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Sports

Four years into Soviet-style chess academy, Anand’s students shine bright: ‘Always available for them’

Back in December 2020, when India’s first Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand started his chess academy, he had a modest dream: someone had “to carry the torch forward”. Three years later, the torch is shining bright, with a queue of contenders ready to take on the mantle.Three students from the online WestBridge Anand Chess Academy’s (WACA) first batch — D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and his sister R Vaishali — have qualified for the upcoming Candidates tournament, a prestigious event to figure out the challenger to the reigning world champion. Other promising prodigies at Anand’s academy are Nihal Sarin, Arjun Erigaisi, Raunak Sadhwani and Leon Luke Mendonca. While Arjun is no longer categorised as a junior player, Nihal, Raunak and Leon are — along with Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh — among the T...
Sports

Fresh complaints at FIDE Rapid and Blitz: Woman player fined 100 euros for sports shoes; Nihal Sarin made to wait 3 hours, gives urine samples thrice

FIDE’s ongoing World Rapid and Blitz Championships has run into fresh controversies after more players complained on social media about various issues. This comes just days after some of the top grandmasters like Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier Lagrave and Pentala Harikrishna complained about former World Champion Magnus Carsen being provided additional facilities like a private lounge between games at the event in Samarkand. Indian teenage prodigy Nihal Sarin complained that he was made to wait for three hours and had to give three urine samples to FIDE’s dope testers after his event ended on Thursday. Meanwhile, Anna-Maja Kazarian, a Dutch chess player and popular streamer, said she was fined 100 euros by FIDE, the world governing body for the sport, for wearing w...
Sports

D Gukesh: ‘Used to handling expectations… have high expectations off myself’

It’s been a few days since R Praggnanandhaa declared that he felt that he has the potential to be a world champion someday. It was a bold declaration, one that even veterans would hesitate to make. So it was only natural that when D Gukesh, another history-making teenage prodigy, fielded questions from the media on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Chess India on Thursday, he was asked if he felt he could be a world champ someday too. “If I didn’t think so (that I don’t have the potential), it would be quite bad. I surely have trust in myself. If I do all the right things, I surely can make it,” says the 17-year-old, who earlier this month overtook Viswanathan Anand as India No. 1 after 37 years. It was a moment that felt like it started a new era in Indian chess: the age of teenaged prod...
Sports

What lies ahead for Praggnanandhaa and pack?

India’s 18-year-old Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa created history by becoming the youngest player to reach the final of a FIDE World Cup earlier this week. He may have lost the final to World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in tiebreakers, but it was undoubtedly his best-ever performance at a major tournament.It was also a breakthrough tournament for India’s ‘Golden Era’ of chess prodigies, with four of them making it to the quarterfinals.Winning the World Cup would’ve been a sensational result for Praggnanandhaa but by just making it to the final, he’s done what no other Indian since five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has managed to do — secure a spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. What level is the World Cup? The World Cup term may seem like it’s the highest tournament for chess playe...
Sports

FIDE World Cup, Round 4: Carlsen loses to 18-year-old Keymer in Game 1, Pragg holds Nakamura to a draw

Magnus Carlsen endured a defeat to young Vincent Keymer to leave his FIDE World Cup campaign tethering on the brink. the world no 1 and five-time world champion has famously never won the FIDE World Cup. The 18-year-old German had never beaten Carlsen in a classical game before today. Carlsen now will need to win the reverse game on Thursday, which will then force the encounter into a tiebreak. Carlsen will be hoping to avoid the fate of other favoured players like Anish Giri (who was knocked out by Nijat Abasov) and Teimour Radjabov (who lost to Jaime Santos). Meanwhile, India’s quartet of teenage grandmasters did not manage a win on Wednesday, but they had admirable results. Particularly impressive were R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. While Praggnanandhaa (playing with black pieces)...
Sports

Gukesh is spearheading India’s rise: Anand on the teenager overtaking him in FIDE ranking | Chess News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Describing it as a "historic" accomplishment, chess legend Viswanathan Anand praised 17-year-old Grandmaster D Gukesh for becoming the highest-rated Indian player in FIDE rankings.Anand acknowledged that Gukesh's achievement is not only remarkable but also a testament to the teenager's significant role in spearheading India's rise in the world of chess.In a momentous turn of events on Tuesday, Gukesh secured a victory over Azerbaijan's Misratdin Iskandarov in the second round match of the World Cup in Baku. This win propelled him past his idol, Anand, in live world (FIDE) rankings, solidifying Gukesh's position as the highest-rated Indian player in the global chess arena."Obviously, it is a historic day for Indian chess, what Gukesh has achieved. Even though I have been semi-...
Sports

GM Srinath Narayanan: There’s a consensus in world of chess that India is a superpower

In 2017, when Srinath Narayanan became a Grandmaster, only 45 Indians had managed to reach that level. Just six years later, that number is very close to doubling. Srinath’s role in Indian chess too has evolved. At the Chess Olympiad last year, he was captain of the India A team. He is also the trainer of Nihal Sarin, one of India’s most promising teenage Grandmasters. Currently in Dubai as the manager of the upGrad Mumba Masters team, he spoke to The Indian Express about how the Global Chess League will benefit Indian chess, how he has drawn ideas from the Indian chess team to make the GCL outfit gel together, and what India must do in the coming years to capitalise on the crop of young players. Excerpts: In GCL, teams that play with black get one more point for wins. How much pressure...