable agreement, The Indian Express can reveal. After two months of uncertainty in the sport punctuated by open letters and allegations against each other, a ceasefire appears likely. In fact, over the past three days there have been three one-on-one phone calls between German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, the brains and financial muscle behind the ambitious freestyle tour, and FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich to smoothen out matters. “I already had two phone calls with Arkady yesterday and the day before, and we’re going to have another one today. I can tell you that we are pretty close to reaching an amicable agreement that w...

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30Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Gukesh era: Youngest world champion unbeaten in 10 games, closes in on Tata Steel chess title and Mount 2800

If history is any indication, D Gukesh’s reign as world champion could have gone one of two ways. He could have found the crown incredibly heavy to wear, like his predecessor Ding Liren did. After becoming world champion in 2023, the Chinese Grandmaster went on a stretch of 304 days without a classical win leading into the 2024 world championship. Or, Gukesh could have felt bulletproof as the occupier of the coveted throne, like Magnus Carlsen did ever since he became the world champion for the first time in 2013. The 10 games at Tata Steel chess tournament have shown that the Gukesh era of chess is firmly following the path once charted by Carlsen. The 18-year-old, who became the youngest world champion in history last month, maintained his grip on the top of the standings at the Tata Ste...

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29Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Tata Steel Chess: Gukesh beats Leon Luke Mendonca to secure lead with four rounds to go

With just four rounds remaining at the Tata Steel chess tournament, the reigning world champion Gukesh D has ensured that he is in pole position to win the event known as the Wimbledon of Chess. The 18-year-old Gukesh defeated his contemporary Leon Luke Mendonca in Round 9 at the season-starting chess event in the quaint Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee in a battle lasting just 43 moves. This is the first event Gukesh is competing in after becoming the youngest world champion in history of chess by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore last month. So far after nine games, Gukesh is yet to lose, winning four games and drawing the others. This is in sharp contrast to the fate of Arjun Erigaisi, who came into the event rated 2801, but has not won a single game at the event. Tuesday’s win ensures that...

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28Jan By source belowNo Comments

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In chess, away from eye-catching numbers lies world where GMs lose money playing, struggle to attract sponsors, and worry about making a living

Editor’s Note: We present On The Moves, a new weekly column which will appear every Tuesday from Amit Kamath on chess where he will look at everything that happens on the battlefield of the 64 squares and away from it.Hikaru Nakamura couldn’t disguise his envy as he spoke about what he called the ‘Big 3’ of Indian chess — D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. The reason for this envy was not the pace at which their careers had taken off. No, the World No.3 was envious about all three players finding sponsors early on in their careers, which he linked to the trio “staying hungry”. “When I came up in the USA, even once I had crossed the 2700 rating, I never had any kind of sponsorship that was on the level of what Arjun, Gukesh or Praggnanandhaa are getting right now. The goal for m...

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27Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Gukesh vs Praggnanandhaa ends in draw at Tata Steel Chess after some mind games

D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa played out a bloodless draw in round 8 at the Tata Steel chess tournament that ended in 33 moves on Sunday in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. In what was a battle royale of two of India’s top grandmasters, there was very little to separate the duo with Pragg having white pieces. Both players had started the game as joint leaders in the standings in the masters section — a spot which they shared with Uzbek star Nodirbek Abdusattarov. All three players are still in joint lead after 8 rounds with Nodirbek holding off the event’s giant-killer Vladimir Fedoseev to a draw. The Gukesh vs Praggnanandhaa contest started with a bit of a mind game from Pragg, who waited almost one full minute before playing 1.e4, which is the most common opening move in the book. The first fi...

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25Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Gukesh’s unbelievable save: World champion defends losing position with black for 6 hours vs arch-rival Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Some draws, as the cliche goes, are equivalent to victory. The newly-minted world chess champion Gukesh just pulled off one of those draws against arch-rival Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round 6 of the Tata Open chess tournament at Wijk aan Zee.After an almighty grind of over six hours, both players shook hands and split a point. The Uzbek grandmaster Abdusattorov will be livid at letting slip a massive advantage on the board and allow Gukesh to salvage a draw. Abdusattorov and Gukesh share a healthy rivalry on the board that has been around since the 2022 Chennai Olympiad where a loss to the Uzbek prodigy had undone a great tournament for Gukesh. At that Olympiad, thanks to that defeat, the Indian team had settled for bronze while the Uzbeks had claimed gold. Understandably then, the game st...

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22Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Arjun Erigaisi stays winless at Tata Steel after blunders vs Fedoseev

Arjun Erigaisi’s luck at the Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee just refuses to turn. The top-ranked Indian player slumped to another defeat in Round 4 of the Tata Steel chess tournament, this time after surrendering a hefty advantage on the board in two back-to-back moves against Vladimir Fedoseev. Meanwhile, veteran Indian grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna defeated Dutchman Max Warmerdam to claim his second win at the event. He had earlier defeated Arjun Erigaisi while losing to R Praggnanandhaa. The defeat against Fedoseev means Arjun Erigaisi has not won a single game at the prestigious Tata Steel chess event since winning the Challengers section in 2022. At that edition, he had won the event with a round to spare, scoring a jaw-dropping 10.5 out of 13. That win had secured Erigaisi a spot in th...

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21Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Arjun Erigaisi loses to Praggnanandhaa to stay winless at Wijk aan Zee since 2022

Arjun Erigaisi was handed defeat in the third round of the Tata Steel chess tournament by good friend Praggnanandhaa in 60 moves. While Pragg held the upper hand in most of the game, the end came with checkmate being inevitable with Arjun Erigaisi’s king standing in the middle of the board without any protection while Praggnanandhaa’s pieces surrounded it. The defeat means that Arjun Erigaisi has not won a single game at the Tata Steel event since winning the Challengers section in 2022 with a jaw-dropping score of 10.5 out of 13. He had in fact won the event that year with a round to spare. That win had secured Arjun Erigaisi a spot in the Tata Steel Masters section the next year. But he went through the 2023 edition without a single victory and has continued that streak in 2025. He di...

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20Jan By source belowNo Comments

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Magnus Carlsen lost to 9-year-old from Bangladesh? FIDE Master makes shocking claim, but there is a catch

A FIDE Master from Bangladesh has claimed that his nine-year-old student defeated five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen in an online chess tournament. The incident happened in a Bullet Brawl game on Chess.com on Saturday. Magnus Carlsen, playing with black pieces against an account that goes by Nayemhaque22, resigned after 50 moves in a Bullet Brawl game (an event for titled players where there is a time control of one minute with no increments.) The result meant that Magnus Carlsen’s rating dropped by -16. Now, the man behind the account — FIDE Master Naim Haque — has told a Bangladeshi media outlet called The Business Standard that he had handed his account to his nine-year-old student Ryan Rashid Mugdha. He also posted the result on social media, with a capitaion in Bangla that loo...

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19Jan By source belowNo Comments

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How Gukesh won 1st game as chess world champion after finding lucky escape route vs Anish Giri

Anish Giri slumped on the backrest of his chair and stayed there for a while. Then, he hunched over and planted a palm on his forehead in a universally accepted sign of anguish. He’d just spent most of the first round game at the Tata Steel chess tournament forcing his opponent, the newly-minted world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, into a corner. Just when checkmate seemed inevitable, with Gukesh running out of options — and out of time on the clock to think — Anish Giri made a blunder that will haunt the attic of his mind for years to come. In one hasty move of the wrist, Anish Giri had handed his 18-year-old opponent a get-out-of-jail-free card. Gukesh, who won the world championship last month on a similar blunder from his opponent Ding Liren, is not one to refuse gifts across the board. ...

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