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Tag: Ding Liren

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Magnus Carlsen to meet Ding Liren in a format called ‘Freestyle Chess’. What’s that?

World No 1 Magnus Carlsen will face off against world champion Ding Liren across the chess board in a new, innovative tournament starting from Friday. It will be the first time the duo will command their miniature armies of carved pieces against each other since the Chinese GM sat down on the throne abdicated by Carlsen without a shot being fired.The duo will face off in a unique format with a twist — a format popularised by the American chess legend Bobby Fischer called freestyle chess. The format promotes creativity from players by having unique starting positions on the board rather than having pieces on the back ranks in the same positions. Besides the reigning world champion Liren and the current world no 1, the invitational tournament — called the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challeng...
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‘Continue to bring glory…’: Sachin Tendulkar hails chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa | Chess News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: 18-year-old chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa clinched the number one spot among India's chess players after a stellar victory over World champion Ding Liren at the 2024 Tata Steel Chess tournament. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar took to social media to commend the young chess sensation for his extraordinary achievement.Tendulkar, expressing his admiration for Praggnanandhaa's remarkable triumph, stated, "Big cheers to @rpraggnachess for this remarkable triumph against World Champion, Ding Liren.At the young age of 18, you haven't just dominated the game but also risen to become India's top-rated player. Best wishes for your upcoming challenges. Continue to bring glory to India on the international stage in chess."Praggnanandhaa, reflecting on the unexpected victory, r...
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Praggnanandhaa – India’s No.1 Chess Player | Tata Steel Chess 2024 | Chess News – Times of India

The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the essence of live sporting events and deliver compelling content to readers worldwide. From running live blogs for India and non-India cricket matches to global spectacles featuring Indian talents, like the Chess World Cup final featuring Praggnanandhaa and the Badminton World Championships semifinal featuring HS Prannoy, our live coverage extends to all mega sporting events. We extensively cover events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Cricket World Cups, FIFA World Cups, and more. The desk is also adept at writing comprehensive match reports and insightful post-match commentary, complemented by stats-based articles that provide an in-depth analysis of player performances and team dynamics. We track news wires for key stories...
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Why chess Grandmaster-siblings Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali will limit the number of tournaments they play in before the Candidates tournament

Multiple training camps with focus on each and every opponent. Two separate teams with seconds already identified to share all available information about the opponents. Limiting the number of tournaments they will feature in. All this is part of a meticulously planned programme for chess Grandmasters, the brother-sister duo of R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali to train for the Candidates event next year. The Chess Gurukul in Chennai’s T-Nagar has already become a preparation centre for the siblings. Even when they get back home to Paadi, a quiet neighbourhood outside the hustle and bustle of the city, the siblings have been focussing on what is ahead of them in April, similar to how students prepare for Class X or XII board exams. Overseeing their preparations is RB Ramesh, who has been ...
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Magnus Carlsen is not invincible, says Praggnanandhaa | Chess News – Times of India

KOLKATA: India's latest chess sensation R Praggnanandhaa may have fallen short of his World Cup title dreams, going down to Magnus Carlsen in the final, but the 18-year-old prodigy on Sunday asserted that the five-time world champion Norwegian was "far from invincible".Praggnanandhaa had a dream World Cup run in Baku last month when he became the youngest ever finalist and in the process qualified for the Candidates tournament in 2024 where the winner will face China's Ding Liren in the World Championship.The Indian teenager is the third youngest player after Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament."It's not like he (Carlsen) is invincible," Praggnanandhaa said of Carlsen in an exclusive interview with PTI.As a matter of fact, the Chennai boy has won over Carl...
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Candidates challenge looms as Praggnanandhaa follows in Vishwanathan Anand’s footsteps | Chess News – Times of India

Alexander Khalifman. Ruslan Ponomariov. Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Levon Aronian. Gata Kamsky. Peter Svidler. Teimour Radjabov. Jan Duda.These players have either won the FIDE World Cup chess title or FIDE knockout World Championship title. But none of the players named above went on to win the World Matchplay title, considered as the Mount Everest of the 64-square sport where Garry Kasparov, Vishwanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen have built their own caves.The Khalifmans and Dudas of this world have not reached even the Challenger status. But Boris Gelfand and Sergei Karjakin - who were also World Cup winners - became the challengers after winning this title. V Anand won the knockout title and then won the Matchplay crown. Kramnik did the reverse. He first became the matchplay champion and th...
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Chess’ IPL moment arrives with Global Chess League

For a sport that has been making rapid strides since the coronavirus pandemic, chess’ ‘IPL moment’ arrives today: in the form of the Global Chess League where 36 Grandmasters — with a notable number of world champions among them — will compete in a mixed-gender team environment which they’re not accustomed to playing over the course of the regular chess tour.Six teams will feature in the first season of the GCL, which could be a game-changer for a sport that traces its roots to India. For the Indian market, the IPL-isation of the sport comes at an opportune time. The country is fast gaining heft in the world of chess with as many as nine players in the top 100 in classical rankings and 82 GMs. India is also experiencing a boom in the number of casual players and chess fans. “I think I...
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Global Chess League: Magnus Carlsen joins forces with Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun for Season 1

