Ireland confirms squad for T20 World Cup European Qualifier
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Divya Deshmukh to play in Open section at FIDE Grand Swiss 2025
Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh confirmed on Friday that she will be playing in the Open section at the upcoming FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament which will begin on September 3. 'So, the news I posted yesterday about was that I will be participating in the open Grand Swiss this year,' the 19-year-old posted on her Instagram story. Divya recently played the Women's Speed Chess Championship — her first tournament since a historic triumph at the FIDE World Cup — where she went down fighting against World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the quarterfinals. Other top Indian players involved in the Open section include World Champion D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Nihal Sarin. In the women's section, 2025 World Cup runner-up Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali will be taking part amongst Indians. Aleksandra Goryachkina will also be competing in the Open category after Divya and the Russian player requested wild cards. The tournament is also a qualifier for the FIDE Women's Candidates, but neither will have to sweat about that since they have already booked their spots. International Master and leading chess commentator Tania Sachdev recently suggested that women chess players should try to play more Open tournaments to improve themselves, while also arguing that women-specific titles shouldn't be done away with. 'I feel like young girls should play in as many open tournaments as possible. They should train and compete against men and not focus only on women-only tournaments. But I also feel that there is no need to take away women's titles. Because, for many players, that is an aspiration, encouraging young girls to take up the sport. [Doing that] will take away an entire generation of chess players,' said Sachdev, who was on commentary duty at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Breaking into top-10 extra special: Keymer
Vincent Keymer Chennai: Moments after capping off his Chennai Grand Masters campaign with an impressive final-round win over Ray Robson, champion Vincent Keymer was surrounded by many children who were eager for photos and autographs here on Friday. The 20-year-old from Germany, already a crowd favourite, obliged each one with a smile. En route his triumph, he also broke into the world's top-10 in the live ratings for the first time. In an interaction with TOI, Keymer said the trophy is special, but breaking into the top-10 is a milestone he would cherish more. He also spoke about the challenges of being a professional chess player in his home country and more. Excerpts: On the Chennai GM win and whether he expected to go the distance: It has been a great tournament and finishing it with a win is special. Winning 9/9 would have been a bit too good of a tournament. Because this tournament is difficult and even going to a plus score is also difficult, a 7 out of 9 result is a really fantastic one. In terms of classical chess, this is certainly one of my biggest assets. If you go to a tournament where you're the underdog, you want to win. On why he considers himself as an underdog: Not exactly, but Arjun (Erigaisi) had the highest rating and after him, there's Anish (Giri), Vidit (Gujrathi), and then me, we had more or less similar ratings. On what was more special, winning the event or breaking into top-10: This win is special because it's the strongest classical tournament that I have won, but breaking into top-10 is more special. On how this win will help him in the World Cup, scheduled in India later this year: I've been to India a few times. I don't think the conditions will bother me so much. But of course, it will be a nice feeling having played such a good tournament the last time I've been in India. I think it will leave me going to the World Cup with a pretty good feeling. On the Candidates race: I will look at the standings. Pragg (R Praggnanandhaa leads the FIDE circuit board), he kind of won so many top events and is leading by a big margin. Of course, I will try the other routes. I mean, it's incredibly difficult because it's an aim for so many players and very few get those spots. But yeah, for sure I will try my best. Getting there will be a huge achievement. On what would winning a Candidates seat mean back home: I mean, chess is not as big in Germany as it is in India. But I think it's improving. If my results improve and I make more headlines on the international stage, it will also help make chess more popular in Germany. Basically, in Germany, it's not easy being a professional chess player. If you're not at the very top, it's not that easy to make a living. Or in other words, people who play chess often are also very capable of doing things in other fields. And currently in Germany, you get support and financial support only if you're getting to the top. I mean, there are a few players who do it because it's their passion and they are very good. We have a very strong national team of five players who are all in the top-100, more or less. It's just that there is potential for more. On how he deals with the demands of the game: I think it's important to have little breaks. Because for us now, even when we don't play tournaments, there's something else in chess. We have a training camp, or we have a tournament coming up and we need to prepare. It becomes very important to take some time off chess, both for relaxation and to be hungry for chess. Like, if you are only playing, you never feel the urge to get back to chess. But when you have a little break, you feel like you miss it. On his coach Peter Leko (Leko was one of Vladimir Kramnik's seconds during the 2008 World Championship against Viswanathan Anand): We have been calling pretty much every day discussing what to prepare and how to approach the next game. He has been a huge help here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Shubhankar Sharma needs strong second round to make cut
Copenhagen [Denmark], August 16 (ANI): Shubhankar Sharma opened his campaign at the Danish Golf Championship with an even-par 71 at the Par-71 Furesø Golf Klub, leaving him tied for 70th and in need of a strong second round to make the cut. The Indian golfer, who has not made a cut since the Indian Open in March, will be eager to turn his fortunes around and extend his week in Denmark. Veer Ahlawat carded a 2-over 73, placing him tied for 113th and facing an uphill task to progress, as per a press release from the Danish Golf Championship. Sharma began well with a birdie on the sixth but faltered with three straight bogeys from the eighth to the tenth. He recovered with birdies on the 12th, 16th, and 18th, offsetting a bogey on the 14th to finish level par. At the top of the leaderboard, England's Marco Penge produced a flawless bogey-free round of 7-under 64, setting a new course record and taking a two-shot lead. His round featured birdies on the third, sixth, 11th, 13th, and 14th holes, capped by an eagle on the 18th. Penge, who has recorded six top-30 finishes in seven starts this season, currently sits fifth in the Race to Dubai standings. Five players share second place, two shots back, including 2018 Open Champion Francesco Molinari, former Danish Golf Championship winner Rasmus Højgaard, Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Germany's Jeremy Paul, and Scotland's Marc Warren. Rasmus carded eight birdies in his 5-under 66. Last year's runner-up, Lucas Bjerregaard, is tied for seventh with six others. Nicolai Højgaard had a memorable day, holing out for eagle twice in the space of three holes. After being two over through 10 holes, he eagled the par-4 12th from 111 yards and repeated the feat at the 14th from 144 yards, later adding a birdie on the last for a 3-under 68 and a share of 14th place. (ANI)
