Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi believes the government’s recent decision to stop cash rewards for attaining GM and International Master titles is “not ideal” for the parents of chess players as such incentives ease the financial strain on them. Starting this month, the sports ministry has eliminated the reward system for chess players, who were earlier receiving Rs four lakh for achieving a Grandmaster title and Rs 1.5 lakh for attaining an International Master or International Women Master (IWM) title. Prize money will now only be given for winning world-level competitions.

“If it is actually the case that it is stopped now, then it’s definitely not something that would demotivate a lot of young children as they don’t care about the money aspect,” Erigaisi told PTI.

“But it is maybe (demotivating) for the parents. When they have to make some financial calls, then what would happen after becoming a Grandmaster would be a question.

“And if there is some motivation like this, then there are more chances that they would encourage their children if they have to make a call between chess and studies. It’s not something ideal.” After a remarkable 2024, in which he became the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to achieve a 2800 ELO rating and won the men’s Olympiad gold, the 21-year-old from Warangal has had a less-than-ideal start to 2025. Erigaisi finished 10th in the recently concluded Tata Steel Chess tournament.

“It was a very good year and I’m happy with the way things went, like with everything basically and this year hasn’t been a good start but I hope to do better in the coming months.” One factor that has contributed to his recent slump is his penchant for taking risks, a style that has also brought him success.

“I was taking too many risks and I should be careful. I will tone it down but it doesn’t mean that I won’t take risks rather I’ll take them less rashly because some of my risks were way too rash which just got punished. So I’ll be taking risks but in a more balanced way.” Although the tournament didn’t pan out the way he wanted it, Ergaisi did sign off from Tata Steel chess on a high — defeating reigning world champion D Gukesh.

His victory against Gukesh brought R Praggnanandhaa into the equation, who eventually went on to win the tournament.

Praggnanandhaa later joked that he would get a gift for Erigaisi and true to his word, he brought him his favourite chips.

“He brought me paprika flavoured Pringles. It’s my favourite flavour and once I was looking for it at some airport and he was there with me and I couldn’t find it. He remembered it and we bought it there,” Erigiasi said with a smile on his face.

Erigiasi dropped as many as 29 rating points in 10 days when he struggled to win games in the Tata Steel event but the youngster is not bothered about his declining rating.

“I don’t care about rating points much, it’s about mainly trying to qualify for the Candidates. And of course no one likes to lose ratings.” The 21-year-old is keen to take part in the Norway Chess tournament as it gives him the opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen and world number two and three Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura in the classical format.

“I’m very much looking forward to it. Magnus, I played him last in Classical in 2023 so it’s been a long time.

“And Hikaro I’ve played only once (in classical). And Fabi also, realistically I played only once. So most of these top players I haven’t played them that many times in Classical. So I’m quite looking forward to it,” he added.

World champion D Gukesh and Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa lost on a dramatic final day but still set up a tie-breaker at the end of the 13th and final round of the Tata Steel Chess tournament here on Sunday. Gukesh lost his first game as the world champion, bowing to some energetic play by compatriot Arjun Erigaisi while Praggnanandhaa went down against Vincent Keymer, whose technique was impeccable on the final day. Interestingly enough, the chess buffs were reminded of the 2013 Candidates tournament where Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia were leading together but both lost.

Carlsen won on tie-break and went on to beat Viswanathan Anand to be crowned the world champion for the first time.

Despite the loss, Praggnanandhaa will play tie-break games of shorter duration against Gukesh after the two ended with identical 8.5 points each. The other contender Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan was denied the full point by P Harikrishna, who played a hard fought draw.

In the tiebreaker, the players will play two games of three minutes each with a two seconds increment after every move. If the result is still tied then sudden-death games will be played until a winner is found.

Gukesh’s ambition to play out of the rule book did not pay dividends as Erigaisi, playing black, was up to the task in a Petroff defense game. Both players castled on opposite flanks and the dynamics turned in Erigaisi’s favour as he opened up the king side before his king came under serious scrutiny.

Gukesh tried some tricks but it was simply not his day. To Erigaisi’s credit, he turned a forgettable performance into something really worthwhile by winning the last two rounds. In the 12th and penultimate round, Erigaisi had beaten Abdusattorov.

