
Indian GM P. Iniyan wins Dole Open International Chess title
PTI
New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan clinched the 2nd Dole Open International Chess title defeating Poland's Jan Malek in the tie-breaker after both the players were deadlocked at the top with 7.5 points apiece in the French city of Aix-en-Provence.
Iniyan, 22, who hails from Erode in Tamil Nadu, remained undefeated in the tournament, scoring six wins, including against International Masters from Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Turkey, France and Poland, besides three draws.
He scored 7.5 points in nine games and was tied for first place with GM Malek, in a tournament that had 276 participants, including 39GMs, from 43 countries.
In fact, Iniyan won the last four games in a row, especially the crucial penultimate and final games.
The first game of the tie-break against the Polish GM ended in a draw. In the second game, Iniyan, playing with black pieces, won to take his tally to 1.5-0.5 and clinch the title.
GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, who was leading the tournament until the last game which he lost, finished third on the podium with seven points. PTI AM AM AH AH
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Today
a few seconds ago
- India Today
Pant's voice note, Gill's message: When Oval Test warrior Woakes felt India's love
England fast bowler Chris Woakes admitted he feared the worst when he injured his shoulder during the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India. However, the all-rounder said it was heartening to receive support from the public and Indian players when he walked out to bat with a dislocated shoulder on a dramatic final day, which India won by six said Rishabh Pant, who had batted with a fractured foot in the Manchester Test, sent him a message after he responded to one of his Instagram posts. Pant had shared a story featuring Woakes, appreciating the pacer's bravery on the final day of an exhilarating Test captain Shubman Gill was seen having a word with Woakes after the match, appearing to praise his effort. Woakes walked out to bat when England needed 17 runs with just one wicket remaining. He did not face a delivery-despite having practised his one-handed stance in the lead-up to his innings-but ran with partner Gus Atkinson, battling through pain. The 36-year-old, the only England seamer to play all five Tests in the series, dislocated his left shoulder when diving to save a boundary on Day 1 of the match. Woakes did not bat in England's first innings, but when push came to shove, the all-rounder bravely walked out on the final Roger Woakes England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 4, 2025He was seen checking his shoulder after experiencing sharp pain while rushing to the non-striker's end for a bye. The Oval crowd, which included many Indian fans, gave Woakes a standing ovation on Day 5."I saw Rishabh [Pant] had put an image of me on Instagram with a salute emoji, so I replied thanking him: 'Appreciate the love and hope the foot is OK,' etc. He then sent me a voice note saying: 'I hope all is OK, good luck with the recovery and I hope we meet again out there some day.' I obviously said sorry for the broken foot," Woakes told The Guardian."Shubman said something like: 'That was incredibly brave,'" he added."I told him: 'You've had an unbelievable series, well played, and credit to your team.' Both sets of players had been through the mill in the series and deserve credit for the show we put on. Both teams wanted the win, of course, but it does kind of feel fair that it was drawn."NEVER CONSIDERED NOT GOING OUT TO BAT: WOAKESWoakes said he never had any doubt in his mind that he would go out to bat when his team needed him in the final innings. The fast bowler revealed that Brendon McCullum had rejected his proposal to bat in the first innings when he initially brought up the with the help of the team doctor and physios, Woakes managed to get himself ready to bat on the final day."I am still gutted-devastated, really-that we couldn't get the fairytale. But I never considered not going out there, even if it had been 100 runs still to win or whatever. It was nice to have the ovation, and some of the Indian players came over to show their respect. But any other player would have done the same. You couldn't just call it off at nine wickets down."Woakes said the first run he took for Atkinson was the most painful and made him wonder if his shoulder had popped out again."The first one was the worst. All I'd taken was codeine, and it was just so sore. Instinct took over- even with my arm strapped down, I tried to run as you naturally do."I genuinely worried my shoulder had popped back out again, hence you saw me throw my helmet off, rip the glove off with my teeth, and check it was OK," he had been cruising towards the target of 374 on Day 4, reaching 301 for 3 after centuries from Harry Brook and Joe Root. However, India didn't throw in the towel and continued to fight. Prasidh Krishna dismissed Root before stumps on Day needed just 35 runs with four wickets in hand when they turned up on the final day. It was still their game to lose-but Mohammed Siraj turned the match around, taking three wickets and helping restrict England to 367, as India won the Oval Test and levelled the series 2-2.- EndsYou May Also Like