Magnus Carlsen will team up with a trio of young Indian grandmasters — Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R and Arjun Erigaisi — in the inaugural season of the Global Chess League after the World No 1 was drafted as the icon player for the SG Alpine Warriors late on Tuesday. Irina Krush and Elisabeth Pahtz will also be part of the SG Alpine Warriors team owned by SG Sports. Meanwhile, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will lead the Ganges Grandmasters side as the icon player. The team, owned by Insurekot Sports, will also have Richard Rapport, China’s Hou Yifan, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Bella Khotenashvili and Andrey Esipenko. The draft also saw Triveni Continental Kings (owned by Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited) pick newly-crowned world champion Ding Liren while Balan Alas...
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Cyrus Boracha on Indian wrestlers’ protest, IPL taking over sports and Ding Liren becoming the world chess champion

Satheesh Vellinezhi | Photo Credit: Satheesh Vellinezhi You know what is the biggest problem with us Indians? Okay, okay, don’t answer that, this is a short column, no point starting something we can’t finish, (which is the slogan the Mumbai Metro will be using), so, let me take that one. It’s to do with our homes. We love leaving the doors open. Have you noticed that? In fact, please shut your room door, if you are reading this. It appears though, that there is a science to this whole open-door policy. A visiting burglar once exposed to the ugliness of the inside gets disillusioned and demotivated. He then feels so defeated; he leaves his chosen profession for a less daunting one, like politics, or running tuition classes.Luckily, dear reader, this opening paragraph has little to do w...
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Cyrus Broacha on Indian wrestlers’ protest, IPL taking over sports and Ding Liren becoming the world chess champion

Satheesh Vellinezhi | Photo Credit: Satheesh Vellinezhi You know what is the biggest problem with us Indians? Okay, okay, don’t answer that, this is a short column, no point starting something we can’t finish, (which is the slogan the Mumbai Metro will be using), so, let me take that one. It’s to do with our homes. We love leaving the doors open. Have you noticed that? In fact, please shut your room door, if you are reading this. It appears though, that there is a science to this whole open-door policy. A visiting burglar once exposed to the ugliness of the inside gets disillusioned and demotivated. He then feels so defeated; he leaves his chosen profession for a less daunting one, like politics, or running tuition classes.Luckily, dear reader, this opening paragraph has little to do w...
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Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding has given a new dimension to competitive chess

Ding Liren, a Chinese Grandmaster, is the new chess World Champion. Soak that in. It’s a great victory not just for Ding, but also for China and Asia.We have to look at the World Championship in a very different way. In some ways, it’s a trendsetter. If you look at World Championships of the past, they played in a particular way or style. There had a particular strategy or way of playing. It was a very strategic battle. What happened here, however, was more or less a battle of nerves and other sporting qualities rather than the ‘supposed’ quality of playing chess. (Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Express. You can read his analysis of Game 14, Game 13, Game 12, Game 11, Game 10,  Game 9, Game 8, Game 7, Game 6, Game 5, Ga...
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Pravin Thipsay writes: After an exciting draw in the final game, Nepo will have the edge in tie-breaker

A tie after 14 exciting, high-octane games of the World Chess Championship is perhaps the right result. Would it have been a sour victory had Ding Liren won the final game and the match? Playing with white pieces, he had the advantage but Nepo was prepared. With a draw in 90 moves, it was easily the most exciting match of this Championship. The icing on the cake now is that we’re in for a Super Sunday! Tie-breakers are going to be fun if Game 14 was any indication of what’s going to come. It was remarkable the way Ding played for a win on Saturday. He’s very clear about the way he wants to play, and that’s to attack. It’s really in the true spirit of the sport. We’re seeing such vigorous play after several decades. (Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess ...
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Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren holds the advantage as Game 13 ends in draw

With just the final game to go in the World Chess Championship, it’s advantage Ding Liren as his opponent Ian Nepomniachtchi failed to win with White pieces in Game 13 at the St Regis in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday.Frankly, I’m a bit surprised with the way Nepo played on Thursday. Agreed he had a devastating loss on Wednesday and had no time to recover, but this is the World Championships! Aside from Magnus Carlsen, Ding and Nepo are supposed to be the best chess players in the world. They should be ready for any sort of challenge. Nepo’s best shot at getting an outright win was Game 13. He had to play to his strengths and use variations which he’s familiar with. But on the 10th move, he chose a variation that hasn’t been popular. Actually, from the past 115 years at least, it is kn...
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World Chess Championship 2023 Game 12 Live: Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren all set to face off in third last round