Praggnanandhaa went for the Caro-Kann defense as black and equalised in the ensuing middle game. However, Keymer found his chances once Praggnanandhaa had his Bishop tied down to the defense of his own pawns.

With Bishops of opposite colour on board in a queen and minor piece endgame, Praggnanandhaa had to defend very accurately but it’s never easy with the clock ticking away.

It was on the 43rd move that Praggnanandhaa blundered but Keymer could not find the finishing blow. However, the pressure kept on becoming intense and finally Praggnanandhaa made the decisive error, leading to a trade of the knights.

Keymer blundered again in the game of fluctuating fortunes and it was a near heartbreak for Praggnanandhaa as he failed to find the path to a draw. Another blundered by Praggnanandhaa on the 76th move gave Keymer a full point four moves later.

In the Challengers’ section, R Vaishali ended the hopes of Erwin L’Ami of Holland with a fine victory with white pieces, while Divya Deshmukh played out a draw with Dutchman Arthur Pijpers.

Nguyen Thai Dai Van of the Czech Republic and Ayden Suleymanli of Azerbaijan tied for the top spot on 9.5 points each.

Vaishali finished her event on six points, while Divya ended on 3.5 points.

Results (final round)

Masters: D Gukesh (Ind, 8.5.) lost to Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 5.5); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 6) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 8.5); Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 7.5) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 7); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 6) lost to Max Warmerdam (Ned, 4.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 7) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 5.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 6) drew with Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 5); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 8) drew with P Harikrishna (Ind, 6).

Challengers: Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 5.5) lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 8); Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 7.5) beat Oro Faustino (Arg, 3.5); R Vaishali (Ind, 6) beat Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 8.5); Svane Frederik (Ger, 7.5) drew with Ediz Gurel (Tur, 7.5); Irina Bulmaga (Rom, 1) lost to Aydin Suleymanli (Aze, 9.5); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 8) lost to Nguyen Thai Dai Vam (Cze, 9.5); Arthur Pijpers (Ned, 5.5) drew with Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 3.5). 

World Champion D Gukesh played out a draw with Jorden van Foreest of Holland, while Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana of Serbia as the two Indians shared the lead after a thrilling day at the Tata Steel Masters. Praggnanandhaa notched up his third consecutive win to take his tally to a commendable 8.5 points, same as his compatriot Gukesh after the 12th and penultimate round. The two Indians are now poised for an exciting finish in the prestigious tournament, with the remarkable prospect of one of them potentially clinching the title—a first in Tata Steel Masters history.

Eying the top spot after the 11th round, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan was outdone by Arjun Erigaisi and is all but out of title contention on 7.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa was involved in another Queen’s gambit declined opening. Only this time he was playing with white pieces.

It was quite a contrast from his previous round game against Caruana as Sarana went for an early advance of king side pawns and then castled on the queen side. It was time to launch an attack against the black king and Praggnanandhaa did not disappoint.

In tactical complications, Praggnanandhaa was at his best as he sacrificed a piece to rip-apart the black’s king position and what followed thereafter was a pleasure to watch.

“At that point I realized it could be a long game, but then I saw this piece sacrifice,” said Pragg after the game.

The game ended through a queen sacrifice resulting in force checkmate.

Gukesh played a game of fluctuating fortunes against Foreest, who has the ability to play the spoiler on any given day.

Foreest declared his peaceful intentions early in the Queen pawn game as white when he appeared ready for a repetition. However, Gukesh declined the offer and the game was still equal with many pieces on board.

Foreest sacrificed a Rook for a knight but on the 39th move Gukesh returned the favour with his clock ticking away. It was a won position for Gukesh but precise calculation was needed and it was right here that the Indian faltered allowing his opponent a huge comeback.

Foreest had suddenly turned the tables down but did not quite realise it and decided to go for perpetual checks in the heavy piece endgame.

Arjun Erigaisi finally proved his mettle against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, whose ambitions of claiming the top spot came to an end. The game featured a Nimzo-Indian Defense, wherein the Indian had white pieces and his choice of Capablanca variation gave little chances for Abdusattorov to disturb the balance.

In the early middle game, Abdusattorov went for unwarranted complications and ended up blundering on the king side. Arjun won a pawn first and later won two bishops for a rook. With precise calculations he wrapped up the issue.

