Magnus Carlsen (Pic credit: X) World number one Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris, sealing the title in dominant fashion on Monday. Carlsen defeated Hikaru Nakamura 1.5–0.5 in the final, winning the first game and drawing the second to claim the crown without needing a tiebreak.“It felt like I…
Pranav V (Photo Credits: X) NEW DELHI: “Mera ground hai yeh (This is my ground)” — that was all Bengaluru-born cricketer KL Rahul could say, thumping his chest a couple of times after an unbeaten 53-ball 93 that single-handedly turned the tide for Delhi Capitals on Thursday night.With the Capitals reeling at 30 for 3,…
Vincent Keymer and Magnus Carlsen (Photo Credits: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess) NEW DELHI: Viswanathan Anand was expected to headline the opening leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Weissenhaus, Germany, earlier this year.But just days before the event, the five-time world chess champion pulled out.While his withdrawal wasn’t as dramatic as Hans Niemann’s last-minute…
D Gukesh (Photo Credits: Lennart Ootes / Freestyle Chess) NEW DELHI: The preliminary phase of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, hosted in Paris, concluded its eleven-round competition on Tuesday. This stage saw twelve contenders vying for eight available positions in the subsequent knockout phase. The competition was fierce, and the results were closely contested.Ian Nepomniachtchi…
D Gukesh, Viswanathan Anand dance to Bollywood beats (Screengrabs) NEW DELHI: In a moment that took fans by surprise, current world chess champion D Gukesh and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand were seen dancing to popular Bollywood songs at fellow Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi’s wedding. The video, which has since gone viral, shows the usually reserved…
Pranav Venkatesh and his coach GM Shyam Sundar M (@GM_Pranav_V on X) NEW DELHI: The soft thud of a yellow smiley-face sponge ball striking the floor again and again barely disturbed the silence of a five-star hotel room, where 18-year-old Pranav Venkatesh and his coach, GM Shyam Sundar M, were putting up during the Chennai…
Magnus Carlsen (Photo Credit: @FIDE_chess on X) NEW DELHI: Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, a five-time world champion and the current world no. 1 in chess, found himself in an unusual situation involving a pair of jeans and a dress code violation last year. During the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New…
D Gukesh (Photo Credit: Stev Bonhage / Freestyle Chess) NEW DELHI: World champion D Gukesh finished in eighth position at the German leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam after losing to Iranian-French grandmaster Alireza Firouzja in the seventh-place playoff match at Weissenhaus resort on Friday. The tournament proved to be a challenging one for…
Magnus Carlsen (Photo Credit: Freestyle Chess / Lennart Ootes) NEW DELHI: In his column for The Economist last January, Magnus Carlsen, a five-time World Chess champion and the current World No. 1, penned, “As the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour begins, I look forward not only to competing but to witnessing how this format reshapes…
Wei Yi (Photo Credit: Tata Steel Chess 2025) NEW DELHI: Just a few days back, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa made a stunning statement in the Tata Steel Masters by defeating the youngest-ever World Chess Champion to claim the prestigious title, often referred to as the “Wimbledon of Chess,” at Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands.On the sidelines of…