While there are only three games left to determine the 17th World Champion, Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi will play two games with black against Ding Liren. (Photo: FIDE/David Llada) Not pushing hard for win is perhaps Vladimir Kramnik’s influence on Nepo There were reports that former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik is helping Ian Nepomniachtchi in his fight against Ding Liren at the 2023 World Chess Championship. While we don’t know if it’s actually true, we can see that Nepo has been playing a lot like Kramnik in the last two Games. Game 11 on Monday was the second consecutive game in which Nepo didn’t really seem to be interested in going for a win. Mind you, this time he was playing with White. That begs the question: why should he push for a win? He has a comfortable lead of one po...
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Pravin Thipsay writes: Not pushing hard for win is perhaps Vladimir Kramnik’s influence on Nepo

There were reports that former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik is helping Ian Nepomniachtchi in his fight against Ding Liren at the 2023 World Chess Championship. While we don’t know if it’s actually true, we can see that Nepo has been playing a lot like Kramnik in the last two Games.Game 11 on Monday was the second consecutive game in which Nepo didn’t really seem to be interested in going for a win. Mind you, this time he was playing with White. (Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Express since the start of the event. You can also read his analysis of Game 10,  Game 9, Game 8, Game 7, Game 6, Game 5, Game 4, Game 3, Game 2, and Game 1.)That begs the question: why should he push for a win? He has a comfortable lead of one ...
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World Chess Championship: Ian Nepomniachtchi remains a point ahead of Ding Liren after Game 11 draw

Game 11 of the World Chess Championship 2023 between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren to determine the 17th World Champion ended in a draw after 39 moves and just after an hour and 40 minutes of play. The score is now 6:5 for Nepomniachtchi, with just three more games left for Ding to mount another comeback in the contest. With just three more games left, the pressure is increasing for both players: Nepomniachtchi needs to maintain course and keep his guard up, while Ding is under increasing pressure to secure a win. Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Express. You can read his analysis of Game 10,  Game 9, Game 8, Game 7, Game 6, Game 5, Game 4, Game 3, Game 2, and Game 1. In the Berlin line of the Ruy Lopez, Nepomniachtch...
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Pravin Thipsay writes: Ian Nepomniachtchi shows good presence of mind to draw with Black

Such an entertaining World Chess Championships, which has seen both players attack, win and defend whenever they have to, could be decided by a single point. Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who leads Ding Liren 5.5-4.5 after 10 games, is probably banking on it. He has his task cut out: he just can’t afford to lose a game. Game 10 on Sunday at the St Regis in Astana, Kazakhstan, was a clear indication that Nepo is not going to go on the offensive when playing with Black pieces. More importantly, he’s prepared to not give Ding any chance of getting that equalising win. This means that Ding will have to come up with something truly extraordinary in order to win. With only four games to go, it seems a Herculean task. (Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Champi...
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World Chess Championship 2023 Game 10 Live: Ding Liren to play white with Ian Nepomniachtchi in one-point lead

After almost six hours and 82 moves, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren agreed to a draw in Game 9. (Photo: FIDE/Stev Bonhage) NO FIREWORKS IN GAME 9 Though Ian Nepomniachtchi has a 5-4 lead in the 14-game match, Ding Liren has three games with White pieces left while Nepo has only two. Ding Liren is quite aware of this. With a point down, he knew he had to defend with Black pieces. He couldn’t afford to lose. And that’s exactly what he did in Game 9 of the World Chess Championships against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Never mind, it took close to six hours. It didn’t matter that it went up to 82 moves. Ding didn’t relent and managed to hold Nepo. Though he’s still trailing by a point with the score at 4-5, the Chinese GM will be relieved that in the remaining five games, he has to play with Whi...
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World Chess Championship heats up with battle on the board, and Vladimir Kramnik rumours off it

As the World Chess Championship heats up, with Game 7 becoming the fourth game in a row to yield a result, Vladimir Kramnik, the last man from Russia to become the World Chess Champion, emerged from the shadows. Allegedly! In the world of chess, rumour has it that Kramnik is part of Ian Nepomniachtchi’s team as the Russian attempts to wrest away the most coveted crown in the sport from China’s Ding Liren. Of course, the omerta that surrounds contenders’ teams at the World Championship means we are unlikely to find out immediately if this is true. But the rumour is strong — and intriguing — enough for it to find mention in FIDE’s official commentary, British chess master Leonard Barden’s column, the C-Squared Podcast (which is co-hosted by Fabiano Caruana), GM Gata Kamsky’s podcast and t...
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World Chess Championship 2023 Game 7 live: It’s even-steven between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren

World Chess Championship 2023: The sixth game of the World Chess Championship match ended with a convincing victory of Ding Liren over Ian Nepomniachtchi, to even the score to 3:3. The game ended after 44 moves and four hours of play. The World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi has already produced four decisive results in just the first six games, something which was last seen in the Korchnoi-Karpov match of 1981 and the legendary 1972 match between Spassky and Fischer. Both players are setting the stage for an unpredictable and exciting fight not seen for a long time in a chess match. My role to bridge gap between computer screen and what a player experiences at the table: Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand is one of the commentators for the World Ch...