In other games, Leon Luke Mendonca shared the point with top seed Fabiano Caruana of United States, while P Harikrishna drew with Vincent Keymer of Germany.

The finale could be exciting as Gukesh is up against a resurgent Arjun, while Praggnanandhaa has to tackle Keymer. In case of a drawn result on both boards, the play-off of shorter duration game will decide the winner.

In the challengers’ section, R Vasihali lost to Ediz Gurel of Turkey to remain on five points and Divya Deshmukh was on the receiving end against Benjamin Bok of Holland.

It’s a three-way lead in this section with Aydin Suleymanli of Azerbaijan and Nguyen Thai Dai Vam of Czech republic joining overnight leader Erwin L’ami in pole position on 8.5 points.

World champion D Gukesh maintained his half-point lead with an easy draw against Wei Yi of China, while R Praggnanandhaa outwitted top seed Fabiano Caruana of the United States to come within striking distance of the leader after the 11th round of Tata Steel Masters here. Playing the white side of an Italian game, Gukesh went for a relatively new plan by pushing his central pawn in the opening that just helped Wei Yi maintain parity after the trade of queens. The Indian was up a pawn when the endgame surfaced but the position was level and the peace was signed in 30 moves.

The draw helped Gukesh jump to eight points out of a possible 11 in the first major tournament of the year, while Praggnanandhaa stunned Caruana with black pieces to move to 7.5 points. Sharing the second spot is Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, who played out a draw with German Vincent Keymer.

It was a Queen’s gambit declined by Praggnanandhaa and Caruana went for one of the complex variations to show his intent after getting some mediocre results in the tournament thus far.

Praggnanandhaa has seldom had trouble fighting complicated positions with loads of tactical possibilities, and Friday was no different as he went for an attack quickly against the white queen after the players had castled on opposite wings.

As it happened, Caruana’s 32nd move was a huge blunder giving Praggnanandhaa another victory five moves later.

On a good day for other Indians too, P Harikrishna accounted for Alexey Sarana of Serbia while Leon Luke Mendonca put it across Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia. Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, played out another draw with Jorden van Foreest of Holland.

In the penultimate round now, Gukesh is set to meet Foreest with black pieces and chess buffs expect some fireworks as the world champion will be keen to push ahead of the field.

Praggnanandhaa will play his last white game in the tournament against Sarana while Nodirbek has to play another black against Erigaisi, who is yet to win a game having lost four and drawn seven.

In the Challengers’ section, Divya Deshmukh got a much-needed victory over Irina Bulmaga of Romania but R Vaishali found the going tough and lost to Aydin Suleymanli of Azerbaijan. Divya, on three points, still has a lot of catching up to do while Vaishali remained on five points.

Meanwhile, Dutchman Erwin L’Ami regained the sole lead in this section after a finely-crafted victory over Chinese teenager Mioyi Lu. L’Ami, on eight points, benefitted as the overnight sole leader Nguyen Thai Dai Van was outdone by Svane Frederik of Germany.

Results Round 11:

Masters: Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 4.5) drew with Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 3.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 8) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 6); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5.5) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 7.5); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 4.5) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 7.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 6) beat Max Warmerdam (Ned, 3.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 5) lost to P Harikrishna (Ind, 5.5); Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 6) lost to Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 4).

Challengers: Oro Faustino (Arg, 2.5) lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 6); Lu Miaoyi (Chn, 5.5) lost to Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 8); Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 6) drew with Ediz Gurel (Tur, 6); R Vaishali (Ind, 5) lost to Aydin Suleymanli (Aze, 7.5); Svane Fredrik (Ger, 7) beat Nguyen Thai Dai Vam (Cze, 7.5); Irina Bulmaga (Rom, 1) lost to Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 3); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 7) drew with Arthur Pijpers (Ned, 5).

Uzbekistan’s Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev triggered a huge controversy after deciding to snub a handshake offer by Indian chess star Vaishali, who is also the sister of R Praggnanandhaa. As soon as the video of the handshake snub surfaced on social media, the Uzbek GM’s act saw him court plenty of criticism. Some even reminded him of his match against another Indian chess star Divya Deshmukh in 2023, where Yakubboev had shaken hands with his opponent. As the controversy spiralled on, Yakubboev decided to issue an apology and also a clarification.

