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

File photo of R Praggnanandhaa.© FIDE

Indian chess has been on the upward trajectory for the past two years or so, but no one can deny that 2024 has been a year where the sport took a quantum leap. The year kicked-off with Candidates tournament in Toronto, Canada where five Indians made the cut in the open field despite the tricky qualification demands of the competition. Only eight qualify for the Candidates. While D Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi made the cut in the eight-man line-up, Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu were part of the eight-women category.

In the men’s category, Gukesh earned his shot at challenging Ding Liren for the world title, overcoming several challenges despite the presence of veterans like Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. He became the youngest-ever to win a shot at the world title.

However, this was just the start of what turned out to be an unprecedented year for Indian chess. With over 180 nations participating in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the Indian contingent won open team golds in both men’s and women’s category. 

India also won four individual golds to clinch most medals on offer – Gukesh (Board 1) and Arjun Erigaisi (Board 3) in open category, while Divya Deshmukh (Board 4) and Vantika Agrawal (Board 4) in women’s category.

Just like Gukesh, Erigaisi too peaked in 2024. After missing out on the candidates, he became only the second Indian after five-time champion Viswanathan Anand, and 16th overall, to achieve the gold-standard ELO rating of 2800. He was on 2801 rating point as per the latest update, and also achieved his peak ranking of no. 3.

Divya Deshmukh too had a momentous 2024 as she won the girl’s title at the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship in Gandhinagar. She is also knocking on the door to become only the fourth woman from the country to earn the title of Grandmaster.

And to top all that, Gukesh made the most of his classical world title shot, beating defending champion Ding Liren to triumph. Gukesh beat Ding in the 14-game tie in Singapore, becoming the youngest-ever world champion. His triumph also meant that India got its second world champions after Vishy.

After Gukesh’s triumph, chess legend Garry Kasparov, who was the previous youngest world champion, brilliantly summed up India’s sudden rise in chess.

“Gukesh’s victory caps a phenomenal year for India. Combined with their Olympiad dominance, chess has returned to its cradle and the era of ‘Vishy’s children’ is truly upon us!” Kasparov highlighted while congratulating Gukesh on breaking his record.

The 8th edition of the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon, a prestigious running event, will be flagged off by chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on November 24. The marathon will start and end at the Sabarmati Riverfront Sports Park, managed and operated by Adani Sportsline. Praggnanandhaa will be joined by athlete-actor Saiyami Kher at the event. The participating categories include the full marathon (42.195 km), half marathon (21.097 km), 10 km run, and 5 km run.

The Adani Ahmedabad Marathon, accredited by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, underwent a course change for the first time in 2023, and this will be the second edition on a picturesque track along iconic locations like Gandhi Ashram, Atal Bridge, and Ellis Bridge. Last year’s event saw over 22,000 participants.

As part of the “#Run4OurSoldiers” campaign, the marathon honours India’s armed forces, with a significant portion of the proceeds dedicated to their welfare. Last year, over 2,500 defense personnel took part in the event, highlighting a strong connection between the sporting community and the armed forces.

“Being the only marathon dedicated to soldiers through the #Run4OurSoldiers initiative has made the Ahmedabad Marathon truly special. Since its inception in 2017, it has quickly become one of India’s most awaited marathon races,” said Pranav Adani, Director, Adani Enterprises.

“I’m excited to be part of the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon. Like in chess, a marathon requires strategy, determination, and the will to push beyond your limits. This event not only promotes fitness but also supports our armed forces, making it even more meaningful,” said R Praggnanandhaa, ranked 12th in the world by the International Chess Federation.

“The Adani Ahmedabad Marathon has become one of the most talked-about events on the running calendar, and it’s a great honor to be associated with it,” said Saiyami Kher, the first Indian actor to finish the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Germany in September 2024.

–IANS

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Uzbekistan’s young grandmaster Abdusattorov Nodirbek emerged sole leader.© FIDE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi observed a game of bullet chess between two members of India’s 45th Chess Olympiad-winning team, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, during a visit by the Indian men’s and women’s chess teams to his residence on Wednesday. In the recently concluded Chess Olympiad, India’s men’s and women’s teams made history by securing gold medals for the first time in their respective categories, joining the elite ranks of countries to have achieved a double gold in the same edition of the competition. Following this remarkable achievement, PM Modi met the Indian men’s and women’s chess teams at his residence on Wednesday to celebrate their success at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad.

The Prime Minister shared a video on his official social media of Praggnanandhaa and Arjun playing bullet chess, captioning it: “Bullet Chess by two Grandmasters. Incredible! India’s chess future is very bright.”

Bullet Chess Showdown!@rpraggnachess vs @ArjunErigaisi – Who wins?https://t.co/Ov52o4mogW pic.twitter.com/DIPl4yOpXJ

— narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) September 25, 2024

In the men’s competition, the USA secured second place, with Uzbekistan winning bronze. In the women’s competition, Kazakhstan claimed the silver medal, and the USA took bronze.

In the final round of the tournament, the Indian men’s team–comprising D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna–defeated Slovenia to clinch the gold medal. Victories from Gukesh and Arjun gave India a 2-0 lead, securing the gold. Praggnanandhaa later won his game, and Vidit drew his, resulting in a 3.5-0.5 win for India.

Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team–featuring Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev–also won gold after beating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. Harika, Divya, and Vantika won their respective matches in the final round, while Vaishali drew her game against Ulviyya Fataliyeva.

Fresh from his exploits in India’s first-ever title-winning campaign at the Chess Olympiad, Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi has decided against defending his crown at the 10th Vugar Gashimov Memorial Chess Super Tournament in Azerbaijan for an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday. Gujrathi had won the Azerbaijan event last year after outperforming compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.

He was a part of the Indian men’s team, which also included D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun, that won a historic Chess Olympiad gold in the Open category.

Gujrathi took to ‘X’, formerly twitter, to inform that he reached Baku for the event but decided to return to India to meet Modi on learning about the felicitation function.

“I reached Baku and I got to know our Hon’ble PM wants to felicitate the Indian team. I was overjoyed when I heard this and I wanted to be a part of it. It’s amazing at how such short notice he is taking out time for us,” Gujrathi wrote on ‘X’.

Gujrathi, 29, has been replaced by Aravindh Chithambaram for the event to be held from September 25-30.

“I contacted Sarkhan Gashimov (organiser) and he understood my sentiments. Big thanks to him! Wishing Aravindh the best to play against top players in this prestigious event,” Gujrathi wrote.

After winning the Chess Olympiad 2024, Vidit Gujrathi, a member of India’s victorious men’s squad, remarked that the golden era of chess has just begun for his country.

India delivered a remarkable performance at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, securing gold medals in both the men’s and women’s events on Sunday.

“We can call it a golden era for Indian chess, as gold has been won. The same team competed in the Asian Games, but I think everyone has stepped up their game over the past year. We were winning by significant margins, and it was a dominant performance,” Vidit said while speaking to ANI.

The chess player also addressed the incident where he missed shaking hands with his opponent, Levon Aronian.

“I have a routine of meditating before every match, which helps me stay focused and perform better. I was busy with that, which is why I missed shaking hands with him. When I opened my eyes, I then shook hands with him,” the 29-year-old explained.

With ANI inputs