Mint
a few seconds ago
- Mint
‘Virat Kohli is a good singer, dancer & good in mimicry': MS Dhoni calls ex-India captain ultimate entertainment package
Virat Kohli is known to be a complete entertainer on the field. be it his batting or his animated gestures while fielding, its impossible to remove your eyes from the ever-young 36-year-old. Two-time World Cup-winning former Indian captain, MS Dhoni, called Kohli an ultimate entertainment package, not for batting but his skills outside cricket. In a video that went viral on social media, Dhoni was asked to describe Kohli. 'He (Virat Kohli) is a good Singer, dancer, and good in mimicry,' said Dhoni. When the interviewer asked if Kohli can be called as an 'ultimate entertainment package', the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) superstar responded, 'if he is in the mood, he is very very entertaining!' Both Kohli and Dhoni share a great bond both off and on the field, and even after their retirements. It was under Dhoni, that Kohli made his India debut in 2008 and went on to become one of the modern-day greats in world cricket. Currently, Kohli is residing in the United Kingdom with his family. While Kohli has retired from T20Is and Tests, Dhoni announced his international retirement in 2020 but still continues to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings. The 42-year-old gave up his CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad in IPL 2024. However, Dhoni had to rake charge in IPL 2025 midway into the tournament after Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament with a hand injury. At the same event, Dhoni was also asked about his future with CSK, considering his age. The five-time IPL-winning former skipper said he is not going anywhere from CSK. 'Me and CSK, we are together. You know even for the next 15-20 years. I hope they don't think I'll be playing for another 15-20 years! But yeah,' said Dhoni amid huge cheers from the crowd. 'It's not about one year or two years. I will always be sitting in a yellow jersey. You know whether I'll be playing or not in a while, but yeah, you know yourself,' he added.


Indian Express
a few seconds ago
- Indian Express
Another high for India in chess: Chennai's Velammal takes gold at 2025 World Schools Team Championship
India's Velammal MHS School claimed the gold medal at the 2025 World Schools Team Championship in Alexandria, Virginia after winning all eight of their matches. Some of India's top chess players have studied at the Velammal educational institutions. This includes current world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and top players like Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Leon Luke Mendonca among many others. So dominant was Velammal at the event, that it entered the final round of the eight-round tournament already guaranteed the top spot and the title. For the Chennai-based team, WFM Keerti Shree Reddy (rating of 1910) was India's board 1 player followed by IM Aswath S (2369), FM Daakshin Arun (2021), IM Ilamparthi A (2358) and FM Pranav KP (2090). While Keerti just played three games in the first three rounds as board 1 for Velammal, international master Ilamparthi was the star for the Indian team, playing in all eight rounds, winning seven and drawing one. from the fourth round onwards, he played as board 1 for India. The other IM in the team, Aswath, had three draws and a defeat after playing in all eight rounds. A press release from the global governing body of chess, FIDE, noted that things were much closer in the race for second place. Heading into the last round, seven teams were still in contention for silver. Things were much tighter in the battle for second place. Kazakhstan's National School of Physics and Mathematics ultimately clinched the silver medal, finishing on the same number of match points as The Harker School (USA), but edging them out on tiebreaks. The Harker School took a well-deserved third place, just ahead of Astana 2 RSPM who narrowly missed the podium. #1: Velammal MHS School (India) #2: National School of Physics and Mathematics (Kazakhstan) #3: The Harker School (USA) #4: Astana 2 RSPM (Kazakhstan) #5: University High School (USA) #6: Royal College, Colombo (Sri Lanka) #7: Lyceum 'Photon' of Gyumri (Armenia) #8: Seed Educational Complex (Kazakhstan) #9: Wisdom (Uzbekistan) #10: Hampton (England)