A video circulating on social media showed Vaishali extending her hand before the start of a fourth-round match against Yakubboev. However, Yakubboev sits down after turning down her gesture, leaving the Indian player visibly uncomfortable.

Once the video went viral, Yakubboev posted a response on ‘X’ saying, “I want to explain the situation that happened in the game with Vaishali. With all due respect to women and Indian chess players, I want to inform everyone that I do not touch other women for religious reasons.”

“I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behaviour, I apologise.

“I have some additional explanations: 1) Chess is not haram. 2) What I did before (referring to the game with Divya in 2023 and cases like that) I consider it wrong for me. 3) I do what I need to do. I do not insist others not to shake hands with the opposite gender or for women to wear hijab or burqa. It is their business what to do,” he explained.

Uzbekistan, Nodirbek Yakubboev refused to shake hands with Vaishali at Tata Steel Chess due to religious reasons.

He had earlier shaken hands with Indian Player like Divya Deshmukh during 2023

Anyways, Vaishali has defeated Nodirbek in the same game!!

 pic.twitter.com/nx74UirE1g

— Sumit (@SumitHansd) January 27, 2025

To prevent a similar situation in the eighth-round match against Romania’s Irina Bulmaga, Yakubboev said that he informed her beforehand about his religious beliefs.

“Today I told Irina Bulmaga about it. She agreed to it. But when I came to the playing hall, the arbiters told me that I should at least do Namaste as a gesture. In the games with Divya and Vaishali I couldn’t tell them about it before the game and there was an awkward situation,” he added.

The 23-year-old lost the match against Vashali, who did not offer a handshake after beating the Uzbek player. The Uzbek, however, won against Bulmaga in the eighth round and is currently on four points after eight rounds in the Challengers’ section.

Vaishali, on the other hand, is in sixth with 4.5 points after a draw with Dutch player Arthur Pijpers in the eighth rounds.

With IANS Inputs

Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev’s refusal to shake hands with Indian GM R Vaishali stirred up a controversy at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament before the Uzbek apologised, saying that he meant no disrespect and didn’t respond to the gesture because of “religious reasons”. In a video shared by ChessBase India on social media, Vaishali can be seen extending her hand before the start of a fourth-round contest against Yakubboev, who sat down without responding to it, leaving the Indian visibly awkward.

Yakubboev, 23, who became a GM in 2019, lost the match and is currently on three points after eight rounds in the Challengers’ section.

Once the short video went viral, Yakubboev posted a lengthy response on ‘X’ saying, he had all the respect for Vaishali and her younger brother R. Praggnanandhaa but he “does not touch other women due to religious reasons.”

“I want to explain the situation that happened in the game with Vaishali. With all due respect to women and Indian chess players, I want to inform everyone that I do not touch other women for religious reasons,” wrote Yakubboev, who is a practising Muslim.

3) 2. What I did before (referring to the game with Divya in 2023 and cases like that) I consider it wrong for me.

3. I do what I need to do. I do not insist others not to shake hands with the opposite gender or for women to wear hijab or burqa. It is their business what to do.

— Nodirbek Yakubboev (@NodirbekYakubb1) January 26, 2025

Vaishali did not offer her hand after beating the Uzbek player. The Indian is on four points after eight rounds with five more to go.

“I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologise. I have some additional explanations: 1. Chess is not haram,” Yakubboev wrote.

“I do what I need to do. I do not insist others not to shake hands with the opposite gender or for women to wear hijab or burqa. It is their business what to do,” he explained.

A renowned Uzbek chess Grandmaster, Nodirbek, refused to shake hands with India’s Women’s Grandmaster Vaishali.

Does religion influence sports? However, he was seen shaking hands with other female players earlier. pic.twitter.com/fGR61wvwUP

— Ayushh (@ayushh_it_is) January 27, 2025

Yakubboev said that in order to avoid such a situation in the eighth-round game against Romania’s Irina Bulmaga, he informed her in advance about his religious beliefs.

“Today (Sunday) I told Irina Bulmaga about it. She agreed to it. But when I came to the playing hall, the arbiters told me that I should at least do Namaste as a gesture. In the games with Divya and Vaishali I couldn’t tell them about it before the game and there was an awkward situation,” he added.

Another Uzbek player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is playing in the ‘Open’ section of the tournament.

World Champion D Gukesh got lucky and came back from a tough position to beat Anish Giri of Holland in the first round of the Tata Steel Masters now underway. Receiving his Khel Ratna on Friday and then taking a flight to Amsterdam, Gukesh reached here barely hours before the start of the first round. That probably had its toll on the young Indian but he got into top gear when it mattered the most. The game was almost looking lost when Gukesh found moves that left Giri with some difficult choices and the Dutchman found all but the final winning move.

It was an eventful first round with three decisive games and making the most of his white pieces was P Harikrishna who crashed through the defenses of compatriot world number four Arjun Erigaisi.

Leon Luke Mendonca let a nearly won position slip out of hand as he made several errors that gave German Vincent Keymer a winning start while R Praggnanandhaa put up a stiff resistance against Nodirbek Abdusattorov to draw eventually.

The other games of the first round also ended in draws. Defending champion Wei Yi of China played out a draw with top seed Fabiano Caruana of United States, Max Warmerdam of Holland shared the point with Alexey Sarana of Serbia while another Dutchman Jorden van Foreest drew with Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia.

In the challengers’ section R Vaishali got off to a winning start against World’s youngest International Master Oro Faustino of Argentina but Divya Deshmukh went down to higher ranked Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan.

Gukesh started off with the Catalan opening as white and went for complications at the first opportunity in the middle game by sacrificing a knight for two pawns. Giri had to find some correct moves and he parted with his rook for another minor piece to gain the upper hand.

For Giri things could not have been better as Gukesh was left with under a minute on his clock to make 14 moves with a thirty seconds increment after each move.

As it happened in the game, Gukesh was on three occasions left with barely a few seconds on his clock but hung in there. After 33 moves Gukesh was hopelessly lost but Giri blundered two moves later to hand the full point on a platter. Gukesh won in 42 moves.

Harikrishna was surprised as Arjun went for the Sicilian Dragon as black but found his way once Arjun decided to part with his queen for two rooks. The technicalities remained but that is Harikrishna’s forte and he did not disappoint his fans. The game lasted 63 moves.

Leon Luke Mendonca almost outplayed Vincent Keymer and had an extra pawn as white out of a King pawn game. However, in a bizarre turn of events, Mendonca first let his advantage slip and finally a blackout happened for the Indian as he walked in to a checkmate web.

Vaishali was at the top of her game against 11-years old Oro Faustino who played white. In the middle game Vaishali gave a piece for three pawns and did not look back.

Pairings round 1 Masters: D Gukesh (Ind) beat Anish Giri (Ned); P Harikrishna (Ind) beat Arjun Erigaisi (Ind); Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind) lost to Vincent Keymer (Ger); R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb); Wei Yi (Chn) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa); Max Warmerdam (Ned) drew with Alexey Sarana (Srb); Jorden van Foreest (Ned) drew with Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo).

Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (Ind) lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb); Oro Faustino (Arg) lost to R Vaishali (Ind); Nguyen Thai van Dam (Cze) beat Arthur Pijpers (Ned); Aydin Sulemanli (Aze) drew with Benjamin Bok (Ned); Ediz Gurez (Tur) beat Irina Bulmaga (Rom); Erwin L’Ami (Ned) drew with Frederic Svane (Ger); Mioyi Lu (Chn) beat Nodirbek Kazybek (Kaz). 

Manu Bhaker and D Gukesh provided a sprinkling of stardust but it was the para-athletes who walked away with the most boisterous applause when President Droupadi Murmu bestowed the National Sports Awards in a regal ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. Double Olympic-medallist Bhaker, 18-year-old chess world champion Gukesh, men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar were presented the country’s highest sporting honour — the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.

The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August last year.

Harmanpreet was a part of the national sides that won bronze medals in the Tokyo as well as Paris Olympics. Praveen, on the other hand, upgraded his silver at the Japanese capital to a gold in Paris. He was born with a short left leg.

The 18-year-old Gukesh was crowned the youngest ever chess world champion after he beat China’s Ding Liren last month. He is only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to achieve this title.

He was also a crucial factor in India winning the men’s gold in the Chess Olympiad in September last.

Thirty-two athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which an unprecedented 17 were para-athletes.

The athletes selected for the Arjuna award included Paris Olympics bronze medal-winning group of wrestler Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh (Bhaker’s partner in the 10m air pistol mixed competition of Olympics) and the men’s hockey team players Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay and Abhishek.

The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.

President Murmu repeatedly broke from tradition to receive some wheelchair-bound athletes such as Pranav Soorma, who got the Arjuna for his Paralympic silver in club throw.

Petkar draws loudest applause

The most heartwarming moment of the ceremony was when India’s first Paralympic gold-medallist Murlikant Petkar walked up to the President on crutches to receive the Arjuna award (lifetime).

The 80-year-old war hero, who was disabled waist down due to bullet wounds sustained during the 1965 battle against Pakistan, was originally a boxer but turned to para-swimming. He persevered to win a historic gold medal in the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg.

The veteran was welcomed with a rapturous applause that did not stop till he was seated back after collecting the award from the President.

One among those clapping for him at the Durbar Hall was actor Kartik Aryan, who played Petkar in a recent biopic titled ‘Chandu Champion’.

Dignitaries, including sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, parliamentary and minority affairs minister Kiren Rijuju, sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, were among those who attended the ceremony that lasted a little over an hour.

While the Khel Ratna comes with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards include a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

The Arjuna Awards are given to sportspersons who have demonstrated good performance over the past four years and have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline.

The annual honours are decided by a points system in which the maximum emphasis is on performances delivered at the Olympics and the World Championships.

The award-winners (2024 awards):

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: D Gukesh (Chess),Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics), Manu Bhaker (Shooting).

Arjuna Awards: Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Saweety (Boxing), Vantika Agrawal (Chess), Salima Tete (Hockey), Abhishek (Hockey), Sanjay (Hockey), Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Sukhjeet Singh (Hockey), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting), Sarabjot Singh (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Sajan Prakash (Swimming), Aman (Wrestling).

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime): Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).

Dronacharya Award: Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey, S Muralidharan (Badminton), Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Physical Education Foundation of India Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for top-performing university in the Khelo India University Games: Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University.

India’s top-ranked female chess player, Koneru Humpy, will return to compete in Norway Chess Women 2025. Currently ranked World No.6 in women’s classical chess, Humpy aims to make her mark in the prestigious chess tournament. Humpy’s return to Norway Chess Women highlights her remarkable career, filled with significant milestones. In 2002, she became the first Indian woman to achieve the Grandmaster title, securing her place in chess history. Today, she remains India’s No.1 in women’s chess and a respected figure worldwide.

Her achievements include winning the World Rapid Championship title twice–in 2019 and 2024. She was also named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year in 2020, recognizing her contributions to Indian sports. Her victories in the Olympiad, Asian Games, and Asian Championships have further confirmed her status as one of the top female players in chess.

Norway Chess 2025 will give Humpy the opportunity to demonstrate her skills once again. As one of only two female players in chess history to cross the 2600 rating mark, she has consistently broken barriers and paved the way for women’s chess. Her participation this year reflects her determination and drive to compete at the highest level.

“It’s an honour to play in the prestigious Norway Chess Women tournament,” said Humpy Koneru, as per a release from Norway Chess.

When asked to describe herself, she chose the word “self-disciplined,” a quality that defines her approach to chess and her rise to the top. This discipline has helped her remain focused, consistent, and resilient, even against tough opponents.

Humpy’s participation in global tournaments continues to inspire aspiring chess players, particularly young women in India and around the world. Her journey is a testament to how determination and discipline can lead to extraordinary success.

“Humpy’s achievements speak volumes, and we are delighted to welcome her back to Norway Chess Women 2025,” said Kjell Madland, Founder and Tournament Director of Norway Chess.

Humpy Koneru’s return to Norway Chess Women is highly anticipated. With her proven track record, and being no. 3 of the highest rated female players in Norway Chess Women 2025, she is a strong contender for the title.

Norway Chess is one of the world’s premier chess tournaments, bringing together the top male and female players in a distinctive 6-player double round-robin format. The introduction of Norway Chess Women in 2024, with equal prize funds for men and women, underscores the event’s commitment to gender equality and innovation in the sport. Norway Chess 2025 will take place from May 26 to 6 June.